Peacock Au Part 2
Okay so!!! Part two of this post about the DPxDC eldritch Danny fic that I'm now calling the peacock au lmao!!!!
(Chapter two of the fic under the cut)
(Edit: You can now find part 3 Here!!!)
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When the feeling of being just slightly dispersed settles onto the outer layer of his skin while he’s lying in bed, Danny knows what’s about to happen.
The thing is, he’s in his pyjamas. Sure, he could just stay in his human form for the summoning- because he’s done it before and it went fine- but he never knows who it’s going to be, and being spirited away to some college students’ dorm in his pyjamas is embarrassing. And sure, having something appear in the circle in the first place is probably enough that they’re not paying attention to what he’s wearing either way, but he refuses to bank on that. So, with a sigh, he allows himself the transformation, his human appearance falling easily away.
It always feels more natural to be a ghost during rituals, probably because they’re summoning a ghost and not a human, but still, it’s different. He feels that little bit looser, maybe even a little more himself, though he guesses being a bit more glow-y is just nice generally, and the space decals that tend pop up as part of his whole light-show-summons are a homely touch. On the other hand, it does make it harder to take stock of his surroundings when he finally fades into view wherever he is. He can make out vague grey walls and floors, but that’s about it.
Well, that and the man in front of him. Blond, taller than him if he wasn’t in the air, somewhere past his forties, wearing a beige trenchcoat and looking oddly terrified. Danny can see his hands shaking just a little. Does he know this guy from somewhere?
“Uh, dude?” Danny calls, going for something light. It’s annoying being dragged from the comfort of his own home, definitely, but this guy doesn’t look like some cult member, and if he’s alone and this scared it might mean he really needs the help. Danny can sympathise with doing stupid things in stupid situations. “You good? You’re not looking too hot there.”
He knows he’s using ghost speak, but it feels weird to use English in a summoning like this, and fortunately, Danny spies a translation sigil wrapped around the inner centre of the circle, so he knows it should be translating right back to the guy in front of him. Very handy for language barriers, he’ll admit- and it’s working, too, if the reply is any indication.
“I was told you could- you could help with the pits?”
His voice is gravelly, and he can’t tell if it’s because he’s nervous, doesn’t speak much, a smoker, or all three. Either way, probably not Danny’s business, and right now he’s just curious about what the man’s talking about. “Pits? That’s kinda vague, man. What pits?”
“The Lazarus pits to, uh, to be specific. There’s a huge one cropping up under Gotham that’s not supposed to be there, and the local- I mean, the locals are getting antsy about it. I… heard you could take care of ‘em.”
Lazarus Pits. He’s heard of those, Clockwork’s mentioned them a couple of times. They’re natural portals that open when enough energy is built up, and end up stabilising into the ground instead of collapsing to help seep ambient ectoplasm into the air. They don’t work as actual portals after that, but it’s vital to keep at least a few around no matter how corrupted they can get through human interference, because it keeps the balance of both realms steady. Having too many around isn’t a good thing, though, and especially not in populated areas. It can cause ecto-contamination, which is a lot more dangerous when you haven’t been around it since birth (or if you aren’t from Amity).
Speaking of which, it certainly is stinking up the place, now that he’s aware of it. Or maybe that’s just Gotham, he’s heard a lot about-
Hang on. Gotham. Weird potentially magic dude. He knew he recognised him! That’s John Constantine! Danny’s heard of John Constantine! Sam’s got her fingers in enough credible occult spaces that they’re at least vaguely aware of some of his endeavours, but if he’s in Gotham then that probably means he’s doing something for the Batman and, wow, Danny totally would’ve tried to go more professional for this if he knew this was going to be his first encounter with the Justice League,of all things.
Well, he guesses it’s too late now. At least the guy’s not being too weird about it or anything. “Man, yeah, I’ve totally got the smell stuck up my nose now that you mention it. Do you get that as well? Since, y’know, you’ve probably dealt with a couple ghosts.”
“Uh… no, I don’t think so. But can you fix it?”
Dang, the guy seems stressed about this. Maybe he just doesn’t like being in Gotham territory? He’s pretty sure he’s heard of Batman having a thing about magic. “Sure I can.”
“…Will you fix it?”
Danny figures that if they already know about his status through his Zone maintenance duties, and he’s going to be helping the Justice League, he might as well show off a little bit. Assenting with a hum and trying not to grin, he puts his hands to the floor, and lets his ectoplasm reach out to the source of the smell, sending a flash of light across the ground as it goes through. When it twinges back a response, he closes his eyes, and his energy curls around it, threading through like needles to seams, and pushes it shut with a gentle nudge. Luckily, it hadn’t been around for too long- barely fully formed and not even corrupted by human contact yet- it would’ve be a lot more difficult if it had.
He lets his hands rise up again after a long moment, looking to Constantine for a reaction. He can’t quite gauge what the man is thinking. “Alrighty, that should’ve done it.”
“Uh… cheers?”
He’s about to say something along the lines of ‘no problem’ or ‘you’re welcome’, but then he remembers he should probably warn him about the aftermath so he doesn’t freak. “The pit shouldn’t come back again, but just as like, a PSA: you might see more shades than usual hovering around for the next while. It shouldn’t be too big a deal so long as you leave ‘em alone, though, so don’t worry about it.”
For all that Danny’s trying to be considerate here, Constantine doesn’t look very considerated. “Can I- uh, yeah, great advice. ‘Appreciate it. But, can I ask just, y’know, what you are? Or not.”
“…Dude, what d’you think I am?”He replies, thoroughly bemused. Isn’t this guy supposed to be one of the League’s paranormal experts or something? He really should be able to recognise a ghost by now. “I keep your Lazarus Pits in check. You know, the pits of the dead?”
Okay, maybe a little rude on his side, but he thinks Constantine’s expression is a bit of an overreaction; he can see the sheen of sweat across the man’s forehead reflecting the light of the sigils. “Fair enough! Forget I asked- cheers for sorting out that pit, though. Uh, don’t suppose you’ll just let me go on my way or anything now.”
“Well, I mean, this was a favour for Batman, right?” He asks blithely, pointedly not paying attention to the way the man’s face keeps contorting. He swears Sam said he was more stoic than this. “I’m gonna go- ‘cause I’ve got things to do- but I guess if something comes up I’ll come to you? Or Batman, since this is his city and all. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know.”
Figuring there’s nothing left to be said, Danny lets the return sigil on the edge of the circle activate and punt him back home, wheezing a half-sigh and arching his back once the wispy image of wherever they’d been recedes. He probably looks exhausted after all that- no matter how recently formed the pit was, it still takes a little strain, and he’d just been about to sleep before he got summoned- but looking in the mirror on his wall for confirmation, he doesn’t find his usual face. Something twinges against where his spine should be, confirming its own previously unnoticed presence in the mortal plane.
…He didn’t go ghost when Constantine summoned him, he used his true form. That must be why he looked so nervous that whole time! And, man, ghostspeak never translates over quite right in this form, either- the Ancients use a different dialect to original ghostspeak- the man probably wasn’t hearing what Danny thought he was at all. What if the only reason he wasn’t attacking was because he was terrified? What must Constantine have thought of him?
Crap. He has to fix this. How is he going to find him?
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Ride 739: The training camp's fourth day!!
Pag 1
1: Training camp of Sohoku High School's racing team...
2: fourth and last day, 10:18 in the morning
3: Here it comes, Rokudai!!
4: Yeah!! Teh, Kinaka-kun
Pag 2
1: The training camp fourth and last day!!
The total distance we've ran so far is....
Pag 3
2: Here we go!!
5: 800km!!
Pag 4
1: We still have 200km to go until we reach 1000km!!
2: Teeh.....!! We've ran so much, teh
3: That's right, we already went beyond what I said at first, the distance from “Aomori”
4: “Aomori”!
It's still 10:30 in the morning, so if we keep going like this we can run the remaining 200km that are required!!
We can!!
Yeah!!
Pag 5
1: My legs are all sore
2: I'm trembling all over, teh
3: The Aomori thing, when we first came here
4: 700km!!
I thought it would be impossible
5: When on the first day, the senpai created such a gap between us, I resigned myself and thought that it really was impossible
6: But then, on that day's evening, you had that idea, Kinaka-kun
8: We worked so hard starting from the morning, we closed the gap, and ran until here
Pag 6
1: Being “buddies” really was our “breakthorugh”, teh!!
2: Breakthrough...!!
3: ??
4: Right!!
Teh...!!
5: Somehow, when I think about seeing the “goal”
6: I feel a surge of power, teh!!
Ohh...
7: Yeah, nice Rokudai, that's good!!
8: We've survived so far, so let's run through the end!!
Pag 7
2: Pfui
Yeah....
Let's do... our best and.... run....
5: Huh, where's my bottle?
Teh
Pag 8
3: Rokudaiii!!
6: Oooooogh
Pag 9
3: Ah....
Kinaka....kun? Huh.... I... fell.... and my bo.... ttle?
4: Rokudaii!!
5: So-sorry
You- you saved me, because you're my “buddy”!!
Pag 10
1: Because I'm your friend
3: Because you're my precious and reliable friend!!
4: Don't fall
Pag 11
1: Don't fall yet!!
2: There's still a chance
3: A small one
4: We can't know until the end of this last day of this training camp
Our
5: target
Pag 12
1: is to go together to the Inter High!!
Yeah!!
Pag 13
2: Ohh, they got back up, those first years
They ran 800km, so I thought their pace would drop for 2 or 3 laps
3: and that they would lose momentum like that
5: There are two ways of winning a road race
Pag 14
1: The first way is enduring determinedly, following without giving up in any situation
2: So that you survive and become the last man standing
4: And the other way is attacking yourself, actively passing and leaving behind your opponents
5: showing your strength and taking the victory....!!
6: They're both “victories”, that doesn't change
But the one who brings you more praises and admiration
Pag 15
1: It's the latter, Issa!!
2: That's right, Danchiku!!
3: First year Omihata, my jersey
Yessir!!
4: The heat resistance training ends here!!
5: Kaburagi-san.... he took off his long-sleeved jersey....!!
That means he's gotten serious!!
6: Let's go with with Full Spec, Danchiku!!
Now that our bodies are ready, we'll definitely do our “human sacrifice”....
Pag 16
1: We'll defeat Sugimoto-san and go to the Inter High!!
Of course, Issa!!
Pag 17
3: Let's catch him, Danchiku!!
4: So you're here
Pag 18
1: You two!!
2: We've come to give back to you that “you allowed us to train with you”!! Sugimoto-san!!
Pag 19
2: Danchiku has already mastered the new bike he's riding, and he doesn't stagger anymore
Thanks to you, he's now in perfect condition!! Perfect!!
3: Yeah
Pag 20
1: I'm just next to you and yet I can feel your pressure enough!!
3: Sugimoto-san, sorry but I'm gonna defeat you in one blow
4: I won't let you beat me in one blow
Pag 21
1: Is that your “expectations”? Or your “hope”?
2: Yeah.... for now
3: I'll also take off my arms warmer!!
4: Sugimoto took off his arms warmer!!
5: If you come at me seriously....
Pag 22
1: It's only polite of me to get serious too!!
Pag 23
3: Sugimoto himself hit their handles!!
Even though usually his play-style is to avoid rough play and contact!!
4: You're in high spirits....!!
5: Not as much as you!! Danchiku!!
Pag 24
1: Honestly, I'm surprised that you're going all out like this.... you're worth defeating!!
2: I'll let you train with me one more time, Danchiku!!
Pag 25
2: Ah crap, they've started already!!
The last battle
3: of the fourth and last day of this training camp!!
4: Danchiku-kun!! Sugimoto-kun!!
Pag 26
1: I'll pull now, teh, Kinaka-kun
Yeah, thank you, Rokudai!!
2: Please....
3: No....
4: I'm beaten....
Even though I've finally... cut the 200km left point...
5: That moment.... I overdid it a little....
6: My legs hurt.....
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Bee and Argie, Billy and Argyle
Arturo Guillermo Franco Valdes.
Arturo Guillermo, and a friend that calls him Guille, Artie, Argie.
A red faced Billy that pronounces Guillermo as ‘Gah-ee-ler-moh’ before learning that ‘ll’ makes a ‘yuh’ sound in Spanish.
Artie calling him Bee-yee, and later Bee, as a joke because of it.
Billy tosses out nicknames like the affection he’s never been sure how to express. But he loves the way his friend's name rolls off his tongue, the syllables strange and clunky and a challenge that Billy readily takes up. Soon, it falls full and melodic from his lips, prettier than any song he's ever heard on the old radio his mom left him with.
Mi amigo, Arturo.
Argie tells him not to sweat it, but Billy doesn’t understand why nobody else seems to want to make the effort. Like it’s too difficult, or like Argie isn’t worth the effort. Most of the other Mexican kids at school already know how to pronounce the names that give their white teachers pause, but outside of that demographic there’s a pathetic lack of effort that incites Billy sometimes.
“Don’t sweat it, bro. Not everyone can roll their Rs as good as you.”
“What, like it’s hard? Fuckin’ idiots.”
(Years later, when they find each other again, Billy will know why his old friend Argie goes by Argyle, because Argyle will nudge him with a serene little smile of his and say, “Long time no see, Bee. Your ol’ pal Artie Gyle-ermo missed you, amigo.”)
Once, early in their friendship, Billy asks Argie why he has so many damn names. Why does he need like half a dozen of them? And Argie says,
“Well, I dunno. I think it makes me pretty damn special, though. How many ‘Arturo Guillermo Franco Valdes’ do you know?”
“Just you, obviously. But that doesn’t mean much, I don’t know any other ‘William Hargrove’s either.”
“Maybe not. But it’s prolly a lot easier for some random Hargrove to be named Billy than for someone to line up a buncha random names to smash together and create a Franco Valdes named Arturo Guillermo.”
“That ‘random Hargrove’ is me, jackass!”
“Exactly!”
“At least my name’s not a fuckin’ mouthful!”
“Oh, so I’m a mouthful, am I?”
“Fuck you!”
A few months later, well into Billy's friendship with Argyle, the kid invites him over to his place to check out his new bike or something, Billy doesn't remember.
What he does remember is meeting Argyle's dad and paternal grandma, Nana Hermelinda.
It's getting colder, for California at least, and Nana insists on making the kids chocolate abuelita while Argyle's dad is at work. A much richer hot chocolate than Billy is used to, the smell is spicy sweet and warm in the air as it foams up in the pot Nana is using, instead of the mild chemical sweetness of the mugs Billy puts in the microwave when he can sneak a packet of Swiss Miss in the winter.
Her worn, wrinkled hands make quick work of it, expertly spinning between them a wooden stick with rotating round bits at the end that goes into the frothy mix. Nana calls it a molinillo when she sees him looking at it, and rather than freeze up over being caught staring, as he normally would, Billy instead finds himself trying to pronounce the new word for the remaining five minutes the chocolate takes to finish. The air feels almost soft around him, pleasantly warm and sweet like cinnamon as Nana lets the mixture cool while she searches for mugs in the cabinet above them.
When she offers him his own, a brown mug with a rounded bottom and pretty dotted flower designs on its shiny finish, Billy is shy and hesitant to take it. But the warmth as he wraps his chilly fingers around it is welcoming and its smells so good. The first sip is cautious, slow like he's still unsure about whether he's allowed something so warm and comforting.
It's incredible.
Billy's pretty blue eyes light up like Argyle has never seen before. He can feel his heart thump awkwardly in his chest as those baby blues shine bright in the soft yellow light of the kitchen.
Then Billy lowers the mug, and a little mustache of foamed milk and chocolate lines his upper lip. Argyle quickly forgets the brief stutter of his heartbeat and cackles at the sight.
Billy is too busy having a religious experience over his mug of hot chocolate to bother with telling him to shut up like he normally would, but he doesn't truly mind- he likes the sound of Argie's loud bouncing laughter.
Nana looks fondly at them over her own mug, sitting comfortably on a stool by the kitchen counter as Billy politely thanks her for the drink with what little clumsy Spanish he's learned from Argyle so far. She coos at him, putting down her mug as she answers in a kind, lilting Spanish that Argyle will later tell him roughly means, "Of course, love. Come here whenever you like. I will make you a mug anytime, son."
Billy inhales the warm steam wafting up from the mug he holds tight as Nana places a gentle hand on his cheek and calls him mijo.
Years later, Billy still remembers it as one of the last times he'd felt so held and cared for.
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