#protect him for real

[ky-landfill]

“I do not want to become the man she envisioned.”

[starsstardust]

Sometimes I think about them and it makes me want to claw my heart out.

EDIT:

@jeanmoreaux Thanks for the reminder. This one is too iconic to be missed.

[bet-on-me-13]

Dark Secret

So! Danny was discovered pretty quickly after his first battle against the Lunch Lady. His hair turned white, and his body shape was a little different, but he largely looked very similar to his Human Form, so it was only a matter of time really.

Thankfully he was assumed to be a Metahuman.

He didn't look like any other Ghost, the closest resemblance was his hair and eye color, but even that could be explained away. Also his parents were adamant that he couldn't be a Ghost because he was still Sentient and not Evil, so he must just have powers that just looked similar to Ghost Powers esthetically. Probably as a result of the Portal Accident, which he used as an explanation for how his powers awakened.

Danny also avoided using the more obvious Ghost Powers like Intangiblity and Invisiblity, sticking mostly to the most basic Flight and Energy based Powers he got to be as generic as possible. If anybody saw otherwise, it was a trick of the light or a trick of the Ghosts.

Danny became the Hero of Amity Park, always pretending to be something else. It was his darkest secret.

Unfortunately because the public never saw a Ghost like Phantom on a positive light, their perception of Ghosts never changed. Nobody believed that Ghosts could be anything aside from Evil, and as the knowledge of Ghosts and the Ghost Zone began to spread around the world that perception became more and more commonplace.

If Danny had been revealed in the early days, it could have been salvageable, but nowadays if his secret was revealed he would have to convince the entire world that everything they knew about Ghosts was wrong. It would practically be impossible.

Even when he joined the Justice League when he became an Adult, he still had to hide his secret. Years of hiding made sure he could conceal his true Nature from the magic users on the team, but he still had to be distant from the team just to be sure.

While all this was going on in the Living Realm, his adventures in the Ghost Zone still happened as normal. He saved Pandora and the Acropolis, dethroned the Tyrant King Aragon, managed to defeat Pariah Dark in Single combat, and even became recognized as a Great Warrior by the Far Frozen.

After years of hiding, he actually felt more at home in the Ghost Zone than in the Human Realm. There he could be his true self without having to hide a huge part of his identity, and people accepted him for who he was. Sure he had enemies there, but he also had more real friends outside of Tucker and Sam.

He was content with his double life, acting as a Hero to the Public while hiding his true self, and secretly going to the Ghost Zone to be himself among his friends and even his enemies.

Of course it all came crashing down when he Anti Ecto Acts finally passed.

Now there was a Legal Path for Humans to enter and profit off of the Ghost Zone. Beyond just being able to legally kill and experiment on Ghosts, the Acts also allowed Humans to claim parts of the Ghost Zone as their own Property, enslaving the Ghosts residing there, and destroying the Ecosystem of the Zone because there were no laws preventing it.

And now Danny had a choice.

He could either side with the Humans to which he was a Hero, allowing them to destroy the Ghost Zone and Enslave the denizens living there with the full support of the Government, or he could side with the Ghost Zone, betraying Humanity and the people he had been protecting for years, but trying to save those who had accepted him for his true self years ago.

To him the answer was obvious.

[random-cockroach]

Only three chapters in but already rolling in coziness and silliness pfhghehg sealpatico au by @fascinationex

[peace-hunter]

I just realized. One thing that Optimus will certainly be educated on by the Primes in the Haunted AU is the various was One Can Kill A Quintesson! Leaving some Autobots confused at times when he's teaching them in return because 'This sounds pretty Specific...???'

It's slightly competitive on the Primes' part because yeah, the Deceptions do got the High Guard being good at killing Quintessons too but. They're the Real Experts. (Are they salty? Naaaah they're not. Much. Kinda.)

AKJSHDK YEAH YOU'RE SO RIGHT I LOVE THAT <333

they got so good at squishing the goddamn bugs and they're thrilled they can save Optimus the pain of figuring out their weak points through trial and error like they did. they're gonna make a pro out of their baby brother in no time.

and if they just so happen to know some of the Decepticons will be majorly pissed off at the fact OP is already on par with the best of what used to be the High Guard when he only has a fraction of their experience... well, happy coincidences, y'know?

and if they happen to teach Optimus how to crack open a Quintesson in just the right way to make some Decepticons see ghosts through him... that's between them and the people they're haunting :)

haunted au

[cheesenchalk]

i never know how to phrase it but something about the way beatles biographers and people in general view paul's reflexive placating persona and determination to smooth things over as manipulative or duplicitous and john's reflexive barbed persona and habit of lashing out as brave and subversive despite both being equally defensive mechanisms to shield themselves from the world that resulted in them saying things that weren't true says more about how we culturally view kindness or friendliness as inherently untrustworthy or flimsy and anger and carelessness as more believable as someone's true nature than it says about either of them in actuality

[runningupthatvecna]

terrified wet boi

x

[10thmusemoon]

Making myself cry thinking about SJ’s disembodied spirit watching the ending scene of SVSSS where SY runs toward Binghe, leaving yqy in the past.

SJ’s eyes widening at the resigned expression YQY is wearing, more vulnerable than it was when he was at death’s door a few days prior. SJ’s head swiveling back to where SY is running past him, words tumbling out of his mouth before he can suppress them.

“Wait! Stop!”

Trying to grasp onto the back of SQQ’s robes, spectral hands phasing through his body. Desperation clawing its way up Shen Jiu’s throat when he turns back to see YQY’s solitary figure.

“Don’t you dare leave him! You can’t—!”

But SQQ can and will happily leave behind YQY for a monster. And Shen Jiu is left grasping at black robes, hands slipping through fabric and flesh, all too aware of how long YQY stared at SQQ’s retreating form until it was just a speck in the sky. Ignorant to the nails trying to dig themselves into any part of him to let YQY know he’s not alone. The fervent whispers of a name long forgotten going unheard. YQY meditates throughout the night, completely unaware of the form curling around him and silently weeping.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

massages forehead So Ambessa hid Mel away because she was a weapon in the literal sense, a mage. But Ambessa came to Piltover for Hextech? And Ambessa had nothing to say to Mel about her powers having visibly awakened? Even when Mel offered to go with Ambessa, giving her the ultimate opportunity to make Mel a weapon for real? And Ambessa made no attempt to find or retrieve Mel - not just her daughter and the remnants of the family Ambessa professes to love, but also her ultimate weapon - when she disappeared? And Ambessa trusted Singed and Viktor on their home turf - neither of them hiding how insane and self-serving they are with every reason to take over Ambessa's soldiers or just blatantly turn on her as soon as it benefits them - more than she trusted Mel? While Caitlyn (and by extension Piltover) was visibly and clearly falling away from Ambessa's teachings before Ambessa's eyes? (as if getting rid of certain people allows piltover to get rid of fascism but we won't get into All That)

Not only do I struggle to be hyped for Mel's powers beyond how amazing and beautiful she looks, but I can't help but feel like Mel is somehow less powerful in season 2 than she was in season 1, and not in an interesting way. As if Mel's ability to bend all of Piltover politics and economics to her will in season 1 now means nothing in season 2? You can argue that Jinx's attack led directly to Mel losing ground in Piltover - because I expected Mel to have to claw back that power without being able to rely on people who are too easily seduced by Ambessa and authoritarianism, and she would have to get creative to go toe to toe with her mother. I expected pushback to her mage identity that she would have to navigate. But instead this went either unwritten, or was ignored or discarded. Instead Mel is removed from the main plot, cutting her off from what made her the most interesting - only for all of Mel's very real talents, her very real powers and abilities, to be not only translated but REPLACED with magical powers she doesn't know how to control, and by the finale, those magic powers are the only powers that are considered real. Mel takes a backseat to Piltover's governing and decisions, a backseat to Jayce of all people who was not only new to politics mere months ago but made poor governing, strategic, and diplomatic decisions when he had that power. In season 1 Mel stayed off the "throne" but she did pull its strings one way or the other, and she makes no attempt at this in season 2

In my least generous suspicions, Mel was gentled and quieted to capitulate to an agenda for other characters who had to be correct and heroic - or wrong and villainous - no matter what the leadup narrative said, given her powers to help sell the game and set up future shows, and was effectively ejected from the Arcane story with faceless soldiers and a role she doesn't want because she was inconvenient there

[vole-mon-amour]

by @/kristorey_ on twt. I got the artist's permission to repost.

source

[natedevereaux]

never gonna stop losing my mind over this scene i fear

[byleriscanon]

bi son + concerned mother

[dcxdpdabbles]

Hey can I request more from passion for fashion. Maybe with Dan and Danny meeting bane or something? And like maybe realizing that he's their uncle in this universe? Ohh or maybe they don't realize that and just think he's some guy who seems really fond of them and has decided they are his to protect, he could possibly be acting as their neighbor for the time being?

Dan wakes in the most comfortable bed he's ever slept in for the last two decades. A sluggish feeling of laziness comes with that feeling of comfort, so he nearly gives in and closes his eyes again for another nap.

But at the last second, his eyes snap open, and he wills himself to fight against the feeling. His body rebels against his command, trying to go back under, but Dan will not yield. He recognizes the feeling.

Someone is trying to force him into slumber. He may be a dead man walking, but he is no one's helpless prisoner. Reaching deep within himself, Dan grasps around the parts that make him a ghost and warps his form with the burn of his ice-fire.

A familiar sensation washes over him, an ice-fire that builds around his chest and expands down his limbs. It's slightly bothered by the bomb strapped to his core, but it's not enough to stop Dan from burning away whatever they had done to him.

Unlike the drug that the kidnappers gave him a few weeks ago, whatever is in his system isn't overly harmful. It appears that it was intended to put him to sleep so he could actually get it out of his body.

He hasn't shifted into his ghost form the entire time he has been in this universe. It wasn't for the lack of trying, but Clockwork had likely (correctly) assumed that Dan wouldn't help Batman's humanity if he refused to be in his human form, so he locked it near the bomb, and if he tugged on his ghost powers too much, it would trigger the boom.

Dan isn't sure if Danny had the same problem; he never bothered to ask and figured that if he gave a white lie about the multiple cameras everywhere, Danny would be cautious enough not to "Go Ghost" so the idiot wouldn't explode.

The last of foreign sustenance fades into nothing within himself, and the world is suddenly clear. He can concentrate on his surroundings now, frowning at what he saw.

Dan is in a large, luxurious bedroom, fit for a king, with sleek furniture and a black and red color scheme. It resembles a room a villain would use in a modern drama, which is tacky and completely lacking any personal touch.

He was lying on an Alaskan King bed with curtains hung up on the bed frame. To his right is a large screen TV, taking up nearly the entire wall, and various gaming systems are placed underneath it- he's seen some in his fashion trends research. He figured he should know what settings made his outfits pop and what sort of lighting would affect the visual appeal of the fabric. He never had the desire to even touch the gaming systems, though.

To his left is a strangely organized copy of his studio, featuring various mannequins, fabrics that most of which have cost a fortune, and a really nice-looking design table. What really caught his attention, however, was the multiple storage organizers stacked on top of each other: he could spot multiple buttons, threads, glitter, cutting devices, and who knows what else.

It was like a fabric store threw up on that side of the room.

Dan's fingers twitch with the urge to go over there and explore the studio. He dislikes the tidiness; it looks like a museum, and he struggles to work with things in order. He thrives on chaos, and someone completely disregarded that.

A direct insult to his obsession.

Scowling at the studio, now only seeing it as an insult at best, a pathetic attempt to bait him into staying in his cage at worst, Dan leaps to his feet. He feels around the walls, searching for a door. It might be out of sight, since this room had no windows or doors, but there has to be somewhere in and out here.

His fingers run across all the walls, but he does not feel any indents that show there is a doorway. Huffing Dan decided to make his own. Pressing his lips to his right knuckles in a quick kiss for good luck, Dan lets it fly as fast and hard as he can at the wall.

The moment his hand makes contact with the wall, spider-like cracks spread across the surface, followed by a loud bang. The cracks scatter across the surface before it crumbles, falling down like broken cards.

He finds himself looking into a long, dark hallway, with no visible guards. Dan is more insulted that they thought they didn't have to put him under surveillance, so assured that they would not be able to get out of the room.

He steps over the whole, shaking out his fist a little. That was steadier than he was expecting, but nothing he couldn't handle. He looks left, then right, wondering which direction to go.

If Danny were here, he likely would go towards the right, where a spark of light was visible. The brat would justify this decision with an explanation that there was likely a sign indicating the exit. They needed to escape, to regroup, gather information, and only then would they fight the people that did this to them, Danny would say.

Dan goes left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Danny bolts upwards with a scream of frustration, leaping from his bed and pointing in the general direction his counterpart was known for working on his fashion. "Dan, I know you're doing something stupid! Cut it out!"

It takes him a moment to notice something odd. The first, Danny is cold, which hasn't really happened since coming to Gotham. Yes, it was cloudy, and it rained more, but this felt like he stepped into a freezer instead of walking around Gotham.

The second is the bright light flashing in his face. It's not like they didn't use the lights in their Gotham house, but Dan had so many fabrics flung everywhere in the house that it tended to interfere with the brightness.

And the third, he was not currently pointing dramatically down the hallway of his temporary residence, but instead, he was pointing at a large glass wall. Behind the glass was a man dressed in the weirdest outfit he's seen so far.

A mask with twin peaks at the top and a long cape covered his body like a weird pancho. The man was staring back at him- at least Danny thinks, since the mask blocks the eyes, leaving the man in a white lens stare- without a hint of emotion.

There is a long pause between them before Danny slowly lowers his arm to use it to try to cover his body as best he can. He's not sure why this guy was watching him sleep, but he doesn't think it's for a good reason.

"How are you feeling?" The man asks as Danny slowly lowers himself back onto the bed, scrambling for the blanket —the really soft, fluffy kind that he's sure causes way more warmth than any blanket should.

"What?"

"How are you feeling?" The man repeats. His voice is oddly devoid of emotion

"I'm feeling like you're about to steal my skin." He snarks, curling the blanket up to his chin.

There is a twitch at the man's mouth, as if he's fighting a smile before it smooths over. "I have no use for your skin."

"How dare you. This flawless skin pays my bills."

Another twitch, but this time he can tell that the amusement hasn't slipped away. "Are you not feeling any aches? Sorness?"

Danny narrows his eyes. "Why are you asking?"

"Do you not remember what happened?" The humor is gone now. Storwed away in some emotional vault that Danny knows Jazz would love to break into. The man moves his arm, causing his cape to open and reveal a suit that resembles a blend of spandex and armor.

It's skin-tight, showing off abs, biceps, and leg muscles that anyone back home would kill for. Danny's jaw drops slightly at the display, even if the man is too busy clicking a remote at a wall. A TV lowers itself from who knows where, showing a video of himself being rushed into the glass-wall room by the stranger and a kid in a black hood.

Danny watches himself as his form slowly deteriorates, while the two scramble to plug machines into him. It's like he's watching some of the clones Vlad made fall apart, and it's not until the kid's sword accidentally gets caught on some gas tank. The gas tank is knocked over, breaking upon hitting the ground, and it lets out a stream of white gas strong enough that it flies through the room, somehow covering Danny's half-melted body.

It's easy to tell it's Liquid nitrogen by the sudden frost and ice. There is a moment of genuine panic in the video until Danny's form snaps back into place. The video ends with a man and a child looking at each other in a daze, then rushing out to bring in more tanks like the one he had knocked over.

"Earlier today, you ran to me for help. When we got you back to my house, you collapsed, and your body started melting. We had no idea why, what was happening, or what your situation was. I brought to my cave to try and provide medical assistance- it became obvious that the only thing working was placing you in a low temperature environment." The man explained, distracting body now thankfully covered by his cape again.

It takes Danny's brain a few seconds to process what he said, but when he does, he snaps his head in all directions. They're in a cave, he notices, and he's inside a makeshift freezer with the temperature well in the negatives.

The stranger seems content with letting Danny take all of that in, as his fuzzy mind tries to gather information, when suddenly it all snaps into place.

Leaping to his feet again- and nearly slipping over the edge of it, that has him swinging his arms like a windmill- Danny points accusingly at him, "Batman! You're Batman!"

The man nods once, and Danny lets out a noise that almost sounds like a wild hog releasing a victory cry. Batman stares back impassively, but his shoulders have tensed a bit as Danny scrambles off the bed and scurries towards the glass, pressing his face against it until his nose starts to hurt, his cheeks are flat, still that does nothing to hide his smile.

"I've come to save your humanity, Batman! Have you hugged your children?!"

Batman doesn't respond for a solid minute, allowing Danny's heavy breathing to fill the silence before the man clicks his remote again. This time, the screen displays a woman who looks vaguely familiar, a celebrant of some kind?

"I looked into your mother. I believe she used you as a sacrifice in a death magic ritual-" Batman starts, but Danny steamrolls that boring tale with a stream of emotional good habit tips Jazz had once given him.

"-I know it sounds stupid, but really, if having conversations is tough, writing a letter to yourself or the other person can be a good way to explain how you feel about them."

Batman holds up a hand. " Marina meant well, but the spell she used to try to teleport you off your island. We found this in your chest."

The image changes to one of Clockwork's amulets, and the words die in Danny's mouth. He pats his chest area searching for the ticking sound or sensation he has grown accustomed to.

It's not there.

Batman took out Clockwork's bomb while his body was dissolving. That sentence doesn't even make sense!

Danny's eyes go wide. "Are you a god?"

Batman frowns. "No. I'm not sure where Marina was trying to send you, but it wasn't to me. She was aiming for a death god."

"What? Who's Marina?"

"...Your mother?"

"My mom's name is Madeline. Madline Fenton." Danny pressed himself against the glass further. "Why would you think this Mariana is my mom?"

"She was the one to use a highly illegal and dangerous death ritual. Mariana Fenton is also listed as your mother in the government records of Santa Prisca. Your father's name was also listed: it's Eduardo Dorrance, better known as Bane."

He said that last part gravely, like Danny would be shocked by the news that Bane had supposedly fathered him, but Danny can only blink slowly. "My dad's name is Jack."

Batman's face doesn't twitch anymore. Instead, he frowns. Deeply. Concern. "Was that the man who raised you and your brother?"

"Dan was raised by the screams of his enemies," Danny responds without missing a beat. "Never mind him. We need to focus on you. Have you ever been in love? Love is the strongest magic in the world, right behind the power of friendship. There is nothing more human than the power of love."

Batman opens his mouth, but whatever he was going to say is cut off by a giant boom that shakes the whole cave. He spins around, three throwing knives suddenly in between his fingers, and Danny notices he stands in front of him, almost as if Batman were going to protect him.

From behind the muscular back, Lord have mercy, Danny can't see what caused the explosion, but he can definitely hear it.

"My King! I have come to rescue you!" A woman screeches in a curious accent. It reminds him of old Hollywood, the kind that was in black and white and was filmed in the 1920s. Her voice echoes through the cave, and his head comes from everywhere and nowhere.

Danny claps his hands over his ears, trying to drown her out, because she's far too long. "Who are you?!"

"It is I, Gotham!"

The word explodes into darkness as Batman flings his knives.

Danny yelps when the glass walls shatter, the cold air escaping as a being of fog rushes at him, grabbing him as solid arms would and dragging him over the ledge of a nearby railing. He falls into the cave's abyss, screaming at the top of his lungs.

[symphonyofsilence]

What drives me even more insane about this scene is how you'd expect Gojo to imagine High school era! Geto in the crowd. Or at least not the cult leader, worst of all the curse users Geto Suguru. But no, it's the cult leader Geto. It's Geto as Gojo last remembered him. As Geto last was. Whatever choices Geto made, wherever his choices led him and them, however he was, whoever he was, traumas and messed up ideas and bad choices and ill reputations and scorns and all. Gojo wanted Geto Suguru there. Not any ideal version. Not any "what if" version. Not any "at some point in time before things went downhill" version. Not any "when your hands weren't stained with innocent blood" version. He knew very well what he wanted. And he wanted it all the same. He wanted Geto Suguru. However he was. He just wanted him to be there. He just wanted him to be.

And he didn't want him to help him, he didn't want him to fight with him even if they were strongest together and always fought together for a while. He just wanted him to be there in the crowd and cheer him on. He just wanted him to stand there and give him one of his sweet, heartwarming smiles that shaped his eyes into crescent moons. He just wanted him to be. Then even if Gojo had died in the end anyway, he would have been satisfied. It would have been worth it. Only if Geto was there.

[antianakin]

I'm kind-of genuinely devastated that they decided to cut out the reveal of Perrin having known all along about Mon Mothma's rebel activities and was getting interrogated WEEKLY by the Empire and never cracked even once.

This would've helped answer SO MANY QUESTIONS about Mon and Perrin, and it could've easily helped answer the question of why Mon felt like she could just walk away from her family after making herself public enemy number one.

She goes to finally explain it all to Perrin right before she makes the speech because dammit she might not have trust him or even like him all that much but she doesn't want him DEAD and he deserves the chance to find this out from her and get himself to safety before she turns his life upside down, and he tells her he's known all along and covered for her this whole time and never once cracked or been discovered, even when she framed him for gambling and sold off their daughter to a gangster's son. He lets her know that he doesn't need to go to safety, he's not just going to run now because that'll just make him look like he was involved in it. He can continue to cover for himself when the Empire comes to interrogate him again, and he can do it well enough to ensure Leida doesn't get implicated, either. Mon's priority is the rebellion, her priority is her work and it always has been, even to the detriment of her relationship with her family, and Perrin understood that but it meant that HIS priority had to be protecting and taking care of Leida in the absence of her mother. So Mon has to go, but Perrin has to stay because their daughter needs him now more than ever.

And it just makes the choice that Mon has made so clear, the sacrifice she chose to make for the sake of the rebellion, and she can't back out now, she can't make a different choice because she tells herself she's doing this FOR Leida, to try to make a better world for her daughter to live in, but in order to give Leida that world, she has to leave Leida behind.

But she realizes now that she CAN trust Perrin, she could've trusted him all along, so she chooses to trust him now. She trusts him with their daughter, she trusts that he can take care of himself and Leida in her absence once more.

This helps Mon's arc SO MUCH, and I honestly love it, and as Bissell says it's technically a non-canon thing now because it clearly never even made it into the script really let alone got filmed, but it's pretty easy to slot it into what we DID get to see, so as far as I'm concerned, this is my canon. This fixes so many of the problems I had with the end of this arc for Mon and makes it so much more emotional and almost tragic. Mon made her choices and you can argue that some of them were mistakes if you want, you can argue that it made her a bad mother if you wanted to, but it's so much more complicated and nuanced than that, and I love that this finally makes that so clear. Mon made her choice and her family paid the price a long time ago, long before Mon was willing to acknowledge that she'd made that choice.

[gabisart]

And I’m still undone, not quite young

But I, I still try

Cross my heart, now I hope to die 🐴