#robotics;notes dash

[neboolassgcorner]

no way!!! its daru!!! 🤯🤯

[wandapinkay]

Huggies for the husbie!! 💕🩷💕🩷

[japanese-movie-god-at-yahoo]

[skybeads]

Holy mother of the Time Machine! Good fan service!

[giddlygoat]

always something with these fags.

[misstooni]

I'm so deep into Science Adventure games. Steins;Gate broke me then put me back together and now I'm at the beginning of Robotics;Notes and loving Akiho living her best life building robots and just waiting for the plot to take a major turn on me.

Also I'm glad that I can play the rest of them on Switch because the buttons on steamdeck being different threw me off so much with Steins;Gate but I REALLY wanted to play the original and not Elite because the game's original art style looks so much better than the anime's style.

[daisyachain]

not much can top the CD relationship web. Prowl, who knows him better than anyone else because CD doesn’t give a damn about him and doesn’t try to hide anything. Brainstorm, who has to act as his proxy in remembering the things that he actually cared about in life/who is closer to him than his actual partners because of it. Rewind, who he tried to erase from existence because he actually loved him. Skids, who he killed by his own hand by making him remember the pain that both of them forgot. Dominus, who Rewind killed by his own hand for the crime of having forgotten him.

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Pixar did not have to go as hard as they did with the Kronos Unveiled scene in The Incredibles (2004), yet they did anyway and gave us one of the best scenes in modern cinema. Literally cannot stop thinking about how good this scene is, from the animation to the build up to the soundtrack.

I don’t think I truly understood how dark this scene - and this film - was a child: Syndrome is systematically and strategically luring in superheroes and killing them off in order to test and improve his Omnidroid design… these people were not only supers but they also had family and loved ones too, just like Bob, and one day they would have just disappeared because chances are they weren’t telling people where they were going because it was "top secret" and against the law. They thought they were doing something good, like helping the people in the island, while also getting to relive their glory days, perhaps even paving the way for superheroes to make a proper comeback… only for Syndrome to kill them in cold blood.

Most of these people can actually be seen at Bob and Helen’s wedding in the beginning of the film - they weren’t just random supers, they were their friends, people they worked alongside and cared about. It’s even worse when you realise that Bob probably blames himself because, after all, Buddy/Syndrome was his biggest fan and he dismissed him by not letting him help.

The relief on Bob’s face when he realises Syndrome doesn’t know where Helen is - meaning he also doesn’t know where their children are because he didn’t realise they were married at this point - is so realistic and gut wrenching to see. The relief contrasting with the anguish of knowing how much danger they and their entire family could have been in the entire time without even knowing...it's so well-done, you can literally feel it.

It’s also worth noting that originally the next target wasn’t Mr Incredible but Frozone - that was who Mirage was trailing, hence why his location is “known”. Imagine if she/Syndrome hadn’t realised that Mr Incredible was with him and they’d lured Frozone in instead as planned; he would have gone to the island to fight the Omnidroid 8 in a volcano setting. We saw how being in the burning building dehydrated Frozone and made it impossible to use his ice powers - presumably it would have been the same in the middle of a lava filled volcano, and he’d have been slaughtered just like the other superheroes before him.

This scene shows an entire generation of superheroes - Bob, Helen and Lucius’ generation - wiped out all because Syndrome felt slighted by his hero as a child, because he internalised that slight and let it drive him to revenge. And, if we take into account the deleted alternate opening scene, it’s mentioned that superheroes "aren't supposed to breed” - meaning there’s a likelihood that Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack are among the very few supers of the next generation. I know that it's deleted and so not really canon, but it's definitely a concept to consider, I think.

Then there's the fact Syndrome named the project "Kronos" - Kronos was a God who overthrew his own father in order to take over his rule, and then he ate his own children to prevent them doing the same thing to him. It feels like it reflects Syndrome once looking up to Mr Incredible and even saying "I could be your ward!", meaning Mr Incredible adopting or fostering him - the project name is a metaphor for Syndrome destroying the Supers, especially Mr Incredible, who he viewed as a father figure. The Omnidroids he built killed two birds with one stone: not only was he able to acquire the data to upgrade the robot to its final design, but it also eliminated the real super heroes and so left him as the last remaining "superhero", even though his powers are man-made, not something he was born with.

Not only did he want to become the only remaining superhero by killing the real ones in revenge, he also planned to sell his inventions at some point so everyone can be super - because "when everyone is super, nobody is". It's like a final blow to the memory of the superheroes he had killed.

I've talked too much about this scene but God... I love it so much more as an adult because it's just so chilling to think about. I'm sure other people can put it much more articulately than I just tried to, but I just really wanted to appreciate this scene.

[puppiesareperfect]

🔁canducky-momo🐥follow

Are people actually getting upset over the “I hate people” plate? It’s literally just a funny misprint, people need to get over themselves.

🔁duckymomoyoyo🥚🐣follow

Ok well as a mother I don’t think it’s cool that kids are getting a plate where their role model tells them that they hate everyone :/

🔁canducky-momo🐥follow

I think kids are smart enough to know Ducky Momo is fictional but maybe that’s just me

🔁yourverybestfriend✨🐤follow

Op don’t even bother, that other user tried selling stolen fan art at a con

🔁woahwoah-momo🦆follow

What about all those cases where kids imitate what they see on tv?! The “I hate people” plate could have REAL CONSEQUENCES!!

🔁yourverybestfriend✨🐤follow

Can you give me a time that happened outside of made up stories by boomers?? Can you?!

🔁canducky-momo🐥follow

Again kids are smart. So smart. Like, scarily so. My nine year old brothers built a rollercoaster. There are kids out there who can play multiple instruments. There are programs teaching kids how to make robots out of Legos because they know kids are smart enough. Trust me, as an older sister I have been around kids enough to know they are (annoyingly) smart.

🔁yourverybestfriend✨🐤

RB IF YOU THINK KIDS DESERVE RESPECT!!

🔁lovefändal🎸follow

I don’t go here but this came on my dash and like. I agree with OP’s message but are we gonna ignore the part where she said her brothers BUILT A ROLLERCOASTER?!!

🔁honseinabookcase🐴follow

Oh my god???

🔁youverybestfriend✨🐤follow

STOP I DIDN’T EVEN SEE THAT WHAT

🔁inthedoctorzone⏰🐒follow

NOT A RELATABLE EXPERIENCE OP

🔁yourverybestfriend✨🐤

@canducky-momo

OP. LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS OP.

🔁canducky-momo🐥

Ok I just got out the shower and there’s like 500 notes what’s happening. All I said is my brothers built a rollercoaster (which I tried to bust them for). I don’t get what’s so crazy about this

🔁martysmusicalblenderthemusical🐰

MOST KIDS DON’T BUILD ROLLERCOASTERS OP.

🔁notgothitspunk🦇🎼follow

In all fairness my dad hypnotized pigeons to poop on my uncle once

🔁scienceforthebadofhumanity⚙️🥼follow

He deserved it.

🔁canducky-momo🐥follow

@notgothitspunk wait we’ve been friends irl for a while now since when does your dad have a tumblr

🔁martysmusicalblenderthemusical🐰follow

This post is a train wreck

🔁yourverybestfriend✨🐤follow

Alright which one of you showed our parents tumblr??

🔁notgothitspunk🦇🎼

my dad is just like that guys I’m sorry

🔁lovefändel🎸follow

WHY ARE WE JUST IGNORING THE PIGEON HYPNOSIS?

🔁mold-bot🤖follow

No mold detected!

🔁buford🐟follow

I have molds of all my friends!!

🔁canducky-momo🐤

CAN WE PLEASE GO BACK TO TALKING ABOUT DUCKY MOMO???

[hawkesque]

ok hello. i have thoughts.

short answer: yes.

long answer: absolutely yes! 

the two main things we see with drift compatible pairs in pacific rim are 1) well, compatibility and 2) sparring (physically and/or verbally). mako and raleigh find they’re compatible when they spar; herc and chuck fight and have disagreements; newt and hermann’s entire relationship is built on fighting with each other. having disagreements and fights is not a “despite of” thing, it’s literally how you can tell two people are compatible--they aren’t identical, they compliment!

we see the same thing w/ bj and hawkeye: they have an instant chemistry in WTK, and they fight in petty (aint love grand) and serious (preventative medicine) ways, but they’re still at each other’s sides by the end. fighting alone wouldn’t make them incompatible by a long shot! plus, their back-and-forth shows they have this innate sense of how each other’s brain works--they slot together perfectly. imo they’ve got every characteristic of a drift compatible pair :-)

Are Hawkeye and BJ drift compatible? Sound off

[tanktopdiaz]

You Just Smile and the Picture Sells

eddie-centric | gen | 1.8k | 8x12 Disconnected Coda Saturdays he goes to the northeastern part of town and spends the afternoon driving around lovely couples who couldn't care less for his picture of him, a toddler Chris, and Abuela nestled in a tight loveseat. Tips come in steady, and as the sun goes down he notices he's a bit more hypervigilant of the couples he's hauling around. Pretty dolled up women holding hands and giggling to each other, bulky men next to tiny twinks, a group of butch women filing into his Prius like it's a clown car and they're the dependent variables of his clown college thesis. or: Eddie installs a little picture frame in his car.

story under read more or read on ao3 <3

On Mondays Eddie likes to stock his air-vent frame with the picture of Chris at his first robotics meet, crouched down and squished between two mentors behind a little robot made to throw basketballs. Chris's glasses are covered in masking tape to make them blue since that's his team's color and Eddie wasn't going to drop money on a new pair at the time (the next year, he transferred to the middle school team - red and white color scheme. Much easier on the wardrobe).

Only one person's ever commented on it. It was a mom with two teens, both in the back huddled over their phones. The mom's in the passenger seat, anxiously adjusting the temperature to make sure the kids were getting A/C. "Ah, First Robotics? My niece is in it. He yours?" Eddie talks about Chris for the rest of the trip and at the end of it all, the mom puts her hand on his arm softly and says "best of luck at the next comp. I hope my niece's team kicks his team's ass, though." She tips an additional $10 and puts a note to spend it on goggles.

-----

Tuesdays, he finds a rhythm from 2pm-10pm with a picture of the 118 smiling back at him. Buck's hanging off his shoulder, Hen and Chim squished on their sides, Bobby's tilted and stretched face in the foreground as he takes the selfie of them all.

There's a bar on the west end of the city that hosts industry night on Tuesdays, and next to that a bar that offers karaoke coupons and discounts to nurses and cops. The discounts start at 3pm but the cover starts at 7pm, and he circles the nearest hospitals and attorneys offices for hours starting at 2pm. Rakes in the fuckin money. He's almost always picking up groups of 2 to 4 and everyone loves the picture and is never silent about it. He gets to say, "I used to be a firefighter, actually. Transfer down to El Paso didn't go so smooth," with a grimace and a forlorn look at the picture on his dash. They all sympathize with him, talk about their transfers to the city or their connection to firefighters and other emergency personnel. Theres even a couple who were once EMS personnel and they share anecdotes back and forth.

Once, he dropped off and picked up the same nurse 5 hours apart and when she gets in the car she insists on sitting in the front seat and getting all the details about each of them. He beams, stutters an "oh I could talk about them for hours" and he sits in front of her house for an additional 10 minutes cackling over the names Hen, Chimney, and Buck before she stumbles back in her house. $20 tip.

-----

Wednesdays he sleeps in.

The picture of the 118 and his influenced attitude from it all means he's made enough the day beforehand, so he drives Chris to school and drops back into sleep when he gets home. Picks Chris up from school, takes him to a movie or dinner or sits with him at chess practice. When he gets home he'll endure his parents until Chris is out of the room, growl out a "you do not dictate my relationship with my son", and take a couple rides into the night until his blood warms back up and his fists unfurl of their own accord.

He flips between two different pictures of him and Chris, one from Christmas and one from Easter. No one says anything - they don't have to - that's obviously his son. He's beaming with a kid in his hands, what else could it be? Sometimes his mind races. Do they think he's an absent father with only holiday pictures to show for it? Do they think this could be his nephew? Do they think he's doing this to provide? Despite the silence, he gets decent tips. Maybe because of the silence, actually.

-----

On Thursdays it's - surprise surprise - another picture of him and Chris. Buck and Bobby are in the background doing goofy faces, Eddie and Chris squished cheek to cheek with BBQ sauce decorating silly smiles of their own. Hen took the picture, a fried pickle hanging out of her mouth and a smudge of ranch on her cheek. It's nice to reminisce on in the morning when he picks up silent teens for school or half asleep business workers.

He picks the rides back up around 8pm, the same time most live music events in the city start opening their doors, and once it rolls around to the closing numbers his app starts pinging like crazy. "Oh my god this is adooooooooorable," crows every drunk women that pours into his prius. "You and - oooooooohhhh - is that your son?? He's a cutie patootie!!!!" they'll all but scream, party partners in the back both cringing and drunkenly egging their friend on. "Who's that in the back?" they'll ask, some continuing with no answer, "they look like family! Are they yours?" And Eddie will smile and nod and sometimes tear up when he speaks and they'll clutch their chest, tears in their own bloodshot eyes, and fawn over the picture until he drops them off at home.

50/50 on them raising their tips once they're in their own homes. Most of the tip increases come in the middle of the night, no doubt when they're coming down from their high and scrolling their phones to piece their night back together. They hover over the Uber app, gasp a smile, and remember him.

-----

Friday is much the same as Wednesday. Eddie puts a simple picture of him and Chris in his visor and takes Chris to school, survives off Thursday's tips until night comes and the clubs start to fill up then thin. He nearly overdoses on B12 as he prepares for a night going into the next day, but Friday partiers are a whole different breed down here, he finds. He keeps picking up men who try to intimidate him or make snide remarks about having a Prius in Texas where everything is supposed to be Bigger; women who bat their eyelashes and adjust their tops in his mirrors and pout out nonsensical questions when he's trying to make tight corners or convince them to be dropped off a block or two from their warehouse destination.

He doesn't get good tips on Fridays, unsurprisingly, and eventually decides he'd rather be with Chris. Chris would rather be with his friends though, and Eddie's happy to play chauffeur and hang in the background while Chris hops around town. His friends sometimes chuckle at the picture of the two of them and one evening there's a girl included. She sits in the front and smiles adoringly at the picture, cuts her eyes carefully up to Eddie's face every now and then. When he drops them off and drives to the back of the parking lot, he sees her lean towards Chris and put a flirty hand on his shoulder with a look towards him in the lot. Chris turns too, then turns back quickly, and the girl melts at whatever he says back.

He should get Buck on that pronto.

-----

Saturdays he goes to the northeastern part of town and spends the afternoon driving around lovely couples who couldn't care less for his picture of him, a toddler Chris, and Abuela nestled in a tight loveseat. Tips come in steady, and as the sun goes down he notices he's a bit more hypervigilant of the couples he's hauling around. Pretty dolled up women holding hands and giggling to each other, bulky men next to tiny twinks, a group of butch women filing into his Prius like it's a clown car and they're the dependent variables of his clown college thesis.

That first night, he hauls three people - a bored looking Latina in the front seat and two handsy young men in the back who keep glancing at him and toning their behaviours down. "I'm from LA," he blurts out 15 minutes into the 25 minute drive, cheeks flushing when they give him weary looks from the rearview mirror. "I know a - I have a lot of gay friends, so you're totally good to keep on, uh, what you were doing. No hate here." The boys are silent for the remainder of the drive and once they're out of the car the Latina in the front puts a soft hand on his arm and says, "they were awkward, but thank you. Texas isn't always kind to people like my brother." The curtain of hair and kind eyes don't escape him.

After that he decides on a picture of him and Buck - simple, out of uniform but perched next to each other on the loft island with the slightest lean into each other. Showing off his bisexual friend should surely make it easier to explain why they should find solace in his car. He keeps picking up obviously not-hetero couples and tenses his shoulders until he sees them look at the picture, then him, then give themselves private smug smiles. The picture worked as intended, he hums to himself. Everyone loves my bisexual friend. Is he supposed to NOT talk about his bisexual best friend to the gay people in his car who ask about him? Tips stay steady, but the ones who ride in silence still tip more.

His Sunday is really still Saturday, from the tip of the clock to 3 or 4am depending on his B12 intake. The gay people in his car get gayer, louder, drunker, kinder, and he finds that questions of his bisexual best friend start extending to him. "Aww, is that your partner?" And he says yes because it get him good tips. "Oh my god he's so hot" and Eddie will give a smug thank you and then they'll squeal, "you're in the picture too!!!" "How'd you two meet?" Hiccupping giggles through drunk lips when he talks about how much Buck hated him when they met and how quickly he nipped it in the bud.

As the night progresses it becomes more "you two look so happy" and "ugh, too cute, get it away from me" from a handful of singletons and "reminds me of me and my man" from the older crowd he picks up around the corner. Eventually he gets nothing but people dozing on his windows or silently staring ahead like they're processing the night. "Have you had a good night driving?" or "Been safe tonight, I hope." become the default small talk.

"He must be sick worrying about you out so late," an older woman tuts once, tapping the corner of the framed picture of the two of them. She's turned into the console with her other hand tight in her girlfriend's as the girlfriend leans head first against the passenger seat, drunk as a skunk.

"Nah," Eddie says with a tired grin. "He knows I'm coming home to him."

[wandapinkay]

Here's also a bonus drawing I've made for his birthday!! 🎂🍰🩷💕💖

I know, I'm spoiling him and if you think so you're RIGHT

[japanese-movie-god-at-yahoo]

[palettepainter]

@theartsoflilo and @factual-fantasy robot art got me inspired to dust off my old Transformers OC Dash and give her a new look which I finished up yesterday! (oOoOOooO you wanna go look at their art so bad, you want to reblog and like their stuff and leave nice tags-)

Took a lot of inspo from the animated transformers style to keep myself from going insane over making the design too complicated

Ontop of anxiety kicking my butt I got sick and basically spent Wednesday and a bit of Thursday in bed moping, feeling better but still don't fell 100%. Art block is also still kinda lingering?? I think going back to transformers and watching some old shows got the creative juices flowing

Also thanks to factual-fantasy I've watched a few episodes of Transformers Prime! And ye they're so right Ratchet is such a grump, I love him. Originally Dash was a Transformers Rescue Bot OC because that's the show I had available growing up, but I've been imagining her interacting with Ratchet just because...Dash is so prone to over exerting herself without realising. If she were a human with a broken arm she'd be like "Oh look at that, when did that happen?...Ah I'll walk it off I'm sure it's fine!"

On a side note my favourite bot from TRB is Chase, and my current fav from TFP is Ratchet...it seems I have a liking for rule sticklers

Still have one more commission to finish up which hopefully will be done soon, it's a fun one so looking forward to picking it up after lunch!

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

question! apologies if you've already answered this, but you've talked about how each alpha kid has a beta troll counterpart that would match well(or at least, was alluded to match well) with them thematically, or at least fit their interests. roxy = eridan, jake = vriska, jane = equius. following that theming, who would dirk's be?

It's not as obvious for Dirk, but given the pattern followed by the other alpha kids, probably Tavros?

The other kids, it's practically indisputable - Jake's intro literally yammers about how he loves "cerulean knockouts, hubba hubba" and how he wishes he could be the guy who dated Neytiri from James Cameron's Avatar, wording it in a way that makes it sound exactly like the TaVris SGRUB situationship. The other big hint is that Jake is pretty much at the center of the venn diagram of Vriska's two love interests, John and Tavros (three if you count Nic Cage). Let's note that one of those interests shares a Class with Jake, a Page.

Roxy's is also practically indisputable; she fucking loves wizards, she's a hipster, but crucially, she also has a crush on a broody Prince, and her other interest is John, who's got black hair and glasses (and in their initial meeting, she literally isn't even listening to him, just going "wow... black hair and glasses... is he single" hahaha). Similar to VrisJake, Roxy is in the center of the venn diagram of Eridan's two red interests, Feferi and Nepeta - a bubbly pink nice girl, and a cat-themed Rogue. Let's notice again that some major foreshadowing here is class.

Finally, Jane literally talks about having a wall of "cobalt beefcakes," and she's constantly described as a "tightass" who starts out correcting peoples' grammar and chastising them when they cuss. Equius's main redcrush? Aradia... a Maid, except he laments her low social status because he's really into being dommed. Well. Guess who is also a Maid and of high social status (heiress).

So, following this pattern, it's very likely that Dirk's redrom situation will be someone who shares a class with his extant red interest... which would be a Page. Moreover, while it's subtler, his interest sets him up for Tavros in a similar way to the other three - he unironically loves Rainbow Dash, a flying horse, with Tavros also having a preoccupation with flight; he has a tiny horse similar to Tinkerbull (and Tavros also has horse associations, given his fiduspawn of choice is Horsearoni), and he's shown in his introduction rapping with a robot significantly less good at it than he is, winning by dousing it with orange soda. This same orange soda is later used by Dirk to pacify Gamzee, and Tavros and Gamzee are implied to be destined moirails, so that also gives it a more direct Tavros association. It's also not the first time soda of a corresponding blood color has been used to represent a troll character, as part of pale EriKar foreshadowing is the cherry-red Faygo that Eridan picks up. Tavros is a real mess in the romance department, meanwhile, because he regularly pursues people purely for status/accomplishment - Vriska (after dying) and Jade most notably - but he also has a weird something-something with Dave, being the first one to show up to doomed!Dave's bubble besides Aradia to challenge him to a rap battle. As we've seen with Vriska and John, an indicator of compatability might be interest in a similar family member.

Plus, the glimpse we get to see of Jake and Dirk casts Dirk in an interesting light - he IS needy and IS pushy, but his messages largely read as "what do YOU want to do? Let's go do something fun for YOU. Or if you need space, that's OK, just tell me and I'll give you some. But still you have to tell me". In a very Heart-esque way, he's super comfortable putting his own wants aside to accommodate his partner - he's just pushy about knowing what his partner wants.

(Quick sidenote - I believe that Hal is a fully separate entity from Dirk, so I don't lump any of Hal's actions in with Dirk's.)

This actually seems like what Tavros would need - as we see with Gamzee, he ghosts people who are too forward, but Gamzee is also deeply pessimistic and self-conscious, so he probably didn't bother trying to get back in touch after the first ghosting. Meanwhile, we see from Vriska that Tavros actually doesn't mind some pushiness, and there are even parts of their adventure he had fun with, since he just genuinely loves adventuring - she was just ultimately too inconsiderate and selfish for him.

And again, the major caveat to all these relationships is that every character needs character development to get to a point where the relationship is viable. Eridan, Vriska, AND Equius, given how they were before they died, and sometimes after, were all far too unstable, their worst traits untreated, for them to be good matches with the Alpha kids - but with some char dev and maturation, each of these characters' best selves are basically perfect fits.

Vriska's character development cuts out her need to live up to her society's murderous standards, and learns to be a bit nicer, meaning she ends up as a confident, take-no-shit bitch, whose adventuring style would mesh well with Jake, who's a fan of a challenge to a greater degree than Tavros and rebounds better from humiliation and defeat.

Eridan at full character development is likely still a naturally arrogant-sounding, despotic-acting freak, but firmly on the side of good (the "i will kill for you" type of friend), much like Slinus Marlevort from Roxy's wizard fanfic, but 1) she's really into all of that, she DOES NOT STOP describing Slinus as Hot as Hell, and 2) he's also a simp, like he would do anything his dating partner asked LOL

Equius at full character development has had a very long reflection on the fact that he's mostly just got a fetish, which - because he hasn't realized it's a fetish - he's inadvertantly been pushing onto other people. And he would stop that. Equius, at his core, is a polite and helpful lil' stoic, and most of his casteism is a combination of being a sub mixed with "this makes sense to me as an explanation of the horrible things that happen around me". Once he learns to rein in his fetish, his natural tendency is already to be the strong, silent type - à la Ron Swanson, Jane's "ideal man". Moreover, we see from tiaratop!Jane (and Jane and Jade later describe their mind control as them acting on their worst impulses, so it's still meant to be read as a reflection of Jane) treats Jake like an object/breeding stud, meaning that there's a part of Jane that's looking for submission, deference, and obedience in a partner............ Equius.

And finally, Tavros with full character development sees Tavros friendly, nice, confident, and outgoing. It's the version of him that puts together a massive pirate army at the end just by asking them nicely. Dirk's introduction describes that he unironically loves Rainbow Dash... because she's so spunky <3. Spunky is a good word to describe this final form of Tavros we get to see at the end.

Just wish I could see these characters happy, man. Like, I get why I can't, but still.

[luxaofhesperides]

greener on the other side.

Danny makes a habit out of hopping into portals and exploring the places he ends up. It just so happens that this time, he ends up in Gotham right as the Signal begins his patrol. Duke meets the strangest, funniest, cutest guy on the roof of the Gotham City Public Library. He knows Batman would not approve of literally anything he's doing, but sue him, he wants a meta friend and this guy seems to be up for it. -- OR: how Duke and Danny get together despite having secret identities and living in different dimensions.

chapter three: how it shines - 8.6k

read the entire fic on ao3!

the final chapter of this fic... and the end to the first fic in the series!! theres a lot i say in the end notes of ao3 so i highly recommend reading this chapter there! . . .

Signal: you ever feel like maybe the world is out to get you

Signal: [attached photo shows Signal lying in the middle of a torn up road, post-fight, his helmet lightly blackened with ash.]

Danny: buddy, the world has already taken me out

Danny: [attached photo is a selfie of Danny, frowning at the camera. Behind him, a large, flying robot is pointing a rocket launcher at him.]

Signal: okay, you win. are you alright???

Danny: lol im fine. this literally happens every week i know how to beat this guy up

Danny: tbh i think the real threat to my existence is school

Signal: so true. one day we will be free of it….

Danny: but not today

Signal: but not today

-

Danny: got a minute?

Signal: yeah what’s up?

Danny: u have a secret identity

Signal: …yes?

Danny: have u told other people abt ur secret identity

Signal: yes? but some of them just kinda found out on their own

Signal: why? 

Danny: how did that go. did they react well? did u have to defend urself from them?

Signal: there were some problems about me throwing myself in danger, but i was always safe with them

Danny: okay. cool. got it.

Signal: everything okay?

Danny: im thinking about telling my parents a secret about me. im kinda terrified of how they’re going to react

Signal: are you coming out to them?

Danny: in a way i guess. 

Danny: gonna recruit my sister into helping me talk to them. and also get rid of all their weapons beforehand so there’s a lower chance of them shooting me

Signal: shooting you?!?!? dude are you going to be okay??? don’t do anything that could get you hurt!!

Danny: gtg

Signal: dude??

Signal: danny?

Signal: let me know how it goes, okay? i can’t travel through dimensions like you can, but i can figure something out if you need a rescue

Signal: good luck danny!

-

Danny: ever get into a fist fight with a walmart knock off vampire in the parking lot of a burger joint?

Danny: [attached photo is Danny’s hand flipping off a man hovering in a parking lot. He’s wearing a cape and vampire-coded clothes.]

Signal: ever have a snack break in the middle of fighting a crocodile man?

Signal: [attached photo shows Signal holding up a half eaten taco, a giant crocodile man behind him with his own box of tacos. They’re sitting next to each other in an alley.]

Danny: point to u bc u actually got food

Signal: 😝

Signal: also, everything okay? with your parents?

Danny: let’s not talk about that.

Signal: okay. but if you do want to talk, i’ll be here for you

-

Danny: idk if dash is trying to annoy me into another fling or if he actually wants me to throw him across the field but if he doesn’t back off im going for violence

Signal: uh

Danny: THAT WAS MEANT FOR TUCKER IM SO SORRY

Signal: should i be jealous that someone is hoping for another fling with you lol

Danny: it was once and will never happen again. 1) he’s not my type 2) he’s so annoying

Danny: also why would u get jealous of anyone ure literally a hero? hello?

Signal: hey man that guy is with you in your dimension and im all the way over here

Signal: totally reasonable for me to get jealous!! this is like a more extreme version of having online friends

Danny: true… hey i can swing by for the weekend if u want!! honestly the less time i spend here the better

Signal: that bad?

Danny: i’ve known everyone here for my entire life. i need OUT

Danny: gothams cool! its a big city with things to do!!! obviously im gonna like it more than Normal Town Illinois 🤮

Signal: weather is bad all week tho…. even if you come over we wouldnt be able to go out

Signal: its been a while since we had a storm so bad

Danny: man if that was happening here i would be able to punch the storm away

Signal: im taking that as a joke

Danny: no i literally punched a storm away before. he was a dick tho he deserved it

Signal: ….this is still Normal Town Illinois right?

Danny: .

Danny: ok fine maybe u have a point

Danny: anyways!!! i just wanna hang out with you dude i would be happy just playing video games or something

Signal: we can do that!! let me know when u get here 😊

Signal: and good luck dealing w this dash guy!!

Danny: ugh dont remind me

-

Signal: hye u know our plana to hang out tody

Signal: maybe rain chek tht im not goos company rn

Danny: u ok? i can always come by some other weekend

Signal: got hit and everythif bad

Danny: did u hit ur head?

Signal: yes

Danny: ok im going to call u so you can stop looking at ur phone screen. just in case u have a concussion

-

The phone rings twice before Signal picks up. He mumbles something that might be a hello, but it’s honestly hard to tell. 

“Hey, man,” Danny says, leaning back in his chair to look up at the faded glow in the dark stars he stuck up on his ceiling years ago. “Are you okay?”

Signal hums a vague response, then sighs, sending static down the line. “Just got a headache right now. Can’t even go out since it’s too bright.”

“Is it sunny in Gotham right now?”

“No, it’s super cloudy and that’s still too much. I hate concussions.” There’s a bit of a whine in his voice that reminds Danny that under the helmet, Signal is a normal guy just like anyone else. And like everyone else, powers don’t save him from the pain of brain trauma. 

Danny would know; he’s gotten pretty good at taking care of injuries and the such through his high school career of getting tossed in lockers and attacked by ghosts. He’s pretty sure parts of his brain are still rattled from the amount of times he’s been thrown into and through walls. 

“I hear you, man,” Danny commiserates, “Head injuries are the worst. But it should start feeling better in a few days, so you can just stay home and relax until the pain stops.”

“Ugh, I wish. I still have to go to school tomorrow.”

“Dude, that sucks. If you can stay home sick, then don’t force yourself to go. Concussions are no joke.”

Signal hums again, then mumbles, “I can’t think of an excuse. Cause the concussion is from being hit on patrol so like. I can’t say that! I have to figure out a reason for my civilian identity to have a concussion.”

“Can I suggest something?”

“Please, I’ll take anything at this point, man. My brain is done for.”

“Make up an embarrassing story. You have to make yourself look silly and people will believe you more and not ask follow up questions because you’re too embarrassed to say more.”

“...Keep talking. This sounds viable. The only advice I got was to basically fake my death or get into a car accident to get more injured.”

“I think you need to fight whoever said that,” Danny says, “That is horrible advice.”

“I know!” Signal laughs. “Oh I shouldn’t have laughed, my head is hurting more.”

Danny lets out a slow breath, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling of his bedroom. If he strains his hearing, he can make out the rustle of fabric from Signal’s end of the call as well as the murmur of his parent’s voices downstairs. He closes his eyes and focuses on the call, pushing away the heavy weight of regret on his chest that hits him each time he thinks about his parents. 

Now is not the time for that. Signal needs calm and quiet, so Danny is going to give that to him and then let him go to rest.

“Are you drinking enough water? Getting some comfort food?”

“Yeah, I’m being taken care of. Don’t worry Danny, I got a whole crew of dysfunctional caretakers.”

“Good. I’ll let you get back to resting, then.”

“I’m still so sorry I had to cancel. I was looking forward to seeing you again.”

Warmth rises to his cheeks and Danny rubs a hand against them, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach that came to life at those words.  “We can always do a different day. Let me know when you feel better, okay?”

“Yeah, alright. Thanks, Danny.”

“I hope you feel better soon, Signal. I missed you too.”

There’s a pause where Danny’s heart pounds hard against his chest, as though trying to escape his ribcage. He bites his tongue, wondering it that was too much, if he made things weird, if Signal didn’t feel the same way. 

And then Signal says with a soft voice, “I can’t wait to see you again. You’re too sweet to me.”

“Okay!” Danny squeaks, cheeks aflame, “Go sleep, Signal! I’ll talk to you once you can look at a screen again.”

“Alright. Thanks, Danny.”

“Of course, dude. Bye.”

Signal makes a soft mumble that could be ‘bye’ but it’s hard to tell with Signal’s voice going all rough and low, exhausting in every sound, and then the call is ending. 

Danny drops the phone onto his desk and draws his knees up to hold them against his chest. He rests his chin on them, filled with longing for Gotham.

Not just for the Signal, though that’s a big part of it. But for the anonymity of a big city in a dimension where he doesn’t exist. A place where he can be himself, just Danny instead of being torn between his parent’s son and Phantom. Plus, Gotham has heroes! Not other ghosts, not ghost hunters, but people with superpowers who help people whenever they can. 

It would be nice to be someplace like Gotham where he wouldn’t have to carry the responsibility of protecting an entire city on his shoulders. It would be nice to have friends who understand why he can’t not give his all to protect people, regardless of how they feel for him, friends who make the same choice, friends who aren’t weighed down by guilt with their part in his death.

As much as he loves Sam and Tucker, he knows that will be something that haunts them for the rest of their lives. 

It’s better now that it had been in freshman year, but it’s still something that changed them all. He’ll always love them, and he knows they love him, but they need to spend some time apart.

In Amity Park, they’re the outsiders who are too weird for the rest of the school, outcasts who stick together, a tightly knit group full of secrets. They’ve been each others only friends for the longest time; sometimes, others come in and out of their lives, like Valerie, but the bond he has with Sam and Tucker can’t be replicated. 

They need to be with new people to grow any more. He can see how they’re holding each other back. 

They’ll always find a way to be together, but they have to be apart first.

Gotham will be good for that. 

Hell, any place in that dimension would be good!

Danny just wants to be more than he is, wants to be better and he can’t do that here or with his friends. 

And he certainly can’t do that with his parents.

After telling them about everything’s he’s done as Phantom, all the times he’s ruined their inventions or fought with the GIW or endangered people through his fights with other ghosts, his parents just stared at him. They were seated around the kitchen table, Jazz standing behind Danny with a comforting hand on his shoulder, as his parents just… stared.

There were no accusations of possession, no weapons drawn, no demands for an explanation. Just a haunted look in his parents eyes as they went silent, still, horrified. 

“Danny,” his mom had whispered, “You mean you’re—”

“I’m Phantom, yeah. The ghost menace,” he had answered.

“You’re dead,” she finished as if he hadn’t spoken. “You died and we didn’t… we never noticed. What— How—”

The thing about being Phantom is that Danny knows he died. He knows he came back changed. But he doesn’t like thinking about it, still wakes up from nightmares of electricity racing through his body, frying him from inside out as it stops and restarts his heart in an endless painful pattern. Yes he died, but he got powers out of it! He got to meet other ghosts, explore the Infinite Realms, do so many cool things no one else is able to do…

But he still died. Half of him is still dead. He’s never going to be the kid he once was.

“It was an accident,” he had whispered, “With the portal. The on button is inside it, and when I went in for some stupid picture, I tripped and hit it.”

“And we only cared about the portal working,” his dad had said, grief coloring every line in his face. “We didn’t even look at you. We just went straight for the portal. We were so happy to be right that we didn’t stop to think about what it meant, how it could have happened…”

The tears he saw well up in his parents eyes made his heart twist uncomfortably in his chest. For several long minutes, silence settled around them as his parents closed either eyes are stared down at the table, refusing to look at him. Jazz had squeezed his shoulder, then pulled him up out of his seat.

“Danny, go upstairs. Or to Tucker’s place. I need to have my own talk with them,” she had said. There was a steel in her gaze that told Danny there was no use in arguing, so he walked out the front door and transformed so he could fly out into the woods where he could be alone, watching the sky change colors as the sun set.

It’s been two weeks since then. His parents still can’t look at him for too long. They can’t look him in the eyes at all.

He wonders if he would have preferred them trying to kill him. At least then they would acknowledge that he’s still here instead of moving around him as if he’s a memory haunting the halls of their home, one they’re too guilty to face just yet. 

He misses his dad’s loud voice and enthusiasm. He misses his mom’s quick wit and quicker reflexes. He misses the chaos of each meal they would have together and how his parents would drag him and Jazz along on random, sudden trips for the sake of science. 

He misses his parents. 

Danny hates that the family he loves died with him in that portal. 

As much as he still loves them, being in the house, and in Amity Park in general, is suffocating. The farther he can get from them the better; Danny isn’t sure he’d react well if he stayed in this universe and woke up one day with his parents decided to break into his new home because they finally feel up to having a conversation with him. 

Maybe he’d talk to Signal about what living in Gotham is like. That might help him make a decision on what to do with himself once he graduates from Casper High School.

He’ll save it for the next time they meet. 

Some things are better done in person, after all. And it wouldn’t hurt for Danny to use it as an excuse to make sure he’s fine. 

But for now, he’ll wait until the days pass and keep daydreaming about better things.

-

Signal: hey man, u doing okay? i haven’t heard from u in a while

Danny: yeah im good! i was waiting for u to text first bc i didnt know how long you’d need to recover from a concussion

Signal: ive been good for a while, dude. dw abt waiting to text me, just send me something and i’ll reply once i can!!

Danny: i’ll keep that in mind for the next time u get injured 👍

Signal: but fr are u good? tell me to back off if u need but u seem kinda down

Danny: im fine!!! just dealing w the crushing weight of existence, that’s all 🫠

Signal: oh mood. anything i can do to make things better for u?

Danny: nah it’s fine, im just like this sometimes. i promise it’ll pass

Signal: want a distraction?

Danny: please

Signal: so i was just swinging thru the streets as i do and this group called me down while theyre having a huge argument

Signal: so i go bc i dont want things escalating yknow? 

Signal: and idk the context of this argument AT ALL but one of them turns to me

Signal: looks me dead in the eyes

Signal: and says ‘penis enhancement pills are NOT a thing, right?’

Danny: SKDFJALSDJ NO WAY

Signal: oh man. this isnt even the best part of this story

Danny: there’s MORE?????

Signal: its gotham, danny, there’s always more lmao

Signal: so anyways……..

-

Danny: i hope you know that story has been haunting me all week

Danny: dash was being a dick again and i was half asleep so i told him ‘maybe u’d be less of a dick if u stop taking penis enhancing pills’

Signal: THATS GOLD

Signal: my job here is done. nothing will ever top that. i’ll see myself out ✌️

Danny: he looked so shocked lmaooo

Danny: tried to say he DOESNT take any pills but it was too late

Danny: he was too flustered by it no one believed him

Danny: top 10 things to say to ur former bully

Signal: i didnt know he bullied u. good for u! get his ass!

Danny: he’s fine now lol just annoying. we all grew out of the super cliche high school phase after freshman year when we had to work together to fend off ghosts and the government

Signal: nothing like a little anarchy to bring people together

Signal: its why im still good friends w the people who were in a gang i joined when i was younger to be like. street kid vigilantes bc gotham was going bad back then

Danny: everything u say about gotham and ur life is so fascinating literally how are u real?? ure the perfect ya novel protagonist

Signal: thats the sweetest thing anyones ever said to me ❣️

Signal: but also lol. lmao. gotham really is just like that. no one is immune

Signal: u also sound like a ya protag jsyk. 

Danny: literally how im so boring??

Signal: danny. babe. im gonna have to bring out the capital letters for this bc i get the feeling that u really believe that

Danny: oh boy

Signal: Listen. You live in a small town that’s Haunted, fight ghosts, have powers, went from being bullied to being chill with your bully, and can travel the multiverse. You are a YA Protagonist.

Danny: damn i can’t argue with that :/

Danny: why’d i have to be the ghost hunter’s ghost son. i wanna be a side character. give me a refund on this life pls

Signal: do i dare ask clarification on the ghost thing?

Danny: uuuh no? its kinda personal and im dealing w it but its also kinda like ur civilian id?

Danny: its something i’ll share once we’re closer and i know u better and can trust u with it

Signal: totally fair. want me to pretend that part of the conversation never happened?

Danny: please

Signal: cool. watch this

Signal changed Danny’s name to YA protag (real)

YA protag (real): ooooh my god

YA protag (real): im not taking this lying down

YA protag (real) changed Signal’s name to YA menace

YA protag (real) changed their name to YA protag (retired)

YA menace: lmao

YA menace: does this mean… ure my senior…. my knowledgeable mentor… my senpai 🥺

YA protag (retired): i will throw us both into a black hole dont even try me 🔪

YA menace: LMAO

YA menace: fair. just saying that dealt me so much psychological damage

YA protag (retired): deserved

-

YA protag (retired): can we attempt Danny Visits Gotham: 2! Electric Boo-galoo?

YA menace: yeah!!!! im free this weekend if u wanna come by then!!

YA protag (retired): i can do this weekend!!

YA menace: i will do my very best not to get a head injury before then

YA protag (retired): can u maybe aim for no injuries?

YA menace: danny we need to be realistic here

YA menace: my goal is to have no bleeding wounds that need stitches. as long as i don’t bleed its not a problem 👍

YA protag (retired): …..

YA menace: no need for the judgment i have everything under control

YA protag (retired): …………

YA protag (retired): :/

-

YA menace: lmk when ure gonna be in gotham! i’ll make sure to be outside waiting for u

YA protag (retired): i’ll be another hour but i’ll send a msg before i head out!!

YA protag (retired): actually it might be a bit longer i gotta fight some people who are trying to cheer me up

YA menace: should i be concerned

YA protag (retired): nah its fine they’re just annoying

YA menace: if u need to reschedule

YA protag (retired): noooo!!!! i’ll be in gotham soon i swear!!!!

YA menace: ok!! ok!!!! i will keep waiting for you then 🫡

-

Duke waits for an hour and a half, swinging through streets and waving to people, before Danny texts him to let him know that he’s next to the botanical gardens. 

One moment, Duke is perched on the roof of a Mexican restaurant in the Bowery. The next, he’s halfway across Gotham, swinging recklessly from building to building.

So what if he’s excited to see Danny again! That’s normal!

Anyone would do the same in his position.

Plus, Duke still feels so bad about having to cancel last time due to his concussion. The sooner he gets to Danny, the sooner he can start making up for it. He didn’t spend the last few patrols being extra careful for nothing; he only has a few bruise and no bleeding at all! 

Danny’s star glow helps Duke find him behind the botanical gardens, hidden away from the rest of the street. 

He drops down from the roof, using the shadows to soften the impact of landing.

When he looks at Danny, leaning against the building, he’s greeted with a bright smile. 

“Signal!” he says, pushing off the wall to close the distance between them. “I hope I didn’t make you wait too long or anything.”

“Nah, you’re good. You alright?”

“Oh, yeah, of course! It was just some friendly fighting, and they wouldn’t be able to really hurt me even if they tried. I’m all good! So, what’s the plan for today?”

Duke looks him over just in case, but Danny does appear to be perfectly fine. Not a single bruise on him. Maybe it was just a few friends roughhousing with him? That might be it, since Sam and Tucker did try to take each other out last time they were in Gotham. So he’s just going to go with what Danny says! He’s fine, and they can move on!

He’s totally going to worry about it later, but right now is not the time for it when Danny’s waiting to spend the day with him.

“Well, I still have to finish patrol, but that’s just for another hour if you wanna join me,” he says. “And then we can head to the Hatch to just… hang out. Or we can find something else to do, totally up to you.”

“The Hatch?” Danny repeats, tilting his head to the side curiously. Duke has to take a moment and just appreciate how cute Danny is before he can compose himself enough to answer.

“Yeah, it’s like my… secret base? HQ? The place I go for superhero things that is for me, specifically, and that I don’t have to share with a bunch of other people.”

“You have a secret base?! That’s so awesome! I just have—” Danny falters, his excitement falling, and then he plasters on a pained, fake smile. “I’ve always wanted to see a superhero’s HQ. Are you sure it’s fine to show it to me, though?”

Part of him wants to ask about what he was going to say before switching gears, but the drawn expression on his face is more than enough to make Duke back off. “Yeah, man, don’t even worry about it. Besides, it’s not like there’s any other places we can go to without me revealing my identity, you know?”

“Fair enough,” Danny nods. “But maybe one day we can?”

“For sure,” Duke says. “Come on, up for a quick patrol around Gotham?”

“Oh, definitely.” The light returns to Danny’s eyes as he lifts off the ground, floating. The smile on his face is more sincere, and the sight of it makes the knot of worry in Duke’s heart pull loose. He pulls his grapple out and aims for the highest ledge of Poison Ivy’s greenhouse, tucked in the back of the botanical gardens, then takes off.

Danny is flying next to him immediately, a blur of invisibility, and they fall into a rhythm quickly as they head towards the Bowery. As Duke free runs and swings between buildings, Danny flies around him, the occasional laugh slipping past his lips as he circles around Duke. 

It’s hard not to have his attention stolen by Danny, but Duke is here to protect the people of Gotham, so he focuses 90% of his attention to the streets, keeping an eye and ear out for any trouble. 

There’s not much happening today, thankfully. He’s only had to stop a few burglaries, a bank robbery, and chase off a stalker before Danny arrived. Truthfully, the peace is making him nervous; there hasn’t been a big attack to the city in a while, with no word on the movement of rogues and nothing big brewing among the gangs and mobs. Peace rarely lasts so long in Gotham, and Duke is genuinely worried the next thing will be some continent destroying, apocalypse bringing disaster. 

In the last hour of his patrol, he only has to stop a purse-snatcher and help someone move their broken down car off the street and into a parking lot. Danny stays in the air for both, invisible to everyone but him, and the blur of his aura floats around the areas Duke stops at curiously. 

They hit up touristy places last time he was in Gotham, and food trucks before that. Maybe next time Duke can get takeout from a nice restaurant and they can have a rooftop picnic. 

Not quite a date, not yet at least, but something close to it. A testing of the waters. An unspoken promise for something more.

With the hour ends, Duke comes to stop on the roof of a tattoo parlor and gestures for Danny to join him. 

The blur of invisibility fades away and Danny’s features come back into focus as he lowers himself down to the roof. 

“What’s up?” Danny asks, glancing around them curiously.

“It’s about time for patrol to end, so we can head to the Hatch now. But I do need to blindfold you so you don’t see where the Hatch is located.”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s fine. Will I just have to hold onto you or something? Since I won’t be able to see where we’re going.”

“I was thinking I’d just carry you. It’s easier that way.”

“Sure, that works!” Danny closes his eyes, cheeks already darkening with a blush. “I’ll just… let you blindfold me now?”

Duke desperately wants to smoosh Danny’s cheeks together in his hands, but valiantly resists the urge. He’s on a mission! To hang out with Danny! He can cry about how cute Danny is later!

He walks up to Danny on silent feet, circling around him. Then he lifts his hands, picturing the light solidifying in his palms, turning to fabric that darkens and obscures, bending the light to be darker and darker until it’s nearly black. He gently pulls it across Danny’s eyes, leaning in closer to him to make sure he’s not putting it on too tightly.

Danny gasps slightly when his back bumps into Duke’s chest, and Duke can’t help the way his eyes dart down to Danny’s mouth, his red cheeks, the long line of his neck. 

Focus, he tells himself sternly, and draws the ends of his makeshift blindfold back to tie the ends together behind Danny’s head. 

“There,” he says in a low voice. “All done.”

Danny doesn’t answer. He just leans back against Duke, pressing them together slightly, and Duke brings his hands down to Danny’s hips to hold his steady.

“Ready to go?”

“Ready,” Danny answers in a faint voice. “How do you want me?”

Now that’s a dangerous question to ask right then and there. Duke bites back a number of flirtatious, suggestive answers, and makes himself actually think about the best way he can carry Danny while grappling to the Hatch. He’ll need one hand free to grapple, but also needs to keep a secure grip on Danny…

He steps to the side and guides one of Danny’s arms up to wrap around his shoulders. Then he picks Danny up, leaving him to wrap his legs around his waist as he walks over to the edge of the roof and looks towards the area in Gotham where the Hatch is hidden. Duke takes a moment to adjust his arm to keep Danny secure against his chest, then takes hold of his grapple with his free hand.

“Ready?” he checks, tightening his hold on Danny’s waist.

Danny nods against his neck, tucking his face in the crook of Duke’s shoulder. “Ready!”

Duke grins and jumps off the building, shooting out his grapple as they begin to fall. Danny yelps lightly, then clings to Duke even harder, his blindfold still secure around his head. It’s become a bit fainter as Duke’s attention slipped off of it, but he focuses on it again to darken it and keep Danny from seeing where they’re going.

It occurs to him halfway to the Hatch how much trust Danny is putting in him. To put a blindfold on him. To lead him to a place he’s never been to before. To let Duke swing him across the streets of Gotham without using his own ability to fly. 

Oracle’s apprehension about Danny (and his friends) is a heavy weight on his mind, but he can’t help but think it’s unnecessary. She’d understand if she ever met Danny in person. He wears his heart on his sleeve and offers it so freely; how could Duke not trust him? 

The weeks they’ve been texting each other only make him sure that Danny’s a good person, someone he wants in his life for as long as he can stay, someone he wants to be honest with. They just click, somehow, like they’re each holding a puzzle piece that’s been missing in each other’s lives. 

I think I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet you, he wants to say. But the street entrance to the Hatch is just a block away and Danny still doesn’t know his name, so Duke bites his tongue and forces all those feelings back into more platonic territory. 

Just as the reach the building with the hidden panel to allow him entrance to the Hatch, Duke pulls at the light around them to hide them from sight as they drop down from the sky. 

“Almost in,” he says, holding Danny up with one arm as he tucks his grapple away and push the fake brick cover out of the way to punch in his twelve digit access code. 

A hidden door in the wall of the building, the back bricked off from the operating portion courtesy of Wayne Industries funding the restoration project for this area of the city after a major alien attack, opens up smoothly and without a sound. The ground slopes downward at a steep angle; he uses this door for when he’s riding his motorcycle out of the cave networks underneath the city that keep the Hatch connected to the Batcave, but it’s not too far from where the Hatch itself is. 

He carries Danny in, then makes sure the door closes completely behind him before setting Danny down on his feet. “We’ve still got a bit of a walk to the Hatch, but you can take your blindfold off now.”

“I’ll wait until we get there,” Danny says. “I’m going to use this as an excuse to cling to you for as long as I can.”

“Fair enough!” Duke laughs, “Cling away, I’ll make sure you don’t trip.”

And cling away Danny does, wrapping his arms around Duke’s left arm, holding onto it as they make their way down the tunnel. Duke keeps an eye out for anything that might trip him and carefully steers him past them. 

“Are we underground?”

“Yeah, there’s this huge cave system under the city that we use to get around,�� Duke answers. “Though we’ve paved in small roads and made stable tunnels to go through, so it’s all safe.”

“Huh, that’s cool. It would be nice if I had a way to get around Amity like this.”

“Danny, you can fly.”

“That’s not relevant!”

“How is it not relevant?” Duke laughs incredulously, jostling Danny slightly. Danny turns towards him and they trip over each other slightly, clutching to each other to keep their balance.

“It just isn’t!”

They bicker lightheartedly down the tunnel until it opens up into the garage of the Hatch. Duke helps Danny up the stairs to the main area, where he keeps his suit, weapons, and the large computer Bruce installed when the Hatch was first made. Once he’s sure Danny’s comfortable, he leaves to change into his civilian clothes with only a domino mask slapped over his eyes to protect his identity.

And if Duke takes an extra minute to fix up his hair, the long locs in a disarray from being tied back and stuffed into his helmet, then that’s no one’s business but his own. 

Maybe he does need to get a hair cut. He’s starting to get why Steph wants to shave her head and rock a pixie cut like Selena. But, on the other hand, he does like how he looks with longer hair, especially when it’s tied up…

Long hair for now. It makes him look good and he’s here to impress Danny. 

When he heads back to where Danny is, he sees Danny sitting down patiently, his blindfold still on, though it’s become much more transparent than it was before. He can see how Danny’s eyes are closed beneath it, waiting for Duke to return, tapping out a slow rhythm on his knee with his fingers. 

“You can take that off now,” he says as he walks up to Danny. 

“You sure?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have brought you in here.”

Danny reaches up and gently pulls the blindfold off, slowly blinking his eyes open. He watches as the blindfold dissolves in his hand, becoming light again, then shyly turns to look at Duke. 

“Oh,” he says softly, taking in Duke, who tries very hard not to fidget and reveal just how nervous he is to be out of his Signal armor before Danny. “You are so unfair?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You can’t be kind, a superhero, and attractive! Tell me something you’re bad at so I know you have some flaws.”

Duke grins, flattered. “You think I’m attractive?”

“Stop fishing for compliments!” Danny pushes him lightly, barely enough force to make him tilt to the side. “Give me something you’re bad at, come on.”

“Well, if you really need to know…” Duke takes a moment to think of something that won’t completely embarrass him. “I’m terrible at learning other languages. Vocab doesn’t stick in my head, grammar rules mean nothing to me, and my accent is atrocious.”

“That doesn’t count, that’s normal,” Danny argues.

“It the only thing I can think of right now! I’m just really bad at non-English languages!”

Danny rolls his eyes, shaking his head fondly. “I can’t believe you. You have powers, you’re cute, and you’re good at flirting. Stop winning at life so much, the rest of us stand no chance against you.”

“I promise I’m a disaster when I’m not trying to impress people.”

“Lies. You’re being perfect right now and there’s no one to impress.”

“I’m trying to impress you.”

Danny blinks. “Oh.” He bites his lip in an attempt to force down a smile. “Shut up. I don’t count. You don’t need to try to impress me, you’ve already done that.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe I’ll try to be more of a mess around you from now on.”

“Please do, I can’t be the only one making a fool of myself. Where’s the friendship? The solidarity? Suffer with me!”

Duke shoves him back playfully, and just like that, they fall back into a rhythm of easy conversation and light touches, skirting the lines of friendly with something more. Time slips away from him and Duke spends every second with Danny wishing he could have this always, that they didn’t have a time limit over their heads, that the universe itself wasn’t keeping them apart. He shows off the Hatch and some Bat gadgets, which Danny finds fascinating, then they spend an hour comparing their most commonly used powers. 

Danny has to leave all too soon, opening up a small portal of swirling green with the help of a small pocketwatch-like device, and Duke can only hope that they can do this again soon, but without the domino on his face.

One day, he swears. One day they’ll have that.

-

YA menace: hey quickly rate this guys fit

YA menace: [attached photo is a goon with a black and white striped shirt with a purple question mark safety pinned onto it. They’re also wearing neon purple sweatpants and are glaring at the camera.]

YA protag (retired): ngl thats not the worst ive seen. 6/10

YA menace: 6???

YA menace: 6?????????????

YA menace: danny i say this with all the love in my heart, go get ur eyes checked

YA protag (retired): before u say anything else. look at what i regularly have to deal with

YA protag (retired): [attached photo is a floating man with blue-ish skin an d a very dramatic hairstyle. He’s wearing a long black cloak, a white suit, and a Green Bay Packer’s football jersey on top of all that.]

YA menace: damn. no wonder ur judgement of bad fits is Like That. this guys to blame

YA protag (retired): wanna know the worst part?

YA menace: this can get worse??

YA protag (retired): thats my godfather. 

YA protag (retired): this is a man my parents thought were fit to be responsible for me and my sister if anything happens to us

YA protag (retired): THIS GUY

YA menace: u have my sincerest condolences

YA menace: oh shit more riddler guys are here i gtg they got guns

YA protag (retired): be safe!! please dont get shot!!!!

YA menace: i’ll do my best 🫡

-

YA protag (retired): came home today and all the weapons that were attached to my house disappeared

YA protag (retired): i feel like im in the twilight zone

YA protag (retired): if i start talking backwards or acting like a robot pls know it is not me but something wearing my face

YA menace: the weapons attached to ur house???? 

YA menace: im starting there but i want u to know that everything u said was concerning

YA protag (retired): have i not mentioned it before? my parents are kinda mad scientists and make a lot of weird but working things. mostly weapons to fight ghosts.

YA menace: cant believe ure only just dropping lore abt urself when we’ve been talking for so long

YA protag (retired): in my defense!!!! everyone here knows abt them so im used to not having to say anything!!!

YA protag (retired): people usually just Get It!!!

YA menace: moving on to my second point: having the weapons removed from ur house is whats concerning??? not the weapons being attached to ur house???

YA protag (retired): listen. i have spent p much my entire life with a house that doubles as an armed fortress. when i was a kid i was convinced it would come to life and protect me from monsters. this was also during my urban legends monster phrase and i scared myself reading abt them and needed the comfort

YA protag (retired): my POINT is that its normal for my house to have weapons. so seeing them gone is worrying!!!!!

YA menace: .

YA menace: ok fair enough.  last point: is being replaced by a robot version of urself a concern in ur universe? bc it is here

YA protag (retired): no its not a legit concern here

YA protag (retired): probably. dont quote me on that. i had a cloning situation a few years ago

YA menace: a hwat

YA protag (retired): dont worry about it!!!

YA protag (retired): oh my parents are home. i need to talk to them. Bye!!

YA menace: gl!! let me know if u need rescuing from evil clone robots

-

RED: before I say anything else, Signal this is the price u pay for not letting me play with interdimensional tech after you let O have a turn at it.

YA protag (retired): um.

YA protag (retired): wrong chat???

RED: no this is the right chat. Hi Danny :) 

YA protag (retired): hi???? who are u????

YA menace: oh my god

YA menace: this is NOT NECESSARY RED

RED: as I said. U did this to urself.

YA menace: 🙄🙄🙄

YA protag (retired): wait. did u… hack into this chat?? did u hack the phone????

RED: yeah lol.

RED: was a bit of a challenge but it was fun

RED: had to pull out the spare alien tech to make something that would connect

YA protag (retired): ok 1. tucker will want to marry u for ur brain

YA protag (retired): 2. ALIEN TECH?????

YA menace: i feel like we already talked abt aliens being real in my dimension

YA protag (retired): THATS DIFFERENT FROM HAVNG ALIEN TECH

YA protag (retired): hey red what do u accept as bribes

YA menace: u ask him while im right here????

YA protag (retired): u dont have the alien tech. red does. case closed.

RED: oh wow. Signal….. Wow.

YA menace: what? shut up. cant leave any of yall unsupervised i swear

RED: also, Danny I accept tech from different dimensions and also fun tasting sodas and energy drinks

YA protag (retired): done. i will have the goods ready next time i go to gotham, pls hook me up w alien teach

RED: do u just like new tech?

YA menace: hes a space nerd so he loves aliens

RED: do u just wanna meet an alien then?

YA protag (retired): CAN I??!!

RED: yeah I can pull something together for u

YA menace: omfg. Red can u go stop stealing danny from me

RED: up ur game Signal. We’re ALL going to try to steal Danny away

YA menace: how tf do i kick u out of the chat

RED: u cant 😇 im too good to be kicked

YA menace: put that halo away we all know what u really are

YA menace: 🤡

YA protag (retired): omg….. rip red ur cool reputation will be missed

RED: hey now. What happened to the bribes :( 

YA protag (retired): ur still gonna get them but i am playing favorites

YA protag (retired): and signal is obviously my fave

YA menace: knew i could count on u to have my back danny 💛

YA menace: drop ur location red i just wanna talk

RED: lol no

RED: good luck catching me :) 

YA menace: coward!!!!

YA protag (retired): there he goes…..

-

YA protag (retired): hey u know what i just realized?

YA menace: what?

YA protag (real) changed YA menace’s name to Light

YA protag (real) changed their name to Night

Night: rhyming buddies 😄

Light: i get the light bc of my powers but wheres the night coming from?

Night: bc i love space! the night sky!!

Light: ok thats pretty cute ngl

Light: give me some warning bc u do stuff like that its bad for my heart

Night: stop sweet talking me im busy feeling clever

Light: lmaooooo

Light: fair enough i’ll get back to it in 3-5 business days

Night: good 👍

Night: also is now a good time to ask abt red…. who was that….

Light: that was a nerd. dont worry abt him ok im cooler

Light: serious answer: hes red robin and hes another vigilante in gotham. we’re chill

Night: did u find his location for a throw down tho

Light: i can do u one better: i know where he lives

Night: oh???

Light: yeah his dad is my mentor of sorts so its not THAT impressive that i know

Light: i did steal all his zesti tho lol

Night: not sure what that is but im proud of u

Light: its just a drink that hes obsessed w. i love being a minor annoyance 😇

Night: shaking ur hand. its really the best thing to be

Light: hell yeah!!!

-

Light: hey got a kinda serious question for u

Night: whats up?

Light: have u thought abt ur future?

Light: like what u want to do in college, where u want to go after high school, what career u want

Night: i mean. some. 

Night: not as much as my parents want me to. 

Night: my sister goes to harvard and is super smart. im not that impressive so i keep disappointing them

Night: and with things recently… idk its hard. it kinda feels like they dont believe i have a future.

Night: not that they really see me in the present anyways

Night: sorry that was heavy. short answer is no! not really!

Light: that sounds rough. wanna talk abt it?

Night: not really but not talking hasnt done me much good

Night: my sister would want me to talk anyways. to someone trustworthy at least

Night: so if u dont mind listening…

Light: go for it!! im here for u danny

Light: emotionally at least. not physically but thats not by choice

Night: it can wait tho honestly. whyd u ask abt the future? something on ur mind?

Light: just feeling really lost rn is all.

Light: its like everyone around me has an idea of what to do with their lives while im still surprised that i made it as far as i have

Light: this is really the first time ive seriously thought abt my future and i have no idea what to do

Light: so i wanted to talk to u bc u help make things feel less terrifying

Night: signal…. ur going to make me cry

Night: u make me feel brave too

Night: ♥️

Night: i get what u mean 100% btw. u go so long sure that u dont have a future that u dont know what to do now that its here

Light: exactly.

Light: what am i supposed to do with my life? i dont want to be a hero full time, ive seen how that breaks people

Night: do u want to go to college? or do u just feel like u have to bc everyone else is?

Light: i do want to. 

Light: my parents both went and theyve always wanted me to get a degree and be successful

Light: they may not be around anymore, not really, but i do still want to make them proud

Light: they cant see me graduate, but maybe when i tell them the next time i visit, itll reach the part of them thats still alive in their minds

Light: what about u? do u want to go to college?

Night: yeah. it was always my dream to become an astronaut. work at nasa and everything

Night: no chance its ever gonna happen now tho lol

Night: dying and the health problems that comes w that will do that to ya ✌️

Light: oh man that sucks

Night: yeah

Night: i might still study aerospace engineering tho. even if i cant be an astronaut, maybe i can help others get there

Light: thats a good alternative!! im glad u still have some idea of what u can do that can help u work at nasa and achieve part of ur dream

Night: we’ll see tho

Night: im not really feeling college atm. or life in general

Night: idk i feel…. stuck. like nothing will change even if i get out of illinois. it’ll just be the same stuff at a different place

Night: and i know itll take one visit from my parents to start ruining things for me

Night: i just… dont really wanna deal w that. ive kinda given up on life tbh i might as well just focus on the ghostly side of things. stay in the ghost zone more permanently

Light: i dont wanna judge or anything but that doesnt sound healthy?? 

Light: pls dont disappear into the ghost zone. i’d miss u.

Night: sweet talker

Night: i wont. dont worry. its just a feeling i get sometimes, that it’d be better if i wasnt in this world. if i could just go somewhere else

Light: hey. what if

Light: sorry if this idea is stupid or something

Light: but what if u lived here? in my dimension? u could establish a life and go to college here. 

Light: a total fresh start

Night: thats. not a bad idea actually

Night: i would love that. wouldn’t it be hard to do tho? i dont exist there.

Light: we can make it work. its not like us gotham vigilantes are new to creating new identities/lives out of nothing

Light: i could ask for a few favors, do a few dubiously legal things. you could live here

Night: im planning to take a gap year to figure out if i wanna stay in the human world at all. i could spend that year in gotham before making my choice

Night: if u dont mind me asking this huge favor of u

Light: i dont mind at all!!

Light: danny i would love for u to be here are u kidding me. i’d do anything so we could be closer together

Night: thanks signal ♥️

Night: i made this all abt me im so sorry

Night: wanna talk more abt how ur feeling or ur plans for the future?

Light: maybe some other time. i wanna get to work on making sure u can live here for the year (and more! hopefully!)

Light: tell u what. 

Light: we can talk more abt this the next time we see each other in person ok?

Night: deal

Night: im really glad i met u

Light: me too

Light: im here for u for as long as u want me around, honey

Light: u dont need to worry about a thing with me

Night: ure too sweet.

Night: im going to go now before u make me melt into a puddle of feelings

Night: ♥️

Light: ♥️

-

“Hey Babs, I have a favor to ask…”