#setting things right

[fullfriendnerdclutch]

He's aware that you checked him out. He's aware of that raging fire in your eyes (and the raging hardon shown in your sweatpants). But it's not within his interest to really engage with you. No, he enjoyed treating you like the dirt you are right now, the same way you treated him last week when he walked in all wide-eyed and wiry, instantly putting you off with yet another geeky but hella loaded client. Too bad he didn't take your judgment and rudeness lightly. Couple that anger with the insane gadget he developed, you became his first human subject, practically swapping his physique with yours as he drained all that muscle and confidence out of you. In a more cruel twist of event, he dumped his raging repressed homosexuality and social awkwardness to you, plus the scoliosis and now you can only lust him from safe distance, unsure if your approach will be reciprocated and his glances to you indicate interest, not disdain

A short story for @vindictivenerdcels reckon that this kind of story is exactly in his alley

[eliaskahtri]

Setting Things Right || Elias & Marcus

LOCATION: Elias's apartment TIMING: Right after the events of Slobberknockin' PARTIES: Elias (@eliaskahtri) & Marcus(@thenavysealkie) SUMMARY: Elias dropped his phone in the woods on Marcus. Marcus turns up at Elias's apartment to make sure he's alright. CONTENT WARNINGS: None!

It had been a few months now, and Marcus still had no idea what to make of this Elias guy. On the one hand, he seemed incredible intelligent and charming, and had a brand of cheesy humor Marcus loved. On the other hand he was really flaky and reserved, almost to the point of being secretive. Now to top it all off, a regular conversation he was having over the phone with him was cut short by a loud thud and screaming from Elias. Now he had no idea if he was okay and he was really starting to get scared. Should he have been this scared? Regardless, he knew had to head to Elias’s apartment right now to make sure everything was alright.

As he trudged up the steps, he felt the dread set in with every stair he climbed. What if he didn’t answer the door? What if he was really hurt, or worse? He wasn’t answering his phone, so the only way he could find out was to knock. It was almost like Schrodinger’s door, is the Elias alive or dead? Won’t find out until that door opens up. Marcus was determined to break it down if he had to.

After taking a deep breath, Marcus curled his fingers in and gave three harsh knocks at the door. He decided not to announce himself, as Elias was probably more likely to open the door if he didn’t know it was Marcus knocking. Sometimes he wondered if Elias even liked him at all with the way he acted towards him.

After the encounter with the weird tree lobster and the even weirder man who had seen hellbent on cutting his hair off, Elias headed straight home to figure out his hair. Right as he’d headed up to his apartment door, there was a familiar figure waiting there. Wait, did he miss something? Was there something he was supposed to do that he had forgotten about? Why did he feel like he’d forgotten something?

“Marcus?” Elias spoke, confused as he tried to remember why Marcus would show up at his apartment unannounced. He thought for a moment. Shit, he’d been on the phone with him, hadn’t he? Elias grimaced. “Shit. I meant to call you back. I got… attacked by some weird tree lobster.” He pointed to his messy hair, something he usually kept well taken care of.

“I meant to call you, but I forgot after the guy threatened to cut my hair, and I have a weird attachment to it.” He was rambling on again, and he didn’t know how to shut himself up. Shit, Marcus looked so worried and then so angry. Elias’s gaze fell to the floor. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have forgotten to call you back or something.” The dagger that Emilio had given him stuck out of his pocket like a sore thumb. He awkwardly tried to push it further into his pocket, but still, the entire hilt of the thing stuck out.

As Marcus looked at Elias, he could immediately tell how disheveled he looked. His hair looked an absolute mess, which was very unusual for him. He also noticed something sticking out of the man’s pocket. Was that… a knife? Just what kind of run through the woods was Elias on?

“A tree lobster…” Marcus said incredulously while holding eye contact with Elias. He believed him, but still wanted to make him squirm a bit as punishment for not calling him afterward. After a few seconds of awkward silence Marcus simply shook his head and said “You’re lucky all sorts of wacky shit happens in this town. Definitely can’t say I don’t believe that.”

“Who threatened to cut your hair? And where did you get that knife?” He said, pointing to the blade sticking out of Elias’s pocket. It wasn’t the one had used to kill the giant snake before, yet it looked strangely familiar.

“Look, I can tell you’ve been through a lot. A quick ‘Hey, sorry about that. Not dead, don’t worry’ text wouldn’t have killed you though. Unlike those feral tree lobsters” he said, lightening his tone. He shot a smirk at Elias, indicating he wasn’t mad, just worried. He then opened up his arms, inviting Elias in for a hug.

“Yeah, it looked like a lobster and it fell from the trees.” Elias responded with a wide-eyed blink. “Like I’d told you, I was headed out to check something out that I’d heard, and then boom! It was in my hair with a death grip.” He rubbed his scalp at the mere memory, frowning deeper. “Wacky shit that apparently falls from trees and into my hair.” He remarked with a pout, desperately trying to fix his hair back to how he’d done it that morning.

“Some guy was in the woods when the thing fell out of the tree, kept telling me we’d have to cut it out of my hair. I freaked out and pulled the thing out of my hair while it kept pinching me– Elias pointed to the various punctures on his hands that validated his story– and threw it on the ground. I won’t be getting a bad haircut.” He was almost shaking now, the memory of someone just happening to find him at the right moment, was the guy following him? Elias’s frown deepened even further.

Elias’s gaze fell back to the floor as Marcus admonished him, but knew the man was right. “Yeah, I’m sorry.” He said again, feeling like a kid caught doing something they shouldn’t have done. Then, Marcus opened his arms. For a brief moment, Elias hesitated. A hug? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure of much of anything at that point. Finally, he let go of all the fear he harbored in his body and fell into Marcus’s arms for a hug. “I’m not letting some fucking stranger cut chunks out of my hair,” he complained into his shoulder.

Marcus couldn’t help but notice how visibly upset Elias was getting at the idea of having his hair cut off. Granted, the man had very nice hair. But still, it seemed a bit odd that he was more concerned over his hair than having his scalp bitten into.

“Hey now, your hair still looks fine. A little messy, but not too bad. Nothing a comb can’t fix.” Marcus began before turning his gaze over to Elias’s hands. “Those wounds look pretty nasty. You should wash them out if you haven’t already. Otherwise your hair is going to be the least of your worries.”

Marcus did find it a bit odd that some random stranger just happened to be nearby, ready to cut out chunks of Elias’s hair at a moment’s notice, but he didn’t dwell on the issue too long. It was probably just a case of someone being in the right place at the right time and nothing more.

“Come on, let’s get you inside and cleaned up.”

His own instincts told him that he should tell Marcus to go. He always had the gut instinct to push away when people got too close to him. But Marcus kept trying despite everything Elias threw at him. With the constant pushing away, he came right back. Maybe Elias needed to stop being so afraid, or maybe he at least needed to tell Marcus the truth. But he didn’t know how.

He simply nodded his head and moved toward the door to unlock it. The apartment inside was finally beginning to be decorated, the boxes he’d had long since unpacked and gone. There were figurines on shelves, posters hung on walls, and different movie prop replicas hung and mounted all over. Finally, his apartment was starting to look more like a home. Maybe he wasn’t going to abandon Wicked’s Rest again after all.

Elias flicked on the light at the door took the large, scary-looking knife out of his pocket, and set it on the console beside the door with a deep, tired sigh. “Maybe he was right. Maybe I need to be more careful.” He muttered as he walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

“You livened things up a little in here since the last time I came over. It’s finally starting to look home-y. I like it” Marcus said with an appreciative nod as he looked at the apartment in its finally decorated state. There was finally some of Elias’s personality being injected into this place.

Marcus couldn’t help but cock his head a bit at Elias’s comment. He’d been given similar advice by someone here in the past. “Who told you to be more careful? The guy who wanted to cut your hair?” He then stole another glance at the knife. He couldn’t shake the feeling he had seen one very similar in the past, but he couldn’t remember where exactly.

“Look, it’s not your fault that happened. Even if you locked yourself in a bunker this town would still find a way to attack you. The important thing is you made it back home safe and sound. And…now you know to look out for tree lobsters next time you go out for a run!” he added, trying to sound optimistic. This town certainly had a penchant for danger, while also coming with new and interesting ways to do so. Marcus supposed killing the town’s residents would get boring after a while unless you spice things up a bit.

“Now might not be the time to bring it up but…it hasn’t just been today. You’ve been really dodgy with me, on and off, for a little while now. Is there something I’m not getting? Or maybe I’m just reading too deep into things.”

“Yeah, I figured if I’m going to be stuck here, might as well be happy to hide away in my apartment.” Elias responded with a shrug. It wasn’t for lack of trying, he supposed. But with the job he’d found, he felt that he had to stick to it for a while, he couldn’t just quit because he hated it. Well, hated was a strong word. He shook his head, realizing he was getting lost in thought.

“Yeah, same guy.” He answered with a nod of his head as he rolled his eyes. “I’m an experienced hiker. I can handle myself, right? Even though I’m only a human?” He was worried that despite it all, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. He was so fucking afraid of everything because he knew when it came down to it, these people with supernatural abilities would always have the upper hand over him, no matter what he did.

Marcus was right, as he usually was. No matter what he did, there would be danger. Still, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Uneasy that he was weaker, uneasy that he didn’t have the knowledge to defend himself properly against these creatures. Elias looked to Marcus and was unable to crack a smile at his attempt at lightening the subject at hand. He just couldn’t do it.

Then he asked the question that Elias knew Marcus would ask eventually. Why he’d been running away so much? “Because I’m afraid,” he said honestly, looking over to Marcus with a serious expression, something that once had been rare and was now becoming increasingly more common. “I’m afraid of being too close because if I’m too close, I’ll get… hurt.” He frowned, realizing how stupid he sounded. “I’m not used to being close to people. I was the weird kid growing up, I’m into cryptids, for fuck’s sake.” He sighed, burying his face in his hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m in my thirties and I’ve never truly had a relationship. I’m afraid.”

While Marcus could sympathize with Elias’s rationale for decorating, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Elias didn’t exactly seem happy in Wicked’s Rest. “Well, at least you have a nice looking apartment to help you through the rough patches.”

“You’re experienced with normal trails. The wildlife here is, as I’m sure you’ve already figured out, a bit more aggressive than a normal trail would have.” Marcus said. “Although I will say, you have very good survival instincts for a regular human. Most people would have just let that thing chomp right through their skull because they’d be too busy panicking.”

Marcus listened closely to Elias as he confessed he was afraid of getting close. It wasn’t an unreasonable fear. It was one Marcus also held. It didn’t seem unreasonable to him that being alone could be better than being heartbroken again. Still, he wasn’t one to be shy about his feelings, and wished Elias could be the same way with him.

“I get what you mean. Opening up and getting close, it’s a really nice thing. You share yourself with someone in ways that you haven’t with most. And you get the honor of learning about them too,” he started, keeping his eyes on the floor. He remembered William again, and the perils and pitfalls that came with getting too close. “It does have its dangers too. It’s a risk you take. But losing out on the joy of a life unlived is far worse than the risk of getting hurt. At least, that’s my take…”

One thing Marcus couldn’t sympathize with much was that Elias hadn’t ever been close to someone before. While Elias had been a loner, Marcus was surrounded by an affectionate and close knit family. He was popular all through schooling and was everybody’s friend while serving in the Navy.

“I understand though. I mean, why you’d be afraid. Listen, I’m not going to be the one chasing after you. You have to make up your mind. You don’t have to do it right now but…” he trailed off, trying to find his words. “I kinda feel like an ass running after you like some lost puppy just to get brushed aside. It’s not fair to me. So…figure out what you want. If you want to be with me, great. If not, you won’t hear from me again.”

Elias’s shoulders sagged as he was corrected. Why did Marcus always have to be right? Probably because Marcus wasn’t human, which stemmed back to Elias’s whole problem with being afraid. It was so frustrating that he was so afraid of, well, everything. He wanted nothing more than to just live a simple life with simple things with simple worries. But that didn’t seem to be in the cards for him anymore.

Then, Marcus started talking. Talking about living life and finding joy and… it was a lot. He put his arms out onto the counter in front of him as he listened to Marcus talk, expression going from vulnerable to downright closed off. He didn’t have an answer for Marcus. He didn’t want the man out of his life, he’d come to mean something to him. But he supposed that was the crux of the issue.

Elias felt something for Marcus, and while he was so keen on running from it, he’d been hurting Marcus in the process. He’d been reached out to multiple times, and each time he found an excuse of why he couldn’t. But he wanted to. “You have to know that I really don’t know what I’m doing.” He told Marcus with a worried expression. “Like, I really don’t know. Everything I’ve got is from the media.” He rubbed his hands over his face, groaning.

“Marcus, I really don’t know how to date someone. You don’t want this!” He gestured to all of himself. “I’m afraid of everything, I chase after supernatural creatures that could probably eat me in two bites, I don’t think before I speak, and I… I don’t know how you could possible want to be with someone like that.” Elias deflated, putting his elbows onto the counter and burying his face in his hands. He hadn’t expected to have this kind of conversation anytime soon.

Marcus listened intently to Elias’s response. He could sympathize, to a point. Elias was afraid of being hurt, that much was evident, but he moreso seemed to be worried about the unknown. This was far from Marcus’s first rodeo, but he still remembered his first relationship. He was scared then, just as Elias was now. He didn’t really know what he was doing and struggled often to navigate the complexities of a relationship that close. However, he learned, and he was certain Elias would learn as well.

“Nobody’s got it all figured out. Not even I do. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Figuring it out together? Working through things as a team?”

His heart dropped a bit at Elias’s self-deprecative gesturing towards himself. So he may be a bit awkward at times, did he really think he was undeserving of being loved?

“Elias…it’s normal to be afraid of things. Life is full of danger, it’s your body’s way of letting you know things are getting a little too dicey for your own good. As for chasing after cryptids, I actually find that kind of cute about you. You have a passionate interest and just so happen to be in the perfect place to pursue it! Your fear factor doesn’t kick in for that and, honestly, it just makes you all the more interesting.”

As he spoke he slowly walked his way over to Elias until he was standing right next to him as he leaned over his counter. “I see a very bright and passionate man, who would be fiercely loyal to anyone lucky enough to give him a chance. I see someone with a great sense of humor and an inspiring sense of adventure. Why wouldn’t I want to be with you?”

Elias wasn’t used to being brave. But in that moment, he knew he had to be. That, and a little selfish. He walked around the counter to stand directly in front of Marcus and took his hands into his own. “You’re going to have to put up with a lot of my very extreme shenanigans.” He warned Marcus with a careful smile. “And I can’t promise that I’ll always return in one piece. Well, I’ll try to, but I can’t promise anything.”

“I’m sorry that it took you chastising me to get me to see sense.” He told Marcus, giving an apologetic smile. “But I’m serious, you’re going to have to take the lead on a lot of this if this is what you really want. Because I’m hopeless.” He was starting to lose his nerve, but he bit back on it. That’s what being brave was all about, right? Pushing forward even when everything in him was screaming to turn back.

Elias was standing in front a man who cared about him, who cared enough to make sure he was okay after he thought he’d been hurt, who had been there time and time again when he’d needed it. He truly was an idiot for letting himself run away from something like this. So he decided to seize it. He surged forward and captured Marcus’s mouth with his own.

Marcus was extremely relieved that Elias had finally reciprocated his feelings. Work or no work, he was determined to see things through here. He was especially surprised when Elias pulled him in for a kiss, but he quickly kissed the man right back. Sure, they had gone much farther before, but this time there was real emotion behind the act that made it feel much more personal and meaningful.

“If anything or anyone takes a piece out of you, they’re going to have to answer to me now. You’ve got someone looking out for you, which is a very good thing since you’re a fan of shenanigans.” Marcus told him with a wink. While the idea of Elias getting hurt was a real threat, it wasn’t one he saw as being especially likely to happen anytime soon. Just in case, however, he was perfectly comfortable taking on a protective role for his new partner.

“I’ll happily lead the way until you’re good and comfortable. After all, we gotta support each other, right?”

And with that, Marcus squeezed both of Elias’s hands with his own, allowing himself to flash a genuine smile of happiness to the other man.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - THAT Press Conference

James Ironwood sighed to himself, shuffling the notes on his scroll, strangely nervous for one of the first times in his life. Jaques Schnee had turned out to be even worse than any of them had imagined, had done things that needed exposing, it was the logical thing to do. The right thing to do.

But. But doing this... was he putting Oz in danger? The other Schnee's? There was going to be backlash, that was a given, but... Jaques had killed Liliana Ironwood, had killed Nicholas Schnee. Had been in contact with enough lowlives that the prison was groaning under the weight of all the new additions. He had been voted into the council... and if he could, then there might be others later. But... Oz was just a little boy right now. Yes, he was Winter Schnee, yes, that should hopefully matter, but... what if it didn't.

He wasn't used to being this worried, if something needed doing, he tended just to do it. But this was different, somehow.

The conference started and he started laying out the evidence against Jaques Schnee. He was out of time, now, to do anything different. All he could do was hope Oz forgave him for this.

"Jaques Schnee was a monster. A cold blooded murderer who tortured people for fun, his death is far from a tragedy. He poisoned Nicholas Schnee Senior and arranged for Nicholas Schnee Junior to die in that riot. He was in contact with lowlives and criminals all over Remnant, those we've found are currently detained. Make no mistake, if you are listening to this, we will find you, too. His records were highly comprehensive, incredibly detailed, so we are aware of his movements stretching back several decades." James swallowed hard. "The evidence suggests that he was behind several high profile kidnappings two and a half decades ago, too. One of them was my sister, another was Reuben Arc. The double snatching of Wren Winchester and Winter Schnee was also his doing. While there is no way of knowing if most of these victims are still alive, efforts are ongoing to find them. The cases have been reopened. I ask that you respect the Schnee family at this time, since none of them had any knowledge of his crimes. I will now take questions."

"General, the family didn't know?"

"No, they did not. As soon as they found proof of his deeds, they came to me, however by that time, Jaques Schnee had already vanished and we now know how that story ended."

"What of his murderer, are you actively seeking them?"

"While his murderer may have had more reason than some, murder is still a crime. So yes, they are actively being sought for questioning." James ground his teeth slightly at the thought, since Oz still hadn't told him who had actually done the deed, though there were suspiciously blunt force injuries on the corpse that rather told their own story as to his involvement.

Questions kept being fielded for awhile, but it wasn't until almost the very end that one of the journalists remembered how General Ironwood had phrased a certain statement.

"You say we have no way to know if most of them are alive? You mean, you found one of the kidnapping victims?" There was a sudden silence in the room as the others strained to hear Ironwood's response. Had they found one of the children? The kidnappings were long ago, but those kids had always been Atlas children, had mattered and been talked about since the day they were snatched. All of them, not just the four mentioned, even if by sheer fame, those four were the most known ones.

"We have indeed located one of them. Their name and current identity will not be shared at this time and I ask you to respect his... their... privacy going forward, too."

James... hadn't meant to say that. Only two of the four had been boys, after all, and considering the subject matter of the conference, well. He needed to warn Oz that people may start looking rather sooner than later.

[squirmydonnie]

TW// CW :

Su*cide

Don't go away.

Please don't go away.

It's not worth it

[caruliaa]

staff still hasn't given me polls, what should i do?

🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪 their moms 69%

🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪 their dads 31%

grace image os i get to look at her

[jinjeriffic]

DCxDP Prophecy universe

(Title subject to change)

Sometimes Danny really hated Clockwork. You’ll know him when you see him. “Cryptic and unhelpful as usual”, Danny groused. “You’d think the Master of Time could be a little more descriptive considering it’s his damned errands I’m running here, but noooo! I’m starting to think this whole apprenticeship is just an excuse to foist his busywork off on me.”

Here Danny was, aimlessly flying above the rooftops of Gotham, trying to figure out who he was supposed to be delivering his message to. He had a name, but no description and no location. I’ll know him when I see him my ass. Whoever this Damian Al-Ghul was supposed to be had better stick out like a sore thumb or Danny was never gonna find him. Speaking of…

Danny paused in mid-air. There was someone crouching on a nearby rooftop, peering over the edge. He was young, wearing a red and yellow outfit with a dark hooded cape. He wore a sheathed sword on his back that looked way too real to be part of some casual cosplay. Welp, if this ain’t him then Clockwork picked the wrong errand boy. Now, how best to approach this?

Danny considered his options. The cloak and apprentice staff Clockwork had loaned him gave him a suitably spooky appearance on top of his usual ghostliness but he wasn’t gonna go around scaring kids, armed or not. The friendly approach it is then.

“Hey there!”

Wow, the kid had some good reflexes. At the sound of Danny’s voice he jumped as if electrocuted, spinning around and drawing his sword in one smooth movement. He held the sword in front of himself in a defensive position and his stance showed that he knew how to use it. “Who the hell are you?” he barked.

“Easy there” Danny raised his hands in a placating gesture “I’m just here to deliver a message. I’m looking for someone named Damian Al-Ghul. You wouldn’t happen to be him, right?”

A deepening scowl was his only answer. “I repeat, who the hell are you?”

Danny sighed “Look kid, I’m just trying to do my job here. I have a prophecy to deliver, so if you’re not this Damian fella…” he trailed off invitingly.

“A… prophecy?” the kid hesitated before lowering his sword slightly, scowl still firmly in place.

“Yep” Danny popped the end of the word for emphasis “Phantom, apprentice to the Ghost of Time and part-time delivery spectre, at your service” he threw the kid a mock salute. “My Boss told me to come to Gotham to give a prophecy to you’ll know him when you see him” he dropped his voice to a lower register and made airquotes around the words, “and you’re the only memorable person I’ve seen tonight, so…” Danny spread his arms in exasperation.

The kid hesitated visibly before letting his sword hand drop to his side. “I am the one you’re looking for.”

“Great! Hang on.” Danny pulled a messenger bag out from under his cloak and started rummaging around in it, causing the kid (Damian?) to twitch “Now where did I put..? Aha!” Danny pulled out a faintly glowing envelope in triumph. It had a large purple wax seal on it and Damian Al-Ghul written in elegant cursive across the back. Danny floated closer and held out the envelope to the kid.

“The prophecy… is a letter?” Damian drawled, eyebrows rising in disbelief. Danny shrugged.

“What, did you expect a dancing, singing telegram? I only do those for the really good tippers” he shook the envelope slightly “So, are you gonna take this or what?”

Damian finally reached out and took the letter, turning it over to scrutinise both sides. Danny tucked his bag back under his cloak and rose into the air.

“Right, I’ve got other errands to get done, so… see ya!” he turned to leave.

“Wait”

Danny turned back to face the kid and to his surprise, saw that Damian was holding out some folded bills towards him.

“You know the tipping thing was a joke, right?”

“Tt. I am told it is rude not to tip delivery people” Damian sniffed “I am simply acting within expected social norms”

“Wow, um… okay” Danny took the folded bills from Damian. It looked like it would last him for a couple of good meals and he wasn’t exactly swimming in money, okay? Ghost apprentice wasn’t exactly a paid internship. “Thanks?”

“You’re welcome” came the haughty reply.

Danny shrugged and tucked the money into his bag. He rose back into the air with Damian’s eyes tracking his movement. With a wave of his staff, he opened a portal back to Clockwork’s realm and passed through it leaving Gotham behind.

****

Robin’s hand rose to the communicator in his ear.

“Oracle, did you get all that?”

Now has a Part 2!

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

You ever have those moments where an idea just... won't leave your head?

[spocks-kaathyra]

experimenting w making little trek dolls for the STLV craft swap :))

[yrsonpurpose]

Mary & George (2024) Episode 3 'Not So Much as Love as by Awe'

[mizgnomer]

Crowley vs. The Tenth Doctor - Parallels Good Omens Season 2 - Part 3

Season Two’s [ Part One ] [ Part Two ] Season One’s [ Part One ] [ Part Two ]

Happy 60th Anniversary Doctor Who!

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.

[elodieunderglass]

I haven’t watched Dungeon Meshi, but I always enjoy the dashboard osmosis experience and have a peculiar visual memory. Here is what I believe Dungeon Meshi to be mostly about. No complicating experiences with the text, or indeed character references, fed into this extremely clear vision, which I believe I torrented directly from the astral plane at the same time as the creator was logged on

[azuzulira]

So, reveal gone right. Maddie and Jack are nothing but supportive of Danny. Of course they feel guilty, for their bigotry, attacking their son, never even noticing the accident. It's Jasmine that proposes a family bonding activity, to spend time together and work through the years of issues that they can only now address.

The activity in question? Family Road Trip & Field Study! That's right; what better way for a family of scientists to bond than correcting literal decades of bad science? Which is how the Fenton family, alongside Sam and Tucker at Danny's request, wound up in Gotham, hoping to interview one of the strongest Genii Loccorum in America.

Of course, there's more than a few ectoplasmic encounters waiting for them in Gotham. Everything from an angry Revenant, to a baby liminal that Danny just knows is related to the guy who's been bathing in dirty ecto for like centuries, to a horde of restless spirits following some clown like a permanent thunderstorm.

[expelliarmus]

[jinjeriffic]

DCxDP Prophecy Universe Part 2

Part 1

Damian glared at the envelope. He and Father were in the process of analysing the letter for any signs of toxins, explosives or other traps. Obviously he wasn’t fool enough to open a missive from a questionable source without taking precautions. So far, all their scans had come up empty. Literally. The letter was defying all their attempts at chemical or spectroscopic testing, x-ray and magnetic resonance scans were inconclusive, it defied all properties of ordinary matter. It was frustrating. It was vexing. He was blaming magic.

For all intents and purposes, the letter looked like ordinary paper, with an ordinary wax seal, bearing the initials CW. The looping handwriting addressing it to Damian was precise and neat. Swiping the surface of the letter for chemical traces yielded no results. When Damian had tried to cut off a corner of the paper for analysis it had resisted all attempts, including a laser and a diamond headed cutting tool. Damian’s only satisfaction was that when Father had grunted and taken over the task from Damian, he had no more success than his son. As if Damian didn’t know how to perform the standard array of tests!

It certainly didn’t help that his siblings wouldn’t stop their incessant chattering!

“I’m just saying, ghosts wouldn’t be the weirdest thing we’ve encountered, Red. I’m not sure it would even make my personal Top 5.”

It seemed gossip among heroes travelled faster than the speed of light.

“Really, Nightwing? Ghosts? It’s far more likely to be a meta with something to hide. Or a few screws loose.” Damian could practically hear the eyeroll in Drake’s voice “And since when do ghosts act as glorified mailmen?”

“I don’t know Red, since when do aliens pretend to be Kansas farmboys? C’mon, we deal with magic users all the time!”

“And lets not forget people coming back from the dead” Red Hood interjected over the open comm line.

“Magic is just science we don’t understand yet. Any sufficiently analysed magic becomes indistinguishable from science!”

“B, a little help here?”

“Hn” Father straightened up from his position at the lab table “Oracle, any progress on clearing up the footage from Robin’s mask?”

Grayson threw up his hands with a frustrated huff while Drake smirked.

“The program is almost finished rendering. Whatever scrambler they used did a real number on the video quality. I’m surprised the audio is as clear as it is.” Oracle replied.

“Hn. And the isotope tracer on the money?”

“Sorry B, no hits on the local sensors. Wherever the guy went it’s either outside Gotham or shielded somehow.” she said, mildly frustrated.

“Maybe it’s ghost magiiiiic” Drake sing-songed. Grayson lightly cuffed the back of his head, to which the former Robin responded with a firm shove. Their interaction quickly devolved into a childish tussle.

Damian gave an annoyed huff. “Don’t you two imbeciles have anything better to do?”

“Aww, we’re just here to look out for our baby brother!” Nightwing teased.

“Yeah, we gotta make sure your ghost encounter didn’t leave any lasting psychological damage!” Red Robin added.

Before Damian could retaliate for their needling, Oracle chimed in. “Uh, guys? You’re going to want to see this. Most of the footage was corrupted beyond repair, but I was able to pull some partial stills and, well…” she threw a handful of pictures up on the screen. There was artifacting marring them, but parts of the stranger were visible in each of them. Oracle magnified one that had a pretty good view of his face.

“Holy shit” Drake whispered.

Damian frowned. “What?”

“Dami, he looks like you. Just… older.” Grayson said softly.

“What are you talking about?” Damian snapped.

“Disregard the pale colouring for a second. The nose, the chin… he looks like you if you had a growth spurt,” Drake wrinkled his nose “and went through puberty.”

The commlines erupted into chaos. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Spoiler exclaimed “are you telling me there’s an older version of Robin running around Gotham?!”

“Copy?” Batgirl inquired.

“Don’t tell me Talia cooked up Demon Brat 2.0!”

“Given that he looks older it’s more likely version 0.1 if anything,” Drake snarked, “though there’s the possibility of artificially accelerated growth rates…”

Damian had had enough. “Tt. You are ignoring the obvious - if this is some kind of supernatural entity it likely copied aspects of my appearance in an attempt to engender feelings of familiarity.” he said haughtily, pushing down the uncomfortable churning in his stomach. There was no way Mother would replace him with a cheap copy. She couldn’t! “Besides, the creature has obvious powers and neither of my bloodlines has any trace of the meta gene.”

“That’s ignoring the ghostly elephant in the room.” Grayson chimed in, “Maybe it’s a dead ancestor?”

Drake gave their older brother an annoyed look “Even a time travelling descendant from the future is more likely than that. And delivering a ‘prophecy’ to boot?”

Oracle pulled up an aged up picture of Damian next to the stranger’s, highlighting several reference points. “On closer inspection, there’s a couple of discrepancies. The cheekbones for one - Robin definitely takes after his mother, while our mystery meta looks more like… well… Robin’s grandmother on the paternal side.” she finished hesitantly. “B?”

They turned to look at Batman, who had remained silent during the whole exchange. If they hadn’t known him so well they would have thought him unaffected, but the tightening around his mouth betrayed his agitation.

“There’s no use in pointless speculation until we have more data to work from,” he growled, “Oracle, look for any reports of a meta matching the target. Since our regular methods have failed to yield results, I will contact the JLD about running tests on the letter.” He turned to Drake, “Red Robin, see what you can find on recent League activities. If this is another scheme by Ra’s or Talia we need to know about it.”

“The last thing we need is more demon spawn running around!” Red Hood groaned over the comms.

Damian was furious. This was absurd! To even indulge the possibility that that creature was in any way related to him was making him feel like he had swallowed battery acid. He was the Demon’s Heir! He was not replaceable! There was only one thing to do.

“Robin? Stop!”

He ignored his Father’s shout. He stomped over to the lab table, snatched up the envelope and broke the seal.

Nothing happened.

He unfolded the paper and saw the same handwriting that had been on the outside.

Brother of blood, brother of soul

Never buried but already mourned

In lightning and ice the scorned child returned

To strike down the Demon’s Head

With all that Death earned

Damian’s hand shook. He reread the lines over and over again, refusing to comprehend. He could feel his Father standing behind him, scrutinising the letter as well.

“Son…”

Suddenly, the paper burst into green flames, going up into smoke that dissipated unnaturally quickly.

Silence reigned for a few moments. Then…

“Well that was needlessly melodramatic” Nightwing remarked.

Part 3

[fluffyfangirl]

*comes running like a mad woman, drops this and leaves*