Barbara had acquired an unexpected little companion
She first finds it sleeping on her keyboard and since then, it has stayed with her
"so...what are you little guy?" The creature in front of her tilted its head as if confused by her question
The creature in front of her had the upper body of a human and a lower body that resembled that of a snake
It has white glowing— literally glowing— hair that is flowing as if gravity doesn't apply to it and a pair of big and bright,almost toxic, green eyes
It just stares at her with it's big doe eyes before looking at his left
"what are you looking at?" Barbara looked toward where this creature is looking at and finds that it was looking at the open pack of gummy she bought not long ago
Its eyes shone brightly at the sight of the gummy bear packet
She looks at the creature back, then at the gummy pack, then at the creature again and then at gummy pack again before grabbing the packet and held it with both of her hands in front of the small creature
"you want this?" She asked
The big green eyes shone brighter
"this one?" She took out one from the packet
The creature nodded like a woodpecker
Barbara threw it in the air " catch!" The creature jumped and caught it with its mouth before settling on her laps and nibbled on the gummy
'It s so cute' Barbara thought as she watched it eat the gummy
"well buddy, you're mine now" she pet its head with her finger
" and Bruce be damned cuz I'm not gonna tell him because of the stunt he pulled last week"
Barbara then cooed at the creature for the next ten minutes
This little guy is hers now and nobody can take it from her
At some point on the journey back to Erid, Rocky gets around to asking Grace exactly why he was so mesmerised by seeing the astrophage in the Petrova line.
Grace describes it as best he can, but all he can really manage to get across to Rocky is that he was surrounded by small floating lights.
Later on, Grace is talking about the stars and how important they've been to human cultures for millennia. “What do the stars look like, question?” Rocky wants to know.
Oh, y'know, they're a bunch of small floating lights.
There's a disco ball on the Hail Mary. Grace says it's there because it “makes me happy”. “How does it make Grace happy, question?” Rocky wants to know.
Oh, it creates the illusion that he's surrounded by small floating lights.
Rocky begins to do some research.
Glitter: a substance invented by humans to make things look like they're covered in small lights.
Human jewellery: mostly involves gemstones or polished metals, designed to reflect small lights.
Christmas lights. Candles. Lanterns. Fireworks. Glowsticks. Glow in the dark paint. Rocky is beginning to notice a pattern here, statement.
It takes Grace a fucking while after getting to Erid to notice that a lot of the gifts he's receiving from grateful Eridians are either a) sparkly, b) incredibly shiny, or c) fitted with lights.
While the last one is obviously a concession for his human light sense, he's confused about the former two. Are Eridian materials usually this shiny? Is there some quality about sparkly or highly polished surfaces that makes them sound better? Or is there something about Eridian geology/metallurgy that makes their materials like this?
He asks Rocky about it.
“Simple. I tell people humans like lots of small lights. Humans are easy to make happy.”
Grace kind of wants to protest that humans are much more complicated than that.
But honestly… it fucking works. Like yeah the polished gemstones, shiny metals and glittery rocks are beautiful. Yes those Christmas lights you put up around the house did markedly improve my mental health, Rocky. Thank you, I hate it.
Grace spends a lot of time trying not to think about whether his species' urge to explore the cosmos (that saved their planet and nearly killed him several times) is tied to the same instinct that made his students like glitter gel pens.
Danny is alone and depressed after the loss of his family and friends, so to avoid Vlad he fakes Daniel Fenton's death in a house fire, destroys his parents research/lab/portal, and hides everything important to him in Phantom's Keep before he goes and joins the Justice League to occupy his time(and to hopefully stop him from becoming Dan should the need arise). But this a sad, depressed, and maybe even angry Danny who never wants to love anything again, so as Phantom he always comes off as sort of nonchalant, strict, and cold or even sometimes aggressive.
Plasmius team's up with Cadmus/Lurthor to make his Danny clone. With Luthor/Cadmus' help "Dani" comes out completely stable, still deemed a "failure" because shes female and Vlad is a d***, but stable.
But when Young Justice bust in and meet "Kon" and stuff, shes still a baby, they haven't aged her up because they deemed her a failure. So now, the Justice League has an angry Superman clone, and a baby Ghost clone, and they're really nervous on how Phantom is going to react.
Phantom is very cold most of the time, and he can be very angry and agressive at times. Seeing how Superman reacted, they're nervous to let Phantom know. But, they have to tell him, its his right to know he'd been cloned.
Everyone is in the room when Phantom is presented with the clone baby. His face is impassive as he listens to Batman's explaination, everyone in the room is tense, ready to step in if he gets agressive, his head tilts as Batman talks, green eyes searing into the sleeping kid. Nobody knows if thats a good thing. And then, green energy surrounds the infant, and shes pulled from Batman's arms forcefully, everyone tenses further. Phantom doesn't speak as he studies her, flips her around in the air to judge her every angle. She starts giggling, and then Phantom stops, removes the green energy and let's her fall. Flash runs forward to catch her, but its no use, shes floating. Its shaky, not as controlled as Phantom's, but shes floating, and giggling for a few seconds, before she can't hold herself anymore and she drops again, only to again be caught by Phantom's energy. This time, be actually holds her, poking her cheeks and dodging her outstretched hands before he pokes her in the sternum, and a tiny, delicate white ball floats out of the babies chest. Phantom stares at that ball for a number of minutes, before a smile splits across his face.
Everyone is startled by what they're seeing. No one has seen Phantom smile, not even mockingly, he just always seems to have a scowl on his face. But now, his smile is kind, loving even. His usually sharp, rigid form is now soft around edges, playful in how he lets her chase his fingers once that ball is back in her chest. Its a side of Phantom unrecognized, but it wasn't unpleasant.
In Danny's eyes, the little clone was perfect. She wouldn't die, couldn't double die without his parents weaponry, which could no longer be crafted. Even if her human half one day failed, her perfectly formed core meant she was guaranteed to become a full ghost, so they could still be a family. She wouldn't leave him alone.
*Slightly Dark!Danny, but he could be fixed with therapy/the baby slowly starts fixing him
*Danny is now obsessed with 'Dani', and extreamly overprotective of her
*Vlad called her a failure and said she had been set to be culled, and Phantom recognized him as a threat, so he almost killed and ate Vlad's core(Ghosts are slightly cannabistic if another ghost is deemed too much of a risk/threat) had the Justice League not stepped in, allowing vlad to flee.
*He a teen ghost dad now
*Danny is too jazzed to have family again that he doesn't really acknowledge or think about the fact that he was cloned
If Amity Park has one rule for survival, it's commit to the bit. Whose bit?
Everyone's.
You go to Ember's concerts even though there's a better than even chance of being hypnotized. When Technus turns up you obligingly shriek about how terrifying unfeeling machines are. If Boxy's around, you put up a spirited but ultimately futile fight to protect your precious, valuable boxes.
You confirm it when your neighbor tells the GIW that the ghost went thataway, officer. Phantom says the weird eye-ghosts that are stalking him are delusional and he is not an authority figure of any kind, you agree that he'd be the one to know best. The Fentons are ranting about their latest weapons, you oooh and ahhh over their brilliant creation.
Your eyes glow because of special effect contacts you're testing, anyone who knows you can testify to that.
Don't run, don't break the rules, and heaven help you if a ghost decides you've disrespected their obsession. It doesn't matter how much time passes, they might not chase you, but they will remember the insult.
Ghosts are never more dangerous than when their obsession is disrupted. So smile and nod, or shriek and cower, and play the role you're cast in. You'll get out alright.
**
Gotham natives have a word for people who play along with a rogue's plan instead of getting out at the first available opportunity: morons. The closer you are to a rogue, the greater the danger, and none of them will spare you just because you decided to 'see where this was going'.
Civilians are little more than mobile props for most rogues - as long as you get out of their line of sight, they'll forget about you. Don't try to be a hero, don't draw attention to yourself. Playing by a rogue's rules is a great way to die.
I really want someone to go the full avoidance route - not out of some misplaced anger, but because Danny doesn’t know that Batman isn’t there to arrest him.
…
Batman stood on the roof, observing the fight. It wasn’t the first battle he’d observed for this being, wasn’t even the most interesting, but any data was good to collect.
From what he’d been able to gather, in the past two years the ghost fights had toned down a lot. At the beginning, they’d wreck the portion of town Phantom and the Rogue of the Day found themselves fighting in, and Phantom would guiltily offer his assistance to fix what was broken. The townspeople hadn’t reacted… well to the first few offers of help, they’d admitted rather easily, and Phantom stopped offering. During the much larger fights that Bruce would classify as worthy of Justice League intervention, Phantom would help without asking - which had likely gone a long way in improving his personal image, even if the townsfolk seemed generally negative towards “ghosts” as a race. Nowadays, the ghost fights weren’t what caused damage to the town. It was the ghost hunters.
Another note to be made was that Phantom had, according to what little footage Oracle could find, been terrified of the other ghosts towards the beginning. He hid it well, behind bravado and quips that made Bruce’s former Robins grin in amusement, but he was clearly out of his depth. Bruce had two running theories on the why - he’d either been a recluse, avoiding other ghosts before the Fenton’s portal opened (which was its own mess of a situation), or he was a new ghost, from shortly before or after the portal opened - but wouldn’t be able to lean one direction or another without a conversation with Phantom.
Which was the main problem Bruce was running into in this situation.
Generally, unless the targeted person was a criminal and not too keen on the idea of being arrested, Batman’s uniform was enough to elicit attention. Typically, when he was the one to go out scouting, the non-JLA-affiliated vigilante or wannabe hero would approach him upon seeing his caped figure. Oftentimes, all Bruce had to do was stand on a visible roof and let the town or city’s local protector(s) approach him.
Phantom captured the ghost who’d been tearing through town on his motorcycle and turned just enough that he caught sight of Batman - and, just like every time before, the ghost’s head snapped up, green eyes boring into Bruce’s mask, before Phantom disappeared from view. Changing his lenses to heat detection showed the ghost staring at him for a few moments longer before diving into the ground as the Fenton’s tank came flying down the road.
Bruce held back a sigh. He does have other objectives in Amity Park, including the meeting the Fenton’s were going to be late for here in an hour. He’ll keep attempting contact with Phantom, even being a little more proactive in forcing the conversation, but for now it was a lost cause.
Danny fewaking out. Batman showing up at his house. Batmans reaction to the fentons "research" so much potential for misunderstandings. Love it so much
HEY DON'T CRY. 8,008 SPECIES OF FROG IN THE WORLD PER AMPHIBIAWEB AND THE 8,000TH FROG WAS DESCRIBED BY TUMBLR'S OWN FROG SCIENTIST DR. Scherz, ET AL., PEACE AND LOVE ON PLANET EARTH ‼️‼️‼️
King Phantom going through some of the backed up paperwork and finds Janet's contract. Her first born belongs to Phantom now since Pariah never did any paperwork. Those that he did claim had already been rescued where they could and made comfortable when there was little to be done.
He's outlawed new deals since a lot of the time the validly of the sacrifice can be questioned. The observant s are annoyed at babysitters duty but it gets them out of annoying Danny and lets him be productive so he plans on milking it for as long as there are deals under review. Just like with the one Pariah claimed, a lot of them are undergoing investigations and that's where Janet's deal comes in.
Tim like many other firstborns are watched over. Anytime they are in danger, the observant responsible invokes Danny or his claim to protect them from the shadows. On occasion, they might have been relocated but never has Danny collected on any of those deals until Tim.
Tim unlike the other firstborns is a hero. Tim is also aware something is watching him as he will make comments for Danny or thank him for a save nobody else noticed and Danny is instantly smitten. Danny watches as Tim does so much good for Gotham both as a civilian and as a hero. Even when he is taken for granted, it doesn't slow Tim down and Danny admires him more.
Danny knows Tim has massive potential, and he trusts him to understand the gravity of how far his influence runs. He had no doubt in Tim when he was trying to clone his lost friends. Danny understood was part of his grieving process and everyone grieves differently. Did he also swoon a bit? Nobody witnessed it so it didn't happen (but his friend do tease him about it since they were aware of his crush)
It becomes the last straw for Danny when Nightwing acting as Batman turns everyone against Tim. He reminds himself everyone copes differently for all of one minute before saying man fuck that guy and sends a sticky note to Tim. On that sticky note he offers his help and protection, but it can't be revoked once accepted.
It's the first time he has 'shown' himself outside of the assists he's made, and it feels like agony as he watches Tim. Eventually Tim does take up his offer and while Danny fell first Tim fell harder. Bruce is the second person Danny saves that day and the moment Tim realizes it he is extra cuddly with Danny.
The alternate rescue is Danny being dramatic about collecting Red Robin in front of Dick and the Justice league. Tim meanwhile is like good luck keeping me here, but when he takes in his first view of the Infinite Realms he has sooo many questions so he could stay for a bit for science.
I am picturing the JL about to detain Tim. Tim going "have fun with that" screams "i accept" Danny just apearing full eldritch horror. Picking Time up and disapearing and depositing Bruce in his place.
Tim and Danny waiting a full week of the JL thinking they made Tim make a deal with an eldritch horror to save Bruce and now hes gone before he comes back.
With a Danny that is not an eldritch horror laughing his ass off at ALL OF THEM
Diana: I think Batman has been replaced
Clark: His heart beat is the same
Diana: Shapeshifts have tricked you before.
Clark: True. How about you use your lasso?
Diana: I can, but I need to take him by surprise. Can you distract him?
Clark: No....but I know someone who can. PHANTOM!
Danny: Yessss~?
Clark: Can you go haunt Batman for about ten minutes while Wonder Woman and I set up a surprise for him?
Danny: But of course!~I have slime that needs a canvas~!
Diana: You sent the thing haunting the Watch Tower after Batman? Isn't it the soul of a child? You honestly think a child will hold off Batman or someone with the skill to impersonate Batman?
Clark: Look, no one is better at being discracting than Phantom, plus every attempt to get him off the Watch Tower has failed. This could prove Batman is Batman, and we can control the local ghost child. Two birds with one stone.
Diana: If it does turn out I am wrong, and that is Batman, let's just hope Batman doesn't trap Phantom with magic or something. We know our coworker can't handle jokes.
Clark: No, we tried that. I even tried getting him to say his name backwards.
Diana: You think he's an imp?
Clark: No, the boy couldn't say words backwards. He started crying and had to write on the whiteboard to flip the letter around. He bit his tongue three times while trying to say Motnahp.
Diana: ....And no one in the Justice League Dark could get rid of him?
Clark: Why do you think they were building conspiracy boards in War Room 201? I think the closest they got was asking Captain Marvel to tell the kid to please stop interrupting meetings.
Diana: I can't believe it. I go on a six-month mission in space, and you all get a ghost pest problem.
Clark: Please stop leaving us for long periods. None of us knows how to function without supervision from a trusted adult.
Diana: You're an adult
Clark: No.
You can tell when someone’s frame of reference for “normal people” is more “people at the church sponsored ice cream social” and less “people on the bus”
I took the bus for three years when I lived in Honolulu and haven't lived anywhere with even usable public transit since, but in those three years I had dozens of utterly bizarre experiences that were also Perfectly Normal. This is because the human condition is vast and also Very fucking Weird.
Kid one the bus next to me whose backpack starts moving and it turns out he's got three chickens and a painted turtle he caught in there? This is Perfectly Normal. Humans have been catching small game and transporting it home in whatever they had since we invented bags to put chickens and turtles in.
I traded him three king-size snickers bars I had on me for the turtle because I vaguely remembered that many freshwater turtles were toxic to eat (incorrectly, as it turns out, but this was when I still had a Nokia Brick that lived a blissful, internet-free existence), and didn't want him accidentally poisoning his family, but didn't want to just. Steal his hard-won turtle. This is Perfectly Normal. Humans have been cautious about poisons, looking out for strangers kids and bartering shit since before we were technically humans, probably.
Having acquired a turtle, I now needed to transport the turtle to the on-campus pond that effectively served as an Invasive Freshwater Turtle Containment Zone, but did not have a bag that could adequately contain him so I had to sit the rest of that bus ride, at the station and all through the next bus ride holding the turtle like the world's angriest hamburger. Multiple people were curious about and delighted with the turtle. This is Perfectly Normal. Humans love an animal, especially one that is capable of appearing grumpy, and hands are for holding things.
By the time I got back to Campus, the anthropology and child psychology building that the Invasive Turtle Containment Pond was in had closed, so I had to figure out how to climb the tree over the wall and get down off the roof while holding The World's Angriest And Sharpest Hamburger. I eventually ended up having to briefly shove the turtle into by bra to get up to the initial branch and off the roof without breaking an ankle. This is Perfectly Normal. Humans are, as a species, a bunch of barely-evolved arboreal frugivores and really good at Tree Physics, and I don't know a single titty-having bitch out there that hasn't used their bra as Emergency Pockets at least once, if not daily.
I released the turtle into the Turtle Containment Pond and then had to solve the problem of getting back OUT of the locked building, but Nokia Brick never loses a signal or drops a call (including that time I accidentally dropped it off a 13-story building in the middle of a call to my parents and the damn thing BOUNCED but kept the line open. I miss that phone every day.) and while campus security has been carefully trained to not let people IN to places without proper ID and a call to someone inside, they assume that if you got locked in somewhere, that you got in by legitimate means and not Lemur Shenanigans, so i just called them, apologized that I'd been working late with headphones on and didn't realize I'd been locked in. This is Perfectly Normal, people have been lying to cops since laws were invented, and will continue to do so because all cops are bastards.
Anyway, everyone should have access to good public transportation because freedom of movement is a human right and meeting a broad spectrum of humanity is good for your mental health and spiritual welfare.
I love nonfiction that I simply cannot relate to at all. "it's easy to get addicted to buying fast fashion! I used to spend thousands of dollars on it a year!" okay. you're a space alien.
"survey finds that the average person in the UK only wears a piece of clothing 7 times" what are you talking about. what are you fucking talking about. who are these people and in what world are they average.
The 7 times is insane and i do not believe that would mean buying an outfit a week. Either the people are nit counting their nor al everyday clithes into it and only fancy or sp3cial occasion clothes or they did not ask the average person
