Eh…This I Guess

Whatever I’m interested in so probably salt, heros, mlb, and random odds and ends. I don’t do tag list tho sorry. Icon by www.pepperly.art

[narutothoughts]

Au where the Uchiha policemen were actually pretty great to naru as a kid.

Stepping between her and angry villagers. Acting as the silent but visible threat that dissuaded anyone from trying anything as blatant as throwing things, screaming at her, or kicking her out of stores. One or two of them routinely looking at her with comically serious faces as they hand over a piece of candy or send her on her way with a light pat on her head.

She feels a little part of her crumble when she realizes the policeman that always walked through the market on saturdays and gave her reassuring nods (a silent “I’ll have your back") when people started to get upset with her was dead. That the policeman who patrolled the park and gave bullies such unimpressed looks they would start spluttering was gone forever.

She can’t do anything for them, but there’s one Uchiha left she can help.

She owes them that.

[heeppo888]

Ok… so this got stuck in my head enough to overcome the anxiety. Please be gentle…

The news doesn’t arrive all at once. It leaks. A whisper at the edge of a conversation. A shopkeeper closing early with shaking hands. The absence of uniforms that had once been as constant as the walls themselves.

Naruto notices the absence first.

She’s good at that—at noticing what isn’t there. You learn to, when people pretend not to see you. When doors close a second too soon, when voices drop just before you pass, when something shifts and you’re expected to act like it didn’t.

The market feels wrong. Quieter, but not in a peaceful way. The kind of quiet that presses in, that waits.

Naruto stands near the edge of a produce stall, fingers hovering over a bruised tomato she knows she can probably haggle down to half price. The vendor doesn’t look at her. That’s normal.

What isn’t normal is what’s missing behind him. No dark uniform stationed at the corner. No sharp, watchful eyes scanning the crowd. No silent presence that said, without words: behave.

“…they say it was all of them.”

Naruto doesn’t turn her head. She doesn’t have to. She’s learned how to listen without being seen doing it.

“All of them? That’s—”

“An entire clan? The Uchiha? Just like that? In one night?”

The words land heavy. Naruto’s breath catches, just a little. No, she thinks immediately. No, it’s not possible — But the market feels like it does after a storm. Not during. Not before. After. When everything important has already been broken.

Her gaze drifts, unthinking, to the path that cuts through the center of the stalls. Saturday. It’s Saturday. There should be…There was always… A man with a straight back and a face too serious for the way he handed out candy. He’d never smiled. Not really. Just held out a small wrapped sweet like it was an official transaction, like he was fulfilling some duty no one had assigned him. Naruto had taken it every time. She never said thank you out loud. You don’t draw attention to things like that. But she’d nodded and smiled as real as she could. He’d nodded back. That had been enough.

Her throat feels tight.

“…heard a kid’s alive,” someone mutters. “The youngest of the clan head.”

“Barely counts. Doesn’t matter. Clan’s gone.”

Naruto exhales slowly through her nose. Gone. Her eyes move again, scanning the edges of the market. There should be another one near the fish stalls—taller, broader, the kind who didn’t have to say anything at all. People just… adjusted around him. Voices softened. Hands stayed to themselves.

Naruto remembers the way he’d looked at a group of older boys once—just a look—and they’d scattered like they’d been burned. She remembers standing there afterward, not moving, not speaking, just… waiting. He’d glanced down at her, given a small, almost imperceptible nod a silent “I’ll have your back”.

Her chest aches. She presses the heel of her hand against it like she can push the feeling down, like it’s something physical she can force back into place. She can’t do anything for them.

The thought comes sharp and clean. They’re gone. Whatever happened it’s already over. Too late to step in, too late to fix, too late to… Naruto’s gaze drops to the tomato still sitting in her palm. She sets it back.

There’s one left.

The thought comes quieter this time. Not loud like the others. Not panicked or sharp. Just… there. Naruto turns and doesn’t think about it too hard. If she does, she might stop. Might second-guess. Might decide it’s not her place, that she doesn’t owe—but she does. Not because they asked. Because they didn’t. Because they never made a big deal out of it. Never demanded gratitude. Never even acknowledged it, really. They just… stood there.And made things a little safer, a little better.

Naruto knows what it’s like to have no one. Knows what it’s like to be too small in a space that doesn’t want you. Knows how long it takes to figure out things no one bothers to teach you. How to stretch food. How to fix things just enough they don’t fall apart completely. How to exist in a place that would rather you didn’t.

She can’t bring back the men who stood at the market corners. But she can do something.

Her steps pick up. Out of the market. Past the main streets. Toward the quieter parts of the village where the buildings grow wider, emptier.

The Uchiha district sits like a wound. Open. No guards at the entrance now. Naruto slows as she crosses the threshold. Reverent and respectful in a way she normally sees no need for. It feels wrong to walk in. Not forbidden, no one’s there to forbid it, but like stepping into a space that remembers what it used to be. Houses line the street, doors closed, windows dark. The air feels… still. Heavy. Naruto swallows.

“Okay,” she mutters under her breath. “Okay. It’s fine.”

She moves forward, and it doesn’t take long to find him. He’s not hiding. Just… there. Sitting on the edge of a wooden walkway outside one of the larger houses, back straight, hands resting on his knees like he doesn’t know what else to do with them. Sasuke Uchiha looks smaller than he ever did at the academy.

Naruto stops a few steps away. He doesn’t look up. For a second, she just… stands there. She didn’t have a plan. Everything up until now had momentum. Movement. A direction. Now she’s here, and she has to actually say something. Her fingers curl against her sides. He’s alone. The thought settles, solid and undeniable. Not just right now. Well and truly on his own.

She steps forward, stop when she’s close enough that he should definitely notice her. He does. Slowly, Sasuke lifts his head. His eyes are sharp but flat, empty. They land on her like a blade. Naruto doesn’t flinch. She’s had worse looks. This one… isn’t even aimed at her, really. It just hits everything in front of him. She shifts her weight, suddenly aware of how this must look. Just her, coming here out of nowhere, but she came here for a reason.

Naruto lifts her chin a little, trying to look more certain than she feels.“I—” she starts, then stops, tries again.

“I heard,” she says, because there’s no point pretending she didn’t.

His expression sharpens a bit. Naruto presses on.

“They used to—” She gestures vaguely, back toward the village. “The police I mean…In the market.”

Nothing. No reaction. Her hand drops. The silence stretches. Naruto can feel it, thick and uncomfortable, but she doesn’t look away. She takes a breath.

Then, because overthinking this will only make it worse, she says, “I can show you how to do laundry.”

It sounds stupid the second it leaves her mouth. Too small. Too normal. Sasuke just stares at her. Naruto feels heat creep up the back of her neck.

“Or—” she adds quickly, words picking up speed now that they’ve started. “Or other stuff. Like—cleaning. And food. And—uh—”

She makes a vague motion with her hands, as if that explains anything at all. She exhales, “It’s hard at first. Figuring it out. By yourself.”

Her voice steadies.“I know how,” she says.

She doesn’t say you don’t. She doesn’t say you’ll need it. Just, I know how. Another pause, longer this time. Sasuke’s gaze flickers so slightly Naruto almost misses it. Then it’s gone again, shuttered behind that same flat, sharp look.

“no,” he says.

And Naruto doesn’t push just says an ok and leaves the offer open and a week and a half later Sasuke approaches her after class…

[tiinamenzel]

bye👋

[thehmn]

A lot of people around me are having kids and every day it becomes more apparent that hitting your children to punish them is insane because literally everything can be a horrible punishment in their eyes if you frame it as such.

Like, one family makes their toddler sit on the stairs for three minutes when he hits his brother or whatever. The stairs are well lit and he can see his family the whole time, he’s just not allowed to get up and leave the stairs or the timer starts over. He fucking hates it just because it’s framed as a punishment.

Another family use a baseball cap. It’s just a plain blue cap with nothing on it. When their toddler needs discipline he gets a timeout on a chair and has to put the cap on. When they’re out and about he just has to wear the cap but it gets the same reaction. Nobody around them can tell he’s being punished because it’s in no way an embarrassing cap, but HE knows and just the threat of having to wear it is enough.

And there isn’t the same contempt afterwards I’ve seen with kids whose parents hit them. One time the kid swung a stick at my dog, his mother immediately made him sit on the stairs, he screamed but stayed put, then he came over to my dog and gently said “Sorry Ellie” and went back to playing like nothing happened, but this time without swinging sticks at the nearby animals.

[objectlessondujour]

The psych nerds found out ages ago that punishments that make the child think for a few minutes (about one minute or year of age until they're tweens) is much more helpful to develope social intelligence and understanding than punishments which prevents thinking, like the ones that involve pain. In fact, corporal punishment encouraged lying, extreme reactions, violent outbursts, go figure, they don't trust you.

[bogleech]

This is all really fucking serious and important and I'm mainly reblogging for that, because this correct mentality needs to be spread around more, but I'm also reblogging because I absolutely lost it at the child who dreads having to wear the normal blue hat of shame.

[whiteconsetvativechristianmaletm]

AS LONG AS YOU DO IT WELL I think spankings are probably just as effective (don’t quote me). Thing is, you have to do it as a loving thing. Like, my parents did it as “Why are you getting a spanking? (Answer). Swat. Repeat two more times. Am I mad at you, or your actions and your choices? (Actions and choices)”

[heeppo888]

Ok but this is honestly worse to me and downright horrifying. This is legit control and abuse tactic. Making someone affirm why they deserve to be hurt and why it’s not the fault of the person hurting them but because you were bad is a common tactic of abusers. It’s used to make the victim feel like their abuser hasn’t done anything wrong or to make them grateful for the correction. Why am I hurting you? Because I did something wrong and therefore deserve it. “Am I mad at you or your actions?” Is just reaffirming that you did something to justify being hurt and that if you’d just be good the person hurting you never would have. Like if you want to contextualize how actually fucked this is just imagine a friend doing this. It’s not ok just because a parent is doing it. If being family excuses something that would otherwise be classified as abuse or assault, then it’s still abuse/assault.

[heeppo888]

DP x DC: Dead on Main idea

We need more ugly Jason who’s still loved and cherished. Jason is the wielder of the all blades as much blood as is on his hands none of it is the blood of the innocent. He’s an avenger and protector and to those more in tune with death and understand its weight and its necessity he wouldn’t be seen as some fallen hero drenched in blood but as a risen figure who wades through the filth without being stained.

I’m thinking ghost king Danny where Ghost King is more of a title that grants a certain amount of power and ability because obviously there’s no actual responsibility attached if Pariah could sleep for millennia and no interim king be appointed. So. . . One of the abilities obtained as Ghost King is full sensory experience of cores. I imagine seeing/feeling what’s essentially a persons entire being puts looks on the back burner as far as personal relationships go.

Any Danny is in Gotham for college and maybe Jason audits classes or maybe they just meet in the library and Danny has never seen a core like Jason’s, not pure exactly because there are no pure cores even babies are tainted by selfish impulses (I head cannon that anything that can die has a core but if they’re fully live the core is ghostly and not as present) but a core so bright and righteous. Danny is immediately trying to chat Jason up and it’s obvious because Danny is an awkward dork and has no skill in flirting. Jason is baffled because being blown up didn’t leave his pretty face in tact even if he was brought back and his current “profession” is only adding to the collection of scars. He cannot fathom why this very pretty twink is flirting with him since there’s no one around that could be filming a prank or waiting on pretty boy to finish a dare.

[heeppo888]

DP AU

This has probably been done before but…

After the portal accident, Danny starts only wearing long sleeves to hide his death marks (never fading lichtenberg figure up his arm) and is careful changing in the locker room due to this as well. Dash notices (because targeting someone means paying attention to them) but doesn’t think anything of it until Phantom’s first appearance and unlike most of the town he sees the similarities and connects Danny to Phantom by the end of that first month. Dash reasons that, because of all the weird stuff Danny’s parents mess with, when Danny died it didn’t stick. Dash comes to the (wrong) conclusion due to the long sleeves and Phantom’s apparent need to protect others that Danny committed suicide due to Dash’s bullying and goes through a moral crisis over it.

[phiniusandjelly]

Vaguely inspired by that one post where Danny gets summoned by the JL and keeps throwing his shoes and stuff at them bc HE might not be able to leave the summoning circle but his clothes sure can!

I think the twist for that was that the circle doesnt effect him at all because hes a halfa and he was just goofing with the JL.

But imagine if the summoning and containment WORKED.

Like, he gets summoned and its startling, but once he realizes hes been summoned hes mostly annoyed.

Its a school night! He has work to do! Sure he wasnt DOING it, but it was still a possibility!

And hes trying to banter with the JL. Which for him just means being vaguely-obnoxious-but-somewhat-charming.

But then he tries to leave.

Maybe hes worried about his friends reaction to seeing him disappear.

Maybe the JL are saying some anti ghost/demon/whatever they think he is nonsense.

Maybe he changed his mind about doing that homework.

But either way, it doesnt work.

He drags his hand along the edge of the spell. It doesnt give, and he realizes hes not sure what this spell is supposed to do.

Its all along the floor beneth him, he cant fly through the floor.

He tries to get away from the walls and floor, worried whatever spell makes up the container can be triggered to hurt him or brainwash him or SOMETHING.

Its not his best guest, but he has never been summoned before, at least not with this type of barrier, and he doesnt know what to expect.

He barely gets a few feet off the ground when he hits the spells invisible roof.

And he is trapped.

And now this fourteen year old child is caged in a room with clearly dangerous adult strangers.

After hes been more or less kidnapped.

He’s suddenly regretting insulting them.

And its not his first time beimg kidnapped. Or his first time being in danger in general (obviously).

but its usually some ghost! Or Vlad “Loser, I hardly know her!” Masters!

Both of whom explain literally everything they plan in long ass evil monologues! It usually takes danny five minutes tops to learn their entire life story Dr Doofenshmirtz style!

He knows most of them personally! They hang out sometimes! Heck! even the local ghost hunters are either literally related to him or someone he’s dated!

He knows their powersets, their strengths, their weaknesses.

Most importantly, he knows their goals

But now hes trapped. In a room of clearly superpowerd strangers. With magical abilities strong enough to trap him for real.

And has no idea what they want

And Danny just freezes up

This could be super angsty if the JL were told that he was evil and think his panic + young features are only done to manipulate them.

You can also add angst with a language barrier/translation issue

I imagine the JL would be trying to get information about ghosts/ are trying to get someone to fight a villain they can’t defeat

Its going to scare the shit out of Danny either way- like imagine fourteen year old you gets kidnapped by strangers and they start asking you about your weaknesses or say they will only let you out if you agree to fight this monster.

And if Danny doesnt know this villain or how tf hes going to fight them he might feel like hes being sent off to get his ass kicked.

I can just imagine Danny being told he has to fight this supervillain and being like “…if i like..die…trying to fight this guy…what are you going to do with my body? Like will you send me home? Cause my family will freak if my corpse is teleported into the living room”

JL would not be happy about any of his responses.

Im begging someone to write this please have a nice day

[terrestrialnoob]

He watched as Constantine finished the chalk circle, double checking all the little symbols and lines. It was more intricate than what Batman would have thought, but he only dabbled in magic when necessary; able to perform it sure but didn’t have a talent for it. “You’re sure this will work?”

“I’m sure it’ll summon the protector spirit and keep it contained until we can explain the situation.” Constantine answered. “Alright, stand back.”

The circle began to glow.

Off in the distance, Batman could hear the fight that was still ongoing. A cult that worshiped a deity of death had managed to summon a being known as The Ghost King. His forces only had a handful of standout powers, but the rest were undead skeletal being that pulled themselves back together after being downed. They needed to take out the King in order to stop the hoards, but the hoards prevented enough of them to get to the King to really fight him. Superman might have been able to save the day if their enemy wasn’t magic based. Wonder Woman came in on her day off, but she couldn’t handle both the King and the Fright Knight.

Constantine had conveniently remembered that while the Ghost King that had all but taken over a dimension known as the Infinite Realms, was defeated twice. First by a counsel of ancients no one remembered the identities of, and when he’d been released by some fool looking for power, was defeated by a singular protector spirit with a known name.

The circle suddenly burst into a pillar of flame and in the center of it stood a singular being.

He tilted their head at Constantine and looked annoyed. There was an echo to his voice, layered over itself in what Batman recognized as a translation spell, the original language echoed by the translation. “Wow, can’t say I was expecting to get summoned by I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-A-Conman and a living Spirit Halloween costume tonight, but here we are.”

Batman looked at Constantine. “That looks like a teenager.”

“Protector spirits like to either look big and scary or like someone you’re more likely to trust.” Constantine shrugged. “It does seem really into the role though.”

“Hey, fellas,” the spirit waved his hand to get their attention, “it’s a school night and I’ve got homework to ignore. So lets get this sleepover over with.”

“You really a protector spirit? They tend to be more…” Constantine waved his hand in a circle and started walking around the magic circle, examining the ghost. “…pleasant to talk to.”

The ghost squinted at him, “Then you must have the wrong guy! I'll just leave-” He walked up to the warding wall and tried to walk through it. He hit it and stared at it, then pressed his hand against it and was clearly trying to get through it.

“Not going to work, mate.” Constantine said and came to a stop in front of where the ghost was trying to get out. “Even if you’re not the spirit we were aiming to summon, you can’t leave until we say so.”

The ghost looked far too convincingly panicked. He tried to claw through the spell, push his feet through the floor, and tried to fly up just to be knocked back by the containment spell’s lid.

Constantine must have sensed Batman’s misgivings, because he said, “Don’t worry, the containment will hold.”

“That’s not what has me worried.”

“Yeah, yeah, I bungled the spell and got the wrong guy…” Constantine gave him a tilted smile to hide his disappointment in himself. “Or maybe this trickster spirit thought it would be funny to disrupt my summoning. Either way, we’re wasting time with Pariah Dark out there destroying the world.”

Batman was about to add that he was also uncomfortable with a being that looked like a kid, and on the slightest chance might actually be a kid, looked like they were on the verge of a panic attack.

“Pariah?” The spirit stopped and stared at them with wide eyes, glowing toxic green, and seemingly on the verge of tears.

Constantine nodded, “Yeah, we were trying to summon the protector spirit that defeated him a while back, but we got you instead.”

The kid looked like he just got slapped in the face. “I – no, you got the right guy. I’m Phantom.”

“You?” Constantine asked with an air of disbelieving condescension. “You’re the protector spirit that defeated Pariah Dark?”

“I had some help.” Phantom replied. “Is that what you want? You’ll let me go if I fight Pariah again?”

Constantine looked between Phantom and Batman – thought Batman didn’t do or say anything, paranormal negotiations were why Constantine was there. “Yeah, that’s exactly what we want.”

Batman watched the looks on Phantom’s face, he was terrified but resigned. He glanced between the two of them. “Okay.”

[uniasus]

Once the official agreement is made, Danny felt the invisible walls disappear. He shot into the sky in relief, but couldn't escape the tug on the tip of his tail and the squeeze on his core.

A magical chain, each link a word of their deal.

The squeeze on his core would get tighter and tighter the longer he didn't fight.

Not that Danny was unwilling to join the battle - he'd never turn away from a group of people who needed his help.

Still, it stung. The magician could have simply asked for his assistance. The combination of confidence and assumption, how he talked about the circle and explained away his age, reminded Danny of his parents. In their unshakable belief that ghosts were creatures of instincts and not rational beings. At least the magician treated him as sentient, but there'd been an edge there. Like he didn't believe a ghost would willingly help humanity. Like he was evil or just selfish.

Danny knew his parents' opinions were common. He faced them every day around the dinner table, but it still hurt coming across heroes who believed the same.

The bind on his core tightened. Danny turned his attention to the battle below. There were no fleeing civilians, already cleared out or crushed. Instead, the streets and sky swarmed with ghostly skeletons and brightly colored heroes. There were a lot more heroes fighting than Danny had ever seen, but most of them struggled against enemies that could turn intangible at will. Fright Knight laughed as his sword sent a hero dressed like a cowboy to the Nightmare Zone. At least this league of heroes seemed to have developed a strategy of dodge the hits and protect the mages.

Danny turned to Pariah Dark. He moved slow, following Fright Knight and the foreguard of skeletons. Grinning, the ghost ran a gauntlet through a building, glass falling to the street below like a rain of glitter.

Last time they fought, Danny had time and a plan and a team. He could make a plan now - take out Fright Knight who was rapidly diminishing ranks, rally the flying, strong hitting heroes to serve as a distraction - but the bond around his core squeezed again.

He promised to fight Pariah Dark. The sooner the better, because the longer he delayed, the more he'd risk his core. Soon, the band would be more than just uncomfortable.

Danny swallowed. Took a lungful of air. Looked at the moon, the one celestial object he could see in the late afternoon without squinting.

Clockwork had told him about summoning contracts. Danny knew what would happen as soon as the deal was offered.

He'd fight Pariah without his friends. Without the help of other ghosts. Without the ecto-skeleton suit. Without the Sarcophagus and Key nearby to lock him away again.

He'd fight, and he'd lose.

Dying in a ghost fight is a fear he faces before. He'd take it, took it, in a heartbeat over being trapped by someone who couldn't see the good in him.

Danny called ectoplasm to his fist and prepared to slam it into Pariah's face.

[terrestrialnoob]

He was going to die. He had known it from the start, but now he really knew it. Danny couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face at the sight of Pariah wiping a single drop of green blood leaking from his nose. The old king hadn’t expected Danny to come flying in out of nowhere, but once he saw his old enemy, he screamed, “Impudent Brat!”

It took all of Danny’s speed and agility to dodge Pariah’s attacks, he was so fast for something so big. Danny was able to get away with only a few nicks at first, but he’d agreed to fight. His ecto-blasts did little damage, even a charged up ecto-ball didn’t do much more than singe Pariah’s armor. Pariah realized too, that Danny outside of the ecto-skeleton was no match for him. Even in the ecto-skeleton, Danny had barely…

Danny couldn’t dodge forever. Pariah grabbed him. Snatched him up after Danny barely escaped his sword’s edge. Danny’s entire body was encased in the ghost king’s hand, and in a last ditch effort, he wailed. It caused more damage than it did last time, cracking the ground and destabilizing buildings. It actually pushed Pariah back! But it made Danny light headed and limp in Pariah’s hand.

“Oh my…” Pariah pulled Danny closer, gripped him harder to prevent him from getting another deep breath to wail with. “I was wondering why you were being so direct, why you came without your armor. You’re under contract.”

Pariah stabbed his sword into the ground and used his newly freed hand to make the invisible chain that clamped around Danny’s core visible. He used his magic to tug on the metaphor made real, and in the distance, he saw that Constantine guy stagger forward, compelled by the other end of the contract.

Pariah squeezed Danny tighter and shouted at the man “You thought this child your savior? He didn’t even win our last bout. It’s by luck I was taken out of that fight, and only by luck did he survive. Watch, human, as your hope dies.”

Pariah squeezed harder. Things inside Danny were snapping and ectoplasm leaked from his mouth. The world was going dark and Danny felt his grip on his form slip from his control.

[jedipirateking]

This is so out of character for Constantine it's like no one's read a comic book.

The guy protects kids. That's his big deal.

So this doesn't fly at the setup for me.

[heeppo888]

Idk I actually think this is completely plausible if he’s assuming some ancient being because many DC demons, monsters, gods, magic users, etc don’t exactly look their age including Constantine himself. And Constantine while being super knowledgeable in a accumulated knowledge, street smarts, and bullshit type of way with magic and the supernatural isn’t exactly the most reasonable or easy to deal with especially because he can be just as paranoid as Bats (especially when summoning something appearing different than what he expects because trauma).

Meanwhile on Danny’s side he’s been kidnapped and trapped yet again and any kid/teen would be wary and defensive and distrustful in such a situation let alone one with a menagerie of bad experiences in that regard. Especially when it’s adults displaying blatant bias against his right off the bat which he also has plenty of bad experiences with.

I honestly think this is the perfect combination of circumstances for the mutual horror between the two. For Danny it’s “I’m gonna cease/die painfully and publicly and then the rest of the earth will follow” and maybe a bit of “will my secret come out when I die”. And for Constantine (and the other heros) once they figure out the truth it’s “I almost got another kid killed” and “I forced a child to fight a monster like a tool/puppet” and if Danny’s is perhaps hurt or dying after the battle but won’t let them near to help, “how can I ever make up for what I did”. Granted I’ve read maybe 4 comics focused on Constantine (I like him better as a side or supporting character) .

[clockwayswrites]

Danny/Wally/Dick, Black, Solstice, petrichor @heeppo888

I'm not saying this is actually a sequel to Not Exactly Cinderella, because I don't have time to write that right now, but if I were writing that, this would be part of it.

“Danny! Hey babe!” Wally chirped into the phone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dick could see Wally bound past the door, a shirt trailing behind him. Dick figured he’d have to go help Wally pack as soon as he had his own bag dealt with. Dick loved Wally very much, but even he could admit that getting Wally ready and out the door for something could be a fight.

“What? No, hey, absolutely not. That’s the opposite of what we’ll be doing!” Wally continued, sounding increasingly agitated.

Agitated enough that Dick gave up on packing and went to track down his boyfriend. He leaned against the door frame to the bathroom and caught Wally’s eyes in the mirror.

“Danny isn’t feeling well,” Wally explained as he turned. “He says we shouldn’t head up because he’s not going to be any fun to hang out for the next few days.”

“Well we’re not doing that,” Dick said.

“That’s what I told him!”

“Finishing packing,” Dick said as he held out a hand for the phone, which Wally passed to him before grabbing his razor and heading back to the bedroom. “Danny? What’s wrong, honey? Do you have a fever? Are you throwing up?”

“No,” Danny croaked. He really did sound horrible. It made Dick’s heart ache. “Well, probably not throwing up because I’m not risking eating.”

“Sore throat? Aches?”

“It’s not a bug,” Danny said. “Just, got some chronic stuff. Usually not a big issue, but guess I’m having a flair up? I wanted to call before you two left to come up here and wasted your weekend.”

“You expect us to just stay here when you’re sick?”

“Yeah?” Danny asked. He sounded confusedly certain of that.

“Yeah, no,” Dick said. “We come up that way so that we can take care of you. It’s no fun being sick alone.”

“Dick—”

“Send Wally a list of what you sort of food you can usually stomach and we’ll hit up the grocery too.”

“Dick—”

“Do you have heating pads? Oh, or what about an electric blanket?”

“Dick!” Danny interrupted before descending into a coughing fit.

Dick chewed on his lip as he kept quiet.

Finally Danny started again. “Dick, you two really don’t need to waste your weekend on this.”

“Danny, be honest with me, would it make it easier to have Wally and me there to help with food and things? Or would it even just make you feel better to have us there to snuggle?”

Danny was quiet for a really long time before he managed a quiet “yeah.”

“Okay, then we’re coming your way.”

“I won’t be up sex or anything,” Danny warned, like that made a difference.

“Pretty sure we’ll survive without sex for a weekend,” Dick said, trying not to be too sarcastic. Danny was sick, it wasn’t the time to make him feel bad for needing clarity. “Would you still want to go to the cabin? Or would you feel better staying home?”

“Not sure I’m up to packing, but the cabin would be nice…”

“We’ll pack stuff from here, sweats, shirts, stupidly fluffy socks,” Dick said and headed back towards the bedroom. “We’ll just need to get underwear and medication from there. Hell, send me your size and we’ll grab underwear on the shopping run, never can have too much underwear.”

“He’s not wrong!” Wally called, loud enough to be heard by Danny.

“You’re ridiculous,” Danny said, but there was finally a little bit of an uplift to his tone.

“That I am!”

[ghiblifanzine]

🌱FULL BUNDLE GIVEAWAY🌱

We're offering a full bundle giveaway of New Winds—a zine full of amazing Studio Ghibli work made with plenty of love for the various movies.

To Enter: - Like and Reblog Post - Comment with your favorite Studio Ghibli film

If you have already ordered and win, we will reimburse you for the cost of the bundle. Giveaway will run until Feb 5th 11:59PM PST!

We're also hosting the same giveaway on twt/X. Each platform counts as one entry so participating on both gives you two entries!

[mamawasatesttube]

perry with some words of wisdom in superman: lex 2000 ("just because this country is about to go to hell in a handbasket doesn't mean this newspaper does, too!") (and we are all the newspaper, really.)

[souperboy]

okay. holding ur hands as i say this. look me in the eyes. i know this is overwhelming so here's where we start. if he wants you dead then your first act of resistance is survival.

[clockwayswrites]

@heeppo888

Impulse/phantom apples I see it as a prequel to this

Impulse zipped up to the top of Mount Justice and settled next to the unknowable mass of shadow and stars and hope. He leaned and kissed approximately where a cheek might be.

“Hey babe!”

Phantom turned to him, at once a thousand eyes and none. All seeing and blind to this realm. Startled and yet knowing.

“Oh,” Phantom said. Well, said wasn’t exactly the right word as Phantom had no mouth. It was more like the voice was inside of Bart’s very bones. (It was comforting.) “You’re him, aren’t you?”

Bart’s smile almost slipped for a moment as the realization hit. This was a Phantom who didn’t know him yet. Of course it was, this was the past. Bart knew it had to happen sometime because there as a point where Bart had been the one who didn’t know Phantom but… but it was different being the one who knew.

And then the other shoe dropped. Bart knew. He got to watch Phantom experience everything for the first time for the first time! Oh, crash! This was going to be an adventure! Bart’s smile turned into a grin.

“Yeah! Hey, I’m Impulse, or Bart. It’s nice to meet you again.”

[omegasmileyface]

mcdonalds sauce accident leaves 6 dead 1 injured

[falsemood]

What the fuck happens in that show

[rito-otir]

they are back

[hdgnj]

The Nightingale's are weird. No seriously, Tim isn't even joking! It's not even Gotham weird! It's a whole other level of cryptic weird shit! On the surface they're a normal, if reclusive, family of siblings that recently moved to Gotham.

That's right, siblings. No parents.

The eldest is huge, built like a truck, and works security at Wayne Enterprises. That's his first introduction as D, his name is Dan but apparently his two younger siblings are also called Danny and Elle so be goes by D or Dan, passed by him in the hall one day after getting coffee. Tim swears the guy's eyes flashed red snd he had fangs for a second.

The next is Jazz. She had been interning under Tim directly for her psychology degree since Arkam doesn't allow internships after that happened to the last poor sap during a breakout. Wayne Enterprises was a popular choice and reputable enough that even with the more engineering and tech based industry Jazz would still get proper credit. She's quite delightful, actually, the mist normal sibling, clearly. But she was always acting nervous as though she had something to hide and often caused trouble with her insistent nagging and proclivity for trying to treat every interaction as a potential psychoanalysis and session.

Danny and Elle are both home schooled, so Tim hadn't met them yet. Elle was apparently a bit of a terror while Danny was... stressed? Awkward? It's hard to get a feeling for second-hand vibes, but Tim has a feeling something happened to him, and homeschooling hadn't been his first choice but rather a necessary one for his mental wellbeing.

He'd hear D and Jazz discussing how an 'accident' had negatively affected Danny when they thought he wasn't there or listening and how he now struggles to cope with mot having so mych stressed dumped on his shoulders.

Anyways Tim is positive something is up and it has to do with that accidentally. Now if only his siblings believed him. No Dick! Tim doesn't have a crush on a guy he hadn't even met!!

.

[kizzer55555]

Tim once again starts up his stalker tendencies, but for some reason he can never get a good look. Either his camera will short circuit, he’ll somehow miss them (like they just disappear around a corner) or some sort of bad luck always happens that causes him to miss them (although he swore he saw his shadow moving at one point and heard the sound of a guitar. Nah, he needed more sleep), and Tim would lose any evidence he gathered, and often tumbled into various wet and slimy surfaces.

No, Tim will not elaborate. It’s Gotham and he doesn’t want to know.

It should not have been this hard. It wasn’t nearly this difficult when he was stalking Batman, and this was when he was using old tech found in his house at 8 years old. And Batman was, well, Batman. Now, he’s a skilled vigilante who knows this city inside and out with access to the best equipment money could buy and trained by the greatest detective in the world.

It should not be this hard to stalk 4 civilians.

And the most frustratingly thing was...all evidence he had managed to gather pointed to exactly that. They were civilians. Possibly meta civilians but civilians nonetheless. They never went out (at least not that he could see) unless it was for work, a grocery run, or school related. They seemed like a normal family besides that mysterious ‘accident’. And that accident? Was driving Tim insane.

WHAT WAS IT?!

He was pretty sure it was some kind of physical damage (possibly leaving physiological trauma of some sort) yet he didn’t see anything in their medical records or other records.

And weren’t those records strange. They were filled out perfectly, nothing to say there was anything wrong, all except that they lacked any parental figures what so ever. But no matter how far he searched, there was a paper trail leading back to every facility that filed them, similar facilities that transferred the info, and even back tracking those were perfectly credible. So either they were just born without parents, somehow got their parents erased from existence, stole the identity of 4 kids with their exact same features, learning abilities, and personality, or somehow went back in time and just made these identities do they could take them when the time was right (Tim rubbed his head. Dick was right, his conspiracy theories were getting a bit out of hand).

But still, how were they avoiding him?!

So obviously he needed to take drastic measures. So late one night, he decided to sneak into their home. He didn’t want Red Robin to be seen breaking and entering and he couldn’t just go as Tim Drake. His face was too well known, especially by Jazz. So he dressed in all black. An old stealth uniform. He used everything he could to get into the house undetected. He had scanned the apartment beforehand and there were no heat signatures inside. So they must have all left (even if he didn’t see them). Now Tim just had to investigate personally. (And possibly looks for a secret entrance to outside).

Tim shuffled through old clothes, papers scattered around, both of school work and the assignments he gave Jazz. Some empty coffee mugs, an old dog chew toy (did they have a dog? He’s never seen them walk it). And he searched through whatever he could find. So far, it just seemed like a normal house of 4 kids/young adults. As he was searching though, he never noticed the presence of someone turning from behind a door. Their footsteps were utterly silent and there wasn’t any breath exiting his body. The figure was completely unnoticeable. That was, until they knocked into the door and cursed. Tim whirled around to see a new face, one who looked like a younger version of Dan, round the corner shirtless with a towel wrapped around his neck and water dripping from his hair. He was rubbing his elbow when he looked up and locked eyes with Tim.

There was no time to react, no time to do anything but stare, caught red handed. Tim couldn’t believe that someone had snuck up behind him. Yet by the surprise on the other’s face and his attire, it didn’t seem like he had been expecting Tim either (and was he showering in the dark? None of the lights were on!) yet being caught wasn’t what surprised him the most. No, what surprised the seasoned vigilante, was the large, familiar, Y shaped scar covering the stranger’s chest.

But before Tim could puzzle out what that might mean, he was suddenly hit in the back of the head.

With a frying pan.

[soniclozdplove]

It was totally Elle with the frying pan. Tim comes to on the couch to the sounds of Jazz lecturing an overly smug girl maybe a year or two younger than the boy he'd seen and D glaring down at him with DEFINITELY red glowing eyes and fangs! The boy, Danny, was now in a NASA t-shirt and cuddling up to a green, glowing puppy that had a support animal tag. (PLZ I haven't seen any Emotional Support trained Cujos yet, and he'd be great). Shit, his hunch was right, he got caught, and B was gonna be pissed.

[hdgnj]

Nah! Let it be Jazz.

Tim comes round tied up on a chair. Really effectively as well. He isn't sure he can get out of this. And they've properly strip searched him as well. Which... Ok, the brother was.... Badly hurt. Given by the scarring? He was awake when that happened. And uh, yeah. He can understand the paranoia.

Why did his curiosity get him like this? It doesn't help that the lights still aren't on. So he can only really see shadows. Their glowing (holy fuck) eyes. Balls. They even took his mask. He's in so much shit. And he doesn't even have his emergency beacon. They even took his *totally normal honest watch*. Bruce is gonna be so mad.

[soniclozdplove]

D and Jazz aren't too happy about their boss sneaking into their homes. Like, points for style snd actually doing the work himself and all... but rude! Danny in particular isn't happy sine he was already pretty self conscious before the vivisection... the y-shaped scar only made it worst snd now some random saw it! Elle is being held back by Cujo.

"Um..." Tim is nervous as he realized just how deep I'm shit he is when they pulled the spare domino mask he keeps with him out of his bag, "I can explain?"

[hdgnj]

Jazz: Really? Please. Explain.

Dan: We should just call the press. Should be funny to watch hmm?

Tim:.... Please don't.

[kyrianclawraith]

[ailithnight]

When Dan suggests calling the press, Danny immediately throws something at Dan's head.

Because they're all smart enough to come to the logical conclusion about what super stealthy individual with a domino mask in his pocket rifling through their apartment means about Tim. And even if they don't trust the bats, that doesn't mean they want to expose them. Danny least of all.

Dan ducks the projectile, a pink squeaky toy the green dog immediately flies after.

Dan: Fine. I won't. Only cause the brat would get pissy if I did.

Jazz: But I do recommend you come up with a very good reason we shouldn't knock you back out and leave you tied up here while we leave.

Elle, pouting: Do we have to leave? I was really starting to like Gotham..

Jazz: If we're about to start having bat problems, yes.

[simplestoryteller]

Ellie aimed her comment at Tim with the biggest puppy eyes ever, she’s so guilt tripping him right now, also Jazz said her last line while looking Tim directly in the eye

[hdgnj]

Tim: No. Sorry. Unknowns in Gotham can be dangerous. Admittedly this is the first time I've been caught snooping. But even if I hadn't been caught? That scar on Danny? I would have helped beef up your defences. Not set Batman on you.

Danny: While looking into what caused it potentially putting us back in danger without even thinking to warn us?

Ellie: What makes you think we even want heroic intervention? We stopped trying to get hero help years ago!

Jazz: Hey, shh, c'mere. We know the government covered it up. Doesn't mean we can trust heroes. But also means we don't blame them hmm??

Tim:.... Can I please ask????

Dan: I mean you can. Ya ain't gettin' answers. But ya can ask.

[heeppo888]

Tim lets some of the frustration that’s been building over this mystery bubble over when he responds, “but why?! I could help! I wouldn’t let anything trace back to you or endanger you. I’d be careful, take every precaution.

Dan growls at Tim asking, “careful? Like tonight? Have you told the other bats you were suspicious of us? Would you be able to reel any of them in if they decided to look into us out of any curiosity or interest you sparked? If we all of a sudden run are they going to look deeper into it now that you planted that seed?”

Tim calms himself and repeats that they’d be careful that whoever they’re hiding from won’t find them and he promises he won’t let anyone hurt them.

Danny from the safety of both sisters’ arms hollowly replies, “you can’t promise that. You can’t guarantee our safety. You don’t know what we’re up against, don’t know how to protect us. Even if miraculously you could protect us,we can’t trust you will. You destroyed any sense of security we had in this home. You destroyed any sense of privacy and anonymity we could’ve reasonably expected. And destroyed any respect or faith we had for you or any of the bats as heroes by treating us like threats or interesting puzzles or a case to be solved instead of people. Hurt and healing people that didn’t need another threat to our peace.”

[ailithnight]

DP x DC Prompt/Plotbunny #6

After days? weeks? months? years? in this mercy-forsaken lab, Danny finds himself slipping; his core straining under the weight of what he's been subjected to. In a last ditch effort to save his fracturing soul, his brain simply stops processing the pain and allows his mind to escape into a waking dream.

Danny knows it's a dream. If he thinks about it; he can still hear, see, feel the scientists at work. He doesn't think about it; instead embraces whatever false world his mind decides to concoct for him.

.

Several states away, a young boy opens his eyes to the inside of a strange pod in an abandoned lab. Though he cannot see it yet, a strange metal tag dangles from his ear, stamped on one side with the word 'CADMUS' and on the other with 'R-13'.

[omnicrafts]

If It Sucks, Hit Da Bricks!

tw: Human experimentation mention, Torture (past), Derealization/Disassociation (?) Character Death (besides Danny)

Project R-13 Status: Inactive Vitals: Steady Brain Activity: Null The subject displays instinctive reaction to outside stimuli, breathes without mechanical assistance. However, all attempts to awaken or connect psychically with R-13 have shown no results. Physically, R-13 is a fully grown fourteen-year-old male. No detectable defects in neurological development. Theoretically, R-13 would be capable of movement and speech if released from Pod 413, if not for all data showing evidence of being brain-dead. Due to being unable to implant requested and required Trigger Phrases, Project R-13 is to be terminated at 08:00 July 19, 20XX. Following autopsy and analysis, scientists will begin work on R-14.

--------

No one was coming for him.

It was a fact he had resigned himself to the moment he was taken away in cuffs. His family had fought, of course, and regardless of his status, his parents would stop at nothing to get him back.

It was not a comfort or hope he was able to carry with him past the threshold of Fenton Works front door. The bag over his head did nothing to drown the three gun shots that echoed from guns that carried bullets instead of Ectoplasm.

They were three blocks away when the explosion of the portal being forcibly shut down rocked Amity Park.

So no one would be coming for him.

The first year, he fought back. He kept track of days by scratching them in the wall, like in all the cartoons and tv shows. Attempted to escape, refused to cooperate with tests and experiments, sassed back against questions.

He no longer had the energy. It was always bright, except for the times they sealed him in small dark containers for transport. His many escape attempts had only helped them strengthen their containment measures, he should have waited, but there was nothing he could do now.

His living self had deteriorated to the point it was no longer capable of sustaining itself and his ghost, leaving him to remain in his spectral form to the researchers delight. His Core ached from the strain of holding himself together, unable to spare energy to heal more than wounds that might end him.

If he didn't think of something soon, he'd either shatter or reveal the best kept secret of the Infinite Realms. So Danny closed his eyes during a lull in the latest torture and prayed to whoever could hear him, this worked.

He felt fuzzy at the edges and sank into the feeling, letting it take him away. The almost forgotten sensation of floating soothed him just a little before his Core constricted tightly. Condensing down, down, down. Shedding excess ectoplasm to become smaller and smaller, until he was sure it could fit on the top of a pinhead. Danny wasn’t sure what exactly was happening, he just wanted to stop being so aware of everything.

He didn’t fight it though, letting the sensation of fuzzing take over him. It was like holding his hands up in front of those old clunky tv sets, palms barely touching as the static brushed against the skin like fur. Suddenly,as though he were a puppet with their strings cut, he was floating in a nothingness.

,”,”,”,”,

A bolt of electricity shocked through his body, alarms around him blaring but muffled. There was no pain once the shocks subsided, and Danny felt himself floating in a way that reminded him of the Far Frozen Medical Center.

It made sense his mind would create a world around that first. He needed so much medical care. When Danny opened his eyes, however, it wasn't Frostbite who created him, but people in another lab.

No, a different lab. One missing the blinding white of the GIW facilities. There were no lines of green running along the wall to indicate anti-ghost measures.

This was a Lab he could escape from. For the first time in years, Danny grinned, eyes flashing a bright green as the thick glass around him shattered, and he dropped to his feet.

------

Project R-13 Status: Terminated Escaped Vitals: Unknown Brain Activity: Unknown R-13 was terminated at 08:04 July 19, 20XX. Confirmed vitals ceased functioning and what little Brain Activity there was ceased. At 08:08 an electrical malfunction caused sparks to electrify Containment Pod 413 for approximately two minutes. Subject R-13's vital signs spiked and machines registered full Neurological activity. R-13's eyes opened for the first time at 08:11. The subject proceeded to shatter the Super Grade glass of the Containment Pod 413 before engaging scientists in combat. At some point, Subject became aware of nude state and stole Head Researcher Torrance's lab coat, trousers and my own badge when I attempted to intervene. Suspicions that the Robins possess meta abilities confirmed despite donor subjects not carrying the Meta Gene. R-13 removed clothing by simply pulling them off and through Dr Torrance, putting them on while continuing the escape attempt. Then ran through the sealed door of the Observation Room in a manner not unlike a ghost Phase Shifting. Security pursued R-13 through the facility before Subject turned a corner and vanished, despite being a dead end with no rooms or visible ventilation. Subject may have inherited abilities from several of the Genetic Templates used for Project R, which DNA samples were used remains classified to Researchers pending capture and study of him Subject R-13. Tracker located in R-13's tag is malfunctioning, possibly due to use of previously displayed Abilities. Signal becomes lost before appearing miles away from previous location. Points seem sporadic with no specific direction over another, several movement patterns suggest Play Behavior confusion when in one place as the signal loops on itself or circles before moving elsewhere with no warning. Several task forces have been mobilized to locate and contain R-13 before undesired parties can discover Subject. God Speed kid.

--------

Meanwhile, the GIW are livid that their own test subject fucking “melted”. Scientists blaming the Agents for not properly sustaining the ghost, with the Agents arguing that letting the monster heal too much was too risky.

Danny's Core straight up just shrunk down and Yote itself into the nearest Husk. Which luckily for Danny was the Just Terminated R-13 Project 'Clone' bc he was being transported between facilities and was passing nearby enough. The Shrinking allowed his Soul to pass through the Ecto defenses by being under the threshold that registers enough to activate them.

Literally a last ditch effort because if there HADN'T been a viable vessel for him to settle into... well...

Danny has basic Ghost abilities but no alternate form and minor "Ecto contamination" which would register him as a Liminal. If Danny were to come into contact with a Lazarus pit or die he would unlock Phantom from hibernation. His Spirit form did So much heavy lifting that it deserves a nap okay.

[atiyasnake]

@ailithnight @omnicrafts​  this dug itself into my brain so I couldn’t resist. 

~

Danny flew away as far as he could. He went West. Then South. Then North. Then East. Then North again. He just kept moving, uncaring about the direction even looping back again. He didn’t care as long as it was anywhere but there. But he wasn’t there anymore. 

Instead soon he found himself landing where there were no tall buildings nearby or people. Farmland. Quiet. No walls anywhere near him. Just crops and dirt. He stared at the tall stalks of what seemed to be corn and was reminded of a childhood memory from a family trip a long time ago to a farm. They had a field like this, but smaller. 

Danny let himself stand there for a while just looking.

It was a nice dream. Finally being able to escape. To get away from those dammed white walls and go outside again. It was so easy to slip away from scientists that had actual names on badges and not just letters. No glowing green of ecto-weaponry that would burn. He smiled as he slipped the badge he stole into a pocket and looked up. 

The sky was right there. There were clouds with the sun peeking out from behind. It was the afternoon by its position. Danny could feel the wind, so different from the stagnant air in the room where they cut into him again and again. So different from the sensation of those agents’ breaths mingling right above him as they discussed his organs and the tests they still needed to conduct. Even the lab coat and pants he stole felt nice despite being too big on him.

He was more than happy to focus on the sensations his mind had come up with. 

It wasn’t very long until Danny noticed someone else had arrived. Their arrival had been silent. There were no footsteps or sound of tires on the ground. Instead, it seemed that suddenly there was someone there, standing not far from him. Danny didn’t recognize them. Dreams were typically like that though. 

It was a boy. Black hair. Blue Eyes. It was amusing seeing the similarities he had with him.

But what interested Danny more was the clothes the boy was wearing. Underneath a leather jacket was something skintight and colorful. Blue and red with a giant S on their chest. 

It seemed that Danny’s mind conjured up a hero. 

That was nice. He had always wanted to meet one. To not be alone. Being in Amity Park there was only him and then Red Huntress, but it wasn’t the same seeing as she hunted him down before becoming an ally. He had always imagined what it would be like to meet someone like him. Someone with powers. Someone who he could have fought alongside, and gotten help from. 

But people like that didn’t exist. Every search for one left him empty-handed. As far as Danny knew he was alone. Except now… there was someone there. 

“Hi,” Danny said. He could see them looking at him closely and they almost looked frozen, as if shocked that he was even there. The “Hey” he eventually got in response was a little stilted, though Danny wasn't one to judge. He’d been awkward more times than he could count. 

Danny dug his feet deeper into the dirt. Watching how his pale skin went underneath the brown. It felt better than the metal table. He could be free of it at any point he wished. It was better than being strapped down as they cut deeper and touched what they shouldn't. Better than being treated like he wasn’t alive, the agents uncari-

“What are you doing?” the hero’s voice was curious and warm. A stark difference compared to the clinical terms and demanding voices Danny had gotten used to.

He focused on that warmth and the warmth he felt on his skin. He focused on the dirt going in between his toes. He focused on the wind ruffling through his hair. Danny really liked this instead. He looked at the hero who looked so bright and alive. A wish of what Danny had wanted so long ago. 

“Hiding.”

Danny was hiding in a dream, more than happy to get away from pain and solitude. More than happy to stand there barefoot in the dirt free and no longer alone. 

[atiyasnake]

@ailithnight @omnicrafts​ okay so like it really got in my head and I ended up writing more. XD

~

Kon had memorized his friends’ heartbeat. He hadn’t even realized he'd done that until Clark mentioned it one day. It was something he had done too. 

It was comforting to know the rhythm and be able to pinpoint it out of a sea of noises. It was helpful on missions too. 

So when Kon noticed when he suddenly one heartbeat oddly similar to Tim’s appear. An odd copy that was slightly different. Except Tim was on a mission somewhere else.  It wasn’t a hard decision to follow where the sound led him once it stopped moving. 

It led Kon to farmland and one figure stood out, white amongst the green and brown.

The heartbeat didn’t speed up or show signs of being startled when Kon landed near them. Kon couldn't say the same about his own heartbeat. There in front of him was someone in a white lab coat and pants too big. He could see the pants being cuffed and Kon could see a badge in a pocket. The Cadmus name was clear with his sight. Then he finally looked at the person. 

Kon was hit with a sense of odd familiarity. They looked like Tim and Jason. Some sort of odd combination of the Robins. Kon could imagine the old photos Tim had shown him that he had taken of Jason when they were younger. The red tag on their ear was a deciding factor. 

A clone.

Cadmus had made another clone. 

For a moment Kon couldn’t breathe. He thought they had taken care of Cadmus, and had prevented any chance of something like this happening. But there was a clone standing right in front of him. Someone like him. Someone who managed to escape.

“Hi,” the boy said to him and Kon felt like he had just stepped out of the pod again. Unsteady on his feet and words not coming so easily to him.  His “Hey” was as awkward as the first time he talked to anyone. 

But the clone just looked back down at their feet in the dirt. There was no sign of aggression. Kon could hear their steady heartbeat. He could hear their feet digging into the dirt. It was so different from what Kon had experienced when he had first gotten out. That explosive anger and no short supply of people to fight.

But there was nothing here. Just farmland. Just two clones. 

“What are you doing?” the question slipped out of Kon. He couldn't help but be curious about what was going through their head. If it was anything like what he had going through his head. 

Again the clone was calm, he didn’t seem bothered. It was completely different from the expressions on Tim or Jason’s faces, two people who were almost always expressive. Whether it be anger, exhaustion, or just being an ass. Then here was someone who was a mixture of both, who had a combination of their hair, nose, jaw, and eye color that looked at him with no recognition but no apprehension. 

“Hiding,” they said. 

Kon couldn't help how his eyes drifted to the tag on their ear. Probably tracking where they were. Anxiety made his hands twitch. “Can I take that off? The ear tag I mean?”

Those blue eyes just stared before nodding. When Kon came closer they still stared. No wariness just curiosity. 

Kon made quick work of the ear tag, already knowing how to take off without it hurting, but the boy didn’t flinch. Damn did Kon wish he knew what their name was. The tag simply said R-13. 

He moved away and called for Bart through his comm. He was sure to get the idea of what Kon was trying to do and tell the others what was going on. Kon didn’t think he’d be able to get away and explain to anyone else. Bart showed up in no time and with Kon barely getting a few words out nodded like he understood. It was clear that he was curious about the clone but Bart didn’t hesitate to grab the tag and run off. 

It made Kon grateful to know him. 

When he turned back Kon saw the boy crouching on the ground. Their hands were in the dirt this time. Kon could hear how they stretched and flexed their hands open before slowly closing it. Holding fistfuls of dirt before slowly loosening their grip and letting the dirt slip through their fingers. 

There was a certain look in their eye. Something dissociative, they were so intently focused on the dirt on their hands. Kon didn’t like it. Someone was already giving directions into his ear through the comm about taking the clone to a secure location maybe even the Watchtower. 

That could work, but Kon thought of those cold walls and floors. He thought about that taste of freedom; how the clone in front of him seemed so intent on being outside after escaping. 

“Do you want to come with me?” Kon asked and they looked up at him, hands still buried in the dirt. Parts of the white fabric of the pants and lab coat were already stained brown “I can help you hide” Kon added because he would. Something deep inside of him was screaming for him to help the boy in front of him. To not let them slip away. To keep them away from people with labcoats and pods and machinery. To be the person he had wished someone had been for him since the very beginning. 

The clone stood up, uncaring about dirt, not even bothering to wipe their hands. “Okay.”

The relief that filled Kon for some reason made him want to cry. 

***

Danny had seen what he assumed was another hero stop by, the two shared some words before the other left. It was someone who ran fast in a blur of red and yellow. It was interesting but Danny found he was more interested in the dirt again. It was ridiculous how much he liked it. 

Then the hero offered for him to go somewhere. To help him hide. Danny saw no reason he should have refused and he was glad he didn’t because he felt almost giddy in the hero’s arms. They were flying. He could feel gravity pulling on them and warm arms secure around him, as if scared he’d fall and get hurt. But Danny couldn't care; he never got to be carried by anyone living like this.

It had always been him carrying someone or flying. Or being thrown through the air roughly. Never carried by someone with a beating heart. 

When the hero landed in was in front of a house still surrounded by farmland. It was an old one with wood paneling. A wooden porch with a screen door. It reminded him of houses from old movies. The stereotypical type that usually belonged to an older couple or family. 

Danny was only proved right when the front door opened and two people emerged. A man and woman that showed their age with grey hair . 

“Kon!” the woman said with a smile and her voice was gentle, loving. She was looking at the hero and so did the man. 

Danny watched the hero or ‘Kon’ greet them as ‘Ma’ and ‘Pa’. There was no hesitance in their affection even with a stranger in their midst, but maybe that was because Danny didn’t want that. 

“Ma, Pa this is…someone like me,” Kon said and Danny thought that was an amusing way to introduce him. There had never been anyone like him. Or there was Vlad and Dani except Vlad had rarely been kind and Dani was no-

“Well, it's very nice to meet you. Would you like to come inside? I just made some pie.” the woman called Ma said and Danny found three pairs of eyes looking at him. Yet it didn’t feel like those inspecting him, wanting to know how he ticked. Wanting to see what was inside. 

“Yes please, Ma’am,” Danny said and he got a dismissive wave from the woman and a chuckle from the man. 

“Oh honey, just call me Martha and this here is my husband Jonathan.”

“I bet you’ll be insisting he calls you Ma before he can get a second silence of pie,” Jonathan said. Only laughing when Martha playfully hit his arm and they walked inside. The door was left open. 

Danny watched them go; it was quiet. He could hear their muffled voices coming from inside sounding light. He looked back at Kon. 

Kon was already looking at him. They stared at each other. 

Kon gestured his head to the door. 

Danny went ahead and walked inside. The wood floor creaked underneath his feet; he liked the sound. 

Kon stepped inside behind him before heading off towards the table where four plate settings were being placed. Jonathan easily set plates and cups and utensils. There were signs of them being well-used and well-loved. Then Martha came in with a fresh pie, steam coming off of it. She stepped gracefully around her husband to set it on the table. Then there was Kon taking a seat Martha ushered him in before turning to get a glass pitcher and handing it over to Jonathan who filled each cup. 

It was a well-oiled routine. No spills or glasses crashing to the floor. Danny couldn’t see any ectoplasm staining the plate or pie coming to life. 

“Well take a seat son,” Jonathan said and it sounded nothing like an order but a gentle offer.

Danny took a seat and watched as slices were cut and placed on each plate. Once a slice was placed in front of him the smell hit him. 

Apple. Cinnamon. His eyes closed and he couldn’t place when he last had apple pie. 

He didn’t think he ever did. 

“Sweetheart, do you want to wash your hands?”

Danny opened his eyes; the others were eating but Martha was looking at him. She glanced at his hands. 

They still had dirt. His fingerprints and the lines in his palms stood out amongst the brown; Danny could feel the dirt underneath his nails. 

“No thank you,” he said because he liked the dirt. Danny liked how his hands were no longer clean. No longer being wiped away just so that the agents could have a clear view. Just so the needles were easier to enter. 

“Alright, but if you want to wash up later there is a sink in the kitchen and I’m sure Kon could show you the bathroom later on,” Martha said before she finally took a bite of her own pie. She didn’t seem at all annoyed by his refusal. 

As Danny ate, letting the flavor of sweet hot apple filling and warm buttery crust fill his mouth, no one said anything about the dirt that fell from his hands or stained the glass he drank from. 

[omnicrafts]

You're killing me smalls, killing me. it's too soft I'm crying. How dare you see into my head like this. /J

He's so good just this is all he wants rn is just softness and care and to feel anything except what he's used too after so long. hnnn baby, baby boy

[ashoutinthedarkness]

Oh thats good. Beautiful soft angst and deep feels you got there <3

[atiyasnake]

@ailithnight @omnicrafts​ I blame the two of you for this. YOU’RE THE ONES WHO’VE MADE my brain latch onto this and now I’m all soft and sad and just hkjfhfjkshjk and I can’t let go. I just want to keep writing more hjkfshfjka (I say this with love)

~

When they had gotten news there was a new clone the league admittedly were worried. They didn’t have the best history with clones. People had never had any good intentions when it came to creating copies of heroes, even moreso Cadmus who they already had a painful history with. One they thought was over. 

But when Bart came by, a tag with the number R-13 and news that Kon found someone, they knew they were wrong. 

Hal was on the one Bart had come to, the others on various missions or busy in their own cities. He didn’t hesitate to contact Kon and tell him to take the clone to a secure location. There wasn’t any doubt in his mind that Clark and Bruce would want to do a threat assessment. Also Cadmus was most likely looking for their newly escaped clone. 

Yet while Kon technically listened, the Kent farm wasn’t exactlt what Hal had in mind when he said secure location. 

“Wait, he’s where?” Clark asked when he finally arrived and Hal tried to ignore Bruce’c cowl covered stare practically burning into his skull. 

“At your parents’ farm,” Hal repeated again and he had a feeling that the reason wasn’t because Supes couldn’t hear him. 

“For how long?” Bruce asked. Hal could see that he subtelty placed a hand on Clark’s back reassuringly. Though Hal himself didn’t feel so reassured. He wished he had taken another shift to be on duty. 

“A few hours.” A few hours the clone had been on the farm and Hal only found out atfer he finally managed to track Kon down after he had shut off the comm and went radio silent. Unfortunately it wasn’t a rare occurrence and Hal felt he had a certain Robin to blame for that habit among the younger heroes. 

Though Red Robin would deny it with a smile. 

Clark tilted his head, listening for his parents’ heartbeats along for Kon’s. All three were fine and on the Kent farm, but he noticed the fourth one close by. “I’m going,” he said and when Bruce moved his hand to his shoulder, he knew he would be coming along for the ride. 

Then they were off. 

***

Kon could hear the moment Clark arrived with Bruce. He rushed out there leaving Ma inside before Clark could even finish landing. 

“I know what you’re gonna say about protocol and rules but I just couldn’t take them somewhere else,” Kon rushed out to say trying not to worry too much about the looks on the two adults’ faces. “It had to be here. Ma and Pa don’t mind either and we had pie! Pie; it was apple. It went fine. Things are okay, promise!”

Kon didn’t want them to be mad. He wanted to make it clear that it was okay. This clone wasn’t at all aggressive, no sign of it at all. Kon would have never put Pa or Ma in danger like that. Clark had to know that. He did. He had to know that he would ne-

Clark’s hands cupped Kon’s face. “Kon, are you okay?”

Kon was about to say he was but the words wouldn’t come out and he finally noticed that he was breathing fast. His eyes felt a bit wet and even Clark’s face was a bit blurry. “I-”

Clark didn’t at all look mad. Just concerned. 

“I don’t know,” he said because Kon didn’t know. He had been feel off kilter ever since he landed and first saw the clone standing barefoot in the dirt. He’d been ignoring how fast his heart was going, how there was a twisting sensation in his gut in favor of focusing on the steady heartbeat that sounded too much like his friend’s. “He’s like me but different and he said he was hiding so I just-I couldn’t- it wa-”

He was pulled into a hug and Kon could hear just how fast Clark’s heart was going too. A man that supposedly was invincible was just as scared as he was. 

“It’s going to be okay Kon. We’re okay.” Clark said and Kon didn’t hear any sign that it was a lie.

***

Bruce remained silent as they finally went inside the house. Clark handing off Kon to Martha who just smiled warmly and comforted Kon. Not fazed at all by them still in their costumes. She was always someone who kept calm. It reminded him of Alfred. 

Bruce already had Hal getting ready to get into contact with Tim, Jason, Dick, and Damian. The tag had said R-13 and from the what Bart had reported, itseemed it be a clone of one od his sons. Though he wasn’t sure which one. 

Only Martha had been inside but through the back screen door he could see Jonathan Kent in a chair of the back porch looking at a newspaper. Bruce stood beside Clark who had paused from opening the door. 

“Down. Four letter word. Celestial bear. Theres a major and minor. Group of stars,” Jonathan said without looking at them. A cross word puzzle.  

“Ursa,” a young voice said and Bruce could imagine it had been said with a smile. There was no hesitance in their answer. An undertone of confidence that reminded him of Tim giving him the answers to a cold case that had Bruce stumped though he didn’t admit it. 

The floor creaked under Clark’s feet and Jonathan finally looked at them. He smiled before setting down the newspaper and getting out of his seat. 

Clark didn’t move as Jonathan came inside and pulled him into a hug. Despite his large stature, Clark looked small in his father’s arms. He always did even with Martha. Bruce could hear a muffled “Hey Pa”, from Clark.

“They don’t look like you, son,” Jonathan said without an preamble or letting go of Clark. “But they remind me of you. Like when you went out to go play and came back all dirty and so on. He’s wearing some white clothes like a scientist but doesnt look uncomfortable.” Jonathan pulled away but let his hands linger on Clark’s shoulders. “A polite young man if I do say so myself.”

“You’re okay?” Clark asked, his voice full of concern. 

Jonathan sighed with a wiry smile. “I’m just fine, you know we can take care of ourselves. Raised you after all.”

Finally Clark smiled and Pa stepped to the side. Giving Clark one more pat and a nod to Brue. 

When they stepped out onto the back porch the clone wasn’t in any of the woodeen chairs. Instead he were on the steps of the porch sitting. The bright white stood out against the wooden steps along with the splotches of brown on the fabric. The clone hadn’t reacted to their presence. He sat with his head leaning against the wooden post, eyes closed face exposed to the air and light from the sun that had just begun to set.  

He looked like he was asleep. Completely at ease. There was even dirt still coating his hands and feet.

But what drew Bruce in was how he looked like a cultimation of his children. An odd mixture. He was reminded of Jason when he was younger, not influenced by the pits and of Tim. He seemed lanky like Tim did out of his uniform and had pale skin. His hair was messy reminiscent of Jason. He could see Jason’s nose. 

“He looks like them,” Clark said softly.

 Bruce nodded and wondered what color eyes they would have. 

***

Danny sat with Pa on the back porch after they finished eating, and he had been right. Ma insisted on being called Ma. Pa looked rightfully amused with himself. 

The man settled into his seat like it was an old friend and grabbed a paper while Danny took a seat on the steps. Danny could see the blades of grass touching the last step. The wood was warm beneath him from the sunlight hitting it and he let himself lean into the wooden post that was warm too. 

Soon Pa’s voice joined the wind. He was reading cross word puzzles out loud. It was pleasant just to hear that voice work through the options and Danny couldn’t help how a guess slipped out at one of them. Pa had thanked him and afterward would pause after reading each one just to let Danny answer one if he knew it. 

He of course knew all the space related ones. 

They stayed there for a while. Danny listened to Pa’s voice, the wind, and how the paper would crinkle in Pa’s grip whenever he readjusted his hold. He heard the wood creak under another pair of feet and how Pa got up. Though Danny stayed where he was even when two new arrivals stepped out onto the porch. 

He let what little of their voices he heard mix and mingle into all the other sounds. A gentle symphony. 

A voice came closer, maybe even trying to speak to him but Danny didn’t pay attention. He only let out a hum to join the sound of the bugs that had started to make their presence known among the fields. The voice retreated and Danny stayed there enjoying the last bit of warmth as the sun continue to go down. 

It was much later after he couldn’t see light that a voice came to him again. This time much clearer before. When he opened his eyes Ma standing near him. She had her hands stretched out, holding out a blanket close enough to touch. 

It looked homemade; some parts faded and a few crooked stitches. 

His hands still had dirt. Danny didn’t want dirt touch the stitches. That would have been rude.

“Can I wash them?” he asked and held out his hands. 

Ma just smiled. “Of course sweetheart, let me show you the bathroom. Kon is talking to the others.”

Danny followed her, stepping into the spots where her feet had just stepped. Her gait was smaller than Pa’s, but the wood didn’t creak as much where she stepped. 

The bathroom was small, but Ma didn’t make him feel trapped when she stood inside of it showing him the soap and just the right way to turn to the knob so it didn’t splash him. After he had washed his hands he looked down at his feet. They still had dirt on them too. 

“Do you want to get that cleaned up too?” she asked. 

He nodded and then watched as Ma set up the tub. Her hands twisted the knobs and water came out. She checked to see if it was warm before letting him use it, then went off to get him a towel. 

Danny sat on the edge of the tub and watched as the water hit his feet and the water turned brown before going down the drain. The temperature was perfect. 

When Ma came back she had a towel, a pair of sturdy looking boots, and thick blue socks. 

“Thought you’d might want some shoes. It can get cold and I know I hate cold feet. Knitted these socks myself so I promise they’ll keep you warm.” She said as she handed over the towel. 

“Thank you,” he said and she smiled before walking away. 

When his feet were dry and the socks slipped on. He wiggled his toes. They were warm.

There was a sound of a slight thud of the boot against the floor when he walked out of the bathroom. He could feel the grooves of the blanket against his skin as he held it to his chest. Danny made sure to fold up the white sleeves so the brown part didn’t touch it. 

He ran into Pa first who when he saw the boots crouched down with a smile. Uncaring about any strain he put on his joints. “Gotta tie these up. Don’t want you tripping,” he said before grabbing the loose laces of the boots that Danny had left untied. 

Danny hadn’t realized he’d forgotten such a simple thing. 

There was a pat to the boot before Pa got back up and the two of them went back outside. 

He wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed when Kon suddenly  showed up in front of him. The sky was dark and Kon looked tired. 

“We’re gonna leave,” Kon said and Danny looked to see that there was some sort of jet waiting for them. A man in black and man in blue and red stood on the top of the ramp. 

More heroes. 

“Okay,” he said and Kon looked relieved before looking back at the two other heroes while Danny got up. 

He eyed the jet, it looked like something that should have been in Tucker’s dream. But he saw the metal and was grateful for what Ma gave him. Those floors would be cold.  

Ma and Pa stood behind him, standing close to each other. A couple that reminded him of something he only got to see on television. So open and warm. He looked at them and wondered just how his mind could have come up with them. He didn’t think it should have been able to. 

Then Ma smiled and pulled him into a hug. He let her.

Hands cupped his head; fingers were running through his hair. He could hear Ma’s heart beat. It was a reassuring sound. There was another hand that joined her’s and another that was on his shoulder. Danny could feel the callouses on the fingers that brushed against his neck. They were hands that belonged to a hardworking man. 

“You’re welcome here any time sweetheart, you hear,” Ma said and she sounded so sincere that Danny couldn’t help but respond with “Yes Ma’am.” He liked the sound of Jonathan’s laughter that followed. 

When Danny finally sat down in one of the seats inside the jet and watched as the ramp closed, blocking the view of that old house, he thought he’d have liked to stay a bit longer with Ma and Pa. But even dreams didn’t always go the way you wanted.

[heeppo888]

Ooo this would probably be a bit early given the pacing so far but I just imagine this is where the “dream” cracks around the edges. Maybe they take him to the watchtower or one of the JL auxiliary bases on earth or Bruce lets his emotions lead him around as he’s prone to and brings him to the batcave but no matter where they choose they want to run so test to see who his donors are, check his health, and probably a mental scan to search for trigger phrases. Danny hears “run some test” or he sees the medical room they lead him too and immediately has a soft freak out.

Before they know it he’s crouched down, knees to his chest and arms protecting his head, rambling/whispering things like: “No, no, no! No test! No more test! No more pain!”, “This is a nice dream. My nice dream!”, “Dreams can’t hurt. Hiding here means it won’t hurt anymore! If it hurts here too I’ll wake up! I’ll wake up and be back and it’ll hurt more! No more! No more! Please, I just wanna keep dreaming! I don’t wanna hurt anymore!”

Of course, as the person with the most interaction with Danny thus far, Kon would need to calm him down. I think with how mentally fragile Danny seems they/he might play into or allow him to believe the dream until the martians or Canary can give him a check over.

[heeppo888]

DP x DC prompt 15

So…

Danny’s home Dimension goes to shit slowly and then all at once. First the GIW being unable to catch actual ghost and noticing that some people set of the scanners too start rounding up liminals. And the spark for things to really go bad is the GIW taking Vlad. Whatever they did, he’s never seen again and their weapons are now much more affective. They’ve become even more overzealous tinkering with the scanners to detect small and smaller quantities of ecto contamination until basically all of Amnity Park is quarantined. It quickly becomes an all out rebellion of Amnity and some of the more amiable ghosts vs the GIW. Eventually the GIW get it into their heads that the ghost portal needs to be taken over in order to win and the ensuing battle ends with the portal blown and most of the town, GIW and Parkers caught in the blast. Danny being a halfa survives the blast but he’s alone trapped in the ghost shield that’d been used to keep Amnity Park contained. He doesn’t know how long he’s alone there before Wulf finds him and brings him to the zone, to Clockwork.

Danny recuperates slowly but eventually Clockwork tells him that as a halfa he needs to spend time in a living realm to survive and that he’ll send him some place he can start over completely. Danny, having spent too long alone in a wasteland, begs to not be alone again and Clockwork allows him to choose a companion. Now Danny and Wulf are local cryptids in their new home scrounging for their needs and avoiding the nosy young hero team like the plague. Bart is frustrated he can’t keep up with them (portals). Conner can’t hear any biometrics from the potential werewolf and sometimes can’t get any from the kid either. Tim is going a little crazy trying to figure out who/what they are and where they came from. And Cassie is both enjoying trying to catch/meet the cryptids and also disparaging the rest of her team in getting many different breeds of obsessive over this.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 297

“I feel like we should be concerned about Tim.” 

“Honestly we should always be concerned about him, but what made you realize it this time?” 

“Have you seen his search history- wait no you haven’t you haven’t been in the cave all day, look at this-”

“...'Is it legal to adopt the ghost of a kid? Can someone call CPS on a family’s ghost? How to take care of ghosts 101? How do you get a ghost of a child to not be scared? What to do if you find ghost children in your home? What the fuck…?” 

“Exactly, I think he needs an intervention.” 

Or in other words, after getting thrown into another dimension thanks to the GIW destroying most of Amity, a trio of ghost children decide to crash in this seemingly abandoned apartment building. No one seems to live here anyway… Tim Drake on the other hand, gets a notification that there’s someone in his main safehouse that he might’ve slightly forgotten about thanks to having his house-boat now, and sees a trio of starved looking ghost kids

[missgadabout]

You can just tell this is Dick talking to Jason.

[heeppo888]

Ok but Tim gets his team involved in the planning for operation Canterville and prepare to send in Greta to make contact and explain to the ghost kids they’re in a hero’s safe house and that the hero wants to help them and will provide them with whatever they need and/or whatever will make them comfortable.

Meanwhile

Dick is talking to the family planning an “intervention”. Which is an extreme reaction since he hasn’t even asked Tim what’s going on. Also I’m assuming this it after Bruce’s adventure in the time stream, which means Dick assuming/treating Tim like he’s crazy (again) will not go over well. He’s gonna be the last to meet his ghostly niblings.