It’s my understanding that Danny is often seen as unhinged to the other toons in Nicktoons Unite, so now, I bring you this:
Skulker isn’t a problem to them. When Danny was sixteen, he swallowed another ghost blob in front of Skulker while keeping eye contact as a silent threat. Surprisingly, it actually worked. With the amount of times Skulker has been beaten by Danny at that point, Skulker knew that Danny could beat him again in the future, and the ghost kid keeps his promises.
Until he targets one of his teammates for whatever reason and Danny comes in like
Danny: Skulker, I am this close to following through with my threat.
Skulker: Your fingers are touching, welp.
Danny: Exactly.
Skulker:
Danny:
Skulker: *turns around and runs*
Danny: GET BACK HERE MOTHERFU-
Danny comes back a while later promising them that Skulker wouldn’t be a problem anymore. They don’t want to know.
Or maybe Danny’s just really hungry one mission and a ghost shows up right as they think they’re done, and Danny lunges at them because he’s not just hungry. He’s hangry. Really. Hangry.
CW body horror (limb loss and cannibalism, limb loss is temporary)
I can't stop thinking about ghost cannibalism.
Or more specifically, I can't stop thinking about it being normal and acceptable for ghosts to eat each other, because ectoplasm is ectoplasm- so theres never been a stigma. It's just part of the culture. You take a chunk out of an opponent's arm, they heal, everyone goes home.
The only problem arises when you go for the core, in which case you're dealing in a murder charge unless you have a very good reason to completely erase someone from continued reality.
Danny worked this out early, because he was lucky enough that his first real ghost fight was against a woman dedicated to teenagers receiving proper nutrition.
While she'd been trying to force feed kids week old mystery meat, she'd simultaneously been trying desperately to convince Danny to take a chunk out of her actual arm, not the weird meat one- telling him how he must be absolutely starving.
He was.
Which was why he didn't ask any question and just let his new fangs take control, and soon the Lunch Lady's entire arm was gone.
He started panicking, but she tells him she's fine, she'll heal little ghostling, you just stay here and digest while I get back to work-
-and Danny sucked her up into the thermos.
Hoo boy.
Cut to that night in his parent's basement, a nice chat with her over some mildly contaminated ham sandwiches, and she was willing to answer all his questions.
Cut to years later, and Danny Fenton is visiting Sam Manson in Gotham City. She moved to try and get a job as one of Ivy's goons, and so far it seemed to be going well- something about making her girlfriend laugh.
He's walking down the street, when out of nowhere he gets jumped by some random brick wall of a man in leather- and Danny is Phantom now, because no human is this strong naturally, and now they're rolling into a dirty alley and getting stuck with broken glass.
The guy is straddling him, kinda hot honestly, but then Phantom looks him in the eye.
It was like staring into a bioluminescent swamp, murky and cold, but so nearly blinding to him in the dark. His face was twitching oh so subtly, sweating and panting like he had run a marathon and was resisting collapse.
Ohhh he knows that look. Damn, he knew that the ectoplasm in Gotham was gross, but so gross that some locals were rejecting it to the point of starvation? Because why else would this guy, clearly top of the food chain, be so hungry?
Phantom respected personal choice, but this was honestly unhealthy. But if he wouldn't take any from here..
"Hey man, it's cool- it's cool, look," and Phantom holds up his hand, reaching towards the man's face.
He flinched back, shoving Phantom back down and slamming his head into the hard dirt.
Phantom hisses, throwing his hand back out to retaliate, but oddly enough things work out on their own.
Because the brick wall straddling him decided, instead of deflecting the blow and let go of the man he had pinned, he'd just bite into Phantom's wrist.
And his blunt teeth sunk in.
Phantom sighed with relief, feeling his energy flow away and into this guy who absolutely needed it more than him.
After a full arm, he slowed down. Boy does life come full circle, Phantom thinks.
After half of his other arm, Phantom thinks he should have called an Uber first.
After the second half, Phantom remembers he can use the voice feature on his phone to call Sam after this.
After half a leg, he decides an Uber would have asked way too many questions anyway.
After the second half, the man was unconscious and satiated. This was good, because Phantom was getting tired himself.
The ghost lay in the alley, one leg and three stumps. It wouldn't be the first time, but it would be the first time he'd forgotten to get a ride first.
"Alright, mystery man." he rolled and wiggled himself until his phone came out of his pocket,
"You just sleep that off, and I'll get us home. Siri, call Sam."
Danny was tired. It wasn't normal tired, no. It was a core deep emptiness that nothing seems to help.
In desperation, he took melatonin and let Boxy run amok that night, and it still didn't help.
Now facing a boastful Skulker, he's rapidly becoming angry. The GIW fools and his genetic donors are causing damage to his territory, and the ghost isn't listening to Danny's attempts to talk him down.
He blacks out for what seems like a blink, and comes to in the caves below amity.
He's covered in ecto that smells distinctly of Skulker, metal dust and shards embedded into his suit. An innocent looking core sits against the wall opposite him.
Despite the situation, he feels good. He feels better rested than he has in months. The empty ache in his chest is finally filled. The core across the room..
Oh, that's Skulker...
The Hunter is metaphorically curled up on himself at Danny's feet, pleading for mercy, saying he'll leave him alone.
Please just throw me in the zone. Please don't eat me. Please please please...
Oh, is that why he's...
Huh.
It's almost absent-minded, as Danny picks up and pockets the pleading core. He knows he should probably be disgusted, but the purring of his instincts is too satisfied for that.
Luckily, he wasn't missing for too long, and the ghost hunters hadn't witnessed anything incriminating.
Danny: *laying dramatically on the ground* love is dead, heck it never existed in the first place! Trust was made to be betrayed and the afterlife is a nightmare!!!
Manny: *crouching next to him* Danny, mi amor, are you okay?
Danny: *lifts his head up* Cujo just stole the blob ghost I was about to eat
Manny: You hungry?
Danny: *falls flat on his face* S.T.A.R.V.I.N.G.
Manny: *transforms into El Tigre and gets his claws out* don't worry mi vida, I'll get you another blob ghost!
Ah yes, the dpxdc "drabble" I decided to write for Halloween. Honestly not too enthused with how it came out but posting it anyway. I feel like some parts feel a bit rushed and there might be some plotholes. Oh well. As always, feel free to add on if you so desire.
TW: Gore, Cannibalism, Vomiting, Zalgo Text
Translations for the Zalgo are available at the end.
AO3 version
“Are you sure about this, Hood?”
Dick stared at the entrance of the abandoned subway tunnel, Jason practically vibrating out of his armor beside him.
For once, it was Jason who had broken into Dick’s apartment and not the other way around. He was rambling something about the Joker and needing Dick’s help, and who was Dick to say no? His little brother never sought him out on his own, let alone asked for his help. Never. Dick was so proud! If he rewarded this behavior then maybe Jason would do it again, and somehow that would lead to Dick being able to give him his highly sought-after best big brother hugs whenever he wanted. Dick was still figuring out the intermediate steps.
The point is that Dick needed to help him, regardless of if this was all based on a gut feeling and not even a whisper that the Joker was around let alone planning anything. What the hell, Dick thought. Sometimes gut feelings are right, and push comes to shove, Dick will follow Red Hood around Gotham until his paranoia dies down. Then Dick can lovingly bully him into brother bonding time.
So here they were, staring into the gaping mouth of an unused tunnel.
There are worse ways he could have spent his night.
Jason grunts, fists clenched as they gaze into the blackness. “It’s almost Halloween. You know how these freaks get this time of year.”
Dick concedes the point.
“Come on,” Jason bumps against his shoulder as he stalks toward the blackness, “He’s down there I just know it.”
Dick shrugs and follows him in.
Something about it is oppressive. Like something is warning them to turn back or face the consequences. Dick swallows. He shouldn’t be getting so worked up over this. He had been in closed dark spaces like this before, tighter ones even!
“Dick.”
Jason is pointing to the ground. Dark splatters. Blood. Fresh, and more than just a little nosebleed.
They make their way further in, following the convenient blood trail even as the urge to turn around gets stronger. They only walk a few feet before a loud scream breaks the silence.
“I fucking told ya Nightwing!”
Dick grunts in response as they sprint down the tunnel, following the blood down twists and turns.
The two vigilantes slide to a stop as the tunnel breaks into a new one. There is something in this new tunnel. Something large and glowing. The Joker is screaming as it bats him around.
Dick can’t bring himself to do anything but freeze, watching and assessing.
The first thing he sees is the crown. It floats crookedly above the creature’s white hair, bathing the tunnel in light with its green fiery glow. The being’s face almost looks humanoid, with long ears tapering into points. Its body is long and spindly like a man who had been left starving on an island for several weeks. The vertebrae in its neck are visible even underneath its skin. The spinous processes of the vertebrae break through the flesh, creating a long row of protruding bones that clack and rattle as the spine moves. Its pelvis juts out as if only a thin layer of skin is covering it. The ribcage is on the outside of its body like some kind of fucked up turtle shell. Space was underneath it, the purples and blues of nebulas and the blackness of night and twinkling stars and planets rested underneath the bones.
The creature has the Joker by the neck. It reminds Dick of a cat Damian had fostered, one that had kittens and would carry them gently between her jaws. There is nothing gentle about this though. Red blood drips down to the ground as the Joker thrashes to try and free himself. The jaws tighten viciously around him and the creature shakes, flinging him around like a chew toy before slamming him down into the ground with a growl.
A skull flashes underneath its face as if its skin and cartilage are merely a transparent overlay. Sharp, jagged bone peaks rise up smoothly from its mandible in a mimicry of teeth.
The creature’s jaws are still wrapped around the Joker’s throat. He’s scrambling, screeching underneath the being despite the teeth that should be cutting into his vocal cords. The Joker scratches at its chest, trying to push it away. It merely makes a low staticky hissing noise, one of its hands pinning him down by the shoulder.
The other arm raises upwards in the air. It's too long for the body of the creature, fingers tapering into sharp points.
The claws slash downwards.
The Joker choked on a scream as the digits tore his chest open like it were tissue paper. Mouth still wrapped around his throat, the being flipped a flap of skin and fat upwards like it was turning the page of a book.
The Joker continued to struggle, blood and something green gurgling out of his mouth. The being maneuvered itself until it crouched to Joker’s side, twisting his neck with it.
The Joker stilled.
At first, Dick thought he was dead, but then he saw movement inside his chest wound.
His lungs.
His lungs were still moving.
Dick can see his lungs breathing.
The creature reaches its hand back down into the Joker’s chest, wrenching the ribcage open with a snap. The Joker begins to struggle once more, red blood and green liquid splattering on the ground.
One of the clawed hands replaced its teeth, pinning the Joker’s head down as it stuck its face inside the chest cavity. The Joker suddenly froze. When its face remerged a glowing violet orb was held between its teeth. Red and green dripped from its face.
The green was familiar.
Glowing green.
…
…Lazarus water?
The tooth-like protrusions pierce the orb with a crack.
The Joker falls silent.
His lungs are no longer moving.
The being’s head tilts back, the shattered orb disappearing down its gullet. It hunches back down over the corpse. The slimy wet sounds of its hands and head digging into the body are sickening. Dick watches as its head remerges with what looks like a kidney. The kidney follows the orb.
Dick snaps out of his shock, but not quick enough to muffle his strangled gasp.
The being catches sight of them, green eyes, lazarus green, boring into them. Dick can see the dark hollows of the skull’s orbits underneath them. His head pounds.
The creature began to stand. Its joints, too many joints, creaked as it unfolded its legs. It seemed like it struggled to maneuver its stiff limbs. Like it’s fighting against rigor mortis Dick noted absently.
Now standing at full height, the being’s crown nearly scraped the top of the ten-foot ceiling. Its maw parted, blue vapor billowing out between the spiked protrusions that were its teeth. The putrid stench of death and burning flesh that invaded the tunnel had Dick gagging. He quietly covered his mouth as he tried to bite back the bile in his throat.
He glanced back at his brother to find that Jason had taken a step back. It was impossible to see his expression under the helmet, but Dick could read the tightening of his shoulders. Fear. Deep, primal fear. The kind of fear you feel when you know there are no more options. When you know fighting or running is pointless.
Here, at this moment, the infamous Red Hood looked less like a feared crime lord vigilante and more like a one-week-old gazelle face to face with a lion.
Dick reached to pull Jason out of sight but the pounding between his eyes made him uncoordinated. He tripped over his own feet and crashed into Jason’s side, gripping his shoulder with shaking fingers as he righted himself. Jason didn’t budge, remaining stock still despite the extra weight of his older brother against him.
The creature stared at them, the piercing green glow of its eyes brightening with a spur of power. Its head tilted to the side until it came to rest at well over ninety degrees. A pointed, frostbitten tongue lolled out between its teeth to lick its bloodied face clean.
“C̷o̷m̶p̴a̵n̵y̵?̵” It sounded like the desolation of space, the static of electricity, the explosion of a star, the final screech before death.
The space trapped in its chest began to bleed through its ribs, twinkling stars and asteroids and galaxies escaping the confines of their prison to drip down the being’s waist. It ran over its legs, building and thickening until a long serpentine tail had replaced the limbs entirely. Even as the coils moved, the stars and planets stayed in place as if the tail was merely a window. Watching it made Dick motion sick.
Even as the elongated spines stretching out of its back clanked together in the mimicry of a death rattle, the creature made no move toward them. Another puff of foul-smelling mist escaped its mouth.
The two brothers remained frozen in place. The stars in its tail flickered until millions of eyes were boring into Dick’s soul. With a stuttering gasp, Dick stepped back again. Jason refused to budge despite his urging. The next time Dick blinked the eyes were stars again.
The being chuckled at them, “N̵o̴ ̴n̶e̸e̵d̷ ̵t̵o̶ ̵f̸e̸a̶r̵,̸ ̵g̸h̵o̶s̶t̶l̸i̴n̴g̶.̸ ̴I̸ ̵d̴o̵ ̷n̶o̶t̴ ̶w̶i̸s̵h̴ ̵y̸o̴u̸ ̷n̷o̵r̴ ̸y̴o̶u̴r̸ ̴f̵r̸a̷i̵d̷ ̴h̵a̵r̷m̸.̶” Dick found that hard to believe considering that they had just watched it eat the Joker’s kidney, “Y̸o̵u̴ ̸a̷r̴e̵ ̵v̵e̸r̸y̶ ̴l̵u̶c̸k̶y̴ ̶i̶t̵ ̴w̷a̴s̴ ̴m̶e̵ ̸w̴h̷o̸ ̸y̶o̷u̵ ̷c̸a̸m̷e̴ ̵a̶c̴r̷o̸s̸s̵ ̶r̸a̴t̷h̷e̵r̸ ̷t̵h̵a̷n̴ ̴a̵n̷o̴t̶h̶e̶r̵ ̷s̴p̷i̸r̸i̴t̸.̵ ̷M̶a̷n̶y̶ ̵w̴o̸u̶l̴d̸ ̷h̸a̶v̸e̷ ̵e̷a̷t̴e̴n̵ ̸y̸o̴u̶ ̴b̵y̷ ̵n̴o̴w̶.̴”
“I-” Jason finally choked out, “What?”
The being lowered itself until it was at eye level with Jason. It evaluated him once more before jerking back with what seemed to be an expression of surprise. “O̷h̷ ̸l̵i̶t̷t̵l̷e̵ ̴g̴h̴o̶s̴t̴,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̴ ̸a̴r̵e̸ ̵m̴u̸c̴h̴ ̸y̸o̷u̸n̴g̴e̴r̶ ̵t̶h̷a̶n̸ ̶I̵ ̵h̸a̷d̸ ̴t̵h̵o̵u̸g̸h̵t̵!̵ ̴Y̴o̵u̶r̵ ̷c̵o̴r̸e̵ ̵i̴s̴ ̷n̸e̷w̶ ̶a̷n̷d̵ ̸u̶n̶d̴e̷r̵n̴o̸u̸r̶i̶s̸h̵e̴d̴.̶ ̸N̴o̵ ̴w̸o̴n̸d̵e̶r̶ ̷I̷ ̴h̵a̸d̴ ̷n̵o̷t̴ ̴s̸e̸n̴s̵e̵d̵ ̸y̸o̶u̶ ̶b̷e̵f̵o̷r̷e̶!̴ ̶H̵a̵v̷e̶ ̶y̶o̷u̴ ̷b̵e̵e̵n̵ ̶e̸a̷t̸i̷n̴g̶?̸”
Its tone seemed almost doting, motherly even. The image was broken by the fact that it was currently leaning closer toward them, supporting itself on what was left of the Joker’s exposed ribcage.
Jason shook his head in dumbfounded horror.
The creature seemed to take it as an answer, humming in what felt like parental disappointment. “Y̶o̶u̷ ̵n̵e̴e̴d̸ ̶t̷o̷ ̷t̶a̵k̸e̵ ̷b̴e̸t̵t̵e̸r̶ ̷c̸a̶r̸e̴ ̶o̷f̶ ̸y̴o̴u̴r̵s̸e̷l̶f̴,̴ ̵l̷i̸t̴t̷l̶e̵ ̶g̶h̵o̸s̵t̴.̵ ̵I̵'̴v̸e̴ ̴n̵e̸v̴e̶r̸ ̸s̵e̵e̵n̷ ̴s̵u̶c̵h̵ ̸a̶n̴ ̸u̶n̷d̷e̸r̶n̶o̴u̸r̸i̸s̵h̸e̵d̶ ̷c̶o̶r̷e̴.̸ ̷Y̷o̶u̴ ̸m̴u̶s̷t̷ ̸b̷e̷ ̷a̵b̵l̷e̸ ̴t̸o̴ ̸f̸e̸e̶l̷ ̸t̶h̵e̸ ̸e̸f̷f̵e̷c̷t̵s̴.̶ ̵A̴r̴e̴ ̶y̴o̴u̶ ̴i̵n̸ ̸p̸a̵i̴n̶?̴”
Dick knew that he was. If it wasn’t the emotional torment of the pit madness it was chronic pain. There had been many nights where he had to tend to his brother, trying everything from painkillers to ice packs to numbing cream in an attempt to stop it.
Jason nodded hesitantly, “Yes…” he took his helmet off, letting it drop to the ground. His eyes were burning lazarus green, “It hurts all the time… like there’s a fire burning in my chest. It gets hotter and hotter and hotter until I feel like my brain is gonna melt outta my ears.”
The creature slithered closer with a rumbling coo. It offered a hand to Jason. Its fingers curled unnaturally. It looked like it had an extra knuckle. “C̷o̷m̷e̴ ̵h̸e̷r̸e̴,̵ ̸g̴h̷o̴s̵t̷l̷i̸n̸g̶.̴ ̴I̷ ̷w̶i̴l̶l̸ ̸s̸h̴a̸r̸e̴ ̷m̶y̶ ̸c̷a̴t̵c̶h̴.̷ ̷I̵ ̷c̵a̴n̷ ̶s̶e̴n̴s̴e̵ ̸t̵h̴e̸ ̵c̴o̵n̷n̸e̵c̴t̶i̷o̷n̷ ̶t̴h̴i̵s̵ ̷r̸e̸v̷e̷n̴a̴n̸t̴ ̴h̴a̶s̸ ̸t̷o̷ ̸y̶o̶u̵.̶ ̷A̸s̸ ̵y̷o̷u̶r̴ ̷k̷i̵l̸l̶e̶r̶,̶ ̵f̵e̸a̵s̷t̴i̴n̸g̶ ̸o̴n̷ ̵h̵i̷m̶ ̸w̷i̴l̵l̵ ̴h̷a̸v̶e̷ ̶e̸x̶t̸r̶a̴ ̶b̶e̷n̸e̵f̸i̵t̷s̴.̸”
Jason reaches out to accept the hand. Dick throws himself between them, “Little Wing, what the hell! You aren’t seriously going to… you're not…”
“I… I need it, Dick.” Jason wiped drool from his lips. Dick caught the flash of fanged teeth, sharper than they should have been. “I don’t know how to explain it but I just- I’m so fucking hungry.”
Dick… Dick wasn’t scared of Jason. He wasn’t. But at that moment, he felt like he needed to run. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t abandon his little brother to this…thing.
“I̸ ̵u̶n̵d̴e̸r̶s̸t̵a̷n̴d̵ ̷y̶o̴u̶r̴ ̸a̵p̶p̷r̸e̶h̴e̷n̶s̷i̵o̸n̵.̵” the being addressed him, Dick struggled to look it in the eyes, the pounding of his head increasing, “A̶s̷ ̷a̷ ̶l̴i̷v̵i̴n̷g̴ ̷i̸t̸ ̴f̴e̵e̶l̸s̷ ̴w̷r̶o̶n̶g̵,̶ ̶s̴i̶c̵k̴e̴n̴i̶n̵g̴ ̶e̴v̷e̷n̸.̷ ̴I̸t̷ ̵t̷o̸o̶k̷ ̸m̵e̴ ̶a̶ ̷l̶o̸n̴g̸ ̸t̵i̴m̷e̵ ̵t̵o̸ ̷c̵o̵m̶e̶ ̶t̶o̴ ̷t̷e̸r̷m̸s̸ ̸w̶i̶t̴h̸ ̴i̸t̴.̷ ̵I̶ ̴u̸n̵d̶e̵r̷s̸t̶a̴n̶d̸.̸ ̴B̷u̴t̵ ̴i̵t̷ ̸i̵s̷ ̸s̸o̵m̸e̸t̷h̶i̸n̷g̶ ̷o̷u̸r̵ ̷s̴p̸e̷c̷i̵e̵s̸ ̷n̸e̸e̶d̵s̸.̵ ̸S̵u̶r̸e̷l̸y̶ ̴y̷o̷u̴ ̸m̶u̷s̴t̷ ̴h̴a̸v̸e̷ ̷w̴i̴t̸n̴e̸s̴s̵e̶d̸ ̶t̴h̷e̴ ̴e̴f̴f̶e̷c̴t̴s̶ ̶o̴f̴ ̶s̵t̶a̶r̴v̷a̸t̶i̶o̶n̴ ̵o̴n̸ ̸y̵o̷u̶r̷ ̶f̵r̵a̶i̷d̸m̶a̷t̶e̸?̵”
Moments flash through Dick’s head. Jason breathes as he struggles against the pit so hard that Dick starts to worry his brother will pop a lung. Jason looked at the remains of another destroyed glass in dismay, before practically sprinting to hole himself up somewhere Dick couldn’t find him. Jason sobs into his shirt, begging him to make it stop, to take the pain away as Dick watches on helplessly.
“I̶ ̷a̵m̵ ̷K̶i̶n̷g̷ ̷P̶h̵a̴n̸t̵o̶m̵ ̵o̸f̷ ̵t̶h̴e̸ ̶I̴n̶f̶i̵n̷i̶t̸e̶ ̶R̷e̶a̸l̴m̷s̴,̷ ̶t̴h̷e̶ ̵A̸n̶c̵i̶e̵n̶t̵ ̵o̵f̵ ̵S̸p̸a̶c̸e̸,̶ ̶P̷r̸o̶t̶e̴c̵t̸o̷r̷ ̴o̶f̷ ̶t̷h̸e̸ ̵L̷i̸v̵i̷n̸g̸ ̸a̵n̷d̴ ̸D̷e̸a̴d̴,̷ ̷t̵h̷e̴ ̶O̸n̸e̴ ̸W̶h̶o̶ ̷L̷i̴e̴s̷ ̸I̴n̶ ̴B̴e̷t̸w̴e̵e̴n̵,̷ ̶t̴h̶e̷ ̴K̵i̴n̶g̵ ̸o̷f̶ ̶G̶h̷o̴s̸t̷s̵.̴” What almost looks like a smile splits across his face, “I̴f̸ ̶I̶ ̴w̵e̶r̴e̵ ̷n̵o̸t̵ ̶a̴w̷a̸r̷e̶ ̶o̶f̵ ̶m̷y̸ ̵p̶e̴o̶p̷l̴e̸'̵s̵ ̸n̷e̶e̴d̵s̵ ̷I̴ ̶w̵o̷u̸l̵d̴ ̷b̴e̶ ̴a̸ ̷v̴e̵r̵y̷ ̷p̴o̸o̷r̸ ̴k̶i̸n̷g̸ ̶i̵n̶d̷e̸e̷d̴.̸”
Dick turns back to Jason. His brother hasn’t looked this small since before his death. He’s shaking. He looks desperate.
Dick steps to the side.
Jason lets out a stuttering breath but remains still otherwise, hands clenched at his sides.
The newly dubbed King Phantom returns to the corpse, digging through fluid and meat. “I̴f̷ ̸i̴t̷ ̷i̶s̴ ̸a̸n̸y̴ ̵c̴o̵n̸s̸o̵l̶a̸t̷i̷o̵n̶,̷ ̵h̶e̵ ̷w̶i̴l̵l̵ ̸n̴o̷t̸ ̶n̷e̸e̶d̴ ̵t̶o̵ ̶e̸a̵t̴ ̴o̷f̴t̶e̸n̶.̸ ̸O̵n̴c̸e̸ ̴o̸r̴ ̸t̶w̷i̴c̸e̵ ̷e̸v̷e̸r̸y̶ ̷f̴i̶f̸t̵y̶ ̵y̸e̷a̴r̶s̶ ̸o̷r̴ ̷s̴o̵ ̷s̵h̵o̶u̶l̵d̶ ̸b̶e̸ ̸e̴n̸o̵u̸g̵h̴ ̶t̸o̶ ̸k̶e̴e̵p̶ ̴h̶i̶m̷ ̶r̸e̴l̶a̷t̷i̸v̶e̷l̶y̸ ̵h̶e̵a̸l̶t̸h̶y̴.̶“ He pulls out the Joker's liver with bloody claws. "C̷o̴m̷e̵ ̶h̵e̸r̸e̷,̵ ̷g̸h̵o̴s̷t̷l̵i̸n̴g̸," he purrs, offering it to Jason as if it were an apple instead of a human organ, "I̴ ̴k̴n̶o̷w̸ ̷y̸o̴u̵'̶r̵e̷ ̴h̶u̶n̷g̶r̸y̷.̶ ̵T̴h̵e̸ ̷e̶c̴t̴o̵p̷l̶a̶s̷m̷ ̸i̴n̴ ̶h̷e̷r̴e̵ ̵w̵i̵l̵l̴ ̵h̵e̴l̶p̵ ̵b̵o̵o̸s̶t̵ ̸y̶o̵u̵r̵ ̷o̸w̷n̸ ̶e̶c̷t̴o̴ ̸p̶r̶o̷d̴u̷c̴t̴i̶o̴n̵.̵"
Jason reaches for it, eyes flicking uncertainly between the liver and the creature’s eyes. Despite everything, Dick almost hopes that he will suddenly come to his senses, slap the hand away, and leap backward gagging in disgust.
Instead, he wraps a couple of fingers around one of King Phantom’s. His tank of a brother looks minuscule in comparison. Jason stares up at the being with wide eyes, like a child presented with cotton candy.
Jason snatches the liver with burning green eyes. The organ wobbles in his hands. To Dick’s dismay, Jason takes a large eager bite. His expression can only be described as blissed relief like he had just tasted ambrosia. He goes in for another, larger bite before he has even swallowed the first, jaw unhinging like a snake.
Dick is never eating Jello again.
He watches with detachment as Jason takes a third bite of the liver. His brother’s mouth is painted in red and green like a facsimile of King Phantom’s. For the first time, Jason’s chest stutteringly hums in relieved glee. King Phantom purrs in return as he tucks his face back into the corpse, like some sort of horrific feedback loop.
Dick tries to focus on something else, anything else, but the iron stench of blood and burning flesh is inescapable. He tries to avert his eyes away from the gorey pile of what used to be the Joker as his brother and the creature tear into it. The stars that makeup King Phantom’s tail stare at him. They blink. A sharp pain shoots behind his eyes as he shuts them tightly.
It feels like he loses time.
When he opens them again, his brother is gnawing flesh off a rib. The entire front of his body is caked in red and green. King Phantom is staring at him with piercing green eyes. Intestines dangle from between its jaws. Its tongue maneuvers them further into its mouth like they are spaghetti noodles.
The bile rises in his throat again. Dick retches against the wall. He wipes the acid from his mouth and leans his forehead against the brick. The coolness of the stone eases the pain zinging between his eyes. He can still hear the squelching of meat and snapping of bone behind him.
A noise of concern sounds from his brother.
Dick turns back in the direction of the horror show, keeping his eyes squeezed tight.
King Phantom hums in thought. “P̴e̷r̷h̷a̶p̶s̶ ̴i̷t̸ ̵w̶i̷l̴l̷ ̸b̵e̵ ̸e̶a̵s̵i̵e̴r̸ ̶i̷f̴ ̸y̴o̵u̸ ̷w̵a̵i̴t̸ ̶o̷u̸t̵s̶i̵d̵e̷.̸”
“Y-yeah.” Dick nods, voice cracking. “I think I’ll just… do that.”
Jason makes a noise of acknowledgment.
Another bone snaps.
Dick quickly makes his way back the way they had come. He stops briefly to vomit again, though there is nothing left in his stomach to throw up. When he emerges from the tunnel entrance he gasps on fresh Gotham air. He wraps his arms tight around himself with shaking fingers as he tries to steady his breathing. With the absence of the creature the pain in his head steadily fades away, though the images of bloody organs and sounds of desperate screaming remain persistent.
He’s not sure how long he waits outside, but it's long enough that he begins to worry something happened to Jason. He begins to wonder if the creature pinned him down like it had the Joker, restaining him with his neck between its fangs. What would Dick even do? How could he save his brother from that… thing?
Jason remerges before he can figure it out. He’s clean of any visible blood or lazarus water, but the acrid tang of death and gore follows him.
Jason pleadingly stares at him through the eyes of his helmet.
Dick nods.
They don’t speak of it again.
______________________
Zalgo Translations...
"Company?"
"You should be more careful, little ghostling."
"You are no match for most spirits as young as you are. Especially not on Samhain."
"No need to fear, ghostling. I do not wish you nor your fraid harm."
"You are very lucky it was me who you came across rather than some other spirit. Many would have eaten you by now."
"Oh little ghost, you are much younger than I had thought! Your core is new and undernourished. No wonder I had not sensed you before! Have you been eating?"
"You need to take better care of yourself, little ghost. I've never seen such an undernourished core. You must be able to feel the effects. Are you in pain?"
"Come here, ghostling. I will share my catch. I can sense the connection this revenant has to you. As your killer, feasting on him will have extra benefits."
"I understand your apprehension."
"As a living it feels wrong, sickening even. It took me a long time to come to terms with it. I understand. But it is something our species needs. Surely you must have witnessed the effects of starvation on your fraidmate?"
"It will only get worse if he doesn't eat. Eventually, the starvation will be so bad his core will self-cannibalize."
"I am King Phantom of the Infinite Realms, the Ancient of Space, Protector of the Living and Dead, the One Who Lies In Between, the King of Ghosts."
"If I were not aware of my people's needs I would be a very poor king indeed."
"If it is any consolation, he will not need to eat often. Once or twice every fifty years or so should be enough to keep him relatively healthy. "
"Come here, ghostling,"
"I know you're hungry. The ectoplasm in here will help boost your own ecto production."
"The loss is not a great one for me. I am powerful enough to survive off ambient ectoplasm and emotions longer than others. Besides, there will always be another criminal to hunt."
Phantom casually hanging around the WatchTower, probably in the cafeteria hanging out with Green Lantern, Flash, and Batman with a few little blob ghosts trilling and chirping while playing around Phantom. Everyone except for Phantom has a tray of food in front of them. Flash asks why no food, wondering if ghosts could eat or if Phantom just wasn't hungry. Phantom stares Flash directly in the eyes before grabbing a smaller blob ghost and putting the little creature in his mouth before chewing and swallowing. They were all visibly disturbed, especially since the other blob ghosts didn't seem all that concerned that Phantom just ate one of their friends. "I brought my own lunch today," Phantom replied proceeding to grab another blob ghost
[lore for ghost cannibalism au series I’m writing but feel free to use this elsewhere. It can be read as its own ficlet]
Amity isn't sure exactly when it became more. To some degree it has been 'more' for a very long time, but it was never quite to this level until He came.
At 1:17 P.M. CST on August 3rd of 20XX two unique beings came into existence at the same time. Electricity and Ectoplasm from the realm that ties all realms together flooded into Amity Park in an explosive combination, not unlike the Big Bang. At the center of this reality altering event was The Boy; at it's perimeter, Amity Park. In a way, Amity Park came into being as a way to protect the rest of the dimension from the effects of the tear in reality. Amity could absorb ectoplasm and grow into it's own sentience.
The Boy is the source, and the kindred soul. They are both forever marked by the same event from which they were born. Born, may not be the right word, but transformed doesn't quite cover their metamorphoses or the sheer extent of the change. Metamorphosis doesn't quite fit right either, so 'born' it is.
The Boy is Kin and even when He leaves Amity's protective borders, it keeps Him within their senses. It makes sure He remains mostly unharmed. He is strong, but Amity is protective. It has never had kin before Him. Amity never had much reason to move before The Boy began leaving its borders. Sure, it was vaguely aware that it was capable of such a thing but there was no desire to, not until The Boy went to Wisconsin. Amity went with Him.
Later, Amity doesn't follow Him around, He becomes annoyed when it does that all the time, but without Him, Amity is bored. Sometimes jumping to somewhere else eases the boredom. It gets to watch the changes from both within and without itself. Different states have different laws and reality bends around Amity in such a way that no one notices its movement. No one who cares enough to try and stop it at least.
Amity can't come with Him to New Jersey. Lady Gotham is mean and territorial like the spirits of the realm between realms. They don't like what Amity is. She can't eat Amity but Amity is also too similar to her. Similar but different. Lady Gotham does try to eat The Boy. Amity doesn't like that and badgers her borders briefly but Lady Gotham is a spirit and similar enough to The Boy that they have to fight. She has to try to eat him and he has to try to eat her. It is ritual and as much as Amity doesn't like it, Amity is used to this. So many spirits have been in and out of it through the tear, the very tear that made Amity.
Most of the people of Amity Park don't know of the movement of their city. Reality trying to reassert its rules over the humans within this dimension. Of course, those who have had extended contact with the tear in reality have a higher resistance to Reality's assertions. It's still difficult for anyone to realize Amity's exploits unless they leave its borders and thus very few have noticed.
Amity is proud of itself and its people. It may try to keep as many of them within its borders as possible, discourage them from leaving. They are safer within and Amity is fond of them. The Boy would never allow it to keep people from leaving but He doesn't seem to mind that it gives certain nudges here or there.
Amity Park is alive as much as it is dead and things just work different there.
Btw this is not originally my idea. I first saw it in Shrodinger’s Bat by Michaelisunderrated on AO3. I just snagged the idea of “city goes where it wants” and ran with it to create this
Ok lol so this part of the first chapter got REAL gruesome, in my opinion, I decided to go with Ghost Hunger and Ghost cannibalism so-yep. Danny ate-can you guess who..? No lol I ain’t gonna make you guess, it was Pariah Dark.
