Listen, not only do I like the Batfam being completely human (except Duke, of course), I think it's such a vital part of their characterization. Each of them rely on their humanity and vulnerability in a different way, but it's still a core part of them.
That being said, I love the idea of Gotham's many curses and magical bullshit changing its inhabitants, and more important, enhancing her protectors.
Not by much, but enough for people to say "they're human... right?" and not being sure of the answer. It works better inside the city, where Lady Gotham herself can ensure her warrior's safety, but it lingers and it stays on them.
The way Bruce can blend a bit too well with the shadows, to the point not even metas can see him if he doesn't want to be seen.
The way Dick's body bends a bit further than should be possible, his muscles stretching and his bones at angles that would cause pain to most.
The way Jason is a bit too quiet for his body mass, how he seems to be able to move without making a sound despite his size.
The way Tim is a bit too quick-witted, a bit too observant, finding his enemies' weaknesses and flaws far too easy for a fast-paced combat.
The way Steph seems to always be on the right place at the right time, as if she were being guided to those in danger. She is always where she is needed.
The way stray animals like Damian a bit too much. They care for him and have his back in a display of intelligence that's not quite natural.
Yet they all still bleed. They feel pain and they cry and they are vulnerable.
Warnings - It's pretty short. Sorry guys! I'm easing back into writing.
Summary - Xisuma planned something special for your Halloween
Notes - My first day of any October challenge for 2025! I won't be writing for days 1 - 3 so sorry about that. Thank you @aureli-us for the list!
Xisuma loves Halloween. he's practically in costume always anyway. So of course he wanted to do something special for you. Pumpkin carving. It seemed incredibly fun, and it's something the Hermits did every year. But he'd been working on something to make it special. When He invited you over for a Halloween themed date… you didn't expect this.
A pumpkin, nearly the same hight as your starter base was just in his modified melon and pumpkin farm. The thing was giant. You could fit into it if you wanted.
"What- Why do you have a pumpkin this big?"
"So we can carve it!"
"Did you actually think any of this over X?"
"Of course I did. I have latters, and plenty of candles to light it up."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SATORU!! Satoru x reader, birthday celebration♥
The 7th of December, also known as your fiance's birthday.
Satoru Gojo was not an easy person to shop for. What do you buy a man who can and will buy himself absolutely anything he desires? In the past years you had always gotten him something silly or custom made, a shirt with your faces on it, or something even more ridiculous. Every year though, this year you had decided to get him a simple silver ring to match the engagement ring he had gotten you, and to bake him a cake.
Satoru’s sweet tooth knew new bounds, and a cake made by you, the love of his life, would be one of the best things you could ever think of getting the strongest sorcerer.
The cake needed to be impressive, fun, and impossibly sweet. You decided on something simple but with a twist that made it funny. Two layers of cake iced with his favorite shade of blue, complete with an elaborate-looking - and far easier to pipe than people would expect - frame of icing along the sides and frosting flowers. Where it grew fun was when you decided to get out fondant and make a stuffed full Agumon sitting on the side patting his large belly, with a large bite shape taken out of the cake above.
While the icing was something you could rush through with the fancy looking turntable you’d bought with Satoru’s card a few months ago, the little digi-bastard took way too long. Fondant was way harder to work with than the cake decorating shows made it out to be. It just set too fast, the material wasn’t easy to work with at all.
For such delicate work required in using fondant to get all the details nice, rolling it and kneading it all sure did make your arms sore. Thankfully the air brush you used for coloring the little fella was not as temperamental as usual and you managed to make it look surprisingly professional. Maybe it shouldn’t be sold in a store, but it was recognizably Agumon, right down to the snout with its satisfied grin.
After having some fun carving a bit of the cake into a bite mark, your work was complete. Stepping back, the full image was complete and you knew for a fact he would love it. When he did finally get to see it after finishing a mission and suddenly teleporting in, an entrance which no one could get used to, he was ecstatic, laughing loudly and bringing a hand to his head as he pointed at the cake.
“Are you kidding me? That’s AWESOME, how’d you even do that!?”
“Lot’s of hard work, I’ve been working since this morning,” You said with a laugh, wiggling your blue stained fingers at him, grinning as you pulled him down into a hug, the familiar warmth of his body, and the smell of his citrusy cologne welcomed you, “Happy birthday Toru!”
“Thanks baby, my wonderful fiance spoiling me as usual,” He beamed, his long arms tightly wrapped around you as he held you close to his chest, “Sooooo are you going to feed me the first bite? I’m the birthday boy after all!”
You rolled your eyes and snorted, pulling away from his arms, “Only because it’s your birthday.” You teased lightly, grabbing a fork from the draw, not bothering to cut him a slice, knowing he’d be the one to eat the whole cake by tomorrow anyway. You scooped a hefty amount of cake and frosting onto the fork and offered it to him.
Satoru grinned, opening his mouth wide and leant in closer, as you hovered the fork closer and closer, somehow missing your mark and smearing cake all over his cheek, “Shit, sorr-”
Ever the troublemaker, he grinned widely, glancing between you and the cake before grabbing a handful of frosting and smearing it across your cheeks, laughing loudly. “There, now we’re both covered in-” You were quick to cut him off, reaching to quickly grab a handful of cake and step back, throwing it directly in his face. It impacted, bypassing the infinity as apparently it simply wasn’t dangerous enough, making you snort as you watched crumbs drip from his nose, his eyes lighting up with pure amusement.
“Oh baby you don’t know what you’ve started,” He murmured, and soon enough cake was flying around the kitchen, blue frosting and yellow cake covering the counters and walls, your bodies even MORE covered in sticky sweetness as you both stood in the kitchen laughing loudly.
Eventually you were at a stand still. Unfortunately for you, Satoru was far more capable in sweets warfare, diving quickly between hits and returning with a handful of cake launching at your face. The texture, you found, was magnificent, even as it pelted your nose. Your fiance though, the naive fool, didn’t realize you were willing to take the war a step further.
“Don’t move!” You announce, standing as your reach to the cake’s turntable which had barely half of the cake left. You grinned devilishly as you grabbed a handful of cake with one hand and your fondant Agumon in the other, holding it up to the digimon’s face, “OR THE AGUMON GETS IT.”
Satoru gasped outloud, his hands splaying out in peace as he slowly tried to walk forward, “But baby, he’s diabetic, please, he didn’t know what he was doing before! It’s not his fault.” He was a little too good at yes anding your bits. It made you love him all the more. As he took a step forward, you pressed the cake against Agumon’s lips…mouth? Against his mouth, which made Satoru freeze.
“Not another move Satoru Gojo…you may be the strongest cake warrior, but are you good enough to save him?” A stand still. The moment hung in the air, a new tension dividing the room. It was actually as if everything stood still, not just the two of you, but the electronics seemed to grow quiet, noises outside became duller, the two of you were locked in a stalemate.
Then your stomach growled loudly. In working for hours on this surprise, you realize you haven’t eaten for hours.
That noise broke both of you, causing the two of you to laugh uproariously at the same time, and when each of you heard the other laugh, a new wave of laughter broke out. Catching your breath, he moved up, taking the sweet, sweet diabetic dino from your hands and putting it on the counter, looking down at you with an expression full of love.
“God I love you, best birthday ever,” His voice was soft as he cupped your cheeks, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to your lips. God he loved you, the strongest man alive who had never thought anyone could ever love him, for who he was and not the image he was, you loved him for Toru, not Satoru Gojo, and that meant the world to him.
“I love you too, Toru,” You beamed back at him, kissing him again. “Happy birthday. Shall we get dinner arranged, assuming warfare didn’t spoil your appetite?”
Happy birthday Toru, ty for being my muse and fave <3
It's been a few weeks since I first thought of this
And I'm distracting myself with John Constantine and his child (theoretical don't sue me i know his isn't comic-accurate let me fricking have this)
Stupid headcannons that you all voted for.
Buckle up, this gets long
First off, the child would be an accident
Doesn't matter is the mother is a demon or a human, they'd probably dump the kid on John because they don't want it
*Cue John freaking the hell out because he doesn't know how to take care of an infant*
He considers disowning or abandoning them but Fate says NOPE
THIS JUST IN: JOHN CONSTANTINE SPOTTED AT THE LIBRARY
He needs parenting books okay, don't bully the guy
The kid's crying
Neither John, nor Fate know what to do (Though Kent had a better attempt at making them stop, thank you Kent)
He'll refuse to ask Bruce for help
...
5 seconds later the child is still crying and John's calling Zatanna
Zatanna's not Bruce, but you may bully him
"ZEE WHAT DO I DO IT WON'T STOP BLOODY CRYING"
A very confused Zatanna would figure out what the heck is going on, and would come over to assist
DON'T GET ME WRONG
John is often a horrible person who has often done horrible things
But see, ZATANNA'S involved now
If he screws this up, he is dead
John hates children
...
Shut up
He's not soft for the kid
He hates children.
"Uh huh..." -Zee
His kid adopts the jacket thing but instead takes a different approach
Or the same, either works I guess
He thinks that it’s kinda cool but doesn’t say anything
He's pretty distant but the kid gets used to it
Definitely has nicknames for his child
Kiddo, love (if they're a girl), gremlin, lad (if boy), lass (if girl), rascal, squirt, punk, little s*** (a mutual suggested it, don't shoot me), etc.
They both hate the kid's mother
Have WAY too many inside jokes lol
Kid adopts John's personality (for the most part), much to Zatanna's dismay
Batman (secretly) loves the kid (because level-headed and surprisingly more respectful (thank you Zee, we all say in unision)) and is very disappointed that he wasn't informed of their existence before this very moment
Biggest inside joke is "I was a mistake"
“His greatest accident was me” -The child
*Zatanna nearly spitting out her water*
“His worst accident was meeting my mom, though” -the kid “It ties with the drinking” (because he met her when he was drunk and allat)
“Kent said I made a mistake with the incantation.” -The kid
“I made a mistake once...you.” -John
Honestly, the biggest issue of living with him is his drinking and smoking
While he did try to control it once the kid was in his care, he didn't stop, or cut back too much
Some nights they will go stay with Fate or Zatanna just cause it really bothers them
Other times they will very exasperatedly go and snatch the cigarette and throw it out
John will complain
But this kid was raised by Zatanna and he'll eventually give up
...
For like 15 minutes
John can smoke, his child cannot
He won't allow it
They do try when they're younger though
They rant to Zatanna a lot, who keeps all their secrets
They also keep some of John's secrets from Zatanna, some small things that they won't spill
Zatanna will also take the kid out to do whatever they like every few weeks just for a catch up day to get them away from everything
She’s like their mom
Batman is like their cool uncle
Fate is the mysterious uncle
Kid is great at magic
Even better than John at some things with enough practice (Thank you Zatanna, we once again say in unison (Oh and Fate too I guess)
But at others, they are not as good as their father
Child eventually convinces John to let them go places and do business with him!
He won't regret this
Probably
JL is shocked to know that John has had a kid this whole time (except for Bruce, Bruce knows all)
"Bloody hell, if Bats can have 20 kids without anyone battin' an eye, why can't I have one?" -John
RIP John, that kid is now the League's
Diana loves them
So does Clark
Hal is skeptical, but begrudgingly warms up to them
Billy has no such reservations
John is brooding because that's his kid
...
that he's definitely not attached to
That's a reluctant responsibility...
Zatanna knows better
And if anything goes wrong, Bruce is prepared to snatch the (now probably adult or almost adult) child and adopt them instead
And what if it is only Atem who remembers his name in the field of reeds? A million days and nights passed without him, his friends and family not worried, something hurriedly carved out of their minds- eternal paradise is no paradise at all with the knowledge you’ve doomed your sovereign to a wandering existence, that you will never be able to embrace your son again. No. The gods demanded he be forgotten and so he was.
And then one day, a boy stumbles, falls, cries on the edge of the Nile, digs his finger into the rich silt, rises with khepri-ra and walks in a daze to the palace and cries out your names, Siamun and Isis and Seth and Mahad and Mana and Father. His purple cloak catches under his feet and the sun catches in his diadem and you do not know this newcomer, but the souls of mortals in Aaru do not lie about what they are and this boy bears the trappings of royalty.
And he must know you, he is distraught, the grief of a mourning kite streaking down his face, but it is the face of a stranger and he wails, soft and broken on the wrong side of the entryway to your home as you titter amongst yourselves. He repeats your names, asks Aknamkanon who his son was, but he has no sons, one of you replies, Aknaden took the throne (though none of you actually recall)
How did you die, he begs, and this gives you pause.
You died in battles. Trying to save—
To save—
To save-
To save…
You read back along the memories of your final days, who was it that a white haired false-god threatened? Who was it that you had so valiantly fought to protect? It should be Aknaden, this makes the most sense, in the abstract. The late pharaoh’s brother claiming the crown in absence of heirs. But the form doesn’t fit, upon inspection. There’s something missing, someone, a cartouche chiseled out carelessly.
The pharaoh was small, you think amongst yourselves, a boy, fierce, tragic.
And you-
Failed.
To save him.
You stare at the boy, at the boy-king, falcon-eyed and trembling.
At the request @sacred-coffin I have decided to write a “sold to One Direction” type Ghost ficlet. I really channeled my cringe into this one. Enjoy!
Sold to Ghost
My name is Luna Shadowheart, and I’m 23 years old with naturally black hair that has purple streaks (I’m not like other girls). My life was already terrible, but it was about to get SO much worse.
“Luna, pack your bags,” my evil stepfather Gary said, not even looking up from his newspaper. “I’ve sold you to pay off my gambling debts.”
“WHAT?!” I screamed, my violet eyes (did I mention they’re violet?) filling with tears. “You can’t just SELL a person!”
“Well, I just did. Some Swedish rock band bought you for fifty thousand dollars. They’ll be here in an hour.”
I ran to my room and threw myself on my bed, sobbing. How could this be happening? I was just a normal girl who loved wearing all black and reading Edgar Allan Poe (again, not like other girls).
An hour later, a black tour bus pulled up outside our trailer. My heart stopped as five figures in simple silver masks and skeleton costumes stepped out. The leader wore a sparkly pink-purple suit jacket that had a patch on the inside that said FUCK YOU. He also had skull face paint that was both terrifying and… kind of hot?
I had to admit, I was surprisingly curious. I quickly threw my hair up into a messy bun before grabbing my stuff. I took a deep breath before going out to the living, glaring at Gary as I passed.
“Are you Luna?” the man with black and white face paint asked in a slightly nasally voice. “I am Papa Emeritus V, but you will call me Vee.”
“I guess,” I whispered, clutching my worn copy of “The Raven.”
“Excellent. You belong to us now. Get in the bus.”
As we drove away, I stared out the window at my old life disappearing. What did these mysterious masked men want with me? And why did Papa keep staring at me with those intense, mismatched eyes?
Little did I know, my life was about to become a dark romantic adventure beyond my wildest nightmares…
The bus pulled up to a massive, gothic building that looked like a cross between a cathedral and a haunted mansion.
“Welcome to the Ministry,” Papa said, his voice sending shivers down my spine. “This is where you’ll be living.”
“Forever?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
“That depends on how well you behave, little dove.”
The other members (I learned they were called Ghouls) said nothing, but I could feel them watching me through their silver masks. One of them, who Papa called Phantom, kept tilting his head at me in a way that made my cheeks burn.
My room was actually beautiful. It was spacious and well decorated, all black silk and gothic furniture with candles everywhere. But there were bars on the windows. Fancy prison was still prison.
That night at dinner, Papa sat at the head of a long black table while the Ghouls flanked either side. I was placed right next to Papa, who kept putting mysterious foods on my plate.
“Eat,” he commanded simply.
“I’m not hungry,” I said defiantly, crossing my arms.
Papa’s painted face turned toward me, and even though he kept a neutral expression, I felt his displeasure. “When I tell you to do something, you do it. Do you understand?”
But then Phantom, the Ghoul across from me, slid a piece of chocolate cake in front of me and nodded encouragingly. Maybe they weren’t all completely evil?
As I took a small bite, I caught Papa almost… smiling? This was going to be more complicated than I thought.
