Curate, connect, and discover
so the conclusion to mha is… nobody was saved and nothing has changed at all…. so profound ..….. much to think about
To those who can't watch horror shows
This has been happening to meeee, i’m not disabled, but after a long medical episode I had to relearn to walk and I still am not up to speed to how I was before, and I also get tired more easily, so I’ve been begging my fast walker friends to slow down a bit and (thankfully) they do most the time, but I have to remind them constantly 😅
slow down for your disabled friends. thats like a bare minimum kindness that we shouldnt have to ask for. i love that youre so quirky and walking fast is a cool personality trait to you and all that but i bet you can count your physically disabled friends on less than one hand
Vlad and Danny get de-aged. Somehow, someway, Vlad is the physically younger one.
Probably because Clockwork wanted a laugh for shits and giggles.
They get dropped in the Dc and Vlad, try as much as he might to act like a proper adult and distinguished member of high-society, has the emotional maturity of a kid his physical age.
Well, so does Danny but Vlad is the only one who thinks this is a problem.
So what happens when superpowered children who don't like each other but have to stick together and have said emotional maturity per course of a child their age?
They fight.
Most of the time it's just with words, but sometimes it does get very physical. Which wouldn't be that big of a problem if they didn't steal have basically all of their powers.
Luckily, most of the times it gets physical they don't get found out, and with a quick healing factor they don't really have to worry about bruises or cuts that would make anyone concerned for them. Well, any more than they would be with two children just walking around on the streets with no adult in sight.
Most of which involves Vlad messing with their head to ignore said concern so they could do whatever they needed to do at that time.
So, Vlad has been ignoring Danny for a while now, because Danny's new favorite pastime was annoying the hell out of Vlad. Vlad has been repressing said feelings of annoying because of this thing he wanted to do and he didn't need anger clouding his judgement.
This backfires tremendously.
Because as much as Vlad wanted to start up another business, so he could recreate the success of Vladco. His physical body leaved a lot to be desired, and then whatever he wanted to with his business either failed or his entire business was stolen from him.
Safe to say. He's angry, furious, even.
Danny ribs him about how he even let this happen and Vlad?
Vlad fucking explodes. All that pent up angry, all that rage that he pushed down just pops that lid and it's directed at Danny.
They fight.
And boy, do they fight.
I'm talking about throwing each other through buildings, energy blasts, street covered in ice and fire, upturned and thrown cars, cracks in concrete, holes in the road from where they threw each other. Cuts, bruises, bleeding, allat.
It was a very, very rough fight.
Even though they weren't trying to and didn't want to kill each other, it still looked that way to basically everyone outside who was watching the fight.
Two children who looked like they were about to fight to the death if someone didn't stop them.
Not to mention the amount of property damage they were causing.
Funny thing about that, really. Because the place they fought at?
Jump City.
And who ended up pulling up to stop them?
The Teen Titans.
And then everyone mistakes Vlad and Danny for being child Tamaraneans who somehow found their way to Earth and looks like they're genuinely trying to kill each other for whatever reason.
So, you know, Starfire has even more of a reason to stop them.
Batfamily, mourning over the death of Spider-Man: 😪
Peter Parker, just moved into their house: 🧍♂️
Just, imagine someone walks in on them and tells Tucker “What is he saying?” And then, Bart realizes he had been speaking at superspeed, but his friend had actually been making comments related to what he said, specific questions and all, he even asked him to continue and helped him when he got off the rails and asked ‘what was i saying?’
Tucker is liminal and has some special abilities because of it. One of which being that he can keep up conversation at any speed. This cute red head guy, Bart apparently, is taking at him at a FAR faster rate than the average human. He's very excited though so Tucker lets him continue. The more and more this guy talks, the more Tucker truly doesn't mind Bart speaking. Staring at the teen excitedly chat, he realizes that he's been staring deeply into Bart's eyes for the past ten minutes.
Yes, yes, Spirit Halloween
Like, imagine, Danny explains and all, and one day (after much meditation about it) he decides to attempt to stab Batman (attempt because he didn’t remember how hurt a human could get from a stab or smt) And he just, does it and leaves Bruce to contemplate and realize he just good flirted by a thousands year old spirit, god and ancient and whatever. And he has cero flirting skills that aren’t weird, so he replies by stabbing Danny with a batarang.
There, that’s where my mind ended it, please feel free to continue this :D
Danny, several decades after his wife passed away from old age and holed up himself in the Infinite Realms and allowed time to become funky around his lair, became an ancient. Until then he classified as a gatekeeper, banshee and balance personified. Now he was ancient of space and balance.
Unfortunately for existence as a whole Danny gets lonely so he decides to have a kid the ghost way. And to prevent him from being a clone, the kid becomes a chaos lord.
Then he chose the name Klarion for himself. Growing up with ghosts made different kinds of fights have a different kinds of meanings. Magic fight means he is serious about defeating you and sees you as an enemy. A fist fight means that he is being friendly and doesn't care who wins. Stabbing means that he is flirting. And he is always expecting the same things. Always.
So imagine Klarion's reaction when Damian tries to stab him.
Ok, but if we also go with the ‘Constantine and Billy Batson ‘friendship kinda uncle-nephew thing’ then the two magic kids that are ‘ancient according to oeople’ now know each other and the most chaos goes from there.
Canonically, John Constantine’s sister is a Masters. She married into a family with that last name.
Uncle Constantine AU, where Danny gets (literally) dragged to one of Vlad’s family get-togethers. It’s the first one Vlad has attended since becoming a halfa, and he wants to show off Danny. John catches sight of them and is immediately concerned about why his in-laws are covered in death magic. Becomes more concerned as he watches the dynamic between them: the controlling nature of Vlad and the barely hidden contempt from Danny.
Time to get to the bottom of this. Might be a good idea to check up on their home environment, see what’s going on there. He is an occult detective, after all. What’s the point in that if he doesn’t even look after his own family?
Danny, of course, does not trust anybody related to Vlad, no matter how sympathetic to ghosts they may seem
DPxDC Prompt where Garfield and Raven adopt Danny– or, more specifically, Phantom.
He’s green and can float. Clearly, he takes after both of his parents.
Awesome, like, Danny would 100% be angry/annoyed that he is british (technically)
Alfred has suspicions. Alfred is also annoyed that his DNA got stolen by a drunk couple, how did he missed that???
Bruce and the kids can’t even imagine it could be Alfred, probably because most of them see Alfred as the most competent human, how could he get his DNA stolen and used without anyone knowing???
Danny moved to Gotham to complete his university studies. They had great programs and scholarships. Unfortunately this put him on the radar of the Waynes (the ones in charge of his scholarship), who became extremely paranoid when they noticed the black hair and blue eyes.
They collected a DNA sample (ignoring Barbara's protests that not everyone with that hair and eye color was a clone), his sample was found to be corrupted but tested positive for someone registered in the Batcomputer. It just didn't recognize who.
Of course, they suspected the coincidence was because of Bruce. Danny was unaware of any of this and continued with his studies. Traveling to the Realms from time to time. None of the bats were able to catch him after collecting the sample, it seemed that the boy was more paranoid than they were.
Ironically, he wasn't a clone of any of the Waynes. He was a clone of Alfred Pennyworth, whose sample had been collected during his time in the British service, and later stolen by the Fentons (out of curiosity, rather than crime).
Not that they were going to find that out anytime soon, but the fact that the halfa had more common sense than all of them should have given them a clue. Besides, he did know how to communicate.
Heyooooo, back at it again with a super rough draft for a fic!
inspired by @dballzposting but especially THIS post!
Basic plot summary is Trunks accidentally imprinted on Yamcha like a baby bird but is too emotionally stunted from growing up with the least familial family in all of classic anime to realize that he's being weird as hell about it.
To nobody's surprise, it's a character study! Woohoo!
And before we begin, I wrote almost all of this while dead tired, so it's probably even rougher than my usual rough drafts, but good god I wanted to write this sooooo bad.
Obsession ran on both sides of his family. This was an issue for Trunks, as he'd really fucking rather be thinking about quite literally anything else. But here he was, at the get-together-slash-party-slash-ritual-to-appease-a-big-purple-cat-with-food-so-we-don't-get-blown-up, staring at his mom's ex from the other side of the dessert table.
And praying said ex wouldn't look up from the eclairs he'd never be able to afford otherwise and see Trunks' stupid, stupid eyes staring at him.
But he did.
Fuck.
"Hey, Champ! How've ya been, Buddy?" Yamcha said, in his stupid fucking aging dudebro voice that filled Trunks with an overwhelming sensation of warmth and comfort. He hated it. Yamcha smiled at him the way, Trunks thought, a dad smiles at his somewhat estranged son.
It was probably a kinder smile than his real dad gave when he hugged him for the first time. Not that Trunks would know. Couldn't really see Vegeta's face, too busy experiencing every emotion he could name and also being shoved against Vegeta's inhuman, statuesque form.
It fucking felt like being shoved face-first into a statue, too.
Not like Yamcha probably felt, with his all-too-human physique. There was a softness that covered his features, even though he was still as tough and muscular as ever.
He kinda reminded Trunks of the big blue guy from Monsters Inc. But like, less serious. And very slightly less hairy.
Trunks had been staring too long, but apparently Yamcha was willing to write off the icy glare as a genetic thing and not an actual threat, because he approached the teen with no hint of trepidation.
He stood in front of Trunks and hucked a thumb at the spread of confections behind him. "Yo, you tried the weird cream cake thing? The one covered in chocolate? No idea what it is, but it is good!"
Trunks tried desperately to claw himself out of this conversation with "It's called an eclair cake." He wasn't sure whether or not he had meant to sound that gruff. Either way he sounded too much like his dad, and it pissed him off more.
"Yo, what? They can make eclairs into cake? That's crazy!" Yamcha took pause and then nearly busted his gut, laughing a bit too loud like guys that age tend to do. "But I guess when you're rich, you can pay people to cook up just about anything!"
There! An opening! Trunks knew how to win this conversation and then make his getaway!
"Actually, Yamcha, I think it's just graham crackers, pudding, and chocolate. Pretty simple recipe. I can ask the cooks to give it to you."
Yamcha blinked. "R-Really? That's it?" He sighed. "Well, as much as I'd love to eat cake all day, I really shouldn't." He slapped his gut, which jiggled slightly. "I'm at that age where I've gotta start watching what I eat or I won't be in any shape to show off to the ladies, haha!"
Trunks immediately threw his gaze to his shoes. He fucking lost that interaction, and now he'd have to talk to Yamcha for however long the older man could stand him. Fuck. Well, Trunks knew how conversations worked. He'd seen the guys at Kame House get into it sometimes, and since Trunks was no longer a child, he figured he should talk like that. The ball was in his court.
"Ladies, huh? What... sort of ladies are you into?"
Fuckin' killed it.
~~~
Now it was Yamcha's turn to be cornered. Was it okay to be talking about that kind of stuff with a kid? With someone else's kid? With the kid of somebody he dated?
But he couldn't just say that! Trunks was at the age where he was starting to go after the ladies himself, and Yamcha didn't want to discourage that! He had to find a middle ground, hopefully there was an avenue in this conversation that wouldn't lead to either of Trunks' parents hitting his head clean off his shoulders.
"Um. Your-" NONONONO CAN'T MENTION BULMA. "I m-mean, I like women who..." and how is he supposed to word this? Obviously he's not gonna say 'pretty women' because that would sound so damn shallow, coming from him. "I like. When girls. Can stand on their own... but enjoy having someone around to make their lives easier? I guess?"
He ran his hands through the hair on the back of his head. "To be honest, kid, I'm not really sure anymore! The more I think about it, the more I realize that sometimes people you think should work don't, but the real crazy shi- the real crazy stuff ends up better." Yamcha laughed the kind of shitty laugh you let out when you're nervous and stalling for time. "What about you, Trunks? You a ladies' man? Got a preference?"
~~~
Well, Trunks had been expecting an answer like 'I like redheads' or 'I'm a boob guy' so he was a little unsure of his next move, but he had to think of something to say!
"Um idk there's this one YouTuber I like." Trunks crossed his arms. "So you like women like my mom, right? It kind of sucks that she ended up with my dad."
Yamcha couldn't move. He wasn't sure he was breathing, either. "H-Huh?"
"Yeah 'cuz you probably woulda been a way better husband. All my dad does is train all day and then sit at the table and stuff his stupid face." Trunks put his fist on his hip. "You like watching movies and being nice and shit. I dunno."
~~~
Yamcha was desperately hoping Vegeta wasn't going to manifest behind him and reduce him to ashes. The things Trunks was saying were weird, sure, but the whole family had always been blunt. Trunks probably didn't mean anything by it. Not that that would stop either of his parents from hunting Yamcha down if they heard.
And Yamcha wasn't stupid! He had issues with his own parents, way back when. It's what eventually led him to become a bandit out in the middle of the desert for Chrissake! But he had just wanted to be a dude Trunks could come talk to if he was having the sort of human troubles an ex-evil alien dad couldn't help him solve, and apparently he had been too approachable. Or Vegeta really did just suck that bad.
Either way, oops.
"Hey kid, l-listen! You can't just say things like that!" Yamcha sighed deeply, trying to compose himself. He was still looking around like a raccoon that could hear hound dogs braying, but at least he stopped stuttering.
And then he saw Trunks' face harden even further, scowling angrily. The tykebomb looked like he was barely resisting shouting his next statement, and Yamcha was very glad for that.
~~~
"I'm not a fucking kid! Goddamnit, I'm just trying to have a normal fucking conversation, why are you being so fucking weird about this?" Trunks would have been a truly intimidating sight to behold at this point if he wasn't three-foot-five with lavender hair. "And I was gonna apologize for suckerpunching you that one time when you stayed over, but you can fucking forget it! I'm glad I punched you!"
~~~
The older man knew he had to take responsibility here, because apparently he was right and neither of the kid's parents bothered to teach him the difference in how you're supposed to talk to people outside your own home.
...Thinking on it, neither Bulma nor Vegeta had ever deferred to authority in their lives. Vegeta had a habit of trying to kill anybody stationed above him, and Bulma either screamed until listened to or flashed her tits at someone until she got her way.
Fuck him, maybe he would have made a better parent! Too late now, though.
"No, Trunks, that's not what I meant," he reassured the stunted youth. "I want you to know you can talk to me about stuff, alright? But maybe- maybe not out where your parents can hear? The earth dragon balls can't bring me back again, y'know?"
Trunks looked back up, waiting to hear the rest of the statement.
"And I mean, actually you probably shouldn't say that sort of stuff, because it makes people uncomfortable, but-" here he took the chance of fucking it all up even worse and ruffled Trunks' hair. Trunks didn't even flinch and Yamcha didn't know what that meant. "We're already friends, right? And friends can totally say that sort of stuff. In private."
Trunks met him dead in the eye, unblinking and unemoting. "Okay."
Yamcha chuckled unconvincingly. It fooled Trunks, though. "So, were you actually gonna apologize for that gut punch, or...?"
"No."
"So, what? You were just gonna feel like shit about it your entire life? Until you died?"
"Yeah."
"Haha, okay then! Did... you want a slice of this, um, eclair cake? There's not a lot left!"
"Sure. Can I call you 'Uncle?'"
Yamcha tensed up just slightly, before letting it drain out of him. "Not where anybody who might tell your parents can hear, okay?"
"Deal."
video game characters do not need to be grunting & groaning like that. Have some decorum
Al coming back from his travels: Xing was great! I've learned so much about alkahestry, and I think we're really making progress and getting Jerso and Zampano's bodies back! It was really nice to see Mei, and Ling is doing a great job as emperor, and I even got to visit some of Xing's neighbors to the east! I feel like I'm learning more about alchemy and alkahestry every day
Ed coming back from his travels: I Have Been Banned From Five Countries
Thinking about Edward Elric as the Amestrian Military's specialest little unfireable boy
State alchemists can be fired for underperforming. We know this up front from the likes of Shou Tucker. And this makes a ton of sense from the homunculi's standpoint since the state alchemists are sacrifice candidates, and the homunculi would want to cull the weakest candidates and focus only on cultivating the strongest ones who stand the best chance of opening the portal.
........Then there's Edward. Who's already opened the portal.
There's no need to cultivate him. No gamble taken on whether he's good enough to open the portal. He passed the final test already. Graduated 4 semesters early.
And as such, has a free pass to do Absolute Fuck All.
And I'm imagining how funny this is from like an outside perspective.
Some newish state alchemist who'd only ever read up on the stories of Edward Elric, ready and excited to start their career of being paid handsomely with endless freedom to research and travel and do anything they want in the pursuit of science... surprised and confused to find themselves put on probation their first month for things like "ignoring orders." Which is, as best they had thought, a famous Edward Elric pastime.
Roy showing a slight bit of stress about his yearly state alchemist report, and Ed just snorting and rolling his eyes at Roy because every year HE just hastily does his on the train ride over (canon in the manga, a travesty it was left out of the anime) and it gets rubber stamped. Ed not realizing that other alchemists' reports get genuinely scrutinized and torn apart while Ed is free to turn in whatever absolute bullshit he thinks of 36 hours ahead of time. One year his report was about whether alchemy could be done via dance (conclusion: no it can't) and no one cared. Roy WANTS to tell Ed there's some kind of unknown favoritism around Ed making him literally bullet-proof but Roy has no way to phrase this that doesn't sound like he's just in denial and mad at how good Ed's train-reports are.
Guy from the Internal Amestrian Affairs sector who's responsible for auditing other internal military personel for any suspicious activity hitting about 1 million red flags for Edward Elric, issuing a STRONG and URGENT recommendation to suspend the alchemist pending further investigation into things like "literal bunk-buddies with two members of the Xingese royalty (enemy nation)" and "spent $10,000,000 of his stipend on a librarian to make her re-copy (what he seemed to interpret as?) military records in some extremely transparent effort to unearth state secrets (it was a recipe book but he was literally asking her about state secrets)" and "literally has never once obeyed an order, ever, not even once in his career, and is on public record having said 'I do not care about the goals and protections of the Amestrian Military. I am in fact only pursuing my own interests several of which are diametrically opposed to the safety and well-being of the governing body of Amestris'"
The issued recommendation is intercepted before it even reaches its intended desk. President Bradley himself has taken issue with it and denies it before a single set of eyes has seen it. The President's veto stamp is a terrifying hammer, used rarely, and it is now sitting on the auditor's desk.
The auditor sleeps with one eye open from then on out.
DPxDC Prompt
Danny looks down at the massive table full of food. He then looks up at the woman that he had saved from a mugging, then back at the food.
When she said she was going to treat him to a meal for saving her he had expected maybe a burger from some fast food joint not a full thanks giving dinner in May.
"Eat up young man your much to skinny"
Danny's eyes widen "you cant honestly expect me to eat all of this by myself?"
The woman laughs "Of course not My son and grandsons are coming over as well"
Danny nods and starts putting food on his plate amazed at the fact that none of it is attacking him. Just as he is about to eat the door opens and in walks ...
"Oh shit its Superman!!"
The three that had just entered froze at Danny's exclmation while Danny was hit on the head with a rolled up newspaper "Language youngman!!"
Clark clear his throat "Um I think you must be mistaken My name is clark Kent"
Danny gives clark an unempresed look "Uh huh Sure dude. Do I look stupid to you?"
Clark frowns "No but "
"But nothing I've seen Superman before and you are definitely Superman what did you think putting on a pair of glasses was enough to hid your identity "
Clark blushed
Danny seeing the embarrased look on Clarks face laughs "Seriously man its not plastic surgery its glasses you still have the same face same eyes same body build"
Clark gave out a sigh there was really no point in hiding any more that and Kon and Jon were laughing behind him "No one has caught on so quickly before"
Danny shakes his head "That says less about you and more about the obliviousness of the human race
Clark chuckles and sits at the table "so outside of revealing my identity what are you doing here?"
Ma Kent smiles "Say hello to your new baby brother clark "
Danny and Clark both freeze "WHAT!!??
so cute 🥰 Now I need one of Tim finding something of equivalence with Danny. Like, maybe Danny takes notes on the back of his blueprints while he works, and they start to be filled with things to tell Tim later, or something.
Tim keeps journals—pages filled with scattered thoughts, half-formed ideas, reminders hastily scribbled in the margins before they slip from his mind. His penmanship is erratic, sometimes neat, sometimes a barely legible scrawl. There’s no structure, no careful curation—just the unfiltered chaos of his thoughts, poured onto the pages with reckless honesty.
Danny finds them everywhere.
There’s one on Tim’s desk, filled with quick notes and unfinished sketches. Another by the bed, pages warped from where Tim has knocked over his coffee more than once. One tucked into his jacket, carried with him wherever he goes. And when Danny opens them, he finds something unexpected.
Not plans for patrols. Not mission reports or Gotham’s latest conspiracies.
No, these journals are something else. Something just for Danny.
There are messy, hurried notes—things Tim meant to tell him but hadn’t yet, thoughts that slipped his mind in the rush of the day. Scattered reminders: Tell Danny about the ghost dog that stole my sandwich. Ask Danny if ectoplasm works the same way as Lazarus water. Danny likes lemon biscuits. Find a good recipe?
There are doodles, too. Little sketches of Danny in the margins, some more detailed than others. A rough, unfinished one of him asleep on the couch, another of his hands, a quick, cartoonish scribble of Danny sticking his tongue out with the words annoying boyfriend scrawled underneath.
It’s messy. It’s chaotic. And it’s so Tim.
Danny had always imagined love as something poetic, something grand and beautiful, the kind of thing written in sweeping verses that promised forever. The kind of love you read about in stories, in letters written with elegant penmanship, every word crafted with care.
Tim’s love isn’t like that. It isn’t neatly composed or carefully written.
It’s raw. It’s real. It’s a thousand little moments captured in ink-stained fingers and smudged notes. It’s love scribbled into the corners of his life, unpolished and unfiltered.
And Danny? Danny wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Because love, he realizes, isn’t always the kind you find in poetry. Sometimes, it’s a journal filled with half-finished thoughts and silly drawings. Sometimes, it’s a name written absentmindedly in the corner of a page, over and over again. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a note that says, Thinking of you.
Love doesn’t have to be perfect to be real. It doesn’t have to be grand to mean everything.
And like honey pulled straight from the comb, love is sweetest when it’s raw.
Happy endings all around, so cute 🥰 and I just had to share. ☺️
Little thing inspired by various Justice League summons Danny posts I've seen about.
.
Interdimensional travel was hard.
It was a true statement, and one that, in retrospect, was obvious. Of course interdimensional travel was hard. It was reaching out of your reality and into one that had an entirely different set of rules. However, having an interdimensional portal in one's basement tended to skew one's understanding of these things. That was why it took Danny so long to realize that the Observants were actually worried about him.
"Wait," he said, looking up from the (admittedly very passive-aggressive) report the crowd of Observants had just dropped on his (already crowded) desk. "You want to change my summoning ritual because you think other dimensions might hurt my human half?"
"Some of them certainly will," said one of the Observants, testily.
"I didn't know you cared about that," said Danny, still somewhat stunned.
"We normally wouldn't," admitted the Observant, "but although the position of Ghost King is, politically, a figurehead, you are metaphysically vital to the Realms as a whole. Damage to you is to be avoided, when possible."
"Uh huh," said Danny, looking back down at the summoning ritual change paperwork. Although, through a combination of Danny's own nature and the nature of time across dimensional barriers, Danny still looked fourteen and spent a great deal of his time going to school in Amity Park, he had years of experience interpreting the Observants' paperwork under his belt. "Yeah, it's just that I don't think this is the best way to, like. Do that."
"It is the best way to protect you!" said the Observant who had, apparently, been selected as the group's spokesperson.
"Maybe," agreed Danny, who wasn't entirely sure that was true. "But I feel like some of these modifications would kind of be a problem for wherever I wound up."
"Then they ought not to summon you."
While Danny agreed with that sentiment in spirit (getting summoned was almost always inconvenient and annoying), in practice, he wasn't so sure. "I don't think there's any way to communicate that to the guys who are summoning me. Like, some of them get me with old Pariah Dark rituals. And most of them don't really care if their mistakes screw over other people, so..."
"Next to the well-being of the Realms, that is a minor concern."
Danny didn't disagree with that, but he wasn't about to waste time arguing with the Observants about it. They just didn't get it. He tapped his finger on another section that was bothering him. "Also, this seems to keep me from getting out of the summoning circle at all. If someone is summoning me to ask for help, that's going to keep me from doing much."
"It will also keep you from inadvertently exiting into a hostile environment."
"Even in my home universe?" asked Danny, pointedly. "This seems like something more geared to imprisonment than protection."
The Observants were silent.
"Oh, come on, guys, really? Again?"
The Observants scattered.
Danny sighed and picked up the paperwork. He didn't think it was all bad ideas, honestly, but he needed a second opinion that hadn't tried to stuff him in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep Mark 2.
Maybe Clockwork would look it over for him.
.
"It isn't an entirely terrible concept," said Clockwork, "except for the obvious drawbacks."
"The whole being trapped in the summoning circle bit," said Danny.
Clockwork nodded. "To be fairer than they deserve, there is no way to modify that portion of a summoning ritual in some types of universes but not others. Not from our own side of things, in any case."
"And I mostly can't get at the other side," said Danny with a groan. He perched on the back of Clockwork's chair. "I do want to make sure that I, I don't know, fit with other universes enough that I won't completely demolish them just by existing."
Clockwork hummed. "There are some ways to do that. There are drawbacks, however."
"Bigger drawbacks than accidentally nuking a planet because my radiation is different than theirs?"
"It depends on your perspective, I suppose."
Danny sighed. "Go ahead and tell me, then."
Clockwork picked up a pen. "You are a shapeshifter. You have multiple forms, one of which cannot be harmed through any normal means and which similarly would have little negative affect on the environment unless you acted to cause negative effects. Change the current ritual so that a summoning puts you in that form, and then further change it so that you cannot leave the circle unless you are in a form that will not automatically cause harm or be harmed by the laws of that universe."
"You mean my Ghost King form."
"All your forms are your Ghost King form."
"You know what I mean."
"I do," said Clockwork, smiling.
"It freaks people out, though."
"Your current form might, as you say, freak people out," said Clockwork. "If your summoners were, say, ants."
"Is that likely?"
"Not particularly. But consider the multiverse. Not all of your summoners will be human."
Danny crossed his arms, frustrated that there wasn't an easy solution. "I guess I could always shapeshift into something nonthreatening after. Hard to see if it's something safe without running into
"You can do more than that."
"I can?"
"Yes," said Clockwork, setting the pen to paper. "Let me show you."
.
The summoning circle shimmered and shivered as Constantine and Zatanna recited the chant, their voices rising and falling. Batman and other members of the League stood by, watching, waiting.
This, this ritual, wasn't their first choice. It wasn't their second, third, or fourth choice, either. But nothing else they had tried worked, and the entire world was at stake.
They were summoning the King of All Ghosts. An eldritch monstrosity that had once tried to conquer all realities. But the alternative was worse. Much worst. At least, with the King of All Ghosts, there was a chance that they could negotiate and that it'd want the Earth more or less intact for the sake of conquering it. At least, with this kind of summoning, they could offer a sacrifice, a bargain, a deal.
And if Constantine was good at anything, it was deals.
The lines of the summoning circle flared green, then pure white, and, without any other fanfare, the King of All Ghosts was there.
It filled the circle with starry darkness, struck with nebulae and aurorae. The clouds rippled as a star died near its heart, fiery cataclysms spreading throughout the being. A crown like the accretion disk of a black hole burned around its highest extremity.
Something like a voice, echoing and many-layered, emanated from the being. "Nghftùsh phlarûm âzgûm (1)." It paused, and the League felt it examine the area more closely. "Ko wgâ âzgûm nghftùsh derza. Ko gok hubhûfh fhtù gâh mglwnuh...(2)"
Constantine swore. "Oh, bollocks, I don't know that one. Would it be too much to ask that one of these things speak English? Just a little?"
"Nghftùsh ak. Ko ngngi. (3)"
"Zatanna," said Batman, "could a spell let us understand one another?"
"Kù-nghînku bùr fùmúu umni snîgûrip. (4)" It seemed to bend closer for all that it didn't move. "Nghftùsh laglúfhâk krîk ko phlî ak phlorza. Chthe nî hîhnâ, ka. (5)"
"I think I understand a little," said Captain Marvel, raising a hand. "I think it understands us just fine."
"Hagthu. Nghftùsh ngngi ùk nî chthe kûmpù nû gâ. (6)"
"It wants to get out of the circle," said Captain Marvel.
The veils of green light that shrouded the being rippled. "Dal phlù. (7)"
"Not without an agreement in place, you're not," said Constantine.
"Gagthashîzgathg. (8)"
"God," whispered Flash, "that hurts my throat just hearing it."
Batman shot him a glare, then stepped forward. They'd prepared a list of demands. Most of them were negotiable, but it was better to start something like this with things you were willing to remove or throw away. It took several minutes for Batman to read the whole thing.
"Ku. Chthal lohúfhâk hagthu. Fhta nghftùsh kâk phlorza ko thru. (9)"
"What did it say?" asked Batman.
"I'm... I think it said it'll do it, but it needs something from us in return."
Batman nodded. They'd expected something like this. Whatever it asked for, it would, without a doubt, be exorbitant. Then, they'd go back and forth, reducing each of their demands until they'd reached a deal both sides hated, but could accept. Constantine had bet that, at minimum, the King of All Ghosts would want the entire population of Earth as slaves.
"Nghftùsh kâk hû ko mglwno nî phnglâ gho-lobi. (10)"
"Uh," said Captain Marvel. "I think he said one of our lives."
"Hik! Rlo phlarâk kruk nîk ghû. (11)"
"Not just any of us," said Marvel. "It has to be someone who's a parent."
A tension fell over the room. They'd known they'd have to sacrifice something. A single life wasn't much, but for the King of All Ghosts to specify a parent...
"But are you sure it's just one?" pressed Constantine.
The King of All Ghosts gave off a sense of... exasperation? "Úzg, hû. (12)"
"One," said Captain Marvel. "Just one."
"And just us, not our kids or anything?"
"Nghftùsh ngngi ùk e nghuu. Gù phlarâk fush ko du? (13)"
"No, it doesn't want children. They're... wrong, somehow?"
"And it's not a sex thing?" Constantine sounded... strangely hopeful.
"Hik! Fhtùl! (14)"
"No," said Captain Marvel. "And... something about fat, maybe?"
"Oh, we're definitely getting eaten, then," said Constantine, with forced cheer. "I volunteer, then. It's not like my kids are sitting up waiting for me or anything."
"Hik nuk. Ngngi ko. E hâta phlarâk lerzaolûm. (15)"
"Not you, there's... something wrong with your soul."
"Oh, he's a picky eater, too, huh?"
"Let's not antagonize him, okay?" said Flash. "He's kind of-- He's kind of looming, right now."
And so it was. Somehow. Without moving.
"Who will... satisfy you?" asked Batman.
The entity did not move, but it managed to indicate Batman anyway.
"Very well," said Batman, before anyone could even attempt to talk him out of it. After all, his life for the lives of everyone in this universe was a very good deal. "Take me."
For the first time, the King of All Ghosts moved, all that darkness, all that light, rushing towards Batman.
There was a burst of blinding light.
When everyone opened their eyes again, a boy with black hair, blue eyes, and a jawline that bore more than a passing resemblance to Batman's was stepping out of the summoning circle.
"That's much better," he said, stretching. "No offense, dude, but you kind of suck at Ghost Speak." He turned to Batman. "What I was asking for was a template so I could exist in your universe and do what you want without accidentally blowing it up because of incompatible physics, but whatever. Not sure how you guys got me eating you out of that."
"You wanted a human appearance so you could better conquer this world?" asked Batman.
"Uh, no? You've got a pretty strong clause against conquering the world in your paperwork there. You're probably thinking about Pariah Dark, but he's old news." The boy smiled widely. "Let's get started on your problem, okay?"
I've been summoned.
You haven't summoned me before. You have a nice space station here...
I can. You can't.
Inter-dimensional language differences are so annoying.
I hope you can do something. This will be difficult, otherwise.
Good. I don't want to be in this circle forever.
Close enough.
Figures (literally, 'certainly').
Okay. That sounds good. But I need something from you.
I need one of you to be my template (literally, life-pattern).
No! It's like being a parent.
Yes, one.
I don't want your children. What is wrong with you?
No! Gross!
No way. Not you. You're crazy (literally, your soul is cracked).
Ok, but I can’t help but think of Percy Jackson when you bring the Greek gods into it like this, so now, I’m just imagining every liminal child in the school being classified as like, legacies because of how powerful they are and Danny, being considered in like this weird middle ground at camp because he’s definitely a god, but also, he’s 100% half-human, like all the demigods. It’s confusing. Does Danny squire the title of god of Demigods… maybe. 🤷♀️
The kids of Casper high were going through a slight religion change. You see most kids in Casper high were fans of Phantom and the hero seemed to be spending time with alot of greek figures. Many people had seen him in the park with a tall Greek ghost woman called pandora, and if that was thee Pandora then phantom's dog, cujo, must be a hellhound. So if Phantoms was greek or a Greek spirit them maybe that could work for other people to.
It started during a football game and Dash saying a quick prayer to Ares for strength and Athena for strategy. That would work right? Or maybe Nikke? He didn't know but they won so I must have worked!
Then it was Star. Who was having trouble with a poetry project from Mr.Lancers English class. So a quick prayer to Apollo. And OMG look!! She got an A!
During a big thunder storm Kwan sent a prayer to Zeus for clear weather. Then it cleared! So it must have worked.
Mr.Lancer got wind of this, so when the teachers went out for a couple of drinks and a small party. He sent a small prayer to Dionysus for a good time. He woke up the next day with a huge hangover and a new girlfriend.
Walking down the hall Dash sent a prayer to Ares, then went after the 3 losers. After a quick fight he knocked Fenturd out clean.
Danny woke up later thinking He'd been slammed through building and cratered into concrete. How did DASH knock him out?!
Diana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, was ecstatic! The Gods of Olympus were acting apon the world once again. But why were they so centered on a town called Amity Park?
Don’t do this to me man, my heart is breaking 😭
DPXDC
Commissioner Jim Gordon meets an odd kid in the precinct.
--
“Come on, you really don’t have a way to directly contact Batman?”
Jim smiled. Kids came to the station and asked that all the time. Usually, it was just curiosity and showing them the signal was enough to get them to sign up for the Junior Police program. This one looked a little older than most, teenagers were often “too old” to believe in Batman, but again, give them a little faith now and they’ll never loose it.
“Lookin’ for the Bat, kid?” Jim asked, knowing he was about to make this kid’s –
Jim froze. The kid turned to face him and it was Bruce Wayne. Not playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne, but freshly a teenager Bruce Wayne. The Bruce Wayne who Jim had checked in on time and again from age eight until he ran off on a globetrotting trip to find himself. The little Bruce Wayne with too pale skin and dark bags under his eyes, and not enough love to make up for all the grief weighing him down. And he didn’t look like Damian either, where Bruce was obviously his father but there were distinct traits from his mother. This was a carbon copy of a boy Jim remembered vividly.
“I am.” He even sounded like teenage Bruce. All business, like he was on a mission.
“I might be able to help you, but it’ll take a while.” Jim said and the officer the kid had been talking too gave him an odd look. He waved her off and told the kid to follow him to the commissioner’s office. Normally, he’d be more dramatic, put on more of a show for the kid, but his gut told him this was different, this was important. He offered the kid a styrofoam cup of water then closed the door behind him. “So, what do you need to talk to Batman for?”
“It’s personal. I need to talk to him in person.”
Jim took a sip of coffee from his cup. “He doesn’t appreciate me calling for no reason in the middle of the day.”
“So you do have a direct line?” The kid nearly jumped out of his seat. “If he’s upset, it’ll be my fault, just call him, please.”
“Who should I say wants to talk to him?”
The kid hesitated. “He doesn’t know me, but I have to talk to him.”
Jim frowned. “What’s your name, kid?”
He swallowed and looked like he wasn’t going to answer for a moment. “Danny.”
“Danny…?” Jim wanted a last name but Danny kept quiet. Jim sighed, “He’s likely not going to show up until sundown.”
“I can wait, as long as you guarantee he’ll show.”
“And you’re not going to tell me why you need Batman?” Jim just got a glare in response. “What about one of the other heroes?”
“Only Batman, no one else can help.”
“You sure about that? Not even Superman?”
“Not unless Superman can get me in the same room as Batman.”
“Why’s it so important that you meet him in person?”
“It’s personal.”
Jim liked this less and less by the minute. “Do your parents know you’re here?”
Danny looked away but right when it looked like he wouldn’t say anything he mumbled. “They wouldn’t care anyway.”
After another moment to give the kid time to reconsider, Jim pulled out the Bat-phone. It was a normal Wayne-Tech cell phone, but Jim had been given very specific instructions on how and when to use it. The phone listed all the Gotham Vigilantes without visible numbers so they couldn’t be copied and handed out. He pressed the one for Batman.
“Stand outside, would you?” The kid gave him a look, but followed the request. Jim could see his shadow in the door’s window, not so subtle eavesdropping.
It rang a few times, and Jim sat there awkwardly with a teenager listening to his every move. Finally, a familiar voice picked up the other end of the line. “Commissioner Gordon.”
“Sorry to call you out of the blue Batman, but I’ve got a kid here who needs your help.”
“Who?”
“Says his name is Danny, that you’ve never met him but you’re the only one who can help him.”
“Why?”
“Refuses to tell me.”
“What’s your best guess, Commissioner?”
Jim looked at Danny’s shadow, it looked like he was straining his ears to try and hear what he was saying. Danny had given him almost nothing to work with. Just his name, that he’s never met Batman but needs to talk with him in person. But Jim was here because he listened to his gut. A feeling like when you see a random rock on your neighbor’s doorstep but you’d never go in without an invitation. A feeling like you know what’s in the present and are preparing your surprised face. A feeling like when you cheated on your wife and you know she knows.
“He looks like Bruce Wayne.”
A beat of silence. “What?”
“Danny looks exactly like Bruce when he was a teenager. Exactly the same.” Jim hoped Batman would get it, feel in his gut what Jim felt.
“And he wont say why he’s there?”
“No, and he demands to see you in person.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
“10-4.” The line cut off before Jim had finished saying it. He called Danny in again. “He’s on his way.”
Danny glared at him. “If he’s not, if you called some social worker or something, you’ll regret it.”
“I’m sure.” Jim sighed and downed the rest of his now cold coffee.
The sun hadn’t set, but only just barely. Jim ended up taking Danny up to the roof in the end after all, if only to save his window from being broken into. The kid had a red hoodie on, but he was still shivering in the autumn chill and it was just going to get colder by the minute as the sun made its way behind the horizon.
Jim checked his watch and, at exactly an hour from when he called, he acted surprised when Batman and Robin appeared out of nowhere. “Bats.”
“Commissioner.” Batman greeted but his eyes went straight for Danny. “Danny, I assume.”
“Yeah, I…” Danny hesitated, looking at Jim and Robin.
All it took was four words from Batman. “What do you need?”
The kid held out his hand with a flash drive in it. “I’m your clone. My par- The people who made me wanted to make a stronger version of you, but they got ahead of themselves. My DNA is degrading and I’ll die if I don’t get your DNA to stabilize me.”
Holy cow.
“You don’t expect us to believe that, do you?” Robin sneered at him.
“The flash drive has all the info on it. All the data about the cloning process and the, uh, relevant experiments after that.” Batman gave the kid a look. “I didn’t want to waste time on unnecessary data.”
“If what you’re saying is true, why are you here, alone? Are they working on a different solution?”
Danny’s shoulders hiked up. “I’ve been a failure for a while now, I’m not worth the resources and they’d learn more from an autopsy.”
Oof, kid. Jim looked at Batman who seemed to feel the same… if Jim was reading him right.
“So, you wont object to a DNA test?” Robin asked with a cocky head tilt, at least he was relatively easy to read.
“You can try.” Danny said, and then realized what that sounded like. “I mean I wont stop you, but my DNA degrades faster outside my body. You’ll have to take me to whatever lab you plan on using.”
“Then we will.” Batman said and jerked his head towards where they’d probably parked that ridiculous car of his. But then he looked at Jim with a nod. “Commissioner.”
“Batman.” Jim returned the nod. “You’ll tell me how things turn out, yeah?”
“I’ll give you a report.” Batman joked – Jim could tell, it was gut feeling.
I also love this plot thread, and hope i gets another part. I absolutely had to share. 😁
Jack Fenton answered.
Jack Fenton sounds so much like Bruce at first listen if someone is tired and emotionally wrecked that Dick started going on his tangeant, pleading to come home.
Jack Fenton doesn't mind more kids at all! Neither does Maddie!
Jack tells him to come home and gives him the address to Fentonworks, and gets the guest room set up and ready to go.
Dick, finally arriving three days later, still sleep deprived and not all there, stares at the blimp on the building and starts to think he may have dialed the wrong number.
He doesn't have time to cry and go back, though, because Jack and Maddie Fenton whirlwind their way out the door and corral him into his new bedroom, treating him like he's always been their son and he's just been gone for awhile.
And Dick...Dick needs this. He's three steps from a mental breakdown, can't think past two sentences worth of planning, and he hasn't slept in who knows how long. He can regret later, right now, he'll take it.
He allows them to tuck him into bed, allows himself to fall asleep, and leaves the freaking out to a more awake him.
Danny, meanwhile, is having a little chat with a few of the ghosts that regularly follow Dick Grayson, and goes invisible and intangible to just...fly over to where this guy had been and steal the info he was after.
Because holy shit, that dude looks like he needs a break.
Or: Dick gets adopted as an adult by the Fentons instead of Bruce, and gets a really weird support network.
Imagine if they were so excited because, they were sent back in time by clockwork, and allowed to change one thing to make the world better. He told them they would know what they were supposed to change when the time came (he already knew what would do and saw how much better the timeline would be) so as soon as they discovered what time period they had been sent back to, they immediately set to work on getting rid of the Jocker. So many people’s lives would be better without him they knew this for a fact. They only had one change they could make, and getting rid of the Joker was the best way to make it count.
After making sure the other important things still fall into place afterward (like Tim joining the team. They may or may not have helped Jason spot him), Clockwork took them back to the present. From Harly, Ivy (they def interacted with her if Jaz was interning with Harly), Bruce, Dick, Jason, and Tim’s POV, these sibling just appeared in Gotham one day, suspiciously around the time Joker “got sick” and then promptly disappeared out of existence once the batfam took in Tim.
Now, years later, (it’s only been like, a day for Jazz and Danny) they reappear, looking exactly the same as they did the last time they saw them. Chaos ensues as the batparanoia goes through the roof with Batman trying to figure this out. Harley and Ivy are confused, but are also quite happy to see their friend again, and Jazz is equally as excited to see them, talking about the old days as if they were yesterday.
I agree with some of the other reblogs that Harley still becomes a rouge, but I think she’s not nearly as violent, because she doesn’t have the tacked on trauma the Joker caused her. She fits into the anti-hero role a little better than just straight up villain.
Danny: Jazz! I just scored you a personal internship with Harleen Frances Quinzel! The same woman you write your college entrance essay on!
Jazz: *Squeal* How did you manage that?!
Danny: I pulled some strings on the other side. Pays to be Ghost King. Now pack your bags, we're going to Gotham for two years!
Jazz: We?
Danny: Of course. Like I would leave you alone for months on end. I got myself a paid internship in Wayne Tech.
Jazz: *Louder Squeal* This is going to be so much fun! Did you know Miss Quinzel just accepted a job as Arkham Asylum? She's going to personally work on Joker!
Danny: You have the perfect window to posion him!
Jazz: Dreams do come true!
one day, Sam and Tucker finally get tired of all of this and are just like: Danny, you’ve only been dead for 2 years, quite treating us like your children! *angy wittle bby ghost pout* And the rest of the ghost just freeze and go: wait, we’ve been fighting ghost bby? None of these are an adult? We’ve tried to destroy ghost bby?! And he’s ghost hunters child?! They try to kill him every fight?!
SO, we all know the Ghost Baby Headcanon by now right? The idea that Danny is literally a Toddler by Ghost Standards, but because of how powerful he is everybody else believes that he is an Ancient or a God who is hogging the Mortal World to himself.
But what about his friends?
They were right there when the Portal opened. No Hazmat Suits, no Cover, no Protection from the Dimension of Pure Energy that had just been opened right in front of them.
That has to have some kind of Side Effects!
And actually, we do know of a Character who was just standing in front of a Portal when it opened and still got affected by it. Vlad.
While Danny was turned into a Halfa instantly, his friends would be more similar to Vlad in that they are slow to transform.
It takes weeks, but eventually they become mini-halfas themselves. Except they didn't have an entire Dimension of energy pushed into them upon fully forming, so their Ecto-Signatures actually feel like the babies they are supposed to be.
So imagine this from the Ghosts perspective.
They meet this guy called Phantom, a Halfa who is Extremely Powerful, but nobody has seen him in centuries. He was known as a very powerful Protector Spirit for millennia, randomly showing up across history, but always helping others. And then he just vanished one day, not seen again for centuries.
Until recently, when he showed in the Mortal World, stopping any other Ghost from fulfilling their Obsessions with Humans. And by his side are 2 smaller Halfa's that feel like they must have barely formed. You can see where this is going.
They think Sam and Tucker are Danny's children.
It makes sense! A Powerful Ancient, known for protecting people, suddenly disappears for centuries and then shows up again with 2 baby Halfa's in tow? That sounds like a Protector Spirit who lost his will to fight, decided to settled down in the Mortal Realm, and then found out that 2 baby Halfa's were formed when a Portal was opened!
He isn't selfishly holding the Mortal Realm to himself! He's protecting the Fledgling Haunt of his 2 Babies! They must still have living Family, that's why he is so adamant that they don't hurt the Civilains in their battles!
Now they just feel like assholes for attacking the Baby's dad when he was just trying to protect their stuff.
Danny finds this both extremely infuriating, and also agonizingly hilarious.
Ok, time to add even more angst here. Danny is especially protective of anyone with powers. He knows about the meta trafficking rings and absolutely will not let any of them get close to those he protects in Crime Ally, even helps mentor some of the kids who need it. One day, a meta kid, who’s particularly struggling with their powers, asks him if his family will accept him back once he learns to control his powers, his eyes watery. Danny gets a pained look on his face, as he wraps the boy in a general hug, allowing him to cry out all his tears before telling the kid that, it was very likely that his parents would never understand, that it’s not ok, and that he shouldn’t try to seek the approval of people like that, but also that it’s ok to still love them, and miss them, and grieve the fact that they don’t treat you like they used to.
Once he finishes his speech, Dani turns to him, arms crossed, “You need to tell yourself that about Grandma and Grandpa. They literally tried to kill you. Multiple times, and you keep making excuses for them.” It doesn’t take long for the rest of the Ally to hear, and now they’re just as ready to maul Danny’s parents as they are to destroy Vlad. Cause, no wonder they didn’t care what The Bastard was doing to their son of they were actively attempting to kill him. Red Hood is starting to wonder if he needs to make an exception and leave Crime Ally for a bit to take care of The Bastard and Danny’s parents.
DcxDp prompt
Teen dad Danny Fenton moving into Crime Alley and getting a reputation for helping. Street kids willing to babysit Ellie and Dan while he’s job hunting can spend the night, have a meal, get cash, whichever they choose. Sec workers who do Ellie’s hair/nails/babysit some nights also get the same benefits. He will treat anyone with injuries for the low price of showing Ellie and Dan their guns/taking them to the observatory/getting him job opportunities.
All of the people in Crime Alley know the single meta dad with two kids, who has helped half the alley at least. Everyone is also aware of how Ellie calls her other parent ‘The Bastard’, and how bad their nightmares are, the ones they have to call Danny for(A few of his repeat guests have seen the scars and burns on his arms. Some of the older street kids recognize that hunted look he gets when people touch him when he doesn’t know they are there. Some of the sec workers notice how protective he is of his kids, and the younger workers. No matter who they are, they all notice how Dan gets quiet and angry when asked about his ‘other dad’. They all have sworn never to let those kids go back to the other dad, Danny included. They are a part of Crime Alley now, and they protect their own)
Danny doesn’t realize how far his reputation goes/how much everyone trusts him until two of his regulars bring in an injured Red Hood, promising him whatever he wants in exchange for him helping their boss.
Ghost adoption is a sacred thing, because, once accepted by both sides, it can’t be undone. The entities are forever tied together by the infinite realms. It might have started as a joke, but both the phantoms and John slowly started to actually see each other as family. Once it was official, well, ghost adoption is permanent after all. Constantine may not be part ghost or liminal, but he is part demon, and that’s close enough. The DNA and look changes? Simple. Things are a little different since they’re all still alive (well, partially, but still).
But, unintentional bonus points for John. He just tied his soul to the King of the Infinite realms for all eternity and has effectively cheated all of his contracts, however accidentally it may have been. Downside, he can’t make any more new deals, because the demons can sense who he’s connected to now, but, he’s got some really powerful backup now that the ghost children have magic, so he doesn’t really need to make any new contracts anymore.
I made another post about Danny and about how the justice league believes that something exists in the ghost zone then that makes it exist, but I had an idea since then.
So as a joke, John and Danny claim to be related. (Jazz, Dan, and Dani get in on it too.)
Batman: ...you have a family.
John: what? You think you're the only one with kids?
Batman: that *points at Dan* is a grown ass man.
Dan: hey dad, Jazz wants to know if you'll pick up some milk from the store, she says we're out.
John: sure, she want anything else?
Dan: nah but Dani wants you to grab some pizza while you're there.
Batman:....
And at some point, they start coming to him with their problems.
Dan needs a place to stay? Johns couch is free.
Danny needs help with schoolwork? John might not know what the answer is, but he'll try and help.
Jazz needs someone to rant to? She'll call John.
Dani needs help dismantling a cult? John will be right there in an hour.
They don't acknowledge it outloud, but if they have a problem John is the first person they think of to call for help.
The ghost zone and it's inhabitants also accept John as the ghost kids parent, like if they say it's true then it must be true.
Then they start changing just a bit.
Their hair gets lighter (closer to blonde) their eyes change by a couple shades, and unknown to them, their DNA changes.
And they don't really notice it...
Until they start developing magic.
And Jazz nearly kills someone with that magic when her breakfast attacks her.
I love how both the Batfam and the JL assumed that, yes, of course a shape-shifting multi-personality entity makes more sense for this supernatural being than the fact that there’s simply, more than one of them. 😂 So anyway-
You know how there are Au’s where Danny is able to save some of the other clones too- 🙃 Let them slowly come join the search one at a time until there's like, 10 danny’s (of course the clone names are all variations of the original name) and everyone loosing their minds because, wtf! There’s so many now! And now their starting to be seen at the same time as others more and more often. In fact, it seems like Danny and Dani are the only ones never spotted out at the same time. Perhaps they’re unable to split because the two don’t know about each other, unlike everyone else? Also, why is it those two in particular who don’t know about each other, when clearly, everyone else knows and acknowledges each other. Even Danny and Dani seem perfectly aware of everyone else. Current running theories are that they’re a split of the original personality, and therefore unaware of the other, both still thinking their the main personality.
This chaos continues until then Dany’s manage to finally find the source of the contaminate ecto. Once their task is all done, they finally figure out what’s been going on with the batfam and JL and try to explain the truth to them. No one believes it until Danny and Dani are in the same room together. When they hear that everyone else is a clone of Danny (except for Dan, but no one really feels like explaining to the Bat that he’s Danny’s future evil self from another timeline), and that no, they do not, in fact, have the ability to shapeshift. No one knows what to make of this, because, somehow, this is crazier than what they all had come up with.
There is a new meta in Gotham called Phantom. They’re some kind of ghost they’ve never encountered before and they’re here investigating “the rancid vibes in your ambient ecto”. The local vigilantes meet them every so often and they sometimes help out with dangerous situations. They’re respectful of the local heroes and do as they’re asked.
The issue comes when they have to open an ally file in the Batcomputer system—no one can agree on how to spell the name or the description of the ally. Is it Danny or Dani? A twiggy boy or a short girl? Black with white accents, but is it a crop top and asymmetrical cut? Is it he or she? The kid is no help; the answer changes when they ask!!
Prompt: The batfam is unaware that there are in fact two individuals each called Danny/ni Phantom and get into an edit war with each other in the ally file. Meanwhile, the Phantom siblings are unaware of the confusion they are sowing by taking turns searching for the source of the corrupted ectoplasm in Gotham.
I know plenary of people would go for the batfam, but like, yeah, that’s kinda a given. What I think would be interesting, is if some of the rouges were liminal (unknowingly, of course) and once they get some fresh ecto in them, suddenly, huh, they don’t feel the need to destroy things so much anymore? What is this? I’ve never felt so good before? What in the world is in this energy drink? Like, of course they still have to fulfil their obsessions, but the Therapist in the corner (Jazz) has been teaching them how to channel their obsession into more positive things. And guess what, now that they aren’t basically starving all the time, they’re a lot more willing to try the healthier option.
I feel like if Danny ever moved to Gotham he would get mugged way too often. He’s got his ghost sense to warn him of supernatural dangers, but he’s got nothing for living beings.
So I’d imagine the trio would make a joke out of it after the first few times.
“Gimme your money and no one gets hurt!”
Danny just looks the robber up and down and then starts snickering.
“You think this is funny kid?! I’ll gut you here and now!”
The mugger pulls a knife out and steps forward threateningly, Danny doesn’t notice because he’s doubled over in laughter now.
The guys kinda unnerved but he lunges anyways. Danny ends up with a knife in his side and an unconscious thug slumped beside him.
He snaps a quick selfie and sends it to the chat.
Sam- Another one bites the dust
Tucker- L in the chat for mugger.
Jazz- L
Sam- L
Danny- L
Tucker- Is that the third one this week?
Danny- fourth
Jazz- Wait what’s that on your shirt?
Danny-…
Jazz- Danny what is that.
Danny- A knife!
Jazz- No!
Excuse me Ras, I have a question. How do you expect to gain an hair from Tim if you’re having two boys marry? I mean, unless we’re going with trans-Danny here, but like, I don’t know, it always feels weird to me when people expect trans men to just like, be perfectly ok and comfortable with carrying a child like that??? Cause like, I don’t know, but I feel like that would be very degrading or like, dysphoric. I imagine this wouldn’t apply to everyone, of course, but I feel like it would be very rude to just, assume-
It started with a mission.
Tim hadn’t expected to be sent after a new ghost anomaly, much less one that was human-shaped and strangely familiar. But when he found himself face-to-face with Danny—a teenager who radiated Lazarus energy like it was his second skin—things got weird. Fast.
Cue the League of Assassins bursting onto the scene, followed by a dramatic entrance from none other than Ra’s al Ghul himself.
And that’s when Tim learned the big, world-shattering truth: Danny was Ra’s al Ghul’s son. Not adopted. Biological.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Tim stood, slack-jawed, watching Ra’s beam with the kind of pride usually reserved for conquering cities. Danny, standing awkwardly next to him, scratched the back of his neck.
“Yeah, so, uh… surprise?” Danny offered.
Ra’s spread his arms wide. “Timothy! This is a joyous day. My son, Daniel, has found you at last.”
Tim blinked. “Found me?”
Danny shuffled nervously. “Uh, yeah. You’re kind of… important to the family now.”
Tim’s brain short-circuited.
———
Because here’s the kicker: Ra’s had been trying to get Tim to join the League for years. He saw Tim as a potential heir. But now, with Danny in the picture, Ra’s had an even better idea.
“Through Daniel,” Ra’s explained, practically glowing, “I can finally bring you into the family as I always intended.”
Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am not marrying into the League of Assassins.”
Danny choked. “Wait, what?!”
Ra’s nodded sagely. “I see you are both shy about it. No matter! Destiny has a way of unfolding as it should.”
Tim and Danny exchanged horrified glances.
———
Despite the chaos, Danny and Tim clicked. Danny was chaotic but genuine, a refreshing contrast to the constant stress of Gotham. And Tim? Tim was the most grounded person Danny had ever met.
“You know, you don’t have to listen to Ra’s,” Tim pointed out after one particularly tense League encounter.
Danny shrugged. “Yeah, but if I don’t humor him, he gets pouty.”
Tim snorted. “Ra’s al Ghul? Pouty?”
“You have no idea.”
———
When Tim brought Danny back to Gotham, the batfam had questions.
Bruce: “He’s… Ra’s’ son?”
Tim: “Yep.”
Jason: “And you’re… what, his fiancé now?”
Tim: screaming internally
Danny: “I’M RIGHT HERE.”
Damian, eyes wide: “Uncle?”
Danny grinned. “Hey, kiddo.”
Damian, flustered: “I—no. This cannot be.”
———
Back in Nanda Parbat, Ra’s couldn’t be happier. Every time Tim showed up, Ra’s looked like Christmas came early.
Ra’s: “Timothy, you and Daniel are a perfect match.”
Tim: “In what universe?”
Danny: “Technically, several.”
———
That was the problem.
Tim might hate making Ra’s happy, but… Danny was different.
Danny liked being part of the League. He liked the structure, the weird family dynamic. He liked the purpose. And he was thriving.
Tim couldn’t ruin that.
Tim didn’t want to make Ra’s happy—he’d rather swallow glass—but he did want to make Danny happy.
And if that meant putting up with Ra’s al Ghul’s matchmaking schemes, well…
Tim gritted his teeth and endured.
———
“Being with Danny isn’t the issue. The issue is that it makes Ra’s happy. And I refuse to let that man win.”
Danny: smirking “You’re fighting a losing battle.”
Tim: “Shut up.”
Danny: “Love you too.”
It was a dreary day, as it often was in Gotham. Danny was just returning from the funeral of Jason Todd, his core heavy and head fuzzy. He enters his store, only to see that his time here is up. The 5 years are over, and it’s time to go. Danny falls to the floor, no longer holding back the tears. It feels like his core has cracked from the grief. How can he just leave now, of all times? Won’t he even be allowed time to grej e before they go? A little giggle snaps his mind back to reality. Is head snaps in the direction of the sound, comming from the corner nook that the store always set up for him… for Jason. His core was thrumming with painful hope, and then, his eyes found the source of those light giggles, and Danny’s core soared. There he was! It was little Jason, his Jason, in the corner, sitting in the corner, reading a new book, just like he used to do. Danny couldn’t help himself, he rushed over, grabbing the little Robin in a tight hug, startling the little ghostling.
It’s been a few weeks now, since the store packed up and took them to a new location. Danny was filled with so many mixed emotions the night he found Jason, the night they left. Now having processed his emotions a little more, he’s been thoroughly enjoying telling Jason stories of all the adventures he’s been on, and people he’s met. He’s even gotten to take Jason to his haunt, and show him the library. Seeing the way the little bird’s eye’s lit up at the sight, made Danny’s core thrum with delight. Yes, Jason may have died, but he was safe now. Danny would keep him safe.
The store has been hoping dimensions much more frequently than it used to, only staying in one place for a week or two at a time. Danny’s not sure why, but he’s been enjoying all the adventures he’s been able to go on with Jason, so it doesn’t bother him too much. It’s been a couple months now, and the holidays are comming up soon back home. Maybe he’ll be able to bring Jason with him, he knows that they would absolutely adore Jason. How could they not when he’s so precious, after all?
Something was wrong. Jason was starting to have glitches in his powers. Moments where he would loose his flight and fall back to the floor, or he would get stuck partway through a bookshelf because he became partially tangible. Danny can’t figure out what’s going on, h
no, no, nO, NO, NO…. He’s gone. The only thing remaining being a small shade of a little Robin, that still happily filters around the store. Danny gently holds the little bird in his hands, cradling it close to his core, as he sobs, having once again lost his Jason.
Time moves on. He still misses Jason terribly. Still mourns, still grieves, still looks in the corner, hoping, no expecting, Jason to be there. But time moves on, and eventually, a new normal is established. Danny takes some solace in the small little shade that still happily flits around the store. It’s not the same Jason that he wishes to come back, but… it’s a piece of him, and he takes comfort in that fact. Back when it first happened, he had rushed the little Robin off to Frostbite and explained the situation, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could help somehow. Frostbite had shaken his head sadly, saying that he had never seen a case like it before, and there was nothing he could do to help. The store moves around less now. Staying in most places for months at a time. Never as long as when they found Jason, but it went back to it’s usual routine. Sometimes Danny wondered if somehow, it had known. The store had stayed just long enough to take Jason with them, down to the exact day, and during his short stay with them, they had gone on more adventures in more places than he had before up to that point. It felt like the store had known, and that it wanted to give Jason as many adventures as it could before he would leave them again.
‘Why am I here again? Why have you brought me back to this dimension? I do not wish to relive these painful memories.’ Danny uncomfortably nuzzles the little Robin perched on his shoulder, an unconscious habit he had picked up when he was particularly missing Jason. He stared wistfully out the door, wishing to see his little ghostling come rushing through the door, but he knew that was impossible. Jason… his Jason, was gone. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear the little bell on his door jingle as it opened, didn’t notice the familiar presence entering his store. Then the little Robin perked up, and flitted off his shoulder. Danny quickly reached out to grab it, frantic, not wanting to loose the last piece of Jason he has left, but he is unsuccessful. The little Robin lands on the new person’s shoulder, and gently nuzzles the crook of their neck, chirping happily. That when Danny notices. He looks at the figure, a red hood covers their face, but he can tell. He can feel. This is Jason Todd. Alive and in front of him. His breath hitches in his throat, and his eyes go all misty.
“Whoa, this place was gone when I came back… man, I’ve missed this place.”
He’s back, Jason was home. And this time, Danny was going to do everything within his power too keep it that way. His little ghostling would stay safe, even if the world was ending, nothing would dare lay a finger on his little ghostling anymore.
Danny opens a bookstore. Initially, it was his private library, a place tp store all the books he gather from different parts of the glob and different Earths.
Mr. Lancer finally wore him down, causing Danny's love of reading to blossom at the end of his Freshman year. The teacher did so by having him come in person to speak about any kind of book as makeup work, as long as he learned how to dissect what he read and get proper reading comprehension.
Danny found that he could enjoy literature if he wasn't forced to write an essay afterward. But spending lunchtimes with his English teacher arguing about Narina's moral concepts was practically the same as the essay; it was just funnier.
It was the final push he needed to move to the next grade. By the skin of his teeth, but he did it. Mr. Lancer had been so proud of him.
That summer, Danny had been grounded for various weeks due to the ghosts attacks taking him away from his school and chores. Since he wasn't allowed to watch TV, or use the computer Danny had chosen to pick up books from Jazz's young adult fantasy shelves.
He never looked back.
Suddenly, it was like Danny could only go somewhere with something to read. He jumped genres but always fell back to fantasy, escaping into magical worlds between pages. Something about that reminded him of exploring the different worlds within the Infinate Realms, and Danny found himself addicted.
It became his entire identity. Sam was the goth girl, Tucker the tech geek, and Danny the book nerd. His friends and family quickly learned that any gift-giving event was going to lead to a long list of books Danny was waiting to get his grabby little hands on.
Even the classics Mr. Lancer once had to fight him to read were entertaining now that he understood their subtext and inferences that used to go over his head as a kid.
Jazz took him to get his library card which became Danny's most prized possession until high school graduation. Once Danny got his first part-time job- working for Sam's family company but hey if he had a rich friend who was willing to pay him to answer calls who was he to say no?- Danny started buying his own books.
He shopped at local second-hand bookstores, online websites, and chain bookstores and even ventured into the Ghost Zone to see what literature wonders they had to offer. He found that his human money had a far better exchange rate then he was expecting, making it possible to buy a lot more and at cheaper prices in the Zone.
He even found parallel words that sold the same books he was reading. Once, he saw a book he had waited two years to release at a marked-down price because that world had the book out for five years. Danny almost died of joy to find the special edition.
His room, which once had nothing by NASA, was now filled with bookshelve after bookshelve of his treasures. His parents allowed him to expand his little library in the attic once he ran out of room.
Danny had no idea what to do when his parents asked him what he planned to do once he ran out of room there. By that point, he had started to move the older ones into his Haunt in the Ghost zone, amazed that it had shifted into a Libary that rivaled the likes of Libary of Alexandria. He had so many different ones that he could organize by all ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System in his Haunt, making him wonder if he had consumed that much writing in the past four years. (He had. His parents were worried)
Ghosts had even started asking if they could visit his library, and before long, he had opened one of Ghost Zona's first Public libraries. His only charge was that if a new ghost wanted a library card, they had to donate at least three books. His collection grew and grew with each passing day.
Blob ghosts appointed themselves as Danny's librarians, carefully filing his newest additions to his growing delight. Danny now always had something new to read.
He consumed so much that a new title was bestowed onto him. Danny Phantom: Master of Knowledge.
Though that was a rather silly title if you asked Danny, he enjoyed a good read whenever he was awake. Just because he learned while reading didn't mean he was the master of it. However, he did gain a massive patchwork of knowledge that he could usually apply anywhere, making people assume he was all-knowing.
That did not solve the problem of getting too many books, and often, he found copies of the same ones added to his shelves again and again. His blob ghosts didn't think to reject copies because then ghosts couldn't visit his haunt and would be denied books.
Danny would never deny anyone books. He just had to figure out what to do with the copies and old books he was no longer interested in.
Jazz told him to try and have a yard sale of the ones he no longer wanted, and seeing as there were some series he could go without, Danny gave it a shot.
He made a surprising amount of money, but it was far from the amount he had spent to purchase them. Still, watching people get excited as they walk away with bags of books more than made up for it. After his third yard sale, Danny made up his mind.
He would attach a bookstore to his Haunt.
He wasn't sure how since his library had built itself. It seemed unwilling to add on to it that it was a slightly different business. His haunt only expanded to accommodate the library that he was building there. It took reading five rare books that Clockwork had gifted him to find what was once lost knowledge.
Haunt Manipulation.
It was risky, but Danny created the Infinite Realms Bookstore with enough concentration, some runes, a dash of overly powerful ectoplasm, and some of his core bits. He chose to run this one because the blobs seemed frightened of hackling with customers, and frankly, seeing people be happy was a different kind of rush.
Things were fine for a few years. He didn't need to work now that he had a steady cash flow—though sometimes he had to find someone willing to trade for US Earth 23-19 dollars. He was his own boss with his books to read, his body not needing sleep or food while in the zone, and his ability to lose himself in between pages whenever he wanted.
Then, his bookstore fell off his haunt. It was like an apple falling from a tree- it grew too heavy for the Haunt to handle- flinging Danny into a nearby Earth portal. Luckily, he could get back to the Zone with the spell he placed on his backdoor, and his haunt was in the same place as it always was.
It turns out that Haunt Manipulation is no longer an extended practice because it cannot anchor anywhere. It vanishes and reappears randomly, lingering for a few months. Danny finds that the last haunt like this is now named the House of Mysteries.
At first, Danny was really annoyed by this, until he realized that he could once again walk among humans and spread his library to different worlds. He especially loved it when he appeared in areas where he could teach people to read.
Something about introducing people to his obsession was almost as fulfilling as his obsession itself.
He became a strange but wise man in some worlds and a god of knowledge in others. Danny was having the time of his life, flinging between timelines, exploring dimensions, and still being able to port back to his regular Haunt that connected him to his home.
He saw his parents every Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was able to be the Best man at Jazz's wedding, saw Tucker become the head of his own tech company, and was one of the first to meet Sam's girlfriend between his exploring.
Infinite Realms Bookstore's newest location was on an intriguing Earth behind Danny's home world regarding technology. It was a crime-infested city with far too many problems for its own good. His bookstore also chooses to plant itself right smack in the middle of the worst part of town.
On the far back wall, in the elegant letter, it read "Five years," meaning Danny and the bookstore would be here for five years before it vanished. Strangely, it was the longest time that it had lingered in one place.
Danny suspected that Infinite Realms Bookstore was starting to develop a mind of its own. His books were organizing themselves overnight now, and he was sure he never saw any blob ghosts about.
That did not stop him from happily opening his doors to Crime Alley anyway. The morning of his first day in Gotham, while sipping some coffee- he forgot how good it tasted!- a young boy wandered in.
He was obviously looking for an escape, so Danny willed some chairs and tables to appear in the far back. A complimentary snack section appeared a few seconds later, and there was a "Feel free to read anything off the shelves" sign.
The kid's eyes widened when he spotted them before he hastily raced toward the classics and selected two large volumes. He planted himself at one of the tables surrounded by drinks and cookies and didn't move for hours.
Danny left him to it, choosing to close when the kid left. It was tweleve long hours but worth it to see the glee on the tiny litte face as he flipped through pages.
The next day, he came back, and the one after that. Before long, Danny had his first regular.
That regular is a young boy named Jason Todd.
Jason reminded Danny of himself when he first got into reading, which led to him making a deal with the young boy. He would let Jason bring books to trade, allowing the boy to take home whatever he wanted in exchange. This meant Danny could get books from this new dimension and Jason didn't have to worry about finaces.
There was a time where Danny was pretty sure Jason was just reselling him back his own books. But seeing as Jason looked more and more like he was having a hard time finding a good meal, Danny pretended not to notice.
This is similar to when his bookstore developed free showers for him to use only when he was about or private reading rooms with a warm bed. Jason early took advantage of these, unaware that they vanished from view to all other customers once he stepped inside.
Sometimes, he falls asleep and spends the night inside those private reading rooms when Danny "forgets" to walk through the store before closing.
Everyone else paid because they didn't make Danny's core sing like Jason. It was easy to tell when the boy became Robin, as he found the vigilante pulling Batman to his window and pointing out books. The moment that mask little face pressed against his glass, Danny knew who it was.
Just as he knew the next day when, Bruce Wayne opened his door to buy everything that Robin had wanted. Danny kept that to himself, though. He figured it would be funnier if they thought they were sneaky.
Maybe this place would be his finest location yet.