#4 parts present

[nonamedrk]

TIL THE END COMES pt 2

::Summary:: Final grievances are aired, hopes and dreams shared, before at last Melianne and Ysolie emerge from the cavern, bonded to each other, until the end comes...

::Content Warning:: Blood, Pain, Violence, Caves, Medical Supplies

Thanks for reading!!! 💙

[<- Previous: Til The End Comes pt. 1]

“How— how could I go back?” Ysolie could not fight their tears and they flowed freely, “My heart ached with guilt—torn asunder by bladed ill deed— how could my eyes meet yours as if there were no foulness between us?”

Falling off to the side, Melianne hit the cavern floor with an uncontrolled grunt, as she took in a rasping inhale. Through grit teeth and tears, she told Ysolie, “That. Was not. Your fault.”

Sobs stole every word that would have come from Ysolie and their pained noises echoed into the cavern. “No— but it was. For all my defiance shown in moments prior, that which occurred was doubtless my choice! I should have resisted— fought the foul deed asked of me— yet instead, did I act as demanded. You’ve all the reason to despise me with every thrum of your heart,” Ysolie struggled to say through their cries— the words, swimming in their deepest buried guilt.

“But I don’t. And I never did,” Melianne replied, “That sparring was— my parent— he left me there, on the cavern floor after, and you were just a tool in his stupid scheme. He would have done it himself if he was able to get away with it. But no. I lay there for days. Bleeding. It was you that told Rejeanne, was it not? About what happened and that you hadn’t seen me—she told me recently.”

She continued, “Had she arrived just a few days later, I know I would have died—passed off as yet another Bladeseeker killed by training accident. He was furious and what he did after had him exiled. That is why a Conciliator released me to Rejeanne. But you. I never blamed you. Not once. We were children.”

Bitterly, Melianne then laughed, taking in a loud and rasping breath as she concluded, “We were but Bladeseekers sparring. Violence is our lives. From birth til death.”

And then Ysolie choked out from their sobs, “But yours was the first blood I ever spilled— my friend— the blood of my friend.”

“But yours,” Melianne whispered calmly, “Were the first lips mine ever touched.”

Understanding snaked its way between emotions, unwinding and spiraling around Ysolie’s head, which felt as if it were floating in the air itself. Eyes wide, they stared up at the cavern ceiling, as decades worth of guilt and shame were beginning to be set free.

Across their palm, something moved, and they realized then that Melianne had clasped their hand, with fingers intertwined.

She left it there for a long moment as, in the dark, they rested unmoving, each falling deeply within their own thoughts and feelings. At last she asked simply, “Can you tell me why your eyes glow?”

Turning their head as best they were able to look at Melianne, Ysolie took in the sight of her, cut up, bloodied, exhausted, and knew it to be a mirror as to how they looked as well. For this harm, there was no regret, as this had been deemed the way forward, as all Blademasters would say.

So softly then, without much fanfare, or even attempts to wipe at their eyes, Ysolie began tell to Melianne the tale of their Trial in Exile.

As they spoke there came no reluctance in the face of their obligation now— as a Bonded couple, it was by the decree of their God that they share their lives with one another. This meant openness, honesty, a willingness to speak unhindered by fear, and patient listening.

Together, they were to share in the other’s burdens, for to do so was the highest honor one could give to another person. Together, they were to share in each other’s silence as well, for those moments of closeness and wordless feeling were prized.

Freely the two spoke then, telling each other answers to cleaving questions, and spilling forth the contents of their souls— goals, dreams, insecurities, and all. To walk together meant covering the other’s back— it meant knowing their strengths, weaknesses, and where they could be pushed to grow.

When one paused, the other left the space free, breaking it only when it felt right, until they found the rhythm of silence and speech between them.

While both knew there was much more that would not be shared in these moments, that always there would be more to learn, a bridge spanned between them now, built upon the ashes of one burned and wrecked long ago.

Melianne eventually shared her trouble with the Bladeseekers— how she’d been too lenient, that they lacked in discipline, because she couldn’t venture too close to how she’d been treated, Ysolie vowed to fix this, if Melianne agreed to step aside, but only when their words rang justified.

Meanwhile, Ysolie spoke of the rifts between she and Lafayiera, and how she’d lost control of the Dark God’s blessing during the trial prior to their chosen exile. While Melianne didn’t know exactly the way to fix such a thing, she vowed to act as a balance— to stay their hand if need be.

For hours the two talked, about these things and more, as this most important portion of their ceremony proceeded. Together they ate eventually— after Melianne managed to get a healing potion into Ysolie’s mouth— and still more discussion was had.

Neither of them knew the time for neither felt the weariness that they should.

This, in particular, caused Melianne to wonder, “Was this part of the Dark One’s gift to you? That role— you’ve been given a title from the Dark God themselves, but I haven’t heard that word before. I cannot deny that at present I don’t feel tireless— it doesn’t make sense— and you’ve already disclosed you’ve no knowledge of the full effects of your bearing. Your eyes glow full as sapphire now— no longer pinpoint.”

Looking over at that latter point, Ysolie’s brows knit with concern. “Proxy/Embodiment— I’ve not heard the term myself though, I’ve a hunch The Exemplar knows something none of us do. And there stirs within me suspicion— The Exemplar’s state connected to mine at present— and as well, perhaps other Blademasters on the whole. And thus, do I ever find my task list full, once again. Melianne.”

Ysolie paused to take a huge gulp of water, “Time will be taken abroad— though I understand the upset such behavior evokes—”

“—you know the consequences for breaking a vow,” Melianne cut them off, her words exhausted yet sharp, “If you abandon your duties it will be obligated of the Elders to execute punishment.”

“Contemplate now, I must beg, how there might be time, by your grace, for I to tend to tasks— some being God-given— whilst yet tending to my duties here. My intentions lie not in thought to abandon nor shirk responsibility. As said I before— I take our Bond seriously and, therefore, take those tasks shared with much gravity, just so.”

Rubbing at a temple, Melianne grumbled, “Listening to you is more irritating than it used to be, with these archaic speech patterns.” She then smirked at Ysolie in good humor, “We’ll discuss it in detail later.”

Ysolie rolled their eyes, snickering, “Recall as well— my trialing role of Conciliator. This, too, shall see my time divided.”

Nodding, Melianne hummed, as she sat next to Ysolie. Both their backs rest against the cavern wall, as they continued their meal in comfortable silence. She curled her legs up, then rested her chin on her knees, in a manner quite nostalgic to Ysolie’s eyes.

Nearing the end of their meal, abruptly, Melianne spoke with amusement, “You know. We never broke up, Ysolie. Technically, you’ve been my boyfriend all this time.”

Staring at her for a moment in silence, a slow smile came to Ysolie’s face, as they remarked wistfully, “True? Well… I do not know how to be… a boyfriend.”

Turning her head as she looked toward Ysolie, Melianne paused, as she searched her memory, producing, “All you have to do is… hold my hand and kiss me.”

Gazing toward Melianne, Ysolie smirked, as their emotions surged once again to nearly overwhelm them, asking, “That’s all?”

Smiling, her eyes gazing into Ysolie’s, Melianne nodded, “Yeah.”

As they had long ago, Ysolie took Melianne’s hand in theirs, then leaned forward and kissed her.

—🕷—

He tasted the aether in the air from where he sat, then spun on his little stool to face the door, raising his legs as he did so to avoid hitting the crate of medical supplies.

“Oh! Hello,” Derrisenois spoke up, “It seems I’ve won the bet!”

Squinting against the light, Ysolie and Melianne came through the heavy stone door supporting one another, as the doors physical properties dissipated with the broken seal.

On the ground floor of the massive house, in whose basement they’d just emerged from, all the light and warmth was nearly overwhelming, alongside the smells and scents of an average day in one of the Clan’s houses.

Pushing his glasses up, Derrisenois looked them over briefly, before noting, “My. You’ve carved each other up, ah, have a seat—” he then raised his soft voice to shout “—From the dark emerges two, Bonded true!”

Voices around the house echoed the words in a yell— Ysolie heard windows opening and saw someone dash down the stairs to confirm, before sprinting out of the large front doors to the abode.

Derrisenois, meanwhile, got to work quickly, as he passed both Blademasters healing potions, then began unwinding their weapon wraps, whistling as he did so. Something about the sight of the blue and white flowers in a crown atop his head made Ysolie cry as he tended to their wounds.

By the time Derrisenois moved to apply a potion soaked compress to Melianne’s brow, an echoed shout came back into the house, through the roaring declarations of people from the other rooms: “Fear not the dark, my friend, and let the feast begin!”

“Tell me, what time is it Alchemist Derrisenois?” Melianne asked, holding the compress to her bow, eyes searching for a clock but finding none.

“Feast time,” Derrisenois replied smartly, before he revealed, “Past lunch— it’ll be an early dinner. Oh. You were gone but perhaps twenty two—twenty three, bells?”

Her eyes widened, “Twenty two— what?” It didn’t make sense. She felt none of the weariness of being awake well over thirty hours— none of the weariness from the combat they’d had below. She glanced at Ysolie, who seemed to be too busy still sobbing to converse, and let out a soft sigh.

“Worry it not— and remember! You can name me with parental terms now,” Derrisenois told her, grinning widely, hands on his hips with pride. Quite reflexively, he wiped tears from Ysolie’s eyes, then continued cleaning and dressing each of their major wounds.

Melianne meanwhile, had different concerns, “— you won a bet, you say?”

“Ah, it’s tradition,” Derrisenois replied, smiling mischievously, as he soaked a clean cloth in healing potion, “I had faith you’d emerge within a day— everyone thought me a fool, but I knew better.”

His eyes locked with Melianne’s for a moment in a warm silence, before shifting his gaze to lock with Ysolie’s, as he lifted their chin gently, prompting them to look up into his golden eyes, smiling all the while.

Softly, he told them, “I knew…”

[NEXT -> Who Stands Witness?]

[rottengurlz]

she’s like if the virgin mary smoked a pack of pall malls every day 🚬

[thevoidstaredback]

Batman pulled up a world map as soon as the alarm started blaring. There was a red dot centered in Illinois, so that's where the map zoomed in.

"That's Amity Park!" Robin exclaimed.

Batman hummed. "Robin, contact Red Huntress and find out what's going on from her end." The boy nodded and left the room. "Constantine, Zatanna, figure out what's going on."

"Already on it, Batsy!" Constantine called in English before going back to his now four alternating conversations in Esperanto and Latin. Zatanna didn't even acknowledge the order.

"Everyone else," he continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, "set up a perimeter a few miles out from the town. Keep it in your line of vision, but don't get too close." He turned to look directly at The Flash. "I want you to run recon. Make sure this is the only place they're coming from. Once we find out their goal, that's what you'll be looking for."

"Aren't they looking for a child?" The Flash asked. He was ignored.

The heroes emptied the room swiftly, quick to ZETA as close as they could to the town before setting up a perimeter ten miles out. Close enough to see the town, but not close enough to cause any panic.

It was nearly twenty-five minutes later before Constantine and Zatanna joined them all. Though, they were both quick to make it known that the town was wholly aware that they were there.

Constantine went to join the hero's block-in, though he didn't stay in one place. He moved from hero to hero, keeping both eyes and one ear on Amity Park. If it was going to move, he would be aware of it only seconds before it did. He needed to be ready.

Zatanna pulled five of the American based heroes away from their posts to explain what she knew. It was barely any better than a recap from the meeting that they had vacated.

"Like we tried to explain earlier, they're looking for a child that the US Government took from them."

"The one from the pictures right?" Aquaman said, "Phantom??"

Zatanna nodded. "Yep. He's the town vigilante; Operating for several months longer than Red Huntress. From what Deadman told me and Constantine, Phantom is a baby ghost; he's only been dead for about a year." She ignored the various reactions. "He's also favored by several Ancient Beings."

"'Ancient Begins'?" Superman asked.

"Think Primordials,"

"Oh, dear," Wonder Woman muttered.

The magician continued, "Don't attack any of the R̶͎͔̿̅ḛ̴̗̦̯̭͇̰̎͑a̸̻̜̤̼͕͔̘̱̫̓ĺ̴͉̘̥͚̪̹́̈́͋̓͜m̶̬͇̅͑͌ṣ̷̨̺̜̣̮͔̤͕̃̍́͂ denizens under any circumstances. They're already going to be hostile towards us, we don't need to give them another reason to be."

"A bit late for that, don't ya think?" A new voice called, startling the heroes into falling into defensive stances.

It took several seconds to find the source. When they did, Batman asked, "Who are you?"

The being, female in appearance, was above and slightly to the left of the group. She looked to be in her late teens with teal-grey skin, a slight teal glow, and flaming teal hair tied in a high pony, bangs framing her face. Her eyes glowed the same radioactive green as Phantom's had in the picture, though less so. She was wearing black pants, a black crop-top, grey knee boots, and a single black elbow glove. There was a guitar strapped to her back that gave off a slight purple glow. Even from where the Justice League heroes were standing, they could feel heat radiating off of her.

"It doesn't matter who I am, does it?" the girl sneered down at them, "What matters is that you dickheads took on of ours, and we intend to get him back." She very obviously assessed the group, not hiding her distaste. "Phantom told me this world had other heroes." She lowered slightly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Where were you."

"Excuse me?" Green Lantern asked.

"Where were you?" she reiterated.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"You're talking about the threats here, right?" Zatanna asked.

The being turned her full attention to the magician. "You knew?"

Zatanna nodded. "My colleagues and I have been keeping an eye on Amity Park since the rifts opened up last year."

The girl's eyes narrowed and she nodded at the five heroes. "These your colleagues?"

"Technically."

"I don't much like technicalities," she hummed. "You must be the one Deadman told us about."

"You know Deadman?" Green Lantern asked. He was ignored.

"Yeah?" Zatanna nodded.

"I'm Ember," she said after a moment, touching down in front of Zatanna. "Deadman convinced the Council to hold in Amity Park until the end of the day. The second the sun goes down, we act on our own."

"I'm Zatanna," she shook her hand, "We're going to find him."

Ember glared, her grip tightening. "You better. He's done more for your world than any of you could ever acknowledge." She turned her glare on the five heroes before flying back up. "And once he's back with us, where he belongs, we'll think about calling a ceasefire." She left before another word could be said.

Zatanna fell into a crouch, her hands covering her face. "This is a nightmare," she whispered before popping back to her full height. "That could've gone better."

"It also could've gone worse." Aquaman tried to console. It didnt work.

"Well, you heard her, we have less than twelve hours to find the kid before the R̶͎͔̿̅ḛ̴̗̦̯̭͇̰̎͑a̸̻̜̤̼͕͔̘̱̫̓ĺ̴͉̘̥͚̪̹́̈́͋̓͜m̶̬͇̅͑͌ṣ̷̨̺̜̣̮͔̤͕̃̍́͂ denizens set themselves loose."

The group shared a loo, quickly moving to pass on the word to everyone else. Off to the side, Superman was relaying to The Flash.

***

Barry had worked on time limits before. Hel, he was usually pretty good at meeting them ever since he got his powers! What he wasn't great at was working under huge amounts of pressure.

He had to cover the entire United States in less than twelve hours. Easy, done. Adding on every out-of-country US Base around the world? Slightly less easy, but still very doable. Looking for a child in what was probably a secret, undocumented, or at least heavily covered, US Base is a bit harder, especially undetected.

Normally, the Justice League would have no problems with making their opinions on matters known, but this was a delicate matter. Even more delicate than the Metahuman Rights Act and Diplomatic Missions to other worlds. This was an issue they'd not been previously aware of, and the dimension that it most affected was now very close to decaring war.

No pressure.

He'd already cleared all of the known Government Bases along the East Coast and was steadily moving inland. Superman, upon Zatanna's and Constantine's advisement, was being productive away from Amity Park. With The Flash covering the US and Superman literally everywhere else, they had hopes of finding the child within the next few hours. The problems were going to start anew after that.

Batman was already working on several extraction plans based off of the blueprints for every US Gov. Base he has access to- don't ask. But, without knowing the actual building's layout, guard posts, shifts, security, whereabouts, etc., no one could make a concrete plan.

There were too many unknowns and it was upsetting everyone.

Robin had managed to get ahold of both his team, readying them for evacuation, and Red Huntress. Apparently, there was nothing she could do. She'd tried to capture the ghosts - as she'd called them - but they'd quickly overwhelmed her. Everyone was locked in their homes until further notice. Luckily, the ghosts seemed content to them the humans alone as long as they stayed out of the way.

There was now five hours until the sun set in Illinois, and Barry had only just cleared the Midwest.

Nothing. Not a single hint as to where they were keeping this child! They had the two fastest heroes out looking for him, the had pictures of what he looked like! By all means, they should have found him already! And yet, they were still empty handed.

The people of Amity Park were getting restless. The ghosts that had taken over Amity Park were getting restless. The Justice League were getting restless.

Constantine and Zatanna had declared that the town would likely not be moving any time soon, not that anyone even knew what the meant. They'd still be keeping an eye and ear on the town, but it no longer had most of their focus. Instead, they were trying to get ahold of Deadman with little success. If they didn't reach them soon, one of them would have to go into the town proper and talk to the ghosts. No one was very excited for that.

Minutes before the sunset in Illinois, Robin received an emergency call from Red Huntress. One that everyone was patched into.

A boy was missing from his house. Daniel Fenton, son of the town's resident Ghost Hunters, hadn't been accounted for.

The sun set over Amity Park Illinois.

Part 3 Part 5

[sherrymagic]

I've got a good feeling about Toey. He's a wacky boy. It's like he feels no stress in his life. It seems there's something within him that makes me feel good when he's around. It's like I'm sitting in a vast grassy field with a gentle breeze under a bright sky. It's like I'm watching a masterpiece of art.

Winny Thanawin as Q and Satang Kittiphop as TOEY WE ARE (2024)

— for @srnileforme [3/4] ✩ ✩ ✩

[xinyuehui]

伍六七之记忆碎片 · SCISSOR SEVEN S5EP8

[flamingpudding]

I now have ideas for Klarion is like Robin au

Batman was caught trying to make a contingency plan for Vlad after Tim said that he was like Ra al Ghul

Something happened were Dr. Fate need the help of Vlad and Klarion but all of them right now are and they're civilian identities so they can't help all but one

Cowboy Lassie

So Vlad takes the JLD puts Red Robin he's there to help cuz they need to get Nanda Parbat

Where are the Justice Dark League get to see Lassie in her cowgirl attire I'm talking standard western shirts boots jeans cowboy hat sunglasses I'm talking country

Along with the large horse made out of Lazarus pit be the biggest hater ever to her father as she literally explains that she hates him so much that she started a cult just to hate him

Vlad was just begging for her to help the only reason she does is cuz he brought up her ma

Dan was too busy to help because of the fact he's the head of the theater committee and had about it Danny has incredibly important meeting that he couldn't leave no matter what

And the rest of his kids definitely not going to help him

I should start feeling sorry for Vlad but this AU is just to funny to do so...

Good I love your ideas!

Also sorry if this is not up to how I usually write, I am kind of stuck in a bit of a writers block again thanks to my work....

Anyway! Here we go!

------------------------------

Red Robin, aka Tim, wasn't entirely sure how to go about this at first. Dr Fate had come by saying something about a threat for which they needed the help of 'Chaos' for a change and ranting about how 'Balance' was ignoring him currently because of something that apparently had happened a little while after their last encounter. Now normally this probably wouldn't be to much of a hurdle, if he hadn't tried to be a bit of a smart ass.

Because when he had heard about it Tim in the disguise of paying Dukes school a visit hat looked for Dan Master-Nightingale. Because obviously that was Klarion or rather the current Klarion and the 'Chaos' that could help them out, right? Yeah right...

Before Tim could even approach the other boy the teen had turned around sharply and glared with red eyes at him like he had personally offended him. Which he didn't by the way. Tim was pretty sure he hadn't insulted Klarion errr Dan recently.

"Screw off I got something to do here if we want the next school festival to be a hit. Tell you precious 'Order' to F off unless he apologises to Mom."

That had thrown Tim off a while lot. Because one, that meant Klarion knew who he was behind the Mask too and two, that brat was not going to be helpful or civil with him even out of masks. Not like any of the Klarions every had been but the current one definitely was the rudest among them. But that also meant no help from this agent of 'Chaos'.

Of course Tim wasn't one of the bats and birds for nothing. Bruce had contingency plans for Vlad since he had mentioned his suspicion of the man being like Ra's, so Tim when with the next possible option. If Dr. Fate meant with 'Balance' the Ghost King then they had a way of contacting them. Well not directly them but a contact that could, so he grabbed one of the plans, or part of it at least, and paid a certain millionaire a visit, as Red Robin of course.

It had taken a bit of back and forth, slight arguing in which the man was apparently very insistent in pointing out the time. Which fair it was close to midnight but it was important! In the end Tim had gotten the man to agree to lend them some help but after a phone call that apparently ended with the one on the other side hanging up on Masters themselves the man gave him a peeved look.

"We will have to change plans. Little Badger is not available at the moment and the other kids won't take my calls."

Tim didn't like the sound of that, not because of what Masters sort said about changing plans but the way he used the term 'Little Badger'. For now he would file that back into the back of his mind as his attention went to a map Masters pulled out and spread across his table. The man pointed at a specific place and Tim wanted to face palm. Because of course that man had more connection than just that questionable one between him, the Ghost King and the Klarions.

Masters was pointing at Nanda Parbat.

Good Bruce was going to love this. NOT.

So here he was now Red Robin, dragging a civilian Millionaire and a couple of the Justice League Dark members through the halls of Nanda Parbat as the man directed him where to go while dodging Assassins. For a brief moment he wondered why he hadn't dragged one of his siblings along before he remembered that at least two of them would be grating his nerves even thinner and Batman was busy helping the rest of the JLD containing whatever threat Dr. Fate found until he got the additional help.

A part of him was cursing as he dragged Masters by the cuff of his suit, (who the hell wears a suit when going into an Assassin cult base?!?!), to pull him out of harms way of another trained killer ready to strike the man down. Funnily enough these people all ignored Red Robins presence, like their leader didn't have a sick obsession with him and focused their strikes solely on Masters. That was good and bad, mostly bad but surprisingly the man was somewhat nimble for a civilian. Or there was even more to Masters than they were aware of which Tim also filed way into the back of his mind.

In the end after more or less fighting through half the hide out Masters lead him to a room, that oh great wonder who had thought it, contain the good damn Lazarus Pits! Red Robin wanted to hit that millionaire right now. He wasn't sure how the others present were taking this but he slowly was having enough of that Man.

Red Robin was really contemplating making good on his impulsive thought as a girl in full on cowboy style rose from the Pit waters.

They all, but Masters, blinked at her sudden and dramatic appearance. Masters took a step forward apparently wanting to speak to the girl and Tim only half heartedly because of his sense as hero tried to stop the man.

"Are you done with your cult nonsense, dear little Lassie?"

Red Robin in that moment felt a shiver go down his back when he saw the glare the girl directed at Vlad Masters as well as the room becoming several degrees colder. Mentally, this too, Tim filed back for later.

"No." Red Robin blinked under his mask as the girl snapped with her fingers and the Pit waters around her swirled a green horse appearing out of no where matching her style and he gaped even more the girl unapologetically pointed at Masers who apparently for once got a hint about dodging and ran away as the horse began chasing him.

A part of Red Robin felt like he had to do something to stop this and he caught one of the JLD members with them attempting to step in but the horse completely ignored them. The girl catching his look only waved them off dismissively. "Don't bother. Let Larus have some fun with him, before I sent the entire League after him again for stepping into my turf."

"Isn't Ra's Al Ghul...." He trailed off a little unsure how to proceed here.

"Oh he is sort of the Leader of my merry band of followers of hatred." Red Robin was about to speak again but didn't get a chance as the girl started to ramble on about the logistics of hating someone so much that you raise a cult just for that and the cult just so happens to still have a goal of its own but also are brainwashed to attack on side whenever Vlad Master is involved.

No Red Robin wasn't getting worried. Some of these statements definitely weren't worrying. That the League of Assassins originally was cult to hate just one man in particular was not a shocking revelation. Nor that the Lazarus Pits apparently were alive and also had a hate for Masters. Nor that this girl, Lassie apparently also was a daughter of the Ghost King. And it was definitely not worrying that she apologised for what her cult had done to her family and asked that maybe his older brother should see Vlad Master anytime soon.

Okay everything about that was worrying.

But for now they needed help with a bigger problem. But Red Robin did make a note of breaking back in into Nanda Parbat to have a enlightening talk with Lassie at a later time.

Thankfully after having listened to her rand and mentioning the Ghost King to the girl she did agree to help them. So original goal reached... but several new questions acquired...

[averlym]

fairest of the fair

[pulim-v]

*clears throat* art request. Asgore in a catboy maid outfit

Should probably have waited a few weeks to do it but I managed to do it while studying Linear Algebra so eh

[running-on-coffee-and-anxiety]

Noticed But Hoping For The Best Part 5

There was nothing wrong, Danny knew that! He was just getting more and more tired as the ghost attacks ramped up, but it wasn't like he could explain why he was so exhausted. What would he even say? 'I'm the one fighting all the ghosts and going home was stressful until Jazz managed to set the home security system to not target me'? No, absolutely not. Because of that, however, he was forced to endure people acting like he was sick or something!

Well, Jazz didn't at least. She was just doing her general check-ins after his fight, always fussing over him and yet they quicky figured out that any injuries he gains as Phantom? They show up as bruises of varying severity when in his human form! As the bruises faded, the wounds Phantom had slowly healed, though they of course looked how they were supposed to on his ghost form. It was actually really cool to know that he wouldn't end up severely scarred from any injuries he got defending Amity Park!

Still, his sister used any day after a fight as an excuse to fuss and make sure he was okay, even if it was something simple as making him a smoothie for breakfast- when did she start doing that, anyways? Did they really have enough non-sentient food in the fridge, or was Jazz keeping her own personal store of stuff-? Actually that would make sense, maybe he should start doing the same. Sometimes she went a bit overboard, though, like insisting she was the one to comb his hair or tie his shoes before they went out the door. Danny wasn't a toddler, there was no need to go that far!

Still, he good-naturedly rolled his eyes and grumbled, occasionally fighting it- she once tried to zip up his jacket for him! Just because his fingers were clumsy from not getting enough sleep doesn't mean he was unable to do it himself- but otherwise the teen let his older sister fuss, knowing it made her feel better.

Thankfully, Tucker wasn't acting any different, either! It would have been easy to see, since they were spending more time together while Sam was away, but there was no change- except for teasing about his appearance, or about his handwriting. Danny had noticed that about his handwriting as well, lines never seemed to come out straight when he started writing or tried to draw, but that was another thing explained away by exhaustion. The lack of sleep affecting small motor skills was something he'd heard his parents warn each other about when growing up, and after the portal opened Jazz had lectured them about it and forced them to go to bed several times so they wouldn't hurt themselves in the lab.

Sleep felt like a bit of a luxury at this point, like going a week without a ghost attack or a test somehow being cancelled. Sure, he wasn't going sleepless, Jazz would never allow that and the ghosts tended to attack during the day, but apparently six hours weren't enough. Why else would he be nodding off in classes? Or maybe he was just bored, Danny could easily find that to be the case.

And yet when he was Phantom? Oh, he felt fantastic! Completely full of energy, his hands seemed to obey his mind, everything was clear and sharp, it was like he'd downed a coffee just before starting his fights! However, that made everything so much more prominent when he switched back. His left side randomly twitching- probably from overuse, his muscles did tend to feel sore around those times- but at least his right side didn't seem to feel it. It was probably just because the shock entered from his left hand, it would make sense for things to still be healing, even if turning half-ghost fixed most of the damage.

But it really seemed like having to deal with the ghosts invading the town was effecting his life more and more. It was taking longer to heal from any injuries he got in his human form- Dash tripped him once, Danny faceplanted into his locker, got detention for finally yelling at him and the busted lip he got took over two weeks to heal, it wasn't a good day- his grades were starting to drop, Mister Lancer seemed to be increasingly irritated with him. It was so frustrating! He was trying his best!

At least everything seemed to be alright in science class, it was as enjoyable as always. Sure, he always had to ask his lab partner to handle the finer details, like anything involving pipettes, but it was still fun! Even if he didn't enjoy his parents flavor of scientific curiosity, that didn't change the fact science was one of his favorite subjects. So of course, it made sense his luck would work against him and ruin one of the few good school-related things he had.

it was just a normal class, and his hands were steady enough to accurately poor things and use pipettes! Danny felt like he was on top of the world, he hadn't had a good day like this in awhile! There was an idle smile on his face as he worked, his arm wasn't sore- there was no warning when his body decided to betray him. No heads up, none of the soreness he had been using as an indicator to avoid breaking things. His left arm jerked, a stinging sensation streaking up his arm, fingers reflexively unclenching-

The only thing he could think as the beaker shattered on the floor was that he was glad it was empty. The chattering in the room fell silent as everyone turned and just... Stared. It was only for a moment, but it was still unnerving, then Mister Lancer spoke. "Danny, clean up the glass and see me after class- and for the love of Shakespeare, don't handle any more of the glassware."

That... that hurt to hear, in a way Danny couldn't explain. Sure, it made sense- why let someone handle fragile things when there was a chance of it breaking?- but that limited his ability to participate. Was he just going to be forced to watch everyone and do nothing whenever they had lab? The frustration spiked, causing the teen to pause and take a breath as he felt tears prickling his eyes. It was an accident, it wasn't his fault! Still, he managed to take care of the glass without getting any cuts.

There was a feeling of quiet dread, though, when he stayed back after everyone else was dismissed. Was this the final straw or something? Or would it be yet another lecture? He'd been getting a lot of those recently, on top of all the detentions when Mister Lancer decided he'd had enough of Danny dozing in class. It was a complete shock, but also a weight off his shoulders when he heard the magic words, "Calm down, you're not in trouble." So no detentions, and no consequences, fantastic! But of course it couldn't end there. "We just need to talk about something."

Right, of course, his teacher wouldn't hold him back just to say he wasn't in trouble. Still, the moment of silence where it looked like the man was actually thinking about what to say? Terrifying. It was like when his parents gave him The Talk, and while he knew Mister Lancer wouldn't do that it didn't decrease the nerves. "I won't ask for any details, but clearly something has happened."

That was not good- sure, Danny didn't think it was being guessed that he was Phantom, but the fact his exhaustion made someone think that something bad had happened meant he'd probably need to come up with some sort of cover, maybe lie about a lingering flu-

"I have been harsh due to believing you were slacking off, but if this is a genuine problem, it's my job as an educator to make sure any special requirements you have are met." Wait- waitwaitwait, that was as good as an apology from the man! It was impossible not to look at him with wide eyes, but no, it was too good to be true, unfortunately.

"Now, the ban on you handling glassware will exist and stay in place-" That was one of the worst things Mister Lancer could have said. That would effectively ban him from participating in labs, removing the fun parts that made science his favorite class! It was just one accident, it wasn't his fault! It wasn't fair! "-however, you will be given paper assignments you can fill out instead of doing the lab. Partner with someone and watch the experiment, then fill out the sheet your given."

That felt like being kicked when he was down! He couldn't actually participate, but he'd be forced to watch others do things without being able to join in, and then he'd have to write about what he saw! Danny didn't want that, especially because writing causes his hand to cramp severely, no matter which hand he uses! Usually he would be upset, yeah, but... it felt borderline tragic. It had been his first truly good day in a long while, everything was going perfectly, why did something have to go wrong! And Mister Lancer was still talking.

"Every time you submit a written assignment, I would like you to stay back and help me read it; your handwriting is like another language to me. Understood?" It felt like there was something trapped in his throat, to the point it felt hard to breathe, doing his best not to cry as he nodded. On top of not being able to participate in lab, he'd always have to stay back after every end-of-day class because his teacher couldn't even read his handwriting anymore! Why was everything going wrong?!

"Good. You're dismissed." It took all of Danny's effort to choke out the words expected of him, "Thank you." It took all of his effort not to run as he stepped out of the classroom and started walking to his locker to get his bag. He felt a sick, squirming feeling in his stomach, mind twisting itself in knots after that interaction.

And last but not least, there was Dash. The bane of his school life, the closest thing his human half had to a mortal enemy other than Vlad. It seemed like he upped the mockery of his appearance- "Did you run into that lunch ghost on the way here, or do you always end up dumping food on yourself?" "Is it a hurricane out there or did you not bother to brush your hair?" "Jeez Fentoad, you're makin' it too easy if your trip yourself on your own laces!"

Sure, he wasn't the neatest-looking person around, but Danny didn't think it was that bad. Maybe it was because his mind had been looping around after the mini-meeting with Mister Lancer, but he never really focused on his food when eating, and that often led to spilling food. As for laces, it just felt like more effort than it was worth the retie his shoes every single time they came undone- they never seemed to stay in place anymore! But it was just so tiring, dealing with the taunts and jabs, the sore wrists and occasional busted lips from tripping that took forever to heal...

Eventually, Danny stopped jabbing back. Maybe it was because Sam wasn't there to keep encouraging him that that trouble was worth it, maybe it was his own exhaustion, but there were no more verbal responses to the taunts, nothing more than a huff when being shoulder-checked made him stumble. Dash seemed to be getting bored, though that didn't decrease how often he decided to be a pointless jerk all at once. The blonde was determined to drag him down it seemed, though. In the normal day-to-day, the taunting and shoving was decreased, but on the rare occasion Danny was having a good day? Everything went back to normal, and it sucked!

When he wasn't having a good day, though? Everyone was acting like he was sick- he wouldn't say diseased, though, since they didn't avoid him or anything, but the changes in how people looked at him and sometimes even interacted with him was. Conversations that suddenly dropped when he entered a classroom, people whispering to each other every time he passed by, barely concealed looks of pity. The weirdest part? Even Wes was giving him space! Wes! Explained with a handwave and a 'Obviously you can't be Phantom in your condition'. What did that even mean?!

Danny couldn't wait for Sam to get back, maybe she could help figure things out, everything felt like it had become twisted and everyone was acting like it was normal, he was going to go mad at this rate!

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[signanothername]

I have complicated feelings about him and that’s why he’s such a great character <33333

[scourge-sympathiser]

SCOURGE SUNDAY 014/???

away from computer

[isupportzaynxliamxziam]

Saturday, 9 January 2021 / part II

The LP Show: Act 4: Past, Present & Future is pre-recorded because of the covid-19 lockdown in the UK. Liam starts his online show with some One Direction songs like 18, ...

... but also Fireproof, Through the Dark, Stockholm Syndrome, Girl Almighty, Strong and You & I

To end the One Direction set with Night Changes. He also sings some songs of his own, starting with Remember, which makes its live debut. Other songs are Midnight, followed with Slow, Home With You and Say It All, which also gets for the first time a live perforrmance. Nets is For You, where Rita Ora's part gets sang by Nina Nesbitt. During the show, Liam shows his followers he's also watching it

credits: Liam's Instagram Stories

Other songs on the setlist are the Post Malone cover Stay, his own Live Forever and Get Low and Weekend

He ends his show with Stack It Up and Heart Meets Break, which he sings for the first time live

credits: Else Grinberga's YouTube

[youngyoo-apologist]

I like this scene because when I was writing it I was thinking about how fun everything would be once Alberu joins the party ahaha

This poor guy will not only have to deal with Regressor Cale, but Regressor Choi Han AND Kim Roksoo. Those three will never let the opportunity to tease Alberu slip by. Also I find this one scene really funny because Alberu is absolutely thinking to himself ‘what the hell was that’ when he made eye contact with Cale, the young master of the Henituse family who is famous for his brutal honesty and words, is smiling at him in a way that reminded Alberu too much of himself.

Realistically, there should be no way the young master knows anything about him, not when they had only exchanged a few greetings in passing. Sure, the Henituse county was rich, but they had no reason to dig for information on him unless he provoked them. So why did it feel like Cale Henituse knew something very important about him?

[thegirlsarethriving]

just finished undertale. ok i see the vision. i now understand yall's Sans-to-Benrey obsession pipeline. and the Papyrus-to-Tommy Coolatta pipeline

[xinyuehui]

"In reality, we cannot be completely separated from our past." ⸺ He Xiaofeng

伍六七之记忆碎片 · SCISSOR SEVEN S5EP9

[alienglowgarden]

The self-indulgent brain: sym is a love interest character in a dating sim, you can interpret them however u want and shape the romance to best serve your interests, it is indulgence by nature of its genre, you can make the pairing your weird little t4t lesbians. You can think of him as ambiguous n project what you find most compelling. Keep putting him in that miniskirt.

The lore fiend in me: Sym is always referred to as "he". Noctilucent specifically calls Sym "little brother", a very deliberate gendered term. Sym has gone out of his way to similarly note Noctilucents own preference for "they/them", signifying an understanding of gender as part of identity and an active interest in participating in it. It would be unfair to erase that. Effeminate men exist. This is his preferred canonical self.

Some third part of my brain extrapolating even deeper levels of lore: He is also a glorified mushroom smart fridge. He's literally been a tree. Identity is something highly malleable for a Gardener and no one identity feels like it would be repugnant to them, at least temporarily. They themselves at their core are not individuals. Sym can encompass every possibility. Keep putting him in that miniskirt.

Conclusion: