#EH magic

[sykloni]

4. Zombies

Ectober 2023

Danny might not taste very good for zombies.

[pricklenettle]

Haunting your own home, makin a sandwich

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

Ectoberhaunt 2023. Day 5. Hunt and Haunt.

~Well, here we go again, good old Ghost Hunger AU~

Description: The Ghost Zone is inherently a violent place. You can hunt or be hunted, there is no other options. However, for some reason the Halfa does not understand what is happening. And no one rushes to explain it. NB! ghost cannibalism is mentioned.

Prompt after memes

Suppose there’s a conventional division among ghosts. Some of them are potential predators capable of hunting their own kind, while others are only able to absorb the surrounding energy and therefore build up power more slowly than hunters.

So, predation is used as a method of survival in poor ectoplasm areas of the Ghost Zone, less often as a means of gaining power. Even less often hunters are created.

It is obvious that the appearance of a hunter who is the son of human ghost hunters in a haunting place without stable sources of ectolasm has caused panic in the society of the dead ones. For the newly formed ghost to have ectoblasts, fangs or ghost sense is a rarity and great luck. So the newcomer had everything and more to be a serious threat. An awful danger for the surrounding spirits…Right?

But Danny doesn’t know the specifics of his new biology ectology!

Even though he’s a hunter, he’s never had a ghost hunger. Probably because thanks to his parents he has an amazing ectoplasm concentrator in the basement. Soon everyone understands that the boy does not attack first. Those who return through the portal never report any losses at all. He does not bite or attempt to capture cores of other spirits. At first, the ghosts think it's a trap. Smart enough for a beginner. Not everyone has the tenacity to pretend to be an idiot to get close to them. But the Phantom never feeds on them. He’s…safe?

What’s more, Danny seems to think they’re a threat to the city. Which is fun and weird. Normally, there is no competition for feeding using human emotion. But the owner of the lair did not like the smell of fear in the air. Is this ghost broken?

When the ghosts who visit Amity realize that the halfa does not know that he can hunt them, rather than just guard his territory...Well, it explains a lot. Everyone agrees not to explain the situation to the boy so that the city behind the portal remains a relatively safe haven during the during a "hunting season" and other troubles in the Infinite Realms.

~~~~~

The problem arises when Phantom begins exploring the Ghost Zone. What if the other hunters make the boy stop being a freak?

In addition, more experienced ghosts may well attack the careless halfa. And Amity Park under the control of a more predatory spirit would be a terrible outcome. Most dead ones near the portal are used to the fact that the area before Wisconsin is open to travel and migration without the threat of being eaten.

All rational ghosts try to avoid the territory of hunters. If you can’t defend yourself, there’s too much risk of being a free meal. It’s much safer to settle down with spirits with similar energy levels at door clusters. If the hunter does not purposefully show up at your lair, you will have a much better chance of keeping the afterlife.

Those of the Ancients who have won their position and those of them who were created for it have become accustomed to isolation. Although all the Ancients have lost the need to eat 'cause they have absorbed enough energy, legends about their past are still be nightmares for all spirits. Just because they don’t need to eat other ones doesn’t mean they won’t. It is clear that a weaker hunter can also be hunted. No reason to risk.

Therefore, how freely and fearlessly Phantom communicates with Frostbite, Clockwork or Pandora is puzzling. Does he feel threatened at all? The Ancients find this experience refreshing. Lil communication without fear makes them feel sympathy for this youngling. Danny is always glad of their company. And the boy is not afraid to express his opinion. It is strange but...pleasant?

Their minions from time to time complain that they teach a potential enemy but it is very difficult to see a possible rival in Phantom. Danny is always in trouble. The youngster is silly and careless. Like a wet kitten that can’t even make a threatening hiss. So Ancients, to their own surprise, don't mind helping him. Why isn’t his naivety annoying?

For example, Frostbite’s trying to teach Danny hunting and tracking techniques because he thinks the little cub doesn’t know how to be what he supposed to be. Meanwhile Danny sees his attempts as a course of self-defense that he can use against ghosts who try to infiltrate his city.

~~~~~Bonus~~~~~

Some insufficiently powerful ghosts mimic predators to scare away dangerous spirits and protect themselves. Skulker is quite pleased that he managed to deceive halfa:

[papiliomame]

Ectoberhaunt 2023: Day 11 - Calm

[surelysilly]

oct 16th: death echoes

It should've been an easy salt and burn to lay a couple spirits to rest. All it took was a couple stakeout sessions, not even a full day digging through the local library's obituaries, and they had their ghosts — two of the three local teens killed in a fiery lab explosion: Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. 

part 1 / part 2 (here)

the lost and forgotten kids (lead them toward other tomorrows)

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Danny Phantom, Supernatural (TV 2005)

Rating: T

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Mild Language, Hurt No Comfort, Angst, Harm to Children, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Danny Fenton Died in The Portal Accident, Full Ghost Danny Fenton, Dead Sam Manson, Dead Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton Has an Electric Ghost Core

Summary:

Dean thinks Amity Park could be a cute, idyllic city if it wasn't haunted.

And by haunted, he means that metaphorically and literally. Nothing he can do about the first thing, but the second? Well, here's hoping him and Sam don't go breaking their streak on such a straightforward case.

(Or, an atypical salt and burn blurs the line between monster and not. Lab safety first, kids!)

[13thdoodle]

[ Ectoberhaunt2023 Day 3 : White Crow ]

Some more Fantasy AU vibe for @ectoberhaunt What if the trio are shapeshifters and can change into animals?

Danny into a white crow, Sam into a black cat, and Tucker a werewolf

I wanted to draw a companion drawing for this but I don't have the time to 😔😭

BUFF UP SAM LET'S GOOOOOOOO

I meant for this to be a quick doodle but that didn't worked out bc I do need the colours to tell that she's Sam 😭

Continuing her design from the banner bc I think she's p neat uwu I think about it more and aside from magic related tattoos, she would definitely have flower bouquets tattoos all over her body

And idk if it's visible but Danny the crow has a necklace with tiny purple and yellow rings for both Sam and Tucker :3c

If the crow looks awkward, I literally traced it from a photo I'm trying 😭

[nyk-is-always-lurking]

This is so very late but here it is!! Botanomancy!

[fentoaster]

Ectoberhaunt Day 9: Dragons

I just really love how the nightlights look... I think Danny would love them. However if we were going into what dragon he would have, I definitely think he'd have a snow wraith (affectionately named Frostbite)

[gildedphoenix]

SuperPhantom - White Crow

Posting this now because I'm not sure I'll ever finish it.

Feel free to contribute.

White Crow SuperPhantom

(965 words)

--+--

Dean answered his ringing flip phone. And NO Sam, he doesn't need a smart phone. The battery on this thing lasts 5 days and it survives being in Dean's pocket when he's thrown against a wall by the bad guy of the week.

"Hi Bobby. Whatcha got for us?"

"I hope you've got gas in the take because this one is going to be a bit of a chase." Bobby opened. "I've got reports coming in from all over about a white crow being linked to dozens of deaths. None of the hunters who've looked into it so far have been able to track the creature or find any connections between the victims. The issue is that some of the crimes aren't fresh. The last victim, a Tim Stillion, had been dead for weeks. Can't figure out the cause because the animals had been at his body. And unless this bird can teleport, he was on the other side the country when Stillion was kill't."

Sam, who was already clickity clacking on his laptop, spoke up. "It sounds like the crow isn't a portent of death then, but just a reporter. But how is it finding the bodies?"

"Yeah," Bobby drawled "I figured you'd come to that conclusion. That's why I called you boys. Every other hunter is out here trying to end this bird when it's solved more cold cases then all of them combined. Bunch of idgits."

Dean grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and started towards the garage. "So where are we headed Bobby? Any word on the last sighting?"

"Last couple time it was seen, it was around central Illinois."

"Let's roll"

-=-=-=-=-

Sam Manson revved her vespa and continued chasing the white crow down ST-54. They'd been at this for weeks now. And despite it all, Sam was just happy that she'd found Danny at all.

/three weeks ago/

"There's no way!" leopard print blouse said. "You look like one of my son's friends."

Danny had a tendency to drop whatever he was holding if he got summoned but for once, he kept hold of his cell phone. So when he ended up disappearing in the middle of a Doom speed run, Tucker was able to track him down. And after a few minutes (and way too few reasonable security measures) Sam and Tucker were able to watch a live stream from a web connected Nanny cam.

The room was all white, leather couches pushed back against the walls. Marble and brass coffee table set with white taper candles. Starbucks cups sitting on the ledge of the kitchen counter. And in the middle of the room, Phantom. Desperately trying to convince 6 PTA, HOA, Basic Witches that he was indeed the Ghost King that they were trying to summon.

A woman in a white gauze blouse and white wash jeans stepped forward. It must be her house, because she matched the decor. "How did you highjack the summoning?!" It was the same tone every teen has heard from their parents. The tone that said they'd already decided what had happened and were just waiting for you to admit fault.

"Hey, you summoned me. What did you even want, anyway? Pumpkin spice to be available year round? For the grocery store to accept your expired coupons? How about-"

"Now you listen to me young man," A third woman, dressed in sunny yellow and a high pony tail that did nothing to help her look younger. "You need to learn manners and your parents clearly didn't care to teach you"

("Ouch" danny mumbled, "accurate, but ouch" )

Yellow started chanting and the others quickly caught on and joined in. Danny, realizing that he was running out of time to gas light, gatekeep, or girlboss his way out of a solution, tried the old reliable Plan Z. Run away.

So he turned ghostly tail to the nearest window and - BONK! - was stopped by the shielding on the summoning circle. Which was a first. People usually forgot about that. Danny was now both impressed and worried as be felt both pressure and dread building around him as the chanting volume and speed.

Danny clutched his head as the pressure grew to a screeching point until everything released with a pop. The pressure was gone. The chanting was gone. Danny felt lighter, which was saying something given how gravity was typically just a suggestion while he was in ghost mode. Opening his eyes -and when had he closed them? - he noticed one more difference. Everyone had gotten bigger. And the furniture had gotten bigger. And the room had gotten…. uh oh. He had gotten smaller.

Danny was trying to orient himself and identify where an deep thudding was coming from when he was hit from the side. Foot steps. That's what the thudding was. They were just drastically louder when he was only tall enough to stare people in the shins. And the sidelong assault? A broom. Which connected a second time before he thought to go intangible. (Why did he always forget intangibility?)

The woman in white had gotten a broom and was swatting him towards the open patio door, her strappy white sandals stopping behind him and he frantically tried to coordinate his limbs in that same direction. His limbs did not want to coordinate but he eventually got himself out the door and the broom stopped swatting at him.

Once he cleared the threshold, the door rolled closed with a slam and the lock snicked shut.

"And don't come back unless you've learned respect!" was shouted at him from a nearby window before it, too was slammed shut.

======================================

Looking back into the house, he was met by his own reflection in the sliding glass door.

"SQUAAAAAAK!"

In which Danny and Sam are traveling the US 90's road trip style to absorb the ecto of recent (or semi-recent) murders so Danny can get enough power to break the spell and transform back.

The general hunter community is chasing a white crow and a witch to stop them from committing all these murders.

And Sam and Dean and Bobby are trying to just figure out what's going on.

[goodfish-bowl]

Can Something Like This Really be Contained?

Ectoberhaunt 2023 Day 12: Obsession vs Repression

Danny and Vlad have very different coping mechanisms and it shows.

Ectoberhaunt 2023 Master Post

[lollystocks]

The New Kid

Ectoberhaunt 2023 Day 3: White Crow

Summary: Danny continues to mind his own business whist freaking out everyone around him with his mere existence.

A short "Cryptid Danny" fic, with a twist.

Words: 509

CW: mild horror, mild body horror

---

"White Crow": a member of a group who is different from the rest. Elaya vorona (бе́лая воро́на) in Russian, kalāg-e sefīd (کلاغ سفید) in Persian. Similar to English's "Black Sheep".

---

The New Kid was exceptionally unnerving.

Friendly enough, if one got the chance to talk to him - which was kinda rare. He was territorial and kept to himself which, fair enough. But he never really seemed interested in getting to know anyone.

But despite being, on the surface, a pretty normal New Kid, there was something very wrong with him.

No-one could put their fingers on it at first. And no-one liked to talk about it. Because how could you talk about…that?

His eyes, for one. A nice, normal, luminous green for the most part. But when he was tired, or distracted, they would… they’d dull. Lose all traces of light, and just go empty. They’d flicker back on as soon as you’d caught it, and one might chalk it up to a trick of the light. He’d smile a normal smile, and you’d forget you’d seen anything. Or maybe, try to forget.

His teeth, too. A perfectly average maw of razor-sharp fangs. But he covered his mouth with his hand when he smiled or laughed. If one looked beyond that, they might see - or rather, sense - a jaw of blunt, flat, incisors and molars. Prey’s teeth. Mortal teeth.

But prey shouldn’t fill you with such discomfort. Should it?

He was probably just developing his shapeshifting skills early. That was probably it.

Youngblood swore he’d seen him drift through a wall, once. In the Ghost Zone.

Youngblood was hardly a reputable news source.

All the same.

Then, then, there was his voice. How sometimes (always when he was tired or injured or distracted) he’d talk and his voice would just… dampen. Vanish into nothingness. No echo, or reverberation through the ectoplasm around him. Nothing to carry his words through to other ghosts. And, once, again, everything would reset, and he’d be a normal ghost.

There was a theme - moments of flatness, dullness, of disconnect. Moments of mortality.

The worst one was when he would breathe. He wouldn’t even hide it. After a territorial spar (which he took way too seriously) he’d float there, victorious, and his chest would expand and retract like some wet, dying thing. Bodies weren’t meant to move like that. Not after death.

And it wouldn’t be so bad if he was weak.

Freaks came and went. There was enough variety amongst ghostkind that any one, or even multiple of these things, could be brushed off.

But the New Kid was strong. Stronger than any of them. He’d been around for no time at all and defeated every one of them in combat, even the strongest of them. His abilities were coming in fast, too fast, and he had too many. No ghost should have a portfolio that large, and know how to use their new powers so well.

He got better with every fight. 

They were training him, without realizing. Feeding him.

But there’s the rub. To back off, to withhold from indulging in one’s Earthly Obsession, to bow to his obscenely large territory? The thought alone was obscene.

And what would be the repercussions?

[sykloni]

19. Horns

Ectober 2023

This prompt was a good reason to draw Frostbite.

[pricklenettle]

Prompt: calm

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

Ectoberhaunt 2023. Day 17. Blood and Flesh.

CW: TW! Recurrent pregnancy loss. TW!Abortion. TW!Bleeding

Maddie: Jack, we need to talk. I know this is gonna sound crazy but I think Phantom, the ghost boy, is actually our son. And I’m sure Danny and Jazz know about it too.

What if we bring down on the Fentons the knowledge that they have ghost children without revealing Phantom’s identity?

Text+Chat+Memes=Prompt:

Of course Maddie wanted to have children. But…Not in college. She felt it was too soon. The lack of stable earnings and time were not conditions for growing a new person. She had nothing to give this potential child. Maddie did not hesitate long before deciding to have an abortion.

And for years, neither Jack nor Maddie have thought about this unplanned pregnancy.

Ectoplasm is toxic, obviously. But since ectology was only recently recognized by the scientific community, no one has ever fully analysed the effects of ectoplasm on the body.

When Maddie and Jack had the misfortune to become one of those couples experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss, they immediately suspected that the ectoplasm in their lab contributed to their reproductive difficulty. Put simply, death didn’t go with life.

They may not always have followed the lab’s safety rules perfectly, but is that why one of their first works will be exposing a teratogenic effect of ectoplasm? What if they’ve lost their only chance to be biological parents?

What a cruel price to pay for the work of life. Jack and Maddie so dreamed of their little happiness. Do they have to forget about it?

No, the Fentons don’t give up that easily!

They may have to spend a few years doing only theoretical work, but they’ll try again.

~~~~~

Ectoplasm is toxic. Tests, hopes…and a few miscarriages too.

Jazz was a miracle. Fenton family literally didn’t get out of hospitals to look after her health.

Danny was an even bigger miracle, because they didn’t have any hope of having a second child. Maddie and Jack didn’t even plan this pregnancy. Danny was born premature, with signs of hypoxia... but alive. His potential twin was not so lucky. Single intrauterine fetal death (sIUFD).

Right. Death still followed them. Of course, parents didn’t tell Jazz and Danny that they might have had another brother. It was their grief. Children had no reason to know about it.

~~~~~

"You filthy ghost!" Maddie stopped to rest after a chase for elder Phantom.

"Exhausted?" Dan was flying at a safe distance from her. "Maybe it’s time to retire, Maddie? A little exercise never stopped you before." The ghost was clearly making fun of her.

"Not going to happen, I’ll do it until I die if Amity Park need it. And my son will be here to stop you instead of me after me or Jack."

The smile on Ghost’s face faded immediately. "I hope he die first." The ghost whispered in a hoarse voice."It's best for everyone."

"What did you say?" Maddie rose up in anger, pointing her weapon at it.

"Has any thought crossed your mind about what happens to your children if anything happens to you? Go out every day and yell like idiots, attracting all the ghosts around." An ectoblast is blowing right up against her temple and crashing into the wall. The ghost frowned and turned away. "Did you ever think that Danny wouldn’t want to live without you? Did you think that he would be hurt if he had to lose you? No! Is it always about your stupid desires and ambitions, Mom."

For a moment Maddie thought he it was looking at her like it had seen a ghost, which was obviously just ridiculous. Maddie wanted to laugh about it, but somehow she couldn’t. Why would the ghost trying to fake human emotion care to hide the tears that gather in the corners of its eyes?

Maddie tried to get it out of her head. Anyway, it’s not that important. Phantoms have always been atypical. She’ll come home, take a warm shower, and tell Danny how much she loves him.

~~~~~

Maddie: My son is a strong boy and Dan: He’s weak! He’s a freak! He can’t handle it, Mom!

Maddie had long pondered this theory since the day Jack admitted that Phantom had misspoke during the fight and called him his father but she had never experienced it before. Or maybe she wasn’t paying attention.

Maddie: Hey, Phantom, just a question, how old are you? Dan: Why are you changing the subject? Twenty-four, twenty-five… Hell, I don’t remember. Stopped counting after 17, nobody cares anyway. And her first months dating Jack were 24 years ago. Right. The eyebrows, the shape of eyes and the height is all from Jack. The waist and the side eye from her. Theoretically. Still need more proof.

~~~~~~

Dan: Is this all your frail human form can do?

Maddie walked past the Casper High playground when she saw a ghost flying around. It was one of the new ones. The Phantom’s full-grown specimen. More dangerous. And totally unpredictable. Maddie squeezed the gun harder. Her theories are just theories and she can’t have such a dangerous spirit near the school, near her children.

Danny: Shut up and give me my bottle of water, asshole.

This voice. Maddie stopped in shock. What’s her boy doing so close to a ghost? He’s always so terrified of them.

Dan: No pull-ups, no water. You need muscles. Without them you’re gonna look like a worm if you’re gonna grow up to be taller than Jack as I am.

Danny: Just so you know, you’re a terrible big brother and I hate you.

Dan: Well, that just means I’m doing a good job.

Danny: When Mom asks who destroyed the furniture in Vlad’s house I’m pointing at you. A little run around town will be good for you. And as they say, Older siblings are like your parents' personal science fair. They're a bunch of experiments.

Dan: ...Just so you know, it sounded completely insane. Terrible. Good job, but don’t go near Dani with those jokes. Jazz will kill us both for setting a bad example. Danny: Bad example? Since when has a good sense of humor become a bad example? Dan: Shut up. Drink water and go to the shower. Jazz is gonna kick my ass if you die of overheating.

Danny: Huh, afraid of one know-it-all? When dad chased you with a bazooka, you didn’t seem scared.

Dan: Сome on, dad has a lot of strengths, yeah, but the ability to aim isn't one of them. And not

Dani: driving a car?

Danny: Right. Wait, how long have you been eavesdropping? Dani: Long enough to blackmail you both. Сomputer’s mine for the rest of the week. Dan and Danny: Shit.

~~~~~

The Invisobill. or Phantom. Ha. Danny Fenton…Danny Phantom. Weston boy said crazy things. Yeah. But what if he was only partially wrong? Everything except the color of its eyes and hair is so much like Danny's. If this were typical manipulation from a ghost hoping to shake the desire of ghost hunters to chase a creature similar to their child, he would have had to give it up months ago. But phantom did not change his disguise. This is his true form. What about ghost girl and older ghost? They are also so young.

Maddie could not sleep. In her head struggled scientist and woman weighed down by feelings of guilt and shame. She was tormented by philosophical problems and religious issues. No, Maddie, not even a neural tube is formed at that time. It was just a collection of cells. It’s not a person. It doesn’t feel pain. And ghosts do not too. Right? Is it even acceptable to compare such things? Is it possible that a ghost is not the remnant of negative human emotions and memories? What is responsible for its formation then? What is the purpose of such a ghost? And more importantly, how long have these ghosts been near and they did not notice? Has the portal become a source of energy necessary for their existence in the physical plane? Or is it only they who have not seen them?

So painful. It’s so unpleasant to think about what monsters they look like to their dear Danny and Jazz. Ghosts or not, she threatened creatures who might have been part of their family in front of her babies. God, naive teens must think that three Phantoms are their siblings or something. Of course! That explains the disappearance of fenton thermos and the way the Phantoms sneak into the portal and Danny’s always somewhere in trouble and…Oh my God, they could be in so much danger! How long has this been going on? No, the real question is..Hm, if this is going on for so long, why haven’t the ghosts done anything…evil? If their nature is in the destruction then why didn’t anything happen? Jack and she would never have missed something that would hurt their children.

~~~~~~

The fight between the Skulker and Invisobill was particularly fierce this time. Maddie was unlucky to be in one of the damaged buildings. But who is she if not a scientist? She will find a way to benefit in such a situation.

Unnecessary risk, completely unprofessional. But… The debris of the wall does not lie on her very tightly and the weapon still with Maddie. Yeah. She has to test her theory. She has to. She can get up and leave if she needs to. Right? A little dizziness never killed anyone. She just feels cold and sounds are strange. Maddie: Help. Help! Someone! M-Maddie? An insecure voice with an echo sounds. Yes, it's near. Maddie: Help! I can’t.. I can’t get up. T-Hard to breathe. Danny: Mum! Mama, hold on, I’m coming.

Phantom checks her pupillary reflex. Who taught him that? Jazz? The touch of his hand, so cold and shaky. Now Maddie really doesn't feel so good. It’s good that the ghost is her boy. She doesn’t have to worry about anything happening to people around. Neither he nor Danny know how to lie. She can breathe. Just cover her eyes for a moment and… Just a few seconds. Phantom:Jazz, Jazz! Call an ambulance. I don’t know what to do. I..I can’t just make mum intangible. What if she has a crush syndrome and I make it worse or… Her boy. Why is Danny so scared? Danny: Tucker, she is bleeding and she’s not responding to me and… Sshh, my little star, is all right. Mom just needs to lie down and rest a little.

~~~~~~

Maddie could not believe that she had actually passed out. But the time spent in the hospital gave her enough time to think about everything.

Maddie: Jack, we need to talk. I know this is gonna sound crazy but I think Phantom, the ghost boy, is actually our son. And I’m sure Danny and Jazz know about it too.

Jack: Honey, are you sure we don’t need to double-check if you have a concussion?

~~~~~~

Maddie and Jack decide to watch surveillance videos for the first time. After all, it concerns the safety of their children, they have the right to know what happens in the house in their absence. Especially when the ghosts are nearby. Children *live in their own sitcom*:

They have seen enough. Maddie decides to check chats on Jazz’s phone. It’s for their safety, only. She’s a good mother but what if the ghosts are up to something?

The chat was so..Teenage? And Chaotic. Normal? No, definitely not. How many times have they punished Danny unfairly? Did Jazz learn to lie and they didn’t even notice? And what the hell, why were they joking about dissection. It’s just awful. They need to talk immediately. No, it will look suspicious. They need to try to make contact with ghosts. And then they’ll all be grounded. All five.

Oh, and she thought two kids were a lot of work. How are they gonna handle three more with the bizarre biology ectology? Do they have hobbies, interests? They are definitely more complicated than theblob-ghosts. Was she wrong? Do they have emotions, a need for socialization? Can she trust her emotions in this matter?

~~~~Bonus~~~~

"What the hell happened to freak’s neck?!"

Danny: Um, excuse me, ma'am, he’s been doing Hatha yoga in India for years. Practice opens up amazing flexibility in the joints! Right, brother?

Dan: Fuck off.

Ma'am: Don’t take me for an idiot! What about his skin color then? Jack: You have something against my son’s tan? Dan: I told you going shopping with me was a bad idea. Dani: If you didn’t scare everyone around, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Dan:...I didn’t even try to do it this time. Why is she meddling?!

~~~Bonus~~~~

Dan: Why am I only third? Dani: Because I have successfully stabbed Danny in the back when he did not expect it. With you he is always waiting for a trick. This makes me much more successful than you :)

[alumbianchronicler]

EcoberHaunt 2023 - Oct. 3

Magic - White Crow

[Ao3]

Content Warnings: n/a (unless you count Constantine's swearing)

Crossover: DPxDC (A few of my submissions are planned to be crossovers, but the majority won't be. All crossovers will be identified.)

Summary:

Several Justice League members have reported experiencing a white crow visiting their dreams, a strange occurrence which gains importance when the creature is linked to a missing child god.

~~~

The Justice League conference room was quieter than usual, for as many people as were present. Half the heroes sitting around the table were pensively thoughtful, while the others had picked up enough on the mood to be on edge.

After all, Constantine didn’t like coming to the Watchtower when he could at all avoid it, and went to great lengths to do so, so it was significant that he had agreed to attend this meeting.

Of course, he wasn’t here yet, so there was still time for him to have bugged out.

Batman sat watching his colleagues. He had been having a reoccurring dream for nearly two weeks, one featuring a strange white crow. After overhearing Red Robin mention the creature after a 12-hour sleep following three days without, he had questioned the rest of the Gotham vigilantes and realized that they had all dreamed of the white crow at least once in the past month.

He had brought the matter up with Superman, who had also dreamed of the creature one night after working together with Batman, and that was enough to call in Constantine.

Who had better show up in the next five minutes, or he was going to have words with the Occultist.

The disaster in question showed up two minutes later, slumping over to the space at the table left for him and setting down the coffee he had stopped by the cafeteria to grab before coming to the meeting room.

“Don’t,” John lifted a finger to forestall Batman’s words, “lecture me. I’ve been run ragged for the past month trying to find a baby god someone kidnapped, so just… don’t.”

“A baby god?” Wonder Woman echoed, frowning in concern. “Who?”

“Chronos’ ward.”

Her brows raised in surprise. “The Veil-Keeper?”

“Wonder Woman?  What do you know?” Batman asked. He had a gut feeling that this was… too coincidental. The missing child god and the strange white crow... They were connected.

“I don’t know much,” Diana replied. “Just that several of the other gods have been speaking of Chronos’ new ward, a “Keeper of the Balance.” Hades himself has spoken fondly of the young one, apparently.”

Constantine nodded. “And the kid is missing. Half the Infinite Realms are ready to announce war if they can’t find their missing darling.” He waved a hand theatrically and chugged his black coffee with the abandon that could only be obtained after more than two days without sleep. “So, what the hell do you want, Bats.”

“I think I have a lead on your missing kid.”

The occultist’s gaze snapped to the Bat, brows raised. “You what?”

“The purpose of this meeting,” Batman said, “was to bring up a repeated appearance of a strange creature in several people’s dreams. A white crow. It hasn’t caused any harm, but seems to want the dreamer to follow it. No one has yet managed to follow it all the way back to where it is attempting to lead the dreamer.”

Constantine nodded, pulling out a notebook and jotting something onto it. “A white crow… yeah, that’d fit the kid. Has it spoken?”

Looking around, it appeared that though some of the other Justice League members had seen the crow in their own dreams, none could say it had spoken to them.

“It… He has not spoken,” Martian Manhunter spoke up after a few moments, “but I have noted the creature’s emotions. That is the strangest part to me, that he seems to be an actual being within the dream, and not just a dream-creature illusion.”

“Well?” Constantine prompted impatiently.

“He is scared. Batman is correct, he wants to lead the dreamer somewhere, and becomes increasingly desperate as the dreamer follows him further. He feels… as if he is fighting against something. As if his ability to reach out is being pushed to the limit and becomes harder the closer he comes to his destination.”

A few more notes were jotted down. “Right,” Constantine said. “I need to make a call.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Wonder Woman asked.

“I’ll… let ya know after I make the call.”

He turned, walking out of the room without fanfare. The rest of the League watched him for a moment, before Batman stood up and followed after, ignoring any attempts to bring him back and let Constantine go.

“What sort of god is this child?” he asked the occultist in the hall outside.

Constantine swore. “Give me a few damned minutes, Bats,” he snapped. “When I said I needed to make a call before anything else, I meant it. Unless you want several worlds’ worth of the dead to declare war on the planet.”

Batman’s eyes narrowed, obviously wanting to ask about that, but if Constantine thought the message couldn’t wait, then he would ask his questions after it. As irritating as the Brit was, he did know his job.

John grunted and continued striding down the hallway toward the section of the Watchtower set aside for magical matters. He didn’t attempt to stop Batman when the man followed. It would just be more stress and time lost than it was worth to argue with the stubborn ass.

In the magic archives, he kicked a few boxes of paperwork out of his way, exposing a silver circle inlaid into the floor. Once it was completely clear, he pulled a piece of chalk from a coat pocket and began noting down runes around the rim of the circle.

Batman stood to the side, watching silently and memorizing the runes’ arrangements, though he knew Oracle was also receiving the footage through his cowl and was already looking up the meanings.

Finished, Constantine straightened, pulled a vial of glowing green liquid from another coat pocket, and poured it into the circle.

The liquid didn’t touch the ground. Glowing Lazarus green, it slid out of the vial with the thickness of elementary schooler's glue, fell halfway to the ground, then dissipated in the air, the sigils and silver itself beginning to glow the same lurid green.

Constantine cleared his throat, then spoke. “Nocturn. Dreamer of the Realms. Aspect of Dream of the Endless. Ancient of Sleep. I have word on the whereabouts of the Realms' Prince.”

It wasn’t the usual summoning ritual. No chanting, few theatrics. It must be a matter important to the entity being called, for them to be willing to come to something so simple.

Or maybe they were just used to Constantine being… Constantine.

The circle glowed brighter green, and a swirl of darkness formed in the center. It shifted, tendrils of shadow taking on the forms of a multitude of half-formed ideas as it gradually grew and finally took on a humanoid form.

The shifting shadows resolved into a head, with a face like that of a white mask, cracked along one eye, and curling horns stretching out from its head. Its body seemed to hold infinite depth, glimmers of stars visible within the space as it stood twice as tall as either man.  It leaned down to peer at Constantine with glowing red eyes.

“What have you heard, Laughing Magician?”

“Nocturn,” Constantine greeted. “Apparently, several of his lot,” and here he pointed with his thumb over at Batman, “have been receiving reoccurring dreams of a white crow. Manhunter seems to think it’s trying to seek help.”

“A white crow…” the deity echoed, straightening. “I see. My brother will be glad you have finally identified a lead.”

“Yeah, about that, mate. How the hell does your brother, Destiny of the fucking Endless, not know where his adopted son is?”

Nocturn blinked down at him in bittersweet amusement. “We can not interfere in such matters,” he said. “The boy is still mortal enough that we, and my brother in particular, can not act to seek out his safety.”

“Why’d you want me to call you when I got a lead, then?”

At this, Nocturn leaned closer, the twisting shadows of his body swirling dizzyingly. “We may not act directly, but we can facilitate the ease of the search by those mortals who are looking for him. We do not want a war between the Overworld and the Realms of the Infinite any more than you do, but there are those who do desire war. Especially concerning the crimes lately perpetrated by the living against the dead.”

Batman frowned at this. “Crimes against the dead?”

The Ancient’s attention turned to him. “Yes, Gotham’s Son. You will find those answers when you find the Realms’ Prince.”

Before the Bat could ask more about that, Constantine spoke up. “So when you say you can facilitate our retrieval of the kid, what do you mean?”

Nocturn smiled. “Nothing much, Magician.  Simply that which is already within my nature.”

The entity grew in size, overtaking the boundaries of the circle as if it were nothing more than spidersilk, the sigils disappearing into sparks and afterimages. A sprinkle of sand was scattered from the Ancient's hand, and Batman and John Constantine fell asleep.

~~~

Gotham was burning. Gotham was burning, and his sons were burning, and he was trapped in a mire of reaching, clutching hands which refused to let him go.

Batman struggled against the grasping arms, finally freeing himself from them, but by the time he looked up, Gotham was dark. Silent. A burned husk of itself, and him… alive, and too late to save those he was supposed to protect.

He fell to his knees, wishing the hands would come back to pull him away from the dismal failure, but they did not reappear.

In the distance, a white speck appeared, quickly coming closer.

The sound of a crow’s caw triggered some memory in Batman’s mind. He seized on the half-formed thought, pulling it to the fore-front and examining it.

A white crow.

The missing god.

He was dreaming. Gotham had not burned. His children were not dead. But this dream…

Right. The white crow. A child who needed their help.

He held his arm up to the crow, and after a few cautious circles above him, it came in to land on the offered arm.

“It’s taken us a bit, but I think we’ve got your message,” Batman said to the crow, in the softer voice he saved for children. “We’re here to help, and we’re going to find you.”

The crow blinked, turning its head to stare at him with one eye. It seemed to visibly relax, like a great fear or urgency was bleeding away from it.

“Bats! There you are.” Constantine stomped over, stepping out of an alley from the burnt husk of Gotham. The crow startled, flapping its wings, but Batman gently stroked a gloved finger down its back and it settled.

“Constantine.”

“Stupid bloody Ancients. I swear Dream’s more of a pain to deal with he’s pulling that duty than when he’s just being his straight-up Endless self.”

The crow perked up at the mention of an Ancient, hopping from foot to foot excitedly.

“Yeah, kid, we finally figured ya out, and we’re gonna help get you out from wherever you’re locked up. Of course the old Gear-face couldn’t go get ya himself…”

The crow shrugged.

“You know how it is, then,” Constantine finished.

The crow nodded.

Batman stood watching all of this with neutral attention. This part wasn’t his sort of specialty. His skills would be more required when they finally found where the kid was being held and went in to free him. For now, he paid partial attention to the conversation, and the rest to their surroundings. Even in his own dreamscape, he wouldn’t assume there weren’t dangers.

Perhaps especially within his own dreamscape.

He turned back to Constantine and the crow. The occultist was just tying what appeared to be a red thread around the crow’s ankle, and had tied a similar one to his own finger, the tail end of the thread left hanging down several inches.

With another nod, the crow took off, heading into Gotham.

Batman began to follow.

Constantine held him back. “We’re not following from here, mate. Nothing we can do for the kid when he can’t get us close enough to his own dream to locate him.”

The look the Bat gave him told him to finish explaining quickly.

“His dream-self is part of him. When he wakes up, he’ll still have the string, spiritually. This,” Constantine held up his hand, showing the thread tied around his own finger, “sticks with me. We use it to find him while we’re awake, so your crew can kick the asses of whoever snatched him.”

Batman stared at him for a moment, looked after the disappearing form of the crow, and then nodded. “Alright. Wake us up.”

“You heard him, big guy. Care to pull us out?”

They woke gradually, eyes gritty with what seemed to be an entire night’s worth of sand, though Batman’s cowl-HUD told him that they had been asleep no more than two hours. The silver ring was plain metal once again, the carefully chalked runes gone, along with the Ancient they had summoned.

“Remind me not to go traipsing round your dreams again, by the way,” Constantine said, groaning as he pushed himself upright and to his feet. “That version of Gotham was even more miserable than the real one.”

Batman just grunted, standing himself. “You can find the boy?”

“Yeah, yeah, I can find him.” Constantine pulled out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth but not lighting it.  He held up a hand, the red string still tied there, the hanging end fluttering. “Gather your posse. We’ll need to head planet-side to find our white crow.”

[surelysilly]

oct 5th: hunt / haunt

Dean thinks Amity Park could be a cute, idyllic city if it wasn't haunted. And by haunted, he means that metaphorically and literally. Nothing he can do about the first thing, but the second? Well, here's hoping him and Sam don't go breaking their streak on such a straightforward case. 

part 1 (here) / part 2