#I LOVE ME SOME VIVISECTION

[pa-pa-plasma]

you just made the scientific discovery of the century & you want to tell everyone & your kids are first on that list but you can't find them. you manage to get a hold of your daughter & she says everything is fine but her voice gets tight when you try to mention your work & she sucks in a breath & says she won't keep you from it any longer than she already has & doesn't say bye as she hangs up the phone. you have a sinking feeling in your gut & you really want to get back to what you were doing but. something's wrong. where are your kids. why was your daughter not surprised when you told her. why was she so quick to hang up on you. your husband has the same type of mind & that's probably why neither of you can ignore this odd turn of events & so you decide to track them down. the research can wait. after all, the spook got away somehow afterwards. it's not like you have anything to go through but data & recordings.

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

Imagine reading a new manga and joking about it being homoerotic and then it gets explicitly stated that one of the protags is gay

If I don't see any weird romance blossom between those two istg-

[cfrog]

Silly fursona stickers :] Can never have too many

Inspired by this page of vintage Garfield teacher stickers. Normal phrases for celebrating completed homework.

and a signless version of the last one for whatever purposes

[befuddled-calico-whump]

drew @emmettnet 's Malusfa (Giant Gods AU)

entirely based on this ask

the little black dots are people :)

[sunthroughtherust]

made a cohost account which means i am severely over thinking usernames again and how nothing i have ever called myself online has fit me

[randomnameless]

I don't feel like IS is over-correcting. Even their character descriptions of Rhea, Edelgard, Claude and Dimitri are consistent with how KT wants them to be presented. Claude even uses strategies that he asked the villains about in Hopes and repeats the Edelgard rhetoric in Heroes as well. I'm pretty sure they just want you to like everyone.

Ehh,

That's where we disagree anon, it's all about the presentation.

KT, in Nopes, doesn't even give a voice to Rhea - she's wholly unplayable, un-support-able, heck you can interact more with random npcs than with her.

Dimitri? Zahras' demolished him because he cannot tell the other two kids they're asshats - and this is taking into account how Zahras Dimitri can happen after Mattias's death, or worse, Ingrid's!

Claude is someone noted for his ambition, but also his curiosity and a need/want to understand things, something Clout lacks - as he buys the information campaign, and showed more reaction to Macuil being able to talk than to Rhea turning in the IO !

And even Supreme Leader, to some extent, KT wants us to believe she's free and fights her own battles... but the end of Supreme Bullshit ends with Captain Falcon vs Dark Shadow, with Supreme Sailor Fuku (hell do I hate the sailor fuku, we came from the armored Emperor from the Post TS, even in her red dress she had more class, to that? A school girl uniform with metal plates? Seriously??) watching from the bench.

Yes they want us to like everyone, but KT has, in Nopes, imo, a very specific definition of what "everyone" means.

Dimitri kills soldiers who want to invade his land? BaD BaD BaD.

Supreme Leader marches on Faerghus, the Alliance and GM? It's just a normal sunday.

Rhea exists? BaD!

Point taken for Claude though, even if I have to check the jp script because FE Fodlan showed everyone you can't trust lolcalisations when it wants to lol-calise, even some scenes or lines from FE16 and FEH tend more to his Nopes!Counterpart than the one we ended up with in FE16 - even if the FE16 one isn't all roses and sunshine!

(but that'd imply both IS and KT intended Almyra to be... what it was shown in Nopes, and I had a bit more faith in them lol)

[mad-hunts]

there is nothing so cruel as memory — and this not only applied to the jarring snapshot that barton was given of a much happier time in his life through the photograph he found. he couldn't help but start to reflect upon how both louis, as well as matilda, weren't even six months old whenever marceline died. which meant that they would only ever and still do only know of their mother through barton's word of mouth. with that, the level of sorrow that came from knowing that he had everything one day and the next, he only had but a fraction of that was something he was convinced would kill him back then.

but the fact of the matter was, barton knew deep down that that was something he couldn't let happen. because matilda and louis needed him. so making peace with marcy's death was, unfortunately, a harsh reality barton had to face. the doctor did contribute finding winslow, his surrogate father, mostly all up to luck after all. and so giving up on them was not an option. but the toxic point of view that barton's bio father likely would've enforced upon him (to simply 'pull himself up by the bootstraps' as if it were that easy) wasn't going to work. so, therapy seemed like the most viable option to help him cope with the massive amount of grief he felt.

thankfully, going to it was the right decision in the end. the funny thing about grief, though, is that it isn't linear. and like the waves of an ocean... the feeling that you're missing someone fundamental to your life comes back in to hit you when you least expect it. barton flexed one of his hands repeatedly as he tried to get his mind off of it. he supposed that, eventually, doing nothing in this space would end up making him and possibly jervis as well lose their marbles anyhow. barton's work. before he had gotten into their current mess, he was working on a new 'piece,' he thought.

well, the deadline that the doctor had to finish it by before was hopeless for him to reach now. they wanted it in just two weeks time and who knows how long they'd have to be camping out in the old car warehouse? but that could easily be explained away. just like artists couldn't be rushed, barton didn't produce his 'dolls' well under a lot of pressure. nerves and skin alike were delicate. it made him wonder whether jervis still remembered the woman who'd been on his autopsy table when they met.

for even though the horror of it all was something barton was used to by now, even relished in... he was a very empathetic person and so barton could see how it could haunt the other in a way. so the expression 'different as night and day' might as well have been created for them all things considered. barton scratched at the IV in his wrist, mentally figuring out if he could give jervis more pain meds than jack had administered to him. assuming his son had given him the proper dosage. barton hummed noncommittally before deciding to consult jack about it first.

❝ i suppose my son's bedside manner was lacking a bit when he gave you that tea, then. i mean he obviously meant well, but i think it would've been easier for you to drink it with a straw, ❞ an amused snort left barton and pretty much guaranteed that he wasn't mad at jack for it afterward. he was still young after all - and he was still trying to drill all of the 'in's and out's' of medicine that he could teach him into his head. but it didn't seem to be where jack's passion lied, the line the other uttered aloud being what ultimately broke barton out of his thoughts.

the room proceeded to become deafeningly silent at that moment. squinting at the other was the doctor's immediate response, trying to recall where exactly he might've heard that. maybe it was biblical? barton was surprised that jervis would recite it, though, in that case because he didn't peg him as the 'religious type.' it sounded like he was expressing to barton that he supposed he might've felt like he wished his suffering could be quantified, however. categorizing his misery in those years seemed like an impossible venture though... but perhaps that was the point of the whole quote?

barton didn't want to be considered a 'victim' of his father, and from the way this was sounding, jervis almost seemed to be implying that. he could acknowledge that wesley put him through pain but he didn't want to redefine who he was in the process. heat began to rush to barton's head, and it was like he felt like he wanted to jump out of his own skin. ❝ yeah. you don't know anything about me, because even if you witnessed everything my father did? you wouldn't understand how it made me feel because you'd still be separated from it all. ❞

barton admittedly sounded a bit bitter as he spoke, but didn't care to address that right now. jervis was comparing their situations and it made him inhale sharply whilst he covered his face with both palms. he had nothing to say about that, though, but when what he guessed were babies were brought up... he ran his hands down his face to finally reveal it once more. ❝ mm, well, i could discuss how senselessly out of control some of the events that have happened to me and to others around me have seemed all day with you. but i don't want to. its depressing, but yes, my son is adopted but he's still mine. and that's better than what would've happened if the two of them remained abandoned for longer. ❞

barton stated this in a very 'matter-of-fact' tone before he turned over all the cards that he pulled for jervis. then, seemingly right on time, jack came back into the picture with breakfast for dinner for him. that plate was gently set on the bedside cabinet. barton looked over to his son as if to check on him then. yes, he actually did appear to have taken on a pallor. barton tilted his head and promptly inquired to jack about it, ❝ are you feeling okay, punaise d'amour? (lovebug?) ❞ his son scratched the back of his neck and gnawed on his bottom lip.

❝ yeah. i probably just need to eat, like jervis said. i'll be right back, ❞ jack stifled a smile and subsequently left, not even giving barton a second to protest. he shook his head only partially jokingly afterward while saying, ❝ ugh, that boy... if he was feeling bad then i easily could have got it for him. but i guess we're starting with the 'wheel of fortune' card. ❞

Bright domes of blood welled up from the corner of Jervis' mouth; his earlier, absent worrying with his teeth had succeeded in breaking the thin skin yet again. The yuja tea took on a faint ruddy tint, a visual stimuli preceding the taste of iron on his tongue. He tried to lick it away as discreetly as he could behind his cup, still chewing meditatively on the rind, bowing his head and letting his hair cover his profile for the briefest of moments.

Better my lip than my cuticles or my hair. The last thing I need is to start wearing knit caps all the time, or to pick up a fungal infection from this wretched place. One more reason to scrub myself raw and bury every possible inch in a hundred layers of clothing, eh? Old habits died hard; kicking and screaming as they were buried. Some were easier to tame. Others proved more obstinate, harder to shake; their roots sunk deep.

Trauma and time changes us all.

Barton's agitation swirled around him like a dark cloud; foreboding. A marionette with scorching strings, desperately trying to maintain his center of gravity. Those talons he called fingernails were restless; always moving, always touching. Somehow, it reminded Jervis of a hawk keeping vigil. That thought wasn't exactly comforting, if he were being completely honest. He flinched as the memory of their first encounter, so many weeks ago in the other man's workshop, came bubbling to the surface; ripples in a cistern, deep and dark and unfathomably placid. The kind of quiet that said, "Don't look away."

Jervis' stomach pitched as he recalled the corpse Barton had uncovered; what he had done to her face.

The scalpel had glided with precision, following the intricate pathways of the supraorbital and supratrochlear nerves—key branches of the trigeminal nerve, those delicate conduits that carried every flicker of sensation from the scalp and forehead to the brain. Though that was a moot point, considering none of these nerves or even the skin itself were alive any longer.

Just atoms and molecules; a patchwork of bone, blood, muscles and sinew; dregs of various neurochemicals and hormones long halting as the vitality they once sustained shuffled off the mortal coil, grown stagnant. But still undeniably a person. Human. Utterly devoid of dignity in death; an affliction all suffer, in some shape or form.

Each was duly severed, spawning an unseen fire in their wake. Dispassionate. Meticulous. Gloved fingers swept through the woman's hair, clearing the path; dyed a dishwater-blonde, slightly curly.

A miniature gardening knife plowing through equally Lilliputian stalks of wheat.

Jervis swallowed hard, the chill cutting deeper than skin; positively algid. Barton’s boots scraped faintly against the concrete, his IV pole swaying in tandem. Under the flickering lights, his tousled curls caught the gleam, fair strands shimmering like fragile, golden lacework. He paused beside Jervis' own IV, studied it.

"A bit of both, I think..." No sense in hiding it. It was plainly writ in the overwrought cast of his shoulders, the tension in his jaw; the dim light in his eyes. Jervis tightened his grip on the blanket, on the teacup. Cast his eyes about the room. Wary, half-hooded. Dark gray irises shone against the whites, through his lashes, landed on the cards Jack had cut and dealt.

Rabbit feeling the snare brushing against its hind leg, desperate to escape being baked into a pie.

His heart sunk, as Barton spoke of his son. Paternal instinct and empathy flared again; a gleam of recognition, in a sense, too. A soft, rueful, humorless sort of chuckle escaped him, quick as a hiccup.

"'Oh, that my vexations were but weighed, and all my calamities laid in the balance.'"

Barton's hand froze on the IV. The absence of those pearly white lenses or that hideous mask did nothing to temper the intensity of his gaze; a blonde lock fell across his forehead as he tilted his head; scrutinized him, features as blank as if they'd been scrubbed clean of any nuance by unseen hands. Not quite anger, or so it seemed; not quite amusement at his extemporaneous rehash, either... curiosity? Confusion? Consternation? He couldn't tell. But it rolled off him all the same.

Jervis' ears flushing were the only signs he had any blood still circulating in his system, his pallor was so pronounced. He bowed his head; shook it softly. Shrugged in apology. Forget it. It's nothing; I meant nothing by it. Tapping his nails anxiously against the porcelain saucer clutched loosely in his fingers. Bloody hell... did I really just say that out loud? "Sorry... it's the first thing that came to mind... I didn't mean for it to slip out, wasn’t trying to come off..." He sighed, cheeks expanding; breath whistling faintly; eyebrows bunching together.

"... like I told you when we first met, I'm not insulting you. I'm not pretending to know anything about you, and I'm certainly not pitying you." His free hand curled back into the blanket; followed the demarcations of each colored square. "But I do know something about living in fear; of uncertainty, displacement." His lips thinned, twitched; a subtle rictus stretching along Jervis' cheek and nostrils for the space of a couple heartbeats. "People like to say everything happens for a reason, but not all events can be considered blessings; not by any stretch... especially when bairns are involved."

He turned back to the tarot deck. "In any case... scotching the snake, breaking the cycle... that's brilliant."

Silence fell. Barton gave him another long stare.

Jervis stared back and did not move.

Barton turned away, headed to the cards and drew three painted images. A wheel, six swords stretching upwards. A sun. His eyes roamed along their features; sharp, incisive.

Jervis' ears pricked up at another set of approaching footsteps; smelling eggs and jam preserves. Ahh...

"I hope there's enough left over for yourself," he murmured faintly, not unkindly, as he turned his head to look at Jack. "You look a bit peaky."

[bunnygirllover45]

— VIVISECTION IS ANOTHER WAY OF SPELLING LOVE. ﹑◌﹒WARNINGS﹕Graphical descriptions of the body, Seth wants to study you like you're a computer or something, MC has few to no dialogue, gender neutral MC. Very bizarre at certain points. Medical bullshit and philosophical stuff. Bad English.

♱ ✧ ⤷ Word count: 1,6k words. (This one is a long mf)

The nights always brought the same dream with them; four walls and a room that belonged to an old movie, the walls were decorated with shelves filled with pots, pots with colorful flowers on them, some of them were carelessly placed on top of each other, pressing on top of the poor flower that was under the crushing weight of the other.

This room only had two big windows that illuminated the whole room, illuminating it in a red hue, no matter how much you tried to stare out the window nothing but red was visible. It seemed like if you stared too much into that void for a second, it would swallow you whole, making you part of the bloody landscape.

The furniture was scarce. A table, something that resembled a bookshelf that contained a few books, but the letters were illegible to you since you couldn’t move from your assigned seat; a chair by the aforementioned table. In the center of the table, was a small vase filled with fresh poppies.

The ambiance was a little theatrical, to be honest, you couldn’t even imagine someone living in a place like this, it didn’t look like a place where you could have plants either, most of them were placed against a wall all the way in the back of the room, shrouded by darkness. Not even the crimson light from the window could reach them.

“The light of this place isn’t good for them, I have checked it countless times. Instead of giving them life, it kills them.” You heard the voice of your companion seated in front of you, and when you turned your face to look at him you found the crimson again, but it wasn’t from the window this time, it was from his eyes.

Red. Red. It looked like it wanted to swallow you whole. Those spirals were like the circles of hell, one by one looking at your movements with caution. You tried to answer his words, maybe with a question, maybe with an affirmation, but it was always complicated talking when you entered this ‘dream’ and Seth knew it.

“You know.” he started. 

Standing up from his seat and dragging his fingers across the wood of the table he began to circle it, never breaking eye contact for a second. “I have been reading some very interesting books lately.” he continued, his voice dragging across the whole place with an ominous echo to it, which was impossible due to the small size of the place. “They're medicine books, vivisections, that’s what they call it.” a small smile formed on his lips.

“Vivisections?” you managed to ask, your voice merely a whisper. Seth sharpened his gaze, pleased with the sweet sound of your voice, and then he nodded. 

“Yes, vivisection. It’s like… taking an organism that’s still alive and opening it, to learn how they function on the inside.” 

Seth continued, his leather gloves dragging across the table from side to side while he continued to circle the table, like a vulture, though it looked like a mere distraction, a small gesture he did while talking. It didn’t stop it from being spine-chilling though, the elegance in his movements wasn’t natural. “It seemed interesting to me, sounds nasty, it probably is.” he laughed.

One blink was enough to make him disappear from your sight, but when you felt two hands resting on top of your shoulders you knew he was still there. “Seth?” you called out his name, and he responded with a gentle squeeze against your frame, then you felt his hot breathing against your ear, it made you shiver.

“I’m here,” he reassured, you couldn’t see his expression but you were pretty sure he was still smiling, it was rare to see him without that grin on his face. “Can you close your eyes for a second?”

His petition made you nervous, the fact you couldn’t even turn to look at him worsened the uneasy feeling, your survival instinct screaming for you to not close your eyes, to not give in. But Seth was always good with you every time you came here, so why not? “Please.” Seth whispered against your ear when he noticed you still didn’t close your eyes, the sound of his voice so close it made you tremble.

Going against all common sense you closed your eyes. Feeling Seth’s hands pulling away from your shoulders you almost opened them again unconsciously, but for some reason, it was like they were closed shut by an invisible force, heavy like lead.

“How obedient. How precious. This is one of the many reasons why I like you.” 

First, you felt his gloved hands on your face, the sensation now multiplied thanks to one of your senses being removed, the leather felt softer, the sounds louder, and Seth’s breathing hotter. “The brain is like the body’s computer, an insistent and adaptive little thing, it’s truly fascinating.” 

“I think your mind is the thing I like the most about you. From the small unconscious movements you make while you’re asleep to the most trivial conversations are born in this beautiful place. It never stops to amaze me.” 

Now his voice came from the right, his fingers slipping from your face to your back, your breathing quickening as soon as you felt his hands slipping under your clothes, Seth traced invisible circles on the now exposed skin. “From here I can feel your breathing, you moved a little, do my gloves feel cold?” 

Seth removed his hands and the next second you could feel the touch of his fingertips on top of your skin, it seemed like he had taken off his gloves. “Better~?”

His voice sounded a little playful. “Skin-to-skin contact is even more pleasurable, no? I imagine having your eyes closed makes the experience even more intense.” 

“I can hear your breathing more clearly. Your lungs are closer to my hands.” And you could feel his breathing, even hearing how we swallowed heavily, like trying to hold back any unwanted sounds from escaping. “What a celestial sound.”

“If I put my mouth on top of you right now I could kiss you until you ran out of air. Then you wouldn’t have any other option than breathing the air I give you, that way each particle of oxygen that enters your system would have my name written on it.”

You tried to move, expecting your legs to crash against the table in front of you, but again. you couldn’t move, but you could feel like… everything around you disappeared for a second.

“You like that? You want that?” And when you heard Seth’s voice coming from in front of you it was unmistakable, everything felt like a small space where only you and Seth existed. “Ask me. Ask me and I’ll give it to you, I’ll give you everything.” 

Then everything fell silent, eerily silent. Then his hands felt like they were back again in all the places he previously touched at the same time, your face, your back, your shoulders, his touch was hot, enveloping you like he wanted to swallow you, like the red color outside the window, like the red in his eyes.

“Here.” His fingers moved like snakes against the skin in your chest, you took a deep breath unconsciously, and Seth laughed. “Here’s your heart.” 

“Sometimes I want to push my fingers under your skin, I don’t want to hurt you, of course I don’t, but I would love to see how beautiful you’re from the inside.”

“Like a computer with all its parts exposed, I would like to grab them and build you again like a puzzle, no — like a beautiful statue.” 

Now his fingers moved up and down across your skin, just like the way he had touched the table before, it seemed like he had anticipated this moment from much before, what a macabre little thing his brain was. “Mhm…” you felt Seth’s soft hair against your chest, he was drinking the sound of your heart beating like he was in the middle of the desert and you were the most beautiful oasis. “This sound is even more beautiful.” 

“It’s beating fast, the little thing, how adorable. Is it fear? Is it love? What kind of feeling is accelerating your beautiful core? Is it me? It must be me, there’s no one else here.” 

“Hey, do you love me?” You couldn’t answer, Seth knew that. “I love you too, I love you too much.” 

“I want to grab you in between my arms and squeeze you so hard you’d break, I’ll kiss each piece while I put you back together. I would call you my most beautiful creation, there’s nothing more charming than being God’s favorite creation, no?” 

Now his voice didn’t come from the left nor the right, it felt like you were being enveloped by him, all your senses, your body, Seth wanted to kill you with soft caresses and sweet whispers of eternal devotion. He wanted to swallow you. He wanted to vivisection you.

“When you wake up from this, please remember my touch, remember these sensations, remember our vivisection. You’ll give me that, right?” 

“When you come back I’ll be waiting, I promise I’ll hug you so sweetly you’ll never want to wake up again. I’ll give you a paradise so sweet you’ll want to poison yourself in it.” 

Finally, you opened your eyes, but you weren’t in that eerie room, nor was Seth there anymore. You stared at the sheets of your bed, everything looked too white, it made your eyes hurt. Taking a deep breath you held your hand against your chest.

You could still feel him there. His touch was still present, tingling against your skin.

And when your eyes fell to the skin of your chest you could see it better, the red marks, like the light coming from the light from that room, like the color of the blood flowing through your veins.

The marks of Seth’s fingers were still there, in your skin.

[radiance1]

Gimmie a Danny and Damian twins au, but not one where they're all gushy gushy and huggy huggy about the fact that they're reunited.

I want one, where they HATE and try to KILL EACH OTHER. Where they're extremely fucked up in their relationship with one another, but can't kill the other because Taila hoped that they could get along.

They spew poison at each other, inflict pain on each other as easy as BREATHING and would leave the other while heavily injured while saying that they could take care of themselves.

I want them to be near mortal-enemies wrapped up in the bodies of two highly-competent and powerful 14 year olds who cannot give a fuck about each other, has a fleeting thought of killing the other on the best of days but doesn't because of their dear mommy Taila.

Then force them to interact with each other after a long period of separation. I don't give a flying FUCK how you manage to do it, perhaps Danny has to run because his parents vivisected him, perhaps the Nasty Burger explosion couldn't be reversed because Clockwork said no and Danny is torn or perhaps Vlad brings him to Gotham for a gala (either redeemed or not redeemed Vlad), etc, etc.

Force these two children who fucking HATE each other under the same roof, make them interact, make them watch each other interact and make comments about it. Maybe even make an unstable Danny try and KILL Damian, but is stopped by the batfam, or maybe make it that Danny can't even bring himself to kill Damian because he's (discounting Talia) the only family he has left.

Maybe even (if you go the Nasty Burger/Dead Fenton fam au) make Danny hate Bruce Wayne's fucking GUTS because this man is trying to replace his dead father (even though Bruce IS his biological father) and hates him even MORE because he looks so similar to Jack's face that he's literally torn whenever he sees him. Make it that he never stays in the same room as Bruce whenever he's not in mask, make it that he tells Bruce TO HIS FACE that he hates the man for trying to replace his dead FUCKING dad and that he will NEVER accept him as one, biologically related or not.

Maybe even make him not like the batfam either just for the fact that they associate with both Bruce and Damian.

(I just remembered about that one post I saw, but BOY is this ramble gonna get even WORSE for dear old Danny. Though this part isn't really necessary could just read the on top bit lol)

Maybe they even find a way to take away his ghost side, and Bruce (With or without Talia) say that it's for the best for him, and Danny? Danny just fucking BREAKS. DOWN. He's full-on crying and screaming at Bruce and maybe has to be held back by the other batkids or not, or maybe he's just fulling on trying to hit Bruce and Bruce either dodges or just takes it.

Saying how fucking DARE he take away his ghost side, that was apart of him and he had NO FUCKING RIGHT to take away something so precious from him. Then Bruce could say that he doesn't need powers, he could be fully if not even more capable as a human.

And Danny just goes "You don't even get it, do you?" And Danny just cries harder because technically that was one the LAST things linking him to his parents. His DEAD parents. Sure, the accident was his fault, but phantom was created because of their portal, in their lab, in their basement.

Even worse if the reveal went RIGHT and they starting accepting how he was half ghost and trying to change their views on ghosts as a whole, only to die. Then, for some guy to just, take away something like that from him?

Maybe Danny would even say that, rip into him about how that was one of the only things linking him to his parents and even if it wasn't he didn't have the fucking right to decide what to do with HIS body.

"You never had to fucking worry about your parents not accepting you, I did. They still loved me regardless, they tried to change for me. But you wouldn't even know what that feels like, would you, you stupid fucking rich boy."

[idk why I typed that part out but just role with it.]

Maybe Bruce tries to sympathize with Danny about his parents, but Danny just doesn't have any fucks left to give about Bruce's life, or anyone else life in Bruce's life at all and just shuts it down or steamrolls over it. At the end of it all Danny is just a crying, shivering wreck and stares down Bruce with eyes full of HATE that tells Bruce one step closer, and he would KILL him.

Maybe then Damian (Either walks in or was there the entire time.) insults Danny over his weakness and depending on his ghost form or something, and Danny just sees fucking RED and jumps on him. No care that he's no longer half ghost, so that he means he could die more easily, no care to anyone else in that room, no care that Talia wanted both of them to get along and not kill each other.

He tries to kill Damian.

He fails miserably, of course, but he still tries. Then tries again and a fucking gain.

Then after all that he just, doesn't come out of his room, or tries to escape and leave Gotham every chance he gets. He never gets far, but he keeps trying, and he never opens up to anyone in the batfam, not even Alfred.

He's just a kid who lost everything he worked so hard for, everything he tried to hide from his biological mother and her assassin league who tried to keep whatever he had left. Now that kid is fueled by nothing but pure, revolting hatred for the people who took even that from him.

Basically like Dark Danny, but way more powerless and fully human.

[Okay that's enough of me rambling.]

[treepainting]

How about having them escape to have The Road Trip multiple times only to keep getting caught until Danny finally sends Damian back to his home dimension alone (which was against Damian’s wishes because he didn’t want to leave his brother alternate to die) as a last ditch effort to try and save at least one of them

Ooooh I just came up with an idea

You know all of this fics where Danny is an alternate universe version of like Bruce or Jason? What if it was with Damian

There could be some kind of ritual that sends Damian into Danny’s universe only they both get caught by the GIW and Everything Goes Wrong

By that I mean both of them get vivisected. And the Fentons should do at least some of it, and that Jack looks just like Bruce for extra ✨trauma✨

They both go on the Road Trip of Hell while escaping and Danny’s just working on building a temporary portal to the Ghost Zone/Damian’s home dimension.

I want Danny to lean out of a car with like a mcguivered bazooka or something to try and drive off the GIW for a while with some kind of crazy/stressed smile back at Damian.

I want little moments where they’re bonding/teaching each other how to fight (Because Damian knows formal fighting, and if we go with Danny knowing some self defense from his mom he’s not completely horrible at it, but Danny knows how to fight like a feral raccoon. It’s effective and Damian DOES like animals right?)

I want them to finally get to Damian’s dimension and when they finally finally gets to the bats and Bruce reaches out to help his son Damian flinches

And then I want it to get into the fluff/healing/trauma dumping part where the newly dubbed twins (who get along scarily well and everyone is pretty sure are trauma bonded) are healing while simultaneously causing the other bats to become more and more distressed (it may or may not be on purpose)

It would also be pretty cool if their habits and mannerisms rubbed off on one another, so they can be uncannily similar one moment then completely different the next

I also had the idea of them being literally the same soul- like, the soul that originally formed was completely identical when they were babies but diverged due to different experiences, so it’s literally a ‘same soul two bodies’ thing. I just think it would be neat, even if it’s not even really mentioned, but just like, Implied you know?

[phantom-dc]

Batman had to act quickly.

At first he was happy that Jason had been coming over more, and being more agreeable. When Dick asked about his good mood, Jason admitted he had been seeing someone for a little while now. Bruce had been happy for Jason, worried his rage would prevent him from finding love. But that was before he did some digging.

Daniel Fenton. Son of ghost hunters. That fact had worried Bruce. Did he know about Jason's situation? Was he a threat? He couldn't take any risk, not when it came to his children. Batman was going to have some questions for him.

When he had dropped behind Fenton in the alley, things had gone south quickly. Fenton wasn't afraid of him at all. In fact, he had started to taunt him! B was ashamed to admit, something caused this kid to get under his skin. He threatened to make sure Fenton would regret it if he ever hurt Jason, but then Fenton said something odd:

'Why? It's not like its illegal!' Fenton explained the Ecto-acts and the G.I.W., to B's horror. Appearantly everyone could take away his son and torture him in the most gruesome of ways, and they wouldn't get so much as a slap on the wrist! Fenton had 'reassured' him, saying he was just 'observing' Jason... for now. That had earned him a black eye but Batman had bigger things to deal with. Afraid Jason wouldn't believe him, he made sure Nightwing and Signal kept an eye on Fenton. He wouldn't hurt Jason. Bruce had to call a meeting with the JL and JLD. Once those Acts are gone there will be nothing protecting Fenton from prison. He had to be quick.

Meanwhile 2 dead guys were sitting on their couch, one putting a cold compress on the others black eye. 'So let me get this straight. B found out your parents hunt the dead, he interrogated you because he was worried for me, and you insinuated that you were going to vivisect me?' Danny leaned back into Jason. 'I never said I would. I just said it would be totally legal if I did!' Jason laughed. 'You know he's going to go full Batman on you now, right?' 'I don't care, he made me drop my coffee!'

[secrets-of-ty]

Danny Phantom Fanfic Masterlist

I've been meaning to do this for a bit! Since I've been in the Phandom for 10+ years I've picked up a lot of good fanfics over the years and I think it'd be great to share them again in case people have forgotten/haven't encountered them!

I mostly used Fanfiction.net in my older days so a lot of them will be linked there. I'm also pretty picky when it comes to fics being completed, so expect the ones listed to be bingeable with an ending! And finally, I'm not huge on romance/smut so most of them probably won't involve those genres, I'll point out ones that do. (These are in no particular order).

👻 Happy Reading! 👻

👻 = Regular Fic

🟢 = Alternate Universe Fic

⚔️ = Crossover Fic

💙 = Would Recommend!

💙💙 = One of my Favorites!

💙⚔️💙 Mirrored by Lynse

"As a general rule, diving into unknown swirly vortexes in the Ghost Zone is a bad idea, but this was a time when Danny had no other real choice. Meanwhile, Jake thought he was through dealing with ghosts, but Rotwood, well, he's just getting started."

I posted about this one a few years ago and the author, @ladylynse , said it's also available on AO3. This is by far one of my f a v o r i t e fanfics that I read annually or so! If you're a sucker for American Dragon too, definitely check this one out <3 The characterization of both Jake and Danny, plus watching their friendship grow, always gets me in the feels.

💙👻 Phantom's Sketchbook by AkoyaMizuno

"Mr. Lancer finds himself in an unparalleled situation, he has access to something which can give him incredible insight into the personal workings of Amity Park's local ghost teen hero, Danny Phantom."

It's been a while since I've read this one, but I remember it having a lovely characterization of Lancer plus his mentor relationship with Danny. (I loved this one a great amount back in the day that I, uh, made fanart and turned it in for a school assignment. Which is lost to the ages now 😅)

👻 Darkness by Cordria

"Maddie and Phantom are trapped in the dark. Can they come to an agreement to work together before they both die at the full moon? Part 1 of Illuminations Saga."

I don't quite remember this one but I DO remember Cordria had some absolute bangers. You'll probably see their name a few more times on this list.

💙👻💙 Masks by Cordria

"Sometimes, people hide who they truly are behind masks. This is a short story about the day that Lancer decides enough is enough when it comes to Daniel Fenton. Sequel is 'Plunge'"

When I said Cordria had bangers, THIS is one of them! Another fic that I read annually, this one involves Lancer getting closer and closer to Danny's secret while he's stuck in detention for the weekend. I love love LOVE the characterization of Danny and Lancer in this, another at the top of the favorite list!

👻 Plunge by Cordria (sequel to Masks ^)

"Sequel to 'Masks'. Now that Lancer has learned the truth and has let Danny out of his office, Danny needs to face the next hurdle: his parents."

For some reason, I always forgot to put this on my favorite list so I often missed out on reading it with my annual read of Masks. I remember it being a decent sequel where the Fentons pick up the pieces of Danny's reveal.

👻 Pits by Cordria

"Danny has been captured and thrown into the Pits by Walker to fight for his life. Listen in as he tells his dark, twisted tale of surviving despite the odds. Warning: dark and depressing. Sequel is 'Final Exam'."

Another one I don't fully remember, but it had to be a solid read since it's on my favorites haha! I have a vague sense that it was a little angst/gore-y(?) as the description warns, so just heads up!

👻 Lab Rat by AnneriaWings

"The look on my parents' faces – eager, curious, somewhat hateful – wasn't exactly hard to give away their intentions. I knew what they were going to do to me even before Mom snapped on a pair of rubbery, white latex gloves."

*** This one is definitely a vivisection fanfic with graphic descriptions, so beware that content. Again, haven't read it in a long time but it had satisfied my angst itch back in the day.

👻 Wondering by Phantomrose96

"A continuation to Cordria's starshot #69 "Wondering". Danny's been captured and tortured by his parents, but he refuses to say a word until his psychiatrist starts connecting the dots. Can he risk keeping it a secret any longer?"

*** Another angst, lab experiment-esque fic. There are definite graphic scenes (as warned in the first chapter). I do remember this fic being huge in the 2010s (definitely a staple of the Phandom). The relationships and Danny recovering from his torture were great highlights.

👻 Connections by Lynse

"Maddie knows that the Booo-merang has keyed into Danny, for whatever reason, so what's she to think when she sees it collide with Phantom?"

Don't quite remember this one, but Lynse is amazing at writing, so it's bound to be a good read.

👻 Confessions by Lynse (Sequel to Connections ^)

"Follows Connections. Danny's secret's not as safe as he thinks, what with Maddie unable to ignore her wild suspicions any longer and piecing things together and Jack asking questions all on his own."

Same as above!

💙👻 Earthquake by Turkeyhead987

"Danny leaves with his bathroom excuse and leaves Dash curious. He follows Danny and ends up the the gym room with him. While they're in there, an earthquake occurs and leaves them trapped inside. Will any secrets be revealed? No DashxDanny! They're just the main characters!"

This one is another one that I've read multiple times over the years! From what I remember, it was a fun read involving Dash and Danny being trapped in the gym after an earthquake, and explores how Danny handles his secret around Dash while they wait for rescue.

💙👻 A Jock and a Hard Place by AnneriaWings

"Danny and Dash were silent, trying to wrap their mind around that stupid, simple fact – the door was locked. They were trapped. In a janitor's closet. Together. (Collab with Haiju)"

No romance in this one! Another story where Danny and Dash get trapped together. I've read this one several times, and remember enjoying the tension of Danny's secret being revealed. I also think they explored Danny and Dash's relationship in a fun way!

👻 An Unlikely Alliance by Represent

"Maddie wants her family back. In an attempt to understand her Danny's change in behavior, she unwittingly enlists the GIW to exorcize Phantom from her son."

Gonna be real with ya'll, I don't remember this one at all. But uhhh I'm gonna throw it on here just because I can. :)

👻 Flip Turn by dreamsweetmydear

"Danny's life the last couple of years has been chaotic and pretty scary, to say the least. However, one detention with Mr. Lancer opens a window of opportunity that promises to turn his life around in more ways than one. Revelation fic. Post-"Kindred Spirits.""

Yet again, I don't remember this fic. Sorry! But it's under 8000 words, so it's a little bit of a shorter read than some of the ones on this list!

👻 Journey of Secrets by WolfKael

"First Danny Phantom fic! DXS, TXV, but not super-heavy. Lancer's class is on a trip to the Ghost Zone, courtesy of the Fentons! (Takes a couple chapters to gain momentum, and I promise it isn't your average 'field trip' fic!) T because I'm paranoid, but it could probably be K ."

Also not a fic I remember. It's got about 50,000 words so thought I'd throw it in for anyone that likes a longer fic!

👻 Vulnerable by HaiJu

"A desperate moment leads to a difficult choice, and Danny must deal with the consequences. A collaboration between Anneriawings and Haiju."

Don't remember it, but HaiJu had/has some great fics! Seems to involve Danny and Maddie after skimming the first chapter.

👻 Little Fires by Represent

"My family's supposed to be geniuses, yet they've never figured it out. Now I know why. Because they already know I'm Phantom. They must know. The better questions are: Have they known this whole time? What's in that vial? What happened to Skulker? And what's in the locked drawer?"

You know what, if I remember it, I'll say something 😂

👻 Judge, Jury, Executioner by Cordria

"The Observants and the Ghost Council are sick of the Fentons creating half-ghost creatures that disobey the rules of the universe. It's time for them to step in before more are made. Can Danny save his parents and keep his secret intact? A three-part fic."

💙👻 A Phantom Marooned by LordPugsy

"No one but Danny was suspicious when his English class was awarded an all-expenses paid cruise trip by an anonymous benefactor. Everyone but Danny thought it was bad luck when they became ship-wrecked on an island in the middle of nowhere. No one but Danny fully understood the dangers lurking in the trees. No one but Danny knew how much danger they were all in so far from home."

This one involves Danny and his class getting out of Amity Park, so it's a little more oc-filled and explores a nontraditional setting for the trio. There might be a little SamxDanny in this one if I remember correctly, but overall I do remember having fun reading through this!

🟢 Candlelight by HappyLeif

"Sam's only friend is the ever-loyal Tucker, ever since Danny began slowly distancing himself from them after some accident freshman year. She wanted a friend, but she never thought she'd find the one she was looking for in the highly debated ghostly hero of Amity Park.

AU = Danny alone during the portal accident. Looks like there's some SamxDanny in this one! Don't remember it but heck I might have to reread it since the synopsis has me interested.

👻 Crashing and Burning by GriffinRose

"For two years, Maddie has put up with Danny's ridiculous lies and excuses. She's tried everything to get through to him, but the pattern just goes on. She's so tired of fighting him on this all the time. And so, after two years, she's done. She doesn't care what her son does anymore, because Danny doesn't seem to care that he's her son."

👻 I'll Be Here by HaiJu

"Some days you can't pick yourself up. Having family means you don't have to. Danny-centric, three oneshots. Completely shameless hurt/comfort. Bring tissues… and antiseptic."

👻 What Little Girls Are Made Of by HaiJu

"Phantom and his younger double save Amity Park from a monstrous ghost, nearly destroying themselves in the process. The Fentons have always hunted ghosts; now it's time to save one."

💙👻💙 You Should Be Dead by SaphireDragon11

"Dash and Kwan are horrified to discover they've accidentally killed their classmate, but perhaps even more so when he shows up at school the next day. With his secret on the line, Danny soon discovers Dash and Kwan are the least of his worries."

THIS story is definitely a favorite and fun read! The ending battle chapters always gets me excited to reread! ***Danny does get straight up shot by Dash at the beginning so be warned for that content. But I remember a post going around a year or so ago where someone had drabbled about Danny getting up after being shot by Dash. This story explores that concept with a longer plot!

💙👻💙 Roughing It by HaiJu

"Lost deep in the woods with an undead pack on their heels, Maddie and Phantom find themselves entangled in an awkward alliance. Can they cooperate long enough to get out of this mess?"

Another favorite! This one explores Maddie and Danny's relationship, kind of similar to how the show did in the Maternal Instincts episode. I adore how HaiJu explores Maddie's thought-process with dealing with Phantom in a situation where she kind of needs him and he won't leave her alone. Great mother-son fic!

👻 Phantom of Truth by Haiju

"Locked away in a secret government lab with Phantom as her subject, nothing stands between Maddie and the truth... except, perhaps, herself."

Haven't read this one in a loooooong time, but I remember being around for HaiJu updating this fic, posting about it on Tumblr, and the Phandom being generally hyped for it. Another staple for the Phandom! It's another torture fic, so heads up regarding that content!

💙👻 Shadow of a Doubt by Haiju (Sequel to Phantom of Truth ^)

"The truth was supposed to save Danny. Fix things. The lab, the experiments, the lies, those were all in the past. Weren't they? Sequel to Phantom of Truth."

And then BAM on top of finishing Phantom of Truth, HaiJu hit us all with a completed sequel! I was super excited whenever this fic got updated, felt like I was waiting for a new episode to air on TV every time! There's some OCs in this since it explores Danny running away from Amity, but I remember genuinely loving the OCs and loved reading about Danny mentally recovering from being experiment on.

👻 Just a Boy by Tay1019411

"Maddie and Jack finally have Phantom right where they always wanted him: in there lab, helpless, but everything is different now. Now, Maddie faces the truth about what Phantom really is."

🟢 Make It Go Away by DarkNymfa

"Not for the first time, Danny cursed himself for never telling anyone about his extra-curricular activities. And now, far more injured than he could fix himself, Danny desperately wished that he had told just one person."

No one knows AU

👻 Flicker by DarkNymfa

"It had taken just one moment, one split-second in which she had seen Phantom instead of Danny. Now she found herself on a path she didn't want to be on. One she couldn't leave, not anymore."

👻 The Scientific Method by ReconstructWriter

""After two years of failures you'd have better luck asking Phantom to be your lab-rat," Jazz said. The Fentons decide to try just that."

👻 Phantom Hitchhiker by ghostanimal

"Phic Phight Oneshot: While students get to leave early after a ghost attack, teachers have to stick around for boring meetings to discuss the attack. The ghost attack was now over, but it didn't mean all the ghosts were gone. Lancer finds himself driving a certain Phantom home while reflecting on how young the poor kid is."

👻 Returning After the Reveal by Illusn

"Phic Phight attack, using a prompt by Love-ly-ish. Danny returns to school after his secret was revealed in a ghost attack, having to deal with people suddenly treating him differently."

👻 Vantage Point by Lynse

"Phantom was young. Painfully young. Somehow, Lancer had never really noticed that before. One-shot, written for the 2019 Phic Phight."

👻 Oddities by Lynse

"Jack can't deny that their ghost hunting equipment malfunctions around Danny-consistently and exclusively around Danny-and decides to get to the bottom of it, once and for all. One-shot, written for the 2019 Phic Phight."

👻 To Be a Hero by cosette141

"Danny has always known the consequences should he be captured by the Guys In White, but now Tucker is going to learn firsthand just what the stakes are for his superhero friend and what it really means to be a hero. (not slash) hurt/comfort"

👻 Family Reunion by Dp-Marvel94

"For Phango. Prompts used- Setting: Family Reunion, Wes Weston, Aunt Alicia, Stuck in the thermos. And Identity Reveal…kinda (does it count if Wes had already worked out that Fenton was Phantom but hadn't seen him actually transform so wasn't completely sure?)"

Wes Fic!

👻 Stuck by SummersSixEcho

"[OneShot] After a prank from two of his ghostly acquaintances, Danny is stuck in ghost mode during one of the most important events of his young half-life. If only he didn't have to give a speech on top of it... [Phic Phight 2020 entry; prompt by Ghostanimal]"

👻 One-Eighty by SummersSixEcho

"[One Shot] After a grueling battle, two teenagers at a diner try to sort out a night of revelations. [DannyMay 2020, Day 28: Diner]"

👻 Threads of Time by ZombieRed

""I just want to know what's going on with you, Danny! I wish I could just, I don't know, spend the day figuring out what you've been hiding from me. Then maybe I could help you. But you being closed off from everyone is only hurting you. Can't you see that?" Or Maddie keeps on waking up to Thursday morning [No PP, pretty much ignores season 3 as a whole]"

👻 Invisible Stitches by Lynse

"Family bonding time might be less dangerous now that his parents know his secret, but that doesn't mean Danny is wild about being kept in the dark when it comes to his dad's plans for the weekend. One-shot."

Loved the concept of Danny having trouble being away from Amity Park!

👻 Whenever You're Ready by SummersSixEcho

"[OneShot] Jack and Maddie try to show their son they are very supportive of Phantom once they find out his secret. They want him to tell them on his terms, but everything ends up in bigger misunderstandings and more revelations they weren't prepared for. [Belated Phic Phight entry for Star G, Arioz, Bird, Dekalkomania, and Wife]"

Written in a Journal-Entry style! Interesting format if I remember correctly.

👻 An Attempt at Camping by Seasilver17

"They should have known that even when they were in the middle of nowhere camping. Something would have to go wrong. Curse his Fenton luck"

👻 Secrets Secrets and Advice (This Teacher's Vice) by AppleScentedLazers

"After a particularly grueling day Mr. Lancer just wants to go home, kick up his feet, and read some Shakespeare. But, when he runs into two of his students looking for their missing best friend, Lancer ends up with more questions than he has answers for. Such as, who is Phantom? And just what is Daniel Fenton hiding?"

👻🟢 Going Ghost by cosette141

"My take on the moment Danny turns on the ghost portal and becomes half-ghost… as well as an alternate way for Sam and Tucker to find out. Friendship Oneshot"

👻 Lair by Lexosaurus

"When something goes wrong with a piece of Vladco tech, Valerie ends up stuck in the Ghost Zone. With Phantom."

💙👻 In Case of Emergency by Unlucky Alis

"Lancer is grading papers when he gets the call. "I'm calling from Amity West. I have an underage patient here who has named you as their emergency contact." Lancer rushes over, of course, fretting all the while about what accident Danny Fenton has gotten himself into now, because it could only be him. Except, when he arrives, it's not the Danny he expected to find."

I remember enjoying the little twist on Lancer being the emergency contact for Phantom yet having no idea. Lancer handles it pretty well all things considered. (I think you guys can tell I just like Lancer fics at this point HA)

👻 Furthest from Myself by WastefulReverie

"An accident during a ghost invasion leaves nearly a hundred citizens with inexplicable ghost powers. Little did they know, this was only the catalyst for a series of revelations."

👻 Ghost Smarts! by Dekalkomania

"When it becomes clear the ghosts are here to stay, the Amity Park school district decides they need to teach proper safety precautions. In dire need of extra credit, Danny takes Mr. Lancer's offer to be the assistant in an assembly titled, "Ghost Smarts!"

Very unprepared for what he signed up for, Danny must deal with the eccentric detective J.J. Bittenbinder, all while not blowing his cover."

[befuddled-calico-whump]

amazed by how even in the whump community where characters being horrifically turtured is the whole point vivisection is an extreme writers dont touch often and then for the danny phantom people is just normal

I'm not overly familiar with Danny Phantom but I've seen the memes so fair enough lol

on that note, I have several mutuals who write/draw vivisection and heavy gore if you're looking for that type of content 😘

@brutal-nemesis writes immortal whump. So much gore. Here's one of my favorites, feat. immortal guy getting burned to death on repeat

@demondamage has some delightful gore art. Here's a recent fave, featuring All The Guts Being Pulled Out

@i-can-even-burn-salad has some creative torture methods, like blowing a guy's hand off

and I myself have written Hand Being Chopped Off One Piece At A Time and drawn Blood Eagle

[brutal-nemesis]

bro said

Spiderwebs #22: Vanity

Masterlist

content: implied starvation

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

This was a good sign. Their first excursion had been a success. Jackie was starting to warm up to her. He wasn't happy, but he was getting used to the operation of things, and that was all she needed. He had even buried a body with her, which was an impressive development considering their rocky start. Cooperation and compliance—that was all she asked of him.

“Can I eat that?”

Jackie’s voice brought her back from her thoughts. He was sitting on her sofa, legs curled up, staring at the sandwich on the table like it would run away if he blinked. Such an ordinary, domestic scene. What was Heather doing? What had she done? Why had she kidnapped a man, then killed another? She was sure there was a good reason, but she could remember it in the morning. Right now… food. Right. Giving Jackie food.

“Go ahead. It’s all yours.” She had disposed of her coat, and Jackie had disposed of his gloves. She now sat across from him, on a chair she’d retrieved from the kitchen. 

“Thanks!” He took it without hesitation and ate quickly, his body angled away, guarding the precious treasure of a single sandwich. As if she was going to take it from him. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch, especially as he was covered in dried blood. 

She stared at nothing at all, as he ate. What other experiments did she have to perform? The paralysis compound had been perfected, at that point. She’d done a few dissections on the jars of organs, and found little worth noting. She still needed to find the source of the immortality—that was something. Something to occupy her. 

Jackie had finished eating a long time ago. He was now giving her a curious look, trying to decipher what had captured her gaze. He had such captivating eyes, such a pretty face—not that Heather thought… well… in any case, this was irrelevant.

“You’re filthy,” she said casually.

He sounded genuinely hurt, or at least confused. “Excuse me?”

“You’re covered in blood, I mean.”

“Ah, yeah.” He cleared his throat and grinned again. She could tell he was scared. Startled, for whatever reason. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ve got a bit of something too. Over there—no, higher—“ He put a finger to the edge of his face.

“Thanks.” Heather wiped her face, though she doubted that would remove the stain. “Are you still hungry?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? People usually eat dinner at this time.”

He shook his head. "I’m fine. I don’t eat much anyway.”

They lapsed into silence. Heather couldn’t think of anything to say. It was the fatigue, she decided. It had been a long day. Small talk came sparse after a murder. 

Jackie was the one to break it. “You’re not so bad. I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean—“ He took in a sharp breath. He spoke with a gentle yet adamant air, as if he was attempting to give her advice. “I don’t know. You’re okay.”

“How touching. Didn’t you threaten to kill me once?”

“I’m mercurial, alright? I’m a sensitive soul.” He shrugged. “Besides, you’re one to talk. You have mood swings, like, every day.”

“I don’t—“ She thought about this. “Never mind.”

He began to pick at the edge of the sofa, at the seams of black leather. Fluffy white pillows surrounded him like the petals of a lily. Behind the curtained window, the light slowly drained from the sky. The clock on the shelf carried the seconds past them, tick-tick-ticking faintly in the background. The sound seemed to echo. Her house always felt empty, even in the presence of other people. And it had been so long since she had lived with other people.

She wasn't alone anymore, but she felt no difference. Her home was constantly quiet. A kind of reverential silence, the silence of churches and graveyards, sticking to the walls like mold and hollowing them out. Jackie didn’t have a very active presence there, after all. Four months, and this was the first time he'd seen the living room. 

That was not an accident. It was safer to keep him in the basement.  It was easier. Still, Heather thought he needed the fresh air. He was starting to get restless, fidgety. He didn’t sleep much. Was that normal? She didn’t know much about people. Just the inner workings. Birds and dogs had to be taken outside their cages sometimes, or so she’d heard. Even rats liked to run around, but Heather’s subjects usually died before that ever became an issue.

And there was the topic of Jackie’s growing weakness. Despite his attempts to hide it, his fragility was obvious to Heather. It did not surprise her in the slightest. To regrow entire limbs, to replace entire organs—well, it would take a toll on anyone’s body. He didn’t eat enough, of course. And God knew what those drugs were doing to him in the long-term. 

That wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily. If Jackie could physically overpower her, he could escape. And that wouldn’t do. Along with the usual fear of incarceration came a stronger hunger, a stronger want, something stronger than she was used to. What did she want, exactly? It was hard to say, looking at him, still a sort of stranger regardless of their time together. She didn’t really know Jackie, did she? He was still a subject to be studied. That’s what she wanted, maybe. Answers. 

“I think you should take a shower,” she decided. “I’ll show you to the bathroom.”

“Shower?” he echoed. “Just a shower? It’s not an experiment?”

“No. What kind of experiment is that?”

He didn’t answer. “One last thing. Does your bathroom have a lock? I know—“ He held up his hand, as if she was about to protest about what an offense this was. “I know, just… does it lock? From the inside?”

“Yes, it has a lock, and all that.” She gave an exaggerated, exasperated sigh, more out of habit than anything. “I’m not a monster.”

He didn’t seem to understand, but he nodded.

See, she was capable of kindness! There you go. That was her generosity, over and done with. Nothing more needed to be said. She showed him to the bathroom, then left him to sort whatever he needed out.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

He came back about twenty minutes later, in which time Heather was able to scrub most traces of blood from the house, and dispose of the chainsaw, which she had thrown into the river as well. She then waited in the living room again, watching the clock. 

When Jackie returned, he looked unsure of himself. Less scared now, more overly polite. He sat back down on the sofa, significantly cleaner, hair still damp and curls heavy, hands clasped together in his lap. He couldn’t quite meet her gaze, but didn’t quite glance away either. Didn’t say anything, didn’t ask about anything. Watched, listened to the clock.

Though Heather shouldn’t have, she found his wary respect a little amusing. She couldn’t quite believe that she was intimidating, that she held any sort of power over other people. Other people always appeared as a paradox, or else as immaterial, indistinct shadows. Trying to catch smoke, trying to control light sparks, trying to capture the brief sounds from the next room. That’s what other people were—always in the other room, something she wanted to possess but could never grasp. But here was Jackie, in the same place and time as her, maybe not totally under her control but at least a little put-off by her presence. 

“You have a nice bathroom,” he offered.

He was just trying to make small talk, she figured. “What do you mean, nice?”

“The soap looked expensive.”

She’d seen him nearly every day for the past four months, at least once a week, but this was the first time that she really felt curious about him. Thought of him, not in the context of a drug or dissection, but as his own person. How many layers to that nesting doll? People were all so complicated...

“How are you?” she asked instead.

“Tired.” That was it, a monotone answer. “Heather, can I go outside again? Tomorrow?”

“I don’t know about tomorrow.”

“But eventually?” He spoke earnestly, and now Heather knew this was like the small talk—he wanted, not the truth, but just something. Something to hope for, something to keep. “Soon?”

She nodded.

Heather never thought about her other subjects like this. The dog bones went with the garbage, and that was the end of them, the moment where they stopped to exist in any meaningful way. That was necessary. A necessary separation, a mental blockade. If you thought too much about anything, if you let your logic run its complete course, then you’d fall into an inertia that would never lift. Maybe all this contemplation was bad for her, like candy was bad for your teeth. But it was so sweet, wasn’t it? The thought of knowing someone so deeply. 

“Well, then.” A little curiosity was fine, but she needed to know when to quit. Heather stood. “It’s late. We should go to sleep.” 

He stood also, after a reluctant pause. “Okay.”

She thought of pinning him to the wall and breaking his neck. Holding him and watching him die. Holding him, a living thing, a real person in her home and in her arms. Catharsis for this tension. It came on as a papercut does—there, all of a sudden, welling up red, meaningless and shallow but too sharp to ignore. Ah, it was all his fault. He was making her feel things. She hated him for it. He was too good at it, with that poised little frown, that wide and wary look.

Instead of enacting this, she swallowed, picked the thought off like a scab. “I’ll take you to your room, then.”

He nodded, so unaware of her feelings, so oblivious. That was for the best. Their relationship was purely professional, but she still wanted him to respect her.

It was laughable, she knew. Pointless. What he thought of her didn’t matter in the end. That was vanity, plain and simple.  But they could find some common ground, couldn’t they? This could work, this would work, over the months and days, even over the years. They would find something to share. A life, to share. A life and a home, quiet though it was, unnatural though it was. A compromise of sorts.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Taglist:

@theelvishcowgirl

@lthrboy

@whumpy-wyrms

[unify-life]

Letters from Beyond

(A.K.A Field Notes and other Emotions)

Demon Twins AU told through letters addressed to Damian from Danny. Written as his promise to return to Damian eventually.

A freshly vivisected Danny flying frantically through the ghost zone - pinching his skin together and gathering himself in a desperate hug in attempt to keep himself in one peice. He knows he needs to get away and his ever present goal of finding his brother ringing in his brain.

Danny doesn't notice a portal open up in front of him, so he isnt prepared to fly headfirst into a wall.

The batfam are just leaving the dining hall after a family supper when a portal opens up in front of them. They all tense in preparation for an attack when a black blur speeds past them and face plants into the opposite wall.

Danny looks up, sees Damian, and bursts into hysterical giggle-sobs.

"I did it Ahki. I made it back to you! I did it! I did it... I am so sorry - this is not how I wanted our reunion to go! I'm sorry - I'm sorry."

Danny's being flickers sickly as he coughs, Lazarus green trickling from his lips.

Damian snaps out of his shock in horrified recognition.

"Ahki... Danyal? Is that you?" He runs to his brothers side to help him sit up, noticing and alarmed by the growing puddle of green.

"Dami! I made it back! I am so sorry it took so long. I didn't want this to go this way. I don't - I can't - I am going to pass out and what little is holding me together will fail me. I didn't want you to get me back this way, I didn't want to do this to you! I love you, I'm sorry!"

Danyal manifests a small wooden box seemingly from thin air and hands it to his twin. "Take this." Before his eyes roll back and with a flash, he becomes human. More reminiscent of the boy Damian remembers. Red begins to rapidly mix with the glowing green pool beneath them.

Damian becomes frantic, snapping himself out of it and then calling the stunned batfam to action.

Dr. Leslie is called to the cave, the mysterious boy is settled into a cot and several emergency surgeries are performed half blind because they do not know his base stats. They eventually get him somewhat stable.

Damian gives a bare boned explanation to his family about his dead brother.

He keeps vigil at Danyal's side and takes out the box he had been given.

Inside is a set of notebooks and a stack of drawings.

The drawings are mostly of Damian. Some of the stars over Nanda Parbat, sketches of little memories they shared together, etc.

He roots through the notebooks to find them dated and organized by year, starting a week or so after Danyal 'died.'

Damian opens the first and begins to read through them. He is pleased to note they are almost entirely written in the code they came up with together.

The rest of the story is told through Danny's journals and occasionally cutting back to the present the get batfam reactions to having another brother they hope they will get to meet if/when he ever wakes up. They also are trying to investigate who could be responsible for the vivisection. Every one of them is up in arms over it.

Journal #1 begins as a mission log.

The demon twins had been training or sparring or just back from a mission. Ra's took issue with Danny over some supposed wrongdoing. He was dragged away from his brother - beaten and killed and brought back to life with the Lazarus Pits.

The Pits took pity on Danny and did not return him to Ra's. Rather, Danyal awoke perhaps a week later in the same pool and cavern, but something is off. There is nobody there. When he goes to exit the cave, there is only empty mountain tops. No sign or trace of any buildings.

At first, Danny believes this is some strange, elaborate mission. So. Determined to get back to his brother and prove he deserved to be at his side, he takes up the mission to find the league.

He steals himself a notebook, knife, and food in the town at the base of the mountain before he goes off in search of the other bases.

There is a skillfully hand drawn map in the notebook, surrounded by neatly scrawled notes and crossed off sections.

There is a faint smear of mud and blood like someone had tried to brush away the dirt with bloody hands and only half succeeded. One of the bases in a cliff filled area is crosses off in blood. Notes added after are in a noticeably different colour of pen.

After several bases and field notes, are the words "Bases nonexistent. More research needed."

What follows are increasingly messy notes of research done in a library. Comparison notes of what should and should not exist. There is no Justice League, no aliens, no meta rights acts, no Batman. Upon further investigation, whole constellations are missing from the sky - some replaced with unfamiliar galaxies. 

He is not where he used to be.

The journals take a sharp turn from mission reports and field notes to a series of letters addressed to Damian.

"I do not know how I ended up here, Ahki, but I swear I will come back for you. I cannot leave you with a man who could do what he did to his own family. I do not believe you are safe. I cannot leave you behind, I would not know what to do without you."

There are extensive notes on dimensional travel and research that eventually provides a strange lead. The Drs. Fenton. Their research is unorthodox, but could have potential for what he wants. It couldn't hurt to check it out, he was already running out of options and stamina. Hunting without tools and a partner was so much harder than he expected and stealing was trickier when your vision blurred from an empty stomach and it's growling threatened to give you away.

Danny manages to sneak onto a cargo plane into the USA and goes in search of the Fentons.

He finds them 6-12 months after waking up in this dimension. He comes to them with questions about their research which they find endearing and agree to take him in without much thought to legality. This is ok though, because the twins were taught how to forge identities. Jazz comes back from camp to find she has a new brother and doesn't question it much because "New Brother!" and she isn't so alone anymore.

There are a couple of journals spanning the time in between. Fairly mundane moments mixed in with longing and research to return to Damian.

"The Drs. Fenton are an odd pair. If I had other options for returning to you, I would not have given them the time of day. Alas, I must endure their bazaar mix of genius and idiocy."

"Jasmine is an idealistic girl, but not wholly unpleasant to have in my presence."

"They have remembered my age and existence long enough to decide that I must go to 'school' before they will allow me to help more in their labratory. Tt. A waste of time, but I will do what I must to earn their favour."

"Jasmine has gotten it into her head that 'school' will be good for me and my 'budding social skills' I have yet to see any evidence of this."

"I have been approached by a boy named Tucker Foley with the intent to become 'friends.' You are the only friend I have need of, Ahki, but perhaps I will allow it in my endeavors to disguise myself in this realm."

"I am beginning to make actual friends here. I must admit I don't know what to feel about this. Am I allowed to find happiness without you by my side? Am I allowed to want this even as I throw myself at every possibility of going home to you? If I could bring you here - away from the league - maybe I would. I think you would like it here too."

"Jack and Maddie have been letting me aid them in their work more and more these days. Most of their science seems sound, even if their theories are unfounded and full of bias. However, if Jack does not stop smearing fudge all over my finished equations he may soon find himself missing a hand."

"It has been nearly 4 years since I last saw you. I must admit that the longer my stay in this world stretches on, the faster I lose hope of ever seeing you again."

"I doubt you will ever read these and Jazz is always nagging at me to write down my thoughts and worries. My nights have been plagued with never-ending nightmares. That I will never see you again, that you die at my hands or I die at yours, that all of this is some strange afterlife. I do not know what Mother told you about my disappearance, but I doubt it was the full truth. Grandfather was very angry with me. I do not like to think of it outside of sleep, but I will never forget counting my deaths after he tortured me. I believe my count was somewhere around 13, though my memories are hazy and pain filled. I am ashamed to admit I begged the Pits for an end. To let me die so I did not have to go through it all again. Maybe it listened? Maybe that is why I am here. I do not regret that I am away from the League. I likely will not have survived going back. I do regret that I do not have you here. I feel you like a hole in my heart, a missing piece."

"Sam, Tuck and I went to the Nasty Burger again today. I really think you would like it, they have amazing veggie burgers! I know you never really liked the meat dishes served to us in the League. I feel you would enjoy the veggitarian life style. Maybe you and Sam would bond over it."

"Mom and Dad are so close to finishing the portal! I have checked and rechecked all of their calculations and I really think this is it this time!"

"...I think I am dead. Or. Dead adjacent? I know what death feels like, she and I are intimately acquainted. I died, but I still breath. The portal opened up on top of me when the Fentons left the lab in despair. I don't know who to tell. I cannot let Jack and Maddie find out, who knows what they would do to me? The accident has left me with meta-like abilities that I have no control over as of yet. ...I don't trust that they care for me enough not to try experimenting on me should they find out."

"I seem to be following in Father's footsteps. I have become a vigilante. Is this irony? All the blood on my hands and now I use those same hands to protect those both living and dead."

"Progress on mapping the Infinite Realms is slower than I would like. There is a system, but the system is nonsensical. Some doors have lead to other dimensions but I have not found ours yet. I hope I find you soon."

"The Fentons are becoming more adept at this ghost hunting business. I do not want to admit that this scares me."

"They have partnered with the GIW. I didn't think they ever would, but their hatred of my other half is stronger than their hatred for government control. I am no longer safe here."

[ckret2]

Hellooo, I have a question about Billford in your au.

how do they get a chance to get together if both Mabel and Stanley are keeping a sharp eye on them, and forbidding them of any romantic relationships?

They are NOT keeping a sharp eye on them.

Mabel has identified Bill as a needy ex, and is determined to get him to move on—but like, he's gonna be dating around town! She's gonna meet a couple of the people he goes out with! (We're using the word "people" really loosely here.) And Bill's attitude toward Ford has evolved from "hey buddy, don't you wanna be buddies again, buddy??" to "if you don't like me then why bother." So getting Bill to move on is totally working, right?

(I DO still need to edit a couple scenes in some early chapters for TBOB compatibility on this front—but that basically only means Mabel's going from "I need to help Bill make new friends and keep him away from Ford so he won't be a jerk toward him" to "I need to help Bill make new friends and keep him away from Ford so he won't be a jerky ex toward him." Either way, she's mostly concerned about Bill being a jerk.)

Stan has realized Ford's weirdly obsessive over Bill... but not THAT kind of obsessive. It's like "interview him about his species while vivisecting him" obsessive. Like so. Ford gets like this about stuff! Stan might not have a damn clue what autism is but he sure as hell has seen his brother's special interests! He tried to kill that triangle for thirty years, this obsession is not coming from a place of love. He's worried about Ford—but he's NOT worried about romance.

As a bonus, the two of them DIDN'T have a past relationship—they're not actually exes, they just spent the 80s being weirdly homoerotic—so there's no grounds to worry that they might "get back together." Bill's current feelings on Ford are more mixed; but at this point in the fic, Ford honestly, genuinely, truly hates Bill with no romantic interest.

Plus, once romance creeps onto the table, Ford thinks "if anything happens between Bill and me, my family would never forgive me (and I'd never forgive myself)" and Bill thinks "if anything happens between Ford and me, the Pines would murder me, and that might not be hyperbole." They'll be motivated to downplay their feelings for each order before feelings even start to happen.

Bill & Ford tend to clam up around each other or only have shallow surface-level conversations when other people are around. When they DO have serious heart-to-heart discussions they trip and stumble into them when no one's listening. (They keep having serious conversations at midnight, usually in the kitchen. It's happened like, what, four times so far?) This is gonna continue in future chapters. Oh, boy is it gonna continue.

So during this time period, as far as anyone else knows, on a scale of 0 = sheer loathing to 10 = passionate love, Ford's feelings for Bill go from 0 to 2 and Bill's feelings for Ford go from 3 to 1.

It doesn't help that their idea of flirting is "spend an entire day arguing about whether or not Minnesota exists and compromise by agreeing the backs of dollar bills are blank. Tell no one how this is a compromise." This is some kind of shrimp romance.

(This is an actual upcoming chapter, and I wrote it like a week before TBOB came out where Bill has a whole paragraph about how Minnesota doesn't exist. Originally the chapter was about Wyoming. I still think Wyoming works better than Minnesota but I'm tickled "Bill claims a state doesn't exist" is canon.)

Add that all up? And by the time anyone realizes something's going on—IF anyone realizes something's going on—they've been licking each other's eyeballs and roleplaying erotic deicide for weeks.

(This is a slight exaggeration. Only Bill's into eyeball licking.)