#I absolutely love his work
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10/13/23 - Asian Art Museum
#Takashi Murakami#I absolutely love his work#to see it in person is something else#top 5 contemporary artists for sure#the monster sculpture is me#that is how I feel#followed by the hedgehog#I wasnāt able to browse the actual galley in full#do expect a rundown later#the nftās did kinda suck thoā¦#why did this collectively happen man
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everyone out of the way, this is the only thing I'm going to be thinking about from now on.
(okay, there is one more thing)
#art#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland spoilers#lost in the book with nightmare before christmas#hajimari no halloween#jade is having the time of his life being a nasty little mofo and i love him for it#and gosh...leona and sally being friends is SO cute#sometimes i forget that leona is canonically a feminist#sally poisons a man and he's like 'you go girl'#they have so much in common though!#they both have eye scars and no ears on the sides of their heads!#no but they're adorable and i love it#and i suppose i have to reluctantly admit that i understand why lilia could not be in this event#he would just be stuffing frogs into his mouth left and right without even blinking#every time we get a moment of culture-clash he would just be there like 'mm-hm. yes. i do not see the problem.'#man. i do so adore any event that forces the boys to Work Together#their one weakness...not being petty dipshits who get into slapfights at the drop of a hat#absolutely nothing got done that first day and the mayor set off the emergency alarm because he was so done with them#this is perfection#anyway brb gotta go do some missions for the other jack's birthday#see you next week for more of scully becoming increasingly disillusioned with all these fake halloween fans
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YES YES YES THE RITUAL
Fucking LOVE that movie holy shit
anonymous requested:
MODER in THE RITUAL 2017 | dir. David Bruckner
#love the book too#but i think the movie is a lot deeper and more complex#like with the allegory for trauma and survivor's guilt#this is for real the only book-to-movie adaptation i've seen where the movie was deeper and more complex and just better than the book#no hate to adam nevill#i absolutely love his work#but i'm such a sucker for trauma allegories and recovery
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A writer and His number one fan hater
#svsss#shen qingqiu#shang qinghua#platonic cumplane???#Shen Yuan#scum villian self saving system#scum villains self saving system#scum villain's self saving system#scum villain#I actually have a lot of thoughts about them that i wasnt able to articulate right with words or drawings#i just think#That Shen Yuan really did like the story#like he was upset on behalf of a good character#he was upset about its potential#he absolutely wanted more for him and was upset that it was thrown away to please the masses#he had no idea what Shang Qinghua was going through#absolutely just ranked on him and YEAH IT WASNT THE BEST WORK BUT clearly it still was good enough to make Shen Yuan care#like ah#I would love to read more dynamics about them about a struggling writer and his most trusted hater to yell at him to write his heart out#also Shen Qingqiu going through svsss and seeing how much thought Shang Qinghua actually put into the story#and how much effort he actually had in it before he had to settle and scrap#like AAAAHH Im not the analysis type and my thoughts about them really are all other the place but really I think nothing is stronger then#an author and a reader#cause my man read to the very end the ABSOLUTE END#hE CARED HE CARED HE REALLY CARED NO MATTER HOWWWW MUCH HE CRIED ABOUT IT#alright dont look at me they make me go crazy#my art#nibbelraz
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Prompt 293
Jason takes a deep breath. He takes a deep breath, in for ten seconds, out for eight, and just takes a minute before looking again. Nope, thereās still the strange quartet of orbs in the box of what should be stolen weapons (What, the government had enough, honestly) that gave his workers the heebie-jeebies.Ā
Which is not the vibe he gets from them. In fact, heās actually kind of concerned with how much he has to beat the Pit back with how quickly it lurches to latch onto theā¦ Well theyāre not gems, and heās a little wary about touching them at first, but the Pit does seem to settle when he does.
Alright, he can deal with this. Itās not like he has several heads in a duffel bag that needs to be delivered or a tiny assassin child back in his safehouse (Seriously Talia, why was he the preferred babysitter?) or an entire gang in Crime Alley to deal with. Itāll be fine.Ā
ā¦
He would like to curse out his past self, because thereās now four babies in his safehouse that appeared to have fucking hatched from the orbs. Goddamnit.Ā
#DCxDP#DPxDC#Prompts#Dad Hood#Let Jason & Damian be Brothers#De aged Dani#De aged Danny#De aged Vlad#De aged Dan#Jason just wants to do his crimelording business & finish online college dangit#He doesnāt need all these kids around#No no you canāt have them theyāre his kids#Vlad absolutely loves that their caretaker is a crimelord#Jordan: Hah look I'm not the only murderously violent one in this family now#Ellie & Danny: Well at least he's not a cop so#Jason is honestly expecting Damian to be pissed but Damian? Very pleased#OLDER siblings? Meh thatās competition & people to prove oneself against#But Younger siblings & nephews & nieces? Those are Tiny People who Look Up to You#The perfect minions itās all coming together!#āDami please thatās not how things workā¦ besides youāre going to go to your dadās soon-ā#Damian when heās at the Manor: I am going to visit Akhi#āOh Tim or Dick?ā#āWhat are you talking about- Mother sent Akhi here months ago and I wish to visit him and my niblings-ā#Cue Bat Freakout & Misunderstandings#Space core Danny#Plasma core Vlad#Moon core Ellie#Sun core Dan#Star Core Jason#Shadow Core Damian
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May your hardened heart be woken By the soft and distant song Of all you left here unspoken All the shards we keep stepping on - Take this body home Take this body home Call the wind, and let her know Take this life outgrown Take this broken soul Call the stars, call them all And take it high, take it far, take it home
#svsss#luo binghe#shen qingqiu#bingqiu#sqq#lbh#scum villain#heard the song Take This Body Home by Rose Betts and it nearly took me out at the knees#it really really suits sqq's self-detonation in hua yue city right? i'm not the only one feeling this?#considered adding some literal shards for them to be stepping on - since sqq's sword explodes - but i couldn't quite make it work#anyway this has been playing like a music video in my head for the past couple days highly recommend listening to the song#if you haven't heard it before#can't get over the absolute dissonance between how sqq views this scene and how everyone else must feel about it#like to him he's just completing his plan - hopefully keeping lbh from destroying a city with energy imbalance and escaping The Plot#nbd! he and sqh have planned it all out it's FINE :) off he goes!#meanwhile everyone who loves him - including lbh who worked years to get back to him and is trying to work through a lot of grief#and resentment and doubt and longing and... - watches him DIE in FRONT OF THEM#just collapse while coughing up blood sword disintegrating energy completely consumed#like holy hell sqq could you traumatize the people around you any more???#no wonder lbh went a little bit crazy after that like my man was already not in a great place but what the fuck#lbh watches his shizun presumably sacrifice himself for him ONCE AGAIN like after he's finally Gotten Strong his shizun is STILL#coming to harm in an effort to make up for his shortcomings#my art#most of the time out here drawing what amounts to muppets and then sometimes i get the urge for this and just need to cover everyone in blo
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i am still soooo charmed by that one set of eyecatchers
#my art#zosan#one piece fanart#specifically as blue and i have been slowly working thru watching the raid on onigashima i have loved every time they do that thing where-#-they incorporate the motion of the scene into the motion of the first part of the eyecatcher#and then the other fist comes swinging w/ clownery lol#not specifically art for fic but like [anime villain glasses adjustment] i suppose i was thinking about my own Woeurke of Writinge...#ALSO in a very brief scrub-thru of some eps can you believe that you can literally only see part of sanji's shoulder in his yukata fit.#absolutely criminal. you can see the whole pattern when he's about to bitch out zoro re: hiyori but i had to guess at the pattern colors :^#i also know that yukata patterns can be like... modern/traditional or Gendered or in/formal but i have no idea of the specifics.....#one piece tag
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My favourite loser scientist (we are legally married)
Handplates!Gaster by @zarla-s (thank you so much for this AU it has given me life for the past 6 years)
#handplates gaster#gaster#undertale#art#wd gaster#I'm sooo in love with him it's not even funny#anybody who can recognise the formulas on his tie gets points <3#and no they aren't random scribbles >:)#I'm picturing either the goatparents or Alphys gifting him with this stupid science tie#And Gaster was like āWhy would I need a tie with basic thermodynamic equations a skeleton of my caliber obviously has them memorizedā#(he absolutely does not)#Gaster trying to remember what the equation is for the thermodynamic process of work done by an expanding gas : :/#The tie: hold my threads#Tried to draw him as babygirl in a suit but he just ended up looking cripplingly depressed (as always)#promise i'll make him cuntier next time#my stupid skeleton wife#my favourite is the one on the couch he just looks so cute...gah my heart#gushing hours#I had Ukagaster opened while painting all three and it made my entire life if only you knew bbgirl#my art
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I'm also still laughing that he really showed up, introduced himself as an Archivist of the Cobalt Soul, and then insinuated that they were going to go extrajudicially hunt down, capture, and "interrogate" a Cerberus Assembly Archmage. Sir, archivists do not do that kind of thing, least of all on their own, LEAST OF ALL with a bunch of random hooligans they were just sent to collect for an unrelated excursion. Quite honestly, that was the thing I kept going back to in evidence of, there is absolutely no way this is a legit archivist.
#sir you kNOW how the cobalt soul works#why didn't you use 'expositor'#'trained sorcerer' THE COBALT SOUL IS NOT TRAINING SORCERERS#SORCERERS DON'T GET TRAINED#you lying idiot. you absolute dumbass. you beautiful fugitive who has miraculously stayed alive for seven years.#I love him SO much#but actually his bit about his mother being a barmaid was actually deeply charming and that was the one moment I had a sliver of doubt#the way he delivered that bit was great and I do joke but he is a very good liar when he really needs to be#he's charming! he's got high charisma! he's a delight! he can spin a tale!#also honestly very funny for me personally. for tiefling fic reasons.#cr spoilers#essek thelyss#critical role
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Don't mind me, just slacking on a big Billford comic by making other far more ridiculous Billford comics and also some AU art (please excuse my slapdash human!Bill thank you please, also before anyone asks the art style is messy and all over the place because idgaf LOL)
This started out as an excuse to design a Bill Cipher-inspired "wedding" dress, but then spiraled wildly out of control. Various rambles and a bunch more human!Bill arts under the cut, including another silly little comic at the end! (Feel free to skip the rambles, I won't be offended. I know I'm bad at shutting up. XD)
I may or may not write some comedy stuff for this AU, which I'm calling 'For Better Or Worse (But Mostly Worse)'. While Ford DOES remember getting sloshed enough for one thing to lead to making out with another after karaoke, neither he nor Bill remember this wedding, At All. The Love God did nothing to dissuade them from going hog wild on their marriage spending, either, so it got...uh. Exorbitantly Expensive. As in, the grand total could probably buy the entire fucking MOON sort of expensive. (It's fine, don't worry, Bill's good enough at crime to be able to afford it.) Also, because the logic of this AU is mostly dictated by Rule of Funny, the Love God's powers are close to unlimited when it comes to matters of romance, but ONLY when it comes to matters of romance. (Like weddings!)
Want an empty human vessel to smash the soul of a triangle into for date nights or when it's convenient, or perhaps even when it's NOT convenient? Easy peasy! Want the marriage to be recognized in every corner of the multiverse from now until the end of time, thus making any potential future divorce nigh-on impossible? Can do! Want to buy an entire beach for the ceremony and honeymoon and in general, and totally not at all because it would be Super Hilarious to prevent any specific movies from being made on that very same beach in the future? Fine, whatever, it's not his finances he's ruining!
Does the Love God also provide special rings that just so happen to turn incorporeal as long as the "happy couple" doesn't remember that they barged into his dreams to bully him into presiding over their marriage? ...No comment!
He spends the next thirty years trying and failing to get in touch with either of them for payment. This is why you should always demand half the money up front, my guy!
Also it's absolutely a traditional Jewish wedding, because I like the idea of Bill demanding all the keepsakes from the marriage that he paid for, and being completely confused when one of the things he's handed is a fancy container full of broken glass. He gets it later, but in the moment, he thinks the Love God is just fucking with him some more.
Ramble over! Here's the full dress that caused the comic to happen, along with what Ford wound up wearing at the wedding (and begrudgingly agreeing to put on again later for Reasons), aaaaand also a close-up of Bill's ring:
I may have forgotten to draw Bill's hair floofier when drawing the back of the dress, lmao
Since double ring ceremonies have been leaking over into Jewish wedding customs for a while now, Ford also has a ring, but his is the much more traditional plain gold band. There's definitely a message engraved on the inside - embarrassing, cringe, or incriminating somehow - but I haven't decided what it is yet, so use your imagination for now. XD Bill, on the other hand, saw the phrase 'traditional plain gold band' and said "No Thank You" before proceeding to embellish his ring to his liking. And because he's a secret sap who adores Ford's extra fingers, the triangle points add up to twelve, as do the engraved stars. Yes, they're stars, not dots, I just got lazy. There's also six lashes on the eye gem, and probably an eye engraving on the inside with another six lashes. (Bill's got it BAD, okay? We all know this.)
Here are the initial scribbles of Bill's custom vessel in more casual attire, please ignore the wonky anatomy and the fact that I flat out refuse to ever draw him with a proper top hat:
He does actually need a cane in this vessel; since Bill tends to possess men and especially Ford more often than not, he's used to having a higher center of gravity when in a human body, so his ability to balance is pretty garbage. (He may or may not topple over with concerning regularity.) As for his empty eye socket, his bangs don't do much to hide it since he's so high-energy (dude is constantly on the move), and he also refuses to wear a patch over it, because 1.) why bother, and 2.) it's more fun to freak people out.
To better align with Ford's attraction towards the strange, the vessel was designed with super minor shapeshifting ability - Bill can look like a perfectly normal human, but he can also make the teeth and fingers sharper whenever he likes (which is mostly just when he's angry or being more of a menace than usual), as well as slit down the pupils or outright ditch the irises altogether. He can also have whatever he wants in the downstairs department, just because I'm an indecisive bitch on that front, lmao. Maybe he can have boobs if he wants them, too, but I ain't drawin' tits on no triangle, nuh-uh, no sir. His powers are otherwise limited down to what humans can do, because for some reason, the Love God doesn't trust Bill to not snap into Immediate Apocalypse Mode if he's given a physical form that's actually all his and no one else's.
Due to the body being all his and no one else's, it's also not really a standard possession so much as it is just...Bill being temporarily human. He's a lot more aware of and in tune with his human body's senses than he ever was with his "puppets", which makes things like pain a lot more intense. (He is mostly fine with this, because he's a fukken masochist.)
A bit more fashion stuff, including beach and party attire~
The beach outfit was mostly me trying and failing to nail down his body shape, which is still not bottom-heavy enough. I then decided to slap a bikini on it, before making it supremely unsexy with a pair of fugly shorts, because Bill's fashion choices are not allowed to be conventionally attractive. Meanwhile, the party outfit was mostly me looking at the casual attire I designed, asking 'how would Bill make this Worse', and then drawing the result. The mismatched thigh-highs are killing me inside! :D
No, his vessel can't actually summon fire, I just drew it for funzies before I decided on said vessel's limitations. Yes, the gold brick tattoos are absolutely a reference to the fic 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' - I simply could not resist.
I also HAD to draw Bill in one of his canonical(?) shirts, just made tank-top'd:
He is absolutely about to over-correct and fall backwards after this. USE YOUR CANE, GOOFBALL!!! (I meant to draw Bill closer to this degree of bottom-heavy in the other images, but. Alas. I am bad at anatomy, LOL)
And, last but not least before More Comic Time, I attempted to draw him closer to Gravity Falls style:
Jury's out on whether or not I succeeded, but - hey. I tried. Now have some Handyman Bill AU, but with my goofy human design, instead:
Hey, it's a 'mystery snack', and the guy wanted A BITE to eat - the joke was right there, guys!!! (Based on this post, because it just screamed BILL CIPHER to me.)
whoops i forgor bills ring and cracks ahaha too late now
I WILL SHUT UP AND STOP RAMBLING NOW K THX BYYYYYE
#fanart#gravity falls#billford#bill cipher#stanford pines#stanley pines#the love god#human bill cipher#human bill design#fashion design#comics#poor stan gets to find out his twin boinked a triangle when the love god shows up at the mystery shack demanding payment LMAO#cue internal panic for stan as dipper and mabel lose their collective shit over the fact that they now have a surprise new grunkle bill#the love god helps himself get paid by teaching the kids how to trap bill in his human vessel for the foreseeable future#bill is bewildered and pissed but also very much 'holy shit i have a FAMILY again??? neat but terrifying??????? what the F*CK do i do now'#he then proceeds to attempt to lovebomb his new family into being okay with the impending apocalypse#all while the three of them attempt to lovebomb HIM into giving up his plans for said impending apocalypse#then two days later ford shows up and is just like. what the ACTUAL F*CK IS HAPPENING???#cue stan immediately screaming 'I HAD TO PRETEND TO BE THAT THING'S HUSBAND FOR TWO DAYS STRAIGHT SO F*CK YOU AND YOUR BAD TASTE FOR THAT!'#stan spends those two days straight dropping very sour hints that he's being punished for someone else's terrible mistakes#bill finds this absolutely hilarious and thus plays along - but not without dropping his own hints that ford is the FAR superior twin#dipper and mabel have ZERO idea of what is actually going on because the love god did NOTHING to clarify the situation#dipper is convinced that stan and bill are speaking in some kind of bizarre code that only adults can understand#mabel is convinced that the code is flirting - which means stan and bill are going to live happily ever after and have tons of kids + pets#NEITHER of them are prepared for ford showing up. not that they were in canon. but still. now it's even MORE crazy#'what do you mean we get TWO NEW GRUNKLES???' 'two grunkles in two days - gotta be some kinda record'#ford then has to decide if he wants to remain justifiably furious at bill or join the other pines in lovebombing him into submission#he then gets to learn that lovebombing bill works surprisingly well because that triangle is just The Biggest Attention Wh*re#the entire AU would just be ridiculous antics with a splash of billford#these tags are an abomination lmao
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Two former military elites taking merc jobs perform absolutely hellish battle tactics together.
#ffxiv#digital art#zenos yae galvus#estinien wyrmblood#adventurer zenos#I will always adore this duo conceptually#because like- socially theyre that aragorn-geralt brooding in a corner of a tavern meme#but in combat they are absolutely terrifying#the azure dragoon and the super soldier legatus are here to fuck up a poachers day#aka zenos is about to crossmap someone's airship cause he knows estinien cant make himself jump that far#why have him try to jump when he can just Olympic-level javelin toss this man#also guys#my dudes#all this time I've been working on adven!zenos being a tank#I... have realized I just write him like a warrior who isnt carrying a weapon- sturdy unkillableness and countering and all#I am only a little bit of a dumbass but orogeny just seems to live in my head rent free#it also gave me the terrifying concept of- after spending time with the scions and after the ultimatum-#of him trying to learn more about dynamis- and zenos being zenos starts learning eventually how to harness it#local calm apathetic man can berserk on command because he's a lot angrier/more expressive inwardly than most people expect#depending on how I look into it- it might be how he fuels most of his shinryu transformations but I'll have to work on it more#but ANYWAYS#I love the thought of these two hunting and working together#and estinien being tossed being turned into a tactic#especially with proper form#this is something ive wanted to draw for a very long time and im very happy I actually have the skill to do so now
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Anti-spectra!Jazz
so, we have Ghost!Jazz for whatever reason, i personally like it to happen a few years after Danny's Accident.
so Jazz is a ghost now, and her Obsession is predictably Psychology but unlike Spectra, Jazz gets pover from her clients actually making progress!
i also think it would be hilarious if Jazz's human disguise is more convincing that Danny's human form since his ghost side started bleeding into it more and he gives off uncanny vibes. Jazz does too but not more than anybody from amity park.
and she decides to move to Gotham because of course she wants to work in Arkham she can fulfill her Obsession and actually help people a lot there!
#dpxdc#danny phantom#Ghost!Jazz fenton#jazz fenton#Arkham#Jazz works in Arkham#she actually makes progress#which is suspicious and#bats be bats#they find her very suspicious brother whom is definitely not human#Danny will get teased for that#he actually becomes human and his very-not-human-anymore sister is the one who they assume is human???#Jazz and Spectra are rivals and absolutely hate each other#Jazz can and will deck her on sight#i love this#feel free to use#damn i want to read that#dc x dp#gimme gimme gimme
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Alabasta Ace is so funny.
Like the strawhats keep commenting that Ace is so polite and restrained compared to Luffy but like. This dude drags himself out of the ocean just to thank them for looking after his brother and offer to help wash dishes. Mans asks "Are these guys bothering you?" and proceeds to blow up an entire fleet with his bare hands. He trips over himself to make sure all of Luffy's crew likes him and no, really, you don't mind that he's a weirdo???? That we, I mean he, are feral little insane guys who take up space and emotional labor and are kind hard to handle? Really???? Cool cool cool hey just a reminder I can help out with anything that needs doing. I got lost in the desert but donnut worry in the 0.6 seconds since you last saw me I have somehow acquired water and provisions for several weeks. Don't ask me how!
Peak oldest sibling behavior.
#'Ace is trying to flirt with Sanji' <<< Weak take. Simple. Out of character.#'Ace immediately clocks Sanji as the domestic provider and tries to endear himself to the guy responsible for feeding his little bro.#At All Costs.' <<< Strong take. Breathtaking. Absolutely something he would do.#Ace cleaning his plate ever meal and carefully putting everything away: I am going to get a good job in taking up space :)#Something that is normal to want :) And possible to achieve :)#I'm just saying Alabasta Ace is clearly insane.#And so used to constantly having to provide for Luffy.#Oh? Buddy? Were you raised in an environment where resources were scarce and you felt you had to 'earn' the right to be cared for???#Are you used to working yourself to the bone to make sure you and your brothers weren't considered 'too annoying' or 'not worth the effort'#Are you scared of requiring care and being a burden on those who love you??? Huh??? Little buddy???????#one piece#op#portgas d ace#portgas d. ace
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Dream likes watching Blue do puzzles (and only sometimes falls asleep on him while he's doing them)
#UTDR#UTMV#Dream Sans#Swap Sans#I am. sleepy#And apparently Dream is the one I project this onto#I really like the idea of Blue sharing puzzles with him#Dream probably doesn't know how to do any and I imagine Blue absolutely loves getting to show him every single one and how it works#Dream likes wordsearches most but he loves watching Blue do sudokus and crosswords#It's nice watching all the boxes get filled in#Also comfy pjs for both of them#Dream uses his sun cape as a blanket when they're out of uniform#Anyway I have to lie down goodbye!!
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For ghostlights: baby Ellie + tired Danny + Duke the baby whisperer?
He has no idea how his parents did it.Ā
Babies are exhausting. Toddlers more so. Any infants in the strange stage in-between? Doubly so.Ā
Ellie is wonderful and sweet and cute and such a terror that Danny genuinely has no idea how his parents managed to raise not one, but two kids. For all their eccentricities and absent-mindedness, he and Jazz turned out pretty well. Ignoring the whole halfa thing because thatās more his fault than theirs even if Jazz says they shouldnāt have created the dangerous environment in the first place.
That environment is exactly why Danny refuses to let Ellie go to his house in Amity Park. His parents say theyāve disabled all the weapons and ecto-sensors since heās had to reveal himself as Phantom, but he knows that things slip their minds and if they canāt guarantee that the house is safe, then Ellie isnāt going in there. Simple as that.Ā
This means that they live somewhere else now. Danny had thought about it, during the hours Ellie was asleep and he was awake, exhausted and worn down to his bones, and took Jazzās advice to accept Vladās offer of buying a house for him. Except he argued Vlad down to an apartment in a city of his choosing where he wouldnāt stand out too much and he would be safe, or as safe as he can be, from anyone trying to hunt down ghosts.Ā
So here they are. Standing in the empty living room of their new apartment in Gotham.Ā
Gotham may not be very safe as a city, but itās good for two ghosts trying to pass as normal.Ā
Danny sighs yet again, and looks at the space heāll need to fill. At least Vlad is footing the bill. Itās the least he can do for creating Ellie. Frostbite was the one who was able to stabilize her, though it was almost too late and resulted in her reforming as a baby, just one and a half years old. Jazz is the one whoās choosing most of the furniture, thankfully, so itās something that Danny doesnāt need to worry about it.
Itās a new start to their lives and it feels so empty. So overwhelming. How did his parents do it? How do any parents do it?
Ellie smacks a small palm against his cheek and babbles lightly.
āI know, Ellie,ā Danny says, giving her a tired smile. āDonāt worry, weāll have this place looking good in no time.ā
He adjusts her in his arms, then heads towards the bedroom. Itās the only room that has any furniture, and all thatās there is a bed, a crib, and a bookcase. There are a few boxes on the floor, labeled ābedroomā and āclothingā and ābooksā. Most of it came from his bedroom in Amity Park, but heās pretty sure he caught Jazz sneaking a few things in before they closed the boxes and loaded them up into the car.Ā
āCan you be good for five minutes?ā he asks Ellie.Ā
She babbles again and smacks his shoulder.
āIām taking that as an agreement. Just let me open these boxes and start unpacking before you start causing trouble, okay?ā
Ellie makes another sound, but it seems agreeable so Danny carefully lays her down in the crib and gets to peeling off the tape on the boxes. The opens the one labeled ābedroomā first, finding blankets and sheets folded and stacked in vacuum sealed bags. One of them is his old childhood blanket, the one he carried around everywhere that was faded with age, barely blue, with white bunnies decorating it.Ā
He was so small when he had this. It makes him oddly emotional to unpack it and pass it on to Ellie, draping it over her so her pudgy little hands can grab at it.Ā
This is no time to cry, though! He forces himself to focus and makes his own bed, shaking out the sheets and fluffing up the pillows. Heāll worry about washing everything later; Vlad made sure to get an apartment with an in-unit washer and dryer, which means he was actually sensible while apartment hunting for Danny.Ā
He doesnāt mean to flop onto the bed once itās made, but he ends up there anyways. Heās barely gotten a full six hours of uninterrupted sleep since Frostbite deemed Ellie healthy enough to leave his care. The drive up to Gotham was long and wore him down to his bones.
He doesnāt mean to fall asleep, but he does, drifting off as he wonders, distantly, when Jazz will be back from getting them dinner.
Ellie wakes him up at dawn with a loud cry. Danny jolts awake, heart pounding in his chest as he panics because Ellie isnāt here, sheās supposed to be in his arms, where is she? And then he sees the crib, where Ellie is staring at him through the bars, and he nearly collapses with relief.Ā
āMorning, El,ā he says, voice rough from sleep, as he picks her up. She just stares up at him, then leans forward and rests her head against his shoulder.
Itās quiet moments like these that make his heart melt. Ellieās had a hard life already; he wants to give her a better one, this time around.Ā
A quick check of the time on his nearly dead phone shows that itās barely past six in the morning, and Jazz texted him a few times. All about furniture, saying that she didnāt want to wake them and that food is in the fridge.Ā
Itās only the mention of food that makes him realize how ravenous heās feeling. Danny makes a beeline for the kitchen, ignoring everything else, and pulls out the boxes of take-out Jazz left stacked in the fridge. He devours it like heās been starving for weeks, then gives Ellie her Ecto-Jello, the only food sheās allowed to eat until Frostbite gives the okay for solid, human food.Ā
Once heās got her burped and cleaned up, Danny looks out of the kitchen and realizes that Jazz was very productive while he was asleep. The living room isnāt empty anymore; a dark green couch is against the wall, a low, rectangular coffee table made of dark wood in front of it. Two armchairs are on both sides of the couch, and a television has been installed, fixed into the wall.Ā
Jazz is asleep on the couch. Her legs hang off an armrest and sheās drooling slightly.Ā
Her phone is charging on the floor, so Danny takes it and snaps a picture of her for later teasing, then sends it to himself and writes a note to her that heās going out with Ellie to explore the neighborhood.
Heās finally feeling more settled, energized from sleep and food.
In the warm dawn light spilling in through the windows, Danny looks down at Ellie and thinks that theyāll be just fine after all.Ā
. . .
Four months ago, Danny had hope. He was optimistic.Ā
Gotham was a fresh start, a new lease of life for Ellie. It is Dannyās attempt to be a single parent, sacrificing college for Ellie, and heās planning to go out and beat the gangs black and blue if they start anymore shootouts in the next year.
He had just gotten Ellie to sleep. She was actually peacefully taking a nap.
And then a drive by shooter raced down the street, gunshots echoing down the road, and Ellie work up crying. She still hasnāt stopped, despite how Danny rocked her, soothing her as best he could.
They had been outside when Ellie fell asleep, her head on his shoulder. He had been catching up with Sam and Tucker when the car drove by, people ducking and crying out to avoid the bullets. Danny instinctively covered Ellie and made them both intangible, saving them from any stray bullets, but they ruined her nap and he needs to make them pay for that.Ā
āShh,ā he soothes, āYouāre okay. Weāre both fine. Itās okay, El, itās okay.āĀ
Her little hands clutch at his back, twisting the fabric of his shirt, and she lets out a heartbreaking wail. He pats her back, hurrying down the street to get back to his apartment building, ignoring the looks people were giving them as they passed by.Ā
āI know it was scary, but youāre alright. Youāre always safe with me, El.ā
Ellieās cries down down a little, but they donāt stop. She whimpers, burying her face against his shoulder as he finally reaches their apartment building.
The doorās locked, which wouldnāt be a problem except Danny canāt get his keys from his pocket. He knows he has them! But his pocket refuses to relinquish them and he has to stop every few seconds to pat Ellieās back, trying in vain to calm her down.Ā
āWeāll be inside in a second,ļæ½ļæ½ļæ½ he tells her, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, āas soon as I can get these freaking keys!ā
āHey, you alright?ā
Danny startles, whirling around so fast it makes Ellie go quiet, clinging to him so she doesnāt get flung into the air. Thereās a guy standing before him in a gray hoodie, looking at him with clear concern. It speaks to Dannyās level of constant exhaustion that he hadnāt clocked someone sneaking up behind him.Ā
The guy offers an awkward smile. āSorry, didnāt mean to scare you or anything. Um, do you need me to open to door? I live here too.ā
Danny wonders for a moment if this someone dangerous, someone hoping to hurt Ellie, but she starts to cry again and he steps to the side. āPlease. I canāt get my keys.ā
āIām Duke, by the way. I donāt think Iāve seen you around here before.ā
āDanny,ā he replies, watching as Duke pulls out a large key ring, jangling with the amount of keychains on it, and easily opens the door. āIāve been here a few months, but Iām usually inside. Or walking around in the mornings with this little monster.ā
āThat would explain it,ā Duke says as he holds the door open, letting Danny in first. āIām usually in classes at GCU, but I decided to take a mental health day after my lab, so here I am.ā
Danny walks in and waits for Duke to follow, making sure the door closes properly behind them. āThanks. How is GCU? What do you study? I was thinking of going there myself once she gets a little older and can go to school.ā
āOh, Iām majoring in English and Human Services.ā He goes to say more, but Ellie wails again and Danny winces.
āIām so sorry. That drive by woke her up and itās really rattled her.ā
āHey, no need to apologize. I get it, Gotham is rough to kids.ā
Danny tries rocking her back and forth, but it doesnāt help. He resigns himself to another hour of her crying before she exhausts herself, and makes for the stairs, going up to the fourth floor. Duke holds open the door again, then follows after them. It makes Danny wonder if Duke is planning to do something to them, then decides he can beat Duke in a fight, so itās fine.
Duke doesnāt try to hurt them or steal Ellie away. He opens the door to their floor and stops before they do. āIām in here,ā he says, āIf you ever need me to open more doors.ā
āThanks. Um, actually, I might need help opening mine?ā
Duke just smiles and makes his way back to them, following them farther into the hall until Danny stops in front of his apartment.Ā
āIf I could just get my keys,ā he starts.
āHere, let me hold her for a second so you can get them,ā Duke offers. Danny wants to insist that itās fine, but Ellie cries directly into his ear and Danny, at the end of his rope, passes her over.Ā
Like magic, Ellie settles as soon as sheās in Dukeās arms. She sniffles and hides her face away, clutching to Dukeās hoodie, but she stops crying. They both go still, surprised, and stare down at her.Ā
āSeriously?ā Danny says as he finally pulls out his keys, āAre you trying to say that Iām the problem?ā
Ellie babbles lightly, and Duke turns his head to futilely hide his grin.
He grumbles as he unlocks the door and pushes it open. Ellie is acting as if sheās never been upset before a day in her life, making herself at home in Dukeās arms.Ā
āI canāt believe this. Betrayed by my own blood.ā
Duke laughs as he follows Danny into his apartment, lightly patting Ellieās back. āItās always the smallest, cutest ones that do this.ā
āYeah? Do you work with a lot of kids or something? Used to being betrayed by the little ones?ā
āI donāt work with kids per se,ā Duke says, āBut my foster family is a hot mess and the youngest of them likes to keep us all on our toes.ā
āFamily,ā Danny says in a tired, fond tone.
āFamily,ā Duke agrees.
With his door open and Ellie calm, Dannyās ready to just lay face down on the floor for the rest of the day and not deal with anything else. He moves to take Ellie back, holding his arms out, and Duke tries to pass her over.
The key word being tries.Ā
Ellie tightens her grip and kicks at Danny. She refuses to be taken away from Duke, making him awkwardly try to pry her off his hoodie. Danny really hopes Duke doesnāt notice how she goes slightly intangible to make his hands fall through her arms and legs. It shouldnāt be noticeable, but itās hard to focus on anything but a kid that clings to you, so Danny holds out for Dukeās goodwill and silence.
āAs nice as it is to meet you, you need to go back to yourā¦ parent?ā Danny nods when Duke looks at him in askance. āYou need to go back to your parent. Okay? Come on, kid, heās waiting for you.ā
Ellie shakes her head, makes a frustrated noise, and then turns and reaches out a grabby hand towards Danny.Ā
She still refuses to be taken from Duke when Danny tries to pick her up again, so he settles with just letting her hold two of his fingers.Ā
āIām so sorry about this,ā he says to Duke, face burning. This is why he hasnāt been going out and being social since he moved in; Ellie is a handful even on the best days, and Danny doesnāt want someone to judge him as unfit to parent her and have her taken away.
Duke shakes his head, stepping closer. āItās all good, man. I donāt mind. Itās not like I had any plans today. Iām already skipping my classes, might as well spend it with you two than sleep all day.ā
āAre you sure? Iād be happy to invite you in, but I know Ellie can be a lot and not everyone wants to spend their day off with a baby.ā
āIām sure. Besides, Iād just be down the hall anyways. Itās no skin off my back, man.ā
āWell,ā Danny says, stepping to the side to give Duke full access to his open doorway, āCome on in, then.ā
Ellie keeps them connected, one hand in Dukeās hoodie and the other holding Dannyās fingers, and though her cheeks are still red from how hard she had been crying, sheās calm now with her eyes shining with mischief.Ā
As the door closes behind them, Danny realizes that this is the first time someone heās not related to has been inside his apartment. Not even Vlad has come in, always choosing to invite Danny and Ellie out for lunch instead.Ā
It should make him nervous, but Duke is calm and easy going and kind.Ā
Heās making silly faces at Ellie to make her laugh, completely at ease with her in his arms, as if heās done this a thousand times before.Ā
Gotham is a second chance at life for Ellie. Itās a sacrifice for Danny, to be alone and without friends or family around. Heād been ready to give up everything for Ellie, to focus solely on raising her, but with Duke filling his apartment with laughter, he thinks that he can make a life here too.
All he needs to do is take that first step, reach his hand out, ask Duke to stick around.
He can do this.
#ghostlights#dc x dp#dp x dc#dcxdp#dpxdc#dc x dp fic#prompt fill#my writing#i really love writing about characters struggling to be parents v suddenly and thru unconventional means#so here's danny a year out of high school living on his own for the first time w baby ellie#and duke who needed some space and independence while he's in college. bruce pays for the apartment while duke works part time for grocerie#and ellie who had been fully developed but unstable is now a halfa baby who remembers stuff but is also. yknow. a baby.#she absolutely latched onto duke to force danny to have a life outside of her. but also she can sense that hes kind and calm#which danny needs bc he is Stressed (tm)#this leads to duke bringing over food for them and looking after ellie while danny goes shopping or naps#both of them ignoring how duke has to leave suddenly for Hero Related Reasons and how danny and ellie have Powers#it's a v delicate balance they keep for the sake of keeping ellie safe#yeah they're gonna co-parent and realize they're basically dating after MONTHS of pining#the bats have bets on who gives bruce a grandkid first and literally no one bet on duke but here he is lol :)#thanks for the prompt!!
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love that henry blake is genuinely just a normal guy . weirdest thing about him is that heās obsessed with fishing and that isnāt even remotely as bizarre as anything hawkeye and trapper got going on at any given moment . heās just some guy from illinois in a camp of people who are bonkers and heās so fucking funny for it
#obsessed with how heās a colonel . what the hell is he doing there .#what makes it even FUNNIER is that heās objectively THE BEST OPTION of the 4077th to BE colonel#frank and margaret would run it so strictly that morale and their ability to actually work well would be absolute shit#love hawkeye but letās be real . his heart bleeds so much heād let anything slide . would be chaos . probably nothing would really get done#NO ONE should put trapper in a position of leadership ā¦ that man would NOT do his job and radar would be even more overworked than he is#with henry in command#i love that henry is a perfect balance between military like frank and margaret but also soft like hawktrap#make fun of him all you want but at the end of the day .. when he needed to be serious he knew what to do#i LOVE him#mash#m*a*s*h#mashposting#mashblr#mash 4077#henry blake#colonel blake#lgbt#lgbtq
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