#Sentient Gotham

[brucewaynehater101]

I had a Batman AU thought that I wanted to share involving eldritch?sentient!Gotham. Gotham is alive, old and deeply rooted magic of ??? origin (that doesn't appreciate being poked and prodded so attempts to discern what she is have ended badly), and she is... mercurial, to put it diplomatically. She can favor or sabotage people on a sliding scale of intensity - basically good or bad luck on the lower side of the scale (finding a $20 bill vs stepping in a gross puddle kinda thing), and on the higher side it's things like a bullet missing when it shouldn't or a piece of building falling onto someone. She also has boons, things she grants certain people - primarily Bats, but there are a few Rogues that have their own boons because again, mercurial. Boons bind someone to Gotham, make them always find their way back and eventually need to come back, but if you're close enough to Gotham for her to offer a boon, it's probably your home.

Batman is her... warlock? Paladin? He's pledged his life to protect Gotham and is in tune with her, and he protects the city and keeps it in balance, and she grants him her favor constantly and has given him a powerful boon (able to hide in whatever shadows there are, even slight ones, and virtually disappear in them even if you're watching him). When he takes Dick in and Dick creates the Robin mantle, Gotham loves it, and Dick gets his own boon (able to land where he intends to, can't be killed/seriously hurt from a fall).

Jason though is her absolute favorite son, her pride and joy. He's born of Gotham, steeped in the city, of it and for it, and he loves Gotham and when he becomes Robin he fights to make her better and bring light to her. She gives him the boon that he knows every part of the city instinctively. He can move through it easily, knows the streets and buildings by heart, knows on some level what's happening in different places (not always exact, usually gut feelings), and he can always hide in it when he chooses.

Then he dies. (Away from Gotham, because if he'd been in Gotham she never would have let it happen.) Gotham and Batman are a wreck together, they're angry and grieving and losing it, everything is coming apart and it's Bad. (The Joker had a boon from Gotham, because he's also of Gotham, and she's not good or evil but simply is. However when he killed HER favorite son, she tore the boon and her favor from him and wrecked what was left of his mind. He still feels chained to Gotham and Batman, but this is no longer a city that loves him.)

This is when Tim pushes to become Robin, and both Gotham and Batman hate it. They both want to lose themselves in the rage and grief, but Tim won't let them. Batman/Bruce comes around first, but Gotham is still seething, and she sabotages Tim at every turn: things that should hold his weight break or creak loudly, shadows never seem to hide him, evidence gets lost or trails go cold when he tries to follow them, buildings constantly crumble around him, goons always seem to get hits on him that he should be able to dodge or avoid, he gets pitched into the harbor CONSTANTLY.

It gets to a point that Bruce is seriously considering firing Tim purely because it's notably more dangerous for him as Robin than it ever was for Dick and Jason (even though he and Dick both try to convince Gotham to calm down and lay off). Tim eventually tracks down the best place to communicate with Gotham directly (much as she tries to deter him) and they get into a fight (reminiscent of Tim getting into fights with Bruce to make him get his shit together).

Tim argues that if he hadn't stepped in, Bruce would have either gotten himself killed or crossed a line he couldn't come back from, and it would have destroyed him AND the hope left in Gotham. He would have been considered a criminal and likely would have become a Rogue, with no 'Batman' to step up and stop him. He argues that Batman needs a Robin to fight for and protect, and without one he'll backslide and get worse again, and if that happens, Gotham will be torn to shreds. Tim points out that Jason loved Gotham and fought for her, and it's disrespectful of his love and his memory to let everything fall to pieces after he fought so hard for her.

It's enough to convince Gotham to back off on her sabotage, though she's still hurt and sulking. Bruce still isn't sure about Tim not having Gotham's favor, much less a boon of his own, but Tim argues that he'll get good enough to keep up with or without Gotham's help - which he does.

Over time though, Gotham watches Tim fight to protect Gotham and Batman, and she admits she was wrong in how she treated him. She slowly starts to extend her favor to him and eventually approaches him and offers him a boon. Tim, however, turns her down. He's seen how badly Jason's loss and Gotham's grief and anger affected those closely connected to her, and he knows taking the boon will tie him to Gotham permanently. He believes those connected to Gotham and Gotham herself need someone who can be more objective and keep a level head, and he's secretly kind of worried that if something happens again, if Bruce and the Bats eventually tire of him and don't need him, he'll be trapped in Gotham. He also just doesn't totally trust Gotham even though he loves her.

Gotham's hurt, obviously, but she understands and doesn't lash out, recognizing it's her own fault. She does give him her favor though and swears to never rescind it, even when she's upset with him. Tim's gotten this far without her favor or a boon, but it's nice not to have to worry about getting dunked in the harbor for the third time in one week anymore (though she hasn't done that in a year or so).

Then Jason returns, and Gotham is having THE BEST time. Her baby boy! Is back! He's bigger now, and he's a lot angrier and hurt in a lot of ways, but he's! Back! She's a little worried about how angry he is at Batman and the other Bats, but Jason is her favorite and she can't turn him away or deny him. She still favors him, she just... makes sure she favors the Bats enough too to keep them all on an even playing field. They'll work it out. Tim managed to get her to calm down, so she's confident her current Robin will help the family again.

Then Jason goes to the Titan Tower after Tim, and initially she assumes they'll talk and things will be better, but when Jason comes back she sees that he went and ATTACKED Tim.

It's the first time she's ever been angry at Jason, and she drops a brick on his head (while he's wearing his helmet, he's still her favorite), and she threatens to collapse the ceiling of his apartment. They get into a fight. Jason came away from his fight with Tim thinking Tim was impressive as Robin, but he doesn't want him in the suit so he still went through with beating him unconscious. He DID notice Tim doesn't have Gotham's boon, so he doesn't understand why she's so upset he roughed the kid up.

Gotham is pissed and a pissed Gotham is hard to communicate with outside of raw emotion, so eventually after suffering several indignities of light sabotage, getting caught yelling at the street or a building while the manhole cover or windows rattle angrily, Jason goes to find Tim and ask "hey what the FUCK" (haven't fully figured how this changes Jason's interactions with the rest of the Bats, but he is begrudgingly impressed that Tim made it through the start of his tenure with Gotham actively sabotaging him, then argued an eldritch city into behaving, then turned down her boon and STILL came out of it with her undying favor).

(Gotham, in this AU, is NOT a fan of the al Ghuls at all. Primarily Ra's, at first, because he wants to purify Gotham/control her, and she is NOT a fan of that thanks. He's tried attacking her (destroying parts of the city), threatening her, trying to determine the origin of her magic, enslave her, trying to bargain with her, seducing her, and she is having NONE OF IT. Going into Gotham is a nightmare for anyone with the League, because while it can be difficult for her to get a hold of them, once she does she sabotages the HELL out of them. Getting cut on rusted rebar, falling off ledges, sinkholes opening up under them, one of them managed to get bitten by a rat and catch the bubonic plague. Ra's has, on one memorable occasion, been knocked into an open manhole and then almost drowned in sewer water that carried him out into the harbor where something (possibly Croc) tried to eat him, and he broke his arm while climbing out.

Talia got a reluctant pass since she seemed more interested in Bruce than Gotham and Bruce reciprocated, but Gotham doesn't appreciate Talia's attempts to lure Bruce OUT of Gotham. When she finds out Talia kept Jason away? AND convinced him to go after Tim? Talia is on the permanent shit list too.

When Gotham finds out about DAMIAN, Talia can't set foot in Gotham without having SEVERAL chunks of building being dropped on her from above.

Though when Damian DOES show up, Gotham is quick to claim him and offer him a boon. He's the son of Batman, he's a future Robin, and if he's given a boon, he's tied to Gotham and can't easily return to the League (mostly Talia and Ra's). Win win!

Except then he attacks Tim, and learns VERY swiftly that it's not good to piss off the sentient eldritch city you accepted a boon from. He's laid up with a migraine and all kinds of awful symptoms of an illness (nothing fatal but definitely awful) until Tim recovers, and then Tim gets to play mediator between the Bats and Gotham AGAIN as he tries to explain to Damian the nuances of Gotham as an entity and what being one of her favored/booned actually means, AND lecturing Gotham about sabotaging another Robin/giving him a boon without making sure he understood what he was accepting.)

HI 👋 Fabulous AU you've got here.

I particularly enjoy how complicated Tim's relationship with Gotham is. In fact, Tim's later years could be misunderstood by the Bats as Tim being her favorite (hear me out).

If Gotham never states who her favorite is, all the Bats see is that Tim, despite not having a boon, has Gotham on his side against the other Bats (really, Tim just isn't attacking/harming the others like they are to him, but it's about perspective).

It's also kind of heartbreaking that Tim has an additional condition that sets him apart from the Bats. He's the only one to be immediately hated by Gotham. He doesn't have a boon (though later that's a choice). He is consistently reaching out to Gotham to actually communicate and fix their issues.

Might I add an additional part for extra angst? We'll take the fanon idea of Tim stalking his heroes from a young age.

Gotham sees that another being idolizes her paladins and grants him the small boon of his camera never making a sound, being unnoticeable, and the flash never being visible unless Tim wants it to. Tim is okay with being stuck in Gotham due to his parents never taking him abroad with them

After Tim forces his way into Robin, though, Gotham rips this away from him, destroys any need for him to stay (she wants him to leave her alone to her own rumination), and actively sabatoges him.

Because it was taken from him once, because he's felt the pain of that loss, because the sudden emptiness was a gaping hole he had to spend years coping with, he never wants a boon again. He doesn't know if he'll be able to handle the sudden deprivation once more.

This is the start of him not trusting that anything lasts (especially since a retracted boon was so rare it's only been rumored in the past [since Gotham doesn't care for "good" or "evil" it's harder to get on her bad side]).

I'm curious what all of the boons alloted to each person are (very curious if/what Commissioner Gordon's)

[goddessofbees]

@murrcurial how did Dan become king?

What started this whole mess was that the GIW summoned the King in an attempt to try and kill the ruler of the realm thinking it would do something (there not the brightest bunch of people), summoning Danny as the prince and a now released Pariah Dark. Jazz alerted the others of what happened and they all fought to get Danny.

After the GIW and fenton parents attacked and almost killed Danny and Dani, killing Jazz in the process, Dan went berserk and destroyed most of the GIW (the Fentons unfortunately made it out),(Vlad was severely injured and got to Frostbite to be healed)

Note that Danny wasn't actually considered king cause he didn't permanently get rid of Pariah Dark, he was only considered prince, he still was challenged but its considered not finished.

So in his very depressed and Angry state Dan had a target to let his anger out on, he destroyed Pariah Darks core and became king. Then afterwards he was only focused on keeping Danny and Dani safe so he went to Gotham where he could have his obsession of his family safe, mostly cause of his Ghost half feeding off of the ambient ectoplasm and death that happens so often.

[theghostkingisdead]

dpxdc - Neglected Child AU

As one of his first acts as Ghost King, Danny basically created ghost CPS. Mostly they help new spirits come to terms with the fact that they're dead, but situations like Danny's are a lot more common than the Observants had lead him to believe. People who come back from the dead or are exposed to large quantities of unstable ectoplasm often lead sad, short second lives. Either because they are unable to obtain the nutrients their new forms require, or because their communities turn against them in fear. This is a story about Jason Todd.

There was a lot Jazz loved about her job. She loved helping young ghosts find acceptance. She loved matching cases with foster Fraids. She loved meeting new people. She loved the rare excuse to travel dimensions. But some days, Jazz was intimately reminded of why this program was formed in the first place.

Knock, knock, knock.

Jazz looked up from her laptop. “Come in!”

Apple – the ghost of a dryad whose tree was chopped down two summers ago – poked her head in.

“Uh, Lady- I mean, Ms. Phan-, no,” Apple took a shuddering breath. Jazz smiled encouragingly. The girl had only been working here for a season, and already she was making excellent progress. “Ms. Jasmine, there’s a city spirit here to see you, uh, on behalf of a uh, potential client.”

“Thank you, Apple, you can send them in.” Jazz said.

Apple flushed green, closing the door with a sigh. Jazz guessed she had about two minutes before the impromptu meeting began. She used the time to sweep some papers off her desk and into a drawer. It had been some time since she’d had a walk-in like this. Jazz had a strict open doors policy when it came to her office, despite the technical fact that her door was often closed; it was just easier to focus that way! She had no idea why most ghosts preferred to submit claims by mail, really it was much better for them to speak with an officer in person.

Thirty years ago, Jazz would’ve had trouble describing the spirit that walked through the doors. Fifty years ago, even looking at it would’ve been painful. But Jasmine Duchess Phantom had been living in the Infinite Realms for almost eighty years now, and liminal senses reached out subconsciously, cataloging scents and colors that her mortal mind would have balked at.

The shape of a steel-colored skeleton peered out at her from a billowing cloud of grey smoke, which curled around its feet and seeped across the floor. Jazz tasted gunmetal and sugar, smelled stale urine and burned bread, felt desperation-fear-hunger-love crash violently against her. Like a cliff to a wave, Jazz stood her ground, letting herself be tested. This spirit was old and afraid; when it spoke, it spoke in a million overlapping voices.

“My apologies for barging in unannounced, Your Grace. I come before you with an issue of great import. One I have reason to believe our King may have a personal interest in.”

Jazz nodded, “My doors are always open, City Spirit. I’m always happy to help. But before I hear your petition, may I know who I am addressing?”

The skeleton did not move that she could see, but Jazz heard windchimes like chittering laughter.

“I am Gotham, Your Grace. My apologies for my rudeness. I have little reason to travel these days and am unaccustomed to necessary introductions.”

Jazz nodded, committing the name and its taste to memory. “No need to apologize, Gotham. Your situation is not unique amongst your kind. Have a seat,” Jazz gestured at the plush couch across from her desk. “What troubles you so, to bring you so far from home?”

There was more windchime tittering, and Jazz wondered if the spirit was laughing or just readjusting itself on a plane she could not see. A nervous tick, perhaps? Maybe she could send Apple for something to make Gotham feel more at ease. Bullet casings or chocolate chip cookies would be equally soothing to this entity, Jazz guessed.

Gotham folded into itself, form blurring slightly before reforming on the couch, leaned forward with elbows on knees. “Many years ago, a mortal man pledged himself to my service. I accepted him as a City Guard, my mortal Champion. This man has many children who have likewise pledged themselves to my protection.”

Jazz smothered the urge to interrupt. She loathed the idea of child Guards; the fact that this City Spirit was here now asking for help meant that this instance had gone just as well as it usually did.

Unaware of her internal judgement, Gotham continued. “The second child died and revived some seven years ago, I…” This time, the rattling sound emanating from Gotham shook the room with the force of a thunderclap. “You have to understand, I don’t claim kids as champions, so technically he was never even under my protection. And when he came back, he ran! I don’t have power outside the city, you know, so even if, well, it’s not like there was anything I could have done differently,”

Jazz was aware that she was frowning. She could only guess what her aura felt like to Gotham, whose smoky aura was rapidly thickening. A bird puffing itself up to look bigger. A cheap trick. If Jazz were in a more compassionate mood, she might have felt embarrassed at such a juvenile display from a spirit decades older than herself.

“You neglected a child, or-” she cut off Gotham before it could protest, “allowed a child to be neglected. For seven years. What changed? Why petition him now and not then?”

Gotham chittered, “Well, you see, he came back to me just over a year ago, retook his pledge and everything. And, well, things were rough, I thought the fraid was just readjusting itself, but, er-”

“Tell me.”

“Well, the problem is I don’t exactly know what the boy is anymore, but he’s more ghostly than not, and his fraid’s fully human. If this infighting between my Guards goes on for any longer, it’ll tear me apart. I figured The King might want to step in, considering this boy might be a halfa, maybe he could help him and the fraid get back to normal.”

Jazz grinned. “Rest assured, Gotham, The Crown will indeed be taking special interest in your case.” Words dripped from her lips, caustic even to her own ears. “Now, why don’t you go outside and give Apple the rest of the details. I have some visits to make.”

[smallandangry24]

Headcanon that Gotham accepted the Waynes as a blood sacrifice for the rise of The Batman when Bruce vowed to be the hand of Justice in the city over his parents bodies.

That Gotham is sentient and chose a rain and red soaked little boy kneeling on cracked pavement and grief in supplication as its Champion against The Curse that plagues her waters.

[vivalafxxku]

Gotham Protects Her Own

Sentient Gotham City AU where She is protective of Her protectors.

Sure She is limited in how much She can manipulate without disturbing the balance of the universe but She does what She can. Fatal bullets veer off trajectory by a few, injuries heal quicker, potholes and terrain trip up fleeing criminals, and assailants never find them when they need a moment of reprieve due to exhaustion, injury, etc.

Sadly, She cannot do anything for Her protectors outside the borders of the city.

She fumes when the clown incapacitates Her Princess. She mourns when link to (at the time) youngest, Her Sunshine, is severed. She cries as Her Wings suffers outside her walls, threatening to be clipped, just out of reach. She cooes when a new bird insists on joining her Knight, followed by another Princess (or 2), a Little Prince and a Lightbearer. She whines at the straining connection to Her Knight that led to Her protectors scattering in the wind. She rejoices when they return to Her. She extends Her protection over the expanding family Her Knight collected.

Because She is Gotham and Gotham protects Her own.

Anyway I just think the idea is cool since the Batfam seems to suffer way more when they're not in Gotham (revised: this is really only true for Dick and Damian kinda, not really, idk let it be for the sake of the idea.)

Also I think Gotham would name Her protectors

Martha Wayne = Her Empress

Thomas Wayne = Her Emperor

Bruce Wayne = Her Prince -> Her Knight

Alfred Pennyworth = Her Loyalty

Jim Gordon = Her King

Dick Grayson = Her Wings

Barbara Gordon = Her Princess

Jason Todd = Her Sunshine -> Her Moonlight

Tim Drake = Her Determination

Stephanie Brown = Her Chaos

Damian Wayne = Her Little Prince

Cassandra Cain = Her Shadow

Duke Thomas = Her Lightbearer

Eventually, Gotham adopts the Sirens too

Harley Quin = Her Jester

Selina = Her Queen

Ivy = Her Garden

[puppetmaster13u]

I am pondering cryptid batfam but like. Eldritch. Starts out human but Gotham (or something Else) slowly changes them over the years as they search for an learn unspeakable information, as their minds expand more than a mere human could.

Pretty much becomes not exactly city spirits but Aspects of sorts if I am making any sense. And usually people can tell something is... sort of off, but it's easily dismissible, like a cold spot in a room that you can ignore if you aren't standing in it.

I honestly might draw the ideas for designs I have but idk.

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Gotham as a sentient entity is so fucking funny to me. She sees this traumatized rich boy running around in kevlar punching bad guys and is like "yep, that's my champion".

I especially love sentient gotham looking at a slightly feral red hood and going, “yep, that’s my baby.”

I just love sentient Gotham in general it’s so fun.

[soonamisapphire]

Yo 😁 Fans of BatFam

Im looking for more/new bat fics about chirping language to hyperfixate on

[kbirbpods]

[Podfic of] Revenge of Gotham | Length: 12 minutes, 34 seconds

Original Work: Revenge of Gotham by @oliveofvanders [Olive_of_Vanders on ao3]

DPxDC: Lady Gotham, Bruce Wayne | Rating: Teen & Up

Summary: 

Lady Gotham and Halloween, when the veil is at its thinnest. Maybe she can use it to her advantage?

Pod-O-Ween 2024 | Treat for @flowerparrish

[elithemiar-blog]

Sentient Gotham, buuuuut...she had been originally Queen of the Infinite Realms.

When Pariah took the throne, Gotham had been banished to the mortal realm and without fresh ectoplasm, she continues to deteriorate. Only being able to survive on the city's emotional turmoil, but it's not enough.

[How much of a stretch can I connect crossovers? Pretty freaking far.]

[brucewaynehater101]

semi sapient absolutely sentient eldritch gotham gets tetchy and sulky whenever tim leaves gotham because what if this is the time their little birdy doesn't come back? what if this is the time some other city sinks their claws into her birdy like that hussy central city threatens sometimes? they already nearly lost their Nightwing, their first Robin, to Bludhaven, and the League keeps trying to take their sweet Jason! And Gotham knows in some deep part of herself that if Tim left her for good, she couldn't blame him, but she'd miss him! she'd miss her little starlight who kept her from destroying herself, her little birdy who saved her son, her Bat, she'd miss the little birdy that loved her even when she was at her worst and she doesn't want him to go!

Gotham goes NUTS when she realizes that Ra's is being creepy about her birdy and almost, almost forces a boon on Tim so she can keep him close and keep Ra's away from her birdy

Kon has similar issues with Metropolis who has thoroughly claimed Superman and Metropolis noticed negative vibe Superman displayed towards Kon and the dehumanizing sort of attitude from its other chosen, Lex, and so Metropolis isn't too welcoming to Kon either

Bart didn't have a boon, Central, Keystone, and any other city in his future that could have offered him one were all either destroyed or twisted so that boons were a bad idea and Bart doesn't really want to be tied to any single place now either, just in case

Cassie may or may not have been offered a boon from Themyscira but she asked Tim how to politely decline

C4 WITH BOONS!!!

I particularly like the angle with Bart. Not only does he not trust it due to his experiences in the future, but he also doesn't want to be tied down. Bart is constantly on the go and traveling. A boon makes it difficult for him to leave for extended times (especially if YJ does space missions).

I also love sentient city beef. Let them bicker and hate each other (maybe some actually like each other). Regardless, they are all stuck to their city limits. They can't leave, but they can ask their favored to mess with other cities.

I'm kind of curious about the association of boons with heroes. I don't think GLs would have boons, but what about the rest? What if not having boons is another reason "Just Us" was formed and relied on each other? What if that was a trait ALL YJ members shared?

Perhaps Gotham is special in her boons and behaviors/responses, and the other cities are much more subtle in their boons/favor. Lots of possibilities

[goddessofbees]

Lady Gotham and her champion Tim

So I read a prompt? Somewhere where the drakes made deals with Gotham for luxury or travel or some other things, and in return she got their kid, so now here's motherly Gotham with her child Tim

If someone finds the prompt I would be ecstatic!

I've finally found the prompt!

@brucewaynehater101 I made this awhile ago and have been looking for the post, cause I forgot to save it!

[peerlesshamster]

If I were a Gotham citizen I'd fit right in like, I'd probably start a cult like society of believers of Gotham's sentient nature (I have mild hallucinations every once in a while). At some point the bats would keep an eye on me until they realize oh no, just a mentally unstable citizen not hiding it much nothing more.

I'd also feed onto the "Gotham has chosen Batman as her knight and she whispers of approval for he does not take from her but gives, her shadows aid him and follow him for he's dear to her".

[batfam-fanfics]

Echoes by 1RainbowFlute

1 Chapter - 7211 words

No one said it was a good idea to leave an eight year old home alone, unsupervised.

It’s not Tim Drake’s fault he found a weird, sometimes-glowing bracelet! Or that said bracelet seems to have caused him to get weird dreams. Or weird sensations that lead him to vigilantes. Or hearing voices. Honestly, as far as he’s aware, all of these facts are completely unrelated. Correlation does not equal causation, right?

He just wanted to play Architect. Like his parents.

(AKA 7k words of How Baby Tim Drake Becomes A Cryptid By Accident)

[insomnisnack]

“Take these.” He tossed the pair of keys as the kid turned around and was not surprised when the kid snatched them out of the air, hiding a wince that Jace only caught because of his training. “One’s a copy. Don’t lose ‘em. There ain’t more.”

“Also; the laundry room is in the basement. Two dollars for the Washer and same for the dryer. See ya kid.”

And with that he turned and walked to the elevator, blasted stairs; he wasn’t out of shape, that was a death wish in Crime Alley but still, he had a fucking elevator for a reason damnit.

Once he was back in his office, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a burner cell, flipping it open he sent a text to his boss about his new interesting tenant.

About an hour and half later the kid was knocking on his door again, he called out and the door opened.

Seems the runaway took full advantage of the shower, he was cleaner now with fresh clothes, his skin was less dark and more tan now that he wasn’t caked in dirt and whatever else. Hair still black as night but had more of a fluffy shine to it.

Definitely too skinny arms reached into the pockets and pulled out a wad of rolled up cash and handed it to him.

When he counted it was all there and Jace couldn’t help but feel a bit of relief that Daniel had ended up here instead of some other shady slum lord.

“Thanks, go sleep kid. Ya look dead on yur feet.” And he did, the shower obviously helped but now the kid looked seconds away from crashing and the way the T-shirt hung off his frame he could see what looked like some sort of bandage across the boy's chest. That explained the pained looks and winces on the stairs.

Mirth filled the teen's eyes as he nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

[stealingyourbones]

Just realized i didnt leave you any bones yesterday! Its deer hunting season i can probably find a skeleton somewhere hope a full deer will last me a few asks lol. Might not be dry yet tho

So this one. Danny gets caught also but instead of havign to flee, the police actually get involved. Jazz gets danny out and taken to a hospital and on account of him being Very Much Alive jazz easily claims that hes just severely ecto-contaminated and the parents kind of dig their own graves by being so convinced he is a ghost they wont even try to claim innocence.

Danny is hospitalized in intensive surgery- his heart has stopped AT LEAST 12 times which has to be a record and is very scary- and cant leave the hospital for months- a lot longer than he should be on account of my hc of his injuries being tied to his emotions. Once hes "better" (ie healed enough to be Up And Moving) he regularly visits his parents in jail despite it literally making his injuries worse. Jazz never visits them.

(Also this is. Not the focus on the au believe it or not. If someone wants to run wild with that specific portion tho. Be my guest)

For the most part the ghost issues sort themselves out (realizing that danny almost permanently joined them was a wake up call for some of the more serious offenders and some of his more powerful allies had taken up the duty to protect amity for him so anyone else knows theyre Not going to be able to fight like. Clockwork showed up once nobody forgets that)

Jazz and danny (or just danny if jazz has college somewhere else) decide they need a change of scenery, so where do they go?

Gotham.

one thing I wish to add onto this:

Sentient Gotham City being protective of Danny.