#being liminal means they all have powers

[gaddaboutgriffon]

Super Phantom

Writing prompt #3

Danny reveals his ghost half to his parents and they took it well accepting him. As a result the doctors Fenton then backed out of the weapons deal they had with the GIW and are actively protecting Phantom from them.

The GIW don’t give up even after the anti ecto acts are being repealed and sabotaged the gas tank for Nasty Burger’s grill. This causes the explosion that would Kill Danny’s family and friends there for Jazz’s graduation celebration. Clockwork foresaw of a Dan event happening and froze time to take and de-age Danny, Jazz, Sam, Tucker and Vallarta. (Clockwork is a jerk and frankly blames Jack and Maddie for making the he portals that caused both Vlad and Danny’s halfa status and a lot more work for him. He is letting those two die.)

Clockwork then sends the Deaged to babies/toddler to different places in the Yong Justice cartoon DC universe. All the kids are liminal and have powers.

Jazz now a 3 year old is sent to Hippallita on Themescira. (Excuse my spelling) liminal powers make her strength on par with Amazons.

Sam, age 1 as well and sent to Giovanni Zattarra. Three year old Zatana gets a younger sister that also has the gift of magic. Especially nature/plant magic.

Tucker I had a hard time deciding but eventually chose Lucius Fox. (If you can think of someone better go ahead and make suggestions.)

Vallarie was Supposed to be sent to Ted Kord, but Lex Luthor was trying to tap into the watchtower’s zeta tubs but accidentally got clockwork’s portal instead. It cased he basket to be dropped instead of gently set down. Startled, two year old Vallarie instinctively activates her ghost tech armor. Now that is a curious unexpected asset Lex will find a way to utilize.

And finally deaged to one year old Danny is sent in a in a basket with a solar system print blanket with a envelope sitting on top. The portal opens and the basket is carefully set on the table with the note. Then clockwork places a folder thick with other papers of to the side. He retreats into the portal closing it behind him just as the apartment door is opening.

Clark Kent has just finished his third week of work at the Daily Planet, the evening patrol and even grocery shopping. Thoughts of the paper he needs to write and turn in the morning are on his mind as he enters his apartment in time to notice a Green glow wink out of existence from his kitchen door. He drops the now forgotten grocery bags when he hears the tiny heartbeat and rushes over to the basket on the table.

A sleeping baby. A baby! Wha- how had anyone. When his brain stops stalling he notices the letter. It reads:

Superman,

The boy’s name is Danny. You are the most likely to survive him learning to use his powers as they emerge. His parents died trying to protect him. It is not safe for him here.

I have already forged the legal documents naming you as his godfather and a cover story in the attached folder. Also three gold coins will be sent to you each month as child support. If anyone else looks at this letter the text will change to simply read that you are the godfather of this recently orphaned boy.

Clockwork.

Clark stood in shock rereading the letter in shock a dozen times. Before Lois snapped him out of it.

“Hey Smallville, it may not be Gotham but even in Metropolis you shouldn’t just leave your door open.” She called as she entered from the hall. Then she noticed the spilled bags of groceries on the floor. And came in. “Are you ok? You may be a klutz but you always pick u- Oh My God, That’s a Baby!”

Well that is enough for tonight. I will add on more later. Wonder how quickly this would grow if I don’t tag anyone? Eh just a few. @bloggerspam @confusedshades @hypewinter @zylev-blog @kizzer55555

[artstaeus3600]

I've seen the concept of Kon either having a third parent in his DNA or instead of Lex Luthor it was someone else, so what if we replaced Lex's DNA with Danny's?

Danny's been the Ghost King for hundreds of years now his family has long since passed, Dan isn't around anymore since he's been helping Clockwork with Timeline screwups (something to do with flashes? He wasn't really paying attention) and well Dani's off exploring and discovering places, I mean she comes back occasionally but not as often as Danny would like, so Danny decided why not visit a human realm, and so he does, he explores the cities and stars, he doesn't really hide he's not human looking with his pointed ears, long fangs, and glowing eyes, and while he was there some lucky bastard got some of his DNA. This person also just so happens to be the person to switch Lex's DNA with a much stronger candidate (aka Danny)

Danny hadn't noticed at the moment cause it was a busy train ride, but he did immediately notice when a new life came to be, immediately claiming him as one of the parents, so of course he immediately went to go look and see what that was about cause he doesn't remember sleeping with someone? And he hasn't even been here that long for a baby to be born? And after some searcing he finds a lab and a baby in the tube and we'll, he went completely feral at the sight and destroyed the building, which caught some of the Justice League's attention and all they find is a destroyed building owned by Cadmus.

Danny is now back in the apartment he was renting while he was taking a vacation from being the Ghost King (he was lonely), with his brand new baby he'd guess around 3 months old but he's not an expert, and he just falls in love with him the same way he did with Dani but the thing is the baby isn't a Halfa like him even with his DNA he's more like Jazz with being extremely liminal (so mostly all the instincts of a ghost but none of the powers), and we'll Jazz couldn't ever really stay long in the zone before she'd end up a permanent resident, so taking this baby with him back to the zone was a no go, at least not for long periods of time.

So that's where he's been for the last two months with his baby who he named Conner Nightingale, Nightingale after his fake ID for this human life, and he's just adoring being a father and sure he wonders sometimes who the other parent is but he can't exactly take Conner to a normal hospital, cause of the ghost biology, except the few checkups with Frostbite telling him the other parent isn't human, Dani was also told about her new nephew and loves bringing him new toys to see if he'll like it whenever she comes around.

While Danny has been taking care of Conner the Justice League has been trying to figure out what happened with that Cadmus building was doing before it got destroyed, and found out it was a cloning lab, who they were trying to clone they haven't found yet cause of the scattered/destroyed files...

Edit: Part 2

[zylev-blog]

Danny has a new rogue. The man is going by the name of Freakshow, but most of the whispers he’s heard have labeled him as the Joker. The Joker pings as a liminal, so Danny has been trying to find him. Problem is, the Joker doesn’t stay in Amity Park. The man is mobile, and the more Danny leaves Amity Park, the more he’s hunted by the GIW. This makes it harder to hunt the man, but he knows that Joker is dangerous. Unstable.

And he really hates clowns.

He’s chasing the Joker through New Jersey when a red blur knocks into him and drags him away from the Joker. He has enough sense left to realize he’s being moved in superspeed before he’s head butting the man holding him and turning intangible out of his arms. He hears the man in red groan and hold his bleeding nose.

“Wait.” The man in red pants, “The Joker is dangerous.”

“I know he is.” Danny tells him, “That’s why I’m taking him down.”

“You’re not working with him?” A man in black asks.

“What? No!” He gestured to himself, “I don’t have this getup because of him, you know. I’m a dead kid. A ghost. He’s messing with the living while carrying traces of the dead, and that’s wrong, you know? Once you kill so many people, it offends the dead and we have to intervene. Once you pass that point, the dead takes your soul. He’s already on his way there.”

“You don’t look dead.” The man in black says while the man in red looks away from him.

“Yeah? And you look like a bat. You don’t have room to talk when you look like a furry.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m Flash and this is Batman.” Flash introduced himself and his partner, “We and the Joker are from another dimension. We’re trying to take Joker down before he merges our dimensions and takes over both of them.”

“Ugh, not more interdimensional bullshit.” Danny swears. “You can call me Phantom, by the way.”

“You don’t seem suprised about this.” Batman prompts.

“Yknow, after the fifth attempt at interdimensional war you get used to it. This dimension has the most… uh, what did they call it? Oomph? I think it means like, this is the most powerful dimension out of all of them. It doesn’t take long for us to kick them back where they belong. But this Joker dude, he’s persistent.” Danny shrugged.

“I know Joker the best.” Batman told him.

“As long as Joker ends up back in his dimension before he merges ours.” He grimaced. “Been there done that once, it wasn’t pretty to undo. It nearly destroyed both of our dimensions, but some things aren’t supposed to be merged.”

“To work together, we need to know what you can do.” Flash glanced at Batman.

“Do you want a list?”

[breesperez139]

Dc x Dp Prompt #2

Danny loved his life. After his reveal to Jack and Maddie as a half ghost went right, everything started falling into place.

Vlad stopped his insane schemes once his parents were set loose on him. Sure he’s still mayor but he funds the town, keeps them protected from unwanted visitors, and is no longer trying to kidnap/adopt/clone Danny anymore.

Speaking of clones, Ellie was officially adopted into the family. She didn’t live with them full time with her obsession being freedom, but at least she has a home to return to now.

Dan was also adopted into the family. He is still on probation but turns out having their adopted family again (and as many ghost fruits as he wants) helped ease the rage. That’s not to mention Dan’s and Skulker’s bi-weekly figh- errr meetups.

Well at least there’s been no property destruction since he’s been crowned. After he and his rogues began scheduling their own meetups, his grades started going up again. So while he may never become an astronaut like he always dreamed of, he could still go up to space and see the stars whenever he wanted to.

Sure, being king wasn’t exactly what he wanted in life (or death) but he could protect his ghosts and liminals better this way. And considering his entire town is either ghost or liminal, it was just easier to protect them from the GIW and the government in general with a crown on his head.

Besides being king isn’t all bad either. He’s rich now meaning they won’t be racked up in college debt, he has cool artifacts that were gifted to the ghost king over the millennia that were left untouched but he’s not about to return them (they were gifts to the ghost king, practically funeral gifts like flowers but more rare and expensive), and he has crazy powerful Ancients as friends/family/mentors/protectors. He’s still a baby in ghost years and a minor in human years so he’s not expected to do much either way.

Life was going great, especially after Amity Park adopted ghost etiquette and ecto-infused food and beverages.

So why the Ancients are the Justice League of all people standing outside his front door with the Batman looking thoroughly freaked out the moment he opened the door? He hasn’t said anything yet either!! Stupid fucking government heroes.

[hypewinter]

3 HC/AU Prompt Game (3)

1). Baby Ancient Danny!

2). Liminal Batman

3). Ghost Adoption Instincts

:)

Due to his overwhelming affinity and power, Danny becomes the ancient of space. Ordinarily, this would be a momentous occasion that would call for a lot of fan fair and celebration. After all, a new ancient being born is a really big deal. Doesn't happen too often. And when it does, everyone feels it. From the most powerful of ghosts to even the slightest of liminals. If you're even a smidgen touched by death, you're gonna realize something powerful has just awakened.

But there is no celebration this time. Why? You see, not for the first time, Danny's halfa status throws a little wrench in things. When one becomes an ancient, everything gets reset for them. It's basically like a new birth. You get a new form, new core, new haunt (etc) but you still retain key aspects of your old self. Like the general age appearance and memories. But this doesn't happen with Danny. Whatever power is involved with turning a ghost into an ancient can't really get a feel on Danny considering he's not a full ghost. So when this "new birth" happens for Danny, well he gets new everything. He's basically a new ghost. A new baby ghost. A new baby ghost with dominion over space. Yeah things are about to get fun.

It doesn't take very long for Clockwork to lose sight of his new godling ward. And by lose sight, I mean lose sight. No matter how many timelines he flips through. He. Can't. Find. Him. Why can't he find him? Where did he go?? Why is this happening!? Ahhhhhhh!!

Meanwhile, Danny is vibing as he stares up at the Wayne family. The Wayne family of the DC universe. The universe famous for its convoluted and twisted timeline. The universe that's gonna take CW a while to work through (good luck buddy).

Now remember how I said that all liminals recognize when a new ancient is born? Well that's not the only ghost sense they have. You see there are two reactions to the baby currently sitting on the table depending on when someone died or at least had a brush with death compared to Danny's death. The first is, "Very powerful. Must respect. Must garner favor. Must not show weakness." This sentiment is held by all those who had their tastes of death after Danny. This includes Damian, Cass, and Tim. Then there's the other side. The ones who tasted death prior to Danny. When they look at this baby the reaction is, "Baby? Why baby alone? Must protect baby. Must take baby under my wing and keep it safe until baby can be on its own." This feeling is strong with Jason, Bruce and even Dick. There's only one problem. There is one baby but three dad candidates. Let the adoption wars begin!

[kaidatheghostdragon]

"You must be Ra's," Tucker stated, careful to keep on a poker face while he frantically assessed the situation - tied down to a chair, in what was probably the heart of this particular fruitloop's lair.

And there was a frankly disturbing number of similarities to the OG fruitloop: the way he stood, the style of his hair, the perpetual sneer.

The way he sent a shiver down Tucker's spine like Vlad used to be able to way back when he was still intimidating.

"Gotta say," Tucker continued, shoving his emotions down like only a human-born liminal that dealt with empathic rogues on the daily could ever manage, "not that impressed. For starters, your vibes are rancid, dude. Like, what do you do, bathe in corruption all day?"

That earned him a slap on the face, "You will speak when spoken to," Ra's ordered.

Tucker witheld a smirk. This guy seemed like the type to order subordinates around to do absolutely everything. The fact that he personally slapped Tucker with his own hand? It could only mean that Tucker was already under the guy's skin.

"Well, that just means I can keep talking since you just spoke to me," Tucker retorted, unafraid of another slap. Really, compared to the abuse he put himself through helping Danny, and the way his liminality skyrocketed in the last couple of years, it was barely even a love-tap. It didn't even sting.

Ra's raised a brow, giving the distinct impression that he was absolutely livid, though that may have been the liminal empathy cluing Tucker in. He'd never been great at reading emotions until that particular ability developed.

"Who do you work for?" Ra's began the interrogation.

Tucker returned with his best affronted glare, "Frankly, I'm offended that you don't believe I could do all this entirely on my own."

"Kill him," Ra's stated as he turned to leave, sounding so unimpressed that it almost seemed bored.

Out of the shadows, an arrow flew straight at Tucker, who slipped his restraints (thank you liminality for giving him limited ghost powers) and caught the arrow before it pierced his chest, "Yeah, no. Imma veto that."

Ra's turned back around, looking almost impressed.

It made Tucker feel way slimier than Vlad could ever hope to achieve. He repressed a shudder. After all, his job here was to keep Ra's distracted while the others invisibly raided the place, destroyed the pits, and planted explosives.

Tucker, being the technopath, would normally stay behind in the chair, but the League of Assassins was well defended against cyber attacks, forcing them to pivot somewhat in order to successfully infiltrate the place. He ended up creating a digital duplicate of himself (a literal duplicate, like Danny could do, but Tucker's duplicate could only ever exist inside of a computer, by all appearances a true AI) that the others could upload to the servers once they found them.

Beyond that, there wasn't much Tucker could do beyond providing a distraction. Sure, the LoA's technology was absolutely worth drooling over, but they didn't rely on it like most of the modern world did. There was no internet connection, electronic locks, or surveillance for Tucker to hack into and make his own. This place was all stone doors and medieval fortifications.

"Impressive," Ra's complimented after a moment of silent appraisal, "perhaps you are worthy of my attention after all."

Tucker scoffed, getting the clear impression that this guy fully expected the ground he walked on to be worshipped after admitting such small praise, "You're not the first megalomaniac I've had to deal with, and you won't be the last." (Team Phantom had an entire list of fruitloops to work through once their LoA financial backing was removed, after all) "I'll give you props for the sweet ninja cult you got going on, though. Gotta say, that's a first for me."

"Assassins," Ra's corrected.

"Same diff," Tucker retorted with a handwave, knowing full well that a guy like Ra's would be miffed by such a dismissal. He further feigned disinterest by examining the arrow he was still holding. Tucker had taken a few archery lessons when he was younger and picked it back up by training a bit under Princess Dora's royal guard. He was... decent, with a bow. He could reliably hit his target as long as he had a couple of seconds to aim - or used something laced in technology that allowed his technopathy to steady it.

The arrow was expertly crafted and perfectly balanced. His heightened liminal senses smelled a substance on the arrowhead - probably a paralytic, not that it would have kept Tucker down for very long, even if it had breached his heart, which would have been a quick death for any baseline human. He tossed it from hand to hand a few times, feeling the weight, the threw it like a dart into one of the nearest shadows. A soft thud echoed through the room when the arrowhead bonked the chestplate of the assassin standing there, then a clatter when it fell to the ground.

"If I had a bow, he'd be dead," Tucker needlessly commented, thumb pointing to the hidden guard. He was somewhat surprised the dude didn't catch the arrow like Tucker had. But then again, if the shadows were meant to fully conceal him, catching the arrow would have given him away from the arrow not making noise or falling to the ground.

"You knew he was there," Ra's stated more than asked.

"And the eleven others," Tucker easily replied, "A full dozen to guard the King of the Cult. Not that it'll make any difference. I've already won."

Tucker didn't have any misconcieved notion that his liminality would give him an edge over a dozen trained assassins. It doesn't really matter how good your senses are or how fast your reflexes when you have to dodge a dozen attacks simultaneously. But what he could do was turn intangible during those first few seconds of adrenaline-fueled panic, more than long enough for either of the Phantoms, neither of which were currently more than a few hundred yards distant, to reach him and drag him away from immediate danger.

So Tucker latched onto that confidence borne of complete trust in his team, and radiated it as much as he could, daring Ra's to call his bluff with nothing more than a knowing smirk.

[guilty-pleasures21]

Dragon!Miguel

@captain-liminal it took me a while, but I did it! I also have to credit @exhaslo on this for supporting me and answering my dragon questions and giving me a foundation to build on. I hope it's all right and I look forward to any future requests!

Based on this request.

BONUS:

Side story: Kidnapped!

Warnings: none. Just grumpy and whipped Miguel 😉.

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

     “Miguel!” Gabriel yelled, chasing his brother down the palace hallway. “It will be good for both our kingdoms-”

     “It will be good for her kingdom,” Miguel interrupted, refusing to slow down his unrelenting pace. “What do we need an alliance for?” Of course they didn’t need an alliance: not when he was the most powerful fire dragon to be born in five centuries!

     Gabriel rolled his eyes at the haughty implication of his brother's question. “Well, number one: you need an heir, obviously, and combined with her powers, your children would be the most powerful beings to have ever graced this earth!”

     Miguel let out a snort as he pushed open the double doors, unconvinced by his brother’s argument. “I'm only twenty-three, Gabriel. What do I need heirs for?”

     He finally stopped, arms folded across his chest and brow furrowed stubbornly as he turned around to face his brother. Gabriel clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, trying to hold onto his patience. Dios, his brother was annoying. “For when you make stupid, reckless decisions that cut your lifespan by half, hermano.” 

     “Hmph.” Miguel sniffed as he glanced away, not wanting to admit that his brother maybe possibly could have been a little bit right. But that didn’t mean that he needed kids; it just meant that he had to be a little more … thoughtful. 

     His heart thudded in his chest as his brother’s expression turned pensive and Gabriel jumped on the opportunity to change his mind. 

     “Look, just … just be a little open to the idea when you meet her tomorrow,” he suggested cautiously. “I'm not saying you have to fall head over heels in love with her immediately, but just … be nice, Miguel.”

     Miguel narrowed his eyes at the plea in his brother’s voice, but continued to avoid his gaze. “I can be nice.”

     Gabriel raised his eyebrows, fixing Miguel with a knowing look. Miguel slid his gaze over to him and huffed when he saw his expression. 

     “Whatever. I’m going to take a flight.” And before Gabe could stop him, Miguel had turned around and leapt into the air, his body lengthening into his dragon form as he flew away.

     He clenched his fists as he strolled around the edge of the village, his thoughts still focused on his earlier conversation with his brother. How dare his ministers arrange an alliance on his behalf?! Without even consulting him about it first?! Of course, if they had consulted him about it, then he'd immediately have disagreed. Which was probably why they hadn't asked him in the first place. But to marry a woman he'd never met?! To give himself over to her and have children with her?! The thought lit his insides on fire. He stopped suddenly as an unfamiliar scent wafted through the air towards him: warm, slightly spicy, like a good soup being cooked atop a strong flame. He looked up and his heart stopped when his eyes landed upon the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Her hair was dark, the silky strands cascading down her delicate shoulders as she moved gracefully along the path; her skin was golden, like she'd been left in the fire for the perfect amount of time and would be comfortingly warm to the touch; and her eyes were round and dazzling, framed perfectly by long, curly lashes that brushed her cheeks everytime she blinked. She was perfect. Miguel rushed over to her, desperate to make her his, but he stopped abruptly when he reached her, his mind going blank as he got close enough to see the shards of gold scattered around her irises. “Hi.”

     She raised an eyebrow, amused by the handsome stranger who had approached her without a plan in mind. 

     “Hello,” she greeted him calmly, her voice as melodious as a nightingale’s. “Nice to meet you, sir. May I know your name?”

     She held a hand out to him, but he watched it carefully, hesitating. Finally, he took a step back from her, afraid that he might accidentally burn her with his flames - there were a few downsides to being the most powerful fire dragon to be born in five centuries. “Miguel.”

     “Miguel …” she repeated carefully. His heart pounded in his chest at the sound of his name in her sweet voice; at the sight of her rosy lips puckering to form the letters. Dios, she was beautiful. 

     “And yours?” Miguel asked, his features melting into a dazed smile as he continued to gaze at her. 

     “X,” she replied, her heart fluttering at the look he gave her. He really was handsome, this tall stranger, especially when he smiled like that. 

     Miguel felt his insides start to heat up at the wide grin on her pretty face and he took another step away from her for good measure. X raised an eyebrow, confused, but Miguel refused to provide her with an explanation, embarrassed by his lack of control over his own emotions and powers. 

     “I … I don't recall having ever seen you here before, my lady,” Miguel said, wanting to carry on the conversation and spend more time in the company of this exquisite creature. X’s eyes widened in surprise. 

     “Oh!” she gasped, suddenly looking a little nervous as she stammered out an explanation. “I … I have come to visit some distant relatives of mine.”

     Miguel nodded slowly, filing the information away for later: if he was able to find out which family she belonged to, then he’d have a definitive way of finding her when they eventually parted ways later that day. “And how long are you planning on staying for?”

     X pursed her lips in thought and Miguel felt the saliva begin to pool in his mouth as he wondered what they would taste like against his. “It depends.”

     “On what?”

     Her smile turned mischievous and she took a moment to let her gaze travel over his broad and muscular form. “On if I find a good enough reason to stay.”

     She glanced up at him from beneath her dark and curly lashes and Miguel reflected her thrilled expression as they two of them gazed at each other in silence, the both of them studying and admiring the other shyly. Finally, Miguel cleared his throat and straightened. 

     “Well, perhaps I can help you with that,” he suggested, gesturing to the path in front of them. “If you would join me for a tour, my lady?” A soft giggle escaped X’s lips as she took a step forward and Miguel swore his heart melted in his chest as he followed beside her. 

     Gabriel tugged on the collar of his shirt, trying to dissipate some of the heat that had gathered around his neck. His brother was furious - he could feel it in the stifling heat that radiated off of him and engulfed the entire room. But he refused to give in to his brother's temper - someone had to make sure he didn't blow up all their diplomatic relations when he became king and if Gabriel was the only one unafraid of him enough to do it, then do it he would. “Calmate, hermano.”

     Miguel continued to glare out the window, arms folded across his chest as he refused to look at his brother. He grunted in response and a puff of smoke blew out of his nose. 

     “Presenting Princess (your full name) of Risendelle,” the steward announced, stepping aside to allow their esteemed guest to make her way into the room. Miguel turned to face the princess, the irritated scowl still spread across his face: he didn’t want some spoiled princess he’d never even seen before. He wanted the lady he'd met yesterday - the most perfect treasure he'd ever laid his eyes on. But then X walked into the room and Miguel’s heart stopped in his chest.

     She paused, startled to see the handsome stranger she’d met yesterday waiting for her. He looked especially impressive in his princely outfit, his dark blue tailcoat perfectly matching the black collar and trousers he’d been fitted in. She dropped into a curtsey, then flashed him a smile when she straightened, her heart fluttering at the dazed grin stretched across his lips. 

     “Thank you for journeying all this way, Princess,” Gabriel began, sweeping into a low bow in greeting. “We are grateful to finally be able to make your acquaintance.” He straightened and slid his gaze over to Miguel, still frozen in place, stupidly wide smile fixed on his face as he gazed at the princess. Gabe frowned and elbowed his brother’s side, finally pulling him out of his reverie. 

     “Uh, yes! My lady!” Miguel exclaimed, giving a bow as well. “I mean, my princess! I mean, uh, not my, but … um … hi?” 

     X giggled at his flustered demeanour before straightening her expression once again. “Thank you for the warm welcome, Your Highnesses. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well.”

     Gabe glanced between his brother and the princess, the both of them smiling shyly at one another in silence. Then he let out a sigh of relief: thankfully, his brother seemed enamoured enough with the princess to have not tried to set her on fire immediately. Not that it would have mattered anyway considering that she was a phoenix - another reason he’d been so desperate to make this alliance work. 

     “Right! Well! Miguel?” Gabe turned to him, clapping his hands together to grab his brother’s attention. “Why don't you take the princess on a tour of the Royal Gardens?”

     “Huh? Oh! Yes! Would you like to see the gardens, princess? They are especially lovely this time of the year,” Miguel agreed, gesturing to the doors. X gave him a sweet smile as she passed him and he felt his heart start racing in his chest. They strolled together quietly for a while, the both of them flashing each other the occasional thrilled smile. Then finally, Miguel broke the silence. “So, about yesterday …”

     “Oh! Right! I came to your kingdom a day earlier so I could get a more accurate sense of what it would be like,” she explained, her expression turning sheepish for a moment. “I didn't expect to get a more accurate sense of what you would be like too.”

     Miguel let out a huff of amusement at that and X tried to take a step closer to him, but he moved away, maintaining that bit of distance between them. 

     “Miguel,” she began, stopping in her tracks so he’d be forced to turn around and face her. He fixed her with a quizzical look and she gave him a little pout. “Why won't you let me touch you?”

     His eyes widened, taken aback by her bluntness. 

     “I-I … I just …” He lowered his head, embarrassed, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I don't want to hurt you, princesa.”

     She swallowed hard as her heart fluttered at the nickname. “Then don't.”

     Miguel glanced up at her again, surprised by her response. “It's … not as easy as that.”

     She tilted her head, waiting for an explanation. Dios, she was cute. Miguel slid his gaze away from hers, embarrassed. “I … I tend to … lose control of my powers … when I get too … ‘emotional’.”

     She took a step closer to him causing him to panic and take a step back. 

     “Miguel …” She raised her eyebrows at him. “I'm a phoenix. We don't burn in the flame; we rise from it.” Her eyes flashed golden, fire dancing around her irises, and Miguel sucked in a breath at the captivating sight. X quickly took advantage of the distraction to step forward and place her hand on his forearm, letting him know that she wasn’t afraid. Miguel swallowed hard at the rare moment of physical contact, but didn’t pull away, allowing her instead to move even closer to him. X stretched onto her toes and leaned over to murmur in his ear. 

     “If you can become this shy from me just touching your arm, oh great and fearsome dragon prince, however are you going to make love to me on our wedding night?” She lowered herself back to the ground and grinned as he lit up in embarrassment, swallowing the both of them with his fierce and beautiful flames. 

     He clenched his fists, trying to tamp down his fire, but then she dropped her hand to his side and took hold of his, twining their fingers together. Miguel relaxed at the encouraging smile on her face and allowed his fire to take over the both of them. 

     He studied her carefully where she sat at her dresser, fully made up for the ball that night. He pointed at one of the many piles of jewellery around the room, gesturing for her lady’s maids to hurry over to it. “Put that on, too; the head thing. The one that clips into her hair and hangs over her forehead.”

     X flashed Miguel an amused look. “Querido. Any more jewellery and I won't be able to walk!”

     “I’ll carry you,” he replied immediately. X let out a soft snicker, amused by how much he doted on her: he was almost like a child sometimes, chasing after her with whatever new treasure he’d found and then insisting she carry it around for at least a week to show it off to everyone. But she’d have to draw a line eventually considering the rapidly growing hoard accumulating in their shared bedroom. 

     “That wouldn’t be a very good first impression, mi amor,” she pointed out, not wanting to let down her new people at her introductory ball that night. 

     His jaw tightened, annoyed by the knowledge that she was right. But then she flashed him one of her soft smiles and he felt some of the tension leave his body. “But … But …”

     “How about this,” X suggested calmly. “I'll wear the maang tikka if you let me remove one of these necklaces.”

     Miguel growled as she pointed to one of the many shiny necklaces layered elegantly across her neck. She was his wife - his most precious treasure of all - and he always felt a surge of pride whenever he saw her decked out in whatever finery he’d collected. Everything was just so much more beautiful when it was on her, so much shinier and so much more irresistible. But she was his wife and he never wanted her to be upset or uncomfortable.

     “Fine,” he grunted, folding his arms across his chest.

     X stood up when she saw the steam start wafting off of him. She sank down onto the bed beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing him soothingly. Miguel glanced away from her, not wanting to give in so easily, but then she pressed a kiss to the side of his head and he melted instantly. 

     She stood up and held her hands out to him, waiting for him to get up. “Vamos, querido. We’re going to be late otherwise.”

     Her husband smiled up at her as he took her hands and stood up too. He rubbed his thumbs across her skin, then guided her hands to his shoulders before sliding his around her waist. X giggled as he wrapped her up in his arms and Miguel felt his heart turn into a puddle before he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. “Vamos, querida.”

     Her lady’s maid knocked on the door, waiting for a response before entering. But no reply came through. 

     “Ma’am? May I come in?” she called through the door. Silence. She opened the door a crack and tried again. “Ma’am? Are you a-”

     She gasped loudly when she saw a mound of blankets, pillows and hot water bottles piled on the bed. “Your majesty!”

     “I’m here!” X’s muffled voice broke through together with her hand, sticking out of the middle of the pile. “A little help, please?”

     The maid rushed over and started digging through the pile, tossing some items aside to clear a space for the queen. Finally, there was enough of a gap for her to sit up. She sucked in a deep breath of air as she stroked her swollen stomach. Then she turned to her maid with an amused smile. “I knew that dragons built nests too, but I didn’t know that they'd be this obsessive about it!”

     The maid held onto her arm as she stood up, helping her maintain her balance. “Yes, well, the King is … especially in touch with his dragon side.”

     X straightened her dress around her baby bump once she’d steadied herself. “Indeed. Well, while he is still out, perhaps I should seize the opportunity to take a turn about the gardens?”

     His claws maintained their firm grip on the crown the elves had gifted him at their meeting. He couldn’t wait to show it to his beautiful wife, his most glorious treasure of all. She’d make it look so much more dazzling, the intricately crafted golden vines sitting perfectly atop her tumbling dark curls. He spread his wings as he approached the Royal Gardens, the sudden resistance slowing him enough for him to transform back into his human form and land gracefully on his feet. He smiled smugly at the way the crown glimmered in the sunlight as he made his way towards the palace - to the nest he’d so lovingly built for his pregnant little wife. But then her smoky scent wafted through the air and into his nose and he froze in his tracks. He spun around in the direction of the scent and his eyes narrowed into reptilian slits as the fury took over him. His wings popped out of his back and he sped off towards the Royal Gardens.

     She bent over to take a whiff of one of the many exquisite roses thoughtfully planted around the gardens. Then she caught the scent of her husband and turned around to greet him with a delighted smile on her face. Miguel stormed over to her in a cloud of smoke, the air around him radiating with heat. He swept her into his arms as soon as he reached her, holding her firmly against him and refusing to let her go. 

     “What are you doing out here, mi reina?!” he exclaimed, glancing around until his gaze landed on one of the guards unlucky enough to be situated nearby. “You! How dare you let the Queen leave her nest in her current state! I should have you-”

     "Querido." X slid her fingers up her husband’s broad shoulders and into his hair, tilting his head down to hers. She glided her fingers along his scalp, calming him down until he was no longer on fire. “Calmate, mi amor. I was the one who chose to leave my nest. You can’t keep me locked up at all hours of the day, mi vida. I’m a bird, remember?”

     A plume of smoke escaped Miguel’s nostrils as he huffed in frustration. “But you need to rest, mi reina!”

     X retained the amused smile on her face: she always knew exactly how to deal with his temper. “Any more resting and I’ll forget how to walk, mi querido!”

     Miguel grunted at her response. But, as always, he ended up giving in to his wife. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then turned to walk with her as she continued around the gardens. 

     The midwife gave a victorious smile as she held the screeching baby in her arms. “It’s a girl!” 

     She handed the baby to Miguel who gazed down at her adoringly as he cuddled her against his chest. She was so pretty with her wide eyes that roamed around the room and her rosy lips that were pursed in curiosity and her tiny fingers that reached up to her father. He held a finger out to her and she grabbed it quickly before giving a little yawn that expelled a stream of flames. Miguel laughed at the display of power, delighted, then sank down onto the bed beside his wife. “¡Mira, querida! It’s our baby! Isn’t she such a treasure?!”

     X gave him a tired smile as he carefully transferred their daughter to her arms. She stroked the little wisps of their baby’s hair, then turned to smile at her husband. Her chest filled with warmth as she watched him play with their baby, tickling her gently as he made funny faces to try to get her to laugh. Their daughter sneezed, letting out another puff of flame, and X’s heart swelled as her husband laughed again. 

     “Yes,” she agreed softly. “The most precious treasure of all.”

[i-am-snowils-admiral]

So the dpxdc fandom has been trying to come up with more ways to get Danny into Gotham without relying on the old Bat-adoption trope (though it's a fun trope that I love), which typically either means aging him up or giving him a fake id and making him live alone in Gotham pretending to be aged up, but personally I think we can streamline the process a bit by borrowing liberally from Marsalias' fic Adoption (if you haven't read it, definitely do, it's a really good fic) and sticking Actual Master of Time Clockwork in Gotham as yet another weird rich cryptid.

For those who haven't read that fic, the basic premise is that Clockwork decides to adopt Danny completely legally through both ghost and human methods. He is required to establish a human persona for this, which I find hysterical. He and Danny end up living in an incredibly creepy manor that they both love. We can easily uproot that thing and plop it into Gotham. If we want to be particularly funny about it, we can sandwich Wayne Manor between Clockwork and the Drakes to make them all neighbors.

Now what you do from there is obviously subject to whatever story you're wanting to tell, but there's a couple fun things I want to suggest:

Clockwork doesn't try very hard on his human persona. He still dresses like a time god in a fantasy novel (I'm a little in love with 13thcat's designs so I like to imagine his human form looks a little like this). You have to live, what, 40-50 years in a city to be established? Sure. Why bother aging visibly in this time? That's not necessary! What does he do for work? Uhhhh he's a woodworker who makes clocks. That's why he has millions or even billions of dollars, obviously.

5-year-old Bruce Wayne is OBSESSED with Clockwork (aka Charles Worth). This is baby's first incredibly pure crush. This is your really cool kindergarten teacher that you remain a little in love with well into adulthood, except instead of being nice CW is just really weird and doesn't care about what 5-year-olds are able to discuss. Baby Bruce does that little kid "I'll marry you when I grow up" thing that everyone finds adorable but CW says "there are many timelines where you get married, though never to me. Some options are better than others, but I won't tell you about them" because what else would he say.

When Danny shows up in Gotham decades later as CW's adopted kid Bruce is zeroed in on all the gossip. His interest is based entirely on his childhood obsession though so he uses absolutely zero Batman skills to investigate the situation and therefore finds nothing weird about Danny's background. The batkids find this hilarious because there is Clearly something weird going on with that kid.

Clockwork could easily solve all of the Bats' problems and tell them the answers to all the investigations they're doing but why would he do that???? That's boring. He's vibing in his new house with his cool liminal son why would he be worried about *checks notes* the hundreds of people dying to rogue attacks nearby.

Despite never being genuinely helpful he DOES randomly drop in-universe lore that no one would've figured out otherwise. Usually he does this about six months after it would've been really nice to know.

He doesn't do this out of malice he just doesn't intervene in things normally and if he does, it's only by request. The Bats (besides Batman because he's still oblivious) are too worried about what he might ask for in exchange to make requests though they know he's powerful but they are totally wrong because he's just sitting there baking bread thinking "hm I wonder why Timothy never asked me to help him get Batman back from being lost in the time stream, I could've done that really easily without changing too much. Oh well, whatever makes him happy."

Danny also never makes requests but that's because CW went a bit too hard on teaching him messed up karmic lessons about interfering with time so Danny just assumes it's always a bad idea to ask.

[romulusthethird]

Alt. Universe AU

Listen, Danny didn't mean to fall through that portal and end up in a pool of burning ectoplasm. But here he was, after another annoying meeting with Clockwork about time shenanigans and alternate selves, in said pool of goo.

It felt like he was being burned alive. His mouth opened involuntarily to scream, taking the green liquid into his mouth, into his lungs when he ran out of breath. He screams anew, actually hearing his voice in the dense goo. He sounds like nails digging into a chalkboard and dragging across it.

His Lichtenburg scars light up, glowing an eerie green, almost yellow.

He's going to drown. To actually die.

He kicks his feet, but it's as if he is trying to run in a dream. Too slow. His hands wave above him, pushing down. He kicks, and kicks, and kicks.

He can't breathe.

He's in so much pain--more pain than he's ever felt in his half-dead life.

And then, somehow, someway, he breaks through to the surface.

He gulps in the fresh, clean air with loud wheezes. He's still kicking his weakening legs, still moving his arms. He coughs, moving forward.

His feet touch the ground.

He wants to laugh, and to cry when he finally stands, waist still emerged in the hot ectoplasm. He gags, hacking and coughing, maybe even throws up a little, expelling the green goo back into the pool.

When he looks up, he's in a cave. It's tall and expansive, and he could kiss the damp, disgusting stone a few feet away from him.

He's alive.

He pulls himself out of the water, chest heaving, and lies on his back on the cool stone. His clothes are eaten through and barely resemble clothes. His skin steams and... is he glowing?

He is! His arm looks like he lost a battle with a Edward doll from those twilight movies. He's not sparkling, but it's like a faint shimmer out the corner of your eyes. Like something is trying to enchant you.

Is he some type of Fae?

And his nails... They're claws! Freaking claws! He moves his hand around, wiggling his fingers. They look lethal. Like a mon--

"And what do we have here?" A voice, deep and old, rang out.

Danny startles, not having heard anyone come in (and he has super hearing!) He sits up, hair falling around his face (did his hair grow????) and eyes taking in the old man and the people in black surrounding him.

"Who are you?" The man asks.

"...None of ya business."

"Everything is my business in my domain."

Danny stills. He looks closer at the man. He isn't a ghost, maybe a little liminal, but alive and well. "Who are you?" He shot back. "And what's you 'domain'?"

"Since you managed to find my personal Lazarus Pit, you know what I am. But, I suppose I'll humor you. My name is Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's Head. This is Nanda Parbat, my domain."

Nanda Parbat? What the heck? Demon's Head? "I don't know you. My name is Danny." Should he be giving random people who appear in caves with green pools of ectoplasm his government name? He doesn't know, but if it goes south he has the power to leave. And maybe that's also in his human form too, now, if the claws were any indication.

The old man hums. "How did you get here Danny?"

"I don't know. One minute I was--" He can't tell him that. That's not something a human should know. Not something someone living should know. "--Y'know at home and the next I'm waking up in this goo pool that burned me."

"You are a poor liar. Why shouldn't I slay you here and now?"

Danny snorts. "You can try."

The man's lips twitch in amusement. "Fascinating. Take him to the dungeons. We'll see how long you can endure before you spill all your secrets, dakhil."

Two men came forward to grab his arms. Danny wants to fight them, really, but he's so tired. He can escape later. For now, he lets these men pick him up and take him out of the cave and into what looks like a medieval castle.

"Do be careful not to damage him further before I can see to him."

Maybe that should scare Danny, but it doesn't. He's dragged past a courtyard full of training people, including a boy, lightning quick, fighting against a woman.

Their eyes meet--his, and the shocking blue of the stranger--before he is dragged further into his new temporary home.

He is leaving. He just needs to rest first.

Yes.

Rest...

-

--

---

----

-----

----

---

--

-

So, the plan for this AU is essentially, Dami never went to Gotham at the tender age of ten, and is still in the league (We are ignoring the "Ra's needs his body" canon because that does not fit here) and is still the heir. He's still his little murdery assassin self. I wanna say Danny is 15 here, (we are ignoring ALL CANON in this household today because Danny is not the ghost king and I can't remember shit about the tv show rn so my plan is like, he's strong right, but not like op insane, but like on par with superboy right, and he does errands for clocky and maybe goes through time/dimensions for him idk. I might make him come across half alien (like in those fics where hes kryptonian or martian, you get what I'm saying right) in this idk we're gonna find out together) and Dami is 16. The plan is to have Dami and the Danno fall in wuv and abscond to gotham together, for the glorious scene of "the son you never knew you had" showing up w his boyfriend. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. (the second part is already in my brain but I was up all night watching movies so you get this now, and that later.)\\

--

(also if you've read my shit before, and even if you haven't, I know that Dakhil isn't technically correct, since its using the wrong alphabet, and is not even remotely written how it sounds, but I purposefully do not use the correct alphabet because that is not what the character will hear. They won't hear دخيل, they're going to hear sounds and they won't be able to see the alphabet, so I figured why not just put the closest equivalent so readers can kinda understand what the character, in this case danny, is hearing? idk maybe it's stupid, but I digress. thanks for coming to ted talk numero 2)

(Also 2.0, the word means intruder.)

(i had something else to tell you, but I am genuinely fighting for my life against this headache rn. You cry a few dozen times watching Interstellar and suddenly you and your brain have beef)

--

(Lmaoo I remembered. it took me a sec, and the light from my computer is hurting my eyes, but I got distracted right, and remembered--

I almost had danny lie and tell them his name was Dante (which is what a lot of fanfic writers use for Dan) and was tempted to have him impersonate the other danny, and then when clockwork catches wind of his act, have dante come rescue him and get simultaneously confused and angry:

Dante coming to rescue his hopeless alt self Danny: wtf man why are you impersonating me? Danny-Dante, gasping dramatically: what do you mean you're Dante? I've always had this name! My great aunt Tilda gave it to me at the 75th annual Fenton christioning. Are you an imposter? Have you come to harvest my eggs? Dante: You don't have eggs Dante: and what the actual fuck is a christioning Danny-Dante: HA! see? Imposter. Doesn't even know about the christionings. Dante: you made that up Danny-Dante: Prove it. And so the other Danny went back to their dimension to see if so-called "Christionings" are real. He has to wait a year, and when he comes back, he is traumatized. A year later, Dante at Danny-Dante's door: I'm moving in. Danny-Dante: Did you bring Ellie?" Dante, shuddering: No... she enjoyed it. Danny-Dante: Oh god. come in come in. Hopefully she comes to her sense before yultol. Dante, dreading the answer: what is yul-- Danny-Dante: You don't want to know. You really, really don't.

That spiraled but yk. thanks for coming to my fifth ted talk. Bye)

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

DP x DC AU idea:

Regent!Jazz

Having been ecto-contaminated since conception, Jazz is the most Liminal being in the world, which has her develop a proto-core. As in, death has about 30% claim on Jazz and every year it grows stronger the longer she lives above the portal.

Can Jazz walk through walls, disappear and fly? Sorta, occasionally, and no. It depends on how much Ecto she has in her system, otherwise she’s just got her inherent strength.

Jazz inherited the Fenton Law Loophole tendency.

She swaps out her psychology books for books on Realms Law, spends a week locked in her room with them in fact. It concerns Danny and co., because what is Jazz up to?

Jazz claims regency thanks to three factors:

1: Danny unconsciously views her as a third parent thanks to her raising him in a neglected household. She got him to fourteen before she looked away for a minute, ok?

2: Danny is a minor in both human and ghost culture, therefore he’s baby and needs time to grow up without bearing kingly responsibilities, right?

3: As mentioned before, Jazz is the most Liminal being in the modern age, with a slowly developing proto-core. This allows her to be able to not only survive the Infinite Realms on a long-term basis, but able to step up as Regent at all.

————

Sam and Tucker, while Liminal too (thanks to them getting flooded with it with Danny’s death) still have a ways to go in terms of contamination- give it a few more years in Amity Park and they’ll start to show more symptoms of death-claimed, though they’ll never be able to surpass Jazz. Not even Jack and Maddie Fenton could ever say that, considering they wear Hazmat suits daily that has limited exposure, but were also adults when first contaminated- the ecto would take a lot longer to bond to adult molecules than that of a just-conceived child.

Maybe Jazz even leeched off some of Maddie’s contamination in the womb? Whose to say.

Where does DC come in?

Perhaps the vivisection route? It’s a tried and true method of getting Danny to Gotham, but I raise you- Jazz essentially “kidnaps” Danny, taking him away from his haunt once she is Regent.

Gotham is a city drenched, drowning, in tragedy and therefore natural ectoplasm for a powerful Liminal and Halfa to survive on.

Lady Gotham welcomes the two eagerly into her city and directs Jazz to the soon-to-form Lazarus pit- corrupted ectoplasm, but nothing Danny can’t filter out with time, it’ll heal him and whatever happened to his core after being ripped away from his haunt.

It does cause a rift to form between the two, but Jazz is firm in staying in Gotham. Right on the edge of Crime Alley to be specific.

Here we can slide in Vigilante!Jazz, who is pissed off at the world and needs to work out some excess energy. Enhanced bone density means that Jazz doesn’t have to worry about screwing up her knees with a few ��superhero landings’.

Liminalality means that she can sense the weird guy in the Red Hood whose territory she keeps crossing into while beating the crap out of some criminals and escorting the night workers home.

Revenant!Jason…

….possible Anger Management/Hardcover pairing?

[Im thinking about continuing this, but idk. I do have like a page written out with Regent!Jazz]

Masterlist

[vicmillen]

Why Danny should be tossed into the Gotham cast

A short medium long list of reasons, by me:

It funny.

Lady Gotham being an nuisance. A mostly benign one but still a nuisance.

Danny being a even bigger nuisance in retaliation because men can be so petty.

Ol' Batsy getting multiple headaches. Must be his age catching up.

Jason.

Oh sweet, a whole species of enslaved undead waiting to be rescued and rehabilitated. Hmm wonder what's the deal with all the owl motifs?

Did I mention Jason? Oh I did. But how about his magic sword? You know the glowy lightsaber that's powered by his soul or something?

Bird watching is fun. Bat watching is even more fun. Until they start watch you back but eh

The rouges here feels more homely then elsewhere. More malicious to the living then your average Amity haunting, maybe. But the commitment to a theme is very familiar, as is the frequency of attacks.

Another fake clown to soup up! Huh? What do you mean he's human? Humans can't get souped like that don't be silly lol.

Wait. Huh. Well that explains everything and nothing.

How To Manage A Ghost Kingdom 101: a joint lecture by Timothy Drake-Wayne and Jason Peter Todd, teenaged entrepreneur and crime lord, respectively. Targeted student: one future Phantom King.

Advanced Anger Management with Jazz. Targeted student: one Jason Todd and one Danny Phantom.

How To Not Be A Cult Leader Part I, a group therapy lead by Tim. Attendee: one ol' Batsy, his son Stabby Robin, and one Ghost Boy.

So many liminals for a place without a 24/7 portal to the afterlife. Wait what's that green pool underground?

Why and most importantly, How is there ecto detectors in the batcave- wait no actually that explains how the Fentons got their first funding for their cursed research.

'It's good to practice for the future.' -Clockwork, probably.

'Enrichment is important for the growth of a Protector.' -Frostbite, probably.

'Peace is not an option.' -Paraphrased by Danny, probably.

Moving from most haunted city to most cursed city isn't exactly an upgrade, but it isn't an downgrade either, so.

Have you ever considered fighting the bad vibes of your city with cutesy lil blobs? Well you should. Not it's not causing a slime infestation what are you talking about.

Finally someone that is both willing (untrue) and able (we'll see) to deal with the various curses in Gotham. Yay...

No but seriously Danny-make friends with rouges while actively beating each other up-Phantom would fit right in with the Robins.

It's Jazz's dream job working in Arkham... Well it's actually working on dismantling the cursed thing, but baby steps, baby steps.

Imagine the everlasting trio getting onto the bats watchlist within a week. Separately.

Sam for Ivy The Second tendency; Danny because he's poking around old dionesium researches that he shouldn't know about; and Tucker because he's having fun (one-sided) with his new online friends. Oracle is deeply unamused.

Ellie should never meet Damian. They'll be such good bad influences for each other.

[youryurigoddess]

A. Z. Fell & Co. bookshop and its statues

To start off, you have to be warned that the former set was almost completely destroyed in the S1 bookshop fire and whatever wasn’t important enough to be salvaged before the shooting had to be replaced afterwards. Which means that a few memorable and already identified pieces aren’t there anymore, for better or worse.

This is going to be another long analysis, and certainly not a full one — I’ll describe only the big picture and the most important props. A continuation focusing on the decorations in the less prominent parts of the bookshop will follow here.

Right at the entrance we can see twin tables with the Marly Horses by Guillaume Coustou the Elder. The sculptures showing two rearing horses with their groom were originally commissioned by Louis XV of France for the entrance to château de Marly, a royal residence near Versailles.

In S2 Crowley is shown consistently using one of the horses, partially out of convenience, partially in line with a returning throughout the season dark horse theme. Ironically, the symbolic harnessing of a wild animal mirrors the supposed domestication of the demon by his angel, as seen in the transformation of the statue to the right from the entrance into an altar of his submission.

After all, there’s nothing more vulnerable to Crowley than losing the usual protection of his shades, and using a horse sculpture as a stand for his sunglasses speaks volumes about his natural aptitude towards uncertain and liminal states. He thrives in stress situations, dangles his feet while hopping onto a curb, and assumes the form of a non-Euclidean fluid when asked to sit down in a chair. Stability isn’t exactly what he’s most comfortable with. So what for Aziraphale signifies the power over his (theirs?) own domain and ultimate safe space, for Crowley means a challenge.

It makes sense that this particular spot near the exit is where the demon feels most secure in the bookshop, his favorite place in the world. That’s where he stood after crossing its threshold in 1941 too.

The statue in the middle, right on top of the central bookstand, was replaced after the S1 fire. It’s still clearly a Cupid, but in a different pose and without his weapons — instead of shooting an arrow, now he’s holding his left hand over his head, pointing up towards Heaven or God. Quite a change. This is the most similar copy made after Ernest Rancoulet. The butterfly-like wings (similar to the ones Rancoulet used in his La Nuit Tout Repose, At Night Everything Rests) on the copy in the bookshop have visible screws, so they were probably added either by the previous owner or the Good Omens art department.

What’s especially important from the analytic point of view is that similarly to S1, the Cupid in question still appears in the frame facing Crowley, but not targeting him anymore, like it used to, but rather mirroring. The most memorable example appears during the Final Fifteen™ when the demon points up with left hand to highlight his “No nightingales” line.

This one will be fun! Everyone, meet George Maxim’s bronze allegory of Music in her full glory. Angels like music in general, right? And Aziraphale is a known audiophile, which was asserted in the very first episode of the new season. But there’s another link to music in his angelic roots. A rather apocalyptic one — the Archangel Raphael is believed to blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Second Coming (the Day of Resurrection), and Israfil, its Islamic counterpart, Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment).

Staying in the very same context, let’s read the ballad Israfel by Edgar Allen Poe, which was obviously inspired by the titular Archangel.

Nothing on Earth lasts forever — but that’s exactly the reason why we should use it for inspiration, savor this momentary bliss, and hold it in our hearts. The ballad shares the same sentiment about all creation being temporary and only the passions of angels (i.e., Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s feelings) staying eternally unchanging as Aziraphale’s “Nothing lasts forever”. His line was intended as an affirmation of his feelings, similar to “You go too fast for me, Crowley”.

And just like the Cupid is mirroring Crowley in the “No nightingales” line, Music is targeting Aziraphale with her harp in the following frame.

On the counter there’s a smaller bronze statue, which original unfortunately remains unidentified, but I was able to track some similar designs. A woman coming back from the harvest with crops — either a representation of Autumn or the Greek goddess Demeter bringing a blessing of a plentiful harvest. In the Bible, the harvest is a metaphor for both spiritual fruitfulness and judgment. Our productivity in God’s kingdom is supposedly tied to our faith and obedience. And the most popular verses repeat an even older saying, how one reaps what they sow:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” (Revelation 14:15)

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)

If you read The summer that was never supposed to end meta, you’ll interpret the figure itself as a rather ominous sign. Now let’s add to it positioning right next to the gigantic Victorian cash register one cannot possibly overlook and the recurring theme of payment. And the fact that it conveniently disappears at some point in The Ball (S02E05) episode, never to be seen again. Is the payment reminder not needed anymore, because its day just came?

For some reason ever since S1 this one was often interpreted as a bust of Alexander the Great by the fandom. The proper name is the Head of a Victorious Athlete, also known as Benevento Head. As this suggests, the originally bronze sculpture represents a victorious athlete wearing an olive crown and was found near Benevento in Italy, in the remnants of the ancient town Herculaneum, wiped off from the face of the earth together with Pompeii in a tragic volcanic eruption (which was conveniently used later on as a more modern example of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah). It’s an obviously Roman copy of a Greek sculpture and dates back to 50 AD, less than a decade after Aziraphale and Crowley met in Rome in 41 AD— who knows, maybe they were still around at the time? This would make an interesting connection to the statue Crowley brought back to his apartment in 1941.

And no, in the HD quality and especially en face it doesn’t appear similar to Crowley. In fact, there seems to be a very good reason why most photographers choose another, more flattering angle for this particular artwork. But aesthetics aside, the white bust seems more like a mirror for Aziraphale and his self-constructed (and self-imposed) idealized image, based on a specific set of virtues. The presented athlete is victorious because he’s the epitome of the Platonic Triad of higher Forms: Truth, Beauty, and Excellence, understood in the wider context of the Greek Aretē.

To highlight this point, in S1 the head was literally used as a designated display place of the medal Aziraphale got as a commendation for his 6000 years on Earth in the 1800 cut scene. As a free agent not affiliated with Heaven in S2 he doesn’t hang it there anymore, but the medal is still in the bookshop, visible on his desk. You can see it in detail and read the description of its provenance in the last bookshop meta.

Daedalus and Icarus are a very popular motif in the history of art, but certainly not in this overtly masculine, military style. Icarus was too ambitious for his own good and ignored explicit instructions, which constitutes both the sin of pride and that of disobedience to one's parents (or one’s Creator?).

Interestingly, there’s also a version of the myth in which Icarus fashioned himself greater than Helios, the Sun himself, and the god himself punished him for it with the fall — which resonates very strongly with my vision of Crowley both in relation to his Fall and potential S3 development.

But back to Aziraphale. If the medal in question was given to him as a commendation he from the Supreme Archangel himself, it also serves as a warning for him to not get too arrogant or comfortable with his accomplishment (i.e., life on Earth) or it might lead to his fall (or, in this case, Fall).

Foreshadowing much?

[mooblybloom]

In my mind when Danny becomes king he appoints all of his friends that have helped him so far as his personal counsel and as time goes on they kind of fan out into the ghost Zone making themselves at home in different places or in some cases just making completely new places to call home and they all have code names along with all of them no longer Being Human in some capacity

For example:

Sam's code name is Nightshade this is because of the whole undergrowth situation however instead of retaining undergrowths powers she instead becomes a vampire due to the main trios shenanigans and then becoming a vampire she has a lot of time so she starts a witch coven that Focus mainly around protecting plant life

Tucker's code name is Conri, which means wolf King basically at some point during their Many Adventures as a trio Tucker got turned into a werewolf and was quickly accepted by the werewolf community of the ghost Zone.

Dani's just there for a good time as the ghost zones official youngest princess

However, Jazz has a more productive role both as princess and in the court as Judgment basically Danny got so paranoid about becoming Dan, so Jazz took it upon herself to become a contingency plan just in case that were to happen (this is inspired by this fic)

Valerie has the code name Vermilion because the red Huntress is a mouthful in introductions she's also a liminal due to the extended exposure to ectoplasm after spending so many days in the zone same with Jazz

Finally, Wes is also a liminal, but he's also been cursed by Nocture (because Nocturne is bored and likes fucking with wes) making him Critical Role. Basically he picked up this cursed ghost die and now whenever he wonders something like whether or not Danny is going to win a fight he sees numbers from 1 to 20, 20 being the best one being the worst (this is based off this fic)

[vm-haunts]

Crossover Headcanons: Worldbuilding Edition

A collection of DPxDC headcanons from myself and various posts, in no particular order.

Green stuff

Dionesium is, or is one of the main decay byproduct of, ectoplasm. It is the defining element in Lazarus water.

Lazarus water is a naturally occurring compound that amplifies certain effects of ectoplasm. Concentration of ectoplasm in the waters is surprisingly low despite the appearance.

College trio as the Doctor Three. Who lead the study on dionesium in Gotham University at some point.

Talons created by the Court of Owls are a special type of liminals, and communicates within themselves via a dialect of ghost speak.

Realms stuff

Infinite realms, or pockets within it, had been observed and accessed before, by different civilizations under numerous different names.

The Kryptonians used the realms as a means of banishment, which they called the phantom zone.

GIW stuff

GIW is operating under All Purpose Enforcement Squad (APES), headquarters in mount Rushmore.

Anti-ecto Acts is a set of old laws dating back to civil war era, only brought back into practice in recent years.

Liminals have significantly higher chance of activating metagene. May or may not be causing the metagene mutation in the first place.

Anti-ecto Acts might be intentionally exploited as a backdoor to meta protection acts.

Ring stuff

Pariah Dark's ring of rage turned into the phantom ring after Danny officially claimed it. It enhances all emotions of the owner equally.

Danny lost his ring at some point and it became known to the lanterns as the phantom ring.

In the hands of realm ghosts the phantom ring glows green regardless of the emotion it is enhancing, as ghosts are beings of pure will. Otherwise it is black with a faint white glow. (Can't believe this one matches up, I love lore stitching)

Balance stuff

Danny bears both Life Force and Death Force in equal amounts. His only way to accessing them is channelling a mixture of the two to power his ghost wail.

Ghost Wail infused with both acts like a simple sonic attack. But if powdered only by death force it's functionally the same thing as Void Wind, which 'negates the power and immortality of the gods. Enabling it to shut down any form of arcana used against it'.

Dark Danny only process death force as he no longer have a human side for balance. His death infused wail could be how he destroyed the world without much interference from magic users.

Danny's Wail can be infused with only life force instead, which would eviscerate ghosts. Possibly only possible when he is in human form.

Glitchy stuff (not really DC related)

Dark Danny's attack on Clockwork's tower created some pretty severe glitchs in time (ha) across all of the living realms.

As the clocktower take damage some universes collapsed together, and some timelines became contradictory and paradoxical (typical comic reboot am I right?😅)

After Dan finally calmed down he becomes the ultimate errand boy for clockwork. Showing up an fixing things he broke under the guidance of the ghost of Time.

Stranger stuff

Dan got sentenced to Life (literal) in an alternate ending of glitch in time, which capped his destruction and eventually calmed him off.

Reformed Dan is doing social services as penance, in the DC multiverse he goes by the alias of Phantom Stranger.

[mykingdomforapen]

LC's Link Click fic shout-outs

I worry I'm going to come off as nagging but I do feel strongly about it. Link Click has some INCREDIBLE fic, written by people who put a lot of time and energy and effort into writing, but they don't always get a ton of reader interaction. I feel like I often find a fic I enjoy, scroll down to comment, and find I'm maybe one of 2 or 3 people to comment on it.

Link Click is technically not a small fandom--on the contrary, it's so incredibly active! But it seems that unless a fic was published in the s1 era or happens to get lucky, this is the norm. Which strikes me as sad, because the fandom is popping and active on other platforms.

So here are a handful of fics (by no means exhaustive) of fics that I've thoroughly enjoyed that I had scrolled down and went, They deserve so much love! (again, not exhaustive!)

liminal by Anonymous

Qiao Ling and Lu Guang talk. Much is left unsaid.

It's such a subtle fic, but so effective in showing Lu Guang's emotions, Qiao Ling's worry, and the nature of their relationship in conjunction to Cheng Xiaoshi. It's truly just so soft and nice.

stain by HeavenlyDusk

The only way for Cheng Xiaoshi to be dead is for Qiao Ling to have died first.

I just love a Qiao Ling confronts Lu Guang about Cheng Xiaoshi's death fic, and this one really captures big sister Qiao Ling and how much she cares about both of her boys. I love it!

resolve and reverberations by macrauchenia

Lu Guang rarely fumbles, rarely cracks, and rarely steps up to the sparring mat first. Nevertheless, on a random day in the middle of September, he does all three. Alternatively, Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi can't figure out why their best friend seems so *wrong* for no explicable reason.

A slice of life fic that adds such a delicious sprinkle of angst at Lu Guang's expense hehe. But it makes me feel so sad for Lu Guang, who just is so traumatized of losing Cheng Xiaoshi, and then it gives him a soft encouragement at the end. It's so sweet.

Instinct (Part One) by JordannaMorgan

Hired to solve a wealthy client’s personal mystery, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang discover there are even darker powers in the world than they realized… and the damage left in the fallout will not be easily fixed for anyone.

Man, this fic is so CREATIVE. It is great at suspense, kept me on the edge of my seat from chapter to chapter, and the Cheng Xiaoshi angst is so delicious. And then the ENDING. gahhh, I cannot wait for Part Two and really hope that it will come!! I think about this fic so often

A Day Like Any Other by rane_ne

After three long years, for the very first time ever, Lu Guang finally gets to turn 20.

It's just ... gahhhh. Cheng Xiaoshi is my blorbo, yes, but Lu Guang being so relieved and emotional at the end because he's finally done it, and is turning another year older because he no longer has to dive back because his friend is alive??? GAHHHHH

Memoriam by JordannaMorgan

Even for those who have no powers, photographs are powerful things.

This is a lovely case fic that is so thoughtfully, emotionally, and tenderly told. I love the compassion that the story has for the characters, and it gives me the feelings that the Earthquake arc concluded with--finding joy and kindness even within the tragedy. I really love it.

sept, oct by Toothpaste_Fresh

The first time around, there are no rules, and Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi must learn all of their lessons the hard way. The first time around, Cheng Xiaoshi is the seventh of Liu Min’s victims. The second time around, there will be no seventh victim.

Gosh, this fic is so goooood. I love the speculation of what the first time round was like, and GOSH it's just such a gut punch of dramatic irony, of both CXS and LG being bold and idealistic and naive, and then how it tragically leads to CXS' death. It's EXCELLENT.

Golden Hour by StuckIn_aTimeLoop

The salty breeze feels nice. Cheng Xiaoshi smiles as he kneels down in the sand, happy they managed to make it in time for golden hour. Cheng Xiaoshi holds up the camera to capture his shot.

I LOVE ME SOME PARALLEL SCENES THAT ARE CONNECTED AND INTERTWINED BY AN EMOTIONAL MOTIF!! The juxtaposition of two types of golden hours is done so well, and both are so full of energy of opposite kinds in such a well balanced way. I was so excited when I heard this fic was being written and I was so happy reading it.

the shine in your eyes reminded me of the moon by StuckIn_aTimeloop

Cheng Xiaoshi was barely a child when his parents died. The king took him in, raised him as his own. Now he's older, it is time for him to choose his own knight.

Prince Cheng Xiaoshi and Knight Lu Guang. Need I say more??? It's so indulgent and I love it.

[spritecranverry]

(Spoilers for 'Babel' if u haven't read it yet and don't want those)

Hi I'm re-reading this book after my physical copy got delivered and I'm here to argue that Robin's fate is sealed the moment he chooses his name:

When Robin's mother dies, she says his name - his real name - one last time. It's only two syllables, but he'll never hear it again; Professor Lovell decides it's not worth keeping because the English tongue wouldn't be able to pronounce it. It's in this portion of the book that Kuang establishes one of the first instances of language as a means of wielding power: namely, the power to erase.

Even further, the scene where Robin chooses his 'English' name encapsulates his relationship to his identity for the rest of the book: he is simultaneously disconnected (or "un-anchored", as Kuang puts it on page 15) from his culture and 'othered' by it while living in English society, no matter how hard he tries to assimilate. Lovell makes Robin drop his own family's surname on page 12 (which we also never learn), effectively cutting him off from ever re-tracing his own ancestry and lineage. I think it's interesting to note that part of why Lovell doesn't value Robin's surname is because to the English, a name that isn't linked to status and capital is worthless.

What's even more interesting, though, is that Lovell doesn't let Robin take his last name, even after Robin realizes that he's his biological father. Instead, he forces Robin to choose a random English name. He tells him on page 10 that he has no family, and that his father is "unknown". Lovell wants Robin to remove all markers of his Asian identity from his name while simultaneously never claiming his son as his own despite his dependency on him.

This effectively places Robin in this odd liminal space where he is only allowed to participate in English society conditionally, but he also doesn't have the option to ever return to Canton because he no longer has the ability to fully reconnect there. His identity as a result morphs into this ambiguous thing that is constantly in flux relative to how white society perceives him. The choice to make him literally half white and half Asian as opposed to a fully Chinese man trying to assimilate makes this especially poignant; at no point does he have the ability to opt out of this constant state of limbo that the construct of racial identity puts him in. Robin - and perhaps Kuang did this intentionally - exists during a time when diasporic and mixed identities are still being formed and conceptualized, which means he wouldn't have much access to communities of people in similar situations. With the exception of Griffin, he's basically alone here.

It's during the scene where Robin first sets off on that ship to England that I'm reminded of what happened to the identity of enslaved Africans once they got through the Middle Passage: they and their descendants would never be able to fully re-integrate into their cultures of origin, but would also be permanently 'other' in the eyes of American society, relegating them to a constant state of place-lessness. An un-anchoring, if you will. (Obviously these are not the same, but a similar thing is happening in terms of cultural belonging and as an African American this is what came to mind. Please don't jump me 🤚🏾)

Let's circle back to the footnote on page 11 that quotes the book Robin took his name from: "I killed Cock Robin. Who saw him die?"

For the entirety of 'Babel', we see Robin struggle for the rest of his short life against the implications of his name and the circumstances that led to him choosing it, and none of it of his own volition. I think the most tragic part of Robin's story is that Lovell decided what he was supposed to be long before the book even begins. Robin's decision, then, to stray from that path renders him with (at least in his eyes) no other viable way to exist in this world in the state his father has left him in. Once he decides to stop participating in the imperialist machine, neither England nor Canton (which he has no way to return to after killing his father) has a place for him.

Long before he makes that final decision at the end of the book, Lovell subjects Robin to what I think can be interpreted as its own kind of death. He's become a ship permanently lost at sea with nothing left to anchor him and with no destination in sight. The other characters never really seem to fully understand the extent of the loss he has experienced because he is the only character other than Griffin who has been 'un-anchored' in such a specific way. Re-reading the book knowing what his fate will be, then, makes the rest of the story feel like a very slow, winding, and complicated march towards death.

TL; DR: Robin's been dead since the very beginning of 'Babel'. In fact, he's dead the very moment he becomes 'Robin', and Lovell killed him. But who saw him die?