#dark ages ship

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 345

Let it be known that none of them actually expected the idiots’ of the week’s ritual to work. The summoning hadn’t worked for literal centuries- everyone knew it had been sealed away, presumably forever!

(Of course they had no way to know that in the Infinite Realms actually used the term forever as a measurement of time, what with how time itself wasn’t particularly linear within. And to beings that could hypothetically live for eternity? Forever was a nice vacation time really) 

So maybe they hadn’t been exactly focused on stopping the ritual as much as they could of been, and by the time they realized it was working, well, it’d been a bit too late then. So yes, mistakes had perhaps in fact, been made. 

First had come the chill, the cold of the ground as your body was lowered down, the cold of your blood dripping from your living corpse. Then came the shadows, the darkness creeping along their vision as their soul slipped from their body. Followed by boiling heat, flames scorching through their flesh and tearing from their chests like a blade piercing their hearts. 

The form that emerged was massive, a cloak dripping crimson fluttering in the wind of an unseen battlefield, verdant flames licking at the air and causing the surrounding shadows to writhe. A dark growl echoed through the building, the stone below them shaking while deathly green eyes glowered down at the living with utter contempt. 

“Do any of you imbeciles know how long it takes to get ghostlings to sleep-” 

[radiance1]

Tim, officially, does not have a new caretaker.

Tim, unofficially, does have a new caretaker.

A large, large man with long flaming purple hair that was capable of touching the floor if it didn't move like fire with sharp glowing green eyes and a neutral, if a bit of a resting bitch face, expression on his face.

Comparatively, he was not dressed oddly. Nothing but a white compression shirt, grey sweatpants and a pair of black sandals. The only thing odd about it was the sword constantly strapped to his waist, though Tim ignored it when he saw the man using it to chop ingredients.

Fright, he called himself, and Tim never asked if it was his actual name or not. He was just glad someone came over as constantly as he does.

He doesn't know where the man goes at night, after making sure he's tucked into bed and asleep, but he never pried. Mostly because he wasn't supposed to know that, and he doesn't want Fright to catch onto the fact that he was constantly sneaking out at night either.

So they'll both keep their secrets.

===

Fright Knight was at a loss with himself.

His master, Pariah Dark, had been once again released from the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and he wasted no time to return to his side. Even with his previous betrayl.

The events that followed were unexpected.

His master did not continue his eons long war with life. Though it had long since turned silent with his imprisonment, it was still brewing under the current of 'peace' that the Ghost Zone fell into.

Fright Knight knew that well.

So, what exactly was he supposed to do when his master returned to his time as naught but a humble farmer and started to rebuild the bridge he had long burnt with the Master of Time?

He felt... conflicted.

Of course, reconnecting with the Ghost of Time was a good thing, and he has been subject to witness just how much passion they had for each other during days long past.

But his master picking up a life that was not one honed through blood was always an odd thing for him to experience. Two peas in a pod, as some would say they were.

War and Fear.

Where War went, Fear followed. Rivers of flowing blood with storms of fear promised was something too tempting for him to resist.

Fear was a sword, and he was War's blade.

So it was not something easy for him to adjust to when War settled down into peace and sought prosperity instead of his namesake. Of course, he, as always, adjusted regardless of the situation and followed his master in his newest endeavor.

It was much harder to preserve a life, than it was to end it. They both came to realize. On his master's part, farming was something he pondered over and donned for a brief time eons ago, the new methods of today clashing wildly with what little he knew of the activity before War sung to him again. For Fright Knight, he had not a single nail's worth of experience in the act, never having had an interest like War did and as such, never learned.

It felt rather odd to use his blade to cut gifts from the land, but if he replaced them with images of enemies long since snuffed, it wasn't exactly hard.

He could not stay there for long; however, it was just too... different, from what he was used to. The Ghost King knew this and told him he was free to be left to his own devices so long as it did not affect the rules the Master of Time had set for them.

Or rather, War. But as Fear was in his service, he was not exactly exempt from said constraints, either.

So he wandered, keeping to his 'human' persona he was told to set for himself here. He was thankful that these beings called Meta's existed as no one gave him more than a second glance.

Though if that was more something to do with his height he did not know.

He came upon a city, one of shadows and filled with curses in numbers that even made him pause in slight bafflement. Lady Gotham, the city's spirit, brushed against him as soon as he stepped foot within her haunt, and it did not take long for them to reach and accord.

Fear was allowed to stay, so long as he did not do anything she did not permit. He was fine with said rules, after all, what was another constraint compared to those set by Time itself?

He had a favorable view of this city, just the ambient fear alone made it worth stepping inside. It was better than War's attempt at peace, though it was nothing due to the being itself he was just... used to being surrounded by fear.

Then he met a human child by the name of Timothy Drake. A meeting by chance and nothing else, but he did need something to do by Lady Gotham's suggestion.

So he became the boy's 'caretaker' though if he were a good one was something he could not comment on.

He did not need sleep, his new ward did, so when night fell, he always stepped out of the city to go back to his master and reappeared the next morning.

The thing about his new master's attempt at peace, was that he was quite willing to give away the gifts he received from the land. Which was helpful, considering he had no idea how to acquire money in this new age.

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Clockwork! Clockwork! Let Down Your Beard!

Pariah Dark finds a mysterious tower in the woods, and from out the single window at the top spills quite an impressive silver beard.

For the Prompt: Dark Ages Rapunzel AU [from @pennerjones]

Read Also on AO3

[Warnings for fantasy violence, rapid aging/de-aging, death by old age (unnatural), and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it referenced suicide]

The Infinite Realms was a vast and sprawling kingdom, though whether it was truly infinite, none had yet been able to confirm, nor deny. The king ruled over the realms with an iron fist, and his son, the crown prince, had every intention of ruling just the same way when he ascended to the throne. Their army was powerful, and their patience thin. The Dark family had, generations ago, united the realms as one kingdom, and those members that still lived very much planned to keep it that way.

But the Infinite Realms was a strange place, full of strange phenomena, and if one wandered far enough in any direction, one could find something like they'd never seen before. United though it was under the rule of the Darks, there was no man in the kingdom who had seen everything it had to offer. The crown prince, Pariah Dark, however, had his sights set on being the first.

Every day, after he'd finished his lessons and his training for the day, he would head out into the woods that surrounded the castle on three sides—the fourth, of course, was open to the path leading to the nearby city. He would walk deep into the trees, and explore every inch of the place, traversing further every day. He knew he couldn't go to far, for he would always have to return to the castle eventually, but if he wanted to see everything his kingdom had to offer, he supposed he could start with seeing what the nearby woods had to offer.

They had many new and interesting things to show him. Trees that moved and spoke, rivers that changed their path from day to day, strange birds that watching him with human-like eyes and followed him as he walked.

But when he became king, he was too busy to explore his kingdom like he had planned. He was usually too busy to explore at all. There were many matters to attend to, both diplomatic and warring. Complaints to field from citizens both near and far. It was only late in the night when he had even a moment to himself, and when he did, he would often just sleep.

Then, one day, his advisors brought up the thing he'd been dreading most of his life. If he was to be king, then sooner or later, he would have to find a spouse, and secure himself an heir.

At first, Pariah reviled the idea, and griped and groaned at his advisors for even bringing it up. But then, he saw the opportunity in it. He told his advisors that he would leave his duties earlier in the evening, dress himself in commoners clothes, and go out in search of a spouse who was worthy of the crown.

After all his moaning and groaning, his advisors were too relieved that he was finally being cooperative to argue, or ask why he wanted to disguise himself and refused to take any guards with him on his search.

The first day he was to search for a spouse, he dismissed the line of citizens seeking an audience with the king in the early evening, just a few hours before his audience was normally closed. He changed quickly, and left the castle, blending in with all the other common folk heading down the path back toward the city—either toward their homes, or to inns where they would stay until they finally saw the king.

But Pariah did not follow them into the city. He split off just far enough away that he knew the watching advisors wouldn't be able to see, and he circled around into the forest on the other side of the castle. Rather than search for a partner to rule with, he explored idly, as he had in his youth, and reveled in the rare freedom to reconvene with nature and ignore his royal responsibilities.

It was on his third evening of 'searching for a spouse' that he came across the tower. He had never seen it before. It was tall and thin. It had no doors, and only one window, from which spilled a flowing mane of silver hair. Curious, Pariah tugged upon it.

"Yeowch!" came a cry from above.

Pariah jumped back and drew his mace from the folds of his clothes, prepared for a fight.

"What did you go and do a thing like that for?" the voice called again.

It was coming from overhead, and Pariah looked up to see an old man, poking his head out the window.

"My apologies, sir," Pariah called up. "I... didn't know all this hair was attached to someone."

"Well, truth be told, I don't mind much," the old man replied. "In fact, if you'd given me a little warning, I would have let you climb my glorious beard all the way to the top. I'd be glad of the company."

"Would you?" Pariah asked, amused at the prospect of climbing an old man's beard to the top of a tower.

"Quite so!" the old man confirmed. He took his head back in, and then, after a moment, stuck it out again. "All set!" he called down. "Come on up, if you please."

If Pariah were the type to laugh out loud, he would have done so.

The thought crossed his mind that this old man might be some sort of wizard with malicious intent, or a criminal who'd been imprisoned in this tower for killing everyone who came within arms reach. But it mattered not. Pariah Dark feared no wizard, nor no murderer.

He could have sworn the beard had grown longer in just the few minutes he'd been standing there, though, as it now wrapped around itself in a pool on the grass at the base of the tower. Paying it no mind, he took hold of the long silver beard and began to climb.

The tower was taller than he'd thought, easily a hundred feat high. The old man had a truly impressive beard indeed. At the top, a frail hand reached out to help Pariah through the window, but he ignored it, and managed to climb through himself.

"You would refuse my hand?" the old man asked, aghast, though he seemed to be joking. "How bold. Have you no respect for your elders?"

Now that they were standing so close to each other, Pariah saw that the only man had a long jagged scar over his left eye, which, upon closer inspection, appeared to be glass.

"I simply did not want to inadvertently harm you," Pariah replied, his tone equally light. "My grip is so strong, I would fear breaking your brittle, ancient bones."

The old man chortled, and Pariah couldn't help but smile at the sound. It was a pleasant sort of chortle, but there was an eerie chill beneath it that told Pariah this man may be in good humor now, but he was not one to be trifled with. The king respected that.

"Now, who are you stranger, might I ask?"

"I am... Pariah," the king replied, electing to withhold his surname for the time being, lest recognizing it color the old man's opinion of him. "And you?"

"I am called Clockwork," the man replied. "How did you find your way to my humble tower?"

Pariah explained that he was simply exploring the woods when he happened by. Clockwork remarked how he wished he could explore these woods, but alas, he was trapped in this tower. Pariah began to describe some of the things he'd seen whilst exploring. And by and by the two conversed, quickly falling into a casual back and forth as if they were old friends.

At the minutes turned to hours, Pariah watched with growing concern as Clockwork seemed to age before his eyes, growing older and older. His voice became croaky, his body shriveled, and his beard grew longer by the minute and pooled on the floor until he had to occasionally get up and throw armfuls of the stuff out the solitary window so that it wouldn't be in the way.

Every so often, Clockwork would glance at the old grandfather clock against his wall, and when it struck eleven in the evening, he sighed, a deep, world-weary sigh. He stood up, and with hands that trembled with age and tied his beard on the hook over the window.

"I'm afraid, my friend, that you must go now, before it's too late," he said. "If it's not too presumptuous of me to ask, would you mind coming to visit me again tomorrow?"

Pariah was not typically the sympathetic type, but he looked at his friend of only one day, and felt sympathy. Just by looking at him, he knew that the old man would be dead before morning. Pariah had watched him waste away all through the evening, and he knew. Still, they had become friends in the hours that passed, so he agreed.

"Of course, my friend," he told the elderly man. "I shall return tomorrow."

"Do you promise?" Clockwork asked, his voice rasping and desperate.

Pariah felt a pang of sympathy in his chest, and mentally prepared himself to return to find a corpse on the meager bed.

"I promise."

The next day, when his duties were done, and Pariah was meant to set out in search of a spouse, he returned to the tower instead. As before, there was a long, white beard spilling from the window, though it was not as long as Pariah would have expected, considering how much longer it had been when he'd descended the tower the night before.

"Clockwork!" he called up. "Clockwork! May I come up to visit?"

Much to Pariah's surprise, Clockwork poked his head out the window, looking very much alive, and a few seconds later he called down:

"Yes, come up!"

And so Pariah gripped tightly the old man's beard and began to climb.

At the top of the tower, he saw Clockwork again, looking still old, but fit as a fiddle compared to when Pariah had left him. A surprise to be sure, but perhaps his condition waxed and waned, growing worse at night, and easing in the morning.

Clockwork greeted him as if they'd known each other for years, and not just a single day, and Pariah returned the greeting in kind.

Again, the two talked late into the night, conversation flowing easily between them. Again, Pariah watched as his new friend grew older with each passing hour until he seemed as though he would die of old age before their conversation ended. Again, when the clock stuck eleven, Clockwork bade Pariah that he should leave before it was too late. And again, he asked him to return the next day, so they might pass the evening together once more.

Pariah promised a second time, and a second time he repelled down the tower, and mentally prepared himself for the possibility that he might return to a corpse.

A third time, he returned, and once more, Clockwork was alive and well when he called up to request entry.

When he was once more in the room at the top of the tower and saw Clockwork looking, still old, but healthier than he had been when Pariah left the night before, he finally decided to ask outright.

"My friend, why do you always seem on the brink of death when you urge me to leave," he asked, "but when I return, you are alive and well?"

Clockwork smiled a melancholy smile. "I'm not actually old. I've been cursed, you see."

"Ah, a young man cursed with an aged body," Pariah guessed. "I've heard of such curses before, nasty things."

Clockwork shook his head. The roots of his beard swayed, and Pariah noticed that the beard had been tied to a hook above the window, evidently to lessen the strain on the old man's chin when Pariah climbed up.

"No," Clockwork said. "It's worse than that."

The old man untied his beard and went to take a seat before he told his tale. The room at the top of the tower was small, with only a bed, a writing desk, a grandfather clock, a wardrobe, and a single chair. With Clockwork on the chair, Pariah took a seat on the bed, the thin mattress sagging deeply under the weight of his substantial form.

"Listen well as I tell you my tale of woe," Clockwork began. "I was born to a lowly clock maker and his humble wife. But before my birth, in a manner which has never been revealed to me, my parents earned the ire of an evil mage, Observantis, the one-eyed witch. My parents would have done anything to erase the ill will between them and Observantis, even give away their unborn son.

"And so, upon my birth, I was taken away by Observantis the one-eyed witch. But of course, he had no use for an infant. With his magic, he tore out my eye and used it to cast a spell on me, a spell that would age me over the course of a day. Unfortunately for the both of us, the spell went awry. Instead of simply aging my infant self to adulthood, I grew to a very old age, and then... at midnight, I died.

"I don't know what happens between midnight and sunrise, but at sunrise I wake again, a newborn, and grow throughout the day to a very old age, and die at midnight. Over and over, day after day, I assume for all eternity, for I can see no end to this cruel cycle. I've tried to end it myself, but alas I always wake at sunrise, born anew."

Pariah didn't say anything for a long moment, processing the story he'd been told. For all the cruel things his ancestors had done, and all the cruel things he himself had done, Pariah could think of nothing so cruel as what this one-eyed wizard had done to Clockwork, seemingly by mistake.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. He could think of nothing else to say.

Clockwork shrugged. "It's not so bad, when you're used to it," he said. "Walking and talking comes easily enough in a few hours, and the arthritis doesn't set in until around five or six in the evening, depending on what time the sun came up. I have most of the daylight hours to enjoy my relative youth before the aches and pains take over in earnest."

"Is there no way to break the curse?" Pariah asked.

Clockwork's silver beard swayed and brushed across the floor when he shook his head.

"None that I've yet found," he replied. "I haven't given up hope, but any solution would require Observantis' magic, and he hardly ever comes to visit me. Not to mention that it's rather difficult for me to do research when I'm trapped up here. If I could only get my hands on some magic books that would be something, but those are hard to come by even when one is not trapped in an inescapable tower."

"Perhaps..." Pariah began to suggest, haltingly. "I could provide you with some magic books to study."

Clockwork raised a bushy, white eyebrow skeptically. "And where would you get a magic book, let alone several?"

It was true that magic books were very hard to come by. They were typically hand-written by mages and full of highly personalized spells, and often, mages would be buried with their spell books, making them a very rare commodity indeed, especially for those who were not magical apprentices, which Pariah was most certainly not.

However, the royal library held many spell books, as whenever the royal arch-mage passed—which happened rather often as one had to be highly accomplished to become the royal arch-mage, which typically necessitated being rather old, even my mage standards—rather than being buried with it, their spell books would be added to the shelves of the royal library for their successors to consult.

"Suppose I am a man of some means," Pariah responded vaguely, "and I could provide you with a spell book or two, to study. Would you like that?"

"Very much," Clockwork replied, almost laughingly. "But I fear you'd have to be a man of quite considerable means to manage something like that. I don't believe that only 'some' will do it."

"As you say," Pariah relented.

But when he returned the following day, he carried with them two of the former arch-mages' spell books in a satchel.

Clockwork gasped when he saw them, and when Pariah gave him permission to take them—assuring him that they were gifts, and he didn't really need to ask—he stroked his gnarled fingers over the worn cover with reverence and tears beginning to form in his eyes, and gingerly opened it to the first page.

"This is the grimoire of a former royal arch-mage," Clockwork observed. "However did you manage to get such a rare and valuable tome?"

Pariah shrugged and shook his head. "Suppose that I am a man of some means," he replied, "and let us leave it at that."

Clockwork frowned and eyed him skeptically, but ultimately he must have decided to let it go, because he didn't prod any further. They spent that evening poring over the spell books together, looking for anything related to age or time, and whiling away the hours with idle conversation until the grandfather clock, that traitorous old thing, struck eleven once more.

"Perhaps... I don't have to go," Pariah said.

Clockwork shook his head. "If you don't leave soon, you won't be able to. I'm sure you have other obligations that need tending to besides just me. And even if you didn't..." Clockwork paused and turned his gaze toward the floor. "I don't want you to have to see me at midnight.

Pariah wanted to argue, wanted to stay and comfort his friend, keep him company in his worst moments, but he knew what Clockwork said was true.

"Very well," he agreed. "But I shall return tomorrow, I promise."

"Don't forget your books."

"Keep them." Pariah smiled. "I shall bring more tomorrow."

And with that, he climbed out the window and down the side of the tower.

Over the next days, and then weeks, Pariah slowly brought all the magic books from the castle library to the tower in the woods. When he was gone, Clockwork would study them on his own, and when he came to visit, they would scour the books together, talking about anything, and everything, and nothing, and occasionally breaking to play a game of chess, or cards, when they'd been staring at books for so long the words started to swim around in front of them—sometimes literally.

When he learned that Clockwork never ate or drank anything, because he only lived for less that twenty hours at a time, and that wasn't really all that long to go without food, if you thought about it, Pariah started to bring some of his favorite treats as well, for him to try. Fresh wild strawberries, mead, dried beef, and warm bread. Clockwork tasted each and every one of them. Some he liked, and at some he made a face of utter revulsion and gagged, but he always trusted Pariah enough to try them.

As old as he looked when Pariah was able to visit him, Clockwork was always rather young at heart, and there were countless things he'd never had the chance to try or experience that he seemed almost childlike sometimes. He held within him both wisdom and wonder, and slowly but surely, Pariah started to fall in love. And as sure as his beard was long, Clockwork began to fall in love with the king as well.

Then, one day while Pariah was visiting, and the two of them were taking a short break to play a game of cards when a strange wind blew through the window, and suddenly a man was standing there, thin and tall, with a pitch black broomstick in hand. Pariah stood ready and drew his mace, though he did not strike the first blow. Still, he noticed right away that the stranger had only one eye, and Clockwork quickly confirmed his suspicions.

"Observantis," he said coldly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I came all this way, from the far reaches of the Realms because I sensed a book of magic entering my tower," Observantis replied. "Then another, and another. Imagine my surprise when I came to see where you were getting them all, and found the tyrant king."

"You're the tyrant, Observantis," Clockwork retorted. He didn't seem surprised at the revelation that Pariah was the king, but this was not the time to dwell on that fact.

"And you know that everything in my tower belongs to me," the witch said with a wicked grin. "You belong to me, you damaged, broken thing. All these magic books belong belong to me, so thanks for that. And oh! The king" — shadowy tendrils shot out of the floor to wrap around Pariah's arms and legs and hold him fast — "He belongs to me too.

"My what a powerful witch I've become."

"Let him go," Clockwork demanded.

"I think not."

With a cruel smirk, Observantis stuck out his hand, chanted a brief spell, and Pariah screamed in agony as his left eye was torn from his face, leaving a jagged, smoking scar behind. This, Pariah knew, was his method. Next he would use the eye to cast some sort of curse on Pariah, perhaps a coercion spell.

"LET HIM GO!" Clockwork repeated, his voice booming with a power and rage Pariah had never heard from him before.

Then, he began to chant in that old language only mages knew, and Observantis' single eye wide with horror. He understood every word perfectly, and he obviously didn't like what he was hearing.

"No... you wouldn't... you... you couldn't!" the one-eyed witch stammered. "You don't know how!"

Clockwork kept chanting, reciting from memory passages he'd read over and over in the weeks of studying the magic books his love had brought him almost every waking hour.

"This is my tower," Clockwork declared, "not yours. You do not get to leave me here alone for over twenty years, and then come back to claim my love and the gifts he gave me as your own. I disavow you, Observantis. You are nothing."

Observantis screamed as he began to shrivel up and shrink, rapidly aging before Pariah's eyes... eye. The tendrils released the king, and he watched as Observantis, the one-eyed witch, a man no more than forty years of age and strong as any mage out there, died of old age.

And Clockwork, who had looked so old mere moments before, stood there, a man in his mid-twenties, tall and strong, and in the prime of his youth. If not for his clothes, and his distinctive scar—one Pariah would share, once his eye healed—Pariah might not have recognized him. But then again, he thought he would always be able to recognize his love, no matter what.

"Your curse, my love," Pariah said. "Is it broken?"

Clockwork lifted his hands and flexed his fingers, and rolled his shoulders.

"Not... quite," he said.

As Pariah watched, Clockwork began to look younger, until the king was looking at a teenager, and then a child. Then, at around five or six, he turned the other way and grew older again, and older, and older, until the familiar, ancient, bearded face stared back at Pariah. Then, once more, he reverted to himself as a young man.

"I can feel that the curse is still within me, but in killing Observantis, I have wrested control of the curse away from him," Clockwork explained. "I still will not age normally, slowly growing older until my time finally comes, but I completely control my age now. I can decide whether I will be old or young."

"That is amazing, Clockwork." Pariah stumbled slightly. His head was becoming rather fuzzy and the vision in his remaining eye blurred.

"My love, your eye!" Clockwork rushed to his side.

"I will be fine," he insisted, but Clockwork ignored him.

He looked around momentarily, before noticing Observantis' broomstick on the floor next to his body.

"Hold on, Pariah," he said taking up the broom and preparing to fly them both out the window. "We have to get you to the castle. The royal doctors will be able to fix you up."

He coaxed Pariah onto the broom, and then the two of them were flying out the window, soaring over the tree tops toward the spires and fortifications of the castle in the distance.

"How long have you known that I'm the king?" Pariah asked.

Clockwork chuckled softly. "Every book you brought me was a spell book of a former royal mage," he said. "It wasn't exactly a difficult thing to put together. You didn't seem to want to tell me, so I decided not to push. I thought that it might be as freeing for you, coming to visit me thinking I didn't know who you were, as it was for me, having a visitor for once, even trapped as I still was."

Soon enough, they reached the Castle, and the castle guards immediately surrounded Clockwork with swords and spears at the ready. He understood. Only witches rode on brooms, and a witch coming to land into the castle courtyard carrying their injured king wasn't typically a sign of good things to come.

"Please, the king is hurt, and he needs treatment!" Clockwork said.

A few guards hazarded the distance to take the king from him and to the royal doctors. The rest arrested Clockwork and took him to the dungeons. He did not resist. When Pariah recovered, he knew, the king would come to have him released, and in the mean time, imprisonment was nothing new to Clockwork.

He paced anxiously in his cell, rapidly aging and de-aging in his nervousness, hardly able to control himself. He just hoped Pariah would be okay. There was nothing he wanted more in this world than for Pariah to be okay.

After a few hours, Pariah stormed town the stairs to the dungeon, various guards, knights, and advisors all clattering after him. The left side of his face was heavily bandaged, and he was hearing bedclothes, but he looked every bit as Regal as he ever had.

"Release this man!" Pariah ordered.

"But... sir... he is a witch," his advisor insisted. "We can't just let him go. We don't know anything about him. What if he presents a danger to the kingdom?"

"Release him," Pariah repeated. "He may be a witch, but he's my witch, and I would have him as my spouse, if he accepts."

Clockwork stared at Pariah, his heart full of love... and guilt.

"I... I can't, your majesty," he said finally. "I am unworthy of such a loft position. I was born a commoner, and now I am a witch. I killed a man with dark magic. I cannot be your partner. I am but a loathsome thing."

"You would dare refuse my hand?" Pariah said.

He hoped that Clockwork would remember, a long time ago, on the occasion of their first meeting, when a very old man said that same thing to a king. He seemed to, for he smiled, and sagged with relief.

"No, your majesty... no, my love," he said. "I wouldn't dare. I will accept."

"But... but he is a witch!" an advisor sputtered incredulously. "By his own confession he is a witch, and a murderer! He should be put to death! He is not fit to rule by your side, sire."

"Enough!" Pariah barked. "I said I would find a spouse, and I have. I will hear not a single word against him, so if you have them I suggest you keep them to yourself, unless you'd rather I bludgeon you to death for daring to insult my word, my crown, and my soon-to-be king-consort."

"Y-yes, sire."

The two were married shortly hence, and they lived happily ever after.

[anonymous-existences]

Prolouge : Spectral Mysteries

Summary:

Danny Fenton gets adopted by Pariah Dark and Clockwork now Renamed as Perseus Penrose Dark-Nightingale and Cassius Christopher Nightingale along with Dan Phantom, Jazz Fenton and Danielle Dani Phantom after the GIW and Fenton Parents tried to hunt and almost successfully vivisect Danny.

As they had Danny in containment and his Vivisection wound stapled for the temporary meantime, Clockwork saves Danny and meddles with the timeline to forge files of their fake existence in the mortal plane.

Moving to Gotham was their only choice for reasons that the GIW cannot willy milly go around trying to hunt them down especially in a place where they're an easy victim of crime.

Danny slowly adapts to Gotham, setting a haunt for himself to feel even more safer and accidentally becoming an Information Broker in the streets known as "Spectre" or "Specter" depends on who spells it and who says it.

Notes:

Ages For the Dark/Nightingales

Pariah Dark : ???

Clockwork : ???

Dan Phantom : 25

Jazz Fenton : 20

Danny Fenton : 17

Danielle Dani Phantom : 8

Ages for the Batfam:

Bruce Wayne: 48

Dick Grayson : 28

Jason Todd : 23

Tim Drake-Wayne : 20

Cassandra Cain : 20

Stephanie Brown : 20

Duke Thomas : 18

Damian Wayne : 16

Have fun reading!

"Gotham, huh?" Danny breathed as he looked out the window of the SUV they're using to travel, Danny stared at the jagged skyline, a stark contrast to Amity Park's gentle hills. Danny took a deep breathe and buried himself further into his hoodie, Jazz pulling him close to her chest, "I know it was hard leaving and abandoning your Haunt... I'm sorry it had to become that way..." Jazz whispered softly to Danny who relaxed his body in his chest.

Dan was sleeping with his arms crossed protectively on his chest and Elle in his lap playing Minecraft on an Ipad swaying her legs softly and rhythmically as she started humming peacefully, Dan's cap was covering his face hiding any expression he might be making under his cap. Danny glanced out the window as they neared Gotham City, it's more than just a city. It was a behemoth, gothic structures and the air itself feeling heavy and different.

Danny tightened his hoodie further feeling the change of atmosphere as they entered Gotham City. Pariah Dark now Perseus Penrose Dark-Nightingale, Furrowed his brows as he took in the change. Dan took off his cap by tilting his head down and opening his eyes, "We're here Huh?" Dan muttered, pulling Elle closer to him to keep her from feeling too uncomfortable with the new change.

The air was heavy with what they deem as Rancid Ectoplasmic Vibes, Danny didn't like it but he slowly acclimated with the other ghosts, Pariah was the quickest to recover as he's already used to it and Dan being the second to do so. Jazz helped Danny calm down by keeping him close to her chest and whispering sweet soft words of reassurement. She was the only one who wasn't as affected by the change because of her full humanity, Although liminal she was not affected.

Danny gasped softly as he calmed down, he looked over out the windows seeing the towering skyscrapers and buildings that contrasted the gentle atmosphere of Amity Park, their windows like cold and unblinking observing eyes which inhabits strangers.

Soon they arrived at what Clockwork has claimed his "Mortal Haunt", It was a building that contains a clock shop inside a Book Shop, it felt warm as Danny entered the building. Upstairs were their personal home, already ready with security alarms that works around them and personal bedrooms each of their own with one with a large bed which would be Pariah and Clockwork's room.

It was somewhere around Crime Alley or Park Row as rich people likes to call the area, in a more secluded street where Ectoplasm in the air is more ambient and easier to filtrate into clean ectoplasm in the area. Pariah made sure that their home was very secured as he didn't want to risk anyone slipping in or breaking in.

Dan helped with the unpacking and arranging the items and baggage of their new home, helping Danny with arranging as he sulked in his now fluffed up bed inside a bedroom that was specifically decorated for him. The bedroom he now inhabits being that of space themed as he always liked, NASA posters he pinned on the walls and his organized personal items by a desk. It was just like his original Room in Amity Park, just more organized and a bigger space.

As soon as he finished organizing his things he immediately buried himself in his fluffy fur like bed, burying himself under the weighted blanket. "You need the Air conditioner on Bud?" Dan leaned on Danny's doorframe, arm's crossed but holding a cup of Warm Cocoa in his hand and a plate of cookies. "Yes please..." Danny muttered near weakly as he stayed under the weighted blankets, Dan could only chuckle and turned up the cold temperature for Danny and placed his treats and cocoa in the desk.

"We'll leave you alone but you better eat dinner later, jazz will bust in your room if you skip." Dan knocked on the wall before leaving and Danny just hummed as he heard the door shut. Danny slowly pulled out his phone to text his friends.

—Amity Ghostlings—

Inviso-Bill: Hey, I'm in Gotham now :|

PharaohIncarnation: I already miss you Danny :((

EcoTerrorism: Stop being overdramatic tuck, Danny's safer now. We should celebrate he finally got out!! >:))

PharaohIncarnation: Shut up, you're crying right now >:(( don't say you're not sad!

Danny: I miss you all already too :). Dan let me rest, I'm gonna see you both later, promise.

RedHuntress: Keep safe Danny, I'll keep Amity in check for you since you're not here. Be well.

Danny: :))

—Amity Ghostlings—

Danny sighed as he stared at his screen, he opens his gallery and started scrolling through photos of him and his friends and His classmates which is a rare picture but still nostalgic nontheless.. It's only been a week since he's escape Maddie and Jack Fenton, He's sure the GIW is still looking for them willing to hunt them down without mercy.

Danny felt cold tears rolling down his cheeks slightly dampening the furry fabric of his bed, he sniffled. If only he hadn't needed to leave he wouldn't have, He didn't want to leave but he had no choice. Atleast now he can start a new life and experience normalcy again, even if his family isn't so normal now.

He clutched his hand to his chest, burying himself and curling up under the weighted blanket as the room's air conditioning continued to make the room colder. "I wish I didn't have to leave.." he mutters softly wiping the tears that broke through and rolled down his cheeks.

— — — —

3 months passed and Danny had to attend school again, Dan got a job as a mechanic and Perseus and Cassius(Pariah and Clockwork) stayed at the shop, Jazz was continuing her online classes and Elle was in her own elementary school.

Dan was driving the Motorbike Pariah got him as a gift just recently, he was driving Danny and Ellie to school quite fashionably, "Behave Alright Elle?" Dan helps Elle down from the front of the bike, she giggled and nodded before running inside the school. Danny smiled, "Anyone who bullies her will get my fist to their face." He blurted out with a smile.

"Agreed." Dan nodding along with Danny, "anyways, C'mon now, Helmet back on. Safety First in Gotham." Dan reminds Danny as he fixed his own helmet, Danny fixing his helmet straps and holding onto Dan as they drove to Danny's new Highschool. It was overwhelming, he felt alone and scared of new people.

"Danny, I know you're scared but you'll be fine. You should probably take off the earrings and wear the bracelet dampener instead tho." Danny pointed out and Danny frantically took off his earrings and only wore the small star themed ones and a bracelet. Dan drove off not before giving Danny a pat in the head.

This was it, Danny's start of a new School-life. "Let's hope it's not shitty this time..." He breathed out staring at the school before entering the gates and going in.

— — — —

Danny has concluded after a week of being in the school that it wasn't too bad, Somehow he got a friend named Damian and Jon on the first day of school as Damian immediately stood up as soon as the teacher asked if there's anyone who would like to tour him around the school.

"Daniel, May I know where you acquired this hoodie of yours?" Damian asked raising an eyebrow feeling the fabric between his fingers, "My Other Dad made it for me!" Danny smiled, Danny likes the way he said 'Daniel' it had an accent and sounded like 'Danyal' which was totally sexier than Plain old Daniel. 'Your Father sewed this himself?" Damian looked surprised.

"Yep! Clockwork's apparently good at sewing unexpectedly enough, maybe next week I can take you to meet them!" Danny exclaimed happily and Damian nodded, his brows furrowing in determination. "Very well then Daniel, I shall make a good impression on your Fathers." Damian cleared his throat. "How bout you Jon? My big brother Dan makes the best Food!" Danny nudged his shoulder to Jon.

Jon grinned, a playful glint in his eyes. "Oh yeah? Well, my dad makes the best apple pie in Smallville. You can't beat that!" He nudged Danny back, a lighthearted challenge in his tone. "Maybe you can teach Dan how to make a mean apple pie too, then we'll have a real cook-off!" Jon raises his chin high and proud.

Danny smiled, he liked his new friends, he liked this new school. Although he misses his friends in Amity Park now he had a sense of normalcy in his life unlike before.

— — — —

"Danny, I heard there's a bit of a uhm.... What do you humans call it..?" Clockwork started as Dan prepared Dinner, "Break, a School Break Clockwork." Jazz continued and Clockwork hummed. "yes yes that, a school break because of someone named Joker and Scarecrow currently on the loose. Why don't you accompany Dan to the Mechanic's place within your 2 weeks of School Break? Besides your classes with that is only online after all!" Clockwork exclaims with a smile.

"I can't tell if you're being sincere or you're planning something." Danny whispered honestly, "a bit of both~! But it's still good for you to be out and about, Besides school isn't the only thing there in life so you might meet some new friends or companions over there in his workplace!" Clockwork's smile was wider, a much more mischievous smile.

Danny thought about it for a moment, observing Clockwork's body language even if he knew he wouldn't be able to catch anything odd within the Man's Exterior expression. Danny sighed and nodded, "Fine, I'll go. I'll be bored here all day anyways." Danny states as he took a bite of Dan's cooking.

"That's good Danny, so why don't you tell us more about your new friends at school? Who was it again?" Jazz started the conversation to lighten up the mood much more than before. Danny perked up and smiled, "Damian and Jon. They're my new best friends at school, Sam and Tucker got to meet them in Minecraft when Jon convinced him to buy the game and play." Danny chuckled.

"Mhm, that's good Baby Ghost." Pariah just nodded, "I approve of your choice of friends, a Cat and a Pup they are and you are the mediator, a perfect trio." He continued whilst eating, "I suppose they ARE like a cat and a Puppy. A fierce yet cuddly Cat and a golden retriever puppy." Danny just shrugged. "Damian Is very nice tho, he helps me a lot with the subjects, especially literature and English, we hang out a lot at the burger joint called Bat-Burger." Danny continued with a smile plastered on his face.

"When can I meet them Template?" Elle tilts her head cutely, just like a kitten with it's adorable kitten eyes. "Once I get them to visit here, Dan, Damian is Vegetarian so no meat. I mean I'm also Partially Vegetarian and all but like no meat at all if you know what I mean." Danny continued eating glancing over to Dan who nodded and hummed, too tired to come up with an actual response.

"I'll make sure 'Dad' and 'Father' here doesn't freak them out once they do visit." Jazz giggled and Danny smiled, "Yes please, make sure Pariah and Clockwork actually act Human enough—" Danny sighs thinking of all the ways the visit could go wrong. Clockwork promptly stops him from his anxious overthinking by placing his hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny looks over to Clockwork who was still just eating his food, despite not needing it they appreciate Dan's delicious cooking, "Although we can't promise anything, I will make sure that we won't mess up too much." Clockwork pats Danny's hand and Danny nodded, his gaze softening at Clockwork's sympathy.

'Danny took a deep breathe, maybe life won't be so bad in Gotham after all.' he thinks positively, nodding along his thoughts with a warm and gentle smile.

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ Prolouge End ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

:)) Teaser? Yes absolutely. I love it. My friends also love it! Which is good! I'm gonna start alternatively posting for the other fics soon enough to get it consistently updating, unfortunately right now I'm just VERY very busy. But hey I still write I suppose!

I took the Information Broker Danny Fenton Idea from @hello-eden from this post of theirs:

https://www.tumblr.com/hello-eden/761631700474347520/information-broker-danny?source=share

Also @bianca-hooks123 as someone who wanted to get tagged I think

Masterlist :33

[zykamiliah]

the genre of posts that are like "damn i used to hate bkdk now i can't get out of the brainrot!" has to be one of my favorite things atm 🧡💚🧡

[starlingdrawz]

Besties, your honor

Commissions

[bluepallilworld]

Hehe 4th edition of...

DARK CREAM (AND POST DARK CREAM ) SHIPCHILDREN COLLAB! <3

After the summer vacation, the kids are invited to join the dark cream shipkids school! For their first day and class, all ages are mixed in one singular classroom... Will everybody stay quiet while waiting for the teachers or will chaos arise???

What's that?

3 years ago, I hosted a big collab for christmas, 2 years ago it was for the new year then last year we had an halloween celebration and now the fun continues!

This year, I'm hosting a big collab with a theme of "going back to school" to make some kind of a "family picture" with some of the dark cream ship children ! Nor Cross or S!Dream will be in the final picture as there aren't exactly the same depending on the child.

How to participate?

1- You need to have a dark cream/dark xunshine ship child (Cross x Shattered Dream kid). I'm making an exception for post dark cream kids ;). As long as Dream has been Shattered at one point, the kid can participate.

2- Draw your kid wearing a proper school outfit! (They will be indoors so you may choose to have them sitting on a chair, on a table or standing up, you can give them a school bag and anything you can think of! You can draw accessories aside if you want me to put it on their table or something (pens, notebook...) but no obligation here ^^)

3- Send me the drawing or tag me on it so I can get it! The drawing must have a transparent background so I can easily edit it. If you put a watermark, please put it on the inside of your drawing so that I don't have to erase/move it to make place for the other children.

You need to send me the drawing before the 10th of august so I have time to edit it properly before the big day and in case there are some problems. (It can however be discussed if needed, exceptions will be accepted or refused case by case)

I'll post it the 1st of september (probably early in the day) !

If you have any questions, please ask!

If someone without a kid wanna participate (or just want to participate more for funsies), you're welcome in the background+ team ^^

(being in the background+ team means drawing some elements of the background like all the lil' things you can find in a class, desks, posters, books... or some other stuff. It's usually me and music fairy @diofasolia (if you've got some free time to participate of course, solia) on that team)

PS: You can't use a kid belonging to someone else for that event ! You must be the creator of the kid and send me a drawing you did at least mostly by yourself (it doesn't mean you can't have help or collaborate with someone however) ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

PPS: Be creative or more classic with the outfits! Have fun! Do as you wish!

If it helps, the kinda perspective I'm going with (same as every year ;3). I'll adjust the size of the room depending on the number of kids. The kids are not obligated to be staring at us, from the side, showing their back... Also the pov will be from the white board ✨

Pose ideas for those who aren't inspired: awkwardly standing in a corner, reading a book criss-cross applesauce, tripping and falling on nothing (or something), chatting with someone, writing stuff on the wall, perfect student sitting pose, already asleep, climbing, fascinated by something (might be a poster, might be the class pet), showing something that really shouldn't have been brought here to someone, I'm late!, what an insteresting window, staring at the clock...

If you need a special accessorie/furniture/thingie to make the pose work, tell me and it'll be added in the background ^^

[mithriel-of-mithlond]

VIRGINIA THE WOMAN YOU ARE

[ririchanxd]

♥️Sebastian x ciel stimboard 🩵

🚨!Trigger warnings!🚨: none

The fifth gif is a screen recording, and the eighth one is from tik tok the rest are from tumblr!

🎱🎀

[trashcanmeat]

Little durgetash sketch? As a treat?

[puppetmaster13u]

Drabble-ish Prompt? Drabble-ish Prompt.

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

“Beloved,” the beast’s maw parted, terrifying growl turned apologetic even as it drew itself up from where it had been snarling at their intrusion, words suddenly becoming comprehensible to their ringing (mortal) ears. 

Another beast crept, or perhaps it was more accurate to say slithered from the surrounding coils of green, even if there was none of the color to be found on it. A gigantic serpentine beast of feathered wings and gleaming crimson eyes as it stared at them all with open contempt. 

“Dearest,” the other being’s words were short, almost uninterested if not for the near-human curl of a lip that belayed its distaste for this situation. “As much as I too would like nothing better than to rend their flesh from their bodies and tear their souls from their still beating corpses-” Oh Yikes. “-they sadly do still hold importance to the timeline.” 

The first beast snarled, rising to its full monstrous size with a rattling of scales and thrashing of shadows. Like the monster under ones bed turned flesh and scale. Smoke crackled from angry nostrils as it let out another angry noise, twisting around with a lashing tail as it slipped back into the pulsing green around them. 

Leaving them with a serpentine drake they could not see the end of, if there was even such a thing. “Now,” it purred, the sound anything but kind or friendly. “Perhaps we can talk, so-called heroes...” 

Honestly You can ignore this, But also have their FR Designs lol.

[Pariah, Clockwork & Fright]

[Danny, Dan & Ellie]

(Yes this is slightly inspired by some of @radiance1's stuff, hello mutual <3)

[radiance1]

"You," Pariah Dark began, pointing at Clockwork. "Have your claimed." Clockwork nodded, staring at the Ghost King as Pariah pointed to himself. "So, I believe it is only fair I get to have one as well."

"I suppose that is true." Clockwork agreed as a knowing smile appeared on his face. Though he isn't going to say anything, yet. "Do you already have one, or are you still looking?"

Pariah silently reached behind his head, pulling out a small boy-who looked confused more than anything- as he held the child up before the Master of Time. "This is Billy. He is my claimed, I found him on the street." Pariah preened, a smug and self-satisfied smile on his face.

Clockwork could barely stop the snicker that threatened to turn into full out laughter. "This is your choice?" He coughed, clearing his throat. "Of all the choices, he is who you choose to claim?"

"Yes." Pariah answered immediately with full, overwhelming certainty.

"Oh my dear, dear king," The Master of Time purred, leaning against his staff as he stared with half lidded eyes. "Can you not see the boy to have already been claimed? I don't believe such a thing could have escaped your notice or," He tilted his head slightly. "Have you chosen to ignore it and act as if it wasn't there in the first place?"

Pariah's silence was very, very telling. To those that had known him well and could decipher it at the very least and Clockwork, being one of those few, knew well that this specific silence was a guilty admittance more than anything else.

He floated over to Pariah's side, resting his arm on the King's shoulder as he looked him in the eye. "Oh, my liege, you haven't changed one bit it seems. Still so stubborn as you always were, even in our ghostling years." He leaned close to the King's ear, dropping his voice to a whisper. "How lucky for you then, that I just so happen to be so entranced with that trait of yours..." He leaned back as quickly as he leaned in, gaze still locked with the king.

Pariah stared back with a very, very pointed gaze, the tips of his hair already igniting in green embers, and, after a few moments, he opened his mouth to speak-

"Can you guys get a room already?" The boy, Billy, interrupted before the King could speak, giving the ancient ghost pause. "I'm still here you know!"

Pariah blinked down at the boy with a face so bewildered, that Clockwork hadn't seen it in eons. Not many had the gall to interrupt him as the boy had done and oh, oh did it fill the Master of Time with such delight to see it.

Billy stared at the king with a face that spoke volumes of how done he was with the situation at hand and, as Pariah's shifted into one as if he had swallowed something sour.

Clockwork cackled.

[autumnoakes]

this isn't a criticism but i think totk would have made an incredible horror game (or at least would have been really good if nintendo had leaned more into the horror elements already there)

like. you have link with gloom in his body for the entire game. there's that right there that could make for a terrifying situation for him with ganondorf's abilities. there's the fact that both ganondorf AND the yiga clan can now impersonate zelda (and other various NPCs). you don't know who you can trust anymore because they may be a familiar face, but are they really who they say they are, or are they just trying to get close to link so they can kill him? the gorons are angrier than they've ever been because of that marbled rock roast. rito village is in the middle of a destructive snowstorm that never seems to end (snowscapes work well for horror :)). zora's domain is being covered in muck that the zoras can't breathe in. gerudo town is pretty much destroyed and even in game it's horrifying to see the town overrun with gibdos. i think they're really close to it in sections (goron city, gerudo town, hyrule castle, the depths).

[scientistservant]

✨Intro✨

This blog contains various degrees of adult content. This is NOT a place for minors.

Just call me Alice/Sock/Sci/any of my self-insert names! I'm a furry and a selfshipper from Canada. I'm also a digital artist and writer. I have a webcomic in the works that will be posted and updated here! :)

I do not care what your stance on fiction is, as long as you don't harass or hurt others.

‼️PEDOPHILES/MAPS AND ZOOPHILES WILL BE BLOCKED‼️

I am attracted to much older, elderly characters. If you don’t like that, you can leave.

My fictional-others:

Dr. Finkelstein (Nightmare Before Christmas)

Emmrich Volkarin (Dragon Age)

Kaa (Disney's Jungle Book)

Kamek (Super Mario Bros.)

King Richard and Sir Hiss (Disney's Robin Hood)

Kururu Souchou (Keroro Gunsou)

Phong (ReBoot)

skekOk, The Scroll-Keeper (The Dark Crystal)

Walter C. Dornez (Hellsing)

Zazu (Disney's Lion King)

(If you can't tell, I kind of have a type...)

I'm absolutely fine with sharing - Let's gush about our f/os together!

My self-inserts are all over the age of 18. Please be respectful.

My AO3

Bluesky

[ryzengabrielle]

odasaku and kid dazai!

[noweakergirl]

dare I say... superior trope