#defect rose

[hippieuncle]

been drawing a lot of gems since i started mucking around in gem galaxies... u kno how it is..

[heretyc]

[bridgyrose]

Ruby’s fingers tapped against the crown she held in her lap, her heart racing as she stayed quiet in the airship. Her eyes stayed on her scroll as she watched a few more calls from her teammates go unanswered from her. As her scroll finally went quiet, she turned it off and took a few breaths to try to steady her heart. 

“Not how you thought it was going to be, was it?” Cinder asked. 

“I uh… I thought it’d be easier.” 

“To betray everyone that trusts you?” 

“To follow what I think is truth.” Ruby let out a soft sigh and leaned back in her seat, fingers gripping around the crown. “I-I knew I was going to have to tell them eventually, but I thought… I thought I had more time. I could work both sides, make sure we know what Ozpin is planning so we can keep out of trouble and make sure no one would get hurt. But now Yang knows and I had to fight her… I dont want to fight the rest of my friends as well.” 

Cinder nodded and put the airship on autopilot for a moment. “I wish I could tell you it’d get easier, but it wont.” 

Ruby nodded and looked out the window to watch the world around them pass by. She was no stranger to watching everything pass by below, but it felt different than it had before. No patching up after a mission completed, no terrible jokes being made to laugh at, no complaints about the cooking or not being prepared for some unforeseen issue… just quiet. Even Cinder seemed more reserved than normal instead of flirting like she had on the way to Beacon. 

Finally, Cinder spoke. “Salem probably knows your plan didnt go quite as unnoticed as you said it would.” 

Ruby nodded. “What do you think she’ll do to me?” 

“I’m not sure. Probably make an example of you, but since we do have the crown, I’m sure you’ll get off easier than if we didnt have it.” 

“Yeah…” Ruby said in half agreement. She glanced down at the crown as her fingers ran over it once more, the desire to put it on becoming stronger the longer she held it, almost as if it was begging for her to wear it. Begging to show her the choices that lay in her future as a soft voice whispered in her ear. 

“*Wear me.*” 

Ruby felt Cinder’s hand on her arm, not aware that she had already started to move the relic to her head. Her arms shook as she lowered the crown back to her lap. “S-should I… not wear it?” 

Cinder shook her head. “Not until after Salem has. Its our job to deliver the relics to her, not use them before her.” 

Ruby nodded and put the relic into her pack as she watched the ocean turn to land as they approached Evernight Castle. No matter how many times she saw the barren, grimm infested lands, it always made her heart race in fear. Watching the grimm down below climb out of the grimm pools and make their way towards the castle… it was unnerving. 

“Just make sure you hand the relic to her,” Cinder said as she brought the airship down to land. 

Ruby took one final deep breath as she felt the airship land, her stomach almost in knots as she stood up. The air around her tasted stale as she made her way into the castle and towards the throne room where Salem sat. Her fingers fumbled with her pack with each step as she struggled to get the relic out. 

She followed Cinder into the throne room,staying behind her and following her lead just as she normally would. Once she saw Cinder stop, she dropped to her own knee, relic in hand and near her chest as she waited to be spoken to. And yet, the world around her seemed to be quiet as she heard the faint whispering in her head once more. Ruby’s eyes went from watching Salem down to the crown until she felt her fingers leave it as it was pulled away. 

“You both have done well,” Salem said as she held the relic in her hands. “And for that, you deserve a gift.” 

Ruby looked up at Salem, confused as to what she meant until she felt a sting on the back of her neck as Salem placed a hand on her shoulder. Her muscles clenched as she felt something crawl under her skin. Sweat dripped down her forehead as her body felt like it was heating up. And then… the pain and heat were gone. 

Salem pulled her hand away and smiled. “This will make sure you’re able to succeed with claiming the next maiden’s power to secure the next relic. But for now, rest. I’ll let you know when you’re needed again.” 

Ruby nodded as she stood up, legs shaking under her weight as she nearly collapsed, only to be caught by Cinder. 

“Dont worry, I’ve got you,” Cinder said. 

Ruby sighed and put her arm around Cinder to keep herself balanced. “I-I guess I’m more tired than I thought.” 

“Its fine. We’ll go to bed and rest. And tomorrow we’ll make sure you’re ready to fight your friends if we run into them again.” 

Ruby looked away as she felt her heart sink. Her friends, her teammates… she was sure they’d understand reason if she could get just a moment to talk to them, to help them see things from her point of view. And yet, she was also certain that they would become her enemies whether they understood or not.

[shopwitchvamp]

Discounted Red Rose Midi in A Size (XXS-MD)! Marked down $10 off and the only thing wrong with it is a little white spot along the hem:

🖤 witchvamp.com 🖤

[fightinggamegirlfriend]

Tekken self insert hates the Mishima zaibatsu so much she’s willing to cause an international incident by constantly interfering in the matches at the Iron Fist tournament. Like she attends the third tournament, and the Zaibatsu just. Don’t really bother to deal with her - they let her go free on so many occasions, but when the fourth one happens, they get shocked that she interferes again, and send her off with a warning. She doesn’t care but in Tekken 5, the Zaibatsu have enough of her and arrest her for being a nuisance and blackmail her into participating in the tournament but little do they know they made a horrible idea, by signing up a 169cm tall angry traditional goth-punk who is more than happy to beat the shit out contestants with a skateboard.

[takethistoyourstardust]

prjct:WNDRLND has me googling alice in wonderland characters and deciding who’s gonna fit what role and what picrews i can use.

[miralines]

I have too many ouatis wips help me make some progress on them

For every vote each one gets I’ll write 100 words of it (up to 2,000 words; after that I make no promises)

[johnwicklover1999]

parable authority stanley doodle owag i love this stupid rock im gonna shatter him in my hands. hes So face. i actuslly like how his face looks which is Surprising!! he is very funny to Me .

[pacexlikexaxghost]

❝She was everything to me, Valor. I couldn’t imagine ever not being with her…❞ She laughs bitterly. ❝I almost didn’t make it through losing her, so I don’t think trying to avoid that was entirely unwarranted.❞

Of course she was afraid Rose would leave her for setting boundaries. That’s just another word for rules.

❝Rose didn’t much like rules and restrictions. What she liked about me was how different I was, Rebel, the terrifying renegade. Amazing rebellious, rule breaking to every last defective little atom of my gem.❞ She shakes her head. ❝How could I then restrict our relationship with rules… How could I even try when that’s the the opposite of why she liked me!?❞ She shakes her head. ❝I was so lucky to have Rose. I was nothing before her. A pathetic little defect doomed for harvesting. Because of Rose, I’m FREE.❞

She looks away, her face flushing slightly blue. ❝No. She took my word for it that everything was fine. That I was just anxious over nothing like sometimes happens.❞

Valor frowned. Was this about her being ace? That was the most obvious thing he could think of that someone might seek out other relationships for if their partner couldn't provide it. "So you were afraid she'd break up with you if you set boundaries for your own needs, which implies that she wouldn't be willing to stick with you if you actually stood up for yourself. That she wouldn't want to be in a relationship with you if you had your needs respected. That she wouldn't want to be in a relationship with you where you were genuinely happy with it. That's- That's not good, Pearl. You deserve someone that will respect your needs and stick with you the whole time."

"Did she ask what it was that did make you upset? If she noticed you were upset enough to ask about it, then even if you said it was fine she should ask further to figure out what is making you upset, so that the source can be addressed and fixed."

[bridgyrose]

Ruby infiltrating Salem's inner circle, maybe getting closer to Cinder as time goes on for Reasons™ Fallen Petals AU?

(Ruby defection arc?)

It all started as an easy mission. Salem hadn’t known about Ruby or her silver eyes, just a mysterious huntress that seemed to get in her way. But now, as she sat at the table with Salem and her followers, everything seemed to have become more complicated. She was still no closer to finding out Salem’s true goals, only able to delay the attacks on the academies for the relics by sharing her own information about the maidens. 

“Red,” Cinder said as she nudged her. “Are you going to answer her?” 

Ruby paused for a moment as she realized everyone was looking at her. “I… I’m sorry but I didnt catch the question.” 

Salem frowned and stood up, eyes locked onto Ruby. “Then I’ll ask you one more time: how do you know so much about the maidens?” 

Ruby froze for a moment as she tried to think of an answer, one that wouldnt get her killed. She very well couldnt tell Salem the truth, but if she lied. Her voice cracked as she tried to answer, her eyes looking down at the floor as a glyph started to open up under her. “I-I uh…”

“She’s been intercepting reports to Ozpin.” 

Ruby went quiet and looked over at Cinder for a brief moment. “I… have a contact that works with Ozpin and have been getting his reports that way. Its how I knew where the fall maiden was so Cinder could obtain those powers. And how we know the whereabouts of two other maidens.” 

Salem slowly sat down. “I see. And how do we know that you havent been giving information in exchange?” 

“You dont. However, Ozpin hasnt made any further moves to stop you. Qrow was still late to stop Cinder from killing the fall maiden, everything is still going according to plan in Vale with Roman, and Atlas is starting to become more and more divided between Atlas and Mantle. I… I can also get Cinder to the Beacon Vault to take the relic without alerting Ozpin. Take it right out from under him and move onto the next one.” 

“If you’re certain that you can do that, then you and Cinder will go collect the crown. Once you have it, we’ll move to our next target as soon as Leonardo gives us the whereabouts of the spring maiden.” 

Ruby sighed and nodded. “Yes, my goddess.” 

“You and Cinder will make your way to Vale to obtain the relic-” 

“But we cant yet!” Ruby hesitated when she realized she had stood up and slowly sat down. “I-I need to make sure everything is correct and-” 

“And you’ll do as you’re told.”

Ruby froze as she was pulled to the ground by a few arms that came out of a glyph and started to pull her down. “I… I’ll take Cinder to the vault…” 

Salem smiled. “And there wont be any problems.”

Ruby picked herself up as the arms let go of her and started to disappear. Her body shook as she took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll make sure we dont have any trouble.” 

“Then see to it that you come back with the relic.” 

Ruby nodded and stood up to get herself ready, shaking with each step she took to her room. Her mind started to wander as she tried to think of a way to spin this to Ozpin, though she kept coming up short. Sure, she could tell him immediately, though if anything happened, Salem would be the first to find out and it wouldnt be long before she was on the chopping block. But if she didnt, then she’d have to make everything convincing for Cinder if they were caught. And the last thing she wanted was to fight her friends while she was supposed to be learning Salem’s plans. 

She practically jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder and instinctively reached for her scythe, pausing when she saw Cinder next to her. “Oh, Cinder. I… I didnt see you there.” 

“Alright Red, what has you on edge?” Cinder asked. “You’re not acting like yourself today.” 

“Its… nothing.” Ruby slowly lowered her arm and continued walking. “We’ll get to Beacon, get the relic-” 

“And probably have to fight a few people you know, right?” 

Ruby stopped in her tracks and put up a fake smile, hand twitching as she started to look for a way out. “What makes you think I know anyone there?” 

“Because I’ve seen your scroll.” Cinder sighed. “I wont let anyone know, but that does mean you’ll have to make a choice soon. Either continue to help us, or help whoever it is you’re really working with.” 

Ruby looked away from Cinder and dropped the smile she wore. “And if I dont make that choice?” 

“Then someone will have to make it for you. And trust me, if it ends up being someone else, they can spin it however they want.” 

Ruby faced Cinder again and watched her curiously. She wasnt sure when she started following Cinder or when she found her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “What do you mean? You’ve been through this?” 

“Everyone here has.” Cinder opened the door to her room and motioned for Ruby to join her inside. “For me, it was my mentor. I… didnt exactly have a great childhood. Abandoned as a baby and sent to an orphanage, adopted by a woman who only wanted to use me as a slave and shocked me any time I messed up. Then… I met Rhodes. I stole his weapons to use to free myself, but he caught me and started to train me as a huntress. But, as time went on, I… I couldnt take it anymore.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Dont be. I killed my adopted family and Rhodes condemned me. He made my choice for me before I even had a chance. Hazel is here because Ozpin let his sister die. She was sent on a training mission that went wrong long before she could graduate Beacon. Hazel went to Ozpin for answers but was ignored and sent away before meeting Salem. Watts… well… he’s just an ass. I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.” 

Ruby nodded and sat down on Cinder’s bed. “And Mercury and Emerald?” 

“Mercury was abused by his father and Emerald was in a similar position as me. So, I took them in and offered them a spot. But Salem, she ended up with the worst of it.” 

“What happened?” 

“She was cursed by the gods for daring to want her lover back.” Cinder scoffed. “Not like it really mattered to them. They cursed her and left her to wander in her own grief. Its why she wants to change the world. Undo the shackles of this world so no one has to know loss. So no one has to go through what she did.” 

Ruby looked down at the ground and sighed. “Sounds like its been rough for all of you.” 

“It has.” Cinder moved her hand to Ruby’s and smiled a bit. “And, if you end up staying with us, you can help us make a lasting change.” 

“I… I dont know…” 

“You have time to think things over.” 

Ruby blushed a bit as she felt Cinder kiss her cheek. On instinct, she looked away to hide her blush, hand shaking slightly. “What was that for?” 

“For helping me get these powers. Now, go get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us.” 

Ruby nodded and slowly got up to make her way to her room, mind racing as she walked. Her heart was torn about fighting her team or staying with Cinder, wanting to make sure things could change no matter where she went. Once she made it to her room, she turned her scroll off and laid down to rest.

[undercvrfan444]

“Baby, what are you doing?”

Satoru sprawled lazily over the plush couch in your cozy living room, some silly show playing in the background. The sun had set hours ago allowing for the moon to peak out between thin clouds.

Soft light emitting from the TV highlighted every dip and ridge of the man below you. Satoru’s chest rose and fell with each breath passing through his lungs.

Currently, two of your smooth hands run over the hard muscles that sculpted your boyfriend’s abdomen, white hair trailing down his navel until it disappears beneath the waistband of his sweats. With a small pout on your face, you pinch at one of the lower abs eliciting a small groan in pain from Satoru. “It isn’t fair! You eat whatever you want and somehow still end up shredded.”

You knew Satoru worked out, but seeing his body for the first time kind of put into perspective the quiet strength he held. Before you two started dating he would always tease you about being weaker than him but for some reason it didn’t register how strong he was until you had your hands on him.

The only part that aggravated you about having jacked boyfriend was seeing all the junk he ate. Somehow it seemed to be completely defective in taking away from the beautiful tone of Satoru’s body.

Don’t even get started on this man’s arms. Oh fuck you’d bury your face in the thick muscles there and never give yourself room to breathe again.

A pale hand comes to pinch your cheek playfully. “What do you want me to do about that? I can’t help how my body works baby girl.” A low snicker dances on Satoru’s lips as he moves to pull you further into him.

Besides! You’d never ACTUALLY be upset your hunk of a man for being this handsome. Right?

[euphoria-looney]

Who Said Money Can't Buy You Happiness?

Yan! Batfam x Princess!Reader

Special

"Mother said be good, father said be nice. That was always their advice. So be nice, [name], good, [name]. Nice, good, good nice (tighter!). What's the good of being good if everyone is blind. Always leaving you behind." Prologue: Into the Woods.

(I needed the full thing in it)

Divider Creds: @selysie and @anitalenia

This plot was inspired by @niwaart and @mimiiiiiiiiisstuff

Life is not fair, and while the rich eat like pigs the poor people eat scraps and still are charged no matter if they can afford it or not.

As a princess, I understood that.

I am labeled as the defective princess, the Imperial Princess of Gotham, [name] Wayne.

While all my siblings were intelligent and had strength, talent, and power that upstaged most people, I had none of that, I wasn't smart, actually, I was a complete dunce. I had no strength to my name and was disgracefully unable to use my magic, but I knew I had some...

I had to. Right?

My talent, probably being an embarrassment to my family name.

My mother, she also glanced at me with disgust, she made sure if I wasn't able to do anything useful I'll at least have etiquette while being useless.

I admired my mother, she was beautiful, graceful, sharp, and always upheld her image.

She sneers at me when I mess up, which is all the time, but we don't talk about that.

Oh gosh, and my siblings they were all so amazing.

Barbara held the same personality as our mother, she rose the social class fast. Too bad she doesn't talk to me, I think she would be a great person to take an example from!

Stephanie and Cassandra tagged behind Barbara. They were like those cool trios in the books.

Yes, I read books, but they don't count since they are all novels.

Damian berates me on the fact that I'm nothing like them, but it just shows he cares, doesn't it?

Dick will he coaches Damian he's the #1 Knight of our kingdom and woman all over swoon over him, he talks to me... sometimes.

Duke, well he's a gentleman we don't talk but he's nice enough to greet me.

Jason, well like those novels he'd be titled the 'bad boy' and it does in fact charm lots and lots of ladies.

Tim, it impresses me every time at how smart he is. Maybe that's why we don't have many conversations because I'm not on his level.

And my father, well, it's okay. He's the emperor of course he's busy, I can't ask for attention that would be so childish!

It's of course upsetting when they all hang out without me, but they're just letting me have more time to myself to read! If you think about it they just care about me.

I remember we went to an event, and I was alone and no one talked to me, but it's fine, that's when I met the love of my life, he was like a prince charming, I bumped into him and he caught me before I hit the floor, I swear I fell right then.

Connor Kent.

Then I found out he was in fact a prince! And I got lucky and arranged a marriage with him, he didn't seem as static, but it's okay, arranged marriages usually don't last anyway...

I don't know what took over me, but when they found this orphaned girl one day, out of nowhere, they adopted her, and that's when my life changed.

Serena.

It wasn't fair how she was the apple of everyone's eyes.

She was also clumsy and dumb, she didn't know how to use magic, just like me, but there was a fine line between us. For one I know etiquette and for two, I'm of royal blood.

But instead of also disliking her they doted on her. I let it go until Connor also started being attracted to her. I was enraged.

But kept to myself. I started writing things I felt like doing those things to her. Then slowly I started doing said things. But they were harmless! Mostly...

I always ended up getting caught every single time though.

I still did them though, I don't know I just felt like it, and then I started having dreams of this weird world, about a girl.

Her name, was just like mine, [name] [last name], and she's so cool!

It started off showing what kind of woman she was, a CEO, doctor, lawyer, but mainly an entrepreneur, I didn't know a woman could be in those fields. Also, what are some of those things?

Then those dreams.

"What a bast-, I can't with this main character! Oh and don't even get me started on the family, who wrote this?! And a poly relationship for what? Just for her to focus on one guy? That's it I'm balding. The only character I like is [name] but sometimes I wish she would just stand up for herself!"

Yes, for I found out she was just like me she also liked reading novels.

Her reactions to them were also quite funny, then one day I don't know why but I prayed to the Gods that I wanted to be just like her.

"Go hang yourself! Shitty ahh characters. Go suck a titty."

Okay, not exactly like her.

Then it was the next morning and the maids took a while to finally get me ready, I couldn't stand their murmuring about how terrible I was compared to Serena.

I wanted to rip my hair out when I heard her name.

Then I made an idiotic choice again, I shoved her while on the staircase.

Then my world went black before I woke up startled with NEW MEMORIES.

I had become [name] [last name].

But for some reason, I was smart, I knew how to manage her jobs…

5 years later

It's been, what, 5 years?

[name] was right to be cocky she had every right to be, I feel bad now that I stole her life.

[name] wherever you are I wish you the best.

I wanted to write this to show that both girls will get happy endings, and I rushed this because idk.

Anyway, thanks cuties for the interaction with my last post!

And again with the last post please give me constructive criticism!

Taglist -

@kittzu @charlenexoxo1 @bat1212 @silverklaus @sillysealsies

[escelia]

New Sibling Just Dropped

Or Danny gets willingly isekai'd into the DCU and gets a twin out of it.

I know I disappeared from the face of the earth for a bit there, and there's stuff I should probably be updating, but I come baring different stuff this time :D

Just started this for fun, and I have at least one other chapter of it done, but idk how long this bout of inspiration will last, so I'm just rolling with it for now.

@flamingpudding look! i pulled a jason todd and rose from the grave!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny was tired. The kind of tired you felt behind your eyes and in your bones, and weighed heavy with achievement. He was perched on the edge of a building in his ghost form looking over Amity Park with a soft smile as he watched Youngblood run through the park with human children, Cujo playfully on their heels. His galaxy cloak (which had been a coronation gift) billowed around his lap like a gas with stars twinkling inside. 

It had been a few years now since he took up the Crown of Fire and became High King of the Infinite Realms, and while he had accomplished many things since then, graduating from high school wasn't something on that list. It sucked that he wouldn't get to walk across the stage with Sam and Tucker, but in the face of all he'd been able to do for both Amity and the Infinite Realms, it was worth it. They coexisted now. There was still trouble every now and then, but Danny had helped the ghosts who insisted on staying in Amity Park find a place in their city where they could thrive.

Youngblood watched over the children of the city, Box Ghost started a box recycling center, Lunch Lady started a program to get food to families that couldn't afford it, and Pointdexter started reporting bullying at the school since he was already there. 

On the Realms' side, Danny shut down Walker's prison. Since it was his lair, he couldn't take it away from him completely, but it no longer housed the many ghosts the warden had considered "rule breakers." He'd given Walker a new set of rules to enforce and essentially took him under his wing as a royal soldier, kept under the close watch of Fight Knight, who'd defected from Pariah Dark so fast after his defeat that it was laughable. 

He'd done something similar with Skulker, though he was a harder case to crack. Unlike Walker, who was happy as long as he had a set of rules to enforce, Skulker wanted to keep hunting. He'd been recruited forcefully by Walker and Fright Knight after they caught him on his way to fight Danny again.

All in all, everything had begun to run smoothly now. The fatigue weighing on him reminded him that it had been hard to accomplish, and continuing to lead his double life hadn't made it any less exhausting. A cold breath rushed through his chest as he felt a familiar presence slide up next to him. 

"You didn't time out," Danny pointed out without looking to face the ghost beside him. Clockwork hummed in acknowledgment.

"Sometimes it's pleasant to watch time flow in person." It was Danny's turn to hum at him. 

"How are you feeling?" The Ancient asked thoughtfully. The younger ghost tilted his head pensively. 

"It's hard to say. I'm tired, but I'm happy. And also sad..." he paused to gather his thoughts. "I feel like I've done everything I needed to."

But not everything he wanted to do. 

"Go on," Clockwork pressed. The teenager did turn his head now to make a face at his mentor. If the guy knew how he felt and what he was going to say, why would he say it out loud? But the other just arched a brow at him and waited.

"Fine," he pouted. "I've spent so much time and energy finding places for everyone here. The GIW are gone, my parents stopped hunting ghosts, Jazz got into the psychology program at Stanford, Sam and Tucker are graduating today... I helped make that happen, I know I did! But they're moving on without me. They're growing up and I don't feel like I am."  

'I don't feel like I'm ready.'

Danny stopped to take a breath and wipe away the icy tears gathering in his eyes. He felt stupid for crying over it. He was 17 for Ancients' sake! Jazz would have told him he grew up too fast, but he still felt like a child. He had no idea what he was doing! And yet! And yet... he felt...

"But you also feel ancient, right? Like you've been around too long and seen too much?" Clockwork said as though he were reading from a script. Danny sulked. Stupid time ghost with his dumb Time Stream TV or whatever. 

"Yeah..."

"All Ancients feel that way. Though you may be feeling unbalanced in more ways than one because of how young you died and the fact you are half human."

"What do you mean?" Danny turned his whole body to face him now, tucking his knees under his chin and circling his arms around them. His cloak moved with him in inky black wisps and settled around him again like clouds of galaxies. 

Clockworks form shifted to that of a child.

"You feel young because you died young. However, it is the nature of humans to grow and change. While you may have died at 14, your childhood died before that. You yearn to grow and learn, while also being an incredibly powerful Ancient."

He supposed that made sense. He recalled all the years cleaning the lab before the portal had even been built, and the fighting and neglect (Jazz's words, not his) that spawned his disdain of Christmas even longer before. He wanted to go back to school. He wanted a reason to love Christmas. He wanted pets and family dinners that didn't come alive. He wanted to grow up properly.

"But you still want to help people," the ghost said as though Danny had been talking out loud or having his mind read. 

"I hate it when you do that," Danny complained. Clockwork just smiled smugly.

"I know." He laughed at the glare Danny threw him. 

"I have a proposition for you," the older ghost began. Danny perked up in intrigue. "I know of another earth dimension with some problems that need to be addressed. Your role as High King puts you in a position to be helpful."

"Their problem has to do with the Realms?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Ectoplasm from the Realms is pooling into what are referred to on their planet as Lazarus Pits. They are both helpful and harmful as they do not dissipate into the air so they continually collect and concentrate emotion, but they do sometimes revive the dead."

Danny grimaced in disgust at the thought of dunking a person into a stagnant pool of contaminated ectoplasm. "That sounds disgusting."

"Quite," Clockwork agreed. 

"So what's your proposition?"

"Well, if it is agreeable to you, I would like to de-age your physical form and place you with a family that's had dealings with the Pits firsthand. I've found them to be quite charming." 

"Ah, so you want me to go in undercover?" Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes a little. It wasn't a half bad idea. He could try his hand at childhood again and still get to handle his duties as King Phantom. Leading a double life again would be easy enough, it was just stepping from one role into another. 

"Not at all." Clockwork smiled knowingly. Danny was officially suspicious of his ghost guardian. "This planet has had all kinds of dealings with the occult, and even humans with superpowers isn't that unusual. While I would advise against telling anyone you are a king right away, you are in fact just that: a king. You may do what you wish." 

For an ancient and wise time ghost, Danny thought Clockwork was really shit at hiding his expressions. Though he tried to keep the grin off his face, Danny could clearly see the twitching of his lips and gleam in his eyes that promised the old man was scheming. 

But to get his childhood back. Or, at least a semblance of one... it deserved consideration. Danny looked back out at the cityscape again. Sam and Tucker... they were down there graduating from high school without him. He'd been the one to encourage them to pull away from Team Phantom activities to zero in on their studies, but he didn't regret it. Sam wanted to major in environmental science and Tucker wanted to go to MIT and he just didn't fit into those plans. After Jazz left for Stanford, his parents often forgot he was still there. He'd managed to convince them to study ghosts properly instead of hunting them, and with a little help from the "friendly ghost King Phantom" they were given a place to start. They dove into their research with the same excitement and fervor they'd had all their lives. Which of course meant he went days, sometimes weeks, without seeing them emerge from the lab. It was easy enough to slip past them to the portal while they were distracted. 

The point was that he'd started to feel his anchor to this city, to this realm, start to dissipate as the people who kept him there started to break away from him. He still loved them, wanted to protect them, but they were safe and happy now. He felt fulfilled in his task of protecting them, but there was a buzzing beneath his skin to do more. 

Danny took a deep and controlled breath. He didn't need it in his ghost form, but it felt good to feel his lungs stretch to fullness. 

"When would I start?" He asked finally. The straight face Clockwork had been trying to keep, and he really was so bad at it, finally broke into a wide grin. 

"Right now. Everything is already in place and your duties in the Realms will be taken care of in your absence." 

Danny smiled softly at his guardian. Clockwork sure had a funny way of showing it, but he cared so deeply for the boy next to him that when Danny responded with a bad pun, he couldn't even be annoyed. 

"Well, no time like the present!" He winked.

Clockwork chuckled, and with a flash of light, he sent Danny on his way. 

The more time the older ghost spent with his young ward, the more he appreciated him. The Danny he’d come to know was nothing like the Danny’s from other worlds he’d encountered while trying to prevent Dan from existing. His Danny was now truly one of a kind. None of the others, not even the ones that eventually turned into Dan, had been Ancients. There would never be another Danny like him, and every universe was adjusting to include him should he ever decide to visit them. He had a place in any world, should he choose, but Clockwork knew he was needed most in the one he’d sent him to. It would be truly entertaining to watch the young Ancient settle into his role there, and Clockwork was actually finding himself looking forward to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dark and quiet a long while before Danny opened his eyes. And when he did open them it got really loud and really bright really fast. It belatedly occurred to him that he should have asked like a billion more questions before agreeing to be iseaki’d into a different dimension to join a family he knew literally nothing about. 

There was shouting before someone in what looked like a ninja cult uniform shoved a knife into his hand and pushed him in the path of a person in a different uniform. The man in front of him was dressed in blue and black and wearing a mask that covered his eyes, but Danny could see the surprised shape of his mouth before it morphed into something like anger. And then he was being lunged at.

He shrieked as he dodged out of the way. Not his most graceful save, but whatever. His voice was a bit shrill and his center of gravity felt way off. He must have actually been de-aged! He wondered how old he was now. He still felt light on his feet thanks to his ghost half which felt blessedly intact. But the other guy was fast and he ducked into a roll just in time to dodge whatever weapon he was holding. This guy meant business, but he had no idea why he was trying to kill him. 

‘Great, thanks Grandfather Clock for throwing me right back into the good ol’ days,’ he thought sarcastically. Nobody had attacked him for no good reason like that since Walker and Fright caught Skulker mid hunt for the very last time. 

What he now saw was a baton swung down from overhead and Danny knew he wouldn't dodge it in time, so he caught it with the flat of the blade that had been shoved into his hands.

“Wait! Why are we fighting?” Danny yelled, panicked as the guy pushed more force into it. The man's face twisted into something like confusion for a moment and he backed off just the tiniest bit before the scuffing of shoes to his right had him looking over just in time to see another guy in a mask, this time in red, rushing at him. He threw his hands up in surrender. 

“Wait!” He shrieked before he was absolutely bodied sideways into the ground. 

Why was he doing this? He was half ghost, he could have just gone intangible and disappeared. He didn't have to be body slammed into the ground. Wasn't he a child now? Did that guy in red actually just slam a whole child into the ground? 

“Red, hold on! This one's different!” 

“What do you mean?” The guy Red asked. He was still pinning Danny to the ground.

“Yeah, what do you mean?” Danny asked breathlessly, then whimpered, “Someone please tell me what's going on!” 

The one hovering over him must have seen something on his face that convinced him to not try and kill him anymore, because he grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him along. 

“We'll take him in for questioning. Don't let Robin see him.”

“Who's Robin?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long, arduous, and confusing journey from wherever they were to… well, wherever they were now. They'd blindfolded him for the transport so he still had no idea what was going on. He had learned that the guy with batons was Nightwing, and Red was actually Red Robin. The one they called Robin was a feral looking thing with swords, he was very small and stabby. Then there was Batman, and he totally threw off the whole bird theme but was easily the most intimidating. And that was all he knew so far. He'd been restrained at an interrogation table. 

Danny groaned and knocked his forehead onto the table. He really, really wished he'd asked Clockwork more questions. He'd at least been able to catch a glimpse of himself in the glass behind Batman. He looked like he was eleven or twelve again, which was not as young as he'd been expecting, but much more preferable than being a literal toddler. The group of people he’d been brought in by seemed to be heroes. They were all incredibly weary of him, but hadn’t gone out of their way to harm him since his capture. Though it was hard to call it a capture when there wasn’t a chase involved. 

“How old are you?” Batman asked suddenly. His voice was low and rough and somehow Danny could tell it didn't sound like that naturally. 

“Um, maybe eleven or twelve?” Danny replied carefully, picking up his head from the table and having the decency to look a little embarrassed. 

“And what's your name?” He looked like he was expecting something.

“My name is Danny, sir.” 

“Hmm…” 

It was quiet and awkward for a long moment.

“Why are you different from the other clones?” 

“Yeeeaaah, I'm not a clone.” Danny absolutely did not jump when the brute slammed the file folder shut in front of him. 

“We'll see what your DNA results have to say about that,” he said confidently before turning to leave, his cape dramatically flaring out behind him.

Sheesh, and he thought he’d had a flair for the dramatics.

‘Okay, time for some assessment,’ Danny thought to himself as he looked around the small closed room. It was soundproofed incredibly well. While he didn’t have super crazy hearing, it was enhanced by his ghost half, and combined with his other sharp senses, it tended to help him gather more information than others could. The most he could hear outside the room was a quiet hum of activity and nothing discernible. Still, he needed to decide how much he would say to these people. How much truth did he want to weave into his tale? These people clearly already had their own assumptions about him in mind, and while there was absolutely nothing wrong with being a clone, he knew he didn’t have what it took to keep up an act like that for long, which would just end up being awkward for everyone. 

He also would not be telling them about his status as Ghost King, per Clockwork’s suggestion. His captors seemed like the uptight sort, and revealing that he was a big, scary ghost monarch didn’t seem like it’d go over well. Telling them he was a halfa would probably get them off his back over the clone thing, at least. He went over the list in his head.

He was a halfa from another dimension, so he couldn’t be a clone.

He had no plans of fighting with anyone unless absolutely necessary. 

He did not have a way back to his other dimension. 

His name was Danny, and he didn’t have a family anymore.

He did not know why he was in the middle of whatever fight he woke up in. 

No, he didn’t know those people.

Danny must’ve been lost in thought for quite a while because his thoughts were interrupted by Batman bursting back through the door. The man’s demeanor had changed completely and he whipped off his cowl to reveal disheveled dark hair, blue eyes, and an expression of absolute heartbreak that accompanied his shuddering breaths. With the mask off, he reminded Danny a lot of his father. 

Batman searched his face and, much like Red Robin had before, seemed to notice something there. 

“She did it twice,” he muttered to himself. “Two of them this whole time and she didn’t tell me about either of them,” he said through gritted teeth. His frown deepened. Danny copied his frown. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

He still had no idea what was going on.

[thebibliosphere]

"@feed-the-roses some people struggle to absorb things that aren't pre-methylated (it's a gene defect) I was anemic for 30+ years before I switched to methylated folate and my body could suddenly process iron."

Why, why have none of my doctors told me this in the 7+ years I've been trying different iron supplements that all make my intestines feel like death? They all just say, "Oh, your hemoglobin is [currently] within normal ranges, so you're fine." Never mind my ferritin is at a 3 or 4 and I'm always tired. (Never mind that I have a family history of bleeding disorders.) *screeches*

So, can you get that over the counter, or...?

... not to project my trauma onto you, but how are your b12 and homocysteine levels?

Also, yeah, you can absolutely buy it otc. Look for L-methylfolate or a b complex with 'methyl support.'

If you're in the US and have any allergies, the brands I alternate between are Pure Encapsulations and Thorne. They're generally good about not adding extra junk in.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

the first kiss between you and suguru after he starts showing up at your doorstep unannounced post-defection tastes like iron and hell and probably makes you cry with how conflicted you are but he’s literally picturing roses blooming around u both. having the shoujo moment of his life