#he needs love and therapy

[kurishiri]

13 . . . alfons main story

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

— cw: discussions on mortality, written depiction of blood, self-deprecation, angst.

Kate: Alfons.

Alfons: Yes, what is it?

Kate: ...Show me your body.

Alfons: ...In such a place? My, how naughty you are.

In an exaggerated manner, Alfons shrugged his shoulders in a teasing gesture.

Kate: Say what you will, but you will be showing me your back.

When I tried to maneuver behind him, though, he pressed his back to the wall.

Kate: Gosh, just why are you doing this!?

Alfons: I do, as a matter of fact, have a bit of an aversion to showing my back to others.

(He doesn’t want to because of a bit of an aversion!?)

(Besides, what absolute bollocks... I’m sure Alfons——)

Kate: You covered for me and got shot, didn’t you...

Alfons: Why, hardly. As far as I’m concerned I would never make such blunders.

[1] Don’t dodge the question. (+4 / +4)

[2] I don’t believe you.

[3] Really?

Kate: Are you seriously still dodging my question...!?

Alfons: Well am I now? I can’t seem to recall.

The way he shrugged his shoulders held a bit of a dramatic flair.

And after he had a giggling fit, he suddenly fell silent, as though at a sudden loss for words.

Alfons: .........

His gaze on me was so direct, it held nothing back as it pierced through me, and even though he didn’t utter a word, I almost faltered from it.

Alfons: ...You have always been like this, haven’t you.

A: Even if you don’t check on me, you wouldn’t be riddled at all by fear and anxiety... and yet here you are, still trying your best to seek the ‘truth�� to a foolish extent.

His gaze seemed to scrutinize me, as though he were looking at me through the glass of a mirror——

And without thinking, I grabbed his collar and pulled it toward me.

Kate: If it’s foolish, then so be it. So just show me...

With that, I lifted the rim of his coat.

Kate: ...!

There were blots of crimson on his white shirt.

(I knew it, he really did cover for me——)

Alfons: ...See now, you’ve gotten hurt yet again.

(And even in a time like this...)

I hardly took to that ridiculing tone, to be sure, but I could also hear consideration laced in his voice, causing my chest to constrict.

Kate: Aren’t you the one who got hurt, though...?

When I spoke back, this time I took off his shirt.

And there on the flank of his back was a crimson wound.

Even the deepest part of his wound seemed superficial, so there wasn’t a lot of blood.

(Oh, thank goodness it’s not a severe wound... but still.)

Kate: I’m really sorry, I was careless then.

Alfons: Now, now, nothing you did warrants such earnesty.

A: It was hardly your fault at all, so your apology is only wasted on me.

Alfons was still kicking as usual, his complexion remaining unchanged to the point him getting grazed by a bullet at all wouldn’t have even crossed my mind.

Kate: What do you mean, my apology is ‘only wasted’...

(Yes, he is fine now, because the bullet just happened to pass by him...)

(But, if the trajectory had been even slightly different...)

Kate: You do know you could have died then and there though!?

Alfons: People are meant to die, without exception.

Kate: …But, wouldn’t you find it unpleasant to die in a place like this, having covered for me?

Alfons: Never did I say that.

Kate: What...?

And then, what I heard thereafter made me question my own ears——

Alfons: No matter at what time, in what place, and for what purpose I die, is this not simply an ending you could find anywhere else?

I could only stare at him, rendered speechless.

The way he spoke made it seem as though he spectated even his own life as something of a play from the side.

Kate: How could you treat something like this... like it’s so trivial...

K: Don’t... don’t you have something you want to do, or any regrets and whatnot...?

Alfons: ...Hehe.

A: Indeed, I would imagine someone of your nature to be positively riddled with such things, no?

Kate: ...

At that moment, I recalled something Roger had said.

—— Flashback ——

Roger: Hey, lil lady, what if I said that guy’s got no weakness up his sleeve? What would you do then?

R: If he doesn’t have anything he can call precious, then it won’t matter how much insults, disdain, anger, or hatred you hit him with. None of it could hurt him.

R: If he was the type of guy who thought stuff like ‘I couldn’t care less about the things before me’ and had no will to live in reality, what would you do?

—— End flashback ——

When I had first heard those words, their meaning had passed over my head.

But now, I felt like I could finally grasp what he was getting at.

(Alfons treats his own body like a tool.)

(After all, he sleeps with others with no strings attached, and he uses his ability on others as well...)

By doing so, he could masquerade that he was enjoying himself, and while he cast convenient illusions for others, he would open his heart to none nor would he linger about in a single place...

It felt as though he might end up vanishing into thin air.

Kate: If you go off and die so suddenly... everyone in Crown will be saddened.

Alfons: Ahha! Goodness, surely you jest.

Seeing him laugh my words off only made me worried.

Kate: And what of Lord Elbert? Aren’t you two something along the lines of childhood friends who go way back?

Alfons: Yes, I suppose. Although I do feel I meddle a tad too much in his affairs as well.

A: Well, all that said, there isn’t much to worry about with him, dare I say. No matter how much sadness he ends up facing, he wouldn’t ever give up living.

A: For you see, his Curse is that of ‘greed’ and——

Kate: Okay, and what about me...!?

K: Because... I would also be sad if you went and died...

The words seemed to well up within me, overflowing.

Alfons: ...I would imagine. You’re such a kind soul like that, after all.

A: But even so, once the month passes and you return to your normal everyday life,

A: I reckon the most you will remember is that there was some wicked man in there in passing...

A: And eventually, you will come to forget it all.

The more he spoke, the more Roger’s words seemed to hold a deeper meaning...

That being to Alfons——his own life was so trivial, he wouldn’t bat an eye no matter when it was taken from him.

Not only that, he would get derisive, insisting that there could never be a soul in this world that would grieve if he did die.

And all of that saddened me to no end...

Kate: ...But... you... to me, you are already a part of me...

K: So much so... it wouldn’t just fade like that...

Alfons: Well, I’ll be, your words do flatter.

Those ashy gray eyes reflected nothing and no one.

It was as though he was saying he had no will to live in the same reality I was in, simply looking on at me from the sidelines.

(This feeling swirling in my heart, one I could label neither as sadness nor anguish...)

When I thought about how such feelings were beyond him——

(Please, won’t those hollow eyes you bear)

(reflect me clearly?)

Alfons: ...!

On an instinct, I pressed my lips on his.

We’ve kissed countless times before, but my heart pounded in my chest now, as though this time was the first.

Kate: ...

And when I quietly withdrew...

Alfons: .........

In direct contrast with the way my heart was pounding to the point it might break, his eyes bore an icy look,

causing my chest to throb.

Alfons: ...This would be the first time you took initiative, no?

Kate: ...I...

K: I just... the fact that you wouldn’t even believe a word when I said I’d be sad if you died...

K: ...made me so sad, and...

My words stopped there.

(I don’t want to give up, and yet...)

It was more than clear from his eyes that the kiss just now did next to nothing to convey any words I wanted to say.

Alfons: ...What a foolish little robin you are, to feel so saddened over me.

A: And if I may remind you, I do see you as my plaything.

A: ...So tell me, when you think of your favorite toy in your childhood, do you know where it is now?

A: Or even before that, do you remember what said toy even was now?

Kate: ...

Something in my heart seemed to be smashed to pieces, much like a mirror.

Alfons: Even if I end up becoming a large part of your life, I cannot say the same of myself for you.

A: I only speak for your own good when I say to think of me as nothing more than a convenient playmate.

And the fragments of said shattered mirror pierced through me then.

But even so, I couldn’t bring myself to slap him across the cheek, scolding him about how he was the utter worst.

Kate: And... are you telling me you would throw away your life just like that for a mere ‘plaything’?

Alfons: Exactly.

A: My own life holds about as much worth as a little tin soldier anyhow.

(So this is——‘reality.’)

He was simply breathing, as though he were flickering in and out of existence.

To him, life was naught but something out of a play, perhaps a way to simply kill time.

(...Why...?)

(Just why do you live like this?)

Perhaps there was something in his past——or maybe his future that caused him to feel cornered into living this way.

I did want to ask this. And yet,

the pain in my chest made it hard to breathe, and I couldn’t so much as open my mouth.

Elbert: ...So they were here.

Roger: You two sure took your time getting out of there, so we came searching for you guys... and sure enough, here you are.

All of a sudden, a familiar voice caused me to look up.

There stood Roger and Lord Elbert, who apparently ran after us after hearing the ‘voices.’

Elbert: ...Al, are you hurt?

Alfons: Yes, minorly.

Kate: The bullet... it seems like it grazed the side of his back.

I was more or less able to steady my breathing, trying to give an answer as calmly as I could, but even still my voice ended up trembling.

Elbert: ...Are you crying by any chance, Kate?

Kate: N-no, I just... I’m just in a bit of shock...

Elbert: ...I see.

In truth, Lord Elbert had probably seen right through me.

But even so, he didn’t pry any deeper, instead supporting Alfons by the shoulder.

Roger: ...So? How did the mission go?

Alfons: Why of course, as swimmingly as it gets. And with that, let us return to the castle, yes?

——In the end, Alfons’ wounds were superficial, just as they had looked on the surface.

Roger had said it was so shallow there wasn’t even any need to suture it...

...but out of worry, I still found myself before Alfons’ room.

(...Even when I knock, there’s no response.)

(I did hear that he was resting in his room, but... I wonder if he is actually in there.)

The possibility that he was sleeping did cross my mind, but I felt a strong urge to see his face,

and while I knew I shouldn’t do so, I reached for the doorknob, and——

Kate: ...Sorry for intruding...

It was my first time in his room, and I noticed how, strangely, it felt as though there was not even a hint of anyone having lived in here at all.

One could think he would loathe to leave a single trace of himself behind, seeing as there was not a single possession he could call his own.

Even the tall mirror was covered, and if I were told he had just moved in here today, I wouldn’t have doubted it one bit.

(So this is... Alfons’ room...)

Only a calm fragrance filled his room.

It was a very clear one that reminded me of a flower soaked in the night dew: a far cry from the hodgepodge of fragrances he seemed to usually have on him.

And within it all, Alfons was lying on the bed, his eyes closed.

(Thank goodness. He’s still here...)

He seemed to be sleeping, and so as to not wake him, I stood by his side as quietly as I could.

Kate: ...I’m really sorry, coming in here without asking first.

K: It’s just... I kind of wanted to check to see if you were hurt, or had gotten sick...

K: And I felt you would end up disappearing into thin air before anyone could notice——

As I stared at his sleeping face, I felt an inexplicable urge to touch him, causing a pang in my heart.

(Ever since finding myself in Crown, I came to spend the most time with Alfons.)

He would do away my anxiety and fear that threatened to consume me in the most ridiculous ways,

and although he would never show what was in his heart, he would carve nothing but momentary pleasures in my body...

(And before I knew it, he had made his way into a place in my mind as well, to the point I could hear his voice in my head.)

He would laugh, saying life was naught but a tragedy and give anyone and everyone an illusion of pleasure,

all the while treating himself lightly, as though he were nothing more than a disposable tool——

He was dishonest and wicked to the core... just as he was an ever so kind, nightmare of a man.

(If he steals my heart as well, I will only end up hurt.)

(...I know that, and yet...)

His voice, the sensation of his fingers, the warmth of his skin, and his scent... I couldn’t ever forget them.

Not even after this month passed and I left the castle.

(I can’t let this end as a dream.)

After all, such feelings could never be an ‘illusion.’

Kate: ...Alfons.

K: It seems like... I have fallen for you.

When I murmured this, though——

Alfons: ...Well that is nothing short of a nuisance.

to be continued…

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masterlist🪞 ╱ ko-fi ☕️

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ tags🏷️ ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ @drachonia @.comment, send an ask off anon, or dm to be added or removed!

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

He just wants to be missed

[voiddaisy]

jason todd being a book nerd in canon is so funny to me. like mf is a violent vigilante but chows down some pride & prejudice on his off time. he is such a silly goose (homicidal maniac)

[afterthelambs]

i adore Maruki as a character because he's simultaneously the most relatable depressing character that will make you cry with empathy, and the goofiest wettest cat loser in the game like what do you mean youre a licensed therapist and your first response to trauma is to brainwash a girl, project ur relationship issues onto a 17 yr old boy, and then rule the world in a golden leotard? bro went from 0 to 100 so fast??? anyway he's like 30% of the reason why p5r works as well as it does

[hey-its-sybarite]

You know that thing when your husband slits your throat but you’re very immortal so you don’t die but when you heal the scar he gave you is gone so you wear a trashy sparkly blood red choker on your neck like an open wound right in the spot where he dragged his pretty knife across your skin? That thing?

[sheikfangirl]

"There's nothing wrong with you." ❄️💔

-Pre-Calamity drama- Zelda was straight up dying of hypothermia in the damn Spring of Wisdom. Having to stay on guard duty while she was freezing to death was obviously not as painful as what Zelda was experiencing, but it was torture for him.

After one too many whimper, Link couldn't stand it anymore! No way Link was gonna let the woman he secretly loved die, under HIS WATCH, on her BIRTHDAY!

Link jumped in the spring and scooped Zelda up in is arms. She really tried to resist but she was so weak and frozen, he just ignored her protests... The rest of the night was tense and heavy...their convo too. But I'm actually considering eventually making an animatic of the whole scene, so I'm not gonna spoil the rest of the HC. Cheers PS: I might not be as prolific for the next month, i am in a professional rush. I'll try to keep posting rough sketches but i have so many Zelink plans for the mid summer and after, my idea backlog exploded.

[usertoxicyaoi]

"There's something wrong with you ..."

Arata Misu In TAKUMI KUN 4: PURE (2010). Kijima Rio In THE NOVELIST (2018). Yoden Ryoji In SEI NO GEKIYAKU (2020). Kusakabe Ritsu In BOKURA NO MICRO NA SHUUMATSU (2023). Segasaki Mizuki In TAIKAN YOHOU (2023). Yamase Kazuma In 25 JI, AKASAKA DE (2024).

[strangersteddierthings]

Shovel Talk(s) Part One

Part One 🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four

Steve and Eddie aren't even together when Steve gets the Shovel Talk from Eddie's uncle, but it is what tips Steve into talking to Eddie about his feelings, so he's not upset by it.

They aren't dating, not because he doesn't want Eddie, because he absolutely does. It's just that he wants to be sure Eddie wants him back. There are times when he's sure, when Eddie gets into his space a bit too close, or more often, than he does with anyone else. Eddie calls him a thousand and one nicknames, ranging from sweet to irritating but just when Steve thinks that's a perk left just for him, Eddie hands someone else a new nickname (just the one, a voice in Steve's head that sounds suspiciously like Robin says).

Not that any of that is the point. Wayne wouldn't bother to give Steve a shovel talk at all unless he knew how Eddie felt. Wayne is a man of action, and he's never done anything unless it mattered. Meant something. Steve and Wayne have sat in plenty of (what Steve considers to be) awkward silences because Wayne doesn't talk to fill the void of silence.

The point is, Steve drops Eddie off at the house the government so graciously bought for the Munsons, walks Eddie to the door and giving Eddie a hug goodbye. He stays on the porch until Eddie shuts the door and then nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears Wayne call out his name.

"Harrington," Wayne says from the shadows of the wrap around porch.

So, Steve jumps and it's only then he notices that Wayne is sitting at the table and chairs set up on the porch. "Mr. Munson, sir, hi. Hello."

Wayne lets out a chuckle, but it doesn't really sound amused. "I have come to accept that you are nothing like your father, boy, but I do want to make it clear to you, that Eddie means more to me than anything else on this Earth."

"I know, sir."

"I know you do. And while I will forever be grateful that you helped return him to me alive, know that I will not hesitate to make you disappear if you hurt my boy in a way he can't bounce back from."

Steve's not afraid of Wayne, not really, but that doesn't stop him from feeling the need to flee. He doesn't, though, because he'd gotten enough shovel talks from concerned parents in high school, and he knows they can sense weakness. "I can't promise I'd never hurt him, sir, but I can promise it'll never be intentional."

He can't actually see Wayne's face in the darkness but he feels sized up all the same.

"I believe that, Steve," Wayne says, and it's the first time Steve's ever heard his name leave the man's mouth, "now go home."

-

Wayne's shovel talk was expected. Robin's is not.

"You took Eddie on a date date?" She whispers it as though they aren't alone in Steve's living room. They're laying on the floor in a line, heads next to each other so if they turn slightly to the side they can make eye contact. Steve's not sure why they always end up on the floor for Serious Talk Time.

"Yeah," Steve says, looking away from Robin's face to stare up to the ceiling, "I mean, sorta? We can't like... be open that it was a date, but we went to dinner and a movie and it was nice. Shared a popcorn and played footsie under the diner table."

"Whoa," Robin says. "I never thought you'd- didn't think you'd be brave enough to ask him."

"Me either."

"Steve," Robin sounds serious, so Steve turns to look at her. She studies his face for a moment before she's the one to look away, speaks to the ceiling, "be careful with Eddie, yeah?"

"What? Careful how?"

"I just think you could really fuck him up," Robin says. "You're his first boyfriend, right? That's going to set a precedent for relationships that might happen if you two don't work out. And I hate to say this, because I know you've changed, but like, I saw how a lot of those girls you dated in high school ended up when you broke up with them."

Steve's a little hurt, because Robin's his best friend. She should be giving this talk to Eddie, not him. But, also, he understands. He knows that Robin knew about Eddie's sexuality before he did, knows they bonded over being queer while Steve was still figuring himself out.

Steve also knows that Eddie's never been in a relationship before, Eddie'd told him at much when Steve asked him out. Steve doesn't like that Robin implied that he and Eddie will eventually break up, but no matter how much that thought makes Steve's heart ache, he won't know if it'll happen unless it does.

He just doesn't understand why she seems to think he'll be the one breaking Eddie's heart. It could go the other way.

"Did you OD over there?" Robin asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Steve answers, "I'll be careful."

-

They've been on four more dates before Nancy knocks on his door. She doesn't accept his invitation to come inside. Just starts speaking on his doorstep.

"As Eddie's Capital P Soulmate," is how she starts that sentence, and it makes something hurt deep inside Steve as he tries not to think about Robin, "I am obligated to remind you that I do own several guns now. And I don't miss."

"Jesus Christ," Steve says, because even Wayne was more subtle, "I got it."

"Good. I do know you'd never hurt him on purpose," Nancy says but Steve doesn't feel reassured.

He thinks that, if she really didn't think he's going to end up hurting Eddie she wouldn't have said anything at all. "Right."

"Well, good talk Steve," and then she's walking down the driveway and climbing into her car.

He closes the door and goes to the kitchen to get himself a beer, mostly so he has something to do besides stew in his emotions. He wonders if Eddie has been given the shovel talk, too? Maybe Robin did the same thing Nancy just did. Showed up unprompted, threatened Eddie with some sort of bodily harm, and then just left.

Steve grabs the phone and dials Eddie's number.

"Hello?" Eddie's voice greets him, albeit questioningly.

"Eddie, it's Steve."

"Oh, hello sweetheart," Eddie says, "are you calling for business or pleasure?"

Steve laughs, "business."

"Boo!"

"Listen, uh, I had a question. I just wanted to know if anyone's said anything to you. About us. Or, y'know, specifically about us and our relationship?"

"Uh, not really? A few congratulations, I guess. Why? Did someone say something?" Eddie's voice is level, almost too level, so Steve knows he's trying to keep cool.

"Oh, no! No! I mean, aside from the scary shovel talk from- Wayne, everyone's been surprisingly cool about it. Very supportive," Steve says and even though it's true, everyone they've told has been cool about it, it feels a little bit like a lie.

Eddie laughs, "I can't believe my uncle gave you a shovel talk! You know, I keep expecting to get one from Robin but so far nothing. She must think you're safe in my capable hands."

Steve is safe in Eddie's hand, he thinks, but that doesn't stop the sting that goes through him. "Of course, she does. You've been a perfect boyfriend."

There's a pause before Eddie's voice comes through the phone, soft and quiet, "I'm glad you said so. I want to be. For you."

"You're not allowed to say those kinds of things when you aren't within kissing distance, babe," Steve says, because if he doesn't add humor to this conversation, he's going to tell Eddie he loves him instead, and even Steve knows that saying that a month into dating is too soon, especially over the phone where he can't see Eddie's reaction.

Eddie laughs and makes kissing sounds at him before the conversation shifts to chatting about the day and making plans for the weekend.

-

Steve is trying really hard to not be the person he was in high school but every time he gets to the point where he's being a better person, someone brings up how he used to be. Shoves it back into his face that no matter what Steve does he can't outrun his past.

One such time is shortly after Steve and Eddie accidentally come out as a couple to all of Hellfire. Steve was just dropping off the boys and had stepped inside to chat a bit. Once game time had arrived it had and Steve made to leave, they'd (he and Eddie) had been on autopilot. Eddie'd whined 'where's my goodbye kiss?' and Steve had stepped over, kissed him goodbye, and was out the door before it had actually computed.

Steve had burst back through the door, rushing back to Eddie, because no way in Hell was he going to leave his boyfriend to deal with whatever the consequences would be alone.

It had been absolute chaos at the table with people shouting over each other.

"Of all the people you could be with, you picked Steve!? You could do better!" Mike had whined, and Steve had thought for sure he was the only one who had heard Mike until he saw Will punch his arm and hiss his own 'don't be a dick' at Mike.

It took almost half an hour to calm everyone down. It was a relief to know that Eddie had come out to his bandmates/the older Hellfire members already. The kids took it in stride, in the end, and Eddie had shoo'd Steve away.

Jeff had excused himself, too, and Steve thought he was just going to use the bathroom but instead he followed Steve outside.

Ah. Steve knows what's coming.

"Harrington," Jeff says, "can't say I'm excited that you're the secret boyfriend Eddie's constantly sighing wistfully about. I'm sure Wayne's already threatened you," And Robin, and Nancy, and Mike doesn't think he's good enough, "but if you hurt Eddie-"

"I get it! There will be dire consequences if I hurt Eddie," Steve snaps, not down for hearing it anymore. He stomps to his car and peels away from the curb without bothering to look back.

-

If he's being honest, Steve didn't even know he had a breaking point with shovel talks until he gets his fifth one from Dustin.

It's not even a shovel talk. It's just a single sentence, said almost a month after Dustin learned about their relationship. He's dropping Dustin off after their DnD game. Normally Claudia picks him up, but she's busy tonight and asked Steve to do it.

"Alright, Henderson, safely delivered."

"Thanks, Steve," Dustin says, unbuckles his seatbelt, and opens the door, before turning back to Steve. He just looks at him for a moment.

"What?"

"I'm happy for you and Eddie. Just, don't hurt him, ok?"

He nods his head but can't say anything. Dustin grabs his backpack, shoots him a smile, and climbs out. Steve does wait until Dustin closes the front door behind him before putting the car back in gear.

He manages to get home, somehow, because Steve doesn't fully remember the drive. It's not that his mind was so focused on something else that made him fail to take in his surroundings, but rather that his mind wasn't even a part of his body anymore.

One moment he was pulling away from the Henderson residence, and the next, he was home, just standing in his kitchen in the dark. And now that his thoughts are back, or easier to process, he finds himself wondering why everyone thinks that he's going to be the one to hurt Eddie.

How many people has he hurt that this is his reputation? Is it inevitable that he will hurt Eddie? Is it truly just a matter of time until he breaks Eddies heart? Why is everyone so convinced that he will?

Briefly the thought occurs to him that maybe he should call up Eddie and break up with him right now, before Eddie has a chance to get in deep enough that Steve could break his heart, but just the thought of it breaks Steve's heart, so he's not going to do that. Doesn't want to do that. That would just be punishing Eddie for something he didn't do.

None of this is Eddie's fault, and Steve's an asshole for even thinking of breaking up with him because of it. Which feeds him back into the loop of thinking that maybe everyone is right about him. He is an asshole and will someday hurt Eddie, perhaps even on purpose.

He loves Eddie. He's in love with Eddie. But does loving him mean proving his friends wrong? Or does it mean leaving him before they're proven right?

He wants to ask everyone why they think he'll hurt Eddie.

He wants to ask everyone why they don't care if he's the one that gets hurt.

[dustbunsinspace]

Part of 🟢 Leo gets Overwhelmed au🟢

Aah, I’m so happy I made it in in time! 💙✨ Merry Christmas, tumblr nation! Here’s a little comic about 03 Usagi and Leo going so see the Rockefeller tree after the events of the Christmas Aliens episode.

Little post about events earlier that night

Also this is literally how maskless Leo looks to me, he’s so moomincore ;

[starry-bi-sky]

"Stillborn? No, no, still born." -- DPXDC AU

Based off a comment I saw where Bruce knew about Talia's pregnancy in the earlier comivs, and was ecstatic to be a father. So much so that Talia feared he'd give up being Batman for it, so when she gave birth she put the baby (Damian) on a doorstep and (seemingly) told Bruce that the baby was stillborn.

Instead of Damian, that baby was Danny! Meet Daniel Brown, the 14 year old foster kid whose been living with the Fenton family for the last two years. He's about two years older than Damian.

His last name, "Brown", was a generic surname given to him because the note he came with didn't have one on it. It just had the name "Danyal" on it, but albeit 'Daniel' was the one that had been put into the system for, I'll be totally frank here, racism reasons.

(I looked it up to make sure, and it's generally not permissible for foster parents to change the names of their foster kids even if it's a permanent residency, and for that reason Danny doesn't have the last name "Fenton".)

Danny's got ✨~issues!~✨ He's been through a handful of homes growing up, most of them terrible for a variety of reasons. Which has, as a result, left lasting scars. He's generally a very sweet kid, just very distrustful and jumpy. He's got the signs of a kid suffering from PTSD, and a handful of other issues including attachment and insomnia. His inferiority complex could rival Damian's, and that's going to make for an interesting mutual hatred for when they finally meet.

(something I'll get into later)

He still has the blanket he was found in. It's made of a very high quality material and is a beautiful emerald green with little golden thread accents, it's high quality as a result has Danny clinging onto a desperate hope that his bio family might be out there, and the only reason they gave him up was because of some outside factor. It's been taken a few times in old foster homes, and he's flipped out each time.

While he still calls Jack and Maddie by their names, he likes them well enough. The bar isn't that high though, and while they're some of the better foster parents he's had, "better" doesn't equal "safest". Their laboratory malpractice. Basically, C- Fenton Parents. They're negligent by virtue of being engrossed in their work, but they do care equally about Jazz and Danny. So he doesn't hold it against them that much.

He kinda prefers it that way, their loud affection is overwhelming and Danny doesn't know what to do with their attention, even if he craves it. It's a bit of a complicated situation.

They took in Danny because they genuinely wanted another child, but didn't want a big age gap between them and Jazz. It was actually Jack's idea to foster, and they discussed it with Jazz beforehand. She was all for the idea. Thus, a handful of weeks later, a ton of paperwork, and inspection later, and Daniel Brown entered their household with a trash bag in one hand and eyes like shards of stained glass.

His relationship with Jazz is kinda strained, but that's by virtue of her constant psychoanalyzing and helicoptering. Like with the parents, Danny's overwhelmed by the attention and also just, straight up doesn't like the fact that she's telling him that there's something wrong with him. He knows that, thank you. He pushes her away when she does this.

Other than that though? When Jazz isn't smothering him and is acting like an actual sibling and not a third parent, they're pretty close, and Danny really likes her. They've hung out a few times on their own volition, and Jazz showed him how to take better care of his long hair.

His school situation,, pretty similar to canon with the bullying, albeit with a few more instances of him blowing a fuse and lashing out against his attackers. He's a rather angry kid, but it's quiet. It builds up, piles on top of itself, until eventually, like a volcano, it erupts and burns everyone within radius.

Danny's got a fire core, not an ice core. Phantom's hair is made of white magma; thick and heavy, setting itself on fire when his anger runs hot. When he gets angry, his skin begins to char and split open to reveal pulsating lava underneath, and he crackles and pops like a raging forest fire.

I haven't decided yet on how he meets the batfam -- i've got two ideas but they're both in opposition to each other, and drastically alter how the rest of the plot goes. But I do know that him and Damian hate each other in the beginning. And it has nothing to do with inheritance or "being the blood son" -- although their blood relation absolutely plays the major role in their disdain for each other.

Simply put, they're jealous of each other for the same thing: thinking that the other was wanted.

Damian hates Danny because, unlike Damian, Bruce knew about Danny since conception and wanted him from the moment he heard about him. He had a whole nursery set up, and still does. He never took it down -- just locked the door. Damian was thrust upon Bruce without warning, and he feels like he forced himself into the family. And while on some level Damian knows and understands that Bruce wants him and loves him as much as his other children, that doubt and feeling of inferiority still remains. He looks at Danny and sees him with what Damian always feels he needs reaffirmed.

Meanwhile, Danny hates Damian because he looks at him and sees him with everything Danny's ever wanted. He hates him because Damian grew up knowing both of their parents, with one of them for most of his life, and then moved over to the other. There was never a moment where Damian was (seemingly) left to doubt his place within the family. Damian was raised with the very same woman who left Danny on a doorstep, with no clue to his identity beyond a little green blanket and a note with only a first name. Damian was wanted everywhere, and Danny was wanted nowhere. Damian is Danny's replacement in his eyes.

(It's the little revelation that Damian grew up with their mother that elevates Danny from being quietly envious of Damian to downright despising him. What did Damian do, that Danny didn't? He could live with Damian living with Bruce -- Bruce didn't know Danny was even alive. But him living with their mom? Are you fucking kidding him?)

Damian never outright attacks Danny physically, but it's not like he hides that he didn't like Danny. Meanwhile, Danny, in all his repressive anger, quietly despised him from a distance until finally one wrong snide side-comment has him blowing up and it becomes a screaming match. They're both just enough similar to each other that when they look at each other they really just see a mirror.

They'll work it out together, eventually. But it'll be ugly and cruel and explosive, and they'll start mending the bridge to become brothers in more than just blood relation in the end.

But yeah, stillborn Danny has... a lot going for him.

[thaliasthunder]

"if it kills me, it kills me" he's so metal i love him

[astraeajackson]

apollo, with meg and reyna: arrow, i think we're lost.

arrow of dodona: verily, i knew that when i first saw you. according to googl- MY PROPHETIC POWERS, if thou signs up for this website, thou shalt receive a free mental checkup with this pretty lady. i know thou likest pretty ladies. shalt i make a call?

apollo:

apollo: he says it's that way-

[seagreenstardust]

“When toxic behavior is portrayed as romantic, it’s problematic. When problematic behavior is portrayed as a character flaw for a character to work through, it’s good storytelling.”

Katsuki Bakugou, my friends.

His behavior was problematic but never once portrayed as romantic at the same time. Katsuki said and did awful abusive things, and he also chose to be better when he was given the chance. If you’re still hung up on chapter 1 Katsuki now then I don’t think you’ve been reading the same story I have.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m not shipping Izuku with an irredeemable abuser. I’m shipping him with his most important person. His narrative foil. His childhood friend who made awful mistakes and then made it right when he saw he was wrong. The person Izuku looks up to and strives to emulate, despite their past struggles.

Bakudeku is so good because of how flawed these boys are, and how hard they’ve worked to get over it, and how much they matter to each other after it all

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

can't wait to see him again tomorrow! Tomorrow!!

[disguisedcheezed]

goofy ahh corpse.

[sans-enjoyer]

in celebration of inanimate insanity season two episode 15!! and BFDIA 14 WOOOO!!! ٩( 'ω' )و