#just not the best at listening
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I know a bunch of people have already written stuff for this but I was so inspired I couldn't help myself.
<3
It rains a lot in Gotham, especially in the winter months. Water pelts the roof of the manor now, the sky weeping buckets that will fail to wash away the grime and filth of the city. It's supposed to get worse overnight.
It feels disrespectful to do this on a rainy evening.
Danyal hated the rain.
"Damian."
He turns his gaze from the window to meet Father's worried eyes. Richard stands at his side, purposefully loose in his stance; a contrast to the other man's tense posture. A reassuring smile and a serious frown. His brother and Batman, Father hidden somewhere beneath. The cowl sits alone in the Batcave, yet its wearer stands here in the communal space, a towering figure of severity.
Damian scowls. Father insisted to be here for this, yet he has the audacity to meet his youngest son as some character he invented one day instead of the man he is. His lip curls up in disgust. How cowardly.
Father doesn't even have the decency to quail under Damian's stare, instead meeting it head-on with a firm, defiant detachment. Pathetic. If he insists on acting like a child, perhaps they should reschedule. Or, better yet, he could step aside entirely and allow Damian to deal with the matter on his own as he should have done after giving the guidance that was asked of him.
"You good, Little D?" Richard, always the peace-keeper.
"Quite." He bites out. His glare doesn't stray.
As he always does, Father remains stubborn. Unyielding. Infuriating. How dare Father stand there, matching Damian's glare with one of his own, like he has any right to be angry or afraid? Father is not the one who died - who was murdered at only nine. He is not the one who's suffering.
Damian understands grief. He's intimately familiar with it, just as Father is. But Father only lost a son. Danyal lost his life. Danyal is dead.
"Master Bruce, if you would step aside."
Father breaks his stare, eyes darting to land on Pennyworth as he strides into the room towards the coffee table, tray of homemade pastries, and perfectly cut fruit in hand. Father shuffles out of the way immediately, respectful in a way he hasn't tried to be with Damian. The tray is put down without even a tink as glass meets polished wood, yet Father's stubborn-set shoulders still jump just a fraction like a gunshot went off.
Damian sneers.
Father clearly knows he's in the wrongâwhy else would he be so on edge around Pennyworth? It's almost laughable that it took the intervention of his father to soften the stern, professional crease in his brow. At least Pennyworth shares Damian's displeasure. Richard does as well, obviously, but he's otherwise engaged hovering in this uncertain sort of way like he's torn over what to do about it, no doubt a result of the heated argument he and Father had last night.
"Excuse me while I fetch the water." Pennyworth glances meaningfully at Father. "Do behave while I'm off." And then he's gliding right back out.
A child would grin smugly at the show of support. Damian isn't a child, so he does no such thing, but he does grip the post-it notes in his hand a little tighter.
Cold hands press the stack of paper into his own, the touch lingering as it drinks in the warmth of Damian's living flesh. It's as greedy as it is needy, like this brief moment of contact is all it takes to remind his dead heart how to beat again. Damian, as he always does, indulges it, because it gives him just as much life as it does Danyal.
"These are summoning sigils." His brother says, voice accentuated by a ghostly echo that's long since grown familiar. "I drew them myself so they're a bit rudimentary, but they should work."
He pulls away, taking with him a post-it note off the pile and his touch. Damian feels colder without it.
"Just think of me, rip it down the middle," He demonstrates, the torn halves catching fire the moment they part, the flames a brilliant, Lazarus green, that spreads up his hands and swallows him whole in a fraction of a moment, "and I'll appear." He smiles, popping back into sight a few inches closer in a burst of heatless green.
Damian blinks, and crosses his arms, disapproving. "You were on fire."
Danyal grins wider. "Cool, right? Don't worry, it doesn't hurt. It doesn't really feel like anything except emotion and magic."
"Emotion and magic." He repeats, voice flat.
"Yep. It's a bit fun, really. Like teleporting! I hardly ever get to teleport. CW prefers portals." He adds with a roll of his eyes.
Damian glares, unconvinced. "Is it safe?"
"Of course it is! Look, Dami, it's really weak magic. I could refuse a summons easily, anytime. And it's not like I'll stop visiting. This is just a way for you to call me over. I promise, it's harmless."
"TT. Fine. But if it ever causes you the slightest discomfort inform me and we will find some other method for me to use to get in contact with you."
"Deal!"
Richard may be emotionally compromised, but he'd still jump to Damian's defence over Father's without hesitation, and Pennyworth has clearly allied himself with them as well. All it would take is for Damian to say he's changed his mind, that today is not in fact the optimal day for this, and they would agree without thought. Stand firm at his side in the face of Father's assured disapproval.
The certainty that he would be listened to strangely enough keeps the words from forming. It's raining. He reminds himself. That's more than enough reason to put this off. But Damian Wayne doesn't 'put things off', and he is not going to start now, no matter how much Father continues to test his patience.
Footsteps draw his attention back to the doorway. It seems Drake has seen it fit to finally arrive with Gordon. Not late, likely thanks to Gordon's influence. With a twist of the knob the door swings soundlessly open, revealing the pair on the other side.
"Sorry we took so long." Gordon greets. "Someone fell asleep at his desk."
"I was resting my eyes!" Drake counters.
"For two hours?"
Drake grumbles something into his coffee cup that Damian doesn't bother to listen to as he walks deeper into the room towards Richard. Gordon situates herself instead to Father's right, closest to the entryway and beside the sofa. A tactical choice, seeing as it leaves Father trapped between her and Drake, both of whom have never been shy about putting him in his place.
As if on cue, Pennyworth returns and shuts the door silently behind him, another tray in hand. This one carries a pitcher, a stack of glasses and two plain mugs, one entirely an emerald green and the other a Nightwing blue. An earthy fragrance fills the room, rich with spices, the distinct aroma of cardamom and black tea.
Karak chai.
Two mugs, identical in all but colour. Pennyworth sets the drinks down without fanfare, placing the mugs close to Damian. Pennyworth made karak chai for him. For him and Danyal, undeniably with the recipe Damian had entrusted to him all those years ago when he'd been craving home in the cold unfamiliarity of the manor.
Pennyworth does not speak nor look his way as he straightens back up.
"Thank you." Damian says anyway.
"You're welcome, young master." He nods easily, a pleased smile on his lips as he turns to stand on the fringes of the group.
His family is staring, he knows. Damian can feel Richard's sad eyes as they pin him with empathy and sorrow. He doesn't need the comfort. Damian is not sad. He is emotional, perhaps, but not sad. This is a pleasant emotional, like nostalgia and the surety he is cared for wrapped tight around his heart.
He clears his throat, and this time when he speaks his voice comes out strong and sure. "Now that everyone is present, we should begin."
Richard is a tense bundle of concern in his peripheral vision. "We don't have to if you don't feel up to it- "
"I feel fine." Damian interrupts, tilting his head so he can look his brother in the eyes down the bridge of his nose for good measure.
"Okay." It's a quick acquiescence. A show of trust.
"If there are no other matters to discuss- "
"Wait, are we supposed to sit or stand? Did we ever decide on that?"
Damian respectfully ignores Drake. "- then I shall begin."
The topmost post-it note peels off the pile smoothly. The paper is a toxic green, not quite the shade of the Lazarus pits or Danyal's eyes in death. A circle of runes etched in black pen covers most of the page, leaving only the corners free of marking. The script makes no sense to him, and even now, after numerous days of research, the language eludes him.
Danyal gave him a stack of thirty summoning sigils. After today, Damian will only have eleven left. If all goes well, he will never use those last eleven. The thought doesn't fit quite right in his mind, no matter how much he rolls and flips it.
Do this so Danyal can rest. He tells himself. For Danyal.
He grips opposite sides of the paper with both his hands, poised to tear it in two. He thinks of blue eyes so much like Father's. He thinks of private, hidden smiles and hugs shared under the dark of night. Of afternoons spent sparring, speaking without words as their swords clashed ruthlessly under their instructors' judging eyes. Of hands identical to his own.
Danyal.
He pictures stark white hair and a voice insisting it's more than white. "It's the colour of the stars, Dami. How can't you see it?" He imagines freckles dotting out constellations on unnaturally pale skin that had only ever known kisses of pain that left winding, twisted streaks of puffed pink. Damian draws Danyal with his memories in crisp lines that outline fangs and claws and a smile so happy it hurt.
I miss you, akhi.
He rips the post-it note in two. It wastes no time igniting in Lazarus flames. They grow quickly, tickling his fingers with wisps of power. He drops them only when the fire has almost entirely enveloped the paper that sparked it.
Danyal, won't you come see me?
The paper floats gently down, swaying to the whims of the flames. It has drifted down to be level with Damian's waist when it happens. He's already averted his eyes when the sigil explodes with light, flames large enough to brush the ceiling dancing out in a spectacular, blinding display.
The smile that his lips are drawn to in response is both entirely involuntary and decidedly soft, even as Drake's startled curses reach his ears past the roar of the fire. He steadies his stance as the light dies down, planting his feet into the carpet and bracing his legs.
In a swirl of magic the blaze vanishes.
"Ahki!"
A blur of black, white and green crashes into him with a strength that belies the lean frame that makes itself at home in his arms, burrowing fluffy hair into his neck. His body reacts instinctively to the sudden embrace, pulling his twin close as cold fingers grip at the back of his shirt, clinging to the fabric as tightly as the razor-sharp points of his nails allow.
Damian huffs as he rests his head on Danyal's shoulder. "Is it necessary to do this every time?"
"Definitely!" Comes the chipper reply, voice a giggling lilt in his ear.
"TT. I take it you've been well?"
Danyal pulls away, so jittery his freckles flash glitter-bright. Damian tries not to let his gaze linger on the starburst of Lichtenburg figures that crawl up his brother's face, slashing through his otherwise unmarred eye in jagged, faintly green scars. A marker of his second death. A second death so far from Damian he hadn't known of it until his twin appeared in his room one quiet night.
"When am I not? I'm the picture of wellness!" He grins, lips stretching just a margin too far.
Damian raises a brow.
Danyal doesn't wilt, floating back so they are no longer pressed up against one another. "Someone's grouchy." He teases with a mock pout. Always so childish. "Does the super-secret mission that you couldn't tell me about have anything to do with it?"
Super-secret mission. Damian's excuse, put less crudely of course, for requesting a period of no-contact to prepare for today. Close to two weeks of not seeing one another whatsoever after months of meeting up consistently at least biweekly.
"I don't believe I called it a 'super-secret mission'." Damian pointed out.
"Mm, no, I'm pretty sure you did."
Richard chooses that moment to succumb to the urge to sneeze.
Danyal reacts instantly. Damian gets a brief glimpse of his features stretching, pointed ears, fangs and claws growing substantially, skin turning any icy blue, as the ghost snaps around, placing himself more firmly between Damian and his family with a growl so deep it rattles in his bones. His spine looks as though it's been yanked up, standing pointed and crooked, around the abyss of light that Danyal has become.
Damian knows just what his siblings, Father and Alfred must be seeing. A dark, impossibly dark, almost pitch black void of a face, floating teeth and eyes, far too many of both, floating in the darkness, static buzzing nauseatingly at the corners of every visible feature. His Lichtenberg scar will have lit up, in contrast, a sharp green cut through a warped, mangled body, twisted in ways it shouldn't and far too long in all the wrong places.
"A monster from hell." Danyal had called himself once, ashamed and frustrated, eyes averted like he feared to see the agreement he expected.
Damian, though, had far from agreed. "A guardian." He'd said, calm in the face of Danyal's surprise. "Hurt and frightened, perhaps even angry. But kind. I cannot imagine any monster so flawed. A guardian, though, is hardly anything else. You paint a strong figure, akhi. Do not let unfounded shame confuse you."
So when he raises a hand and rests it on his brother's shoulder, frozen cold under thinly pulled skin, he does so without hesitation nor disgust.
"Akhi, they are trusted people. I give you my word. We're safe."
A glance to Father proves perhaps they're not. There's horror in his eyes. Traces of grief and regret and loss, but horror, blatant in his expression. Damian sneers. How uncouth. This is his son. His youngest child. He should know better than to behave so poorly, regardless of how shocked he may be.
The others, at least, look largely surprised. Pennyworth seems hardly phased, of course, and Drake's gaze is far too calculating for Damian's taste but it is not unacceptably so. Richard, the emotional buffoon, is obviously twisted up, features pulled down in, well, the closest term Damian can think of is heartbreak. Thank the Ancients, as Danyal would say, that Gordon is sensible enough to be visibly unmoved.
"Tt. Ignore Father. He is being foolish."
As though reminded of himself, Father pulls back into a carefully blank, but open expression. An obvious mask, but an improvement nonetheless.
Danyal turns slightly, and Damian can see, just barely, his eyes blink slowly. "Father?"
"Yes."
Danyal is still for a moment, and then suddenly he's shrunken down to normal; the right amount of eyes, dulled points and his natural height. He doesn't turn around fully, though, keeping everyone in his sights with sculpted ease.Â
"Oops."
Damian raises a brow, pinning his akhi under his judging stare.
"They surprised me! You should have told me I'd be meeting the family! This isn't fair." Danyal whined.
He frowned. Of course Danyal would be uncomfortable; he'd never shown any interest in meeting Father or any of his adopted children. It was cruel of him not to warn him, but he couldn't risk Danyal refusing to attend. This is simply too important.
"I apologise." He ignores the wide eyes at the easy apology, most of all from Drake.
Danyal forgives easily, as he has always has. Not without fanfare, of course. "Ugh, you're lucky I love you so much." He accuses with a point of his finger, expression comically serious.
"Tt." An agreement without words.
His brother nods with humph, and whirls around to face the family he's yet to meet, back to Damian. A show of trust, even after a clear betrayal. Trust had killed Danyal, yet he still had so much to give. The thought made Damian's heart inexplicably ache.
"Okay!" Danyal started, a little too peppy to be genuine. "Sorry about before. Didn't mean to spook you."
Damian chooses not to acknowledge the wordplay.
"I'm Danyal Al Ghul. Or Daniel Fenton, I guess, but call me Danny." He smiles. Without the accompanying glow Damian has grown accustomed to it doesn't look quite right.
Father steps forward, acting the part of gentle parent. A disingenuous play rooted in truth. He supposes it's the best Father can do. Danyal does not move to close the distance, nor widen it. He just eyes him critically in a way Damian easily recognises as apprehensive.
"I am Bruce Wayne. I'm your biological father."
"I know." Danyal makes a show of looking him up and down. "I thought you'd be taller."
Father freezes, as though struck. For a brief moment, his eyes clearly glaze over as though brimming with tears, while his mouth twitches like it's not sure whether to frown or burst into hysterical laughter. And then he melts back into a marginally wider smile than before, expression almost nostalgic. A sort of sad joy.
"I get that a lot." Father replies.
"And I'm Dick!" Richard pipes up with a delighted grin. "Damian's favourite adopted-brother!"
Danyal whirls part way around to face Damian. "I thought Jason was your favourite?" He says with faux innocence.
Richard gasps, apparently betrayed by his "own flesh and blood". An incorrect statement, seeing as neither Damian nor Jason are related to Richard biologically. As he often does with the former acrobat's dramatics, Damian doesn't acknowledge the ridiculous display.
"Tt. I do not have favourites."
"Everyone has favourites!" Danyal cuts back. "Like, you're my favourite twin!"
"I am your only twin. There is no competition."
"Exactly!"
"Following that logic, would I not be your least favourite twin as well?"
Danyal brushes off the very sound rebuttal with a shrug. "Semantics."
Richard chooses this moment to let loose a high-pitched squeal, without even the decency of looking ashamed when Danyal is immediately distracted by it. "You're so cute together! It's like double the Damian!"
Danyal shifts back a little, farther from Richard. It's such a slight movement, if he weren't in a house full of detectives no one would have noticed. But to their trained eyes, his discomfort rings clear from that miniscule action.
Most of all to Damian, who is absolutely furious at Richard's choice of words.
How dare he.
"Damian. Spare."
"Stop! What was that? How can someone so incompetent have shared the same womb as our heir? Damian, come here. Demonstrate for that one."
"Lesser Damian, what do you think you're doing? You don't get to drink water until you do this right. Again!"
"You could do to be more like Damian."
"Better! Do more of that and people will start mistaking you for Damian."
"Danyal is his own person." He snaps. "He is not a copy of myself."
Richard, to his credit, realises he has mis-stepped immediately, if the way his expression falls is anything to go by. "Of course he's his own person. I wasn't trying to say he isn't! I'm sorry it came off like that."
It's a dissatisfying apology. A floundering for words and a panic to undo harm. It's not enough. Not for Damian. Not for Danyal, even if he is to argue otherwise.
It's an irrational anger, Damian realises. Richard truly had no idea they would react badly to a passing comment. Yet here he stands, furious to the point of missing his sword.
Tension mounts and is promptly broken by Gordon, who hardly lets Richard finish his sentence before she cuts in.
"I'm Barbara." She smiles, all approachability and unparalleled calm. "Everyone calls be Babs, though."
Danyal smiles back, tense muscles loosening as the topic shifts. "Hi."
Her smile loosens, becoming gentler in response. "The one with the massive eyebags is Tim," an undignified squawk punctuates her statement, "and that," she nods her head towards Pennyworth, "is Alfred. He's the one in charge."
"I know. I've been dying to meet you. All of you. Damian's told me so much about you." And there's the glow, white-green and joyful. Damian relaxes fully at the sight of it. It's not as bright as usual, but it's there, and it brings him immeasurable relief.
"All good things?" She teases.
"If by âall good,â you mean a couple of lucky breaks mixed into a chaotic storm, then sure.â He teases, grin playful.
She grins. âSo, what Iâm hearing is⌠there were some good things?â
"Maybe if you squint." There's a pause, in which Danny rocks back and forth in the air as though rolling on the balls of his feet, considering. "So this is nice and all, but why am I here? What's the special occasion I couldn't know about in advance?"
Damian tenses up all over again, a familiar knot tightening in his stomach. Here it is, the moment he has been dreading, the one he had hoped, with a small but significant part of himself, would never arrive.
Their precious time together is rapidly drawing to a close, because Danyal asked, and someone will answer, and then they'll have to start. Someone will inevitably respond, and soon he will find himself at rest, left with the haunting silence where their conversations once flourished. No more secret meetings in the sanctuary of his room or the serene solitude of the libraryâjust an empty space filled with what could have been.
(How many years until they'll meet again? How long will Damian have to wait to see his brother? How long will he live?)
(But this is what's best for Danyal, so the answers to those questions don't matter.)
"It's personal shit, mate. The sort of ghost your kid is won't like being seen by strangers. Poor bloke might even Fade right then and there if he sees me lurkin' about." Constantine says, taking another puff of his cigarette.
"Fade?"
"Die, Batsy. Like, proper die for them dead fellas."
"So I should not be present." Father says.
"You're family, ain't ya'? He'll be able to tell. Listen, them young'uns can be fragile, but they're still dead, mate. The dead know a lot more than the living do."
Father doesn't look assured. "How is Fading different from being put to rest?"
"Blimey, do I have to spell it out for you? Fading's dying. Rest is rest. The kid'll go back to whatever afterlife he's been in and stop tryna' take your boy with 'im. Be able to wait for him to come round the natural way. Or natural as it gets with you lot." He shrugs.
Father acquiesces. "What do we need to do?"
"Always so serious. Listen, it's simple as shit magic. Even the kid over there could do it."
Damian sneers. "I am no 'kid'."
"Sure ya' ain't. The runes can be drawn in anything. Chalk, blood, whatever tickles your fancy. They just gotta be big enough he can stand in the middle without touching any of the lines." He hands over folded piece of paper, presumably containing a sketch of the runes in question. "They'll just make him more agreeable. Sometimes the young ones panic and you don't want the fella to hurt himself."
"This can cause him harm?" Damian interrupts, stepping closer to the magician with a scowl.
Constantine scoffs. "Course not. What do you take me for? I wouldn't give it to ya' if it would. I don't go around hurting kids, mate, not even the dead ones."
Damian's scowl deepens, untrusting.
"C'mon mate. As much as I like your company I got things to do. Places to be. Demons to scam. You know how it is. So what's it gonna' be? "
"Your help is appreciated." Father steps to be in line with Damian, resting a hand on his shoulder. A leash disguised as affection. Damian seethes under it. "What else do we need to do?"
"What?" Danyal asks, wary. "Has someone died?" His grin is shaky, his glow dimmed to nothing.
Father steps forward. Danny floats back a little, basically pressed up against Damian. Father stops. "Danyal -"
"Danny." The halfa corrects. "Only Damian and Mother call me Danyal."
Father nods. "Danny, Damian has told us about your situation."
Danyal raises a brow, both confused and annoyed. "My situation?"
"We only want to help."
"Okay." He draws out the 'ay', suspicious. "Help how?"
Richard takes over then. "Send you home. So you can rest." His eyes are gentle and sad, his body language open.
"We spoke with a trusted magician." Damian pipes up, surprising himself and Danyal. "You won't feel any pain. I assumed you would like not to be alone, hence the company."
"I'm never alone if I have you." Danyal implores, turning earnest, green eyes to him. Eyes that used to be blue, years ago.
"I'll be there." Damian promises, because how could he not. "Just not yet Danyal."
"I don't understand."
"We're putting you to rest," Drake interjects. "Sending you back to the afterlife where you belong."
"Tim!" Gordon hisses.
Under typical circumstances, Damian would shoot Drake a sharp glare for his crassness, especially towards Danyal when emotions are already running rampant. However, these are far from normal circumstances and right now, he couldn't care less about crassness of all things.
Because he has a clear view of Danyal's face, and the only way he can describe his expression is devastated. His bright, Lazarus eyes have turned a murky green, the light sucked out of them and replaced with brimming tears, his already ashen skin turning an even paler grey-blue. He's not glowing at all, not even slightly, and he's always glowing. Like this, he looks like an actual corpse, and the image makes him nauseous.
"You want me to go? I thought you- you said you missed me. Why are you trying to send me away?" The tremor in his voice hits Damian like a bullet. He'd never heard his akhi sound like this before. Not since the day he died.
Damian grabs him, pulling him into a tight but brief hug. "I have missed you. I always miss you when we are apart." He draws back, still holding onto Danyal as he meets those dull eyes with his own. "I just want what's best for you. I do not wish you to be in pain. Everything I do, I do for you."
"You want to send me away!" Danyal cries, and it's then that Damian looks away from his expression and realises his brother is shrinking. "I don't want to go. Why won't you just come with me instead?"
Danyal is clinging to him now, shaking fingers digging into him as tightly as they can. Likes this, Damian can feel him grow smaller as well, having to look increasingly further down as Danyal's features grow more youthful.
"Please don't make me go. I'll visit less, I won't bother you so often, just please, let me see you. Please, akhi." Tears begin to fall, streaking pale skin with twin rivers.
"Danny, this will be good for you, I promise. We're not trying to hurt you." Father beseeched, uncharacteristically pleading.
"Shut up!" Danyal snaps around, baring fangs in a warning growl. "This is your fault. Damian would never choose to send me away. Right Dami?"
How could he possibly disagree? Danyal is so young now, a perfect picture of the body that Mother carefully laid into the Lazarus Pit. A perfect picture of the corpse Damian made of his brother so long ago. Perhaps he should be grateful the de-aging has stopped where it has.
"Right."
Something in Danyal's expression cracks. "Please don't make me go. Please don't send me away." He begs, his voice hardly more than a whisper.
"Anything for you." Damian says, the response coming easily. "You do not have to go anywhere you do not want to. I want nothing more than for you to be by my side forever as well."
"Damian- "
"Really?" Danyal asks, his voice so fragile.
"Tt. Do you take me for a liar?"
His brother sniffs, still crying profusely. "No."
"Good."
Damian lifts his gaze, already preparing to argue that they should delay this ritual a little longer. But the words die in his throat as he catches sight of Richardâs eyesâwide and filled with panic. Something is wrong. He shifts his focus, and for the first time, notices the runes etched in pencil on the ground are glowing, radiating a brilliant white light.
Father stands at the edge of the glow, his expression unreadable, lips moving quickly in an ancient Latin chant, each syllable sharp and firm. The sound carries an eerie weight, resonating with a power that prickles Damianâs skin. Nearby, Gordon, Drake, and Alfred are all trying, desperately, to pull him backâto break the spell. But Father isnât listening. Heâs completely entranced, lost in the cadence of his own voice.
Chanting. Over and over again, the Latin words spill from his mouth, growing faster and fiercer, as if compelled by some unseen force. The room feels charged, and the air itself seems to hum with energy. Damianâs stomach twists, dread building in his chest. He knows this isnât rightâwhatever theyâre doing, theyâve already gone too far.
"If ya' ghost is being, let's say, uncooperative, you can put him to rest forcefully. Don't recommend it, though. It really freaks the little bugga's out. Not gonna' hurt him or nothin', mind you, but it's hard to cast a spell when ya' got some kid bawling his eyes out. All the ghost feelings might attract some blobs too, but they're harmless bottom feeders so they shouldn't cause ya' much trouble."
If Father is going to lay Danyal to rest against his wishes, then he can lose two sons. Damian has lived more than enough. He should have died the day he murdered his brother. If he's going with Danyal, well, Damian could not ask for a better end.Â
"Danyal." Big, wet eyes find his. "I'm ready to go home with you."
Danyal immediately latches on, and everything goes green.
Dcxdp
Just thinking of like a demon twins au where danny finds out damian is no longer under their grandfathers rule and goes to visit him in ghost form.
And damian is grieving all over again. Because thats his little brother, dead at his hands. Never able to grow up and live a full life. Just this weird mirror version of it. And now that damians embraced his fathers way of preserving life it feels even more of a waste and he mourns the experiences they could've had together. It felt like less of a blow when he was still in the league and surviving wasnt much of a life. Danyal was most likely happier at rest then there, but now? Now damian wishes they had more time.
Danny not realizing hes forgotten to tell his brother hes actually still alive. keeps saying that damian should come with him. See his home, meet his friends, Etc. Damian thinking danyal wants to drag him to the afterlife. Considers it even, because he owes him that much. Scared by his own thoughts and telling bruce or dick about it. And theyre both grief stricken and furious. Just this whole misunderstanding snowballing. Another son but one whos been lost before they could ever meet. One theyd never been able to know. Who never got the chance to be a child before his time was cut short. And everyone wanting to find a way to lay danny to rest without him stealing damian away too. Bruce desperate to meet this imprint of a son he never met but terrified of it taking away the son he still has.
Lol thinking of like 100 ways this could go.
Bruce calling in constantine. Danny feeling betrayed that they called someone to banish him? He thought damian would be happy to see him? Would accept him. Thought he could meet his father as well.
Or
Damian making him a grave and showing him that he can "rest" now like hed never been properly laid to rest with the league. Danny thinking its either a) a funny joke or b) finally realizes whats going on.
Or
damian offering to go with him as long as hes able to come back? He still wants to live his life and there are others in dcu who can go between realms (sorta i guess?) Danny being like yeah? No duh we'll come back xD damian being like??? When he sees amity lol.
#demon twins#dc#danny phantom#prompt#dick is actually damian's favourite after danny#bruce is trying his best but he's hurting his kids anyway#good dad bruce wayne#just not the best at listening#danny is the younger twin#protective damian#trigger warning; suicidal thoughts#sort of attempted suicide cause damian thinks he'll die if he goes with danny#danny is an eldritch being#ghost bodies are very fluid#they change based on emotions#danny felt small and unloved so he become the little kid whose brother killed him#the others arent here cause they didnt want to crowd danny#theyre all on standby#in case he wants them there#danny is a halfa and damian thinks he's fully dead#misunderstandings#danny fenton#danny and damian love each other so much#danny angst#damian angst#literally everyone angst
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Hereâs my take on the whole audio books vs. reading:
Oral tradition of storytelling predates written ones by millennias, and honestly, which one you like is just a personal preference.
The actual difference is
when listening, you have no idea how to write charactersâ names
when reading, you have no idea how to pronounce charactersâ names
hope this helps!
#audio books vs reading#honestly this debate is just pineapple on pizza again#personally i like reading better#iâm a poor listener and since i read faster than people talk i get bored and my mind starts to wander#but who gives a shit#just do what works best for you#in the end we all get the same story#oh and this post is about stories in english#in finnish you rarely have either problem
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PSA: i keep seeing posts about staying cool in extreme heat that include advice like "gatorade is bad actually!" and "don't drink fruit juice it'll just dehydrate you!" and neither of these are true!
regarding fruit juice: there's apparently a misconception that Any Sugar At All will dehydrate you, and that's simply not true. yes, sugar will make you pee more when consumed in large amounts, but 1) the natural sugar in fruits won't do this to you 2) great news! a lot of fruit juices exist without any added sugar in them! 3) honestly even having a glass of the fruit juice with added sugar won't completely dehydrate you as long as you're also drinking water throughout the day. if its hot you deserve a cold treat of a drink!!! can't go wrong with fruit juice!!!
regarding gatorade: maybe this isn't an every day drink, but guess what: if it's 110F/40C or hotter outside, and you don't have AC, or you're moving around a lot outside of the AC, and you're sweating buckets: that's when you drink a gatorade.
gatorade exists to replenish all the electrolytes (salt) and glucose (sugar) that you sweat out. YES it is meant for athletes to drink during intensive work outs and not necessarily for people who aren't doing that kind of exercise. BUT GUESS WHAT! when you're sweating buckets because you had to walk to the bus in extreme heat, that's intensive exercise. please feel free to drink a gatorade after that! that's its intended use case!!!!
no: neither of these drinks should be a total replacement for water. but drinking a lot of water and then treating yourself to a fruit juice with lunch is a good idea!!! drinking a gatorade becuase you just had to walk for 20 minutes in the heat is a good idea!!!
Please Stop Spreading Misinformation About Drinks!!! It's fine if you drink things that aren't water!!!! Yes you should probably always be drinking water but drinking something else As Well isn't going to hurt you!!!! okay!!!! its fine!!!!!!
honestly so long as you are consistently getting Any (non-alcoholic) fluids in you, you're doing great!!!!!! okay!!!! i love you stay safe <3
#also: drinking A Soda or A Coffee isn't going to completely dehydrate you if you're drinking other fluids tbqh!!!#its fine!!!!! its fine!!!!!#drinks#heat#dehydration#this post exists because i'm mad at misinfo but also#this is for my homies who hate the taste of water and struggle to stay hydrated#because people have told them over and over again You Must Absolute Drink Water And Nothing Else and so they just don't drink anything#listen!! hey!!! whoever told you that was lying!!!!#drinking Any Fluids At All (yes even with caffeine!!) is better than Not Drinking Anything#please hydrate!!!! it's okay if that hydration isn't water!!!!#honestly i tried to be extremely non confrontational in this post but im pretty sure i've seen people suggest flavored water packets#but say no fruit juice ever. and that's insane.#it's all fluids baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#so long as you are drinking fluids you are combatting dehydration#YES water is the best option HOWEVER. if you drink things that aren't water that's also okay! i promise!!!!!!!!
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I'll give them shelter like you've done for me
#my art#jujutsu kaisen#jjk#jjk fanart#jujutsu kaisen fanart#megumi fushiguro#yuji itadori#itafushi#jjk spoilers#jjk manga spoilers#jjk leaks#jjk art#fushiguro tsumiki#took all afternoon but we wrangled the colours in2 submission#it was looking very green and kind of muddy#so i toned down the saturation in a bunch of places pulled in a lot more grey#kept a lot of the shadows Hard#i think it works#not sure it's the absolute best it cld be but i am Satisfied with it#overall i ws just kind of worried that it was looking rly similar to past pieces colour-wise#i think it kind of still Is but not as much as it would have been had i not made those edits#anyway. emo hours#ive been listening to jubyphonic's piano arr of shelter and thinking abt megumi#thinking abt him growing up n looking back on himself n seeing himself in tht lonely little boy#'it's a long way forward so trust in me' smth smth finding the strength to guide that kid forward even though both of u are scared#bc at the end of the day u Are still that kid#inner child stuff usually doesnt resonate much with me bc i don't like who i was/am/whatever this aint abt me#but in regards to megumi????? OW#in lighter news i remembered at the absolute last minute to lob off the top of yuuji's ear#bc that injury at least i think he keeps ghfssdfhfgsj
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Sketching while streaming s5...
Jonathan Sims I will learn to draw you (this is my doing. I could draw him however I want and I choose to stick with an image of him in my brain that is difficult for me to draw. Masochism.)
Not s5 Mahtins below I enjoyed drawing cuz hes neat:
(Edit: I yassified Martin in the do not separate cuz I wanted his hair fluffier)
#yes I realize Jon and Martin are in different fucking art styles let me live#do not accuse me of being AI this difficulty drawing hands is all natural I worked hard drawing for years just to fucking suck at it#update I listened to 170 I heard it was devastating but my ass was LAUGHING#poor martin but omg me and my buddy had everywhere at the end of time in the background and shit was so funny#he forgor đđ#it was emotionally devastating at the end tho Jon suggesting he stay there um btich NO?!#Jon the literal Lonely is not worse tham being around you get a fucking grip#helen continues to be the best character her showing up for the juicy gossip is so fucking real#anyagays#tma#tma podcast#the magnus pod#tma fanart#jonathan sims#the magnus archives#my art#martin blackwood#jonmartin#jmart#tma jmart#tma season 5#tma spoilers#i have to make a diagram for my jon and martin designs for s5 SO bad#if only i could draw jon.... >:(#i need u guys to know that my martin loves plaid and jon is wearing a plaid shirt thats too big in s5... inchresting....
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Pit Bonnie is doing his best as a FNAF dad..
#myart#chloesimagination#comic#fnaf#five nights at freddy's#fnaf fanart#fnaf oswald#pit bonnie#into the pit#fazbear frights#listen guys#I JUST LOVE pit Bonnie trying his best at being a dad#so it does things they assume are dad activities#like they donât really know but are guessing#so like cooking being stern idk building a car#I JUST love when a horror beyond human comprehension tries its best to BE human#ITS FUNNY cause Oswaldâs dad is canonically bad at cooking#so maybe pit Bonnieâs food is better even if itâs all pizza#Oswald is not eating that food out of respect for his actual dad BAHA
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#dungeon meshi#delicious in dungeon#kabru rlly is just playing ace attorney in that dungeon#and the touden party are the worst fucking defendants ever#kabru: no listen they're the best candidates for conquering the dungeon#mithrun: you just said that guy is a danger to humanity#kabru now crying: i know
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another vision of mine...
#genshin impact#genshin#gaming genshin#yip gaming#heizou#shikanoin heizou#cantobearart#started off w me noticing how many design details they share and then thinking abt their jobs (best guard + best detective !!)#+ martial arts prowess + energetic strongwilled and mischievous personalities ...#yeah!#thanks for listening#sorry i just keep drawing random things but i think i'm finally done for now
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Yandere! Love God x Reader
Soulmates do not always meet in every lifetime. Sometimes, a person may become a bird that soars the skies while their soulmate becomes a fish that swims the depths of the sea. Other times, a person may become a little flower in a field while their soulmate becomes a large cactus in a desert. More often than not, the stars must align for soulmates to meet in a single lifetime.
You, however, are the exception. You will meet your soulmate in every lifetime for as long as your soul exists.
After all, your soulmate is the God of Love, an immortal being that ensures that you will meet in every single lifetime.Â
It doesnât matter if youâre a little plant, an animal, or a human â heâll always find you and love you. When youâre not there by his side, he patiently waits for the glow of your soul to return to the mortal realm.
Itâs become a pattern of his, a habit. When you leave his side due to your lifeâs candle burning out, his world will be drowned in grayscale and monotony. He goes about his days without much care for anything, his duty taking the forefront of his mind.
But when you reincarnate, your soul colors his world with his love for you, brightening up his days. To him, it doesnât matter what you are, just that you are â that you exist. Your existence takes the forefront of his mind, his body, his soul. He devotes everything to you for as long as he can, eager to dye you in his colors in every one of your lifetimes.
It doesnât matter that you donât remember him â heâll remember for the both of you, filling pages and pages with his memories of you. It doesnât matter that he has to start all over again in every single lifetime â heâll gladly fill you with his love for you over and over again. Because, to him, you go beyond just being his world â youâre his universe.
So, for most people, the stars must align for soulmates to meet in a single lifetime. But for you, your soulmate forces the stars to collide so that he can draw your constellation next to his again and again for the rest of eternity.Â
#yandere oc#male yandere#yandere x reader#yandere x you#tsuuper ocs#tw yandere#yandere god x reader#yandere god#yandere love god#Aizono Tsuu OC#2024 yan/monstertober tsuutarr#male yandere x you#male yandere oc x reader#male yandere oc#âwould you love me if i was a worm?â the answer is yes#listen you don't understand how devoted he is#like if u were reborn as a worm... he'd put you in the best terrarium and just do his best to take care of you until you live our your life#ofc he kind of prefers it when ur a human just bc he can talk to you but he really does just love you man#(he will never get a happy ending tho bc he's fated to live forever and you're fated to die and reincarnate forever teehee <3
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500 years late to the party i finally do the redraw thing just cause i needed rendering practice yipeee this was so hard vfddvffd
#HI#IM TIRED#i need to draw something easy now fvdsfbgfdbgf#sonic the hedgehog#sonic#sth#sonic fanart#redraw challenge#art#digital art#fanart#ive wanted to draw this ever since i saw someone draw this pose with like awesome and detailed soles and i thought#that was just so cool#well this is the best i can do fdrevr#THIS HAND#MURDERED ME#listen to the song lifes coming in slow by nothing but thieves đ
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Kyle as a boyfriend is reeeeaaall nice.
He's a recon guy, he does his research. First few dates he says enough to keep the conversation going but he's focused on listening, watching, observing.
He sees how you eat, how you talk, how you walk, fuck he's cataloging how you sit. And he's comprehending what you say, actively filing things away. All these little gold nuggets of info.
So that when date 3 or 4 comes around youre left stuttering and bashful as all hell because you've never had a guy put in so much fucking effort? Like:
You need him to be direct? "I'm looking for something long-term, marriage - preferably within 2 years but I can be flexible. Do you wanna talk about how you feel regarding children and see if we align?"
Want him to show that he thinks of you even ehen you arent around? "Hey I'm back, I know you like the pubs wings so I grabbed you a box, had to fight the boys off it."
Want him to pull his weight and be an active equal partner? "Hey I just finished grabbing the groceries, I grabbed stuff for a new recipe - did you want me to grab anything special on my way out?" Or "Hey hand me any cups you've got I'm about to do the dishes, let me finish that and I'll seperate my clothes so you can do the laundry."
He's just...so fucking capable and genuinely wants the relationship to work and be successful. He takes pride in keeping a happy home and an even happier significant other.
Yall have long talks about the distance and strain his job causes. Very good with check-ins to make sure you aren't feeling neglected and he's not feeling lonely or overly stressed.
Communication and observation KING.
And he's loving!! He's a forhead kisses, gotta be touching you at night, walks on the outside of the sidewalk kinda guy! He'll link pinkies while yall walk, randomly lean over to kiss you "cause I(he) wanted to" with the cutest little smile. Sets up photoshoots for holidays and special events so he can have pictures of the two of yall (sends his family Christmas cards of yall).
Pet names include: love, baby, sweetheart, doll
#kyle gaz garrick#kyle garrick#gaz x reader#hes just#real shit??#out if all the 141 if they were all real i genuinely think youd have the best relationship with him#i really do#like if they poof suddenly exsist irl hes your best bet#i think soap would be second and ghost and price dead last LMAO#listen price would be a gentleman but when i say hes married to his work - i do mean that#ghost is the same in that regard and i also think he has a hard time turning ghost off#like genuinely dude probably doesnt know how to be a person - hes comfortable being a ghost
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Obito's late ass during the rainy be like
#obito uchiha#kakashi hatake#naruto shippuden#rin nohara#team minato#Kakashi: got two wholeass mangekyo sharingan that can literally teleport you through space and heavily emphasis on the word TIME#- just to not only be late but get drenched in the fucking rain.#Obito: fuck off I'm a very busy man! and plus the elderly needed me!#Kakashi: Ok batman what you gonna say Gotham needs you next?#Obito: Ok listen here you little fucker-#Rin: The best part about the rain id that i can tune out those two idiots.
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Hermit a Day May: Day 9, Skizzleman, God of Laughter and Spirit of Childhood.
Here's his full portrait :D
#art#hermitcraft#hermitcraft smp#fanart#hermitcraft fanart#hermitblr#artist#hermitcraft s10#artists on tumblr#skizzleman fanart#skizzleman#skizz#skizz fanart#skizz tag#hc10#hermitaday#hermit a day may#hermitadaymay#supergiant hades#hades game#hades 2#hades supergiant#hades ii#hades#Hes such a joy I absolutely love Skizz and everything he stands for#he is so- he's just. a joy. he's a pleasure and he's got the spirit and he tires his best so hard and he's lovely and his voice is so nice#I could listen for hours upon hours to the imp and skizz podcast and never get tired of it that's a threat.
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finally completed my comic based on the song ivy by taylor swift!âż please zoom in to read the text and see the details~
âż.âż.âż
you can get the digital zine pdf here! it includes extras like character profiles, costume design, more art of willow and ivy, zine-exclusive sketches and an illustrated guide to the symbolism of all the flowers in this comic.
you can also get prints of individual pages here!
âż.âż.âż
#ivy comic#it's finally complete!!!⥠this was the longest project ever but i really wanted to do my best on every spread#i also worked really hard on the extra pages for the zine. i hope you like those as well if you decide to get it!#i've been wanting to make this comic since evermore came out in 2020 and i listened to ivy for the first time#i posted the first sketches from this comic on my patreon in 2022 and released the first page last year in 2023#so it's been a loooong time coming working on this in between other art#i was always disappointed that i got a hand injury back when i was making my dorothea/'tis the damn season comic#so i couldn't give my 100% on every page of that one. that's part of why i wanted to go all out for my ivy comic#and it has a happy ending this time!âĄ#thank you for sticking around if you've been reading since page 1#and thank you also if you just read it for the first time today!#also i didn't plan it but i coincidentally finished this comic exactly on lesbian visibility week. love that#ivy comic mimimar#oc#ivy#willow#taylor swift#taylor swift ivy#ivy taylor swift#evermore#illustration#illo#comic#lesbian#wlw#sapphic#lesbian visibility week#lesbian art#wlw art#sapphic art
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@swsourceâ Star Wars Week: Day 6 â Light Side | May the 4th be with you!
#sww24#swedit#starwarsblr#starwarsedit#usergif#starwarsfilms#swcreators#filmedit#moviegifs#filmgifs#movieedit#starwarsotedit#may the 4th#star wars#stuff by me#listen it's not my best but i just made it lol
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âď¸ Golden Star âď¸
#have some light klangst. on the house#best viewed when listening to the song btw#shoutout to my roommate for helping me with the layout#and also just helping to see if it looks weird or not#klance#voltron#voltart
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