#prompt trade

[corkinavoid]

Hey, @confused-they, this is for you and for everyone else who wanted more of this AU. Merry Christmas.

DPxDC Ring of Rage? More Like Ring of Engage [pt. 4]

[<- part 3 | additional notes ->]

[Written to 'Tantrum' by Ashnikko]

TW: mentioned mild gore (some inside parts become outside ones, nothing graphic)

Tim can't breathe.

Joker's mad laughter is ringing through the darkness of the warehouse, echoing in his head, the screeching sound straight out of nightmares. Hood should be nearby - as in, somewhere in this darkness along with him - but Tim can't think about that, his own maniacal giggles bubbling in the back of his throat, a grin tugging at his lips.

He has to get up. He has to stand, he has to fight, and it really shouldn't be this hard.

But he can't breathe.

Tim clutches his fingers on the fabric of his suit on the chest, distantly wondering if this is how Danny feels when he is more human than ghost. Probably not, he mentioned that breathing is only optional.

He really wants his boyfriend right now. His fiance. Whatever, he wants Danny, he wants his cold hands on his cheeks and the faint, humming purr of his core that Tim finds nice to fall asleep to, and-

Maybe later. He can't exactly summon him now, not in the middle of a fight, especially not in the middle of a fight with Joker of all people.

There's an angry growl somewhere to Tim's left, staticky through the voice-modulator. Then several sounds of gunshots and a gleeful, taunting yell of the madman.

Hold on.

Tim snaps his eyes open - not that anything changes, everything is still pitch-black around him - and blinks.

Why not?..

It's not like Danny is a civilian. Tim tends to pay little attention to the fact since the King of Infinite Realms doesn't hang out with the whole superhero convention on principle. But Tim is pretty sure he won't mind it this once.

Besides, Tim is so done with Joker that it's not even funny.

A few breathy chuckles escape his throat as he lets his body fully slump back on the floor and brings his left hand to his face, placing a quick kiss on the Ring through his glove. He doesn't need to do that, not really, but it's kind of a ritual at this point, and the gesture somehow makes him feel better.

"Danny," he whispers.

For a long moment, nothing happens.

Then, there's a soft, popping sound, and his beautiful boyfriend is floating right over him, faintly glowing and a little sleepy. Tim is momentarily distracted by his bare feet and pj pants with tiny rockets on them.

Danny yawns and tugs the hem of his t-shirt down as it starts to float. "Whas'sup," he mutters, rubbing his eyes and clearly not fully awake, and Tim's heart melts instantly. He loves Danny. He just... He loves him, okay? He loves that Danny didn't question his summons for a moment, he loves that he came even though he was obviously sleeping, and he loves that Danny is wearing a tee he stole from Tim.

Unfortunately, before he is able to get his shit back together, another sound of gunshot ripples through the air, and Danny startles, blinking himself awake and looking in the direction of it. Then, his eyebrows shoot up, and his mouth makes a soft 'O' shape before he turns back to Tim and tilts his head in question.

"You want me to deal with him? The clown, I mean, not your brother," he asks, and it's so casual and off-handed that Tim actually huffs a laugh.

"Sorry, I was just- I'm really tired of his ass," Tim should probably sit up, this is not a talk they should have while he is lying on the ground. On the other hand, Jason is somewhere out there, and he has guns and doesn't have a clear visual around him, so maybe Tim shouldn't sit up.

Danny hums, "Is that a yes?"

Tim just nods. He is pretty sure Danny can see him despite the darkness. "I promise it's a one-time thing, I don't plan on calling you every time one of local lunatics acts up. I just... I fucking can't with him," he admits with a defeated sigh. But, before he can spiral any further into the abyss of unworthiness, Danny's cold hands are cupping his cheeks, and his icy eyes are looking right into Tim's sky blue.

"Love, I don't mind getting rid of each and every one of your Rogues. Granted, it would probably fuck up the timeline, and Clocky would be mad, but I'd do it if you want me to, no questions asked." His voice is quiet, and Tim has never been more grateful for his domino mask, because he can feel his cheeks heating up and he doesn't want Danny to see the exact effect his words are causing.

"I- Okay," he quietly agrees, and then blinks, backtracking, "Wait, no, don't fuck up the timeline. Just deal with the laughing bitch this once, and that's it. We can handle the rest."

Danny is smiling at him in that adoring way Tim recognizes as 'I really want to kiss you, but it's not the time or place'. Then, he nods and lets go of Tim's cheeks, straightening up in the air, and his clothes shift all at once, like a magic trick.

Gone are the stretched out t-shirt and the pants with rocket ships. In their place, Danny's body is head to toe covered in stars and galaxies that hold the vague shape of armor, and there's a slightly shimmering, blueish-green translucent cape over one of his shoulders.

The Crown over his head, the sentient artifact much like the Ring on Tim's finger, appears from nowhere, and, after a brief pause - Tim swears it was debating on whether or not the situation is worth the effort - promptly sets itself on fire. Blue flames cast long shadows on Danny's, no, King's face, making him look older and his cheekbones sharper.

Before, the boy was only faintly glowing, and, evidently, the others present in the warehouse were too distracted to notice him.

But now, with the flaming Crown casting dancing shadows on the walls of the warehouse, it's really hard not to see the otherworldly being making an appearance.

"Holy fuck," Tim hears Hood's quiet, astonished voice, and almost cracks a grin.

Yeah, he wants to say, that's my boyfriend. Although he suspects he and Jason are having vastly different reactions to Danny's presence. Because Tim kind of wants to take all his words about dealing with Joker back and take Danny home, straight to bed.

...He is going to have to strangle Jason in his sleep if his reaction is similar. No, that's a wrong thought, this is so not the time for it.

"Who are you, flying glowstick?" Joker sounds rightfully pissed off by the interruption, "Does Batsy employ alien kids now?"

Danny chuckles, the starry freckles on his cheeks glowing brighter, "Okay, just because you compared me to an alien, I'm not going to completely erase you from this plane of existence."

Tim snaps his head up.

"Wait, no killing," he reminds, not because he actually cares but because B would throw a fit. Danny brushes him off with a wave of his hand.

"No worries, he'll stay alive," he smiles at Tim, and to everyone else, it probably looks like stuff of nightmares, sharp, pointy teeth and lips stretched out far beyond human capabilities. But Tim sees it for what it is: a face of mischief.

"Do I get a vote in this?" Jason's deadpan voice comes from somewhere on the other side of the warehouse at the same moment as Joker screeches in rage, "Who the fuck do you think-"

"Nope," Danny pops the 'p', and Tim is not sure if he is answering to Hood or refusing to listen to the clown's monolog by it. Maybe it's both. It's probably both.

The next moment, Danny is gone, disappeared from the place he was floating at, and Tim hears a wet, very unpleasant sound followed by Joker's scream of pain.

"You see this?" He hears Danny's nonchalant, unfazed voice above the clown's pained cries, "This is your rib, bitch- Hey, quit whining and listen to me, it's important."

There's a slap, a rustle, and a sound of ripping fabric, and Joker's voice becomes muffled, like someone put a gag in his mouth.

"You're like Adam now, you know, lacking one rib," Danny continues, "Only I'm not making you a girl out of this one, I'm pretty sure you don't deserve to reproduce. Anyway, going further down that metaphor, I'm the God almighty in this situation, so if you want to keep the rest of your ribs - and the rest of other things that are supposed to stay inside of you - to yourself, you gotta do a thing for me, okay?"

There's some muffled groans that Joker makes in response, then an enraged growl, a sound of a struggle, another slap, and then that same wet, disgusting squelch.

"Two ribs, wow, okay, you're really being difficult about this!" Danny sounds so innocently dumbstruck about it that Tim suppresses a laugh. "Are you listening now?" There's a quiet, choking wheeze that answers him, and Danny sounds quite pleased when he says, "Great."

Tim debates if he should look. He doesn't exactly want to since the sounds provide enough context, but it might be somewhat cathartic for him.

And then the air around him inexplicably shifts, becoming cold and oppressive, weighting Tim down like a heavy blanket and pushing him into the floor. The dancing shadows and the blue light of flames on the walls twist and churn, like taking aim, and Tim doesn't know what Danny looks like right now but he knows he is as far from human as possible, his voice coming with a staticky, echoing whisper, a threatening hiss slithering inside Tim's ears.

"Play your little games all you want, Fallen Jester, but know that you can not win. The punchline to your joke is long overdue, and your soul has belonged to me for quite some time now," his words are cold and uncaring, and in all the time Tim has known his boyfriend, he has never heard him speak like this: with a sense of lazy power, like he is only humoring the people around him.

Like they mean nothing to him.

"I will not kill you, or at least not here and now. My Guiding Star doesn't want to see my hands dirty with your filthy remains. Besides, death is only a moment, and you don't deserve only a moment of suffering," he huffs a short, humorless chuckle, "But, luckily, I am the Eyes of the Universe, the Titan's Bane, the King of the Dead, and everyone will meet me once their eyes fall shut for the last time," there's a smile in his voice now, full of cold and merciless anticipation. Tim feels a shiver run down his spine.

"So just you wait, Jester, and I will meet you on the other side. Then we'll see how whatever is left of your soul is going to spend an eternity."

Tim's ears are ringing with the pure, somehow gleeful hatred that laces those last words. He didn't know he could literally taste the disgust and the promise of pain, and yet, here he is, with a hint of something sour on his tongue.

And then, the heavy, weighted air that has been charged with power is lifted, the shadows and bright blue lights are all gone, and Danny, wearing his pj's and smiling, is standing over him. His feet are planted on the ground for once, and the Crown is gone without a trace, but his t-shirt is still trying to float up. The boy tugs it down again, offering a hand to Tim.

"Wanna go out for a burger since I'm already here in Gotham?"

Tim had never breathed easier in his life. He laughs a little and reaches up, taking his beautifully unhinged boyfriend's hand and standing up.

"I thought you'd never ask."

[emacrow]

The Justice League hasn't heard from John in four months. It was Zatanna who got concerned first when his phone was disconnected.

Batman found out that he died saving an important little girl named ellie from a group of drug trafficker using her as a battery. How paled zatanna was said about the girl and John's deceased body disappeared in a green portal afterward, telling him what level of apocalypse could have accurate if she had died.

Zatanna Investigating the house of mysteries was the next plan of action, considering only Zatanna and Deadman knew that house was claimed by John with an amount of cursed items, books, and every other apocalypse related items.

Zatanna was only going to place seals upon and inside the house, so nobody would attempt to enter ever, except the house wouldn't let her open the front door.

Her blood felt ice cold as she kept trying to pull the door open, but no budge.

That was where she brought the Justice league in, thinking only someone sinister and patience enough placed a claim on the house after John died because if they did.

This was a code blood moon to them. This could be the universe ending on the other side if whoever had control in the house has every cursed item, weapons, and apocalypse making ritual books imaginable that John had collected over the years.

Before J'onn could slip intangible through the house, the door opened to reveal.... Ellie?

The girl who disappeared, wearing a red beanie and a bright smile.

"Oh good, John said you all would probably come here like headless chickens. Come in!" Ellie said, leaving the door open as she floated back inside.

The Justice League and zatanna look dumbfounded before J'onn, the brave soul went in first, saying that he felt no threat.

The house of mysteries seems to have a new type of decoration done, though still very creepy. Safety baby locks, anti plug in, and a bunch of ghost related toddler toys lay around.

A very massive in height man wearing a gravity defying cloak full of stars, hair whiter then snow with constellations braids with the stars themselves sat in the couch that was obviously too much for his massive form.

A squealing little toddler wearing a soft orange jumper with purple hair giggling loudly every time he smack his tiny hands hard onto a board with a bunch of green blob in 9 holes popping out randomly like some ghost theme whack a mole.

Zatanna glanced, looking down at the little boy and then back at the familiar massive tower entity smiling softly, his stardust freckles luminous glowing green with the frozen frost crown with nebula emblems inside floating innocently on his head as her eyes widen a bit.

"Zatanna, who is this guy?" Superman said, concerned in the back. The Justice League didn't know where to go defensive mode or stand down as there was a child present.

She bowed on her knees immediately on the ground, her eyes teary up with a sense of relief.

"I greet thy infinite Realm, Danny Phan-"

"Zatanna, I told you four times in a role. It's not worth repeating my whole titles. You can call me Danny, and no, i didn't win John's soul... I merely adopted him." Danny waves his hands lightly, miniature dwarf star float around lightly before reabsorbed back in his palm.

"It took me 5 years of planning with clockwork and ellie after John helped my realms from the GIW and their plan to make my people into non-living, and living batteries, even though the Justice League had help along with disbanding them. He grew onto me and my family, and seeing what would've become his cheese grated soul after he died was a big no-no in my book." Danny said softly, Ellie popping behind from his mass of white hair.

"I helped, even though now I'm a bit younger than I am now after that whole pretend to get captured by amateur traffickers, but I'd owed constantine for that prank idea for Dan."

The Justice League awkwardly sat on the opposite couch that suddenly appeared, zatanna sitting on the floor a few feet away from John, still playing on a ghost themed whack a mole board.

"Why is John acting like this?" Zatanna asked softly, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her moisten eyes.

"Well, with the combination added years of his much overdue life, by cheating, swindling and dealing with the Supernatural, Gods, faes, and demons alongside the amount of pushed down trauma and PTSD John accumulated in his barely to be call a soul piece after dying in a perfect way for ectoplasm to fixed all of that to made him into a halfa." Danny continues to explain softly.

"His halfa core couldn't handle the weight of it all his soul pieces put together again, especially with his main soul piece being the size of broken miniature ball even after the others entities figured out I claimed and relinquished their contracts because they know I outrank them all, but John's core couldn't handle being put together all at once like that, especially how long he was with barely much of his soul left in the end once he died."

"In a simple way, all His memories, skills and everything in each soul pieces that was taken in between like a giant block of cheese being forced into a tiny mash sieve that was his current mind and body state right now, what Frostbite explain to me." Danny explained simpler with conjuring a solid glob of ectoplasm in his left hand, being pushed in a mold of mini sieve, barely any being pushed out except a couple of glowing liquid dripping.

"John is still the same John, only at where he was his safest mind state before all those deals, trauma, and everything that resulted into what he was, then that slowly returns with time. Only he is free now." Danny finished softly smiling, watching John ripe out a oooing blob ghost from the board with a gleeful squeal, smacking it on the board with delight, his tiny legs kicking in excitement.

Part 1 here <- part 3 -> here

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 191

So. Apparently immortality does in fact exist. And is apparently very easily accidentally achieved, if the fact an entire city has it now. 

The GIW will be waiting a very long time to be able to drop that ghost shield, because the city doesn’t seem to be dying out anytime soon. Or at all actually. It’s been several generations now. 

They might need to request assistance. Maybe before others start to investigate now that vigilantes are becoming a semi-common thing.

[that-weird-thing-in-the-woods]

~{Heyyyy, So this is my side of a Specialty Swap with my Fav Goddess @goddessofbees Hope you gremlins like it and go check out their part and other artworks they are very talented!}~

•Fusion•

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Bart doesn’t know how he got in this situation.

…He’s lying he knows exactly how he got here. It was just a solo patrol without his team or uncle and it was going well! All he did was stop one mugging and two purse thieves and that the end of it he was thinking of what to get for lunch while waiting for his uncle to get out of the JL meeting stoping him from patrol in the first place.

That’s when three large white vans stop around him and men in white suits surround him but before he could do anything (which shouldn’t be possible) a thing is wrapped around around his waist and catch his arms with it and it electrocutes him and due to the pain he passes out.

When he comes too, Bart was met with painfully white walls and floors and the smell of chemicals and as he sits up he brings his hand to check his head for injuries but as he does so he feels something cold and metal on his wrist and he forces his eyes to focus on the two metal cuffs on his wrist.

The cuffs and bulky things made out of pure metal with green and white designs on them and are surprisingly heavy and that’s when Barts mind starts to go a mile a minute and after what Bart can assume is 1-5 minutes later. Bart hears a tapping sound coming from the…lasers? That are being used as a door to the cell and through the bars and saw another person.

He..she? They, They had mid length black hair with strands of white even though they look to be around Barts age and were very pale almost sickly, they were wearing a white sundress and as they looked down the hallway they were in and seemed to be coming unbothered by the situation the both of them were in.

The person must have seen Bart too as they looked over to him and that’s when Bart notices that they had leukocoria in their right eye and just smiled and went back to looking down the hallway.

And with a most likely civilian Bart automatically started to talk about how he was going to get them out and did they know where they are like any hero would do with a civilian in a situation like theirs, and as Bart talked he moved closer to the bars and was about to go through the lasers but he was stoped when they yelled at Bart to stay where he was and that the bars would just knock him out again and that would be no help to the situation.

That stopped Bart and he was about to ask how they knew that and if they are ok but something about about them made him stop.

Bart started to think about how this probably civilian is so calm and like they read Barts thoughts they said that they are just waiting for their husband and he’ll find them soon. And like a magic word.

Loud alarms and the screams of people started that made Bart instantly cover his ears that the noise, look he may not have super hearing but the alarms were loud and sounded like they were right next to his head…maybe he already had a concussion.

After about three minutes of the alarms and screaming, a large black mass with dark green smoke coming out of a large maw of white teeth covered in blood and black claws also covered in blood…and Bart was pretty sure he saw it just yeet one of the people in white who kidnapped him and the person in the white dress.

One of the previously mentioned claws dragged across the sterile white walls leaving behind marks in its path when it reaches a box that in his sight panic and probably concussion mind didn’t notice before was the gray box that made a slight humming noise but when the clawed hand reached where the box was. It started to smash it like it just insulted his mother in three different ways than spat in its face.

And it turns out that the box was the power supply for the laser bars of the cells that held Bart and the person in white in and as soon as the bars fizzled out one of the clawed hands grabbed them out of the cell.

That makes Bart ready to fight this being to the person out of danger but he stops when Bart sees that the person in white is completely calm and…are they comforting the being?

That’s when the being changes from the large black mass to a six foot and short white haired man wearing a black bodysuit with a black cape with the inside of it looks like it was taken from the depths of a unknown universe and a black crown.

After about a minute of the two just checking in on each other the two started to glow at the edges before glowing so bright that Bart had to look away for a hot second.

And when Bart looked back he was met with a four armed being with long white in black hair and had what seemed to be a stone in the middle of their chest and they looked to be hugging themselves with relief on their face.

That’s when Bart stomach decided to make itself known with a loud grumbling sound, the being looked over in mild surprise [Bart had a feeling that he was forgotten] before he could say anything he was picked up by the being and they started to run.

The Justice league all rushed into one of the meeting rooms at the warning that someone was in there without any of their knowledge.

The JL was in a meeting about how they were going to find and rescue Impulse after he had been kidnapped by a group so the flash was not in the best mental state right now and they all were expecting this intruder to demand payment or something of that nature to give back Impulse.

What they were not expecting was Impulse with a milkshake and burger in hand sitting next to a four armed being and they were about to start asking questions before Zatanna yelled out.

“IS THAT THE FUCKING GHOST KING”

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Background•

The day that Danny went into that portal was the worst and best day of his life.

The worst because he was electrocuted and thought he had died that day.

And it was the best because it was the day he met him, Phantom his now husband.

That first Danny thought he had become a Halfa like Vlad had said that they both were [Before Danny proceeded to beat the ever loving shit out of him] but after about a year after the accident Danny had started to have feelings and thoughts not his own.

Like overwhelmed by protectiveness for himself and knowing things from the past that he definitely shouldn’t know and Danny mostly just pushed this to the side as his life was already difficult he didn’t need anymore stress and it wasn’t hurting him..it even felt a little nice like being wrapped in a protective blanket.

But a few months after it had started, Danny had started to black out during fights with the G.I.W/His parents and the other ghost and he would come too back in his room and all bandaged up and laying on his bed.

That’s when Danny went to clockwork to ask what was going on. Clockwork than explained that Danny and Phantom were two different people but due the accident it put most of phantoms powers into Danny’s body as well as speeding up the growth of his proto-core so Danny is essentially a full ghost at this point.

And Danny ask if Clockwork can separate them because Danny may like how it feels when their together he doesn’t want to trap phantom and Clockwork does as he ask and separates them.

But the first thing phantom does with his new freedom is grab Danny check on him and make sure his ok before glaring at Clockwork for separating them, Danny ask him if phantom is ok with them being fused together.

Phantom says that he loves being with Danny the only thing he didn’t like was that he was never able to fully talk to him or hold him like this and now he can protect him better from the Fentons and G.I.W.

But that’s when clockwork interrupts and says that it would be best that the two of them don’t ever go back to that world as with the two separated being able to separate now it would make their eco-signature immediately noticeable to the Fentons technology and makes a visual orb shows Danny and Phantom what would happen if they go back now.

That ends with Danny crying about how could his parents do that to him while he wraps his arms around his torso and Phantom breaking the orb and almost freezing over the entire Ghost Zone.

After calming them down, Danny ask what they are supposed to do now that they can’t go back and Clockwork explains that when the two of them beat Pariah Dark Phantom won the title of Ghost King so they could do that.

And Danny and Phantom like that idea.

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Little Facts•

•Danny and Phantom HATE separating it is very uncomfortable for both of them.

•When a Ghost becomes strong enough their core with become visible to humans but in the from as a gem so it doesn’t break their brain, Think of it like this

Colors we can’t see = Magenta

Ghost Cores = Gem stones

•The reason Danny was so chill was because he knew Phantom was going on the fucking war path to get him back

•A visual orb is something ghost can make to show memories or things of the like

•Phantom is the Ghost King and Danny is the Ghost Queen <3

•Phantom hates clockwork and clockwork likes to mess with Phantom because he can

•The JL are so confused at this point

•The Speedforce is a ghost and has adopted all speeders as her kids and any ghost can tell

•Phantom was a boy in ancient times who died but because of how powerful he is it took a looong time for his proto-core to form and when it did the accident happened

•Danny was adopted by Clockwork, And Clockwork and The Speedforce are siblings so Danny and Bart are cousins…I think Ghost families are were to map out

•Halfas don’t exist, Danny and Phantom were just both confused as all hell but they figured it out so their good but Vlad is just possessing his own corpse and it is Extremely disgusting and disturbing for everyone involved

•The crown changes from wearer to wearer

•The reason Danny was in the G.I.W custody was that they were planning on yeeting another nuke into the ghost zone and He went to go reinforce the area it would hit but the G.I.W set up sensors for any ghost activity and they grabbed him before he could fight back and was only there for about 6 hours before they grabbed Bart who was out for the count for a good 3 hours

•Danny and Phantom actually communicate with each other so no misunderstandings with them! Everyone else on the other hand :)

•When ghost want to get married, they combine cores.

•Danny and Phantom are a lot older than they look, Danny looks 17 while Phantom looks 18

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-•Appearances•

Appearance (I don’t have a name for this)

Here’s what their core looks like to humans / Not ghosts

Moon stone

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

~{and that’s it! Hope you gremlins like it byeeeeee!}~

[jordanstrophe]

During a trade, how do you imagine whumper handing whumpee over?

I like to imagine whumper has a henchman take whumpee to caretakers side, as the henchman is trembling having to walk towards a seething caretaker.

Especially if whumpee can't walk and they're dragging them. 

[artiststarme]

Eddie is completely and utterly broke after his run-in with Hell. The plant is destroyed so Wayne doesn’t have a job, half the town is a shell of its former normalcy, and the places that remain would rather burn than hire one of the “murderin’ Munsons”.

He finally comes up with a plan but even that is shut down with some panicked glances, attitude, and sassy hip-holding on Steve’s behalf.

“Absolutely not, Munson! I will not let you sell any of your organs. What the hell? Why do I even have to say that?!”

“Steve, you only need one kidney and the spleen is basically an accessory organ. It’ll be fine and then we’ll be rich.”

“No! No means no, you deranged weirdo. No organ selling!”

As a plan B, he starts playing shows again with Corroded Coffin just outside of town and luck allows them to be put on a record’s radar. He becomes the frontman of one of the world’s largest metal bands, Steve becomes a novelist with him on the road, and Robin comes along as an ASL interpreter for his shows.

And he maintains ownership of all of his organs (though he keeps the option open for a rainy day).

[2aceofspades]

Lil' 2024 art recap 🙌✨

Here's to another art-filled year! 🌟

(:

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-fi prompt from @becauseforoncethisisme:

I don’t understand how importing and exporting works and I’m trying to write a story that doesn’t have colonialism but does have chocolate and vanilla and coffee available to everyone and it’s set in fantasy Spain so I can’t grow them locally. If that fantasy Spain is trading with the people who produce chocolate and vanilla and coffee as equal partners, then how do they import enough stuff to make it readily available, and could they export things like olive oil and wine in exchange or would that not work?

Honestly, my first reaction was 'this is a very Western perspective on international trade.'

We have a few questions to ask here:

What do we mean by "readily available?"

What are the barriers in place that prevent domestic production in a fantasy setting?

What are the logistical barriers to trade that impede international trade in a fantasy setting?

What are the labor and production conditions in these countries that are uncolonized?

What are substitutes that could feasibly be present?

Readily Available

There are varying degrees of availability that one may consider here. A rough spectrum would be:

Unavailable -> Expensive Luxury -> Affordable Luxury -> Generic/Staple -> Cheap Junk

We are very used to, at least in the US and similarly wealthy nations, having some of these available as Cheap Junk. Vanilla is an affordable luxury, Coffee ranges from cheap to affordable luxury but tends to sit at Generic in the public conscious, and chocolate is a Cheap Junk item that can enter Affordable Luxury, but by god do we have it at the dollar store if you're willing to put up with immense amounts of sugar and saturated fats as a filler.

Vanilla is, actually, unlikely to change much, but that's due to the fact that it's an expensive flavor already. It might move from Affordable to Expensive, but in the real world, vanilla beans are incredibly limited in agriculture, as they are difficult to grow outside of Madagascar or Mexico due to the pollinator requirements. This is also the main focus of question five, as it's the one most likely to be substituted for with a cheaper substitute; synthetic vanillin can be derived from clove oil.

The other two, you could expect to move up at least one tier into Generic or Affordable Lux, but possibly to Expensive Lux dependent on the next factors and how quality the items are; it's very easy to stretch chocolate if you're willing to cut corners. The products would be more expensive, but not unavailable... kind of like when I go looking for imported foods from Eastern Europe.

Domestic Production Barriers

This is a fantasy setting, which means there must be a cause for not being able to grow something domestically. For vanilla, a tropical plant, the primary barrier IRL is pollinator requirements. In its native Mexico, it is pollinated by a specific bee, and outside of Mexico, it must be pollinated by hand, which is what they do in Madagascar. Since Madagascar is one of the few countries where that labor is affordable...

Then again, maybe fantasy Spain has the magic to make that work without immense amounts of underpaid labor.

Coffee and cocoa are less specific in practice, but still require tropical climates that make farming in other zones difficult at scale. You can have a greenhouse at that temperature, but it's not really viable, financially.

It's also plausible that, without colonization, the origin countries have refused to allow live seeds to exit the country, in order to maintain control over production. Can't grow your own cocoa trees if you never get a live seed to plant, right?

Logistic Trade Barriers

What is international travel like for your setting? How long does it take to get from point A to point B? What are the options for transport at scale? Do you have cargo ships, cargo planes, long-haul trucking? Is teleportation a thing? Does the transport require some kind of fuel and, if so, what is the cost of that fuel? How many humans are needed to man the transport, or is it largely automated?

Are there domestic industries that feel threatened, like spice companies that import cinnamon from SE Asia and would like to avoid the cocoa coming out of South American farms? Would they lobby the government to institute barriers, or act as a guild?

Are there political barriers, like tariffs? Wars that are liable to disrupt supply chains? Black markets that spring up to avoid customs?

Production Conditions

So. A country does not need to be a victim of colonization to be built on cheap, underpaid, labor, or even slavery.

The Aztec Empire had slaves before Europe arrived. China was never actually colonized by Western powers; at most, they ceded small amounts of territory for a temporary period. You could argue they were colonized by Huns and Mongols, but those assimilated in. Nepal, Japan, and Thailand have never been taken over by another power, though they occasionally lost territory or were forced into trade.

It is entirely possible, even likely, that the countries Fantasy Spain trades with are abusing their own people for cheap labor. If there is any degree of a class system where nobility and peasantry exist, especially if there's slavery, then you will have cheap products being exported for the upper classes. China was never taken over by the West, but the silk and spice trades were booming in part because of cheap labor under Imperial rule, and then again under communism. The Aztecs were running farms on slave labor before Spain got there. Nepal is still incredibly poor compared to the West, which is why the Mt. Everest tourism trade is one that doesn't run out of employees.

Once you know what the labor conditions are like, you can decide what the cost of goods is. If there's been a peasant revolt, trade diminishes and prices go up. Good labor conditions mean lowered rates of production, and then prices are higher because of basic laws of supply and demand.

Substitutes

Vanillin is magical.

[cookiesnpaste]

fucked up magical girl heck yeah

[iizuumi]

Did a fun little art trade with @bluevelvetea and got to draw NaruKaf for her ♥

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt #142 Part 2

His parents had spent years working on their portal, to the point where they were neglecting their own children. Danny didn’t know any better, neither did Jazz. To them it was just how their family ran and for the most part it worked for them. It allowed Danny to really study space and the Stars. His room was covered with different ship models on the shelves, glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and posters on the walls.

Jazz had similarly explored her own thoughts and topics as she studied Psychology. Her room was more feminine but still had a certain scientific decorum to it.  

He never thought that he’d suddenly be ripped from all the things he loved. But here he was with the trench coat man, instead of taking some biology class or something.

“What happened with the portal?” Danny asked.

The man took a long sigh, “listen… quite a lot of shit went down after your accident.” 

“That tells me nothing,” Danny glared at the man.

“I get your upset kid, but let me at least know your name. Mine's John Constantine,” 

“…Danny,” Danny muttered after a moment. He wasn’t sure he trusted the man but he guessed he had no choice. He was also noticing he felt a bit off, it was the weirdest gut feeling and Danny was having trouble telling exactly what the feeling was. It was like the feeling was telling him to trust John, although at the same time John had this weird feeling about him that had Danny feeling weary. He decided to trust John just a little, hopefully it got him back home, after a moment Danny spoke again, “…Can you at least tell me if the portal worked?”

The room was silent for a moment and then John spoke “Alright, fine, I’ll tell you what happened but some background first, do you know who the ancients are?” 

The name didn’t sound familiar, “Ancients? Like Ancient Aliens or something?” 

“No, no…” John took a swig from a flask in his pocket and then started fiddled with an unlit cigarette he pulled from a different pocket. He then looked Danny up and down, “You don’t know the first thing about the infinite realms do you?”

“The what?” None of this was making any sense and the more Danny talked to this guy the more he was getting a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Something about this conversation felt wrong, like Danny should know all of this already but he just didn’t. 

“Right well… I guess the easiest way to explain this is the portal your parents made was to the infinite realms.” John said, putting the cigarette in his mouth.

“My parents called it the Ghost Zone.” Danny muttered.

John seemed to chuckle at that, “I mean it is mainly inhabited by ghosts, however they aren’t the only ones, far from it in fact. I’m sorry but… I couldn’t allow your parents unlimited access to the realms. I had to disable it and prevent it from being reactivated.”

Danny felt a little disheartened after hearing that, he guessed John was probably right though. He remembered hearing his parents talk about how they’d dissect every ghost they found to study them. The bully’s at his school often bullied Danny over it especially after his dad and mom would continually embarrass him on parent teacher nights and on field trips.

Danny let out a small sigh, “so when can I go home?”

John looked a little surprised, his eyebrow quirked up, “so you're unaware of your situation right now?”

“Situation?” Danny trailed off, he remembered getting shocked and then he remembered waking up here, “where are we?”

John let out another sigh, “shit, well from my research you're supposed to know everything about your powers when you wake up.”

This made no sense to Danny, powers? Danny didn’t have powers, he didn't have the meta-gene.

“Powers? I don’t have the meta-gene. I think you have the wrong person.” Danny stated as he folded his arms in front of himself.

“Then how are you floating?” John asked with a smirk.

Danny looked down and he indeed was floating just an inch off the bed, he wondered when that started but the feeling threw him off a little as he stumbled a little trying to keep himself upright. It didn’t work and he fell back down on the bed with a little thud. He turned to see John watching him with a small hint of amusement in his eyes. 

“What am I?” Danny asked, his voice small and a little panicked.

“You, Danny Fenton, are an Ancient. I know the term makes it seem like you're old but the term is more because your people are ancient in age.” The explanation made no sense to Danny but he could somehow float now. He thought the term ‘Ancient’ was a little much for some floating powers.

[cryscendo]

“Every morning I get to wake up next to you. I get to walk you to the subway. Then walk you to class. And most days I get to have lunch with you. And even after all of that amazingness, I get to come home to you.”

@giftober 2024 | day 2: in bed

[mossy-the-thing]

i made a thing

sorry for the bad quality lol

[glafifo]

[saym0-0]

thinking about a wider-mcyt like. death network. like their are several reapers/gods that all watch over/take care of different aspects of death. kristin is in charge of permadeaths (hardcore/limited lives servers), zed(eath) is in charge of like. a few respawnable worlds- not all of them because i imagine with there being so many more of them and them each having so many more deaths its a big responsibility. pix works part time with just the one world (empires). i don't actually watch that many smps and it seems a common enough trope so if theres anyone else from another smp that would fit feel free to add on :D

they're all coworkers.

[hazelkjt]

Auraugust Day 3: "Trade"

Yeah I got nothing better for this one...so have a dumb meme

Auraugust Prompt List