#which shows up in part 2

[rosesnvines]

The Legend of the Blackberry Sword - Part 1

@inklings-challenge so, this story takes place on two worlds, it starts on Alixandria and the majority of it is on Havorest. The Christian theme kinda doesn't come into play until the final act, which is in part 2, so, I assume that works? Anyways, enjoy this lovely artwork I commissioned (Autumn Adventures is the name of the set of, well, adventures these characters have on Havorest), and I hope you like part 1!

(Some words to know: kisiae are pumpkin nymphs/fairies, lampades are lantern nymphs, meliades are apple nymphs, spunkies are a short and stocky humanoid race with glowing eyes. From the picture below, Gasper Gold and the Forsters are humans while Jackie Little is a kisia.)

“Come on Greg, let’s go!” Bert whispered, trying to usher his younger brother out the door. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Greg whispered in reply as he shouldered his backpack. He grabbed his jacket off his bed and followed Bert out of their room. Bert slowly and quietly closed the door. The two glanced down the darkened hall at their parents’ door. No light could be seen through the tiny sliver at the base of the door, nor could a sound be heard. The brothers shared a look before tiptoeing down the stairs. They made their way to the front door without any noise. So far so good. Bert turned to Greg and let out a soft huff. Greg merely nodded. Bert gave a curt nod and grasped the front door's handle. He pulled, and it refused to budge. He let out a soft gasp and pulled again. It still would not budge. Greg began to giggle. 

"Greg!” Bert hissed. 

“The deadbolt,” whispered Greg as he pointed. 

Bert blinked and turned back to the door. Sure enough, the deadbolt was locked. Letting out a frustrated huff, Bert slowly unlocked it. There was a soft clang as the deadbolt released its grip on the door. The boys winced and waited. No sound came from up the stairs. Bert proceeded to open the door again, this time with success. Greg tiptoed past him, and Bert followed, closing the door softly behind him. The two ventured into the woods back of their house, keeping to a path they knew well, one that seemed to vanish behind them. 

Before long they were standing in front of an old, gnarled tree. Bert grabbed a piece of bark at the base of it and pulled it away from the tree, revealing a large, gaping hole. Greg dropped to his knees and crawled in. Bert followed, carefully pushing the bark back into place. They crawled through the tree and came out the other side. They straightened up, and took a breath. 

Greg stretched. “Wow, how do those taller guys do it?” 

“I guess they can squeeze in anywhere,” said Bert with a shudder. “I’m just glad they got the portal moved here so they can’t get to our house again.” 

Greg pouted. “But now it’s a longer walk to get to Pottsville.” 

“That’s why we’re here,” came a voice from behind a tree. 

“Your own personal linkboys!” Two Spunkie boys no older than Bert stepped out from behind two trees with glowing turnips on sticks and huge grins on their faces. 

Bert gave them a deadpan face. “Oh hi Freddie, hi Lenny.” 

Greg gave them a very enthusiastic wave. “Hi Lenny, hi Freddie! Did we keep you waiting long?” 

Freddie scoffed. “With your brother, I’m surprised you got here as soon as you did.” 

“Hey!” 

Greg giggled. “He did have trouble with the deadbolt.” 

“Greg!” 

The two Spunkies laughed. 

“Why am I not surprised?” quipped Freddie. 

“Well don’t just stand there, come on!” Lenny waved them on. “The festival’s going to start soon and the others have already arrived!” 

“All of them?” asked Bert. 

“Yes, all of them, even the Torresses,” said Freddie. 

Bert brightened. “The Torresses are here?” 

“Oh yes, the Torresses are here.” Freddie smirked and a mischievous glint appeared in his eye. “And last I heard, Jason Falkner wanted to dance with Sara Torres all … night … long …” 

Bert let out a yelp and dashed down the lane. “Well come on, let’s go!” 

“It always amazes me how you always know what to say to get him to move,” quipped Lenny. 

Freddie grinned. “What can I say? It’s one of my many talents.” Lenny laughed, and the two and Greg took off after Bert. They caught up with him, and with Freddie and Kenny leading the way with their turnip torches, got to Pottsville in a matter of minutes. 

"Whoa!" The brothers exclaimed upon following the Spunkies past the village. A giant fairground had been set up, complete with rides and stalls. There were loads of boys and men dressed up as knights, while women wore medieval gowns. Turnip lamps lined the fairground, providing the much needed light in addition to the glow from the harvest moon. Strange animals walked beside their masters, but the brothers knew them all by now. One such animal, a repean, or the glowing turnip bird, flew around their heads once before flying off over the fairgrounds.

Greg took a long sniff. "I smell popcorn!" 

Bert took a sniff. "And funnel cakes!" 

Lenny waved his hand. "Well, let's go get you in your costumes before we go eating! It's early enough that there's still plenty to go around." The brothers followed them to a mid-sized, red-and-white striped tent just on the outskirts of the fairgrounds. People were mostly coming out of the tent, decked out in medieval outfits. 

"Bert! Greg! There you are! Was wondering when you were going to get here." Bert's twin, Betty,  approached them from the side of another tent. She had already changed into a blue dress, with her hair pulled up into a fashionable bun. A few ringlets fell loosely around her face. 

"Bert was trying to open the door before unlocking the deadbolt," said Greg between snickers. 

Bert groaned and rolled his eyes. "Greg!" He then pointed at the backpack. "That's the real reason." 

"What?" Greg unzipped it. A frog poked his head out. "I couldn't leave Jeremiah!" 

“And you should not have to,” came a woman’s voice. A tall, elegant Kisia, a pumpkin nymph, joined their group. She leaned over and petted the frog. “After all, if it hadn’t been for him, we might not have had a Michaelmas faire. He’s just as invited as you are to all our events.” 

Greg grinned. “Thanks Mrs. Fields!”  

A head popped out of the tent. “I thought I heard your voices.” The teen turned back into the tent. “Mom! Bert and Greg are here!” 

“Well get them in here! The faire’s about to start and they’re not in their costumes yet!” 

The teen turned back to them with a grin. “You heard Mom, get in here!” 

“Coming, Aunt Caroline!” Bert shouted before grabbing Greg’s arm and pulling him into the tent. Freddie and Lenny dashed in after them.

A few minutes later, they emerged all dressed up in medieval garb. Greg even had a medieval bag that Jeremiah was comfortably sitting in. Aunt Caroline also stepped out, and handed each child a bag. Greg immediately opened his bag to see bills shaped like leaves and coins shaped like acorns. 

“There should be enough to get you through the night, but if you need any more, come see me, or any of your aunts and uncles. We should be able to get you some more.” 

Greg pouted. “I wish mom and dad could have come.” 

Aunt Caroline placed her arm around his shoulders and gave him a hug. “I know, they wish they could be here too. But there’s always next year. Plus, your baby brother will be old enough to join us then, and we’ll all have a great time.” 

Greg grinned. “Yeah, can’t wait!” 

“Wonderful. Now run along and enjoy the fair. But be sure to head to the big tent in an hour! The play starts then!” 

“Will do!” The children waved as they dashed off. 

"Where to first?" Bert asked Freddie. 

Freddie grinned. "You'll see. We hit it up first every year, it's a tradition Gaspar started." The group weaved their way through the crowd, Freddie in the lead. They passed stall after stall of mouth-watering goodies. 

Greg giggled and pointed at one. "That one says Trick or Treat and Tea!" 

"Aw, that's cute!" Betty exclaimed. 

"We'll come back to them, don't worry. They're another yearly tradition." 

"But isn't trick-or-treat for Halloween?" Bert asked. 

Freddie shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but they got to be so popular that they just stayed open all year round." He shot them a grin over his shoulder. "Besides, this is Havorest, the autumn planet. We could technically go trick-or-treating for all the holidays." 

Greg jumped in the air. "Yeah! Free candy for all the holidays!" 

"Greg, we get free candy for all the holidays," said Bert. "We just don't go trick-or-treating." 

Greg pouted. "But trick-or-treating is more fun!" 

Betty chuckled. "Yes, but that has always been a Halloween tradition." 

"Well, it should be a tradition for all holidays!" 

Freddie chuckled as he slowed to a stop in front of a stall. The aroma of fresh baked bread got caught in the chilly, autumn wind while the  sign overhead advertised the name “Hollowed Bread”. "Spoken like a true Havorester." 

"And a true Havorester is never late!" Another Spunkie lad around Freddie’s and Lenny’s age stepped to the front of the stall, his arms crossed. 

“You can thank Bert and Greg for that,” quipped Lenny. 

“Hey, we were just wanting to make sure we didn’t wake our parents and baby brother!” said Bert as he crossed his own arms and let out a huff. 

“Then you should have left earlier.” 

“Oh knock it off, Charlie, it’s only a few minutes.” The lanky teen laying at the foot of the sunset colored maple, Gaspar Gold by name, lifted his straw hat just a bit, an odd accessory with his medieval garb. “If it was two hours, yeah, get upset, but a  few minutes?” The teen scoffed. “You have got to give people a break. The bread is still fresh, and there’s still plenty to go around.” He jumped to his feet. “But now that you are here, why are we waiting? Let’s get some dragon bread!” Gaspar led the group to the stall and they perused the different kinds of dragon bread. There were the small dragon croissants, the regular dragon loaves, the serpentine-like dragon baguettes, dragon head biscuits and scones that had apple slices for teeth and craisins for eyes, treasure box bagels that had an assortment of fruit clustered in the middle, and sword-shaped breadsticks with a blackberry at the ends. They each opted for a dragon croissant, a dragon head biscuit, and a sword breadstick, with blackberry syrup drizzled over all of them. Each was given little bowls of butter and blackberry jam on the side. 

Gaspar bit into the biscuit. "Mm, oh yes, Michaelmas has officially begun!"

Betty laughed. “Oh man, know what you mean! It doesn’t seem like it’s Christmas if I don’t smell that fresh pine and sugar cookies!” 

Freddie clicked his tongue. “This is Havorest, autumn holiday talk only, Betty.” 

“Yeah, Betty,” quipped Greg between chewing mouthfuls of bread. 

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Alright, then it doesn’t seem like Halloween without that lovely pumpkin scent or that delicious aroma of apple cider.” 

Gaspar grinned. “That’s more like it.” He placed his arm around her shoulder. “And now that we have our dragon bread, it’s time to get into the rest of the traditions of Michaelmas.” He glanced around at the group. “Who’s ready to hit the games?” 

“Me!” chorused the boys. 

“Do you think we should hit Dragon Fight first, or wait until after the Michaelmas play?” Lenny asked. 

Gaspar rubbed his chin in thought before glancing at the Forster siblings. “How well do you know the story of St. Michael?”

 Bert shrugged. “That when Satan rebelled against God, St. Michael took up the lead in fighting him on God’s behalf.” 

"He defeated Satan and sent him down to Hell," said Betty.

“And that a third of the angels went with Satan and became demons,” said Greg with a frown. 

Gaspar gave a slow nod. "Right, but, do you know about the Blackberry Sword?" 

The siblings blinked. “The Blackberry Sword?” 

“If that’s a part of the St. Michael legend, I’ve certainly never heard of it,” quipped Bert. 

“Is that why there’s a blackberry on the sword bread?” asked Greg as he picked up the bread to look at it and the blackberry on the end. 

Gaspar nodded. “Yup, but I won’t  say anything else until after you’ve seen the play.” He turned to Freddie. “I guess that means Dragon Fight after the play.” 

Freddie shrugged. “It’s alright with me, as long as we play it once today.” 

“Another Michaelmas tradition?” asked Betty. 

Gaspar grinned. “Naturally, and now we can head to all the games and rides we want to until the play starts.” 

“Not necessarily,” remarked Charlie as he glanced at his watch. “We have about an hour before we need to head to the big tent.” 

“Ah well, we’ll show them as much as we can.” 

“Oh Gaspar, didn’t you say there would be hayrides?” said Betty.

“Aw, but I wanna go turnip carving,” said Lenny. 

“Nah, let’s go play some of the games,” said Freddie. 

“Personally I would like to see the jousting,” remarked Bert. 

“And the knights!” exclaimed Greg. 

Gaspar tapped his chin. “Well, how about you guys head to the jousting area, the turnip carving and several of the games are close by. I’ll take Betty on a hayride and we’ll meet you at the big pavilion in an hour.” 

"Great!" chorused the boys before taking off. 

Gaspar turned to Betty and bowed. "Shall we make our way to the best hayride this side of Golding, my lady?" 

Betty curtsied. "Yes, my good sir, let's!" Gaspar held out his arm, she took it, and with the two balancing their plates, walked to the hayrides. 

Everyone was having so much fun that the hour flew by very quickly. Gaspar and Betty were the first to head in the direction of the pavilion. When they arrived, a girl no taller than their waists was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and feet tapping. 

"How did I guess she's why you're late?" 

"Oh come on, Jackie, I'm not that late, maybe a minute. I'll head to the back and start on my portion of the play." 

"Oh, Gaspar, you should have told me you were helping with the play! I would have kept an eye on the time!" 

Gaspar shook his head. "I wanted to keep an eye on it myself. I need to get better at it." 

Jackie placed her hands on her hips and huffed. “Well, you are getting better at it, but you’re still late, so get in there!” 

Gaspar let loose an infectious laugh. “I’m coming, Jackie! Don’t lose your top!” He turned to Betty with a grin. “I’ll see you after the play. Can;t wait to see what you think of it.” 

“Then get in here and get started!” 

Gaspar rolled his eyes. “Did I not just say to not lose your top? I’m coming!” He walked into the building and Jackie slammed the door behind  him. 

Betty let out a huff and made her way to the front of the pavilion and found a seat. Only a few people had begun filing in, so the pavilion was mostly empty. She reached into her pockets and pulled out two books. The first one was the first book in the Anna Woods mystery series, Secret of the Ghost Tree, and the other was a Gothic story, Ravenmist Manor. She glanced at the summary on the back of the book.

“Three orphans live in the shadow of Ravenmist Manor, a grand, castle-like estate that has its fair share of spooks and secrets. One specter takes a particular interest in the three, and as they grow up, the mysteries of her past intertwine with the mysteries of their future.” 

“Hmm, interesting,” she muttered to herself. 

“What is?” She jumped a little before glancing up. Her brothers had walked up to her. 

She showed them the book. “According to Mrs. Crane, this is a Havorester classic.” 

Bert clicked his tongue. "Go figure. Any books for me or Greg?" 

Betty shrugged as she pocketed the books. "Not that I noticed, but Mrs. Crane was trying to sell these books first before pulling out any others. Maybe by the time the play is over, she might have a few you and Greg might enjoy." 

"Hopefully one is about frogs!" 

Bert rolled his eyes and turned to their little brother. "I don't think they would have many books on frogs, if any. Frogs aren't exactly a fall animal." 

"But there might be one. Mr. Crane told me that frogs can stay out longer than most other cold-blooded animals, but they all have to be in hibernation by winter." 

Betty shot him a smile. "We can look, but you might want to think of a different theme, just in case." 

Greg gave her a very serious nod. "Right." 

“Say, where’s Gaspar?” Bert asked, glancing around the room. 

“Oh, he’s in the play,” remarked Freddie as he tossed popcorn in his mouth. 

“He’s in the play?” the siblings chorused. 

Lenny peeked around Freddie’s frame and bobbed his head. “Oh yeah, he’s in the play. We don’t know which part he got, he wanted that to be a surprise.” 

Betty turned to the stage with a smile. “I’m sure he’ll do well.” 

“Hey, don’t eat all the popcorn before the play even starts!” blurted Bert as he tried to snatch the bowl away from Freddie. 

“This is my popcorn, I can eat it whenever I want. Go get your own!” quipped Freddie as he tightened his grip on it and pulled it away. 

"Yeah, Bert, I want some popcorn!" Greg said. 

Bert groaned. "Fine." He turned to his sister. "You want some too?" 

Betty stood up. "Yeah, and I'll come with you." She looked at Greg. "Now make sure no one takes our seats, and I'll get you a big bowl of popcorn." 

"Yes!" Greg quickly got up and sat in Betty's seat. "Make sure it's loaded with butter and cheese!" 

Betty grinned. "You got it!" The two went off in search of the popcorn. They found it not far from the pavilion’s front doors. They placed their orders and paid. “I wonder which part Gaspar got?” wondered Betty as they waited. 

Bert shrugged. “According to Charlie, there are only three roles in the play; Saint Michael, Satan, and the narrator, who also plays God.” His face broke out in a toothy grin. “It would just be his luck to play as God too.” 

Betty pursed her lips. “Though he would rather have the role of Saint Michael.”

Bert scoffed. “Who wouldn’t. But I am curious about this whole blackberry sword bit. How does it all tie in?” 

Betty shrugged. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” They had to wait a couple more minutes for their popcorn, but as soon as it was ready, they grabbed the three bowls and made their way back into the pavilion. 

The pavilion was filling up now, people were wandering about, looking for seats. As promised, Greg had kept their seats reserved. And as Betty promised, she had gotten him popcorn loaded with butter and cheese. 

Greg licked his lips. "Yum!" He grabbed the bowl and popped a couple pieces in his mouth.

Betty gasped. "Greg! Did you wash your hands after handling your frog?" 

Greg popped another in his mouth as he nodded. 

“He had to use the bathroom before we came, and I made sure he did,” stated Bert as he sat in his chair. 

“Attention, attention please. Quiet please!” The hall went silent at the sound of the booming voice as all eyes turned to the stage. A leaf-eared meliade stood in front of the curtain. “Everyone get to your seats, we shall be starting the play in five minutes. Thank you.” He stepped behind the curtain. Everyone who was standing rushed to their seats. 

The Forsters glanced around in bewilderment. 

“Wh-what’s going on?” asked Bert. 

“You’ll see,” quipped Freddie with a grin. “And don’t worry, it’s part of the play.” 

“It only lasts a couple of minutes until the narrator's done,” blurted Charlie. Freddie whacked him. “Ow! What was that for?” 

“Don’t tell them!” 

“It’s not like I spoiled the whole thing! Besides, they need to know that they need to be absolutely quiet for the beginning!” 

“Why?” the Forsters asked in unison. 

Freddie elbowed Charlie for good measure and said, “You’ll see.” 

A moment later, the pavilion went dark, pitch dark. Several people gasped while others hushed them, and all was silent. The Forsters jumped in surprise when the booming voice from earlier broke the stillness. 

"In the beginning there was only God. But He desired to create many things, and out of love, He did. But he had to start somewhere, and what a start it was. Let there be light!" 

The lights burst back into life, nearly blinding everyone. 

"Whoa," whispered Greg, eyes wide. The meliade grinned and winked at him before continuing with the narration. 

“God created the universe in six days. But within those six days, he created angels. One angel, called Lucifer at the time, found great favor with God and was given grace, beauty, wisdom, and command over the others. But then, for one reason or another, it’s never revealed, Lucifer gets the idea that he should be the one running things, not God. He starts talking to the other angels, trying to get as many of them as possible on his side. But most did not agree with his way of thinking, and one angel in particular voiced his disappointment in Lucifer’s desire for control." The curtains parted behind the meliade, revealing a sky blue backdrop and fluffy clouds floating on string. 

"Lucifer, stop! This is ridiculous!" A teen walked on stage wearing a red and black suit with golden accents and wings. Gaspar Gold followed him on the stage, also wearing golden wings, his signature straw hat absent from his golden head. A few people gasped, Freddie and a few others let up a short cheer before quickly being hushed. "I would call what you're doing treason!" 

The teen in red waved his hand dismissively. "And what would you know of this matter? You're nothing but a mere archangel!"

"I warn you, Lucifer, if you try anything, I will see to it personally that you are kicked out of Heaven!" 

The Lucifer character scoffed. "You, kick me out of Heaven? Ha! Not only are you a mere archangel, but you were not given command of all the angels. I was! Now enough of this! If you've made up your mind on the matter, then leave!" He walked off stage. 

"No, wait! Lucifer! Lucifer!" Gaspar followed him off the stage, and the curtains closed. 

"The angels, once united by love and duty towards God, were split into two factions. What's worse was, angels were created with a hierarchy, and Lucifer was close to the top. It threw them into disarray. But that one angel rallied the good angels around him and fought Lucifer and his army. Soon they had chased them out of Heaven and to Earth." The meliade stepped to the side as the curtains opened again. The Lucifer character let out a snarl as he stepped on the stage, sword drawn. Gaspar, as Michael, stepped on after him, sword raised. The Lucifer character turned and charged him, their swords ringing as they met in the middle. The swords met again and again, the fight getting fiercer and faster with each blow. 

Freddie let out a gasp as his eyes widened. "They're, they're using real swords!" he whispered harshly.

Betty turned to them with wide eyes. "You-you mean they usually used fake swords?" Freddie nodded.

"I bet that's why they got Gaspar and Bobby, they're the best swordsmen in town!" Lenny blurted. 

Bert's mouth twitched. "And Bobby makes a rather intimidating Lucifer," he mumbled. 

"And Gaspar makes a handsome Michael," said Betty.

"He's kind of intimidating too," muttered Charlie. 

“Good, Bobby Bones can’t be the only intimidating guy in the town,” muttered Bert before plopping another kernel in his  mouth. The group stopped talking as the battle between Gaspar and Bobby intensified, the two moving across the entire stage, swords ringing.

[bet-on-me-13]

Danny dies every night.

So! Danny's secret Ghost Powers remained a secret for about 6 Hours.

After turning back into a Human, he had immediately gone back to his room and tried to fall asleep, pretending none of it was even real, that it was just a dream. The idea that he had just died was understandably hard to swallow, not to mention the fact he had somehow come back.

All he wanted to do was rest and figure it out later. It was a problem for Future Danny.

Except when he woke up, something was wrong.

He felt Cold, Colder than he had ever been before. It was as if he had a chunk of pure Ice stuck in his Chest, the cold spreading across every part of his body. With a start he realized that his chest wasn't moving at all, either from the beating of his heart or the breaths he was supposed to be taking.

He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't pumping. The Ice in his chest was the feeling of his heart not pumping, still and unnaturally cold. At that realization, he felt his Heart begin beating again.

He ran downstairs, hoping to get his parents help. He didn't know what was going on exactly, but they must be able to help him right?! They were the leading experts on Undead Biology, they must know how to help him!

When he reached the kitchen, he saw his parents and Jazz huddled together at the table, crying together for some reason.

"Mom! Dad! Jazz! Somethings wrong! I don't know what happened, but last night I-"

He stopped when he saw their faces. Their cheeks were tear-streaked, eyes bloodshot, but the thing he noticed first was the grief and absolutely confusion in their eyes. They were staring at him as if they had seen a Ghost, figuratively of course, and they seemed to he trying to connect the dots in their heads.

"Danny?" Jazz asked in a shaky voice. "Is that you?"

"Jazz?" He asked in return, "What do you mean, of course it's me?"

She looked hopeful for a moment, before his mom stood up.

"No." She said, her voice held a hard edge. "It's not."

Danny almost fell over when she said that. "W-what?" He asked, "What are you talking about Mo-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She yelled. She gripped the Blaster in her hand tighter, aiming it at him. "I checked everything when we found Danny's body! He had no Pulse, no Brain Activity, and his Ecto Levels were far higher than normal! Danny is Dead! And you killed him!"

"What?!" Danny yelled in shock, "I didn't kill hi-I mean, I didn't kill me-I mean-What are you talking about!?"

This time his dad answered, getting up from the table himself. In his hand was another Blaster. "Danny's Ecto Levels could only have been that high if killed by something with a large amount of Ectoplasm, enough to leave such a mark. The Portal was open for hours last night before we found it and sealed it up, and that's when you got through isn't it!?"

His Dad leveled the Blaster to him.

"No! I'm not a Ghost, it's me! It's Danny!?" He pleaded, "Mom, I always baked you a cake on mother's day! Dad, I helped you clean up the lab the last time you blew it up! It's me!"

"Nice try." His mother said, "Die again, Ecto Scum."

That day, Danny ran away from home.

...

Ever since that day, Danny had been running as far as he could from Amity Park.

After he got out of the house, he tried to find any place he could hide as he figured everything out. His first try was Tucker, but his parents had anticipated that and beat him to the Punch. The same happened when he tried to go to Sam's, he barely escaped that situation alive(?).

At first he tried to stay in Amity, hoping he would eventually find a way to convince his parents of his true identity, so everything could go back to normal.

He abandoned that hope about a week later, when his parents got the local authorities on their side and issued a public service announcement stating he was a Murderer who killed their son, and to contact the Police if anybody saw him. The mindless Ghost they captured and presented on the Local News cemented the publics view on him.

So he ran from Amity.

The first few weeks on the Run were the worst. He wasn't used to surviving on the street, much less evading the Law Enforcement that seemed to keep finding him. He had to constantly stay on the move to keep away from the pursuit of his Parents, the Police, and the weird guys in white suits who had shown up once he passed the State Border.

His new Ghost Powers were the only thing that had let him get away most of those times. He could turn into a Full Ghost whenever he wanted, unlocking all of his powers for the time being, but also seemingly sending up a Beacon to whoever was looking for him. He found it was much easier to use their weakened versions in his Human Form.

As for his Undead-ness, he had mostly figured it out. His body was lying to him. He was Dead, but his Body was just pretending to be alive for his own sake. He didn't need to breath anymore, and his heart didn't need to pump, but they did because he felt that they needed to. He probably didn't even need to eat anymore.

The problem was that it couldn't keep it up when he was asleep. No matter what, every time he fell asleep his Body would die again, and when he woke up he would have to make it Live again.

One of the main reasons he kept getting caught recently was because well-meaning civilians would report to the Police that there was a Dead Teenager under a Bridge, or on a Park Bench, or on one memorable occasion in a Ditch. He would wake up in a Body Bag, escape, and be reported to his Pursuers.

At least his pattern of movement was untraceable so far.

Turns out, the Portal's opening had much more of an effect than his parents had anticipated. The Shockwave in the fabric of Reality when they punched a hole through it (and him), had caused dozens of Natural Portals to form across the Country, opening and closing in random places, soaking the area of Ectoplasm.

As an apparent Ghost, Danny was somehow drawn to these places. Whenever he got to one he felt rejuvenated, as if the stress of the past few days had never happened to him. He could only assume that he was Absorbing the Ectoplasm in the area to feed himself, based on a few of the things he remembered from his parents constant ramblings.

Whenever he would go to one of these places, he would find a bunch of Ghosts. Some were friendly, defying all of his expectations, while others were...less so.

They seemed to resent the fact that he was still half-alive, some simply jabbing insults at him, others straight up attacking him. It seemed that Life was a sore subject among those guys. Or maybe it was him stopping them whenever they attacked humans...that was probably more accurate.

Sometimes the Ghosts he would meet were in the middle of attacking humans to fulfill what they called their "Obsessions". He learned that all Undead, and basically all Immortal Beings, have Obsessions. They are their Sole Purpose in existence, a built in defense mechanism against insanity by giving them something to dedicate Eternity to.

He didn't know if he had an Obsession, but if he did he hoped it was easier to manage than theirs seemed to be. One of them was obsessed with attention, but got it by hypnotizing humans into adoring her. She chilled out after a while. Another loved the thrill of the Hunt, but only wanted rare game. He chased after Danny a lot in pursuit of his "One of a Kind Pelt".

He fought then off and saved people whenever he could, although sometimes it was risky. Many of them were older and more experienced than him, so he was forced to use his Ghost Form against some of them, sacrificing his hiding spot to save the people being terrorized.

He sort of enjoyed it. Whenever he helped people, saved them from danger, he felt better about his situation. As if he was making the best out of the horrible situation his life had turned into by helping as many people as he could. He always felt a bit more motivated to keep going every time he helped anybody.

Maybe that was his Obsession? Helping others? He didn't really think so, he was nowhere near altruistic enough to consider that a possibility. Maybe it was Space? He always felt that same relief when he would camp out away from the Cities. Eh, he'll probably never know.

This cycle of finding a new hiding spot, getting discovered, and running away again continued for a while. Years even.

Danny had Died at 14. He was now 17, and had been homeless for 3 years.

He hoped this next hiding spot would last a bit longer than the previous ones. This one felt different, the Ectoplasm he was wandering towards felt older than the other places he had gone. His previous hiding spots had always been the site of a recent Natural Portal, and the Ectoplasm in the atmosphere would feel Fresh and Wild.

But the Ectoplasm where he was going tasted Older, Stronger, more Set in Stone than the others had. Wherever he wad headed to next, it had been soaking in Ectoplasm for far longer than any other place he had ever been, even in Amity.

He walked up the the Sign at the side of the road, introducing the City to newcomers.

"Welcome to Gotham City" it said.

[starry-bi-sky]

tales of the passerine - danny fenton being bruce wayne's first kid

okay okay. so this is like a continuation/elaboration of my oneshot/prompt i wrote about the idea that Danny was the first batkid. We have a lot of aus where he joins the family after the rest of the bats do, right? So hey! Lets shake things up a bit. Danny is the first to be adopted by Bruce Wayne.

Danny's parents and unfortunately Jazz die shortly after the events of TUE -- how so? I was gonna say an ecto-filter explosion, that would call back to the TUE explosion and trauma behind that. But lets do something new! Carbon-monoxide poisoning.

It's not too unexpected for something to break in the Fenton house, especially with the Fenton parents' questionable understanding of proper weapon handling and lab safety. The water heater broke from a stray shot by one of the weapons, and was promptly MacGyver'd incorrectly. Danny went to stay with Tucker for a guys' night, and came back to a dead silent house.

(Danny's neighbors got a very unfortunate shock when he ran to the next house over in hysterics.)

There was a lot of shuffling around with CPS, the police. People had to be called in to handle the equipment in the lab, and the GIW was rumoring to show up in aid to clearing the scene. When Danny heard of that, he immediately went and dismantled the ghost portal to the best of his abilities. He burned the physical blueprints of all his parents' inventions, their blueprints on the ghost portal, and their most dangerous weapons were destroyed beyond recognition. Anything to prevent the GIW from getting their hands on his parents' tech.

It opened up another investigation, but he was not under the list of suspects. He was placed in the care of Vlad Masters, where they then went back to the rebuilt castle mansion in Wisconsin. Danny, terrified of the future that has once passed and may do so again, shuts down in his grief. Inadvertently, he ends up somewhat repressing his ghost half. Something Vlad, who is grieving Madeline but relishing in Jack's demise and his custody of Daniel, is not very happy with.

Vlad's... gone into a bit of a mental health spiral. He's becoming increasingly possessive over Daniel, the final remnants of his friends and a liminal being like him. He doesn't like that Danny's repressing his ghost half -- both out of genuine concern as a ghost, but also because of his desire to control Danny and groom him into the perfect son. If you ever had a phase where you read Dark SBI found family fics, first off; me too bro, and second off; those are the vibes I'm thinking of.

Danny's mentally shut down from grief! And fear. He's dropped into a bad depressive state -- paralyzed with grief and the terror of the inevitable. Clockwork saved his parents because he believes in second chances, but what's the point of that when his family ended up dead anyways? Danny doesn't wanna believe that he's destined to become evil, and he's holding out onto that hope, but it's a thin line, and he feels utterly hopeless and trapped. He hasn't used his powers or ghost form since he trashed the lab, and Vlad has alarms set up to prevent him from trying to escape.

He's also unintentionally cut off Sam and Tucker -- both of whom are so scared and concerned for Danny too, and are trying their damndest to reach out to him. He keeps ignoring their texts. Danny basically haunts Vlad's manor. He goes out to eat if he has to, attends parties Vlad drags him to, and stays in his room all day if he can.

At parties, Vlad doesn't allow Danny to leave his side, or really talk to anyone -- not that Danny wants to. A product of Vlad's increasing possessiveness. Well, he almost doesn't let Danny leave his side. Danny has a habit of slipping off to hide somewhere for the parties whenever he can, and Vlad reluctantly allows it so long as he stays alone.

This becomes an advantage when eventually, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after missing for years, and holds a bright charity ball to celebrate the return. Vlad has been chomping at the bits to get his hands on Wayne Industries, and with the return of its owner there is no better opportunity to wipe out his rival. He goes, and he as normal, brings Daniel with him.

Vlad thinks Wayne will bleed his little heart out for Daniel's poor orphan sob story -- he's a fellow orphan himself, after all. He's not wrong; Wayne's little heart will bleed, just not in the way that benefits him.

Bruce sees Vlad and Danny approaching before they're even close enough to introduce themselves - and like with many of the children he will soon come to care for, it's like someone set a mirror into the past right in front of him.

Danny Fenton's suit is tailor-made for him, and despite the fact that it's his perfect size, the sag in his shoulders, the ducked down head, and the way he hunches into himself all pictures the image of a child in shoes too big for him. There's a far away, glazed over look in his eyes and grief marble-cut into the lines of his face. There's not enough makeup in the world that will hide the dark circles under his eyes.

("My nephew, Daniel Fenton." Vlad's hands are possessive on Danny's shoulders. Bruce immediately notices the way the boy tenses under his touch. "His parents passed recently, and as his godfather I was designated his guardian.") ("I'm so sorry, the loss must've been terrible.") ("Yes, carbon-monoxide poisoning caused it. Daniel was out with friends, when he came home... they had already passed.") (Bruce immediately dislikes that Vlad shared the details of their death unprompted -- he likes it even less when Danny flinches at the reminder and hunches into himself.)

Danny runs off at some point earlier into the charity. At this point, parties are still being held at Wayne Manor (because iirc google search mentioned that was a thing at first before it was changed), so he disappears and hides in one of the empty rooms nearby. It just so happens to be the same room Bruce Wayne hides in when he needs a break from all of the socialization.

Thus begins a long, long process of trust. Bruce can't reveal his hand as being smarter than he looks, but he can be compassionate. Kindness needs no measure of intelligence. He keeps Danny company for as long as he can before he runs the risk of being found.

Rinse and repeat. Vlad insistently wants Wayne Industries, and he'll go to as many Wayne parties as he can to get his hooks into the man. The problem is that Bruce Wayne is never alone, and getting him alone is impossible. Finding him too. It's like the man never stops moving. Always talking to someone, always circling somewhere. He orbits around the room as if he isn't the sun of the Gotham Elite's solar system.

Danny's had such repetitive behavior that Vlad never thinks to believe that Bruce Wayne is disappearing to go talk to him. That "Vlad's" son is even interacting with him at all. Danny never gives him a reason to think so, and neither does Bruce.

Danny doesn't actually acknowledge Bruce until a handful of parties in, where he hands Bruce a small slip of paper he smuggled in that says; "don't trust Vlad". Danny's face stays carefully blank, but he's so tense that his hands are trembling, and he's purposely looking away from him. Bruce plasters a smile onto his face, slips the paper into his pocket, and tells him "okay".

(he's been busy with his own goals with the mafia, but he sets aside time to investigate Vlad Masters. He was holding off. Until now.)

Danny does eventually start speaking to Bruce, he's starting to really like the guy. He's starting to see a little hope, even as Vlad is starting to get more and more agitated with him the more he refuses to use his powers.

He reaches out to Sam and Tucker again, and starts trying to reconnect with them. Vlad has spyware on his phone, and he limits the amount of times he can talk to them. A weird parental control lock of some sort that leaves a time limit on how long he can talk to them for. 30 minutes. Danny doesn't tell them anything about Mr. Wayne.

Danny, slowly, wants out of here, and he's slowly gathering the motivation to do it. Vlad is genuinely scaring him -- and Danny wonders just how truthful the past-future Vlad was when he told him that Danny wanted his ghost half separate. He starts trying to come up with an escape plan.

Vlad has anti-ghost wards everywhere around the mansion, and while they're always on, they boost to full power at sunset. The doors and windows are always locked, all main exits have alarms set on them. The only reason it's not super extensive is because Danny hasn't tried leaving at all yet, so Vlad hasn't had to tighten anything.

At night, Vlad locks the door to his room and puts up an anti-ghost ward around the room. The mansion is on the outside westward side of Madison, more entrenched in rural Wisconsin. The closest town is a four-way stop sign with one house on three corners, and an open bar on the fourth. Not much to go.

He refuses to go to Sam and Tucker; Vlad would look there first. It's too dangerous. Vlad would sound alarm bells and have a manhunt looking for him, Danny can't risk going just anywhere. Too much risk of being found, sold out, or caught. There's really nowhere for him to hide.

Until there is. Bruce is telling Danny about the history of Wayne Manor, and says, as casually as saying the weather; "The manor has dozens of empty rooms, I'm sure Alfred wouldn't mind filling another one if he could." And quietly, hesitantly, Bruce places a careful hand on Danny's shoulder, unrestrictive and gentle; "He wouldn't mind getting one ready for you if you need one."

And there it is. There's his out.

Danny, just as quietly, replies; "I'll keep that in mind."

The ball starts rolling.

Now I've been trying to summarize this au as much as possible for length convenience, but Vlad has been steadily growing more and more controlling. More emotionally manipulative. More agitated at Danny for not using his powers.

He wants Wayne Industries under his thumb but he's been steadily growing more and more concerned with Danny. He's started grabbing him, yanking him around, shaking him; trying to goad him into using his powers. He gets angry when Danny doesn't react, or tells him he doesn't want to use his powers. He hasn't outright attacked him, but he's getting there. This has been happening over the time it takes for Bruce to indirectly offer Danny sanctuary at his home.

It all comes to a head when Vlad stops going to parties at all -- something Danny has to pretend he isn't upset about -- because Vlad doesn't want him around other people anymore. Vlad rarely goes now without him, and only leaves to go to a Wayne function or to handle something at VladCo.

Danny can't wait for Vlad to leave long enough to escape. So he leaves during the night of a big storm. Vlad's locked him in his room, but Danny doesn't bother trying to go for it; he goes to the alarmed window instead. Danny's been repressing his ghost half so long that he can't access his powers immediately anymore -- he can feel it, he knows its there, but he can't quite reach it.

He breaks the lock by hand.

Immediately the alarm goes off through the entire castle, filling the room with red, and he scrambles for the rope the Wisconsin Ghost left for him a few months back. Danny's already out and climbing down the side of the castle before Vlad even reaches his door -- the only good thing about the entire room being ghost-proof is that Vlad can't get in that way.

The rope ends before it reaches the bottom, and he's still twenty feet in the air. It won't kill him if he lands it right. Danny takes his chances, and drops. He breaks his ankle, but he survives.

And he fucking books it to the back garden. He hears Vlad shrieking over the thunder and rain.

I'll save the full experience for a future oneshot, but Danny makes it out into the nearby woods and forcibly experiences what it's like to be in a horror game, trying to hide from the thing that's hunting you. There's only one thing going through his mind; "i'm going to die"

I have this mental image for this scene. Very stereotypical horror imo. Where Danny is hiding behind a tree, with a hand over his mouth, and Vlad is a few feet away from him, glowing ominously red through the trees, trying to search for him.

Danny doesn't get away from this unscathed, but he does get away alive. That's all he could ask for. He gets away by getting his ghost half awakened long enough to transform into Phantom and fly to Gotham.

But he gets to Wayne Manor, he gets to Bruce. Or, at least, Alfred answers the door from his insistent pounding. Danny's just in tears and Alfred gets him in the living room, wrapped in a towel, with ice on his swollen leg before he has to step out and alert Bruce.

Bruce already breaks multiple traffic laws on a nightly basis. And that's just with the sheer existence of the batmobile itself, not including the speeding and military artillery attached. He breaks double the amount trying to speed back to the cave and get out of the suit.

Right off the bat: Bruce will know, at least before Dick enters the picture, about danny's powers. He'll figure out something considering the fact that Danny traveled from Wisconsin to New York in a single night. That'll be a bit of complicated affair, but I've already got something in mind.

Actually it'll probably be very soon after Danny joins the family, because Bruce tries to offer to fight for custody for Danny - the state Danny was in at arrival is clear enough evidence for a trial. But Danny immediately shuts it down, says it's not going to work and then Vlad will know Danny's with him and he won't be safe. He tells him that Vlad cannot know Danny was with Bruce.

Danny's biggest regret was not telling his parents he was a halfa, and while he doesn't want to tell mister wayne (yet), he does tell him about Vlad being one. He needs to know why Danny can't be seen with Bruce. So he tells him, and Danny's current plan is to just hide out from Vlad until he turns 18. That way, he has no more legal jurisdiction over him. After that? He's not sure.

And to wrap this up, since this has already gotten very long and I can make more posts about this au later; I've thought about it, and I'm going to say that Danny does become a vigilante before Dick enters the scene. He goes by, as you probably guessed; Nightingale. "Gale" for short.

[harbingersecho]

kill me again; show me the only way you know how to love.

[bylrndgm]

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS (2020) // JULIE E OS FANTASMAS (2011) 1.01 - Wake Up // 1.01 - Enfrentando Fantasmas -> Julie meets the Band.

[wizardofgoodfortune]

LYTA HALL & ROSE WALKER The Sandman, S01E08: Playing House dedicated to @violetoftheendless

[doverstar]

actually I love Tentoo and he is the Doctor and it was the only ending for Rose that worked and it is a huge gift to be able to have the man she loves grow old with her, they were always heading for that, y'all be quiet. I 100% understand the angst but it's okay, they're okay, good ending-

[anastoundingmango]

I LOVE GAY LEGOS!!!

[noirineverysense]

tbh didnt really like how bisma's arc about her relationship to her headscarf was handled. Her braider was completely out of line and not challenged on it. There was this constant idea that being black and being muslim were separate. That she was exploring other parts of herself when being muslim and black isnt an experience that you can take apart like that. It seems to indicate that theres one way to be black and it involves being visibly less muslim and i think if we were shown more of a black muslim community around bisma and better rep of black muslims in we are lady parts this idea would be very obviously shown to be wrong in the show.

to be clear i dont think bisma having an arc around showing her hair more is bad, or even tieing it with wanting to wear braids like the black women around her or for any other reason, but the way its set up 'tobi, i'm muslim' 'yeah but we're black too', just sets up this idea of two parts of an identity in conflict with each other which doesnt speak to the way black muslim communities have tied their religion and culture together in such beautiful ways and i wish that was being represented on this show.

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT,

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I absolutely love the recs you've given (you've introduced me to tomione, and I love it!) and I was wondering if it's possible to give you some recs in return? There are some books and fics that definitely have dramione / got vibes, and I was wondering if I could share them with you!

So glad you've enjoyed them! Feel free to rec me anything you want. I've read most of the classic recs in terms of fic and adjacent content (Cruel Prince et al), but I'll try anything that's well-written. My tastes run towards weird and/or audaciously creative stuff, and I can forgive a lot of weaknesses in plot on the grounds of (1) ambition or (2) character work. My turnoffs are instalove, protagonists who can't fail, and most Y/A (I'm not a hater, I swear, I just need characters who can say "fuck" when their leg gets chopped off.)

I'm also a fan of weird and fucked-up dynamics.(Wuthering Heights was my favorite book for a while, and as a teenager I wrote an AU in which the book ends on a long sex scene where Heathcliff fucks Cathy's ghost and then immediately gets murdered by Catherine 2.) Obviously, I am very normal.

[coquelicoq]

i fucking love prereading. getting documents about what's going to be discussed in a meeting and reading them and then going to the meeting and having context for all the things that are happening. if i could do this in all areas of life i would. send me a list of the words i'm going to need the definition of in order to understand what you will be talking about. give me a rundown of what topics might come up during this social encounter. provide detailed documentation of what to expect in a new setting. i will read the fuck out of that shit.

[raiiny-bay]

monster boyz thoughts...

[worstloki]

Loki surveilling the skyline of New York from the top of Stark Tower and clocking that his favorite paired set of buildings are gone. sad

[averlym]

some very very quick costume shorthands!

[bitchfitch]

They should invent a way to call the boarders about my cats that wouldn't involve irritating a real live person who has a job to do that is not telling me my cats are ok.

[hdusa]

hey what’s your favorite jojos part also do u fw fugio (the ship) :3

I think 5 takes it but 4 is very closely behind I’m actively rewatching it right now and god I love it so much. Also I think that is an interesting ship choice me personally I haven’t really shipped any characters from JoJo other than like actual relationships within the show.