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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 11 months

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Like Betta Fish Do Part 20

Chapter 15 when on Ao3, Masterpost WC: 3354 CW: Canon Typical Violence, Blood, Injury, arguing

There was so much blood already. Danny peeled off Jason’s— Red Hood’s— jacket looking for the wound.

If he had been quicker—

No, he couldn’t think that way.

He found the stab wound under Jason’s left arm, shoved right in a point where the armor was less reinforced. Danny pressed the palm of his hand tight to it and took a shuddering breath.

The pull had been so quiet. It had taken a moment to notice what had woken him from sleep and then another to realize what it was— that it was Jason’s core flickering to life and calling out. Not calling out, screaming.

Danny had transformed as he lept out of bed. Before he flew off, the case of ectoshot was hastily grabbed from the back corner of his closet. But Jason hadn’t been at his place. Danny had been forced to fly through the streets and alleyways to find him.

He hadn’t know what to expect as he stepped through the wall of the apartment.

His boyfriend bleeding out on the floor, dressed as Red Hood, wasn’t it.

Danny curled forward, resting his forehead against Jason’s. He was just so glad he got the ectoshot in him— that Nightwing, that Dick who was Nightwing, wasn’t able to stop him.

Even if Dick hated him now.

His fingers still twitched with the feeling of electricity running through him from the blow.

“Do you know how to do stitches?” Dick snapped as he came back with an armful of supplies.

“Yes.” On himself. He didn’t think Dick would want to hear that though (or anything Danny had to say).

Dick tossed the suture kit at Danny and got to work setting up an IV in Jason’s other arm. Silently, Danny cut away enough of Jason’s shirt to start cleaning the wound, keeping pressure on the spot itself as he first cleaned the area around.

“…how bad?” Dick asked, glancing over once he got something hooked up to the IV. Danny thought it might be saline, but he wasn’t sure. They never had that sort of stuff for him.

“It’s… deep, but the bleeding slowed with the pressure,” Danny said, mostly keeping his head down. It was different stitching someone else up. (How did Jazz do this? He owed her such a gift basket.)

Dick nodded and hooked Jason up to some sort of machine.

Danny focused on making all of his stitches neat. He didn’t want Jason to scar too badly. Fuck, he was stitching up his boyfriend. He hoped that Dick would let him stay until Jason woke up at least.

His hand shook. He had to take a moment to breathe to get them steady again.

He had almost lost Jason. Would he have even known? What cover story would Dick had given him, if he even thought to reach out? His boyfriend had been out there, fighting crime, with a developing core and had almost died for it. And this time there would have been no Clockwork to turn back time and let Danny save them. Not unless losing Jason was enough to—

No, nope, not thinking about Dan.

Danny was going to keep that dark spot inside him locked tight away.

It was all fine. Jason was alive. His fledgling core buzzed just on the edges of Danny’s senses. It hadn’t been snuffed out.

Danny tied off the stitches neatly and cut the thread.

Dick tucked Jason’s arm onto the couch as he settled him, careful not to jar the IV or the blood pressure monitor. Jason’s numbers were good. Jason’s numbers were better than they should be. That was… Dick was going to be grateful about that.

“Danny,” the other said suddenly.

“What? No, it’s—”

“No, my name, it’s Danny,” the Guy— Fish— Danny rasped from where he was slumped back against the wall. The guy, Danny, looked wrecked. There was a fevered panic to his eyes that Dick was sure he matched. A smear of blood was bright on his tanned cheek and his clothing (were those… pajamas?) were stained with it. “I figure… I figure you should get to know that, considering…”

“I guess… good to officially meet you or something. I’d shake your hand, but,” Dick looked down at his hands covered in his brother’s blood— just like Danny’s were.

“He’ll be alright.”

“You can’t know that,” Dick snapped. Things could always take a turn.

“I can. It��s why I needed to get him to drink that stuff.”

Anger flared in Dick’s gut at the reminder of Danny forcing Lazarus water down Jason’s throat. “Right. About that—”

“You can still punch me if you want to, I said you could,” Danny interrupted. “Just… not with the sticks again, please? I’ve— me and electricity have a bad history.”

He died.

Electrocution.

His heart stopped.

Dick felt sick. If— if Danny wasn’t a LOA plant, if he had told Jason the truth about his past, then Danny had been killed by electricity as a teen.

And Dick had hit him with his escrima while it was electrified.

Dick watched Danny’s fingers on his left arm twitch.

Forget him punching Danny, Jason was going to punch him.

“…go clean up first. You’re staying here? I mean, so you have extra clothing?” he asked, looking at the apparent pajamas (boxers and an old t-shirt) again.

“What?” Danny’s brows furrowed. “No?”

Okay then, another point to blind panic. “You… ran here in your boxers?”

“I, no? It’s… kinda? I didn’t run, but…” Danny trailed off.

Nothing was making sense.

One thing at a time.

“Go shower. There’s a draw labeled RR, the clothes in there should fit.”

With the wobble Danny gave as he stood, Dick was a little worried about him staying on his feet. Shock might be an issue. Dick should think about making tea.

Danny was watching him warily. “You’ll… you’ll let me stay then? At least until he wakes up?”

Dick got that sick feeling again.

“Yep. But go clean.”

Dick could take care of some of the blood on the floor while Danny did that. At least get it where they wouldn’t slip in it. He kept an ear on the sounds of the shower. It was seeming like Danny really cared about Jason, that the adoration he had seen in Danny’s eyes the other day wasn’t a lie, but the guy still had Lazarus water.

He couldn’t trust him completely.

The floors were clean enough by the time that Danny padded out of the bedroom in Tim’s sweats and a hoodie that that could only be Jason’s. He was completely drowning in it. Danny noticed Dick staring and picked nervously at the oversized piece.

“I just…”

“No. I get it. I’ll prob do the same,” Dick admitted, softly. “Can you put water on for tea?”

Danny nodded and padded around him with a wide berth. Dick’s stomach roiled again as he moved to the bedroom. Almost all the blood came off with his uniform, so he just quickly changed, washed his face (no point in the domino at this point) and hurried back out.

Danny was still in the tiny kitchen.

Dick took the time to strip Jason of the rest of his clothing but boxers. He had just covered him with a blanket when the kettle whistled. It must have startled Danny because there was a banging and then cursing.

The cursing had kept up as quite muttering that trailed off into a loud sigh just before Danny came out with two mugs of tea.

Dick took his gratefully and tucked himself onto the edge of the couch by Jason’s propped up feet. Danny settled for the armchair. Dick pushed his teabag around with the spoon, grounding himself in the warm metal handle. He wouldn’t drink it— it could be poisoned— but the warmth helped.

“I want answers.”

“I figured.” Danny was cradling his own mug, face twisted in a little frown. “There’s a lot I won’t give you until Jason is awake to agree. They’re his secrets too.”

“If he agrees?”

Danny rubbed at the back of his neck. “Then I’ll tell. I mean, you’re Nightwing and apparently I’m dating Red Hood. I figure you can keep secrets if you need to.”

Oh. “You didn’t know before tonight.”

“Nope. And what a way to find out,” Danny said with a hysterical sounding laugh that he clamped down fast with a hand over his mouth. Dick could see him take a few purposeful breaths through his nose. “Sorry.”

Dick gave a helpless little shrug. What did someone say to any of this? “It’s a lot. I get it.”

“Not really.” Danny gave him a mirthless smile back when Dick shot him an incredulous look. “I thought I would be done with the whole hero bullshit when I moved to Gotham.”

Oh.

“Retired small town hero at your service. I guess hero was dubious title depending on who you asked. Even in the end some of them preferred menace. I wasn’t… expecting to get caught back up in any of it. That wasn’t the plan.”

Dick glanced from Danny, who was practically hunched around himself now (and looking so tiny in Jason’s hoodie), and over to Jason.

“He knows,” Danny confirmed. “Not any details, just the basics, but he knows. And I… I didn’t know. Not about any of this.”

Fucking hell Jason… “He wouldn’t have told you because of us. Learn about one of us…”

“…and it gets to be pretty clear who everyone is?” Danny said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Who would have thought, Bruce Wayne is Batman, not his sugar daddy.”

Despite the tense air, Dick couldn’t help the snort of laughter. “That’s always one of our favorite ones. I guess this is you saying you’re not with the League of Assassins then?”

“The who?”

“The ones who have the Lazarus water.”

“Fuck no, can you imagine me as an assassin? Like, ignoring the whole killing part, I am… not subtle enough.” Danny finally took a drink of his tea. “And it’s not Lazarus water. They’re connected maybe, I think, but not the same thing at all. The Lazarus water is why my stuff can help Jason though. Which that is some of what I’m only explaining once Jason is awake.”

“Why do you have it?”

Danny shrugged, the movement too stiff to be carefree as Danny might be hoping. The question clearly bothered him. “Because it helps me too. Because I died too. Because I was revived too. Mine just happened pretty instantaneously. I haven’t… pried into the details, but I get the feeling Jason’s wasn’t.”

A shuddering breath ran through Dick and he tamped it down quickly, clearing his throat. “No. No it wasn’t. But same goes for me here, that’s not my story to tell for Jason.”

Danny gave an understanding little nod.

Jason’s everything hurt. Fuck why did his everything hurt?

“Hey, don’t try to move.”

“Dickie?” Jason rasped.

Right. Burning sensation, stabbed, called Dick.

“Yep, I’m here Jaybird. I got here in time. And… and so did Danny.”

“What?” Jason jolted up and then immediately regretted it as pain flared through his side.

Danny really was there, sitting in the ratty armchair, legs pulled up this chest, arms wrapped around them, and mug in hand. He looked so small— small and miserable.

“He was here to pour Lazarus water down your throat.”

Jason groaned and let his head fall back against the couch. “It’s not Lazarus water.”

“How do you know that?” Dick snapped.

Damn, Dick was upset. He was hard to deal with when he was upset. Dick was a real act first, smile after sorta guy.

“Because I’ve drank it before and it doesn’t rile up the Pits, Dickie. Does the opposite.”

“…what do you mean?”

“Means it calls them down. Not… it’s not a cure or anything, we don’t know if they’ll go away completely, but they’re less with the ectoshots.”

“And you know that for sure? You’ve done tests? Rounded up a bunch of Pit mad mice and ran tests?”

Jason only didn’t roll his eyes because of how badly his head hurt. “Yeah, sure, that’s exact what I did. What the fuck Dickie, no, I didn’t—”

“So you just took this shit on his,” Dick spit the work venomously, gesturing at Danny; Danny who flinched back, “word on this?”

“Back off, Dick, you don’t get it!”

“No, you don’t get it! You took this ectoshot without running any tests! Jason—”

“Yes, I did!” Jason shouted over Dick’s lecture. “I was tired, Dick. I was tired of being angry. I was tired of being scared of being angry— of what I would do! I was tired of hurting the people I love! I was tired… I was tired of you all flinching away from me when I spoke too loud or moved too quick.”

Jason slumped back down onto the couch, rubbing wearily at his face with his good arm. “I was tired. And you know if I had taken it to Bruce he would’ve wanted to run tests and trials and I wouldn’t have gotten to use it for months or even years and I didn’t— I don’t know if I had years, Dick, not with what’s left of my sanity intact. Not with… not with my family intact.”

“Jay—”

“And it would have made Danny have to expose himself to the Bats. That wasn’t fair, Dick. I couldn’t—”

Dick just sunk down next to the couch and wrapped his brother up in a hug. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair of me. I was just scared too. I can’t lose you again. And never, never did I not touch you because I was afraid. I held back because I didn’t know if the touch was welcome. I didn’t want to hurt you and… and in doing that I hurt you.”

Jason dug his fingers into the hoodie Dick was wearing. His hoodie. “You’re a fucking clothing thief.”

“Danny started it,” Dick mumbled into Jason’s shoulder.

“Yeah, well, I think I deserve some comfort. I barged into my boyfriend bleeding out on the floor because, oh, he’s Red Hood,” Danny drawled. “And yeah, we’re talking about that later and how stupid of you it was to go out and fight crime while taking the shots!”

Jason winced. “I’m s—”

“No,” Danny said, cutting him off. “Not now. We are talking about it later. Right now I am pissed off and I hurt—”

“What? Why are you hurt?”

“That’s…” Danny started before he cut himself off with a frown and looked away.

Dick stiffened in Jason’s arms.

That wasn’t a good sign. “Dick… what did you do?”

“I came in and he was trying to poor Lazarus water down your throat!”

“It’s not Lazarus water.” Jason and Danny coursed at the same time.

“But I thought it was! And that he was trying to hurt you!”

“What did you do?” Jason growled, pushing Dick back enough to see his brother’s face.

Dick wouldn’t meet his eyes. “…I hit him with my escrima.”

“Your— were they electrified?”

“Yes.”

“You— And— After I told you that Danny had died from being electrocuted to death?!”

“Wait—” Danny cut in. Why did Danny sound upset— why had he gone ashen? “You told him I died— how I died?”

“I— yes?” Jason wanted to defend himself and he didn’t even know why. “That you were electrocuted in a lab accident and your heart stopped for a bit.”

Danny buried his face in his knees.

“Danny— I…” Jason was missing something. Something like… “Cultural differences?”

“Yeah.” Danny sounded slightly strangled. “Let’s go with that.”

“I thought he was trying to hurt you! I’m sorry!”

“He was just trying to protect his brother, Jason, I get that,” Danny said. He tilted his head up to rest it on his cheek on his knees. “I would kill for my sisters.”

Jason huffed, “I’m still—”

“You’re allowed to be,” Danny said.

“You can hit me if you want,” Dick offered.

“How about…,” Jason trailed off, utterly exhausted again. “How about you just get me some tea?”

“Herbal,” Dick said, standing, “Your blood vessels have been through enough without caffeine.”

Jason waited till his brother was in the kitchen to ask, quietly, “Are you really alright? If you’re not comfortable around Dick...”

“No. I mean, yes, I’ll be fine, just a little… twitchy. And no don’t ask Dick to— we’ll be fine. He had a reason. And I… um… he might be afraid of me too. I may have sunk him into the floor for it.”

“I— okay,” Jason said, having to take a moment with that. “Guess we’re explaining that.”

“Your lead.”

“Fish,” Jason almost pleaded. “You can’t want that. Not when I didn’t tell you—”

“I said later.”

Jason just nodded.

“You both can obviously keep secrets. I’ve… given things away, putting him in the floor. I told him I died and came back too- just not… how.”

“I’m sorry about telling him that— I didn’t think about it. It would have just been like saying I knew someone who drowned and had CRP.”

Danny sighed, just looking so tired. “If I asked you to tell me how you died?”

Jason recoiled at the thought.

“Exactly.” Danny’s smile was sad. “It’s okay. Thank you for saying sorry.”

Not knowing what else to do, but knowing what he needed, Jason held out his good arm, careful of the IV line. Danny uncurled, setting his mug aside, and took the offer. Jason felt something in him settle at having Danny tucked against him.

“What does it feel like?” Danny asked softly.

“Hum?”

Gently, Danny pressed his hand to Jason’s chest. “Your core.”

“Is that—? Burning. It feels like burning. I… that’s not right, exactly. It feels like molten heat.”

Danny hummed and learned over to press a kiss to that spot on Jason’s chest before resettling.

Dick— timing as impeccable as always— came out when Danny was breathing easily again. He handed over the tea in a to-go mug so Jason didn’t have to lean up much to sip at it and settled in the vacated armchair.

“So…,” Jason started eventually. He rubbed his hand up and down Danny’s back. “Like I said and maybe shouldn’t have, Danny died, briefly, in his parents lab. Electrocuted by one of their machines. He came back different because of that machine.”

Dick was quiet for a moment before asking, “Meta?”

“Close enough,” Jason said. “A lot of it the ecto— something his parents were studying as… paranormal scientists.”

“…okay.”

Danny laughed (the sound a little hysterical). “Right? Dead juice does a lot for you if you’ve died.”

“And it must have done a lot for me,” Jason said, before they could get much more into Danny’s situation. “Something in that graveyard brought me back before the Al Ghuls. Whatever the Lazarus water is— and it might be some of the same stuff to start— it’s gone wrong. The ecto Danny’s parents, and now Danny, extracts is pure. It’s basically like a transfusion for me.”

“Okay, right, sure, healthy dead juice,” Dick said, running a hand through his hair. “Are you going to… will you get powers too?”

“Maybe,” Jason said, trying to sound casual. “Or maybe I’m too fucked up from the Pits. But it’s helping Dick, it really is.”

“I do have research on this. I didn’t just give Jason something I knew nothing about,” Danny said. “And I drink it myself if I’m hurt or ill.”

“Like when you were a hero?” Dick asked, following it up with a full body sigh as he just sunk into the armchair.

“You told him?” Jason was surprised.

Danny shrugged in Jason’s arms. “It seemed the only way to explain why I reacted the way I did to the thing we’re not talking about yet.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jason said, kissing the top of Danny’s head. He wouldn’t press tonight. He was in no state for it anyways.

He just hoped that conversation would go well.

He just hoped he wouldn’t lose Danny.

-----

AN: So no one is really happy in this part- but at least they're talking? And they'll have to talk more too. There's also a lot of trying (and failing) not to panic by all the boys. But hopefully this settled a lot for you all!

Sorry if there's more mistakes than normal (don't need them pointed out, they'll be caught in the rewrite and beta) but my hands and my brain have both been really rebelling against me. Proverbial fingers crossed for the new meds I started today to do some good!

(It might be a few weeks before the next part, btw, looking at my progress.)

Due to the new post editor and having been shadow banned, I'm no longer tagging people! You can subscribe here to be notified instead like you would with a tag!

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 11 months

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Johnny hits Jason with his bike ("we were supposed to go through him babe!" "But we didnt!") which knocks Jason unconscious. Kitty sees he's a ghost and is like "its a baby!" gif and refuses to leave him there.

Jason wakes up to the weirdest coddling experience of his (after)life. After many many tries he cannot successfully escape the growing group of concerned ghosts who are doing the coddling

Two days later Batman issues a search for his missing son, becoming more and more distressed when the batfam finds no leads

#jesus christ that hit close to home my god #make me cry in the bath tub why dont you #'why are they getting better treatment than me the only difference is how we formed'#danny🤝me #afab with probable nurodivergance in conservative state #i still get irrationally angry at a few memories from high-school #also the idea of danny resouce garding his cuddles is excellent

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 11 months

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Like Betta Fish Do - Part 18

You all weren't supposed to get this until Monday, but to celebrate being released from the shadow ban! Have at it! Chapter 15 when on Ao3, MasterpostWC: 2353

Danny left the lecture with a smile on his face. It wasn’t that the lecture had been particularly enjoyable or anything, no, Danny just had been smiling more often than not the last few weeks. It was hard not to when he thought about Jason and the fact that they were dating.

He had a boyfriend. A very hot, very sweet boyfriend who was amazing at planning dates. Aside from the museum, they had also gone back to the beach and the little city near it, and kept up with their normal meals and exploring the city. It all really made Danny realize how much the two of them had been practically dating before their actual date. It was a nice realization. It meant much hadn’t had to change other than being able to hold hands… and take advantage of kissing Jason. Those were changes Danny was very much enjoying.

The next proper date was Danny’s to plan (he had insisted) and different ideas were filling up his head. He wanted to make it as special as the dates Jason had planned for him. The museum had been perfect, after all. It was a lot to live up to. Today, though, was just going over to Jason’s for a meal and to watch something. He pulled out his phone and gave Jason a call to see what food he should pick up.

“Hey, Jay.”

“Fish, hi, um, can I— no you cannot!” Jason answered, sounding like he had turned his face away from the phone. Someone in the background answered back. “No, do not—”

There was the rustling and muffled words before silence. And then— “Hey little fish!” Whoever had just taken over the call was much more chipper sounding.

“Hello,” Danny replied, bemused.

Whoever it was let out a sudden meep as obvious sounds of scuffling filled the background of the call. “So, I'm Jason's brother, Dick.“

“Give me back my phone you fucker!” Jason shouted, his words slightly muffled.

“Hello, Dick.”

An exhaled oof of air was followed by a loud crash and what Danny was pretty sure was one of them kicking the other.

“You can't keep him from me forever!” Dick cried. “Anyways, I'm at Jason's.”

Danny could help but grin at the antics. “I gathered.”

“Right— back off Jaybird— want to come over for lunch? Since I’m, oh shi—”

Danny winced at the sound of the phone hitting the floor. They were really going at it now. He’d give them props for creative cussing. As he listened to the sounds of the fight, he made his way to the subway stop.

Finally, a slightly breathless Jason reclaimed the phone. “Sorry about him.”

“It's fine. Want to put in an order at the Malaysian place for us and I'll pick it up? I'm already on my way over.”

“No,” Jason said (whined, really, though Danny knew he’d deny it). “Don't give into his demands.”

“Victory!” came a strangled cry. From the winded sound, Danny would bet Jason had his brother pinned, maybe even in a choke hold.

“I don't think he's really going to give up,” Danny pointed out. Jason was quiet. Quiet enough that Danny started to backtrack. “Hey, if you don't want me to meet your family—”

“No! It's not… I'll put in an order. It will be under your name. I'm making Dick pay though.”

“Still won!“ Came the shout from Dick before Jason hung up.

“I’ve got it!” a voice that wasn’t Jason called out from inside of the apartment.

Danny did his best to resist the urge to fidget.

Now that he was standing outside of the apartment the reality that Danny was about to meet someone from Jason’s family hit home. And Jason’s family were Waynes. He took a deep breath and tried not to panic. That, of course, meant his brain had time to run through a dozen worst case scenarios by the time the door swung open.

The Dick Grayson that stood in the door was every bit the male model that society pages liked to claim. His smile was even more blinding in person and maybe even a little infectious. Danny found he couldn’t help but smile back, even if it was a little wan and nervous.

“Oh my- Jaybird!” Dick called over his shoulder. “You didn’t tell me how adorable he was!”

Danny felt his cheeks flush red.

Dick spun back to Danny. “Are you a hugger?”

“I— yes?”

There was barely time for Danny to squeak out the words before Dick had scooped him up in a crushing hug. Oh. Okay, that was nice. Danny hadn’t been hugged like that since Jazz left for college and his parents stopped remembering he existed.

“Please stop smothering my boyfriend,” Jason called out as he came over.

“Hi Jason. Food,” Danny said, his words muffled against Dick’s chest. He blindly held out the bag of food in Jason’s direction, keeping the cardboard tray of drinks in his other hand.

“Hey, fish,” Jason said. Danny felt the food be lifted from his hand. “Do I need to get the jaws of life?”

“Oh shut up, Jayce,” Dick said cheerily. He squeezed Danny one last time before he let him go.

Danny took the opportunity to suck in a deep breath.

“Hi, I’m Dick,” Dick said, still grinning and offering his hand like a normal person.

“Don’t tell him!” Jason called out from the kitchen.

Danny leaned around Dick, absently shaking his hand as he did so. “What?”

“Don’t tell him your name,” Jason explained.

“He’s just been calling you ‘fish’ this whole time.”

“It’s driving him insane.” Jason sounded viciously gleeful.

“No,” Dick whined, drawing out the word to an absurd length. “I’m finally meeting you! You’re right here! I have to get to know your name now! I can’t keep calling you ‘fish’.”

“I mean,” Danny said innocently as he finally stepped in the apartment and closed the door behind him. “I like fish. Jason has been very creative with the name. It’s actually a little impressive.”

Dick narrowed his eyes at Danny. “I’m starting to see how you fit with Jason.”

Jason cackled from the kitchen. He set plates and utensils down on the table before coming over and wrapping his hands around Danny’s waist from behind. “My boyfriend, my side.”

Danny smiled innocently and leaned back into the hold.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dick said with a roll of his eyes, but he was still grinning happily. He started towards the table. “Come and eat or I’ll take all the roti for myself.”

“No, not the roti!” Danny gasped dramatically.

“Don’t worry, I got extra,” Jason assured everyone as he nudged Danny in the right direction.

“This must be yours,” Danny said, handing over one of the two blindingly pink cups of sirap bandung over to Dick. “Which tells me you are a man of refined tastes.”

“Just because you two have a sweet tooth—”

“Refined tastes indeed, well met,” Dick said over Jason with a fake British accent that would make Alfred wince.

“Indeed. Drink your longan juice, Jason,” Danny said, handing over the third cup to Jason, who just rolled his eyes.

They popped open all the various containers of food, sticking spoons or forks in them almost haphazardly. It became a jumble of hands for a bit as everyone got the first rounds they wanted on their plates. The table was quiet as everyone happily tore into the curries, rendang, and satay skewers.

“So, ‘fish’, if that is your real name, tell me about yourself,” Dick said after he had staved off the worst of his hunger.

“Um,” Fish (he couldn’t believe he had to call the guy fish in his own head) stalled badly as he completely blanked on what to say. Dick had the horrible feeling that people didn’t usually listen to what Fish had to say. “I moved to Gotham for school.”

“Gotham U? Or one of the lib arts colleges?”

Fish’s nose wrinkled adorably up at that. “Gotham U, I’m a total STEM. I’ll leave the books to Jason.”

“He’s a literature heathen,” Jason bemoaned. “But surprisingly dedicated to finding bizarre Jane Austen interpretations for me to watch.”

“You liked ‘the Lizzie Bennet Diaries,” Fish said, pointing at Jason with a skewer.

Jason stole the skewer to Fish’s indignant squawk. “I did, but ‘Persuasion’ was a mistake in every way.”

“Yeah, no, that’s fair,” Fish said, stealing a piece of tofu from Jason’s plate in retribution. (Oh shit, Jason was letting Fish steal his food!) “Not everything I find can be a winner.”

“Okay, but it sounds like you try at least! That counts for something. Got it though, science not books for the fish,” Dick said. “What do you like to do then?”

“Right now life is just a lot of studying and projects and papers,” Fish sighed. “But when I have time I like to play video games. And Jason has been showing me around Gotham and New Jersey.”

“So you swam in from out of state then?”

“Bus from Illinois,” Fish said. “It’s been a change for sure.”

“But you’re liking it?”

“I am, actually. I didn’t know if I would and there’s some things I don’t like— it’s always so… loud here, but the variety of stuff to see and eat is amazing. Like, I never had Malaysian food before moving here and now I don’t know how I would live without good roti just a call away. And, I don’t know, there’s just something about Gotham?”

“The city has a way of sinking into your bones,” Dick agreed.

“You aren’t from here either, right?”

“Nope! But I’ve been here for over half my life now. It’s weird and fucked up but it’s home and I love it,” Dick said with a shrug. “Think you’ll stay?”

Years of training kept Dick from flinching when Jason kicked him under the table.

The fish glanced at Jason for a moment. “Um, well, I guess that depends on if I can find a job or not. But I think I’d like to, if I can.”

“Sorry,” Dick said with a laugh. “You’re probably just worried about your next test at the moment. So exploring Gotham, school, video games— have you faced off against Jason in Mario Kart or Smash yet?”

“No,” Fish said, drawing the word out as he turned to Jason. “I am betrayed. Wounded. You didn’t tell me you played video games!”

Oh yeah, Dick liked Jason’s aquatic boyfriend.

“Just those two really.”

“And Animal Crossing. Our sister Cass got him totally hooked on Animal Crossing,” Dick said, bracing for another kick. Yep, there it was. “You should get him to show you his island. It has a miniature golf course and everything.”

Danny grinned. “Oh you are so showing me that later.”

The tip of Jason’s ears were bright red. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

“Tonight though! Tonight we have an epic brother versus brother versus fish racing battle,” Dick crowed.

“Oh you’re just lucky it’s not Smash, you might actually have a chance,” Danny said with a slightly feral smile.

“It’s on.”

It was indeed on.

The races were fierce battles and the fish was no guppy, but Dick had been trained against other superheros and set after set came away with the crown.

Several sets in, Fish’s phone went off, making him jolt. “Oh, shit, that’s my alarm to catch the subway home. I better run.”

“I can give you a ride home if you want?” Dick offered, putting his own controller down.

“No, it’s fine! I know it’s still early, I’ve just got this paper to get finished up in the next few days and I’m making myself work on it some each night,” Fish said, leaning over the back of the couch to reach for his bag.

Jason reached out to steady Fish by holding onto the back of his hoodie.

Dick stole Fish’s phone from the gesturing arm. “I’m putting my number in.”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure,” Fish said, lunging forward suddenly. When Jason yanked him back, Fish had his backpack in hand.

Jason clutched Fish to his chest and sighed. “Fish—”

“I’m fine, you got me,” Fish said, grinning up at Jason.

Jason clearly tried to look stern for a moment before he sighed; his whole face softened with the act. He curled around Fish slightly, just enough to brush a kiss to Fish’s temple. “Course I do.”

Since he still had it in hand, Dick snapped a picture with Fish’s phone. He figured the two didn’t have a lot of photos as a couple yet, and they looked precious at the moment. It was clear how much adoration Jason had for Fish— and how happy Jason made Fish. Dick was glad they had found each other.

“Don’t forget your phone.”

“Thanks! It was nice meeting you,” Fish said, climbing out of Jason’s arms and grabbing his phone. “I’ll kick your ass next time!”

“You’re welcome to try,” Dick said cheerfully. “If only fish had more than a three second memory maybe you could get good.”

Fish rolled his eyes, but distracted himself by giving Jason a quick kiss. “I’ll see you this weekend?”

“Course, send me the plans. And text when you’re home safe.”

“Stop worrying,” Fish said as he swung on his backpack. “But I will. Have a good night you two!”

Both brothers bid Fish goodbye as he rushed out the door.

Dick waited till Jason had locked the door before, “Oh my god, Jaybird, you two are so adorable!”

“Dickhead,” Jason warned.

“No, I get to have this. My little brother has a boyfriend and is adorable with him! Did he send you the photo I took? Ask him to send you the photo I took and you’ll see too.”

Jason sighed, shaking his head as he came back to sit on the couch.

Dick leaned over to knock their shoulders together. “Hey, I’m happy for you. He seems like a really good guy. I’m glad you met him.”

“Yeah,” Jason said, that soft smile back on his face. “I’m glad too.”

-----

AN: And one of the Bats finally meets Danny! Or, well, Fish. That seemed to go well, right? Surely everything will be happy now. Are there enough fish puns/jokes? If not, feel free to suggest some! Much love to Moku for giving this an early read over when I was doubting the chapter.

Also I'm craving Malaysian food so badly now ;-;

Due to being shadow banned (they said glitch, but I still believe I got auto flagged for tagging too many people), I am no longer tagging for updates. It wasn't going to be doable in the new post editor anyways! To be notified, subscribe to this post instead!

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 11 months

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ICYMI, there was fear that companies were scraping public AO3 fics to train their AI without the consent of AO3 or its users. That fear has been confirmed.

AO3 has written about what they’re doing (and what they’re not able to do), and they recommend restricting your work to AO3 registered users only. [Instructions here]

This gross misuse of the archive by techbros is why I’ve locked down my fics for the foreseeable future. I recommend the rest of you do the same.

#ive already did this but please be aware!#this is the reason my fics are locked

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 11 months

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AO3 Etiquette

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

Kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished - you kudos.

If you liked it, you should comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it. Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity. Don't ruin that for them.

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLANTONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an implicit rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Avoid deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - orphan it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to you anymore.

This is a creative fanfiction archive. No essays on your insights or theories please. There are other places for that.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 11 months

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I got this comment on a story from my Other AO3 Account this morning.

(Info redacted because I prefer keeping these accounts separate but no one follows me on the side blog I have for that account.)

The story was posted almost a year ago and is relatively “popular” by my average statistics even though it has tropes and themes that are big turnoffs for a lot of people (hence separate accounts). This popularity is undoubtedly because it’s a Marvel Loki story and that fandom is massive.

So there is obviously an algorithm or a bot scrubbing ao3 statistics and leaving this comment on fics that meet a certain metric with the main character of the fic inserted into the comment.

I had a little time to kill this morning so I decided to investigate further. And y’all this is so predatory. Come on this journey with me. It made me mad. It may make you mad.

First, if you go to Webnovel’s website, you HAVE to choose between male lead or female lead stories before you can go any further. WTF?

And that’s weird, but this gets so much worse. This is basically a pay-to-read site that has different subscription models. Which… okay BUT! The authors don’t get paid! Look at that comment again. They’re promising a supportive and nurturing community, but zero monetary compensation. It’s basically, “post your stuff here so we can get paid and you can get… nice vibes?” I mean look at this Orwellian writing:

Using the phrase “pay-to-read model” in the same sentence as “qualitative changes in lifestyles for authors” deliberately makes you think that you can get paid and maybe even make a living on this website. But that’s not actually what it says and authors will not receive one red cent.

Oh but wait, the worst is still to come. In case this breaks containment (which I kind of hope it does) this is where I mention that I’m a lawyer in the US.

I don’t do intellectual property or copyright law but I do read and write contracts for a living. So I went to look at their terms of service. It was fun!

Highlights the first, in which Webnovel gets a license to do basically whatever they want with content you post on their site. This is how they get to be paid for people reading authors’ writing without paying them anything.

Highlights the second, in which Webnovel takes no responsibility for illegally profiting off of fan fic. This all says that the writer is 100% responsible for everything the writer posts (even though only Webnovel is making money from it).

Highlights the third which say that by posting, the author is representing that they have the legal right to use and to let Webnovel use the content according to these terms. So if a writer posts fan fiction and Webnovel makes money from people reading the fan fiction, and the House of the Mouse catches wise, these sections say that that’s ALL on the writer.

So that’s a little skeevy to start off with but the thing that is seriously shitty and made me make this post was that these assholes are coming to ao3. They are actively recruiting people in comments on their fan fiction. And they are saying they are big fans of the character you’re writing about and that they share your interests.

They are recruiting fan fiction writers and giving every impression that you can make money from posting fan fiction on their site and hiding the fact that you absolutely cannot but they can make money off of you while you try, deep in their terms of service which no one but a lawyer who writes fan fic and has some time to kill will read.

I see posts on here regularly from people who don’t understand how this stuff works, don’t understand that they (and others) can not legally make a financial profit from fan fiction. And there are tons of people who will not take the time to dig into the details.

Don’t deal with these bastards. Fuck Webnovel.

#ick

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

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Like Betta Fish Do - Part 17

Masterpost of ao3 link and all parts. WC: 2504 (ch 14 when on ao3)

Jason had been pacing his apartment, eyes glued on his phone, for longer than he would want to admit. He just couldn’t bring himself to press the button to call Danny.

It should have been easy, he had a plan. He had run through it and practiced it and perfected. It had step. He juts needed to put the plan into place. That was easier said then done.

There was so much that could go wrong. What if Danny was offended? What if they tried and everything went up in flames? What if it went well?

Keep reading

#AAAAAAAHHHH

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

Note

Danny makes a hand drawn and animated YouTube series that accidentally gets seen as some kind of arg. He had to redraw a few frames due to his dad accidentally messing something up. Tim is going nuts trying to solve the mystery of a show about a group of animals.

When you said hand drawn my mind went to traditional art, and I don’t know if that’s what you meant but I’m rolling with that in honor of this Dannymay day.

Once Danny finds out that people thinks it’s an ARG, he doubles down into that, including splotches of ectoplasm into a few frames, drawing ghosts of characters into others, making up so much lore on the spot. He even has the word “Amity” scattered about, in reference to Amity Park.

Tim has been spending his free time trying to solve this because it has gripped him by the throat and he needed to solve it. He eventually gets the other Batfam on board with him.

#when he sees that people saw his little drawings and thought they were an ARG #he started to post unlisted videos with live acton #he loops sam and Tucker of course #the first one is of the three walking through a nearby forest and talking about a swarm of blob ghosts #but they casually don't say the blob ghost so everyone that finds the video hears them talking about a swarm nearby that they need to find #as the video goes on it gets steadily more blurry and staticky #and it ends with a flash of green then 5 minutes of static with weird sounds in the background #it picks up at home and he sets the camera down in his set up facing him #the next video features some kind of bloby static #he also makes an additional channel that is just him drawing for the main channel #all the second channel's videos are basicly silent exept for some kind of hum #a portal to the dead can't be quiet and you can hear it in every video that is inside his house

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

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Okay, I want to follow this content. What do I do?

Hello everyone.

So given the recent raise of "tag me!" replies in fics going around Tumblr, and given the recent awareness post about how disheartening, annoying and sometimes disappointing it can be to only get that kind of engagement — I've thought it was a good idea to explain what you can do if you want to follow content.

Basing on what Dis already added to the original post, this is a more detailed list of what options you have when enjoying the content you see.

I liked this prompt, I wish to see all the additions to it. How can I keep up?

You can subscribe to the post!

Desktop: Right click on the three dots and click on "Subscribe to conversation"

Mobile: Go to the Notes and click the top right bell icon

I liked this fic the author posted and I wish to know when they post the next part. How can I be notified?

You have several options here:

Find their Ao3! A lot of authors crosspost on tumblr and ao3, or prefer to post a more polished version on ao3 later on. Whichever the case, you can go to AO3 and subscribe to the fic/author there if you'd like

2. Follow the author! Really. We don't bite. You can just follow the blog, as easy as that. Want to be notified any time they post anything? You can subscribe to the blog and get a notification when they post anything

3. You can still request to be tagged if they continue! But don't let that be the ONLY engagement you do. Like the post. Reblog it. Leave a comment saying what you like, a keysmash, a lovely "hey i really like where this is going!" and then you can say "if you do continue, can you tag me?". 9/10 we would love to write down your name. I can't speak for everybody so it depends on the person, but we want to not feel like we are screaming to the void. Engage. Respond.

KEEP IN MIND: Tumblr is a reblog-based social media. There is no algorithm. We get readers ONLY via reblogs. Likes? Likes are nice but do nothing. You liked the art? REBLOG THE ART.

Another post about reblogging, why it doesn't feel annoying for authors and how you can reblog and add tags faster on desktop and mobile

I liked this oneshot and I wish to know if they will continue it.

If it's a oneshot, RESPECT IT. The author may not have plans for the story, or doesn't have the energy to elaborate. Or if they do, it will be waaaaay later.

Whatever the case, don't demand a continuation.

Really, don't. Is very rude.

Still want to shoot your shot and see if they continue it?

Reblog it! Say why you liked it! In the tags, in the same reblog, wherever! If the author gets inspired they will continue, but remember we do this for free in our free time, you don't know what their life looks like. Respect that.

PLEASE NOTE: You can still find them in AO3 and subscribe to the fic/author there.

I like the AU/Idea/Project, how can I follow any new content for it?

You can follow a tag!

A lot of authors have a specific tag for their AU/idea/project (eg. "plant princess au") that you can follow if you want to keep up. Just check the tags in the post and hit follow.

Desktop:

Mobile:

And that's it! If I have more ideas or examples I will add to the post.

Remember, the point is not to make fun or to make people apologize for the "tag me" replies. This is informative for newcomers and older users alike.

If you have any questions or worries don't hesitate to ask! 🙂👍💖

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

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Red's Robin. pt 1.

@im-totally-not-an-alien-2, hi I finished the first chapter :), spent way too long on it but Im happy at how it came out and fully intend on making more

@faeriekit since you were apart of that little conversation I assume you wanted to be tagged to, sorry if not!

Also the formatting may be off at the end, typing like texting is hard! I dont know how humans type other than me! And I've seen Tim typing like he doesn't know how to spell in fics before!

I hope you all Have a Great Day!!

Ao3:(to be added)

Tim sighs as he looks at his window sill. The small orange and gray bird that had perched on it stared at him through the closed window. Almost like it was asking him to let it in. But that's crazy! It's just a little bird, it probably just thinks he’ll feed it and that's why it's looking at him. But he’s not Damian and won’t adopt a wild animal the second he sees it.

It pecks at the window, and stares. Again it pecks.

Tap, tap, tap. It continues as if it's knocking. Tim turns back to his laptop, the Riddler is out of Arkham and has been suspiciously quiet.

Tap, tap, tap. Tim doesn’t look. Tap, tap, pause. Taptaptaptap taptap tap. The noise doesn’t stop. Tim swings around and closes the curtains. And the noise persists, until it pauses. Breathing out a sigh Tim can finally make some progre-

BANG. The window shakes.

‘Did… did it just fly into the window? Can’t birds die like that?’ Tim peeks around the curtain to see the small robin-like bird shaking its head and turn to fly off. Only for it to slam body first into the window again. It takes a moment before it flies off. Tim opens the curtains and sees it quickly flying towards the closed reinforced window. He's able to open the window before it can kill itself and it rams into his chest instead. Which painfully sends him careening back onto his chair.

‘Ouch… it hits harder than expected…’ He looked down at the small bird that had moved down onto his lap, now that it's closer he notices that he has never seen a bird- robin(?) like this one. Its body is a light bluish-gray and slender with an orange head with little yellow markings next to its eyes, with tiny black legs with three talons. It stood barely a foot tall and its tail had odd white markings that vaguely resembled an arrow fletch.

The bird adjusted itself and opened its wings, showing a white underwing, and flapped them until it was hovering next to Tim’s face. Small black eyes stare into blue.

“‘Chling!” it chirped and swooped up to land on his head, where it immediately started to peck at his hair. ‘Is it preening me? I thought birds need to trust a person to do that,’ Tim thought, his hair getting thrown into his eyes.

“Hey, stop that. Get off!” he gently batted at the bird trying to dislodge it from its roosting place, getting a stern peck in return. He looks at his laptop. He could just keep working but the bird would be a distraction. Damian might look at the bird, he had more information about animals than Tim did. But did he want to talk to Damian? Not really. He really needed to continue to track the Riddler, he's too much of a threat to be left unattende-

His stomach growls. The bird’s stomach growls. In a weird serenade the organs announce their mutual hunger.

‘When was the last time I ate? When did the bird eat last?’ Tim thought, overwhelming hunger tearing at his abdomen and dizziness makes itself known. Ok snack then he can look into the bird and hopefully find the Riddler. His minifridge is empty, he knows that but still checks it -yep still empty, so he has to go to the kitchen. He grabs his phone from his desk and checks it.

9:49 - Friday, June 2 - 26% battery

He still has about an hour and a half until he needs to get ready for patrol. He closes his bedroom door behind him quietly and pulls up the search bar.

‘What do robins eat?’

He's walking down the stairs, the search engine shows several articles, mostly about the most recent spotting of Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin outside Batburger with pictures showing the three with the fast food bags. Cass was there too but nobody saw her.

He adds bird to the search

‘Mealworms, insects, and berries. Steph ate the last of the strawberries.’ Tim reaches the Kitchen, thankfully no one is in there. The bird finally flutters off of his head and onto the kitchen island and starts hopping around. There’s no other ‘berry’ fitting fruits either. “Sorry little guy, I don't think we have anything you're interested in. Alfie would kill us if we brought any bugs in.” He speaks to the room and grabs his preferred snack, an Alfred made orange-cranberry muffin, and turns to the island.

The bird is pecking at the banana stand. Tim had forgotten about the bananas, Alfred only gets them to brown for banana bread. Everyone besides Dick hates the texture, and the rest of the kitchen is always stocked with something else to eat.

“Oh I guess there is something.” he sets his muffin down and rips one off the bunch and peels it as far as he’s willing. He wipes his hand against his pants and continues with his muffin.

The bird hops onto the yellow fruit and sticks its beak into the soft insides. And they eat quietly together. Tim watches as the bird snips the sides of the peel to open it up more. He pulls up the camera app on his phone and takes a picture of it when it lifts its head up. He then goes to google.

‘Orange and gray bird’

‘Orange and blue gray bird’

‘Robin species’

‘Robin BIRD species’

‘Small birds species’

‘Thrush bird species’

‘Finch species’

‘Bird with orange heads and gray bodies;

‘Birds with white underwings and orange heads’

‘Birds with white stripes on tail with orange heads’

Nothing he searches comes close to the bird in front of him. He sighs and pulls up his messages, and throws away the muffin wrapper.

Demon Child:

lol lokat tis thig

Would you type properly, Drake?

no u

[Image of fletchling]

Unlike you Drake I do type properly.

What kind of avian is that? I do not recognize it.

Idk im ak u

Drake is that our kitchen? Did you let a wild animal into our home?

It was hungy 🥺

Aldo no one eafs the babfas anyway

I am aware of our family’s dislike of bananas Drake.

That does not excuse nor explains why there is a wild animal in our kitchen!

It wan ted insid

Kept hittting my windo

What did you use as bait?

My Good Looks

Drake.

IDK man

It jst wanted in

I think it’s hurt

Didn want you bothefing B over a ded borb outdid

So i open d the window

An it flewa in and won t leab

I won’t be able to look it over until I get home.

And that will not be for another hour. Keep it inside. I will look at it before I go with Father for patrol.

At this point the bird had finished with it’s snack and Tim had thrown away it’s peel. It perched on his shoulder looking at his messages to Damian. Tim took another picture of the bird on his shoulder and sent it to Damian and went back to his room.

If anything, the bird seemed to like him, and he could use that to annoy Damian until he got home.

#dpxdc #cem's writing #Red's Robin #dp x dc

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

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Like Betta Fish Do - Part 15

Part 1 and prompt, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14

WC: 4225 (Ch 12 when on ao3)

“The ghosts’ King?”

Danny hummed in agreement and placed one of the trays of food on Jason’s lap.

“Seriously, you’re a king?”

“Mostly. Now eat you Pho.”

Jason did as he was told.

Keep reading

#:)#i love this series soo much thanky clock #like beta fish do

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

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Hey everyone. There's another app on the Google playstore. Pretty sure it's not official and it's making money from in-app ads.

I think the AO3's latest post about apps is here:

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cemoras27-but-writing-this-time · 1 year

Note

Lian Harper has an imaginary friend. Roy thinks her new friend is imaginary at least. Dani is very much not imaginary as he soon finds out.

Okay, so I don't know much at all about Roy & Lian, so I did some very fast searching to try and get an idea about them for this. Sorry if Roy is out of character!

Have some spooky very slightly eldritch Dani/Elle being a very polite unwanted house guest/imaginary friend:

When Roy had first noticed Lian idly chatting with thin air beside her, he hadn’t thought much of it.

She’d been playing with the latest batch of stuff animals Jason had brought with him last he’d visited, joyfully arranging her plushy hoard just how she wanted them in her overly full room - they were going to have to do another toy purge soon, it was starting to get hard picking a path through to the bed again - and happily talking as she did. It wasn’t anything exactly uncommon. She liked to introduce new plushies to the older ones, make sure everyone knew each other’s names and got along, the way that little kids did. He noticed she seemed to be holding each plush out as if showing it to someone beside her, which was a little odd, but still nothing of concern.

It wasn’t until the tea party - knees bent up to his ears as he curled over the tiny, brightly colored table Kori had gotten her a couple months back - that he was formally introduced to her imaginary friend and put some pieces together.

“Do you want some tea, Dani?” Lian asked, holding out the bright red child-sized tea pot to the one seat at the table that was not occupied by one of his daughter’s favorite plushies or Roy. He watched as she paused, head tilted to listen carefully, before giving a bright smile and pouring a healthy amount of imaginary tea into the cup in front of the seat.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve met Dani yet.” He said, offering out the tiny cup she’d put down in front of him for his own healthy pour of non-existent tea. “Is she a new friend?”

Lian smiled brightly, gap tooth smile bright as she launched into telling him all about her new friend Dani - with an I, Danny with a Y is her big brother! - who fell out of a hole in space right into Lian’s room and who was a ghost princess with superpowers who beat up evil ghosts with her big brother. There are surprisingly few elements from any of the shows she watches or books he’s read to her, and he’s delighted by how vivid an imagination she has in her creation.

It’s easy to roll with imaginary friend Dani. Lian’s friend Marcus had an imaginary friend last year and Roy had learned enough from Marcus’ mother’s exhausted research dive into the topic over play dates to know that Lian making a friend of her own was perfectly healthy. She had plenty of friends, was doing well in school, no bullies or isolation, just a bright creative streak and a boundless enthusiasm for make believe. In a few months to a year Dani the ghost warrior princess from space - green space! There aren’t any floors and everyone flies and there are floating islands and - would be set aside in favor of other forms of entertainment. Just a fond memory for him to recount when she was a little older.

But then things got…strange.

Things in Lian’s room shifted just out of place where they usually were. Then around the house - common areas only though, never his room. Small lost objects appearing on the kitchen counter where they hadn’t been before. A blanket that had been folded on the back of the armchair draped over him when he woke up after falling asleep on the couch. Lian munching on little healthy snacks - a peeled orange, her favorite rice crackers, carrot slices - that no one had made her and that she couldn’t have possible gotten herself. Glow in the dark stars that he had not bought pressed onto her ceiling in the shape of accurate constellations.

That last one had not been the last straw, exactly, but it had been noticed about the same time all the rest of the very concerning little things had been. Talking with Lian about them all only had her explaining that Dani was doing it.

“She said wants to help.” Lian explained, little legs kicking as she focused on her drawing. “She’s stuck here til her brother comes and gets her. She said she wanted to be a good guest while she crashes with us.”

There’s something about that specific phrasing coming from his five year old daughter - crashes with us, not a term Lian’s used before and that he’s pretty sure no one else has ever had reason to use in front of her - that makes the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Lian doesn’t notice his apprehension, little tongue poking out in concentration as she adds more green to the paper. He doesn’t much care for the strange shape of the spectral figure his daughter depicts, hovering over her squiggly rendition of herself in her bed, the ghost creature being shown holding a green star up to a field of others in what Roy realizes is meant to show Lian’s bedroom ceiling.

Lian pauses suddenly in her drawing, head coming up and tilting as if listening, eyes drifting to look at a point close to the ceiling. “Oh.” Lian says, turning to look back at him with a frown. “Dani says there are bad people coming.” Another glance towards the spot near the ceiling. “She says she’s gonna make em go away if that’s okay with you.”

His stomach cramps with anxiety at the declaration just as he catches a dark figure shifting on the roof of the neighbor’s house, a flash of metal in the yellow glow of the street lights. There’s something cold on his shoulder suddenly, almost feeling like a small hand, the vague impression of something not altogether human at the corner of his vision.

Fuck it. He decides. If Lian’s maybe-not-so-imaginary friend wanted to deal with the people that he was just now aware of surrounding his home and putting his daughter in danger, then he wasn’t going to stop her.

Roy barely has the word yes out of his mouth as he darts up to grab Lian and run her to safety before all the lights in the house - hell, the neighborhood - begin to flicker and he catches a flash of bright, glowing green eyes turning towards the people outside. Distantly he heard a cut off scream and wet crunch and pressed Lian’s face to his chest as he ran for the safe room.

He was going to have to call the League about this one.

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