The Curse Of Hope
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Danny is in another universe. He had a reason, but he doesn’t remember anymore. He can only stare, horrified and disgusted, at the sickest city spirit he’s ever seen. Shivering and swaying with every step, core exposed, and ectoplasm leaking from wounds that are decades old. A ratty blanket was thrown over their shoulders, barely hiding the spirit’s pale grey skin and protruding black bones.
The spirit didn’t even sense him until he reached out to touch its wispy shoulders. The spirit flinched, clutching at the dozens of trinkets hanging from their neck and tucking in on themselves like they were expecting a blow.
“Oh, shit,” He swore, floating back a few feet, hands in the air, to show he meant no harm. “I’m sorry. I promise, I’m not here to steal from you.” The spirit shivered again and rolled a pearl necklace in between their fingers. A nervous habit. “Uh, I like that pocket watch? It’s very nice.”
That got their attention. They peeked at Danny, and he saw that more tattered cloth was covering their eyes, blending in with the stringy hair that reached the ground. Their blanket fluttered weakly, revealing hundreds of thousands of tiny marks etched into their skin. Scars, really. Scars that wrote out curse after curse onto the spirit’s very being. They burned with evil intent, and even reached inside the spirit’s body and wrapped around their core.
Occasionally, blinding specks of color raced across their body, temporarily erasing the writing, but it always returned quickly. He watched, a little detached, as one particular line rewrote itself across their rough forearm, drawing fresh ectoplasm like someone was writing it with a thin knife.
“Are you…alright?” Danny stuttered. A stupid question.
The spirit cocked its head. He couldn’t see their eyes, but he felt their burning gaze as they pondered the question.
“The pain of others becomes mine own.” They rasped. “The lights of the city dim as rotten wealth clogs mine veins. Magicks long forgotten have eaten mine skins, pulled mine cloak, and darkened mine skies. Helios has refused to grace mine doorstep, and the seasons of the Earth have revoked their kindness.”
Danny held his breath. It felt like he was the one with the exposed core, not the spirit.
The spirit shivered once more. “Tell mine soul, little lamb. How could this Forsaken City know peace, when it was long since ripped from mine hands?”
Shit, he needed Frostbite. And maybe Clockwork. Now.
-Or-
Danny meets the spirit of Gotham City. The villains and rogues that have plagued the city for decades are literal curses that are taking quite the toll on Gotham, and honestly, Danny isn’t sure how much longer they can hold out. The heroes seem to be doing some help, and are probably the reason Gotham made it this far, but the poor city needs help from the Realms if they want to get better.
Luckily, Danny can provide that help.
But only if he could get Gotham to leave their city behind. Because recovery is going to take a very long time.
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omg i’m not sure if you have a fic on this yet but what about the very first time megumi calls reader mom? does he freak out? does reader try to keep it cool but is actually dying inside? is there angst? what do you think??
it’s well known that megumi does call you mom… just not to your face (and then he freaks out).
but then, even after that, it takes him a while to feel comfortable referring to you with a title that he doesn’t fully understand. megumi doesn’t know what a mom is, what he’s supposed to feel for his so called mother…
unlike tsumiki, of course, who, almost exactly two years into living with you and satoru, was fully on board with the title.
you’d been tucking her in one night, smiling at her nonsensical ramblings about school and some girl she met at the store earlier in the day, when she’d just asked.
“can i call you mom?”
you paused your fluffing of her pillows. “what?”
“it’s okay if you don’t want me to,” tsumiki had answered back, hurriedly, her sweet voice true. “i just wanted to ask.”
and… it took a moment to regain any composure after that.
i mean, sure. you knew—truly—that the little girl and boy you would protect with your life were yours. they might’ve been someone else’s—a lifetime ago, when the world was better and reality was more genuine.
but in your world, they were yours.
(and satoru’s sometimes. but very rarely).
you’d been referring to them in kind for… almost two years. it only took a week of knowing the two of them—tsumiki with her genuine heart and show stopping smiles, and megumi with his brooding and paying far too much attention—for you to think as such. they were your children a month in.
but still, you knew that to them, you weren’t… the ideal. you weren’t a nurturer, not a babysitter or an aunt, not a friend but never anything less.
you were just there.
and really, that’s all you wanted to be for them. you didn’t need a title, didn’t need some overrated birthright. you just wanted to see the two of them at the dinner table, laughing at each other and picking at their food.
you weren’t going to ask for anything more.
but being their mom?
you looked down to tsumiki, unable to keep the ache out of your heart, the twinge out of your eyes. “miki,” you answered softly. “are you sure?”
the two of you had talked at length about moms. yours, who took the time you had together for granted, and tsumiki’s mom, who had their time stolen from her.
and you knew how much a mother meant to tsumiki. megumi had no recollection of their parents, but tsumiki couldn’t manage to forget.
“only if it’s okay with you,” the girl whispered, large, beautiful brown eyes looking into yours.
and, honestly, how are you supposed to say no to that?
“of course,” you’d answered back, a magical grin growing on your face. “you can call me whatever you want.”
“okay,” tsumiki met your grin with one of her own.
and when you closed the door that night, it was to the sound of a soft “goodnight, mom,” and the never ending glowing of your heart—just for your little girl.
when you left her room, wandering aimlessly through the house, falling face first on the couch and laying there until your bones ached, satoru couldn’t get anything out of you.
he’d tried rolling you over, irritating you with some bland remark, pulling on your hair… all to no avail.
but when you finally sat up, after about a half an hour, your grin was still so blinding that satoru was concerned for your health. waving a hand in front of your face just to see if you would still react.
you kept your conversation to yourself, knowing you’d probably only be able to hoard it for the night. but that was enough.
but megumi… he’s never been as easy as tsumiki. never as trusting.
so there isn’t a ground breaking conversation. he doesn’t tell you that he’s grateful for you, or that he feels lucky to have you in his life, or that your family is the best thing the little boy could imagine.
no, he’d never say any of that.
when megumi calls you mom for the first time (to your face) it’s in some boring, nonchalant moment.
you’re sitting on the couch, attempting to braid satoru’s stupid hair, when his little voice comes in from down the hallway, almost whining.
“hey mom?” he calls, head peeking around the corner.
“yeah?”
“did i give you my library book?”
“nope,” you pop, meeting his eyes. “did you lose it?”
megumi looks away, back towards his room. “no…” he says, suspiciously, walking back down the hall.
oh, well. at least if it’s gone satoru will be the one paying for it. really, you need to set a limit on the number of books he checks out at once.
you shake your head but focus back in on the object at hand. why is his hair all different lengths? it doesn’t even make any sense.
but satoru’s got his head tilted back, already smiling at you like he knows something you don’t.
“what?” you ask, frowning. you nudge his head but he doesn’t move. you sigh. “did you hide his book?”
satoru doesn’t answer that—probably because he did—he only blinks at you, eyes alight with something you’ll probably never understand.
“what?” you repeat, bothered.
satoru’s grin grows wider. “nothing.”
“then look forward. im busy.”
he chooses, in that moment, to let you deal with it yourself. so he only tucks back his smile, looking towards the mantle once again.
and when you’ve got his hair back in your hands, parting it on the side, he just says, “you’re really terrible at this, you know?”
you gasp. “is that a grey hair, satoru?” you pull at a strand. “you must be working too hard.”
he pulls away, trying aimlessly to look up at his own head. “where!?” he demands, and you only laugh at him.
it’s not until later that night, when satoru’s hands are in your hair this time, brushing through it, and all of the lights are off that you realize it.
“did megumi call me mom?” you ask, into the dark. your voice is mindless, dazed.
“i was wondering when you’d notice.”
and if there’s a slight prick to your eyes, it’s got nothing to do with that, okay? it’s just a title.
if you shed a tear it’s only because satoru accidentally pulls on a knot in your hair and he’s a bastard. really.
(when megumi does it again the next day you have to lean against the counter and try not to tackle the boy where he stands).
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