i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.
He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.
And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.
And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.
Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.
Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."
There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.
It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.
Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.
At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.
"Do you like to do anything?"
Nothing. Just silence.
Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.
Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.
Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.
And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.
He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.
Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.
So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.
"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"
"Don't."
He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.
Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"
"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."
It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"
The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."
Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."
And they fall back into silence.
Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."
He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.
(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)
At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.
Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.
("Tucker told me once--")
("Tucker?")
("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")
(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)
(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)
It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."
The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."
The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.
When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.
Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.
"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."
When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.
Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.
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sorry this is a day late but in light of the funimation debacle my recommendations for free streaming are wcostream and 9anime. between the two i've found that the quality on 9anime is a little bit better for older shows – like, say, the original Saint Seiya, which is 90% of what I use 9anime for – but as with many things I'm sure your mileage may vary.
I watch them in Firefox with an additional adblock extension running, because i'm a woman of a certain generation and i fundamentally can't trust any anime or manga site, but i've never had issues with either of them! still tho, if you're a Chrome user, get Firefox and throw an adblock on it, just in case. you can absolutely get Firefox exclusively for watching anime if you want to, treat yourself to something nice. ✨
i'm out of the game on torrenting/actual piracy so I can't help anybody with that rn. u_u idk what the method is these days. I got most of my files in swaps with friends and anime club members anyways. Once in 2016 I tried to properly torrent HxH and it didn't work and i couldn't figure out what went wrong so i gave up lmao
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Apologies for ruining your weekend.
Previous / Next
It's not necessary, but if you want to learn more about the events Grace is describing (particularly the spellcaster who sacrificed herself), it originated in another story you can read here (chrono link for desktop only). I'm sure there are some inconsistencies because I had no idea I'd be doing more with it and my storytelling was more casual and gameplay-oriented then, but it might help fill in some gaps.
[rapid knocking at the door]
Caleb: …Morgyn?
Grace: Caleb-
Caleb: Why are you in your nightgown? Are you crying?
Grace: Caleb, I-
Caleb: Where’s Morgyn? Council meetings never go this late.
Grace: [sniffling] Oh, Caleb… The Sages, they’re… they’re…
Caleb: What happened?
Grace: [strangely detached] I’d already gone home. Almost everyone had. There was an… attack. No one saw it coming. Dark magic… ancient spells… malicious… forbidden. How did he even find them?
Caleb: [impatiently] Grace, you’re not making any sense.
Grace: [distantly] The Realm is secured. Someone stopped him before he could tamper with the portals. A teacher, I think, from the children’s school. She sacrificed herself to drain his power.
Caleb: I don’t care about the goddamn Realm! What about Morgyn?
Grace: [sobbing] I’m sorry, Caleb. I’m so sorry. They were ambushed. They had no chance to defend themselves. Faba, Simeon, Morgyn… The entire Council is… dead. Oh my god. Caleb, are you okay?
Caleb: Stay back!
Grace: But-Caleb: I mean it! You’re not safe around me like this. Go home, Grace! Now.
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Dndads headcannons in celebration of a new episode (not related)
• Glenn Close HAD nipple piercings. He doesn’t wear them any more, but he will gladly show pictures if asked.
• Daryl Wilson got so fucking confused watching Top Gun the first time. The volleyball scene was his favorite part but if you asked him why he couldn’t explain it to you.
• Ron Stampler eats erasers.
• Henry Oak Garcia paints nude paintings of himself and his beautiful talented wife Mercedes. They’re ranged from abstract to insane realism. None of the realisms are actually fully done yet bc he insists Mercedes deserves perfection.
• Ron Stampler fucking loved Lazy Town the show.
• Paeden went on to be happy and never die. It’s canonical, Anthony Burch told me himself.
• where the fuck is Yeet Biggley
• Henry likes to take photos of random things to “appreciate the Beaty of all my surroundings” and he prints them off and places it on a large mosaic he’s creating.
• Lark and Sparrow call it his “stalker wall” or more affectionately, his “serial k!ller wall”
• Scary Marlowe reads Warrior Cats. I personally haven’t, and don’t plan to but she reads the vibe of my friends that have.
• Normal draws fanart of all his friends and quietly ships them together. He used to be a hardcore gothcleats guy but he’s seen the chemistry between swiftkicks. (Don’t ship real people btw but he’s a hs he don’t know no better) He stoutly refuses to ship KickWorthy.
• Samantha Stampler is still alive and she’s kicking ass as a therapist. She doesn’t know about Terry yet.
• Carol, Mercedes, and Samantha meet up for book club regularly. They don’t actually read books Tho they get together to eat food and talk shit.
• Ron Stampler ate my homework.
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