#salt in the bones

[mokulule]

A Pinch of Salt - Part 4

First | Masterpost

The final part of the first installment of the Salt in the Bones series which is a project co-created with @clockwayswrites, you can see the other stuff written for it in the masterpost link above or go to the first part.

-

John looked at the kid, who just stepped inside the fucking binding circle. His mouth fell open in shock.

“What is wrong with you!?” It wasn’t so much a question as it was an exclamation, and John didn’t wait for any answer. “Of all the sodding, daft, goddamn tossers - what were you bloody thinking? No, you weren’t thinking. Otherwise you wouldn’t have fucking done that. You DO NOT go into the blasted circle!”

“Are you done?”

“Am I-“ John spluttered.

Are you done? He asked, as if John was the unreasonable one here! “Oh you’re right chuffed, aren’t you mate? Well, you cocked up, you’re about to be banished right alongside the storm, you little git!”

“Then stop the banishing or banish us both. It’s your choice.” Kid stood, back straight, jaw clenched stubbornly and a frown over those wide blue eyes. His hair and clothes whipped violently from the storm, but he didn’t care, just kept his eyes on John.

John raised his hands in frustration, words dying on his tongue. It would serve him right!

It would serve him right; he stepped into the bloody circle. It wasn’t John’s fault. Everything was going fine for once and maybe that should have been John’s warning. Whatever was up with the kid he apparently had a soft spot for ghosts - even after John had told him several times that the spirit was gone. It’d gone nova. No coming back. The end. It would continue it’s rampage until it burned out. It would hurt and destroy indiscriminately.

And yet he still-

It would serve him right to get sent to Hell alongside it. It wouldn’t even be the first time someone John worked with got sent to Hell for their trouble. John Constantine was bad luck for everyone around him. It happened.

But it was different when John held the reins of the spell that did it, when he had the choice to stop it.

Still John was at his wits end. If he stopped the banishing, the kid was still trapped in the circle with the spectral storm. If he broke the circle they were back at square one except they were in the center of the storm’s power and it was even angrier.

It was easier, safer, to just continue the banishing. Kid had made his stupid arse decision. John wasn’t a good person. He did what was necessary. Ends and means and all that.

But he was a bloody kid - a teenager - they were basically obligated to do stupid shit. Didn’t mean he deserved to get sent to Hell for it. John had seen and done a lot of shit, but when it came right down to it he didn’t want to add sending a kid to Hell.

John had seen enough dead kids to last him a lifetime.

“Oh bollocks.” John let his arms fall and cut the feed to the banishing spell, wincing slightly at the backlash. “You better have a plan kid.”

The kid had to have some sort of abilities with that aura, maybe all hope was not lost? The kid grimaced and John’s forced optimism crumbled like so much sand.

“I-“ the kid winced as something in the storm hit the back of his head. He rubbed the spot, and looked almost apologetic, “I figured I’d try talking to them.”

John stared.

And stared.

“Or-“ the kid backtracked, “just calm them down somehow?”

“You cannot ‘calm down’ a spectral storm!” John felt like a broken record on repeat. “It’s impossible.”

He threw up his hands and walked exactly three steps away counting his breaths all the while wracking his brain for a different solution. There weren’t any good ones. Heck it was a miracle the kid hadn’t already been torn to pieces being inside the circle.

“We’re dead,” he lamented dramatically.

“Half-dead.”

John’s head snapped around at the weird response.

“I mean,” the kid tried for a smile, “I’m the only one in the circle.”

John stared in despair. The kid’s sense of humor needed serious work.

“I’m not gonna leave you in the bloody circle, kid.”

Danny stood struck wide eyed at the admission. That was- He didn’t know how to deal with that. There was a pang in his chest. He felt too open, too vulnerable. He swallowed before finding his voice.

“Just let me try something, okay?”

Danny turned around to face the center of the storm, he instantly had to squeeze his eyes near shut, from all the dust. Instinctively he took a breath and coughed. Okay breathing not good. Too bad he was human right now.

He had to get closer, closer to that screaming grief. He might be human right now, but he was also a ghost and the anger from earlier was just a thin veneer on top of grief on top of a cry for help. He felt it in his core like scrabbling hands desperately looking for purchase.

He took a step forward, hands up to shield his face, pushing against the wind. Another step. Then another.

How was he gonna calm them down?

Danny didn’t know. He knew fighting. He’d even sometimes recently had luck with talking. But this? It was way beyond talking, until they were calm there would be no such thing. Danny didn’t know what to do. He could only press on and hope an idea came to him.

The grief was stronger the closer he got to the center, it tore into him. Tears trickled down his cheeks and turned into gunk from the dust. Something sharp cut into his bare arms. Danny frowned, kept his head down and pushed forward.

Another step and the grief sunk sharp claws into his core. He screamed clutching his chest and gasping for breath that would do nothing. But the claws were gone as soon as they’d come, retreated as if they’d touched fire.

“Are you alright kid?!”

Danny spared a quick glance back to Trenchcoat who stood all the way up to the edge of the circle, face white as if he’d seen a ghost. Danny couldn’t help smiling at that. Something that alarmed Trenchcoat even further.

“I’m breaking the circle.”

“Don’t,” Danny coughed clearing his throat.

Danny looked back up, squinting through the swirling dust. It may not be visible, but something had changed. There was still the anger and grief, but something else too. A sense of waiting. Waiting to see what Danny would do. They had tried tearing him, the trespasser, apart down to his core, but in doing so they had felt him. They had felt his intention to help and retreated.

Trenchcoat was wrong, there was still a sentience there. Danny found himself grinning in triumph.

But even better Danny had an idea. His core vibrated giddily in his chest. He was a bit sore, but otherwise none the worse for wear. He just needed to reach out and connect with the ghost, he felt sure he could calm them. He just he needed a distraction, he didn’t need Trenchcoat to realize he was the one doing anything ghostly. He wracked his brain, something that made noise, drew attention, was maybe a bit ridiculous, but didn’t take much of his attention from the real work-

That was it!

“Twinkle-“ his voice broke on the first word but gained strength as he continued- “twinkle little star,” Danny sang. He didn’t need to look back to see the incredulous look on Trenchcoat’s face.

He kept singing, he knew that song by heart. His mom used to sing it to him, back when she actually put him to bed. There was a stab of melancholy, but Danny clutched on to the positive aspect of the memory and reached out with his core, its hum getting stronger.

It’s okay, he told the ghost, help. Safe. Peace. Calm.

He took step by step further into the calming storm. And all the while he sung them a lullaby.

John stared.

Then he stared some more. He was doing a lot of staring today.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, what he was hearing.

The kid was was singing a lullaby to the spectral storm. And that wasn’t even the most baffling thing. No, the kid was singing a lullaby to the spectral storm and it was bloody working.

The storm gradually calmed until suddenly it was gone. The silence was loud in the sudden emotional void. John staggered from the sudden lack of pressure. All that malice gone in an instant. All that was left was a gently cupped ball of light in the kids hands.

“There you are,” the kid said softly in a slightly scratchy voice.

John couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. It was impossible and yet here they were.

There was a flash of light and suddenly they stood in a house. Built brick by brick by two pairs of hands. Children ran through the rooms. They grew up. They had kids of their own, who had kids of their own. They lived and they loved and they were protected.

Then they were gone.

The door shut for the last time. The house was empty.

A large metal ball slammed through the walls, spreading dust and splintering the doorframe that had measured the growth of generations. It was torn down.

It had stood here, right in what would be the plaza.

The translucent shade of an old women, bent and bony from a life of hard work, hovered in front of the kid. She warbled sadly at him. John couldn’t understand anything but the deep sadness, but it seemed the kid did.

“It’s okay,” he said embracing the spirit, somehow managing to do so despite her definitely not being solid. “You’ve done your best, nobody could ask more of you.”

He paused and his voice softened further, “it’s time to let go.”

The old lady looked over at John and gave him a stern look that had him frozen in place. She was the type of grandma that would wack his fingers if she caught him going for the cookie jar. He wasn’t entirely sure what the look he got meant. Only that it felt like an admonishment.

She looked back on the kid and her features softened, smoothed and in the next moment she turned to mist in his arms, dispersing in the waning light coming from the overhead windows.

John couldn’t entirely believe what he’d just witnessed. Calling a spirit back once they’d gone nova, it was impossible. Unheard of. Banishment was how you dealt with spirits like that. It was a tried and tested method. Yet-

John shivered.

Death magic. It was the only explanation.

The kid reeked of it, to the point John had thought he was the ghost he was here to deal with. He’d thought he was some kind of creature, but he was just a kid. A kid with a very specific magical affinity who’d just done the impossible. He was filled with a sense of awe and dread he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

He felt shaken. Like he’d stood right next to a bell who’d been rung to herald change.

John was no prophet, at most he’d get vague premonitions and he far preferred to be in the moment rather then dwell on the future or the past. He most definitely did not want to even contemplate this kid’s future. He swallowed.

Magic, in John’s experience, always came with a cost.

The kid promptly sat down on his butt. John had broken the circle and was running over before he even realized.

“You okay, kid?” He asked breathlessly.

The kid looked up, eyes a bit dazed as he blinked at John. John couldn’t really tell if his complexion was grey or it was just the dust covering every inch of him. Several places, particularly his hands, the dust was dark from blood where he’d been cut in the storm. He looked unfocused.

“How many occult detectives are you seeing?” He asked unable to hide the note of worry.

“Too many,” Kid said tiredly with a shake of his head that had cement dust falling all over. Then he looked back up and elaborated with a smirk, “one.”

John huffed a laugh. If he could joke he couldn’t be that bad off.

“How does burgers and fries sound?”

-

The kid now dusted off to the point where you could almost tell his hair was black rather than grey sunk his teeth into the burger with a pleased hum. He chewed and swallowed.

“This is almost as good as Nasty Burger.”

John paused fry halfway to his mouth. “That sounds disgusting.”

Kid laughed. “I forget how it sounds to outsiders. It used to be Tasty Burger way back when they first opened, but someone vandalized the sign and it kinda stuck.”

John hummed thoughtfully, he could appreciate the joke. Kid’s use of the phrase outsiders made it sound like he came from an insular town. Probably best for him if he stayed there.

“What’s your name, kid?”

Instantly the blue eyes narrowed on him in suspicion.

“What’s yours, Trenchcoat?” He challenged.

John huffed at the nickname and reached a hand across the table. “John Constantine.”

The kid looked suspiciously at the offered hand, then reached out and took it. “Nightingale.”

John nodded and shook his hand before letting go. Smart of him to give him a codename, he wasn’t apparently completely without sense. “Because of the singing.”

For a moment the kid looked confused to the point where John actually thought maybe he’d given him his real name.

“Singing? Ah-“ He blushed looking down and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “No, that just seemed like a good idea at the time.”

John shook his head, fuck it if he didn’t like the kid. He picked up his milkshake and raised it. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

“If it works…”

The kid, Nightingale, grinned ferally and raised his own shake to clink it against John’s.

“If it works.”

-

After filling up the near bottomless stomach of the teenager, they parted ways in an alley. John’s mind was already on his next case - people going missing in a forest in Germany that had a distinct this-is-not-just-a-GPS-dead-zone flavor to it - so he only absently noted the strange look on the kid’s face when he opened the portal. It was morning in Germany, he could start looking into things before calling the House for a proper sleep.

“Take care, kid.”

With those words he stepped into the portal and let it close behind him.

Danny was left looking at the portal. He shook his head, jaw tight. With real magic apparently portals were just easy. It didn’t do him any good to think about. He glanced around and when he found the alley just as empty as before he jumped into the air transforming as he went.

There were better things to think about, like the concept of an occult detective, he thought as he flew in the direction of Amity. It sounded like it could almost be an acceptable profession in his parents’ eyes.

And it probably didn’t require good high school grades either, he thought with a grimace as he remembered he had an essay due tomorrow.

-

Hope you enjoyed this story which explored how Danny and Constantine first met in this AU. Next step is letting it sit for a while, then do a thorough editing and putting it up on ao3 as a oneshot. (And then maybe talk to Clock about starting writing on the main story proper? We'll see). Comments are greatly appreciated :D

Another link to the masterpost if you wanna see the other bits of writing and/or subscribe to the series

#a pinch of salt #salt in the bones #danny and constantine #dysfunctional found family FTW #dp x dc

[clockwayswrites]

Hollowing Bones - Snippet

I don't need another wip~ I'm just going to blame @mokulule and her new Dead on Main Discord for this~ (deff very much back burner fic but my are there brain weasels for it) edit: apparently this will now be an intertwined series Moku and I will be co-writing. She has some great Danny and Constantine stuff planned. I'll prob start in... May lol.

-

Danny sucked in a breath through his teeth as the world stabilized around him into white walls and gleaming metal. The sound echoed again. A mechanical voice announced something.

A portal.

He had just been shoved through a portal.

“Kid?”

He could still feel the hum of of it running along his skin like echoes of electricity.

“Nightingale?”

A hand landed on his shoulder and Danny spun with a growl. Constantine took a step back, hands raised, palms out.

The sound again.

Batman 02, the voice said.

The shadow of a man stepped out of the contraption as Danny sucked in another ragged breath. He glanced around them at the collection of heroes. He was in the Justice League.

“We had a deal, John,” Danny hissed as he rounded on Constantine again. He stabbed his pointing finger at the other. (He was surprised his hand didn’t shake.)

“Excuse me—”

“Fuck off, Superguy,” Danny snarled, not looking away from John. Holy shit that was Superman.

“Nightingale,” Batman started.

“There was one rule, Constantine!”

“Okay! Geesh, Kid, I get it, but, um, maybe tone down the magic show, yeah?” Constantine asked. Nervously. Why was he nervous?

Danny glanced down at the flower and whirls of ice that were forming under his feet.

Fuck.

#dp x dc #hollowing bones #danny fenton #john constantine #dead on main #jason's just not here yet #promise #this is going to be an angst fest #but with humor because Moku is a good influence #i just want to sleep #salt in the bones

[clockwaysarts]

Getting ready for the Dadentine... (motivating @mokulule)

#dp x dc #salt in the bones #clockfa #john constantine #danny fenton

[greensaplinggrace]

“Character A didn’t love Character B because they hurt them” discourse is truly terrible because it assigns a moral value to love that simply does not exist. love doesn’t actually mean anything about someone’s character. it doesn’t make someone’s actions toward another any better or any worse, it doesn’t prevent atrocities, and it doesn’t prevent abuse.

love is a worthless emotion when it comes to morals because it simply holds no bearing on them. true love doesn’t exist. there is no better or more pure version of love. in the end love doesn’t mean anything. it’s a non-emotion. it’s the child of passion and affection and dedication. doing something bad doesn’t preclude a feeling of love, because a lack of love isn’t a requirement for immoral actions, and morality isn’t a requirement for feeling love.

#like there's no moral high ground saying the character loved or didn't love the other charater #because its irrelevent #it's a driving factor like any emotion is a driving factor and that's about it #it's not a sign of morality or immorality #it's literally just love #love as an emotion is an ENTIRELY separate entity from a healthy relationship #shadow and bone #grishaverse #aleksander morozova #the darkling #alina starkov #darklina #hannigram #lawlight #spuffy #sab meta #sab salt #sab discourse #i mean kinda lol #just to be safe #myramblings #negative #fandomcourse

[transbookoftheday]

Books To Read For Genderfluid Visibility Week

Happy Genderfluid Visibility Week! Here are some books with genderfluid main characters you should read and/or preorder:

Book titles:

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall

Salt the Water by Candice Iloh

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

Valerin the Fair by Rien Gray

Nine of Swords, Reversed by Xan West

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle (comes out November 7, 2023)

A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford (comes out December 5, 2023)

#the honeys #ryan la sala #dragonfall #l.r. lam #something spectacular #alexis hall #salt the water #candice iloh #lakelore #anna-marie mclemore #valerin the fair #rien gray #nine of swords reversed #xan west #mask of shadows #linsey miller #the manor house governess #c.a. castle #a river of golden bones #a.k. mulford #nonbinary #genderfluid #genderfluid books #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #booklr #bookblr #genderfluid visibility week

[sky-neverending]

Jesper goes to college for agriculture but then switches to a theater degree, Kaz is in economics and like business, Nina studies International Relations, Inej is either an English or a Psychology major, Wylan is chem or music, probably a chem major and a music theory minor for his fathers sake, and Matthias… honestly i don’t know what Matty does. he’s just there. he works at a coffee shop with Jes. and he does school but like i have no clue what.

#six of crows #shadow and bone netflix #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #nina zenik #matthias helvar #the crows as college students #what i think they’d major as #i’m not in college so please take this with a grain of salt lol #this is just my opinion

[theweeklydiscourse]

My reasons for disliking the Shadow and Bone Netflix adaptations had very little to do with its “book accuracy” and had more to do with it being a terrible adaptation. In fact, I would’ve preferred if the writers had taken some liberties and revised certain flaws of the original trilogy to create a more compelling narrative.

However, they instead made superficial changes that added little to the value of the show and were bandaid solutions to deeper problems with the source material. They didn’t expand on the original story, they only narrowed the scope. This, was its ultimate flaw that ended up culminating in a watered down version of what we once knew.

For example, the rehabilitation of Mal’s image seemed agreeable initially, but harmed the story in the long-run. The writers understood that book!Mal was disliked, but instead of re-examining that character and expanding (and perhaps improving) his arc, they refashioned him into a boring and frictionless character that offered little to the emotional stakes of the story. This choice, was a prime example of the dilution of the characters and story for the adaptation that ended up creating a weaker experience altogether.

The girlbossification of Alina, the lobotomizing of the Darkling to make it easier for the heroes to defeat him, cramming the Crows into a plot that didn’t concern them, blaming Grisha persecution on the Darkling, making Zoya a racist/the Darkling’s side chick, all of those idiotic flashbacks, were symptomatic of the writers inability to take risks.

#lb critical #shadow and bone #the darkling #alina starkov #s&b critical #s&b netflix #s&b salt #darklina #aleksander morovoza #anti leigh bardugo #zoya nazyanelsky #six of crows #malyen oretsev #netflix

[alaryheart]

Okay, I couldn’t resist turning my sketch into a Pool Scene moment (minus the icky sensory feeling of layers of wet robes)

#fanart #gideon the ninth #the locked tomb #tlt #gideon nav #harrow nonagesimus #harrowhark #their poses just meshed together so welllllll #maybe gids like ‘did I drop the key ring in der?? #just some salt encrusted bone nuns

[puppercupboard]

Going on a real rant here but fandoms(maybe not as a whole, but certainly in general) have gotten really bad about tagging and it's making them.... inhospitable, honestly?

You guys have got to start tagging things. Don't like, don't read is a foundational aspect of fandom, and it does not work if things aren't tagged. If you can write something, you had damned well better be willing to tag it. And that goes for any variety of things that you're writing.

If you're writing about a doctors visit, tag medical themes and needles and whatever else goes on. If you're writing about mental health issues you need to tag things, whether that be panic attacks or suicidal thoughts or disordered eating. if you're writing about a ship adopting a puppy, then you should tag the ship and fluff and slice of life!

Tags are for people to avoid things every bit as much as they are for people to find things. It's why people get so annoyed with people tagging characters who aren't even in the fic, they're just mentioned for 2 lines in one scene. It's also why people get pissed about people not tagging kinks, because everyone has a line in the sand somewhere, and by not tagging things, you're not letting them draw it.

And while I'm on the topic of tagging as a way to avoid content you don't want? Tagging with "Dead Dove: Don't Eat" and calling it done is not okay either. There are too fucking many people that are just not aware of how to use that as a tag.

Dead Dove: Don't Eat is not a content warning. Dead Dove: Don't Eat must be used alongside other tags. Dead Dove: Don't Eat is not any more useful as a trigger tag than a vague "dark content". Dead Dove: Don't eat is a tag that is used to make clear that all the other tags are to be taken seriously and with gravity. There is a dead dove in the bag. do not eat the dead dove. don't like what's in the bag? don't open it.

Except that there has been an influx of people who are just? not tagging beyond that, if they tag at all. You cannot say "It's what's on the tin" if you don't have anything written on the tin.

When Dead Dove as a tag is being used for absolutely everything from incest to noncon to yandere to self harm to cannibalism to explicitly written ero guro, but the people using it aren't tagging any of those things? It loses all functionality as a tag. It loses all ability to warn people away from things that they don't want to read if you aren't pairing it with actual trigger warnings.

#just a dog with a bone #pupper salt #that's going to be a tag on here now #i've been chewing on this for like a week now and i'm getting to the point where i'm starting to froth n foam

[crystal-mouse]

Now presenting! T'pringles!

actually proud of this edit hfdsjkfdh

#i chose salt and vinegar cuz she seems a little salty #t'pringle #star trek #star trek tos #star trek meme folder #dont ask me why but i feel that jim would eat prawn cocktail pringles and spock would eat either plain or paprika pringles #bones eats sour cream and onion

[pentacentric]

dean | sam

these bones are gonna rise again

❤️‍🔥

(I suppose this doesn't exactly need to read as SPN fanart, but if you look real close at their ribs (and inside) you'll see a few signs.)

#spn fanart #sam fanart #dean fanart #bones and salt and flames #death and love and death #myspnfanart #anatomical accuracy? well we can squint and pretend

[mokulule]

A Pinch of Salt - snippet 2

Okay, so I have been reminded by @clockwayswrites that I could post some things instead of just hoarding them like the dragon in my icon. So here ya go. Maybe I'll even get around to updating Catnip in the coming days who knows. Previous

Fuck, Danny cursed internally as he struggled to keep up with the long-legged stride of Trenchcoat. Whatever had happened to that ghost to make it into something like that was not good, he needed to do something! But as long as Trenchcoat was here he couldn’t exactly do as he usually would: transform and punch it. The man had seemed very ready to do something to Danny and the unspeakable soul situation going on had Danny extremely leery of finding out what that something was.

At least getting eaten seemed unlikely from the man’s earlier horrified response.

So running.

They went down a hallway, up a staircase, down another hallway and into a would have been shop. They stopped for a moment in the square space catching their breath. Trenchcoat let go of him to go peek back around the corner. Finally Trenchcoat’s shoulders relaxed.

“We lost it for now.” Actually it was more like the ghost lost interest in them; as they’d gotten further and further away from the central plaza of the mall the ghost had stopped following them. Not that Danny was going to tell Trenchcoat that. He had no idea how he’d explain it in a way that didn’t make him extremely suspicious. His hair was dripping salty water making it hard to forget he’d already been assaulted twice - he did not wanna know what else the man stored up his sleeves.

Preferably, somehow he’d get Trenchcoat to leave.

The moment of inattention cost him as he was grabbed once again by Trenchcoat and towed through the would-maybe-someday be a store to a door in the back. This led to a store room and a door to the outside. It was unlocked it turned out and Danny realized this was probably how the man had gotten in.

“Alright, kiddo, time to leave.”

Trenchcoat opened the door and pushed at Danny’s back.

“No way!” Danny exclaimed digging his heels in.

“Yes way,” Trenchcoat mocked, “go home kid, I’m a professional.”



 There was no way Danny was leaving, not at this point. Ghosts were his area of expertise - or well, Danny couldn’t really claim to be an expert, but they were his responsibility at least! He had a unique skillset and no matter what Trenchcoat claimed, he did not look any sort of professional. He made his opinion of his claim known by giving the man his most dubious look.
 - 
John hated teenagers and this teenager in particular.

He didn’t know what it was about teenagers, but they were just merciless in their judgment in a way adults were probably usually too polite to be. In any case that little up and down there, with the slightly raised eyebrow made him feel like he’d worn a clown costume to an accounting job.

“Bloody Hell, will you just leave before I decide to feed you to the specter!”

The boy crossed his arms, standing his ground. “You can try.”

John dragged a hand down his face, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“What are you even doing here?” “I’m here for the ghost.” Plain, even, said with not a smidge of hesitation. “You’re here for the-“ John cut himself off, hands opening and closing, inwardly cursing children and their stupid dares. “And what pray tell where ya gonna do when you found the ghost?”“I figured I’d try talking to them.”“You what?!” John spluttered. He’d expected him to say he hadn’t expected to find a ghost, there went his theory of this being a dare.

“There is no talking to that!” He pointed vaguely in the direction they’d lost the spectral storm. “Of all the sodden-“

“Them.”

John’s thoughts screeched to a halt. “What?” “Them. They are a them, not an it or a that.”

John opened and closed his mouth. Was he really getting a lecture on pronouns?

“It is a spectral storm. Whatever poor spirit it used to be, is not there anymore. There’s no mind there, it’s pure emotion out of control. There’s no way back from that.”

The boy scowled at him, clearly disagreeing. It didn’t matter. 
John pointed at the door.

“Leave.” “No.” They stared at each other neither giving an inch.

Urgh, this had to be why Batman was so grumpy all the time. John could not do this. He threw up his hands and turned around. He worked around things, not through them and here he was engaging in the folly of arguing with a bloody teenager.

“Suit yourself.”

Gods, he needed a smoke. He’d hardly finished the thought before he was pulling the package of smokes out of its pocket with practiced ease. He was lighting the smoke by the time he noticed the unimpressed look he was getting. Satisfied, he took a deep drag and slowly breathed out the smoke. The kid grimaced and John smirked.

“Those are gonna kill you.” “As opposed to the rest of my lifestyle?” He returned with a nod in the direction of the Storm that probably couldn’t kill him, but the kid didn’t know that. Satisfied at the way the kid’s nose scrunched, he walked back the way they came from.

“And what are you supposed to be?” Kid asked falling in step with him, and John just knew he was being annoying on purpose with that tone of voice. He was not gonna bite. He was an adult. He kept his gaze straight ahead as the kid started guessing.

“Excorcist? Ghostbusters wannabe?”

There was a pause, then a flash of a sly smirk John only caught because he’d stopped to look down the hallway.

“Ectologist?” The suggestion hit John like a metaphysical sledgehammer and he recoiled in disgust.

“Fuck. No.” He shuddered an extra time as if that would remove the oily feeling. “I’m an occult detective. You happy now? Shit kid, you don’t pull your punches do you?”

-

“So what’s the plan, Trenchcoat?”

“Trenchcoat,” John mouthed to himself before shaking his head. “The plan is you keep out of the way and I deal with the raging ghostie.”

“Yeah, no, you’re gonna do better than that. This is not my first time dealing with a ghost. But I don’t know what occult detectives do.”

John pondered the statement about this not being the first time he’d dealt with a ghost, and maybe there was something to the death magics he gave off after all. He groaned internally, why was he doing this?

“Standard practice, kid. Contain and banish.” He held up first one finger then two.

Danny rolled his eyes. It didn’t sound too different from his approach to ghosts, he caught them and sent them back to the ghost zone, but Mr Occult Detective didn’t exactly carry around a Fenton thermos.

“And how do you contain? No,” he offset the clearly sarcastic response. “I mean what are your requirements?”

Trenchcoat rolled his eyes, but humored him.

“I need a large enough open space and a small moment of preparation, then just gotta lure it in and do a binding spell.”

Danny narrowed his eyes and looked towards where he felt the raging storm of ghost energy. “Like the plaza.”

“Ideally yes.”

“So you need a distraction.” Danny started walking. A hand fell on his shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going? If you’re so insistent to stay, you’re not leaving my sight.”

Danny shrugged off the hand and turned around.

“The plaza is the center of the their power. You need someone to lure them away.” Danny watched the emotions flash across the man’s face with a small bit of amusement. He really didn’t want Danny involved if he could help it. Finally the man’s face settled on exasperation.

“I will figure something out.”

Danny smiled, taking a step backwards.

“No, you will give me a ten minutes headstart to lure our ghost friend far enough away they won’t immediately notice your stench so close to the heart of their haunt.”

As if sensing his intentions Trenchcoat made another grab for him which he dodged. And then he ran. He was sure it was only the threat of the ghost that prevented the man from yelling after him.

He just hoped he’d listened, because Danny was about to go piss off an already raging spirit. Trenchcoat better be ready.

Fun times.

#A pinch of salt #Salt in the bones #Danny and Constantine #dysfunctional found family ftw

[clockwayswrites]

Hollowing Bones - Snippet 2

"He killed you!" Danny screamed. Ice climbed up his fists and arms and chest- frosting in delicate curls around his neck like his own cold was choking him.

"I know."

"He-"

Jason wrapped Danny up in his arms, pulling him close despite the chill that bit at bare skin. "I know."

Danny sank into the hold, tremors wracking through his too fragile seeming frame. Jason just pulled him tighter. He clung to Danny just as much as he tried to push down his own terror from the lingering nightmare. Tried not to feed into the dangerous feedback loop of fear that sang across their fledgling bond.

Someone guided them towards the family room, past the family members guarding sentinel in the hallway and bedroom doors. Bruce, Jason thought, but it was Dick who helped them settle on the couch and stayed close enough for Jason to touch. He knew that the rest of his family would be near too. Damian and Cass would be watching guarding the windows and doors. Duke would be bouncing, nervously between the den and the kitchen where Alfred would be putting Tim and Steph to work preparing warm tea and comforting food.

Jason closed his eyes to the large hand running through his hair and took a shuttering breath.

His family was here, he didn’t have to worry. So he let himself drift, just for a little, knowing that they would keep him— keep them both— anchored to come back to. By the time he did, everyone was settled, scattered throughout the room. Cups of tea were clutched tight in desperate fingers, trying and failing to sooth worried eyes.

His own fingers were trailing through Danny’s hair where the other had his head resting against Jason’s chest. He scratched light where the hair met the nape of Danny’s neck and got a rumbled hum in response.

Softly, calmly (too calmly), Jason asked, "How did you die?"

The room froze in the way that only a room full of Bats could. They had known Danny was tied to death. Constantine had called him a Death Mage and a psychopomp and a Speaker. They hadn’t thought about the implications of what that must have meant.

Now they couldn’t think of anything else.

#*whistles innocently* #okay back to editing lbfd now #dp x dc #dead on main #jason/danny #danny fenton #jason todd #hollowing bones #salt in the bones

[stealingyourbones]

Spent so much time making sushi for dinner and was so excited to have a funky little sushi roll and eat it like a burrito but then my nori ripped apart mid roll and I had to eat it as a salad and apparently my brain doesn’t like the texture of imitation crab + seaweed and rice rn :(

#bones speaks #bones rants #sad :( #imma put in fridge for twin but man now I gotta make something else for dinner because I haven’t eaten anything else today #and only had like 300 calories worth of food yesterday. getting used to not feeling hungry with- #-​consistent adderall use has been kickin my ass lately. #sorry I like never rant on here but I’m so sad I was so excited for sushi and then Texture Bad :((((( #i even put avocado n carrot and salted cucumber ;-; this took so long to make and now I can’t eat it #a tragedy of the highest order #fuck it imma make me some chicken and just season the everloving shit out of it #i may be white but I know how to cook flavorful food and by god am I not gonna eat chicken with just salt. lack of spoons be damned

[greensaplinggrace]

alina starkov i am so sorry that no one understands your character. i'm sorry that you have been reduced to the fandom's morality pony at the sake of your real personality and your depth. i'm sorry that they don't understand that you existed as a person outside of the men in your life, and that your relationship with your trauma was complicated and ugly and understandable. i'm sorry they didn't love you for this anyway.

i'm sorry they don't understand the metaphor of the sunlight in your soul representing your self discovery and growing ability to accept yourself - that every scene where you long so desperately to know yourself and then glow when you finally do is cast in darkness by those who would rather you starve yourself in the name of conformity than eat healthily at the table of self love.

i'm sorry that they didn't love you enough to see how much losing your light hurt you and i'm sorry that they didn't want you to have a happy ending that you truly wanted - one where you could be all of yourself without shame or borders. i'm sorry their love for you was so performative that it stripped you of everything you are, that it left you wanting and shamed and filled with grief. i'm so so sorry.

#this fandom really does not deserve her #grishaverse #shadow and bone #sab #alina starkov #sab salt #myramblings #you bet your ass i'll go to bat for my girl #when will the people who claim to love her stop speaking complete and utter shit? #fandomcourse #sab discourse #anti darkling bs #anti darklina bs

[howtostandinsilence]

Alina's sun summoner ability cannot be a metaphor for her escaping the cycle of abuse and living her own peaceful life when its very presence indicates something entirely different about her character. When her abilities are tied more closely to her identity and her growing path to self discovery, any framing of their presence in her life as only a fight against abuse comes across as cheap and shows a spectacular misunderstanding of her character.

Alina losing her abilities doesn't show a need to no longer fight. It doesn't show freedom or liberation. It shows instead brutal oppression and cruelty. 'She can be on her own and the darkness cant get to her anymore' is a funny way of describing the loss of a light power that could by nature repel the darkness and bring her kinship. In fact, it is almost a direct misinterpretation of the events that took place, and through its very wording contradicts itself.

Alina losing her powers cannot be a big metaphor for letting go of the past and moving onto internal peace when it drives her into a horrific regression and throws her into an eternal misery and grief stricken state. Where her very being is repressed so that she may conform and assimilate to her oppressors.

You cannot state that this hatred of her ending is only because it has been done terribly to other female characters before as if this is all some transferred bias. Alina's story is itself regressive through it's own path throughout the books. Her repression and the championing of her internalized bigotry through a narrative that structures itself around restrictive and puritanical morality can be easily tracked, picked apart, and analyzed as itself a story that rejects any real liberation or character progression to force the main female character into a box of conformity.

While Alina strives to be loved and cared for, she states multiple times what she truly wants. Which is the ability to accept and love all of herself in every way, with the freedom to love who she wants and to craft an ending that she wants, where she does not have to give up any of this. That Alina's very desire to have an ending where she can live freely is rejected so that fans can pat themselves on the back for liking her canonical regression feels grotesque. She did not actually want her ending. She could barely stomach it.

Alina's powers did not only represent her fight against abuse. They represented something more to her fundamental character and her arc of self actualization. There is no peoticism in her losing her powers except that of a greek tragedy and it's unfortunate protagonist. Alina didn't even choose to lose her powers. They were stripped from her against her will. In every way, her agency and pershonhood and very wishes are violated. But this is ignored in favor of championing some "subversive" and "enlightened" and apparently feminist story that simply does not exist.

#shadow and bone #sab salt #alina starkov #siege and storm #ruin and rising #the darkling #sab meta #the grisha trilogy