The Very Thought of You
Christine Daae is an ambitious young woman living amidst the backdrop of World War II, who suddenly finds her life upended when she ends up pregnant out of wedlock following a brief romance with a handsome naval flight instructor. Erik Destler is a quiet but simple man, who stayed behind to look after his family’s farm after his brother left to fight, only to never return home. He’s always yearned for a wife and proper family of his own and soon receives that chance after being informed of Christine’s plight, agreeing to marry her and raise her baby as his own.
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Ghost Kitchen (brought to you by criminal entrepreneur, Red Hood)
Danny’s got the easiest job in Gotham.
He works as a fry cook at a shoddily-run, independent burger joint. Hardly anyone comes in, despite prices being criminally low, and portions insanely large, and while the manager looks like the average tough-as-nails ex-con, he lets Danny mess around in the kitchen whenever the place is empty. (Which is often. This place has to be the city’s hidden gem or something!)
Mr. Manager’s the only one ever there with Danny, except for sometimes when his buddies come over to smoke and play cards. Danny would find it shady, except part of his job is not to ask questions. Literally, he was told during the interview.
(It was a weird interview. Why would they need to hire someone who’s been in a gunfight before? Like, he has, but Gotham’s idea of “hirable qualities” is so bizarre.)
So instead he whips up some killer burgers with the frozen ingredients, and basks in the praise as the guys tell him he shouldn’t have, he does too much for this joint, ain’t that friendly!
Now, Danny’s a chef on the newer side. As a teen he’d preferred the look of Nasty Burger over anything with Michelin stars, and he only really took up cooking after Jazz moved out for college. But just like ecto-exposure used to turn the groceries sentient, Danny’s low-level ecto signature imbues all his food with something historically haunted Gothamites just love! And Danny’s never been one to half-ass a job when it makes people happy.
With fresher produce, real meat, Danny’s sure he can take his dishes to the next level. It takes a couple months of badgering, but his manager finally agrees to contact the mysterious store owner, who keeps the place going, despite profits Danny knows have to be in the red.
Danny spends the morning prepping. He pours his heart into his food, eager to impress. The big boss will be here soon, and he wants to prove that despite the dangerous location, this place has real potential!
It isn’t until the Red Hood shows up that Danny realizes he’s been working for a money laundering scheme.
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Ghost xisuma for fandom swap?
"Alright, I see what you're talking about. Okay, helmet off," Hypno said. "Let's see what the problem is."
Xisuma dithered for a moment longer, thumbs resting on the clasps behind his neck. The lit-up eyes on his visor slid to one side, not entirely smoothly- one half of the LED screen was flashing erratically. "It won't bother you to see, will it? The whole...?"
"Nah, it's nothing I haven't seen before," Hypno pointed out, pulling out a screwdriver and tapping it against his leg.
Xisuma shrugged, a little sheepish. "Well, yes. You know how it is." He flipped the clasps open, pulled the helmet free and handed it over to Hypno. The bare skull it had formerly concealed sat exposed, gleaming slightly under the froglights set into the ceiling. It was still, no indication of expression or life.
Hypno wasted no time flipping the helmet over in his lap and prying a panel loose to examine the wiring. "I think you've just got a short here," he said after a moment. "Should be a quick fix. I can put a replacement wire in here right now, I just need to strip this one out."
Xisuma's sigh of relief sounded a bit different without his helmet on; less substantial, like it was coming from every angle, carried on the air. Maybe it was just the effect of being able to see his mouth not moving. "Thank you. Goodness."
"Was it bothering you that much?" Hypno asked idly, kicking a nearby chest open and fishing around in it with his free hand for a pair of pliers. "You couldn't see the flashing from inside the helmet, right?"
Xisuma shrugged again, and, yeah, it was a little strange to see the suit moving headless. "I like having expressions," he said. "Technically it's a nonessential function, but when people can't see my face moving- or, well, my 'face'-" the suit made air quotes with its fingers- "it makes me feel, er-"
"Dead?" Hypno guessed.
Xisuma chuckled. "In a manner of speaking."
"Well, we can't have that," Hypno said. He worked in silence for a moment longer, wrapping the fixed wire carefully in electrical tape, then slapped the panel back into place and handed the helmet back over. "Here, give that a try."
"My friend, you are a lifesaver," Xisuma said, then paused. "Well."
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