So I've been in a bit of a blocked headspace recently, and when Jambee retweeted that one pic- of Jack looking at himself basically- I got struck with an idea.
I figured it was gonna be about 300 words but here we are about 743 words later, haha! Hope ya'll enjoy!
(Idr how to read more on mobile, whoops, hope this doesnt clog up too much space!)
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Mirrors.
There was nothing worse, honestly.
He'd been glad his Sunshine just assumed he couldn't see his reflection since they couldn't. Lying to them is something he wouldn't have had it in him to do, although he certainly didn't want to tell them the truth either.
He could see his reflection.
Although reflections were supposed to show yourself, were they not?
He couldn't tell which one of them was the real him.
The real him...
Who was the real him?
Surely this was, wasn't it?
Blue hair, red face paint, primary colored clothing and a chipper tune.
But if this truely was him, then why didn't his reflection, well, reflect that?
Brown hair, tired eyes, and those tattoos he eventually wished he'd never gotten.
None of that was him, no. At least, not anymore. It was quite clear when he looked down at himself and saw that he was how he wanted to be.
So why was he the one staring back at him? Why did his reflection not reflect him?!
Is this not good enough?
Sunny Day Jack was perfect.
Perfect bod, perfect friend, perfect at keeping his life together, perfect lover-
He could go on about how perfect he was.
It was quite the struggle to get here, so why shouldn't he feel a little bit proud about how perfect he'd become?
Yet here I am, still like this.
Sure his past may be a bit more... Imperfect. But we all make mistakes at some point! As long as we learn from them and do better, that's what matters most. That's how one becomes perfect.
The perfect spouse, the perfect defender, the perfect caregiver, the perfect actor-
There was a gunshot, and then...
He was perfect for the role, because he was the role! Nobody embodied Sunny Day Jack better than he, for he was THE Sunny Day Jack!
...
Was
...
It's clear he's not too happy with himself. With who he was. He tried so hard to change, to be perfect- for everyone else's sake! Say the right things, don't do the wrong things, and bury, bury, bury, bury, BURY everything that wasn't relevant to his new life anymore.
He tried so d- so HARD to make sure everything would be perfect and yet...
The reality he was a ghost had not escaped him.
His Sunshine was the only one who could see him, hear him, touch him...
If being unseen and unheard and unfelt by the world at large wasn't the qualities of a ghost, then what was it?
He cherished the bond he had with his beloved Sunshine. They gave him reprieve from that torment, proved that perhaps God had heard his prayers and sent someone to save him-
Saving that wouldn't need done if it wasn't for-
A gloved hand rested on the mirror. His reflection looked like it was crying. Was he crying too? He couldn't tell.
And quite frankly, the anger beginning to bubble up didn't care.
If it wasn't for a couple stupid mistakes, this mess wouldn't have ever been a thing! Why couldn't you have just stopped and thought about things for once in your life?! Maybe actually thought about the future and what you could have done to help it?! No, no no no no no! Making a statement right then and there was all that mattered. Yes, nothing truly important mattered until you had already messed everything up, and left it to a different, actually mature version of yourself to fix-
"Jaaack? Where aaaare youuuu?~"
A familiar voice carried from the bedroom.
It snapped Jack out of his thoughts and he froze, a fist he did not realize he had raised mere inches from shattering the mirror. His reflection stared back him, hollow and desperate.
He looked away, embarrassed. Slowly, he lowered his arms and relaxed his grip.
What a silly reaction, shattering a mirror wouldn't do anything but-
-but bury things yet again.
Perhaps it best some things stay buried.
"I'm in the living room Sunspot!~"
His voice rang out, matching his beloved's sing-song tune.
Already he was doing his best to forget what almost transpired. Moving quickly to the couch and plastering on his signature smile, his mind took heed and moved onto more important matters.
Such as looking up to see his bright little ray of Sunshine emerging from the hallway with a blanket in one hand and a dvd in the other.
"Movie night?"
He patted the open spot next to him.
"I'd love nothing more."
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re "what kind of writer am i" very agree with pain and help me. Love your fics so much!!! Also your characterisation is on point! Taking this as an excuse to shower you with praise and love for your art, your work is so amazing and every day I'm happy it exists and want to thank you for sharing it.
It has been so long since you sent this, and it's my fault entirely. I've been keeping the message to look at, since allos have been policing my fics again (I've mislabled a fic as slash when it should be gen despite there being a literal scene of post-coitus pillow talk, but what do I know, I'm aro/ace). So thank you, really, this message got me through a rough patch.
You still probably don't go here, but you hoped they'd understand each other, so have a bit of Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue... having more issues. XD
"I've been thinking about what you said," Nie Mingjue said, his arm dropping to wrap around Lan Xichen's waist. "About not wanting sex."
"I..." Nie Mingjue hadn't believed him. Had Nie Huaisang said something? With his back to Nie Mingjue's chest, Lan Xichen could feel his heart beat, solid and steady. The ends of his ribbon was trapped between them, and the realization made his ears burn.
"You accepted who I am," Nie Mingjue said. "And I admit it will be... challenging. But I would like to try."
Lan Xichen froze, barely able to breathe.
"Not sex," Nie Mingjue corrected with a curse. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I want to try a relationship again, without sex."
"But you..."
Nie Mingjue sighed, then shrugged, pulling Lan Xichen closer. "It's not like I can't get myself off when I want to. But compared to not having you... Xichen, Let's try this again, okay?"
He had missed this. The soft kisses, being held, being loved. Having someone who could take off his forehead ribbon and handle him without restraint. He couldn't give anyone a proper relationship, but he still felt so greedy wanting the intimacy. If he'd heard those words in the past, would things have been different? Would he have been able to keep this?
But this wasn't the past.
"Xichen?"
He pulled away from Nie Mingjue's embrace and faced him. "Thank you, Mingjue-xiong."
Nie Mingjue frowned. "What's with the thanks? there's no need."
Shaking his head, Lan Xichen smiled. "No, those words... They made me so happy." Cangse Sanren had gotten a happy relationship, despite being like him. Maybe for others, there could be the intimacy and love, but Lan Xichen didn't deserve it.
"I wish... I wish I'd been able to hear those words before," he said softly, still smiling. "Maybe things would be different."
"Xichen, what... Has someone hurt you?" Nie Mingjue's hand went to Baxia's hilt, ready to hunt down anyone who dared.
"You won't believe me," Lan Xichen said ruefully. "But I don't deserve this. You were right. I do trust too easily. I was the reason you were killed."
It was almost a relief to finally admit it.
The troubles of time travel are that scars that haven't happened yet still can't be erased. XD Also, remember kids, Lan Xichen is going through a rough timeline and his thoughts are not currently healthy. It's not greedy to want a relationship and intimacy. Sex is not a requirement for a relationship.
I've been debating doing another pause to type, but honestly, I'm getting into proper Gusu Trauma parties as the war starts and that's fun. XD
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Since I’ve been encouraged to actually share my funny little blorbo ideas here’s another one gang;
Danny moves to Gotham on scholarship for engineering, because the Fentons may be infamous but they’re also insanely brilliant and besides both he and Jazz are showing every sign of embarrassed child of a super genius syndrome, so while the bats are keeping a close eye on him Just In Case, duke is also thinking of introducing him to the Our Parents Are Maniacs But Anyway club maybe after the first month or so.
Gotham does not go for standard dorm living bc of his ‘condition’ and lack of wanting to constantly spook/gaslight a roommate. Besides, living with two small children is a dorm sounds like a disaster in action.
So Danny signs up as a mechanic in Crime Alley, buys himself a teeny weensy lil apartment and Makes It Work. He has been all year after showing up with a de aged Dani and Dan in Amnity after all, and that had gone,,, fine? (The entire town, observing how Danny had been getting increasingly more uncomfortable around his godfather prior to the cloning incident, then just dropped off the face of the earth for several months, the first two weeks stuck in Vlad’s basement enduring horrors and the next Too Many desperately fapping around in the Ghost Zone to get everything handled. All the clones live, all 13 of them. Bunch of them are stuck in the Ghost Zone due to constant need for ectoplasm, but eh, plenty of Zone born never leave, so. One, in the future, apprentices under a green warrior lady on Pandora’s suggestion, another is working in the Eternal Library with Ghost Writer, etc etc. so Danny eventually came back to Amnity with one small child under each arm very obviously traumatized by Somethingn with vlad and doesn’t like being alone with him,,, or touched without warning,, and immediately and passionately proclaims the kids his but struggles to explain how or why,, look some very reasonable assumptions are drawn okay. So the town does the very reasonable thing and does the midwestern equivilant of excommunicating Vlad, except it’s a lot more run him out with pitchforks vibes since he’s the Mayor. Anyway)
He is immediately loved, because while non Gothamites are usually more of a pain than they’re worth, everyone in a while someone even from out of town will just fit in so nicely it’s uncanny for everyone involved. Addams family vibes, it’s referred to as ‘making it home’, just personal hc. He is protective of all the kids playing in the parks and street girls that can totally take care of themselves on their corners but find it HILARIOUS when he just tackles a dick like a wild animal full force no warning. He can fix anything it seems, but refuses to work with weapons. Reasonable enough, people get twitchy about gangs sometimes. Danny mentions being not against Hood or anything, but he’s not going to work for him, littles to take care of and all, but had past experience with ‘Dora and that inheritance mess with her brother he was being a real prick about’ so everyone assumes it’s the equivilant of him having Done His Time and being plenty good for a life time and respects it as long as none of that petty midwestern small town hotshots bring any of that shit over here. And they don’t, because said individuals are on the other side of the mortal veil, so happy day.
See I really love deaged!Dan because he’s just a grumpy lil guy. But he’s also killed millions. He’s so protective of his loved ones, but held back by blending in and also being Smol that it comes off more bitey kitten than anything else. Dani, of course, is a terror, so she fits right in with the crowd.
And sorry gang, but a bunch of kids on their own in Gotham in a poor side of the city just isn’t going to get any attention: that’s just business as usual really. What first gets attention on Danny is not his ‘condition’ or being mistaken for a meta (which he legally probs has an argument for even without the gene bc like these bitches don’t know how metaism works anyway so) or alien (I’m 90% sure he’d be covered by the alien protection act by virtue of being half ‘not from earth’), but because Danny despite best efforts is a Weird Guy.
He grew up in what could only be described as a low level villain level and spent most of high school dealing with smack downs and spiritual invasion. He’s never really processed that any of that is not in fact Normal. Also, he’s capable of making Anything if given the insides of a toaster, blender and alarm clock, and could probably rewrite the circuits of the apartment blindfolded and improve them 1000% even if it ABSOLUTELY would not be up to code.
And sure, things slip every once in a while, bits of spectral ice here, small floating incident there, but everyone just Minds Their Buisness ya know? You really gunna mess with the guy that personally ensured that when your car got flattened by a fight with Killer Croc, you were still able to get in to work the next day by some wizardry? Really?
But Gotham is a city so cursed it’s probably in the exponents countwise, so of course there is a) a flourishing community of magic users and assorted supernatural weirdos and b) a whole lot of shit for Mega Overpowered Ghost King Danny to idly pick at day to day in order to help with his protecting other Obsession. Gotham has plenty of heroes, but by god do they need the spiritual equivilant of an electrician/priest.
Still, Danny, as a baby ancient under a facet of Kronos and KING OF THE DEAD is like, way, way out of their scope to be able to grok, so it mostly just comes off as you know, a family of banshees or something. When asked, Danny very haltingly says he was briefly dead but then revived, which neatly explains his Weird Ass aura and makes it SPECTACULARLY AWKWARD to ask further about. So everyone nods politely, and goes back to their lives after double checking no nefarious bullshit was being pulled.
Then, of course, Vlad finally tracks them down. The whole neighborhood is altered in short order because he doesn’t bother trying to hide being a Rich Bitch or how he’s sneering down his nose at people on the sidewalk. Every connects the dots when Danny paniks. Dani and Dan’s daycare are staffed with some extra, very buff set of hands within the hour. Jerry, Hood’s third in command, personally shows up to the garage Danny is working at to talk things out with him bc he knows he does t like the deal with this stuff due to past unspecified circumstances but well, they guys had already started fucking with him, you see. Stole his tires, spray painted the windows, pickpocketed him blind, and when he retreated tipped off the police to the drugs they’d planted in the glove box.
Danny might not have been born in Gotham, but he was one of them. And the Alley takes care of it own.
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