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Five Times Dick and Danny Met Their Soulmate and One Time They Realized What They Were at the Same Time

Summary:

Danny was born with a blue stripe around his thigh that had a bird of prey's head front and center.

Dick was born with a stylized symbol combining a D and P at the base of his spine.

It would take many meetings and years for them to realize just what they were to each other at the same time.

-

Or five times Dick and Danny met their soulmate with only one (or neither) realizing they were it and the one time they got their act together.

Notes:

Here it is! My one shot that I wrote as a break from the long fic.

Should I have finished this on a school night? No. But tomorrow in commencement for the graduating seniors so I have to go to that.

Enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

1. Age 11

Danny and Jazz had gotten dragged along to the ghost hunters conference even though it was not the place for an eleven and thirteen year old. It wasn’t the first time so they were used to it but that did not mean it was any less boring. Or age appropriate. And to make it worse they were in Gotham. A very scary city for two basically unsupervised kids.

At least the hotel was in a nicer area so it was okay for them to go to the park next door. It wasn’t completely safe but it was as safe as a hotel full of ghost hunters with no regard to safety. There were definitely less weapons.

And bonus, the play structures were way more fun than the ones back home. Danny was having so much fun climbing the structures and using the swings and going down the slide. He had even convinced Jazz to play with him for a while before her need to pretend to be an adult won over and she went to watch him from a bench.

Which is how Danny found himself swinging across the monkey bars alone.

“Can I join you?” a voice asked.

Danny looked down and saw a boy about the same age as him. He had black hair and blue eyes like him but his clothes looked a lot nicer. Kinda like the stuff that Sam’s cousin wore when he visited that one time and Danny met him.

“Yes!” Danny replied excitedly.

He dropped down to the ground and stuck out his hand.

“I’m Danny.”

The boy shook his hand.

“I’m Dick. Are you new here? I haven’t seen you here before.”

“We’re visiting for my parent’s work,” Danny told him.

“Cool! Alfred brings me here ‘cause it’s not very busy so he can see me better. It’s awesome to have someone to play with.”

They started to play on the monkey bars together. Dick was way better at them than Danny. But he taught him some really cool things. Things that made Jazz leave her spot on the bench to scold Danny for doing dangerous things.

The man that Dick told Danny was Alfred joined her on her chosen bench and appeared to help her with whatever she was working on.

They spent almost all of the afternoon playing together and were fast friends. Alfred even bought Danny and Jazz ice cream when a seller came by and Dick asked. Dick said he only did because they were there too. But eventually time came for Dick and Alfred to go home for dinner.

Jazz and Danny went back to their room in the hotel and a bit later their parents came back with their dinner. Danny ate as much as he could since it was so much better than at home (and didn’t come back to life).

They left Gotham a couple days later without having seen their new friends again.


2. Age 14

Dick knew he was going to get in trouble for this stunt. But he had to know. There was a rumor going around school that there was some sort of ghostly hero appearing near a park not far from the school. It was a park that Dick had spent a lot of time in and he did not believe it. But it had been a while and more than one deadly rogue attack had happened in the area recently. Dick was also convinced it was actually a meta of some sort if the person did exist.

So he had lied about a mathlete practice and snuck off to the park alone. In his civilian clothes. He hoped he would be less alarming that way and this person would be willing to talk to him. Plus if it was a new rogue pretending to be a hero, Dick was less likely to get caught in a fight than Robin.

He hoped.

After wandering for a while and seeing nothing Dick decided to just sit and wait to see what would happen. He pulled out his homework to work on while he waited. It needed to get done and it was something he wouldn’t need to lie about later.

“Whatcha working on?”

Dick jerked up at the sound of an unknown voice. He hadn’t heard anyone approach and was startled. But there was no one around him.

The voice laughed at him looking around wildly.

“Up here.”

Dick looked up above his head. There was a boy about his age floating up there. And floating was the right word. It was as if gravity just didn’t work on him, unlike the flying heroes Dick knew. He almost looked like he was floating in space but just above Earth’s surface.

He had white hair and bright green eyes. And even in the afternoon sun he appeared to glow. It was ethereal and otherworldly. Dick understood why the rumors were that he was a ghost. But now he was on the side of alien not meta.

But the feature that Dick cared about the most was his costume. It was a pretty standard jumpsuit style in black with white details. In the center was a symbol that looked like a stylized combo of a D and a P. A symbol that was intimately familiar to Dick. A symbol that had been on the small of Dick’s back since the day he was born.

This person was Dick’s soulmate.

Which meant there was no way he was a new rogue pretending to be a hero. His soulmate could never be a villain of any sort. He wasn’t Bruce.

But it did not change the possibility of him being a ghost. Zatanna had told him about a few cases of people having undead soulmates.

“I’m doing my English homework,” Dick said, replying to the boy’s question and not all the thoughts currently going through his head.

The boy floated down to the ground and sat cross legged in front of Dick. His hair still floated showing it was only the boy’s will that kept him attached to the ground.

“Ew,” he said. “That’s the worst kind.

For a moment he looked just like any other teen hanging out in the park.

“I don’t mind it.”

It was Dick’s turn to laugh at the look of pure disgust on the other boy’s face.

“You’re strange,” he said.

Dick looked him in the eyes.

“I could say the same thing about you.”

The boy didn’t look offended. He just cocked his head to the side.

“That’s one way of putting it. But I prefer just being called dead.

Oh.

So he was a ghost. Dick’s heart broke knowing that his soulmate had died so young. Would they even get more time together? Had they met while he was still alive? When and how? What did this mean for their future?

“Uh…”

“Oh, sorry,” the boy said with a sheepish smile. “I forget people don’t like death jokes.”

“It’s okay,” Dick said. And decided to try a question that hopefully wouldn’t be offensive. “Why are you here in this park?”

He really hoped it wasn't because he died here. That meant he had probably died because of the Joker or Ivy. They had both come through this park on their last rampages.

And it would mean it was Dick’s fault his soulmate died.

“Ohm I’m just visiting before moving on,” he said. “I have some good memories here I wanted to revisit. I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

Not only was he dead but he was going to move on soon. So, this was probably Dick’s only chance to have time with his soulmate.

“That’s nice.”

“Would you mind if I stay here with you for a while?”

“Not at all,” Dick said. “But may I ask why? I’m just doing homework.”

The boy leaned back on his hands.

“You seem nice,” he said. And it’s been a while since anyone has made me feel as normal as you do. Plus you remind me of the last friend I made here years ago.”

“Well then. Be prepared to be bored by the normality of homework.”

The boy stayed in his position just keeping Dick company. Dick decided he was definitely not a threat even if he hadn’t already said he would be leaving soon.

Dick completely lost track of the time and before he knew it, he could hear Bruce and Alfred’s distinctive footprints on the path. The boy didn’t seem to notice until they stepped into the clearing Dick and the bot were sitting in.

As soon as he did he vanished.

Dick hadn’t even learned his name.

Bruce and Alfred stared at the space where the boy had just been.

“Who was that?” Bruce asked.

“I don’t know.”

Dick could hear the tears that were threatening to spill on his voice as well as feel them in his eyes.

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“What is he?”

“A ghost.”

He started to look upset at Dick’s short answers. But Dick didn’t care.

Alfred stepped in before it could get any worse.

“Why is that making you so sad, Master Dick?”

“He’s also my soulmate.”

Dick did not get in trouble for sneaking off that time.


3. Age 16

It had been nearly two years since Dick had met the ghost boy who was his soulmate in the park. He returned to the park as often as possible both in and out of costume. His hope that maybe the boy would return never wavered. This became especially true when other heroes mentioned seeing or hearing about an identical boy. One that matched the description of Dick’s soulmate.

He was sure he was still out there somewhere. Dick just had to find him.

Knowing what his soulmate was he figured the boy would have the Robin symbol as his mark. So all Dick had to do was meet him again in costume. Which was harder to do than it would have seemed. There was no pattern to who saw him or where.

This is what Dick was thinking about as he and Bruce traveled to a city a few hours south of Gotham. Constantine had asked for their  help on a case since it involved organized crime as well as the occult. And it appeared to be a Gotham family trying to get a new foothold. Dick was hoping he might get a chance to ask what kind of ghost his soulmate was. He had learned that there was more than one type and they all had unique things about them. He wanted to know the best way to go about interacting with his soulmate. Bruce knew this and it was likely the only reason he had allowed Dick to come on this mission.

Though all of Dick’s plans were thrown out the window when they arrived. Because floating in the air next to where Constantine stood was the boy. He looked just like Dick remembered but somehow also older. As if just like Dick he had aged in the years since they last met.

There was no sign of recognition from the boy. Which made sense since Dick was in costume this time. But he couldn’t help but feel a little sad that the boy didn’t have any reaction to the Robin costume either.

“Who’s this?” Bruce growled in his Batman voice, nodding at the boy.

“This is Phantom,” Constantine said. “He’s the one that brought this to my attention.”

“I heard about it from the other ghosts,” Phantom said brightly. “But it’s not really my kind of problem.”

“Then why are you here?”

And there went Bruce being way more suspicious and paranoid than necessary. But that could be that he had recognized the bot for who he was too. Dick had described him enough times over the years and Bruce had seen his mark. Maybe he was just being protective.

“He insisted I had to stay and meet you,” Phantom said, rolling his eyes. “Something about properly meeting other heroes.”

“It’s better for everyone if you have more than just me as a contact in the hero world.”

“Everything has worked out so far though.”

“So far. And it might continue. Until it doesn’t.”

There wasn’t any heat behind the argument. They had obviously had it many times before and the heat had left long ago. And somehow it appeared that Constantine was winning. At least that’s what appeared to be happening since Phantom was there.

“He’s right, Phantom,” Bruce said. “You never know when you might need backup from one of us.”

“Plus it’s great to have others to talk to that go through the same stuff,” Dick added.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Phantom relented.

They dropped the topic and started work on the case. It turned out to be a straightforward one and Constantine and Phantom had done enough ahead of their arrival that it likely would only take that night to finish.

Dick tried not to be disappointed at that. It was a good thing. But he would get a lot less time to get to know Phantom. And find out if they really were soulmates. He hadn’t yet shown any sign of recognition to seeing Robin, but then neither had Dick to seeing Phantom. So it didn’t have to mean much.

It in fact took barely any time at all for the actual mission. They spent more time with Batman and Constantine arguing then they did on the take down and clean up combined. Which was annoyingly often when working a case with both of them. But it did mean that Dick got to talk with Phantom.

“Can I ask you a question?” Dick asked.

“You’ve asked me a lot of questions,” Phantom said with a sly smile.

“Well this one’s different.”

“Ask away but I may or may not answer.”

“I can deal with that.”

Dick took a deep breath.

“So, do you age?”

“What?”

“You look older than you used to. I thought ghosts don’t age? Because of the being dead thing.”

Phantom had a puzzled look on his face.

“I think you might be the first person to point that out. So, I have no idea. “Also,” he gave the hero next to him a look, “why do you know what I used to look like?”

“I saw you in Gotham a couple of years ago. You were in a park.”

“Oh, yeah, I had forgotten about that trip.”

The conversation drifted again after that. And then Bruce was storming out and Dick knew it was time for him to follow. Once back in the Batmobile he mentally kicked himself for not saying anything about his soulmark sooner. But Phantom seemed skittish and might have taken it wrong. And he didn’t want to risk him refusing the League’s offer of help.

Next time he would for sure.


4. Age 17

Danny knew going to college in Gotham was a bad idea. But Gotham University had a good engineering program and he would be remiss to not at least take the tour. Especially since they had some of the best scholarships (because they were in Gotham).

Oh and Bruce Wayne gave out a lot.

Danny had gone on one of the tours and decided to stay for a couple of days to explore the city.  He did it for all the colleges but Gotham was the one he was most excited about. He had fond memories of the city from all those conventions he had been dragged to as a kid.

And he was hoping to possibly meet the local heroes again. He had worked with them once and he wanted to meet them again. Over time he had worked with many members of the Justice League, but Batman and Robin had been his favorites (other than Constantine who was the best). Something about them was comfortable and reminded him of working with his team.

Plus Robin was the most fun to talk to out of all the heroes Danny had met. To the point that after they had worked together he did everything he could to avoid it again. Danny knew one day his soulmate would be a hero and he didn't want to fall in love with a different one before they even had a chance to meet.

But now Danny just wanted a chance at having more friends that understood. And Robin was his first choice. So Danny was doing something really stupid and wandering around Gotham, alone, at night, and obviously not a local. It was a recipe for disaster. And hopefully attracting a vigilante.

The first part worked. Less than half an hour after starting his walk a pair of muggers came after him. Danny gave it a moment to see what would happen. But when it became clear that no help was coming he dealt with them on his own.

It happened again a few blocks later. And a third time not long after that. All three times Danny got away unscathed. But it was getting annoying. He changed his path through the city to get to the rougher parts. He knew he was more likely to find the real villains there and therefore the heroes. He smiled remembering last time he had visited Gotham and fought a couple of them. They were a nice break from his usual group. Much easier to deal with.

He strolled down the street whistling when he heard a soft thump from an alley. The sound of someone dropping down on purpose and landing properly. He also hears the soft rustling of a cape. Which meant there were only two real options for who it could be.

Danny Saw the flash of yellow in the corner of his eye. He smiled inside to himself. Just the person he was hoping to see. He turned to see Robin who had a strange look of annoyance and confusion on his face. A normal reaction to Danny’s antics.

Danny froze.

Shit.

The Justice League knew Phantom not Danny. None of them (not even Constantine) knew he had a secret identity let alone that it was Danny Fenton. How had he managed to forget that?

“You shouldn’t be out here," Robin said. “It’s dangerous, especially at this time of night.”

Danny had two ways he could play this, clueless tourist or just an unhinged person.

He chose the latter. It would be so much more fun.

“I know,” he said, bouncing on his feet. “I got the idea from the three attempted muggings.”

Robin looked pained. Almost as if he really did not want to have to ask the next question that he had to. Danny had to hold back his laughter at his expression.

“Attempted mugging?”

Danny smiled.

“I still have my wallet and all its contents, so they didn’t get anything. So, attempted muggings.”

“And you still decided to come out tonight?”

“Oh, they were all in the past hour. It’s been a busy night.”

“And you haven’t gone back yet?”

“Like I said, they haven’t gotten anything yet. And I only have so long here to decide if I want to come here.”

Robin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Danny barely held back the laugh before it escaped. Robin of course noticed this time.

“Is this funny to you? You could get seriously hurt.”

“You look like Batman when you do that.”

Danny mimicked pinching his nose.

Robin looked at war with himself. And what Danny wouldn’t give to know what was going through his head right now.

“Please just go back to wherever you are staying. And keep your exploring to the daytime in the future.”

“Eh, it was getting kind of boring anyway.”

Danny turned on his heels and bounded away down the street. As soon as he got back to his hotel room he broke down in hysterical laughter. It may not have been the meeting he was hoping for but it had been a lot of fun.


5. Age 19

Danny chose Gotham University for college. Everyone had tried to talk him out of it but he had made up his mind and no one could change it. Out of all the colleges Danny had visited, Gotham felt the most right. He had felt at home in the city and on the streets. Almost as if the city herself was welcoming him home.

And his favorite heroes were there.

But then school actually started and everyone was ablaze with the new gossip. Robin was gone and now there was someone else in the costume. A new kid had taken on the role. And no one knew what had happened to the original. Rumors went to everything from that he was dead to he had switched sides and was now a rogue to that he had simply retired to go to college or something.

Danny really hoped it was the last one. That meant he still had a chance to become friends with him. Danny had learned the hard way that making friends with rogues (former or trying to be) never worked out. And while he could become friends with the dead, not everyone became a ghost when they died.

He would learn eventually or maybe not at all. But for now he had classes to worry about, not the workings of heroes he barely knew (even if he really wanted to know them better). The Justice League has contact info for him if they really needed his help.

Most of the semester passed with little talk of the heroes. After his introduction people quickly moved on to other things than the new Robin. The only talk was the usual gossip of who fought who and where. But then there was news of a new hero in Bludhaven. He was apparently going by the name of Nightwing. Danny knew he existed but forced himself to wait until the semester was over to look at the videos he knew were all over online.

He was very glad he waited. Because within thirty minutes of watching the first one, he was in his car and driving to Bludhaven. The first video made it very clear that Nightwing was his soulmate. There was no mistaking the bright blue stripe and bird head for the one Danny had circling his thigh.

The second revelation came after a few videos. It was clear to him that Nightwing was the first Robin with a new name and costume. Danny knew from watching so many videos over the years. He had no idea how no one else had figured it out yet. At least not from everything Danny had seen or heard.

Even over the whole drive Danny could not come up with how he was going to handle this. If he could even find Nightwing. Which was not a certainty. He made sure to go to an area Nightwing was commonly spotted in. And just got out of his car and started walking. It had worked before so he hoped it would work again.

After wandering around for a while Danny was starting to give up. There hadn't even been a single sign of trouble in the area. Which was good for everyone, but sucked for Danny’s goals.

But then Danny walked past an alleyway and two sets of arms reached out and grabbed him. He was thrown to the ground and the two men blocked his exit. Not that it was really a problem for him.

Danny put his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Hey I don’t want any trouble.”

“Empty your pockets and there won’t be any,” one of the men said.

“Okay, okay.”

Danny leaned up off the ground and reached towards his pockets. He would give Nightwing another moment to appear before dealing with this pair on his own. They didn’t even have a weapon so it should be no problem.

A shape clad in black dropped down between Danny and the men. Instantly the two men turned and ran out of the alley. Definitely not professionals. They had probably just thought Danny would be an easy target and grabbed him.

After making sure that the men were truly gone, Nightwing turned back to where Danny was still on the ground. Where he totally hadn’t gotten distracted by how good he looked in his new costume in person. A costume that didn’t have a cape to block the view. Was it just Danny knowing they were soulmates? Probably not. He looked that good. But it certainly helped.

“Let me help you,” Nightwing said, holding his hand out.

Danny took the offer and he was pulled up to his feet. Nightwing was strong and Danny was surprised by how hot he thought that was.

“Are you alright?”

Danny smiled.

“Absolutely! There was no problem. So, I’m more than alright. I’m perfect!”

Nightwing got an incredulous look on his face and looked closer at Danny’s face. Then covered his own with his hands.

“Oh, not you again.”

Danny laughed.

“So, you remember me? I must have made quite the impression. I’m pretty sure we only met once.”

Nightwing pinned him with a look.

“Yes, I remember the person who had three attempted muggings in one night and still walked down the street whistling.”

“HA! So, you are Robin,” Danny said, pointing triumphantly.

“Shit. You’re not supposed to know that. What are the odds of you keeping that a secret?”

He looked pained. Danny took a strange pleasure in making his soulmate have that look.

Danny made a zipping gesture across his lips. And caught Nightwing staring at them as he did.

“For you,” he said, leaning forward and smiling flirtatiously. “I’ll keep any secret you want.”

Danny could tell that under his mask Nightwing raised an eyebrow.

“And why would you do that?”

Danny slowly looked him up and down, obviously checking him out.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Quiet enough that someone without Danny’s hearing wouldn’t have heard, Nightwing muttered, “Oh, for the love of-”.

A scream rang out in the night. Both men startled, having gotten lost in their conversation. Nighteing recovered first and sprang into action. He grabbed a grappler off his belt. He shot it off but before swinging off he gave Danny a stern look.

“Go home. And please try a little harder to avoid muggers.

Then he was gone before Danny could respond.

Danny smiled. His soulmate cared.

Shit.

He hadn’t said anything.

Well at least this gave him a chance to come up with a better plan. Maybe he should approach as Phantom next time?


1. Age 21

Dick watched Phantom from across the room. It was the first time anyone had gotten him to come up to the Watchtower for any reason. And it was just for all the younger heroes hanging out. Dick had no idea how M’gann had done it and he was trying not to be jealous. But then everyone had a hard time saying no to her.

It was also how they had gotten permission to have a party on the Watchtower in the first place. She had used some reasoning about building community and it being more comfortable for those that hadn’t joined a specific team.

Like Phantom.

He would help other heroes and even teams out when they asked or there was a major battle. But he refused to officially join any of the teams. Including both the Justice League and Justice League Dark. He was an ally though and so was trusted by most.

Though Dick wondered about what his other obligations were that made him not able to join. He always said he had them. What responsibilities did ghosts have? Did it have something to do with haunting? Or maybe with the fact that Phantom still aged? Did he have ghost school or a ghost job?

The party had started as all the younger heroes just hanging out. But as it got later and later, the youngest ones all either went home or were dragged off by their mentors. Which left only the young adult heroes.

And gave Dick plenty more time to watch Phantom.

He still hadn’t approached the ghost about them being soulmates. He knew he wouldn’t feel peace until he got an answer. But there never seemed to be a good chance to ask. And he worried that not knowing was the only thing keeping the ghost tethered to this world. 

Maybe tonight though, he would be able to get his attention long enough to ask.

Which was easier said than done. Every time Dick got anywhere near him someone else was talking to him or Phantom somehow ended up across the room. He couldn’t imagine that Phantom was purposefully avoiding him.

Then someone had the bright idea to play a drinking game. Only instead of alcohol (there were too many immune to its effects) they would use an incredibly sour and bitter concoction some had made by accident but was still safe to drink.

And someone (M’gann) had convinced Phantom to play. Dick was dragged in by Wally so at least it was closer to talking to Phantom than Dick had gotten all night. In total a full dozen of them were playing. The game chosen ended up being Never Have I Ever.

It started off tame but quickly devolved into their usual madness. Soon they were using various feats of their time as heroes (many that their mentors did not know about) or targeting the various metas by saying things that only applied to them. They took turns going around the circle.

Soon enough it was Phantom’s turn.

“Never have I ever told another hero my secret identity.”

The entire circle erupted in sound.

“What?”

“Not possible!”

“That doesn’t count. You’re a ghost! You can’t have one.”

Phantom had a cheeky smile on his face. One that was new and almost familiar at the same time to Dick. He waited until the commotion died down.

“I may be a ghost but I also have a human form. Which I use most of the time to live my life. Or afterlife if you want to call it that. So, yes it does count. And, no I will not say anymore on the topic today.”

There was a shocked silence as they all processed this. No one had even suspected that Phantom could have a secret identity. Or a human form. But it gave Dick more hope for a possible future together than he had felt since meeting Phantom in the park all those years ago. He had a real chance to have a kind of normal life with his soulmate.

“Okay, all of you drink. I know you have shared your identities with at least someone. Most of you with someone in this circle.”

They drank. And not even the vile concoction could sour his newly positive mood.

The game continues. And Dick plotted. He had to get the chance to talk to Phantom. He had to know if he was right and if he could have a relationship of any kind with Phantom in their civilian lives.

“Never have I ever met my soulmate,” M’gann said when it came to be her turn.

It was a risk on her part. None of the players had ever admitted to finding their soulmate yet to Dick’s knowledge. But he decided now was as good a time as any. (If only to make her smile). And see what Phantom’s reaction was.

He picked up his shot glass. Phantom did at the same time. He winked at Dick and toasted across the circle. In shock Dick mirrored him and they drank together.

“Come on dude,” Wally said glaring at Dick. “Phantom I get because he apparently shares nothing at all with us. But you? I thought we were friends.”

Dick shrugged.

“I’ve never confirmed it with them, so I didn’t share it with anyone.”

“I was never sure how to ask. As Phantom or myself. Or if you even knew.”

All heads turned to Phantom.

“I’ve known since the first time I met you seven years ago.”

“Seven?” Phantom said, cocking his head to the side. “We met five years ago.”

“You were in Gotham.”

“And you saw me but we didn’t meet.”

“You sat with me in a park while I did English homework.”

“Oh.”

M’gann interrupted with her own question.

“When did you realize Phantom?”

“The first time I saw that costume,” he answered, gesturing at Dick in his Nightwing gear. “My brain was so scrambled by finals I actually drove all the way to Bludhaven to meet him instead of, you know, flying.”

“Did it work?” Wally asked.

“Well I did meet him, but I didn’t say anything about us being soulmates Obviously.”

Dick frowned.

“Why not?”

Phantom turned back to him.

“You had to leave before I had the chance.”

Dick leaned further into the circle.

“Think I’d remember you?”

“I think so.”

There was a mischievous smile on Phantom’s face. One that did not bode well for Dick’s future sanity. But he was going to get his soulmate so who cared.

“Oh?”

“There were attempted muggings. Multiple times.”

A wild smile with bright blue eyes and black hair popped into Dick’s head.

He surged to his feet.

“YOU!”

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always welcome!

(you can find me on tumblr at theredshirtsarecoming)

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