#2022 DP holiday truce

[charcoalhawk]

Don’t go where I can’t follow

What scares Tucker the most, after everything, was that he hadn’t even known anything was wrong.

Truce gift for @phan-pheeking-tastic, ended up going with Tucker and Sam finding out Danny is half-ghost in a No-One Knows AU.

This was super fun to do, hope you enjoy!

What scares Tucker the most, after everything, was that he hadn’t even known anything was wrong.

He had thought, with how close he and Danny were, how close they had been, that he would have known if something had happened to him. To his family.

But he hadn’t. Neither had Sam.

When he wakes up that day there’s no dread, no forbording feeling in gut. Heck, Tucker wakes up pretty happy.

It’s the last day of school before winter break, and he and Sam have plans to play as much Doom as possible so they can hopefully beat it before the new year. There’s rumors that anyone who can will be able to access new dlc content that otherwise won’t be available until at least the summer.

Some small part of him is even happy that Danny isn’t in town this week, meaning he and Sam can hang out without things getting awkward.

And Tucker hates thinking like that. Danny was his best friend for a long, long time, but ever since high school started the two of them had slowly drifted apart. Which he does understand, on some level. They’re not five years old anymore playing together on the playground.

But Danny had become so aloof with them, barely interacting with them in class and showing up late to hang out, if he even showed up at all.

And it couldn’t have been because of their new undead neighbors that now haunted the town. After the first like, month, Phantom had proved he was a decent enough ghost that most people didn’t really have to worry about malicious undead any more than they had to worry about overdue homework.

He and Sam have just finished fighting the second to last boss in Doom when there’s a knock on his door. A quick glance at his computer’s clock shows that it isn’t even 11pm yet, so it can’t be his parents telling him to start winding down to go to sleep. It’s also winter break now, so why-?

After a second his Dad’s face peeks through the door, his form backlit by the hallway lights. He thinks he sees his mom too, but after a moment she seems to briefly lay her hand on his father’s shoulder then disappear from view.

“Hey kiddo,” it's hard to tell what his dad is thinking at that moment, and his voice sounds carefully neutral, “are you at a good stopping point for the night? I need to talk with you about something serious.”

He goes to share a glance at Sam but she’s already getting up from her desk.

“Hey Tuck,” Sam’s voice is muffled from her starting to remove her headphones, “I think I’m going to have to call it quits for tonight. My parents just came in and said they need to talk about something important. Hopefully tomorrow we can start planning for the final boss. I’ll text you later, night.”

“Sounds good,” he replies, quickly saving and logging out to the main screen, “night.”

And with that the room is washed in silence. After a second of hesitation his Dad reaches over and flips on the room’s overhead light, moving to sit on the bed across from his gaming set-up.

“Soooo…” Tucker prompts, “what’s up? You said you needed to tell me about something serious?”

His dad doesn’t respond immediately, taking a deep breath before slowly reaching out to rest his hand on Tucker’s shoulder.

“Tucker,” his father looks so sad, “there’s been an accident, a- an attack. Danny’s mom is in a coma.”

———

It takes almost a week to fully find out what happened.

The Fenton’s had been visiting a family friend in Wisconsin, apparently Vlad Masters had gone to college with Danny’s parents, and had invited them all to his mansion for the weekend. It had also been rumored that Mr. Masters had been experiencing some supernatural events that he had wanted Maddie and Jack to help him solve, and with how fanatic the two were around ghosts they had obviously been eager to help in any way they could.

And it had turned out that the rumors had been true, and at least one violent ghost had attacked the mansion the following evening.

Here the details get murky.

Some reports say a single ghost was responsible for the attack, and only the Fenton’s weapons and skill saved everyone from being killed by the vengeful spirit. Others claim it was two ghosts having a territory spat that just so happened to happen in the mansion. Some even claim Phantom drove off the raging ghost and stopped more injuries from occurring.

Number of ghosts aside, the attack had destroyed almost a third of the Masters’ Mansion, and had left most of the staff with injuries from debris or from the ghosts themselves. Danny and Jazz had apparently escaped the worst of it because their parents had gotten them out early on and the two had hidden in the nearby woods until authorities arrived.

Jack had gotten a nasty concussion and broken two ribs fighting off the ghost(s), and Maddie had suffered some kind of mental or physical trauma that left her comatose.

Vlad Masters’ was missing, no one had seen him directly prior to the attack, and afterwards it was like he had just up and vanished.

————

He and Sam stand outside the Fenton house for almost a full minute before Sam seems to find the courage to knock. Two long, followed by two fast and one long, the same combination they’ve all used since they were little kids.

The silence afterwards is thick, and just as Sam is raising her hand to knock again there’s a series of clanking sounds as the locks are undone and the door opens to reveal Jasmine Fenton.

“Oh, hey there,” she gives a small smile, “I’m glad you two are here. Danny is upstairs in his room, we’re all pretty shaken up from what happened, having you two visit should help.”

“How is- how are you holding up?” Tucker asks as they move through the hallway into the living room, a place that’s both so familiar and yet alien, he half expects Danny to be leaning over the staircase inviting them upstairs to his room.

“It’s, I’ve been holding it together,” Jazz says, “I’ll probably be staying here at least until Dad’s ribs are better, luckily all my professors are pretty accommodating and will be letting me attend virtually until I can head back to college. I’m… really scared for my mom, but I trust that she’s getting the best care possible and that she’ll wake up soon.”

Jazz gestures towards the stairs, “Danny’s in his room, call me if you guys need anything. I was actually just about to head over to the Hospital, Dad should be getting discharged today, so we should be back in a few hours.”

With one last smile Jazz heads back the way they came and there’s the sound of the front door opening and closing.

“Should we really be doing this?” Tucker finally breaks the silence, glancing towards the staircase as if Danny will suddenly appear there.

“Honestly I don’t know, but it’s too late to go back now. If we leave Jazz will just ask Danny when she gets back and then we’ll be the assholes who left without saying anything.”

Damn, Tucker hates it when Sam uses logic like that.

“Yeah but it’s just, I don’t think we’ve had a full conversation with him in the past month. It feels wrong to just drop in now when he’s hurting like this.”

“Well it’s not like Dash or Paulina is going to just waltz by and offer to go comfort him,” Sam’s mouth twists into a grimmance, “and Valerie’s probably too busy investigating the attack to try and find the ghosts who did this.”

Tucker can’t argue with that, they really are the closest ones to Danny. Still, it feels wrong to walk up those steps and knock on Danny’s bedroom door like nothing in the past two years has happened.

There’s no immediate answer, but after a second series of knocks there’s the sound of bare feet on hardwood before the door opens slightly, just enough for Danny’s tired blue eyes to peek out.

“Hi,” Danny’s voice is hoarse, “uh, no offense but why are you two here?”

“We uh-,” Tucker shares a glance with Sam, “we wanted to check in on you. I know we aren’t all as close anymore but we wanted to at least see if you were ok in person and see if there was anything we could do.”

That sounded a lot better in his head, but Danny isn’t slamming the door on them, so there’s that. After a moment the door opens fully and he and Sam cautiously walk inside as Danny moves to lean against the far wall.

“I, thanks for coming over?” He seems to almost hug himself, looking anxiously around the room. “I don’t know if your parents put you up to this, or worse Jazz, but you guys don’t need to hang around out of some sense of obligation.”

“We came because we wanted to Danny!” Sam exclaims, “we’re still your friends and, and we care about you! This is obviously traumatizing and we want to help you-“

“You guys don’t understand!” Danny snarls at them. Apparently what Tucker had thought was anxiety was in fact anger.

“You think I’m some scared kid trying to come to terms with an unfortunate accident. Well I’m not!”

Danny’s eyes almost seem to glow in response to his heated words, which doesn’t make any sense. Humans eyes don’t glow, the only thing close to that that Tucker has seen happens when ghosts-

“It was my fault!”

With that last shout there’s a brilliant flash of white, and when Tucker can finally blink the spots out of his vision he finds he can’t quite comprehend what he sees before him.

“I hurt her! I was trying to stop that stupid ghost from hurting my Dad and I ended up almost killing my mom!”

Danny’s too long sweatpants and pullover have been replaced with a glowing hazmat suit, and what’s left standing before them is Phantom, the town’s own ghostly hero. The town’s very young, very dead hero.

“What?”

Sam sounds like she’s just been gut punched, and Tucker doesn’t feel much different.

Everyone in Amity Park knows that Phantom is one of the friendlier ghosts that now haunt them, even dealing with the rowdier ones that try to interfere with day to day human life.

But everyone also agrees that Phantom can be downright terrifying most of the time. The simple fact that he looks all of thirteen makes most residents uncomfortable at best.

Trying to understand that Danny and Phantom are one in the same is almost too much for him, but looking the ghost dead in the eyes now the similarities between the two are overwhelming.

He can see Danny in the way the ghost is hunched like he’s about to collapse onto himself, and he can see Phantom in how his stance is planted and ready to move in a moment's notice.

“It’s-“ and here Phantom's voice breaks, “it’s my fault.”

And with that soft admission the dam finally breaks, and Phantom crumbles to the floor, back heaving as great sobs wrack his body.

In that moment Tucker’s body seems to almost move on to own, moving almost in tandem with Sam to crouch down and envelop Danny in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry that happened,” Sam whispers into Danny’s hair, “I wish you could have told us when this happened so we could have helped. But we know now. We’ll help you however we can, and I’m sure your mom will be better in time.”

Sam sounds so sure of what she’s saying, Tucker can’t even bring himself to speak. Whatever happened to Danny, whatever he’s been doing these past two years, has changed him.

All Tucker can do is tighten his grip, a promise that he hopes he can keep.

[oceankat8]

Happy Truce @plazmawulf !!

Prompt: Mariah Carey and Ember have combined their powers for a new Christmas single and Danny has heard enough. 

I hope you like it!

[saxonroa]

Danny in space. Danny In Space. DANNY IN SPACE

I got @chrysanthemum9484 for the Holiday Truce. I am quite the fan of Danny having a second space obsession so I couldn’t stop myself from drawing Danny in space.

I hope you like this just as I like drawing it :)

[avensartt]

@marzfartz happy truce! I was your gifter this Year and I'm really sorry this is so last minute, blame the school

I liked your promts a lot, I almost couldnt choose which one to do until I saw you wanted gore. so here (⁠*⁠꒪⁠ヮ⁠꒪⁠*⁠)

oh and also ...

its wikitail

[mostlikelynothuman]

Happy Holiday Truce @aetherwakee!

I was your truce gifter this year! I went with your AU prompt where Danny is a medium and Sam and Tucker are ghosts, so here he is summoning his friends so they can perform shenanigans

Hope you like it, have a happy Truce and a happy New Year!

[shuchelle]

holiday truce gift for @minehaunt !!!

valerie being liminal my beloved <3

[therealsirsticker]

Happy holiday truce! My gift this year for @mymadmedleyw ! I love Jazz and Dani, I really should draw them more.

dialog free below the cut:

[the-random-phan]

My holiday truce gift for @dashing-through-ecto !!

The prompt was:

"Deep in the woods, the trio discovered a body."

Sketches and alternate idea under the cut!

[fentonworkz]

happy truce, @going-dead !! i was your ghost this year too :Dc

sorry for the delay on posting (i’m currently out of town!), but i hope you like it!!! i loved the idea of kwan finding a blob ghost, they’re friends now:)

“full-size” (small) image under the cut! i didn’t want it to get blown up and blurry, so i upscaled it for posting above ^^

i drew them on my phone also! i’m very proud of it:3

[this-is-z-art-blog]

Happy Holiday Truce to @panickingpagan!

I had a lot of fun trying out different styles for this ghostly rocker, and I hope you like it

[charcoalhawk]

No Safe Harbor

He’s not surprised that his parents haven’t realized that he hasn’t been home in over a week, after almost seventeen years the pain of being forgotten barely registers.

This is my Truce gift to @lemon-snake, sorry about the wait and I hope you enjoy!

I ended up using two of your prompts: Danny discovering Vlad bugs his house and Vlad showing up to Danny’s parent teacher conference because Maddie and Jack are busy.

There is ectoplasm on the dining room table. There is, in fact, a lot of shit on the dining room table that should not be on the dining room table.

Danny carefully skirts around the edge of the kitchen towards the fridge, but once he gets closer he can see that the fridge is bolted shut. So he’s either going to have to pull from his stash of food hidden in his closet, or eat fast food for the next few days.

If Jazz was still living here she probably would have already gotten into a shouting match, she was always a lot more proactive about calling out their parents when they pulled shit like this.

But Jazz is off at college, finally able to enjoy being a young adult and dealing with boring normal human problems. She had asked Danny to keep her in the loop with what was happening at home, and to tell her if their parents got sucked down another research hole and he needed her to remind them to take care of Danny and themselves.

He had mostly held to that promise, but as the months passed it was just easier to stay with Tucker or Sam for a few days when his parents lost themselves to their research.

This is the first time Danny has been home all week, he was able to sneak over to stay at Tucker’s for a few days but after the second time he was caught brushing his teeth there in the morning he decided it was better to just sleep in The Zone.

“Oh hey Danno!” The front of his dad’s jumpsuit is rumpled like he’s been wearing the same one for multiple days, “sorry but the fridge is out of commission for a few days, we’ll order pizza tonight. You must’ve had a lot of homework these past few days, we’ve barely seen you!”

He’s not surprised that his parents haven’t realized that he hasn’t been home in over a week, after almost seventeen years the pain of being forgotten barely registers.

What is going to be painful is this.

“I-“ ancients Danny hates having to do this, “there’s a parent-teacher conference tonight, Mr. Lancer asked me to remind you guys about it because apparently you didn’t answer his email about attending.”

“Why would Mr. Lancer have you doing that Danny?” His mom sounded genuinely confused, reaching up to push back some hair that had come out from her hood and smearing ectoplasm after her. “It was just a general email letting all the parents know, there was no need to reply because we weren’t planning on going. Your grades are doing great, and you would have already come to us if something was wrong.”

Danny feels his stomach drop, and it takes considerably more will then he would like to stop himself from stomping out of the room right there.

Because that hadn’t been a general email. Mr. Lancer had kept him after class today to ask him to remind his parents about the meeting tonight, and judging by his barely suppressed frown it wasn’t going to be a pleasant meeting.

“No actually, Mr. Lancer apparently really wants to sit down with you guys about some things, he said he mentioned in the email some of his concerns?”

———

Danny takes another glance at the clock on the wall, 4:45pm, his parents are almost twenty minutes late.

He’s left at least ten texts to each of them asking where the hell they are, but knowing them their phones are either dead or buried under a bunch of junk in their lab.

Mr. Lancer also takes a glance at the clock, and with a sigh begins to pack up the remaining papers from previous classes.

“I’m sorry for keeping you so late Danny, I’ll email your parents tonight and hopefully we can reschedule. Do you need a ride home?”

“No Mr. Lancer, I’m fine. Actually I was wondering if-“

His question is interrupted with a series or rapid knocks on the classroom door, and Danny foolishly hopes in that moment that his parents simply hadn’t responded to his texts because they had been busy driving, before it opens to reveal Vlad-fucking-Masters.

“Oh I’m so terribly sorry for being late,” Vlad gives his best normal human smile, “I had to practically run to get here and I was so worried about young Daniel here that I-“

“Mr. Masters,” Mr. Lancer’s face scrunches like he can’t decide whether to smile or grimace, “as nice as a surprise this is, I’m afraid this is a confidential meeting between myself and Danny’s guardians, now if you have concerns I’m sure we could find the time to sit down another day and discuss them in detail.”

“Oh I completely understand,” a wide smile, “but you see I’m actually here as a trusted adult for young Daniel here. Maddie and I decided it would be wise to have someone who lived closer by to be written down as an emergency contact in case either of the children needed it.

Like today, poor Madeline called me explaining that she had almost forgotten about this event, but due to an experiment at home would be unable to attend. And so she called and luckily I was visiting Amity this week and rushed over.”

Mr. Lancer seriously looks like he’s about to call bullshit, but a last glance at the clock has him slumping with defeat.

“Well, seeing as you were so kind as to actually show up, I think I could discuss some of my concerns here, Danny you’re welcome to leave-“

“Oh no Mr. Lancer,” Danny so wishes one of his powers was the ability to set things on fire with a glare, “if it's ok with you I’ll stay. I’d like to hear what good ol’ uncle Vlad has to say.”

———

It’s a rare night where the school is mostly empty, any after school activities had been canceled so that the conferences could be held, and now at almost six pm the entire school is abandoned.

Danny is able to keep quiet until they are out of sight of the school, but once he’s sure Mr. Lancer can’t see them; he surges to grab Vlad and hoist him up by his stupid suit, and in moments they are both transformed and hovering miles above the town.

“What the fuck are you doing here!”

Vlad gives him the look you would give a particularly stupid child, and given that Danny has spent more than enough time with Vlad over the past two years, he is unfortunately very familiar with that particular look.

With a casual swat he sends Danny flying back and moves to adjust his now missing tie.

“I am just trying to help you Daniel!”

“Oh bullshit. You couldn’t give less of a damn about my education, and you especially had no right to show up to a meeting like this. And what is up with that guardian crap? You know mom would never have put you down as an emergency contact.”

“Ah yes, I may have been stretching that a bit, but you see I am in fact listed as an emergency contact for you and Jazz when she was a minor. Jack,” and Vlad spits the name like it was an infectious disease, “was so kind as to add me when I expressed my concerns about it.”

And doesn’t that just make Danny’s blood boil. But regardless of his dad being way too damn forgiving, there’s something much more important he needs to know.

“You know what, I don’t even really care about that right now, what I do care about is,” He shoos his hand like he’s trying to chase off an annoying fly, ”how the hell did you know all that shit! I most certainly didn’t tell you, mom would rather shoot you then tell you something was wrong, and even dad isn’t that trusting.”

“Oh,” and now that it’s just them Vlad’s smile has become a thing of nightmares, “I have my ways Daniel.”

“What? Do you just always have a duplicate hanging around our house? You fucking creep.”

“Please, I’m too important to waste my valuable time with something that barbaric and simple.”

“What then? Spies, bugs- I swear to the crown if you have my house bugged Plasmius I’ll wring you by your stupid cape-“

“And what if I do!”

Where previously Vlad had looked smug and aloof, his gaze is now blazing focused, something that makes Danny’s skin crawl.

“You have not stayed in that house for over a week, Daniel! You barely stay more than a few hours and in the past three months you’ve been sleeping ancients know where in the Zone! You are constantly burdening you friends by forcing them to house you-“

“I’m not making them do anything!”

“I do understand not wanting to be in that house.” And here Vlad almost looks sad, “The mess, the weapons crawling out of every corner, being forced to live in the place you died. It can not be healthy for a young man. Regardless, that house is too dangerous, one wrong move and our, your secret will be discovered. And you know your parents, they will not take this kindly.”

“Oh fuck off! You don’t actually give a shit about me, you only care because it would put you in danger, and the fact that I’d rather stay anywhere that isn’t with you.”

“My home is open to you, and your mother and sister should they ever need it. I do care, little badger, don’t ignore an offer for help because you are too prideful and arrogant to accept it.”

This argument isn’t getting Danny anywhere, and he has one more question before he’s going to blast Plasmius in his stupid face.

“We’ll see how much you’re laughing when I tell Mom and Dad that you lied and said they called you about the meeting, when Mr. Lancer doesn’t follow up there are bound to be questions. How do you think mom will respond to knowing that you're spying on us?”

“Oh but that’s not what happened at all!” He’s right back to being smug, almost seeming to settle down in an invisible chair. “If your parents ask,” and here he looks doubtful, “you are going to tell them that you texted dear old uncle Vlad to come once you realized your parents accidentally forgot about the meeting.”

“And why the hell would I do that?”

“Because, the alternative is me going right now and possessing them both to make them think they called me, and we both know how tampering with memories can, ah, potentially harm an individual.”

Danny remembers, a few months after gaining his powers, overshadowing Mr. Lancer to make him think he had given Danny an extension on an essay he hadn’t bothered to finish.

Was it a frivolous use of his powers? Yes? Did he really care at the time? No.

He had thought everything had been fine, until a few days later when Mr. Lancer collapsed in class. Later it was reported that Mr. Lancer had suffered a brain bleed due to an unknown injury. There had been no physical evidence of anything having happened to him, but it hadn’t taken long for whispers of a ghost attack to start circulating.

After that Danny had been very careful to never overshadow someone, he had never been sure that what he had done was what had caused the injury, but he had wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

The threat finally forces the fight to leave him, and with one last venomous glare Danny leaves. Vlad doesn’t chase him, but Danny knows it’s because he’s already lost the battle for today.

———

“Oh Danny! We were wondering where you were, you said you were going to help with the lab this weekend.”

“I ah- was actually at the school.”

“The school- oh fudge the parent-teacher conference! Danno I’m so sorry we just got wrapped up in this experiment, I’ll go email Mr. Lancer right now and apologize, do you know when he would be willing to reschedule?”

“Uh, actually Vlad showed up for the meeting, apparently he’s listed as an emergency contact and uh, when I realized that you guys might have forgotten I reached out to him and luckily he was in Amity.”

“Oh good ol Vladdie! I’m so glad he convinced me to add him as a contact, he really is so kind.”

His mom’s face puckered like she had been force-fed an entire orchard of lemons.

“Yes, he does have his moments…”

———

As he’s lying in his room later that night his eyes catch a glimmer from the corner of the room up on his bookshelf.

After a second of deliberation he moves, reaching out to just barely snag the small object as it seemed to skitter away.

Holding it up the object at first seems incomprehensible, but after a minute Danny realizes with growing dread that what he has in his hand is a tiny camera with a microphone attached.

Without a second thought he crushes the device, if Vlad planted one he likely has at least a dozen if not more.

And its without a doubt the frootloop’s handiwork, no other ghost would bother with something like this, and the GIW doesn’t have access to enough ectoplasm to make devices capable of intangibility.

But what can he do about the rest? Vlad would expect him to destroy one if he found it, but then he would just set up more in new locations. At least if he knows where they all are he can know where to avoid.

Grinding the remains of the machine in his palm he slips intangibly down to the basement, glancing briefly at his parents who are both passed out over various diagrams and half formed weapons.

Looks like he’s going to be spending a lot more nights in the Zone.

[oceankat8]

Happy Truce @amabsis I went with your Prompt: For Danny's 3rd death day, his friends decide to give him a proper send off, while simultaneously messing with their classmates.

I hope you like it!

[howdoib]

Happy Holiday Truce @banchagu !!! I'm really rusty at writing but when I saw "Kitty and Johnny" and "Ghost part" my brain went into punk history brainrot mode. I really wish I had the time to flesh this out better for you, and I'm not sure I did all the topics justice.

Regardless, I really hope you enjoy!!

__________________

Kitty remembers the first time back in '76 when she still went by Kathleen and she didn't know a Siouxsie from a Shane- She knows she ain't supposed to remember, maybe it's 'cause she died so slowly, bleedin out on the ground next to Johnny; he died on impact. But she remembers the first time that she felt the rumblin' beneath her not too worn and nothin fancy shoes. 

The ol' boarded up building that she thought used to be a smoke shop had been promising new business for a while but she'd never seen it before was lit up and the street around it shook. It sounded like a riot.

She remembers the shiny new cruisers (not that she had known that name back then) parked in a neat little line up front. Beat-up cars parked in reckless zigzags and more than a couple of lonely bicycles tied, chained, and just sitting against anythin' that even slightly allowed it.

And she remembers walkin' closer to it, weaving across the street, tiptoeing around the shiny bikes to glance on through the windows. 

Inside was a hazy den of smoke and flashing lights- this was before the punk scene got too wild but back then she didn't know quite so much- with moody stompers shouting and sceaming. After looking for a minute she had realized they were singing along to a barely audible guitar. The stompers were dancing, she had thought then a little mad, but she had leaned closer all the same tryin' to make out what had them all excited.

"You can go inside ya know."

It hadn't meant much to her back then, but this was the first time she met him, his voice all gravely and smokey, a cigarette in his left hand. He was even slighter back then, all bony awkward elbows in too big clothes. His coat- the same one he wears now the one he died in  was even bigger on him, the poor leather hem dragging on the ground. Maybe the meeting would have been better, more impactful, if he hadn't been leaning against a wall and she hadn't been craning her neck to peer through a tiny window. But she only remembered thinking this asshole before stomping over to the door.

She'll never forget this moment, if she dies again, somehow, after her souls faded into less than dust, this memory will stick to the wind, cemented for eternity- or somethin' like that. But when she opened that door the casphony made sense. The musty stompers all clad in denim and safety pins surrounded her and she couldn't see the stage but she knew this sound. Not because she'd heard it before but in the pounding in her chest when she was angry and the drive in her feet before she jumps. Yet somehow in it's familiarity it was overwhelming, awe-inspiring to the point where she felt like she had opened a door to a roaring river and then stepped inside.

Kitty wishes she could say she remembers that night crystal clear- but it's all 'twixt lil scraps of images and things she objectively knows happened. An' unlike Johnny it's not 'cause she died that she forgot. Just that the whole night was the same empty ecstatic feeling of breathing for the first time.

She knows she had stood around a while 'fore Johnny had somehow got her to dance. She remembers this one wicked blue haired stomper lookin her dead in the eyes and piercing her straight through the ear with a safety pin. 

Johnny and her had blown the joint once it got too late, him sayin' how she didn't need to be involved with all that stuff. She had tucked her face into his lean back and clung on for dear life. It was a kiddie ride but back then she'd never touched a motorcycle much less ridden one. High on life and too caught up in it to head home, they mosied around town. 

When the wind blew through her wooly school blazer and carried the raspy muttering of Johnny, Kitty remembered deciding this would be her eternity.

It wasn't. Not yet at least. Kitty had woken up then next day ice cold in a park all snuggled up 'gainst Johnny an' his bike. Even back then he'd called it 13- didn't know why people couldn't figure out that the man who claimed his own shadow wouldn't claim his bike, but Kitty had been around too long to not realize they were all fucking idiots. Lovingly. 

Back then though, she had just desperately tried to remember the night before- twasn't nothin' bad, just her and Johnny clicking like that. She wasn't even slightly sorry when she gyped with Johnny and they rode around town all day.

They had cussed out neighbors and fogies and snuck their way Ol' Freddie's yard, just to see what was back there (a worn down shed and scraggly bushes of molly, Johnny snuck some in his pocket). 

As 4 rolled around she met his crew; a silly bunch of goofs, all covered in safety pins and shitty tattoos. Kitty remembers the first time she rode with the pack. Everybody howling an' actin' like crazed wild things; they had been playin it up a bit for the new gal, but the shit they would get into together certainly topped this Rowley brigade. The record shop was near close when they rolled in and looted, pulling out records with labels like "Nipple Erectors" and "Hammersmith Gorillas". Good taste. Back then she thought they were fucking loons.

After it closed they had all rumbled their way around lookin for something cheap to spend their pocket lint on. What they ended up actually finding was a wide storm drain that Johnny had lept down from the short bridge dragging her by the hand down with him too.

"First dibs!" He exclaimed with a wicked grin. Kitty hadn't known it was possible for someone her age to be missing so many teeth.

She kinda liked it. Who would've thought she'd spend her whole life and afterlife with this same dumbfuck?

Sittin' in that drain with Johnny, their legs kicking to and fro, and the gang crouched on the banks, was serene. Kitty had a picture still of her an' Johnny, just sitting there. A tall kid from their gang, Galaxy, they went by, kept pullin out the funniest faces and a sullen girl kept deadpanning things down so that even as Kathy lost track of the conversation she still caught herself roarin with laughter. When footfall passed overhead they all hushed up, but Johnny kept grinning, starin' each of 'em in the eyes trying the break the first laugh. It worked too. They were lucky back then. They didn't get caught this time.

The sun would begin to set and Kitty would have Johnny drive her on home with the promise of seein' her at school the next day (she had doubted, she went to a Catholic girls school). At home she got the first scolding of many before she packed up her things and left. But even that day, before she was used to it, Kitty remembered not feelin' an ounce of regret.

To her surprise, the next day, she did see Johnny, all dressed in a skirt with his hair pulled back in braids. She punched him straight in the face. She didn't get it till her upperclassman, Mary, put her arm around "Joanne's" shoulders and dragged him off to class.

She had chewed her lip raw thinking about it back then, in her first period class. When that final bell rang she had already sprinted over to the shed behind the school- she had bet Johnny stashed his bike there. 

Back then she was an arrogant piece of shit and so the first thing out of her mouth was:

"What're you doin' at a school like this? Trying to perv on girls?" 

Johnny had given her that little half smirk of his, his canine looking sharp. "I'm 13 for a reason."

He grabbed her hand as he swung his leg over the bike

"You wanna ride or you wanna talk, Chatty Cathy?"

Kathleen had had almost stood there too long, his hand began to pull away.

"Call me Kitty," she said, "And you're lucky to know someone like me."

And yeah, maybe Kitty regrets sayin' that kinda shit back then, but they were both just stupid kids trying their absolute hardest to be cool. An' even if it was cruel Kitty was glad that he got it. That he took her on that bike and they went far. Maybe they took it too far. 

She remembered when they rode around like madmen, only getting wilder after they both dropped out, together. Livin' on the "no plates no rules" mindset. As long as they could outrun it an' make it to their next thrill, that was all that mattered.

 

One time when they were running from the police, Kitty hollering in his ear, they drifted over 70 miles per hour- which may sound like nothin' but with a passenger it ain't nothin'. Kitty remembered leaning so hard her elbow almost touched the ground and a hysterical laugh breaking out as she squeezed her eyes shut for the first time in a long time.

Since then they only got more reckless and the rest is history. Maybe they shouldn't have tried that last turn in such a tight ally and maybe Kitty shouldn't have gotten them in the mess in the first place.

But when she woke up next to Johnny again, sky green or not, she didn't care.

That first day she remembered shaking him awake and calling him Johnny, and him saying he didn't know who the fuck Johnny was. An' when she told him everythin' and called home her Johnny, she remembered this-

"Maybe I was your Johnny, but I ain't nobody's Johnny until I decide to be. But you can stick around if ya like." He held out his hand again, as he was already on the cursed bewitching bike. She grabbed on.

"Call me Kitty, and 13's my lucky number."

He'd remember everything later after they'd ridden for a while and he told her she'd be his ride and die for death. He never remembered that wicked turn or why they tried it in the first place. Kitty would tell him someday- he wasn't so lucky to know a girl like her. 

_____________________

Bonus sketch of storm drain photo

[craftybookworms]

@sumiink here’s your holiday truce gift! Sorry it’s a little late but I hope you like it! I did the dc/dp crossover prompt!

Damian ran into Cujo and taught him to sit, and Danny is coming out of a portal to try and figure out how he got cujo to sit. And there’s a little Batman in the corner trying to figure out why there’s a glowing dog and a glowing kid talking to robin

[lemon-snake]

Jumping to Conclusions

@minnowmarsh HI! You were my holiday truce giftee! I used the first prompt, “cryptid Danny” and I hope I made him cryptidy enough for you. There aren’t really any warnings, except for bullying I guess. Happy Holiday Truce!

Dash Baxter is not a smart kid, he can admit that. His chances for college basically ride on his football scholarship. And even though he tells everyone he’s only letting Jazz Fenton tutor him because she has a crush on him and he’s leading her on, it’s blatantly false. If it wasn’t for Jazz, and forcing nerds to do his homework, he would be failing.

But the thing is, Dash doesn’t need to be smart to know that there is something seriously wrong with Danny Fenton. It’s not like he’s paying attention on purpose or anything, that makes it sound like he cares about the loser. But y’know, he pays attention enough to shove him into lockers and beat him up after gym class. And that’s enough to notice things.

See, Danny Fenton had always been a weird little freak, that’s why he got bullied by guys like Dash. But by the time freshman year of high school started, Danny had just gotten weirder. Like, super weird.

And sure, life had gotten super weird freshman year of high school, what with all the ghosts and shit. But Danny was weirder than that. Or maybe he was weird in the same way as that, and that’s why it was so fucking creepy.

The kid was like a ghost. There was no other way to explain it. Not “was a ghost”, Dash is pretty sure he would know if he tried to punch a ghost, but he was like a ghost.

He never made any sound anymore when he walked. Dash has lost count of how many times he’s turned around and suddenly Danny is just standing there behind him. It’s creepy. Even when Dash can see him, there’s no sound. It’s like he wrapped cotton around his shoes, except he obviously didn’t.

And it’s like he could get out of any of the lockers Dash shoved him in. Even the shitty broken one in the boy’s locker room that required a janitor to open if you locked it on accident. One time, Dash had waited around the entire passing period just to watch the locker. Nothing. He’d been late to Algebra, but somehow Danny had gotten there first. There was just no way that was possible! Dash had beat him up after class for making him late, and he’d had the fucking audacity to look bored. He’d even yawned! While Dash was punching him!

Dash had wanted to steal his homework for that, but when Dash had told him to hand it over, Danny had looked surprised that they even had homework. That was another weird thing. Danny wasn’t a genius like his sister, or his parents, but he was certainly smarter than Dash and he got good grades. He never shut up about wanting to be an astronaut when they were younger. It was super annoying. But now he slept through most of the school day and teachers are lucky if they get anything from him. If the homework he does turn in doesn’t have mysterious stains on it, it’s basically a miracle. He skipped class all the time now too. It wasn’t just his magic bladder and running like a fraidy cat from ghost attacks, but he rarely showed back up. Sometimes he didn’t show up to school at all. Lancer was basically the only teacher who expected anything of him anymore. All the others had just told him not to handle anything fragile and basically gave up, besides assigning detentions. Dash had heard from Paulina, who heard from Kwan, that Danny barely showed up for those either.

He was a total klutz now too. It seemed like every time anyone turned around, he was tripping, or breaking something in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. Dash never told anyone, but one time, he saw Danny fall down an entire flight of stairs by tripping over air and had gotten back up like it was nothing. Again, this kid was dedicated to being an astronaut. He hadn’t been a fucking ballerina, but it was certainly better than this.

One time, the power had gone out due to a ghost attack, and Mr. Walter, the Algebra teacher, had refused to let Danny go to the bathroom. Danny’s eyes had glowed in the _dark._ He’d mumbled something about his parents, and cross contamination, and most people accepted that. But not Dash. He knows the truth. Danny Fenton is a fucking alien.

He’s pretty sure he got body snatched at some point over the summer. With all his space junk, it’s practically asking for aliens to come and snatch him. The Doctors Fenton wouldn’t notice, especially after all the ghosts started attacking. The alien pretending to be Danny Fenton probably has some kind of teleportation tech. That’s how he’s getting out of all the lockers, even the shitty one. Stealth tech too, for stalking innocent human quarterback prey, like Dash. That’s why Dash can never hear him coming. It’s probably trying to gain flesh bodies for all its alien friends, like in horror movies.

And the alien probably has no idea how to be a normal human teen. Dash wonders if the alien would be willing to let Dash teach it how to be a normal teenager in exchange for not sending a slug into his brain and taking over his body. He hopes so. Dash really doesn’t want to be a slug zombie.

He’s pretty sure the new mayor, Vlad Masters, is also an alien. But a different alien than the kind of alien that’s pretending to be Danny Fenton. They’re enemy aliens. That’s why Danny hates him so much. Because he fixed the totally lame shit with the Nasty Burger, so really there’s no reason for Danny to attempt to fist fight him in the Kroger parking lot.

No reason unless they’re both aliens from rival civilizations who are both trying to take over the earth. Their fights sound really personal. Dash wonders if there’s some sort of history there. Like, maybe Danny was supposed to be leading a fleet of spaceships to conquer earth, but they’d run into Masters’ fleet of enemy spaceships and there was a huge space battle and then the two commanders were the only survivors. They both fell to earth and took over the bodies of the nearest human. Dash thinks the alien inside Masters has it better. That guy is a billionaire. Danny Fenton is just a weird nerd from a weird family.

Dash Baxter isn’t that smart, but he’s seen enough horror movies to recognize an alien infiltration when he sees one.

[willakk]

Holiday Truce Fanfic: "When the Portal Stops Working"

Here is your holiday truce gift @i'mDeadTiredTM! I did Prompt 1: When the portal stops working, Danny leaves Amity quietly and doesn't come back. What does it look like, for him to live in a normal world and have such strange secrets?

I might also write another one of your prompts and share it with you later (but no promises).

I hope you enjoy!

"When the Portal Stops Working (2698 words) by WillaKK Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Danny Fenton, Maddie Fenton, Jack Fenton, Clockwork (Danny Phantom), Coffee Shop People Additional Tags: Portals, Collage, Coffee Shops, Secrets, puns, Holiday Truce 2022, Gift Exchange Summary: When the portal stops working, Danny decides to leave everything behind and try to achieve the hopes and dreams that he left behind before. But, it isn't always easy living in a normal world with strange secrets."

No one could have predicted that it would have happened (except for one being who knows the pasts, presents, and futures all at once). There were no telltale signs that it would happen. And, honestly, no one expected that it could. 

What happened is that one day, the portal just turned off. No one touched a temporary off switch. No one caused the portal to become unstable and therefore be destroyed. No one did anything. That is why it was so peculiar that the portal stopped working some random Thursday. With no warning, the rift between realities was gone. 

At first, the town of Amity Park did not know what to do. The disappearance of the portal’s effects was unnerving. The constant ebb and flow of otherworldly energy ceased to exist. The, honestly troubling, constant attacks and fights disappeared. All presence of ecto-entities ceased to exist. Although it did help the town become safer and back to its peaceful ways before the Fentons tore a hole in reality, no one really knew how to deal with the change. When something is so much a part of your day-to-day life, it’s hard to adjust to a new pattern without it.

This was especially difficult for the Fentons (and the girl known as the Red Huntress, but that’s a story for another time). Jack and Maddie Fenton, who used to always be seen running amok around town, ecto-weapons blazing, were now uncharacteristically sequestered away in their house. Practically the only time they were ever seen out was to buy groceries at the store or random items at the hardware store (that people learned to never question because it could only lead to two responses: an unending tangent about the project it was for or melancholy mumbling about failure). People also learned to never question the odd shipments of large boxes to the residence. The town of Amity Park learned to ignore the Fentons in a way entirely different than before.

The two elder Fentons didn’t notice the town’s change in attitude, whether it be towards them or the change in circumstances; they were too focused on how to fix the dead portal. However, their unyielding focus on their new project was not unnoticed by their son. 

Jazz was away at college when the portal died. That left Danny alone in the Fenton residence with his parents. The portal affected each and every one of the Fentons in that house, but Danny’s parents could never match up to how the broken portal affected him. First of all, Danny had to deal with the changes in his parent’s attitudes and focuses (although it could be just seen as a more intense version of before). They never took time away from their projects to deal with how the change affected him. But, most importantly, was that the portal breaking left Danny with a lack of purpose. Before the portal turned on in the first place (before everything down to individual molecules changed), Danny’s own meaning in life was his aspirations for the future. Ever since the portal turned on, achieving those aspirations inched further and further away. From then, he gained a new purpose, a new meaning in life (one that seemed like he had no other choice than to follow it). So, when the portal broke, something in Danny broke as well; he could feel it deep in his core. And it hurt even more when he realized that his connection to the Infinite Realms was severed completely. The only connection that was left was the ectoplasm running through his veins.

So, with the sudden lack of purpose, the disappearance of the connections between realities, and the torn Fenton family, Danny made a choice: once he graduated high school he would leave Amity Park behind, leave the past behind, and, hopefully, be able to relearn to follow his aspirations that he lost that one fatal day. (But he would never be the same Danny from before).

The disappearance of the portal followed the disappearance of Danny.

That is why we can find one Daniel Fenton working at a coffee shop near the border of Maryland and Virginia. He was a typical college student: tired, busy, and short on money (which is why he was working at the coffee shop in the first place. He was funding community college all by himself (and if his parents even did truly notice and realize the situation, they wouldn’t have enough money left for him anyways with money that wasn’t already being reserved for college (which Jazz was using, not that Danny was complaining – she deserved it) was used to try to get the portal up and working again (Danny didn’t need to be Clockwork to know that it would never work again)).

Everyone who worked there with Danny knew him as the typical college student visage that he portrayed. Yet he was also known for his witty remarks, love of space, and seemingly impossible and random remarks about past experiences. Many of his coworkers believed that he must have at least stretched the truth. Something else that was noticed, but wasn’t that visible and easy to realize, was that Danny had a keen sense and disposition towards safety around the coffee shop. One time, Danny even saw an accident involving multiple mugs just waiting to happen and ended up catching them all in time before they could shatter all over the floor and create a hazardous space.

So, all in all, Danny had his niche at the coffee shop, and if those around him noticed anything odd about him, they didn’t mention it.

This day, only Danny and his coworker, Sal, were working in the coffee shop. It was a slow day compared to usual, even with it being the weekend. Only a few people stopped by that day, and one could probably correlate that to the stormy day that left people wanting to stay home instead of driving or walking through the endless rain to just get a cup of coffee or a pastry. However, at around two in the afternoon, the bells above the door jingled, stopping Danny and Sal’s conversation about how Danny’s friends once created two protests in one night (which, kudos to them, Sal supposed, but like, how?). Following the ringing permeating the room, two regular customers, a mother, and her elementary school-aged daughter entered, quickly dismantling umbrellas as they tried their best to avoid the rain.

“Hi, Mrs. Brant!” Danny exclaimed with the typical amount of energy he had in the shop despite being an exhausted college student, “How are you doing?”

“Hello, Danny, and you too Sal,” Sal waved at them from where he was getting the coffee machines ready for their orders, “We’re doing just fine except for the rain here,” She said as she gestured out one of the many windows that lined the two walls that met in a corner near the front of the cafe.

“And I just finished my first ballet recital!” Claire, the daughter, exclaimed with utmost amounts of joy. She showed off her best attempt at a pirouette in clunky yellow rain boots, which matched the raincoat covering her uniform.

“Are you sure you’re not a professional?” Danny questioned, in what appeared to be a very serious tone towards the ten-year-old.

“Not yet …”

Mrs. Brant addressed her daughter by adding, “Maybe one day, honey, but remember, you will have to do a lot of practicing.”

“Yeah, I know,” Claire added, then leaning forward to whisper to Danny not so subtly, “But it’s not always fun, and it takes too long. I wish I could just do recitals.” 

Danny, playing along with Claire’s dramatics, whispered back, “It’s tragic, isn’t it? But, have you ever heard that “Practice Makes Progress”. If you never practiced, then imagine how messy the recital would be.”

Danny could see the gears in Claire’s head turning as she imagined just how it would be, “Yeah, I guess so.” She said as she leaned back on her heels. 

“Well,” Danny said as he changed the route of the conversation and took his mantle of the cashier, “What would you like to order today.”

“Well, we will share a slice of quiche Lorraine,” Mrs. Brant started, “I would like a medium mocha, and Claire would like a small hot chocolate” (Neither Danny nor Sal let Claire’s frown at the size of her drink go unnoticed).

“Great, would you like to make any changes to the way the drinks are typically made?”

“No, thank you.”

“Alright. Then your total would be fourteen-fifty.” Mrs. Brant subsequently paid for the order and sent Claire to go find a table of her choice.

“And,” Danny added with a smirk, “Before you go sit down, don’t forget the joke of the day! What do you call a baby cow?”

“Hmm, I honestly have no clue,” Mrs. Brant said as she shook her head.

“Decaf!” Danny exclaimed.

Mrs. Brant let out a soft laugh, “How do you always come up with these?” 

“It’s just a talent of mine. Your order will be out shortly,” Danny then gave a small wave to her while he walked over to the pastry case to get the quiche ready to heat up in the small oven. 

Sal was already working on their drink orders. And, as he was doing so, he realized that he most likely was the only one that saw the slight and short bout of fear that laced Danny’s face when Claire wished she could just do recitals. Another odd thing about him that he wouldn’t ever figure out, Sal assumed.

Once the quiche was all warmed up and the drinks were all ready, Danny went to bring them to the table that Claire chose near one of the side windows. While Sal was a friendly person, Danny was much better at customer service so, even though they were both trained to make the drinks,  Danny was typically the one to interact directly with the customers while Sal prepared the orders.

“Alright!” Danny said as he approached the dark-stained wooden table where the Brants sat opposite each other. “Here we have the quiche,” He placed it between them, “And here is your well-deserved hot chocolate Miss Olivia!” Olivia stopped swinging her legs under the table as she went to reach out for the delicious treat. “But make sure it’s not too hot before you drink it; you don’t want to burn your tongue,” Danny pointed out. Olivia sat back in her seat in response as she saw the seam coming out of the mug. “And then, we have …” But before Danny could announce the mocha and give it to Mrs. Brant, his voice trailed off as he was suddenly very alert and changed his stance to ground himself.

Without any warning, Danny shoved his arms forward, the mug of mocha floating next to him as it left his hand, his eyes glowed acid green, and a similarly colored shield of some sort appeared shielding the opposite side of the Brants’ table so it divided them from the windows that faced the street corner.

Then, a sharp shattering sound echoed across the room as a lamppost shot through one of the glass windows heading straight toward the Brants. It hit the green shield with a large thud that reverberated across the coffee shop. 

There was a short pause between all the members in the coffee shop as three out of four of them were struck with shock, and Danny was filled with relief that he was able to stop the lamppost from hitting anyone. Danny’s posture relaxed, and his hands dropped to his side as he willed the shield to dissipate. He then started to use telekinesis to move the lamppost back outside the window. Seeing that, Sal, who was still behind the counter but didn’t miss any of what happened,  was dragged out of his stupor and exclaimed, “What the –” he stopped and changed his choice of words as Danny turned to look at him pointedly, not pausing his telekinesis, as if saying, “There is a literal child right here, no swearing”. Sal finished his phrase with a pun that Danny would be proud of,  “– frappuccino!”

Once the lamppost was safely out of the building, the glow from Danny’s eyes ceased as he let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Then he grabbed the floating mocha and handed it to Mrs. Brant, “And here is your mocha!” He said as if nothing had just happened.

A little flabbergasted, Mrs. Brant stuttered out, “Oh! Uh, thank you very much, Danny.” 

Suddenly, Claire jumped up from her seat. “That was so cool!” She exclaimed with an insurmountable amount of excitement, clearly ignoring the part where she almost was struck by a light post, “You were like, boom,” she mimicked putting her hands out in front of her, “And then it was like, bang, but it was like you weren’t even concerned! And then you moved the light post out without even touching it!” She wiggled her fingers in front of her face, “It was so cool.” She concluded with a touch of awe. 

Danny couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at her antics, “Well,” he started, bending over so they could be talking eye to eye, “How about it just stays a really cool secret between us, okay? You can be a special secret keeper, isn’t that awesome!”

“Oh, yeah! I’ve never had a job like that before … It’s like something from a book!”

“Exactly!” Danny said, then stood back up to normal height before addressing Mrs. Brant, “Would you like to move tables? It’s a little windy and rainy over here now.”

“Oh, sure, that’s a good idea.” She hadn’t even realized that the weather outside was getting in with all the disorder going on inside. 

Danny helped them move over a few tables so they were at the one next to the counter and furthest from the shattered window. Once they were settled, Danny turned to Sal and asked, “Would you mind passing me the broom?” Danny pointed over to the array of shattered glass that sat near the destroyed window. 

Once again removed from his shock, Sal responded as he stumbled around to grab the broom and dustpan, “Uh, yeah, man. Here they are.”

“Thanks!” Then Danny quickly cleaned up the light post’s mess. Once he finished, Mrs. Brant and Olivia were almost finished with their order. 

“Do you need anything else before you go?” Danny asked with utmost customer service.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Mrs. Brant responded, “But …” She continued as she rummaged in her bag and pulled out her wallet, “Take this.” She pulled out a ten-dollar bill. 

“No, thanks,” Danny said as he waved his hands in a gesture reflecting his words, “In fact, how about you take some pastries to-go, on the house.” Danny flicked his hand towards the display case and casually used telekinesis to grab a few cookies and scones, put them in a wax paper bag, and whisk them over to himself. He then handed the bag to Mrs. Brant. Claire let out a soft “wow”, and Danny and Claire shared a wink. (Sal just tried his best to ignore the weirdness happening around him since he couldn’t even figure out how to start to fathom it).

“Thank you, Danny,” Mrs. Brant told him, clearly eluding to more than just the free pastries. “Well, we’ll see you two next week then.” There was a quiet agreement that neither of them would mention the use of powers that day. At that, the Brants started to head out, gathering their rain gear. Right as Mrs. Brant left, she added a small shake of her head as if still trying to comprehend all that happened.

Danny started to clear off the table, and Sal silently joined. It didn’t seem that they would ever talk about what exactly happened. But, now that Sal thought a bit about it, Danny and his wacky stories made a bit more sense. But, just a bit. It seemed as if he would never understand the strangeness of one Danny Fenton.