#But it's fun. You should totally check it out.

[mywitchyblog]

Message to @alphaltrainreflection

First of all, bitch, where did I ever say anything about "eroticizing inferiority"? Like, be fucking for real. Show me the receipts. Because unless you’re reading between lines that don’t exist, nothing in my post said anything about power dynamics, submission, or “inferiority.” It sounds like you’re projecting some judgmental bullshit that I didn’t even invite into the conversation. So let’s start there—check yourself before you come into my space twisting my words to fit your weird little agenda.

Second of all, and I mean this with every ounce of sincerity, shut the fuck up. Genuinely, if you don’t like what you see, don’t interact. It’s that simple. Not everyone has to match your narrow idea of what shifting is “supposed” to be. Shifting isn’t some gated community where you get to play security guard and decide who’s allowed in. So do us all a favor, take that rigid-ass energy, and keep it to yourself, bitch.

Let’s be real for a second. You said, “sex freaks who insist on eroticizing inferiority are ruining shifting.” Bitch, nobody’s ruining anything—especially not me. All I said was that I want to get fucked. Plain and simple. If my desire to shift for a good time offends you, you’re free to move along. Shifting means different things to different people, and if sex is part of that, it’s totally valid. If I want to shift to a reality for some damn good dick, who the fuck are you to get all sanctimonious about it? Newsflash: your opinion on what’s “appropriate” doesn’t apply here, darling.

And let’s get one thing fucking clear, because clearly, you need this spelled out: even if someone did want to shift to a reality where they take on a more passive, submissive role, what of it? Why the fuck does that bother you so much? Some people spend their whole lives having to be strong, holding shit together, constantly defending themselves, and staying in control just to survive. Maybe, just maybe, they want to create a reality where they can finally let go, surrender, and trust someone who respects them and won’t take advantage of them. Imagine that—feeling safe enough to let down your guard and explore a side of yourself you don’t get to express in this life. For some people, that’s healing. For others, it’s fun. Either way, it’s their choice, not yours. So back the fuck off.

So let’s talk about this “ruining shifting” nonsense you pulled out of nowhere. Bitch, the only thing “ruining” anything is people like you, stomping into conversations uninvited and acting like you’re the gatekeeper of how others should experience their desires. You’re clinging to this imaginary rulebook about what’s “appropriate” for shifting as if that makes you morally superior, but all it does is make you look insecure, judgmental, and way too invested in other people’s business. Spoiler alert: nobody gives a fuck about your approval or needs it to validate their experience.

Here’s the truth, since you seem to need a wake-up call: shifting is deeply personal. It’s about self-determination and freedom, not conforming to some rigid-ass code of conduct set by random bitches on the internet. If someone wants to shift for spiritual growth, self-discovery, sexual exploration, or all of the above, that’s their fucking prerogative. Shaming them because it doesn’t align with your limited, vanilla-ass view of what’s “appropriate” is straight-up pathetic.

And by the way, bitch, sex is a natural, beautiful, and completely valid part of life. If I want to shift for sex, or if someone else wants to shift to feel cherished, adored, or, yes, even submissive, that’s nobody’s fucking business but ours. Maybe instead of trying to drag others down to your level of insecurity, you could take a hard look in the mirror and figure out why other people’s sexual autonomy bothers you so damn much. Because this isn’t about “ruining shifting”; it’s about you being uncomfortable with the idea of someone enjoying themselves in a way that’s different from what you deem acceptable. Maybe some self-reflection would do you some good.

To every other shifter out there who’s ever been made to feel guilty or “lesser” for shifting for your own reasons, listen up: you don’t owe anyone an explanation, and you don’t need anyone’s approval. Your DR, your fucking rules. If shifting for you is about finding love, intimacy, exploration, or yes, even some good dick, that’s your choice. Don’t let some insecure bitch shame you or make you feel like you’re somehow ruining the experience just because it doesn’t fit into their narrow little box. Shifting is about creating the life and reality you want to live—whatever the fuck that looks like for you.

So, here’s a suggestion: take your unsolicited, holier-than-thou attitude and keep it to yourself. If you can’t handle seeing people talk openly about their desires and goals for shifting, then bitch, scroll past and save yourself the outrage. Because at the end of the day, I’m not here to please you, and neither is anyone else. We’re here to live our best lives, however we see fit, and if that’s too much for you, the door’s right over there.

To everyone who’s out here shifting for what they want, keep going. Own your desires, own your reality, and don’t let anyone’s outdated judgment make you feel like you’re doing it wrong. Shifting is your journey, and if that includes exploring intimacy, vulnerability, or sexuality, you’re not alone. You’re valid, and your experience is just as real and important as anyone else’s.

Consider this your reminder that no one’s begging for your approval. I’ll be over here, unbothered, shifting for exactly what I want, and loving every fucking second of it. ✨

[duchi-nesten]

Five names...and Steve.

It's Ecto-Implosion time!!!! This year I actually did writing nO WAY!

I got to work with the amazing @toadstool32! Their art is absolutely wonderful! Go check it out!!

Tiny's Art!

---

Summary:

Danny's parents weren't very fond of the ghostly pet living in his console... or 5 times Danny's virtual pet got on his parents' nerves, and 1 time it didn't.

Wordcount: 6744 || AO3

---

1.

A lot of things in the Fenton household were out of place. 

At this point it was just a given that the Fenton parents would leave some ectoplasmic samples on the kitchen counter or end up testing their newest invention on some poor piece of furniture. Danny was very used to random burn marks on the walls, trying not to trip over ripped carpet or dodging whatever food in their fridge came to life this time. (Though usually it was only the ecto-hot-dogs, who’d pretty much taken over their fridge, and tended to dominate any other sentient meal.) 

It’s also hard to forget that one time his parents somehow managed to make everything in the living room invisible. That was a fun afternoon.

The point was, weird stuff always happened in the Fenton household. That’s why Danny wasn’t surprised in the slightest when he stepped into the living room to find his old handheld console glowing green and floating right above the coffee table. 

The coffee table, which was covered in a bunch of papers and spilled ectoplasmic samples. That gave him all the information he needed. His parents must have been working on an invention while watching the tv again and his poor console had fallen victim to this week’s case of ectoplasmic infusion.

Danny took a few careful steps towards his floating game. The icy cold breath escaping his throat fogged up his vision for a second, before he caught sight of a smiling little… thing coming from the screen of his console.

He tilted his head slightly to the right in confusion and was amazed when the console attempted to imitate him by tilting the screen the exact same way.

It was cute in a way. Danny couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Suddenly he felt the ghostly presence leave the console to do a little round around him. The spirit’s green light was warm against his skin, before it snuck back into the game.

Danny laughed a little.

“Well, you seem nice,” he said, not expecting the ghost to answer. To his surprise the game landed gently in his hands as he got a soft chirp in response. The black pixels on the screen moved up and down in the shape of a little blob with two antennae.

“Man, you kinda remind me of an old tamagotchi. But like… actually alive.” Danny laughed again. Just for the bit, he pressed some buttons on the console to check his theory and there it was. He could actually feed and take care of the ghostly pet thing!

He gave it some virtual food, grinning as the little creature consumed the pixels on the screen. Its satisfaction could be felt with the growing energy surrounding the console.

“Maybe I should keep you,” Danny said, and the ghost came out of the game again to happily fly one loop around the boy.

That definitely seemed like an agreement.

Hopefully, this wouldn’t blow up in Danny’s face. He always wanted a puppy and this… this was close enough. As long as his parents didn’t find out about this, it should all be fine. Which was totally easy. His parents were extremely unaware when it came to things like this.

Of course, that was the moment his parents decided to come into the living room unannounced.

If Jack Fenton’s deafening yell of “GHOST!” could count as unannounced. 

“WHERE’S THE SPOOK?!” the man bellowed while bursting into the room, an ecto-gun ready to blast. He was followed by Danny’s mom, a beeping ghost detector and her own ecto-gun in each hand. 

Both of his parents paused at the sight of Danny. He was about to hide the possessed console behind his back, but before he could, the little spirit came out of it to… hiss at his parents. 

Danny noted how the ghost seemed to try shielding him from the guns before it got sucked back into the game after a few seconds. It couldn’t keep a physical form for too long. Interesting. 

He didn’t get to ponder on it more as he felt the game being ripped out of his hands. 

“Don’t worry Danny! We got this ghost!” his mother screamed, throwing the console to the ground.

“No ghost will slip into my house and try to attack my son!” his father added. Both of his parents pointed their weapons at the poor little ghost, ready to shoot it.

In a quick dash, Danny pushed between the two and jumped in front of them to shield the console with his body. “NO, WAIT!”

Full of confusion and not wanting to hurt their child, his parents lowered their guns slightly. 

“Danno, get out of the way. We need to get rid of this ghost.” 

“But! But! It’s in my game!” he tried. 

“Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll get it out of your game without destroying it,” his mother chimed in, putting a hand on his shoulder. She tried to gently move him out of the way, but he persisted.

“But it’s not IN my game!” Danny almost screamed, before trying to collect himself a bit and continuing in a quieter voice. “I think you made my game sentient, like the ecto-dogs.”

That made his parents lower their guns fully. 

“Hm. That’s interesting,” his mom said. It was clear she was calculating something in her head. Turning to his dad, they shared a similar look of fascination. “I mean the hot dogs were a biological matter. How is it possible to make a game sentient?”

“We should pick it apart and study it!” his dad answered, voice full of excitement.

“What?” Danny asked, dumbfounded. He couldn’t let them do this. Whatever the creature was, it seemed to be friendly and most important of all, sentient. The sudden thought about his parents dissecting a sentient being caused a shiver to go down his spine. “You didn’t do it to the ecto-dogs! You didn’t even get rid of them; they’re still living in our fridge!”

“They have proved themselves, Danno,” his dad said proudly. “They’re now a part of this family.”

“Unfortunately,” his mom muttered. If it was up to her, those ecto-dogs wouldn’t be here either. “This is more intricate though. I didn’t know ectoplasm could fuse with technology in such a way. If we can figure out how it happened, maybe we can use it to our advantage.”

“Make fancy guns!” his dad excitedly added.

“You can’t do that!” Danny yelled again. In a quick spin, he picked up the console from the floor, carefully showing it off. “Look at it. It’s like a little pet, you can’t hurt it!”

His mother was clearly about to argue, but that’s exactly when Jazz decided to enter the room. 

“What’s going on here?” she asked in confusion, eyes trailing from their parents, to Danny, then to the console now safely tucked in her brother's arms.

“Jazz, could you please explain to your brother that he can’t keep this ghostly thing as a pet?” their mom asked tiredly, covering her face with the palm of her hand. 

“What?” Jazz asked, even more confused now.

“Mom and Dad left their experiments on the coffee table again, and some of it was infused into my console, so now it’s possessed by a virtual pet thing.” Danny explained, showing the console off to Jazz who came closer as he spoke. The little ghost on the screen blinked at his sister before hissing at her. 

“Charming,” Jazz said unamused. She put her hands on her hips as she turned to address their parents. “It looks to me like whatever happened here is your fault. If you didn’t want this pet thing to exist you shouldn’t have left your highly toxic experiments laying around the family room.”

“But Jazzy-pants,” their dad started, however he was cut off by his sister. 

“No buts,” she said sternly. “Danny already got attached to this thing. If you take it away now, he’s gonna be so sad and that will definitely reflect badly on his relationship with you two.”

“So what? Are we supposed to let him keep this thing?” their mother asked. 

“Yes,” Jazz simply answered, giving their parents a look that clearly stated there was no more room for arguments. Their sour expressions didn’t disappear, but they sagged their shoulders in surrender. 

“Alright. But if it gives us even one reason to believe it’s evil, we are getting rid of it,” their mom stated sternly. She was definitely not happy about the entire situation.

“Compared to the ecto-dogs, this thing is gonna be a saint,” Danny muttered under his breath.

Jazz only rolled her eyes with a small smile before addressing him. “So, what are you gonna name it?” she asked.

“Oh, uh. I don’t know?” he shrugged in response. “Steve or something?”

“Steve?” Jazz questioned. 

“Steve?” their mother echoed.

“Come on, son. At least call it something cool. Like ecto-Steve.”

Everyone looked at his dad for a second with varying expressions of confusion.

“It’s just a placeholder name, I don’t know!” Danny defended. “I’ll come up with a better one eventually!”

Steve came out of the console and chirped happily at him.

“Awh, it is kind of cute. Why don’t you call it Chirp or something like that?” Jazz said, moving one finger in the direction of the ghost to touch him. She was immediately stopped, when ‘Steve’ turned to her and hissed angrily, making the girl move away quickly and putting her hands up. “Okay, okay, that’s a no I guess.” 

“Hah, he clearly only likes me and the names I give him,” Danny smirked watching Steve go back to his console with another chirp.

“Probably only because he can feel you’re one of his kind,” Jazz said unamused. Danny quickly elbowed her and looked pointedly to their parents, who were still standing right there.

“What do you mean one of his kind?” his mom questioned. “Danny’s not a gh-”

“Gamer,” Danny quickly cut in, prompting everyone to look at him in confusion. “I am a Gamer. The pet is a Game. We’re like… so alike,” he continued spilling nonsense in hopes that it would sound believable enough. 

His parents looked incredibly confused, but eventually started nodding their heads in thought. 

“I guess,” his mom said. She still didn’t look fully convinced, but decided to drop it.

Both Danny and Jazz let out a breath in relief. Steve only chirped from inside the console again. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna go now!” Danny said, quickly booking it out of the room with Steve in hand. As he scaled the stairs he could hear his dad whine about ‘still wanting to dissect that ghost’.

2.

So Danny knew that as long as he kept the pet out of trouble, it would be fine.

Of course, Steve had different plans.

Danny didn’t have a choice, but to bring Steve with him anywhere he went. Even though his parents begrudgingly agreed to let the ghost stay, he didn’t really trust them to not try something if he left Steve at home unattended and the poor thing couldn’t really defend itself. 

The only attack move Steve seemed to know was hissing. And he hissed at everyone and everything he considered a threat to Danny.

Danny was at the school showing off Steve to Sam and Tucker, who both loved the little guy, but hated the name Steve. Sam insisted that the pet’s name should be more androgynous as they didn’t know its gender, while Tucker kept suggesting some very bad “action-film-from-the-80s” kinda names.

That’s exactly when Danny’s ghost sense went off. He tried to leave Steve with his friends, but the pet kept hissing at them, so Danny had no choice, but to take the console with him.

Luckily for him, it only turned out to be the Box Ghost’s weekly storage room raiding time. 

His ghostly enemy was incredibly proud of himself when it turned out Steve was absolutely terrified of his presence. At least for the first 10 seconds before Boxy opened his mouth and started going on and on about bringing boxed up doom upon everyone.

The fight was going by fast as usual, with only a few hiccups due to Danny having to carry not only the Fenton thermos, but also Steve’s console in his jumpsuit pocket. It definitely made the fighting more uncomfortable, yet the Box Ghost was not enough of a threat to make it an actual issue.

Finally, after a few minutes, Danny managed to suck the ghost into the thermos. Cupping the cylinder, he sighed, still a bit annoyed from all the incessant yelling he had just listened to. He was about to leave the storage room, when one of the walls exploded and in came his parents. His father already giving him a second dose of incessant yelling.

“FREEZE GHOSTS!” his dad shouted, shooting out an anti-ecto net that missed its mark by a good 10 feet if not more.

Danny was about to ignore his parents and leave when Steve decided to attack. The little ghost came out of its console and let out a loud hiss in the direction of the two adults. Danny barely got the time to react, covering his pet friend from his parents’ view. 

If they ever saw Steve with Phantom, it would definitely be enough to call him evil and get rid of him.

Luckily Steve seemed to feel Danny’s distress and went back into the console. He stayed quietly in there, which left the two Fentons staring at the ghost boy in silence for a few seconds.

“Did you just… hiss at us?” his mom asked, confused. 

It would’ve been incredibly funny if Danny wasn’t so stressed in the moment. The witty teenage ghost boy just seemingly hissed at the ghost hunters. Hilarious.

In an attempt to save his reputation, he uttered a simple “No,” before hastily turning invisible and booking it out of there.

3. 

“OH, COME ON,” Danny whined as he put down the card he pulled out of Steve’s hand. Not a literal hand of course, since Steve was incorporeal and couldn’t hold anything belonging to the material world. 

It took him a while, but he managed to prop up Steve’s cards against some rocks they found in the park in a way that let the ghost see all of its options without Danny knowing what they were.

The only thing Steve had to do was flash a number on the console’s screen and Danny would pull out corresponding card counting from left to right. And this time it just so happened that the corresponding card was a draw +4.

“One day your luck will run out,” Danny threatened as he reached his gloved hand to draw new cards from the deck that was decorated with his father’s face. He often wondered how legal it was for his parents to make a custom FentonWorks Uno card deck.

His face suddenly split into an evil grin when he saw not one, not two, but THREE skip turn cards. (All of them showing Jack Fenton with his hand stretched forward in a halting motion on different colored backgrounds.)

“Looks like that day is coming soon.”

Five minutes and a powerful outplay by Steve later, Danny was grumbling to himself as he shuffled the deck. The word “LOSER” flashing at him from the console. 

“It’s not fair, I almost had that one,” he complained, starting to deal the cards out again. 

He didn’t get far, when their peaceful time was interrupted by a blast hitting the tree beside the bench they were sitting on. Danny turned to the tree to see one of the branches started burning in the place where it was hit.

“A wide shot,” he muttered. “That could only mean-”

“I’VE GOT YOU NOW, GHOST KID!” 

“Of course.”

There was suddenly a huge ecto-blaster pointed right at his face. His father’s angry face staring at him from the other side. 

“GIVE BACK MY FENTONWORKS BRANDED UNO CARDS, YOU GHOST PUNK! DO YOU KNOW HOW VALUABLE THEY ARE?! HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THEM?!” his dad threatened, pointing to the deck of cards, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed Steve laying on the bench beside them.

“What the-? MY SON’S PET GHOST! I KNEW YOU WERE EVIL! YOU STOLE THE CARDS!” his dad yelled, moving the gun to point it at Steve.

“Woah, woah. No, he didn’t!” Danny interjected, waving his hands up in an attempt to get the barrel of the gun directed back at him. Which worked out perfectly, when his dad turned to him.

“ARE YOU SAYING YOU BROKE INTO OUR HOUSE?! AGAIN?!”

“...No?”

Steve chose that moment to come out of the console to hiss at the elder Fenton. His dad only raised his weapon higher, now facing the little ghost again. Finger ready on the trigger.

Danny tried pushing Steve out of the way, surprised when it actually worked. Apparently his pet had no trouble coming in contact with other ghosts. Interesting.

He ignored the thought for now, as he leaned into his father’s shooting field.

“Look, da-I mean… Jack. We were just uhhh…” Danny looked around for a way out of this sticky situation. Seeing no polite solution, he quickly grabbed Steve’s console without any other words and ran away, tripping on the bench’s backside while trying to hop over it. He landed on his face, but quickly gathered himself and continued running. 

He could hear his dad cursing and shooting after them. Every shot missing miserably.

4. 

It was later that day after Danny got back home that both of his parents interrogated him in the kitchen. 

Steve’s console laid on the table in the middle of the room. Its inhabitant was currently out hissing at his dad, who was trying his best to strangle him, but Steve kept phasing through all the attempts as the ghost was incorporeal.

“Danny, your …pet is clearly up to something. Your father saw him casually hanging out with Phantom,” his mom stated, hands on her hips as she looked down at Danny. 

“And he stole our FentonWorks branded uno cards!” his dad added, giving up on strangling Steve. 

It took a while to calm down his parents and come up with barely passable excuses on why exactly Steve had the cards and was hanging out with his parents biggest enemy. 

The elder Fentons finally gave up seeing as they could not convince their son to hand over the ghost. They were still not happy with him at all and were definitely suspicious of the whole thing, so Danny knew he just had to be more careful about what he was gonna be doing with Steve from now on. 

The little ghost was still showing his displeasure by hissing at Danny’s parents. The boy sighed, petting Steve in hopes of calming him down enough to make him disappear into the console again, so he could take it to his room and far away from his parents.

He realized what a big mistake that was only once he saw his parents’ curious gazes follow the point where his hand was touching the ghost. The incorporeal ghost that could not be touched by fully material organisms. 

Which Danny was not.

Because he had ectoplasm in his bloodstream.

Shit.

“How are you touching that thing?” his mom asked, her face a mix of surprise, concern and fascination.

Danny looked from one parent to the other. “Uh. He likes me?” he asked stupidly. 

Before he could get an answer, he picked up Steve’s console running out of the kitchen. He tripped on one of the chairs in the process, falling face flat on the ground, before quickly gathering himself back up again and booking it out of there.

5.

After that, Danny managed to keep Steve out of trouble for a few days. Unfortunately, the peace couldn’t last any longer as Technus finally got a wind of the new technology based ghost in town.

And just like Danny’s parents, he found him incredibly fascinating.

The fascination quickly turned into mischief, as Technus realized just how attached Danny was to the little creature. He managed to snatch the console, while the boy was trying to fight off various appliances from the electronics store Technus just raided.  

One of said appliances was a microwave that now held poor Steve hostage. Which Technus threatened to turn on if Danny didn’t let him do his evil taking over the world deeds in peace.

“Let him go, Technus!” bargaining was all Danny had left. He couldn’t risk his friend perishing in a microwave explosion. “Steve didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Steve?” Technus questioned, his voice sounding very disgusted. “Is that the creature’s name? What an absolute lack of creativity.”

“It’s a placeholder name! I’ll come up with a better one eventually!”

“How about microwave food? Get it? ‘Cuz I’m gonna microwave it,” the ghost asked, smirking evilly. Danny’s eyes widened in terror as Technus reached out to the flying prison, which held his friend.

Before anything could happen, Technus was suddenly shot with a blast from the back. It broke his concentration enough to make the ecto energy surrounding the microwave dissipate. It started falling to the ground. Danny quickly took his chance and dived to save Steve. 

Just as he was about to reach the falling microwave, the energy around it returned and moved the appliance right from under Danny’s nose. 

“NO!” he screamed, turning his trajectory to follow the escaping microwave. 

Another blast flew right past his ear and that’s when he finally noted that his parents had made it to the battlefield. Their shots were pointed at both him and Technus. He needed to stop them before they accidentally brought any harm to Steve.

“No, don’t shoot him!” he yelled to the Fentons. “He has a hostage!”

“You’ll be our hostage once I’m done with you ghost kid!” his dad yelled back, aiming his gun and shooting at Danny (absolutely missing in the process). 

“Hun, hold on,” his mom, always the more rational one, put a hand on Jack’s arm to make him lower the gun, before addressing Danny. “What hostage?” she demanded in a strong voice.

Danny grimaced a little as he heard Technus laugh in the background, already choosing to rain chaos upon some other electronics store or whatever. “...Steve,” he said to his parents.

“Wha- Steve?” his mother questioned, clearly irritated. “Our son’s ghost pet Steve?”

“Yes.”

“So now that evil ghost is hanging out with other evil ghosts too!” his dad yelled, raising his gun and running off after Technus. “That’s enough, that little ghost scum is gonna regret his existence!”

“Wait no!” Danny screamed after his father. He was about to follow him, but his mother’s voice stopped him.

“Why do you care so much?” she asked accusingly, cocking her gun and getting ready to aim at Danny again. 

“Well! Why don’t you care? Your son would be heartbroken if anything happened to his pet, right?” he shot back, eyes nervously trailing in the direction of Technus and his dad.

“Danny will get over it. It’s just a ghost.”

“UGH! Steve hasn’t done anything to make you believe he’s evil!” Danny was ready to rip his hair out in frustration. “It’s your own fault he’s even existing in the first place! Maybe you should take some responsibility instead of accidentally creating ecto abominations left and right!” he yelled before turning away and flying to stop his dad from making everything worse.

Maybe he did say a bit too much, but the irritation he felt took over him. Why couldn’t his parents just stop being so negative towards anything ghost related? Steve may have been a little bit hissy towards them, but that was literally the most threatening thing he could do. Other than that he’s been nothing, but cute and silly.

Danny shook his head, focusing on getting Steve back from the clutches of the actually evil ghost. Luckily it didn’t take long before he managed to retrieve his friend as Technus was being distracted by his father’s incessant screaming. 

The ghost was quickly sucked into the thermos after that. Danny, still riding on worry, adrenaline and slight irritation, totally missed a pair of violet eyes curiously observing him while he coddled with Steve, glad the pet was finally safe in his arms.

+1

Maddie was not happy about the ghostly creature that’s been living under her own roof for a few weeks now. She’s had enough of the ecto-dogs taking over their fridge, so she definitely didn’t need another intruder.

She was especially not happy about it being so close to her son though.

This ‘Steve’ was clearly only trouble. He kept aggressively hissing at everyone except her son, and continued getting into shenanigans. Yet for some reason Danny found him fun and endearing. It honestly bothered her how much Danny seemed to love this thing. 

Even worse, how that little thing seemed to bond with her son.

But as much as she hated this ghostly nuisance, it fascinated her. If it was up to her, the little creature would be closed off in their lab and examined for any way that could help them improve their weaponry and inventions.

Sadly it seemed like Danny would never let that happen.

She sighed as she went up the stairs, readjusting her grip on the basket full of dirty hazmat suits and lab coats from their basement. They usually just kept a spare laundry basket down in the lab to save a trip upstairs if anything got stained with ectoplasm, which happened often. 

Unfortunately that also meant the basket usually laid forgotten down there until it was so full nothing else would fit in it. It wasn’t fully packed yet, but it has been a while since the last wash. It was finally the time to get these clothes clean.

She reached the bathroom, putting the basket down on the floor in front of the washing machine. She started loading up the laundry starting off with the piece of clothing that made her decide to do the lab laundry in the first place.

Her blue jumpsuit was fully stained in ecto-goo. She and Jack had come back from a ghost battle only half an hour prior, the battle taking place only one block down from their house. She got hit by the goo when her husband, as usual, missed his mark while trying to shoot the ghost kid, who was fighting another ghost again.

She grimaced at the thought, squeezing the jumpsuit and stuffing it into the washing machine, suddenly feeling annoyed.

That was another thing that’s been weird recently. The ghost kid’s affiliation with Danny’s stupid pet.

With so many ghost attacks around the town, they quickly noticed that Steve wasn’t very fond of other ghosts. The only ghost he seemed to like for whatever reason was Phantom. Which definitely was a mutual thing, since the ghost kid was awfully protective of the little ghost.

Maddie still remembered his outburst from a while back. It seemed so…genuine. She didn’t understand why he cared so much and it bothered her. Something was definitely going on there, but it felt as if she was missing a big puzzle piece.

She let out another sigh. Her basket was now empty, but there was still some space left in the washing machine. She decided to go ask Danny if he’s got anything else to put in it, since Steve tended to …leak on things sometimes.

While still kind of stuck in her own thoughts, she made her way to Danny’s room. As she approached, she heard her son snickering through the door.

“Steve, come on. Homework can wait. What are you, my mom?”

Looked like her son was slacking on his homework by playing with the annoying thing. Without thinking to knock, she opened the door ready to catch him in the act and to scold him for it.

“He’s not, but I…am…” she stilled at the sight in front of her.

There, on her son’s bed, laid no one other than Phantom himself. Though laid wasn’t the right word. He hovered right above it. Steve’s console held in both of his hands as he stared right back at her, green eyes wide in shock.

Steve took a round around him, before going back into the console.

It was all they needed to snap out of their stupor.

Phantom, in panic, fell atop the bed, before raising himself on all fours and yelling “I CAN EXPLAIN!”

And god if the look on his face didn’t look familiar. It was exactly the kind of look Danny would give her when she caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to. She probably wouldn’t have noted the similarity if it wasn’t for the familiar background of Danny’s bedroom and the assumption she already had of finding him in here instead. 

A quick look around the room told her he was not present, so the person she heard had to be the ghost in front of her. But that was Danny’s voice for sure.

Have their voices always been so similar?

An unsettling theory was forming in her head, but she tried her best to push the thought aside.

Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and gave Phantom a condescending look. “Well then, explain.”

That seemed to take him by surprise. Maddie assumed he probably expected her to pull out an ecto-blaster and start shooting. To be fair, she probably would, but thanks to the mishap with her jumpsuit getting dirty, she didn’t have any weapon on her. (And the idea of shooting him now left a bitter taste in her mouth.)

Observing her carefully, he slowly stood up from the bed, putting his console down by the pillows. He tried to stutter something out, but it was cut off by a yelp when his legs tangled in the sheets and he fell off the bed.

Maddie cringed a little at his fall. She quickly realized it wasn’t the first time she saw something like this happen. Danny often did the exact same thing, whenever she came in to wake him up after his alarm didn’t seem to do its job.

Phantom quickly got up to his feet. “Well, uh. You see, I was just-” he paused, looking around the room. His eyes landed on Steve’s little face coming from the screen of his home. “Babysitting! Your, uh, your son had to go out, so I’m just… looking out for this little guy.”

And oh how she wanted to believe him, but the way he nervously smiled at her from across the room, rubbing his arm and shuffling his feet on the ground. It was probably the first time she got to properly look at him. No adrenaline from an ongoing battle or distortion of blurry video recordings. 

Without thinking she took a few steps forward. Seeing her slowly advance, he took two steps back, but his legs quickly bumped into the nightstand. With no more space to back out he watched her come closer with fearful eyes, as he laughed nervously. “I know you’re probably mad, so let me just… leave-”

His talking ceased when she finally approached him. Without a word she gently reached out to swipe the bangs out of his eyes before her hand landed on his cheek. 

She could feel him growing more and more uncomfortable by the second, as she gave him a long look-over.  He even tried to talk again, but she just shushed him and continued scanning his features and everything. 

She inhaled sharply when she finally saw it.

Before he could react, she pulled him into a hug, wrapping one arm around him while the other gently stroked his hair. “Oh, my baby…”

The boy immediately stiffened in her arms. “Wh-What?” He let out another nervous laugh as he tried to wiggle out of her embrace. “Uh. What are you talking about-hAH. Wha-” he stilled as he got a look at her face, probably noticing the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. 

“Danny.” Even though the name left her lips as a whisper, it still held a lot of intensity. The tears streamed down her face as she asked, her voice quiet and uncertain “What happened?”

It made absolutely no sense to her. Danny couldn’t be a ghost, Phantom’s been around for almost two years now and Danny’s has been here all this time. But even though she didn't know how or why, she knew it was her son standing in front of her.

A mother always recognises her child.

(Even though it took her an embarrassingly long time to do that.)

Was it some sort of disguising technique? Can some ghosts still pass as humans? It would definitely explain all the times their inventions seemed to go off around him or how he seemed to be the only human able to actually touch his ghostly pet.

It was because he wasn’t human. He was a ghost. Which meant he must’ve died and neither her or Jack even noticed. The thought brought her tears back full force. She almost choked on a sob as all the possibilities of her child’s death flashed in her head.

She already felt horrible for not noticing all this before now, but what if his death was also somehow her fault?

Instead of providing her with the answers she craved so badly, he just stared at her with an unreadable expression. It took him a while, but his gaze finally moved to the ground, before his entire face broke and he looked up to her again. 

“I’m not dead I swear!” he said, voice full of desperation. As if this was the most important thing and he needed her to believe him.

So he was in denial. Maybe that’s what gave him the ability to pass as a human and not turn into an obsessive evil ghost. Holding onto the thought of still being alive, helped him keep his humanity.

Well, she wasn’t going to shatter that and risk him becoming malevolent.

“O-Of course not, honey,” she said, voice at the edge of breaking. She stroked his cheek gently again, feeling how icy cold he was and almost letting out another sob.

“No, I know what you’re thinking,” he said, gently pulling back from her hand, which hurt her only a little bit before she focused back on what he was saying. “You’re creating an entire theory about me being in denial or something!”

Well, he got her spot on.

Before she could respond, he continued in a softer voice.

“I’m still human too, I swear. Or more like… half human?” he offered, shrugging a bit at her. “Half-human, half-ghost?”

What.

She decided to voice her confusion.

“What?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really get it myself, but look!” As he said this a light blue ring appeared at his waist. Maddie took a step back as it split in two and traveled up and down his body.

And there was her Danny, black hair, blue eyes and everything. She already knew it was him, but having it confirmed like this, seeing just how much he always resembled Phantom and she didn’t notice was insane.

“See! Human. I’ve got a heartbeat and everything to prove it!” 

She slowly leaned back in and placed her hand back on his cheek. It was warmer now, maybe still slightly colder than a normal temperature, but definitely not icy cold as it was just a minute prior.

He definitely felt two of her fingers slide down under his jaw to check for the mentioned heartbeat, but he didn’t say anything about it.

She sighed in relief when she found it.

“But… how is this possible?” she asked. It would be incredibly fascinating if she wasn’t so worried for her child. 

“I don’t know. I kinda uh…” he looked away and shrugged. Maddie caught his gaze locking onto the console still laying on his bed. “I think it’s kinda like Steve? I got infused with ectoplasm or something.”

Well that… that was certainly a better option than him dying. But the comparison brought back the memory of his outburst during the technology ghost fight. 

Suddenly she realized he might’ve not been talking only about Steve and the ecto-dogs as she initially assumed. 

“Oh, Danny.” she covered her mouth as guilt washed over her. “It’s our fault isn’t it?”

He immediately perked up. “No! No. It’s my own fault, you didn’t do anything. I was just being stupid…” he sat down on his bed looking down at his shoes. 

Maddie followed suit, putting a hand on his back and rubbing it softy. She needed to ask, she needed to know how it exactly happened. No matter how terrified she was of the answer. Before she could gather the courage though, he already opened his mouth and spoke so quietly she almost didn’t hear it.

“I’m sorry.”

His sad tone broke her heart. She wrapped her arms around him again and pulled him into her side. “No, Danny. I’m so sorry we never noticed and then we went ahead and shot at you and said so many horrible things. Oh baby, I love you so much, I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said back, reciprocating the hug. They stayed like this for a while, Maddie gently stroking his hair while mumbling out apologies. Danny kept mostly quiet, but he seemed content in her embrace.

They would’ve stayed like this longer if it wasn’t for the little ghostly presence appearing behind them. Maddie felt a shiver when Steve phrased through her arm in an attempt to get Danny’s attention. 

She moved her hand away and turned to the creature. Surprisingly he didn’t hiss at her this time, even when Danny raised up from their hug to look at the little ghost. 

“Yes, yes. You want attention, I hear you,” her son snickered and reached out to the console as Steve hid back inside it again. 

Maddie watched as her son checked the needs of the creature on the screen before giving it some virtual food. Steve gladly consumed the little pixels and did something akin to a little happy dance.

She couldn’t help, but smile.

“I must admit,” she said, catching the attention of both her son and the ghost. “He is kind of cute when he’s not hissing at me all the time.”

Danny chuckled in response. “Yeah, Steve’s really nice, you just gotta get to know him better.”

“I should give him a chance then,” she smiled back. 

Steve came out of the console and neared her face, almost as if studying her. After a second of staring he let out a chirp and did a little round around both her and Danny, which made her giggle a little.

“Guess you really aren’t as bad as we thought, Steve,” she said, before pausing a little. “Even though your name is a little silly.”

“It’s a placeholder!” Danny whined, dropping back on his bed. The console was now laying on his stomach as Steve made his way back in.

“Honey, it’s been a placeholder for weeks now. When are you gonna finally come up with a real name?”

“I don’t have any ideas! And everyone’s only criticizing, but their ideas aren’t any better! Like dad’s! Ecto-Steve? For real?”

“Hmm, that was a bit funny,” Maddie said, trying to hold back the laughter. “But maybe he was onto something there?”

“He definitely was not.”

“I mean, if you drop the Steve part and just call him Ecto. It would be fitting.” She looked to her son, catching his gaze. “He did come from ectoplasm after all.”

Danny raised up on his elbows while he contemplated that. “You know what? That’s not bad. I kinda like it,” he smiled and addressed the little ghost. “Ecto, huh? What do you think about that?”

The ghost gave a little chirp as it came out of the console to make a few happy zigzags in the air.

Maddie chuckled a bit. “Well, looks like he likes it.”

“Guess he does.” Danny slumped back onto the bed, a very content smile on his face. 

There was a beat of silence before he opened his mouth again.

“I’m too used to Steve, I’m still gonna call him that.”

“I know, honey.”

[flamingtoads]

Inspired by @blossom--of--snow's fanfic Right to the Heart of Me an AU based off the movie The Bodyguard for @cassiopeiasara!!

[iknowwhereyousnoozeatnight]

just remembered that i can draw literally whatever i want forever

[untimelyambition]

now that we’re on the topic i would fucking love to read through the sheet music for nerdy prudes must die… not even to play or try and put on my own performance but just so i could read it and follow along with the show to try and work out all the harmonies

[artsy-dreamer]

Poor Willie 😔 

(via https://nekoatsume.comic.studio/)

[havockingboo]

I couldn’t help but ask.

Regarding your OC Levi.

Is he the same species as Shrike? (Whatever he may be. Some sort of space squid)

I only ask because they’re both visibly squidlike.

Levi is based off the blanket octopus! Or more specifically, @sammysamps tremoctarian species that’s based off the blanket octopus lol

So no, he ain’t whatever the squid head is (points at Shrike)

But technically speaking they are both cephalopods pfft

[insertsona]

psst. hey. hey. do YOU 🫵 want to see more of my art . including things that never make it to tumblr (a looot of it) . or perhaps . do you want to see more of sale + my other addison ocs . because if so . you should totally check out my toyhouse

ooooh you wanna check it out so bad . you can even find sales lore in there . oooh you wanna look at it

[bookwyrminspiration]

BIANA'S LEFT HANDED IN THE WINGS AU?!

[coquelicoq]

things i learned today:

my stepdad doesn't like the word obituary. why? well i can't be 100% certain because i asked no follow-up questions, but based on the way he relayed this information ("i don't like to use the word [lowers voice] oBITCHuary") i have a pretty good idea.

"we have to google meet" (as in, call each other on the Google Meet app) and "we have to google 'meat'" sound identical and i will interpret it as the latter regardless of how little sense that makes in context.

some drinking glasses have a little divot at the top of the handle into which my thumb fits perfectly!!!!!!!!

apparently when you find yourself at a branch of the library that's closing in three days for renovations, you should go ahead and check out all 11 books you have an eye on, because the computer will give you a due date SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE FUTURE. even though you could return the books at any other branch! jackpot.

[flecks-of-stardust]

slightly different route:

the legendary one cycle sprint to ascension! route suggested by @sevenrs which i decided to try. the route is honestly pretty similar to what i was doing before, with a few minor tweaks that ended up making it faster than my original route.

as you can see from the score screen though, it's not actually 'one' cycle; i starved twice to bring my karma up so i could go to pebbles. but the game doesn't know any better :) tbh this was pretty fun, particularly because i'm more familiar with the route now. if you're okay with navigating drainage system and filtration system in the dark, you can give it a whirl!

[mieltelecheycrema]

liking horror and thriller stuff but also getting scared really easily sometimes is so funny. i am watching intently with great interest but if you were to touch my chest youd feel my heart is just fucking going

[regallibellbright]

Both my brother and father are frequent GMs for the ttrpgers in our social circle. They also each play in the other’s game.

This leads to fun situations like a week or two ago when my brother brought up giant undersea scorpions being a thing that exists in casual conversation.

Dad: That’s coming up in a game.

Bro: (His girlfriend, who plays in Bro’s) already forbade them.

Mom: *laughing* I love that you both went straight there. You and she just knew he’d do that.

Me: Who do you think he learned from? And who plays in his games and therefore KNOWS exactly what he’d do?

Bro is, I believe, the one who suggested to Dad back when we were still kids the phrase “carnivorous crickets,” before realizing he was giving the GM ideas. Horrifying arthropods are in fact part of his GMing style.

So anyway, Dad’s the GM tonight, Bro’s visiting his girlfriend, so I just heard the alarm go off and Dad go “time to go kill some adventurers.”

I told him to have fun.

[novella-november]

Novella November 2024 Announcement Post

Hate AI, but love writing challenges?

Want to take part in a global, fun project to write a Novella in one month?

Grab some friends, and take part in Novella November, by writing 1,000 words a day for the month of November, ending with a 30,000 word Novella to test and stretch your novel-writing skills!

Your goal is not perfection, but merely getting into the habit of writing a litte bit every single day :D

No website, no sign-ups -- Just a community initiative to write using only your own word!

What are the rules? Just Three so far!

#1 - No AI

#2 - No Plagiarizing

#3 - Wordcount for the month should only come from what you write during the month.

What does that mean?

Only words written during November should go towards your Wordcount for the month... but! Feel free to use your 30k words as a continuation of previous writing, or just make it the first 30k words in a longer novel!

Don't think you can write a whole entire 30k word story? Write a series of short stories that total up to 30k!

Not ready to write original works yet? Write a 30k word fanfiction that you can post after the month is over!

Share your writing experience, tips, encouragement, and questions in the #Novella November tag!

---

EDIT, from the tags: Want a progress tracker? Track your progress with TrackBear!

https://trackbear.app/

Don't have a word processor? Use LibreOffice , the free and open-source alternative to Microsoft Word!

Want to organize/storyboard your Novel and don't want to pay a subscription? Try 7writer by Simon Haynes!

Want to be able to listen to your story aloud for proofreading using TTS (text to speech)? Try Balabolka!

Or, create some custom progress / Goal Cards in advance you can fill out as you reach word goals! For ideas and templates, search this blog for "goal cards" :D

Want to do a writing challenge in more than just November? Check out my ideas here for year round challenges to keep you writing consistently! Got feedback? Send it in, I'd love to see everyone's ideas!

---

EDIT 2: I almost forgot to mention, if you are unable to write/type your story, you can also narrate/dictate your story to your preferred recording device!

If you're doing a Recording only and it doesn't automatically generate a transcript, it would obviously be hard to judge the word count -- but you're also working with a lot of obstacles, so I'd say if you're able to complete your story via voice recording from start to finish, you've definitely achieved the goal!

Edit #3: added the title "Novella November 2024 announcement post" to the top to make it more standard with my Ominous October and Drabble December posts (will be updating Outline October shortly) , added "Official Announcement Post 2024" to the tags so people can easily find the monthly events for 2024, and added a bit of bold to the third bullet point in the original post from September 2nd 2024 for emphasis.

[dan-crimes]

I'm gonna say it again but it is SO fun to have basically no context in how any of the Sonic characters truly act bcuz most of my info is from various fans talking about how they personally view the character and EVERY PERSON views the characters in a different way because that's how people work lmao so I just go around having to accept conflicting information constantly LMAO

[1mlei]

I absolutely love the idea that Danny kills the Joker (because creepy clowns eww) and Jason happens to walk in right as he's panicking all over the place. Danny is desperately trying to explain it was an accident, while Jason's over here simultaneously feeling the best he's ever felt since his revival and falling head over heels in love at the same time.

Very cute, very fun, wholesome murder, 10/10 will read every time.

----------

Danny: *shoving Joker's body behind dumpster in a panic*

Jason: "Is that a dead body?"

Danny, recognizing Red Hood as someone famous in the Realms for avenging murder victims: "Oh hi Mr. Hood, ma'am, sir.. See this isn't what it looks like, it was a total accident I swear on half my life!"

Jason: "Half your wha-"

Danny, still in shock: It's just he was being all creepy, and I've had bad experiences with clowns before, I and then this one had a gun so I pushed him a bit, didn't mean to kill the dude, honestly!"

Jason: *walks over to check body*

Danny: "Soo, total accident, and I don't feel like being arrested, so I'm gonna go.."

Jason, realizing that is indeed the Joker lying dead behind a dumpster: "Hang on, at least give me-"

Jason turning around and seeing his saviour has vanished: "Damn, didn't even get his number."

...

Jason: *giddily takes selfie with corpse*

----------

Jason: *patrolling in relative peace when he sees some random guy and the flipping Joker in an alley, said Joker has a gun pulled on the poor guy*

Jason: *about to swing in to save the day and take out the Joker*

Danny, faced with a clown pointing a gun at his head while ranting about all the creepy things he's gonna do: "Yea no that's not gonna fly"

Danny: *Goes full on eldritch abomination and eats the Joker's soul, leaving his body as a lifeless husk*

Jason, standing at the mouth of the alley in disbelief:

Danny, turning back into his human form: "Oh eww, so not worth it, that guy tasted terrible."

Jason: *frantically straightens his jacket, tries to fix his hair and realizes his helmet's in the way, then strikes a pose and tries to look natural*

Danny: *turns around and realizes he's not alone*("omg is that Red Hood?")

Jason, using all his rizz: "Hey there handsome, don't suppose you'd let me treat you to some dessert after a meal like that? There's a place down the street ;)"

Danny: "..What?"

----------

Alternatively, Danny and Jason were already dating but got into an argument.

Danny, walking down a street brooding thinking: "Man, I've got to figure out how to make it up to Jason, chocolates, flowers, maybe get him a book, hmmm.."

Joker: *creepy giggling as he yanks a random kid that looks like he could possibly be a Wayne into alley™*

Danny, eyes lighting up: "Ohh yes you'll be perfect, thanks dude :]"

Joker: "Wh-"

..20 minutes later..

Danny, walking into his and Jason's apartment: "Babe! I'm sorry about earlier, but I have something to make it up to you!"

Jason, peeking around the corner with a frown: "Well whatever it is it's not just gonna fix- is that the fucking Joker?"

Danny: "Yep! Don't worry he only looks dead cause I'm holding his soul hostage right now, I thought you should get to do the honours <3"

Jason:

Danny:

Jason:

Danny: "...I have chocolates and that book you wanted to read as well..?"

Jason: "Marry me"

----------

Mmmhhh yes I love this trope so much!!