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clockwayswrites · 2 years ago

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Like Betta Fish Do - Part 11

Masterpost of ao3 link and all parts. wc 2942 (Chapter 8 when on ao3)

“So who’s Jason?” Sam asked without preamble after the rest of the topics had wrapped up.

“Jason?” Tucker echoed.

Danny winced.

He had been hoping Jason wouldn’t come back up. He’d know that was complete foolishness, this was Sam, but he’d still been hoping. Because… he didn’t know how to explain Jason.

Being a halfa was Jason’s secret, one that Danny could tell the other was still struggling with. As much as Danny trusted his friends, it wasn’t up to him if Jason should. It wasn’t his secret to tell (no matter how much it affected him too).

There was also the fact that a little part of Danny didn’t want to tell. Being a halfa might have been Jason’s secret, but Jason was his secret too; his bit of his new life in this new place. Sam and Val and Tucker already had whole piles of little things like that from leaving Amity, but Danny didn’t. Nothing for Danny had been new for so long.

And now there was Jason who was new and amazing and completely different—

“Danny?” Tucker prompted.

Danny was regretting giving them a call on the way back from his first lab class.

“Someone I met when I was just out exploring Gotham some,” Danny lied. There was a little bit of truth there. “We’ve eaten together a few times now.” Donuts and take out while Jason was ill but still. “And he’s been showing me some of Gotham.” Or at least telling him about the city for safety reasons.

There was silence on the other end of the call. Shit, did he not sell it well enough? He had thought without being on video he’d be able to get away with the lie.

Finally, suspiciously, Sam asked, “Is he cute?”

“Ancients Sam!”

“It’s a valid question, you’re weak for the cute ones.”

“This is true,” Val spoke from experience.

“It sorta is, dude,” Tucker agreed. His tone completely (and sympathetically) resigned.

“It’s— I don’t— okay, yes. Fine. He’s built like a brick house, okay? He could kill me with his thighs.”

“TMI, my dude,” Tucker teased.

“No, go on,” Val interjected.

“Oh fuck you all.”

Sam gave an amused scoff. “I don’t think it’s us you want to—”

“Okay!” Danny said loudly, talking over Sam which just made the others dissolve into laughter. “He’s just a friend, okay? He’s a Gotham native who’s been nice. He’s fun to hang out with.”

“Sure Danny,” Val said in a tone that made it clear none of them believed him. “Sam and I have to get going for dinner. Give us an update later on the not boyfriend—”

“And a picture.” Sam chimed in.

“And a last name!”

“I’m not letting you stalk him Tucker.”

“Not stalking, background check.” Danny could practically hear the finger guns Tucker must be doing.

“Bye,” Danny said, firmly, though he knew that they knew he was close to laughing, and ended the call before he fished out his keys to get his door open.

“You know,” Danny said as he started at the scene that greeted him. Jason sat on his couch, looking comically large on the small piece of furniture, messing with some wires. “I don’t remember giving you a key to my apartment.”

“You didn’t,” Jason said, words a little muffled by the screwdriver that he held in his mouth.

“Right.” Danny closed his door. He fumbled blindly with the locks, not taking his eyes off Jason. “So you, what, decided Tuesday was a great day for breaking and entering?”

“Yep. Which is why you need better security,” Jason grabbed the screwdriver and pointed it at Danny who’s eyes flicked between it and Jason’s mouth. “Which is what I’m doing. Setting up better security.”

“You remember the whole I’m half dead thing, right?” Danny drawled, but couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of it all. The faint feeling he got off Jason’s forming core was a pleased rumble. Like the purring cat that got the canary. How could he be annoyed in the face of that?

“Don’t need you to end up all the way dead, kingya.”

“Okay…” Danny dropped his backpack (his new, tear free backpack) on the tiny island counter. He had adulted up and gotten a new one right before classes started that week and was glad for it. (It was nice to not have to worry about losing things out of the bottom.) He moved to perch on the clutter free edge of the coffee table. He tucked his knees up to his chest to stay out of the way. “What does kingya mean?”

“Pet goldfish in Japanese.”

Danny just started at him, knowing Jason would explain if he just gave it time. He was getting used to these stupid fish names. They were still weird, but he was getting used to them. (Maybe he liked them, a little.)

Jason glanced up from where he was tightening the screw on a plate and grinned. “’Cause you’re my sensei in all things ghost.”

“Ancients,” Danny groaned. “That is the—” No, he would not laugh. “—worst one yet. How am I both a sensei—” Okay so he was laughing, sue him. “—and a pet. That makes no sense! You are fucking ridiculous.”

Jason just smirked and focused on the electronics in his hand.

Once Danny’s laughter had finally calmed, he leaned in to get a look at everything that was covering his coffee table, part of the couch, and even some of Jason. He’d spent enough years with Tucker to know that it was all very custom and very high end; that meant expensive.

“You really didn’t have to do all this,” Danny said. He didn’t know if that was true though. What if Jason’s developing core made it feel like he did?

“Nah. You’re my teacher in ghost, I’m your teacher in Gotham. And rule one of Gotham is if you take precautions you do it. Have you gotten that gas mask yet?” Jason asked, snapping the back back on a camera.

“Jason.”

“Danny.”

“Again. Half dead. I don’t have breathe if I don’t want to.”

Jason blinked at Danny. “What.”

“What what? Like, sure, I have to in human form but I can still hold it for, like, upwards of twenty minutes? I figure that’s long enough to get out of most situations. You could too with practice.”

“Human form,” Jason echoed.

Danny froze. “Oh, shit. I, um, sorta thought that the two forms thing was given.”

Jason rubbed, wearily, at his face. “Fish.”

“I’m sorry!” Danny said, throwing his hands up. “I mean half ghost, half human! What did you think?”

“A mule is half horse half donkey but it doesn’t stop being a mule!”

“Did you know when the horse is the dad it’s called hinney instead?”

“I’m going to stab you with a screwdriver,” Jason grumbled wearily. “Explain, now.”

“Okay. Right. I really thought you knew? I mean I was forced to change when I died. But, right, so,” Danny placed his hands together and tried to gather his thoughts on how explain this. “Ghosts are just, fundamentally different beings than humans. As humans, we take in parts of the word around us— air, water, food— and those things keep us alive as they’re processed by our organs. Ghosts, on the other hand, are the world around them.

“The Infinite Realms—” Danny still struggled sometimes not to call it the Ghost Zone after years of doing so, but he wasn’t going to use a name made up by people who hated ghosts for their home. “—are made up of ectoplasm. Everything there— the structures, the land, the sky, the people— is ectoplasm. Ghosts are too. The closest thing to an organ that ghosts have is their core.”

“You’ve used that word before. When you said you had an ice core,” Jason said. He’d put down the parts he had been messing with and was giving Danny his full attention.

“Probably. Cores are everything for a ghost. If you’re being poetic, you could call it the heart but it’s a bit more like a brain? You have one, but it’s strangled by the corruption. I didn’t want to go too much into it yet when you couldn’t get. Most of it of it would mean nothing to you right now. It would like, I don’t know, trying to explain what a rose smelled like to someone who’s had a stuffed up nose all their life.”

“Right, so, something to come back to,” Jason grumbled.

“Basically. But the core is sort of the only… I guess tangible part of a ghost? But humans have their whole bodies so those two things really aren’t compatible. That’s what makes halfa’s so rare. Somehow the ectoplasm was able to bond with our DNA enough so that our human bodies can handle what our ghost bodies are. But it also made a ghost body for us. It’s a balance.”

Jason leaned back into the couch, arms crossed as he frowned at Danny. “And I’ll get one?”

“Every other halfa has one,” Danny said with a little shrug. “You just don’t have access to it yet I bet if you’ve never changed before. Like, there are some powers or effects that I have access to in this form, but they’re more powerful in my ghost form. So if the corruption are blocking the flow of your ectoplasm and your ability to generate it, you probably just don’t have enough power to change yet.”

Jason’s fingers tapped a restless staccato against his arms as he glare at the other side of the room. Danny tried hard not to fidget as he let Jason absorb the information. He really hadn’t meant to keep something like this from Jason. There were other things he was waiting to talk to Jason about, once they saw how he was developing, but Danny just really hadn’t thought about Jason might have never changed into his ghost form. May it was because he had been buried? Jason was the only half with an actual grave.

Coming out of the portal as Phantom had been everything for Danny. It had been the end of everything. It had also been the beginning of everything. His ghost form had been part of that from the start.

Jason looked back to Danny, who froze under the glacial gaze. “Will you show me?”

Danny’s heart stuttered in his chest.

He’d be revealing Phantom. For the first time, by his own choice, he would be showing someone.

“Hey, fish,” Jason said. He leaned forward and rested a hand on Danny’s knee. “You don’t have to.”

Danny made himself take a breath. He’d stopped breathing.

“Sorry, no, it’s fine.” What would someone in Gotham, home of the Batman, know about a small town hero like Phantom? “I’ve just… I’ve never shown anyone who didn’t already know? I guess it just got to me a for a moment. But, I mean, you do know, you just haven’t see it yet.”

Danny stood up, ‘going ghost’ running his head, as the familiar white rings appeared.

Jason dropped the arm he had raised to block the blinding white light and just stared. He hadn’t known what to expect from Danny changing to his ghost form, but the color change was not part of it. Or the clothing change.

Gone was the black and orange NASA sweater, well worn jeans, and collection of space themed earrings that Danny seemed to love. Instead, Danny wore a tight, long sleeve top that showed off that he was more than just a stick, something that looked a bit like black cargo pants, white combat boots, and white fingerless gloves. There was a white DP was emblazoned on his chest.

He glowed faintly of a blue green that didn’t hold a candle to his bright, bright eyes.

(Jason’s breath caught at the sight of those green eyes.)

“I didn’t know a costume change came as part of the package,” Jason’s mouth said without his permission while he was still trying to process the rest of the details. Like the way that Danny’s now white hair seemed to drift as if gravity had effect on it. It was almost mesmerizing. That was easier to focus on than the green eyes.

Danny rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. What Jason thought must have been a blush crawled up Danny’s cheeks, but it was oddly purple tinted, like this form had a different undertone than blood red.

“Um, yeah. Ghost things for the ghost form? I was stuck in the hazmat suit I had died in for years until I learned to control the ectoplasm that makes up the clothing in this form. It takes some effort to change it but… I didn’t want to be stuck in that any longer.”

Jason resisted the urge to shudder. He couldn’t imagine even being his old Robin outfit for even a moment.

He stood and cross the single step it took to be standing in front of Danny. Smirking, he reached out and flicked Danny’s right ear. “You look naked without your earrings.”

“Yeah, well,” Danny mumbled.

Yep, that purple, magentaish tint was definitely a blush. He felt a little bad for teasing Danny when the other was obviously nervous about this.

“The hair suits yo. It’s a good look,” Jason said. Without really thinking about it, he reached up to run his hands through Danny’s swoop of bangs. The soft strands shifted between his fingers as if they were under water. But his attention went back to the green eyes. “When you’re like this, there’s no…?”

“No what?”

Jason tapped next to his own eye. “Pit Rage. Anger.”

“Oh, no,” Danny said with a thoughtful little frown as he… drifted up?

Holy shit, Danny really was floating. His feet were drifting apart as if they were made of smoke as he rose a few inches up into the air.

“I guess now that I know about ghosts liking to brawl, I can see that a little? Like, I’m more willing to meet a fight if they start it, just like with you, but they also don’t mean any actual harm. Well, most of them don’t,” Danny explained. “The green really is just part of the color change. Some ghosts have red eyes or cyan or something else.”

“Is the white hair a constant?” Jason asked, thinking of his own white streak.

“For halfas it seems to be about being inverted? Like, frootloop has white hair as a human, but it’s black in his ghost form. And Danni matches me. But for full ghosts, lots of them have flaming hair in all sorts of colors. We think that maybe it’s our human half influencing the ghost half. Also maybe why I don’t have blue skin or something.”

“Blue skin?”

“Ghost coloring is weird and very bold,” Danny said with a little shrug. He reached down to grab the not all there foot he had lifted up and just folded his legs under him— sitting cross legged in the air like it was nothing.

“You’re really comfortable like this, aren’t you?”

Danny gave a little shrug. “I mean, yeah. This has been a part of me for eight years. I was a ghost before I was through puberty. But it was a learning curve for sure.”

Jason eyed Danny wearily. “So what haven’t you told me about now?”

“Well, so I mean part of that is that I was a teenager when I changed? So I was a mess in so many ways and we’re— Frostbite and I, I haven’t told anyone else but him about you, not you being a halfa I mean—but we don’t know if you’ll have have the same side effects since Danni didn’t really. But sometimes I would just suddenly go invisible or intangible. The intangibility was the worst because a few times I just… go stuck part way something?”

Jason gave him the flattest stare at that and Danny just grinned bashfully back.

“You don’t have to worry about that yet! You’re no where strong enough, even if those are things that every ghost can do. Frostbite doesn’t think that you’ll really start having any noticeable effects until your core snaps into place anyways. You just might be extra sneaky for a little bit?”

“So it’s just a big mystery?” Jason asked.

“Welcome to being a halfa. I’m sorry.”

He wanted to be mad. It would be so easy to be mad. Danny was keeping things from him. But… a lot of that seemed to be accidental or things they didn’t have a clear answer for or that maybe, actually, didn’t matter yet.

There was enough for him to deal as it was.

And Danny was just so very… Danny. Jason was learning that Danny was earnest, but pretty fucking awful at explaining things. Unless Jason asked specifically, or it came up in conversation, Danny just outright forgot to mention things. There were some problems with that: 1) there was so much to learn about 2) he didn’t know what he didn’t know 3) ghosts were fucking weird

“I promise,” Danny said, a nervous sort of pleading in his words. “I’ll be around for all of it. I’m not saying parts won’t be hard or confusing, but at least you’ll have me here to help?”

Danny was maybe horrible at explaining things and keep missing out details, but he was still trying. Danny was floating right there, offering something that he never had for himself— understanding.

Jason heaved a sigh, leaning into the dramatics of the sound a little. “Fine. Since you can float make yourself useful and help me mount some of the tech in the corners.”

“Sure thing, dead boy.”

Snorting, Jason gathered up one of the cameras. He paused, just briefly, before he turned back to Danny with smirk. “So, does this make you a flying fish?”

The groan he got was worth it.

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AN: Danny, raised in a small city in rural Illinois: “Hey I have a fun fact!” I love Danny being so bad at explaining things. He’s trying, he really is, he’s just not great at it. Jason not really mad, he’s just struggling with things a little and coping by making sure that ‘his’ people are safe. Luckily Danny has the friends he does and is used to the odd protectiveness like breaking and entering.

Fun (?) fact: Danny’s black and orange NASA sweater is from the mars rover line the Smithsonian did a few years back. It is very warm and comfy. Anyways, stay delightful darlings!

So, this should be the whole tag list. I’m sure there’s a limit. I’m not sure if I’m over it? So sorry if you’re at the end of the list and not getting pinged! (I removed anyone unabled to be tagged.)

#dp x dc #jason todd #danny fenton #dead on main #dead on main ship #deadonmain #like betta fish do

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junebugtwin · 1 year ago

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okay actually i need to ramble about taylor and her dad for like a bit cus its sooo much.

like okay listen listen listen: Danny wakes up early and he cooks breakfast maybe and then he goes to work and he does his job- and he's great at his job, in any world but this one, in any other brockton bay, he'd be able to afford to take taylor out of winslow or fix their broken step- maybe get her her like a dog or something (which btw would fix her) and y'know pay the bills and shit. but he can't in this universe because in this universe kaiju attack every 2 seconds and one specifically doesn't like people existing on coasts and like he's a dockworker or whatever so! so. so he works all day tirelessly just to not get his crew jobs or better pay because no one is going to sponsor the people working on a non-existent dock like its literally a graveyard! who would pay for this when there's an actual dragon man running around the city burning buildings down and an entire neo-nazi contingent of super-cunts nobody is going to do that. But this is his life. And he's stubborn and things had been better before so maybe they can be good again and he hates change and he doesn't want to have it all been for nothing and this is what he does. So he gives it his all. He stays late and he really only hangs out with his coworkers and he does have to pay the bills so its not like anyone could blame him. So he slams his head into the brick wall hoping it will break before his skull will and he misses so fucking much of what is going on in his daughters life! but it goes by so quickly, too quickly and by the time he's begun to figure out just how deeply and irrecoverably she's changed its way too late to just swing back in like nothing happened. He can't actually! They've both closed themselves off totally, her even farther than he has. but they're both stubborn, so stubborn and they think that if they can just hold on a little longer then things will be okay because things have to be okay because this can't be the rest of their lives! And Taylor really is her fathers daughter because she sees the way he bloodies his head on that wall and says fuck it all do you one better: this brick wall is going to break or i am! and if i do then i won't be around to care about it! And she's skipping class and spending nights somewhere else, sneaking out and of course he knows about it- of course he knows! What is he going to do though? confront her? and then what? what justification could he possibly have for that? to demand answers from her when she should be the one demanding them from him? he let her go back to the same school that nearly killed her! he let her drown without him when his wife died- didn't notice when emma broke her heart, didn't notice when she stopped loving english class or trusting adults or speaking without thinking 'stupid!' at herself reflexively. or worse- he did notice and chose not to do anything out of cowardice and habit and procrastinating guilt- like his daughters mental health was homework he hasn't handed in. But they both feel better, when they don't have to talk about it- and there's nothing morally wrong with skipping school or dropping out entirely but taylor used to like school but having an actual conversation with her about what exactly is happening in her life is something he takes half a zillion words to work up to and by the time he actually does he has to lock them in a goddamn room together- not because it's a good idea- if he knew more about taylor he'd know its a surefire way to freak her out- but because that's what he needs to talk to her.

and it just...deflates. she leaves and drops out of school and doesn't really talk to him again until brockton bay is like halfway underwater. there's no catharsis with him finding out she's Skitter, its not satisfying, not even in an angsty way- 'luke i am your father' -at least that's properly dramatic! It's just sort of an. oh. okay. fuck.

i dunno. this wasn't going anywhere. i just...man. they'd both kill for each other, i am confident in that much, but both seem to struggle pretty hard with the 'living for each other' part.

#worm #parahumans #taylor hebert #danny hebert #skitter #i dont know what this is...#help

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disillusioneddanny · 1 year ago

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The Story of Us - Prologue

Danny smiled as he rocked his feet back on the swing, slowly making momentum for himself as the swing swung higher and higher. His parents were in Gotham City for some kinda convention and they had dropped him and his sister off at the park to play! The eight-year-old was having the time of his life swinging and playing on the slide!

If only he could get Jazz to join him, then it would be perfect! But no! Jazz was sittin’ under some tree reading her book instead of playing with her little brother. She was the worst big sister in the entire world!

Danny let out a laugh as he started to swing higher in the sky, any minute now his toes would touch the clouds! He was swinging so high! It made for the most perfect jump ever.

The little boy swung a few more times before he held his breath and let go of the chains, vaulting himself into the air! He bent his knees like his Auntie Alicia taught him and landed on the ground right on his feet!

“Wow!” A little voice said in awe. Danny looked over to find a little boy staring at Danny in shock. “That was so cool!”

Danny laughed as he took in the little boy. He was in a pair of nice pants and a button-up shirt with a sweater vest. He didn’t look like a little boy at all! He looked like a tiny adult! And his hair was all slicked back and silly looking.

“I’m Danny! Who’re you!” He said, wiping his now sweaty hands on his jeans.

The little boy smiled, a small, shy smile that just barely showed he was missing a tooth. “I’m Bruce! My butler Alfred brought me to play at the park today,” he said and held out his hand.

Danny stared at the appendage for a moment and then looked at Bruce and frowned. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

Bruce laughed and shook his head. “You’re supposed to shake it, silly,” he said and held it out further. Danny frowned and took Bruce’s fingers and shook them along with his whole arm. Bruce stared at him for a moment and laughed. “We can work on it. Are you from here? No one is ever at the park at this time.”

Danny shook his head. “Nope! I’m from Illinois! My parents are here for a meeting and they dropped me off here!” He said with a small smile. He pointed at his sister sitting under a tree, still reading her book. “That’s my sister, Jazz! She’s babysitting me.”

Bruce tilted his head. “Is she old enough for that?”

Danny shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, but she watches me all the time,” he said happily. “Now, wanna go play? I can push you on the swings ‘till you go that high if you want?”

Bruce looked between the swings and the spot where his butler sat watching the boys and smiled before he nodded his head. “Definitely! That looked fun!”

That was the beginning of what soon became a beautiful friendship. The boys played at the park for hours until eventually, Alfred the Butler had said that Bruce had to go home, apparently, he had classes he had to attend. But they could come and meet up the next day to play! And they exchanged phone numbers so that they could talk whenever they wanted! It was amazing.

Their friendship only grew from there, Danny and Brucie played at the park every single day until it was time for the Fentons to drive back to Illinois. Their goodbyes had been tearful, both boys promising to call the other every single day.

From there, though, their friendship only grew until the worst day of Bruce’s life happened and Danny and his mom found themselves driving back to Gotham City, this time for a funeral. Danny had thrown the biggest fit, demanding that Maddie or Jack took him to Gotham so that he could be there for his best friend. He had to support him and give him all the hugs he could.

Upon his arrival at the funeral, Bruce had launched himself at his best friend, sobbing heavily into his chest as Danny held his best friend tight, whispering that everything would be okay. The adults stood close by, murmuring quietly to one another and Alfred thanked his lucky stars that Bruce had a friend like Danny, he only wished that the boy lived closer.

Maddie and Danny had spent a week with Alfred and Bruce and Danny had done everything he could to make his best friend happy, to bring that smile back to his face. He held him close, listened to him cry, and did everything he could to be a good friend.

Little did he know that in just seven years, Bruce would be doing the same thing for Danny. A fifteen-year-old Danny found himself standing at the entryway of Wayne Manor with two duffle bags full of clothes and the rest of his things as he waited for his best friend to answer the door. Bruce had been the first person aside from Sam and Tucker to learn about his ghost powers, he had also been the first one to know when Danny had said his reveal to his parents had gone badly.

His parents thankfully hadn’t tried to experiment on him or destroy him molecule by molecule but maybe that would have been better than what they had done.

Danny had told his parents he was a halfa, that he was Phantom, the ghost they had been hunting for a little over a year now and what had they done? They had told him to leave. They had looked him in the eyes and told him to leave and never come back. They didn’t say the words but Danny knew what it mean if he did come back.

So here he was, in Gotham City about to move in with his best friend and his butler because there was nowhere else safe for him to stay. Bruce had simply pulled him into his arms and allowed him to sob, to cry like he had been holding it in for days now. He was just so tired.

The years went on like that, Danny and Bruce grew up together, learning and growing together with Danny taking his best friend on flights around Gotham. When suddenly the time changed and things changed for both of them.

It was their sophomore year of college. Nineteen years old and off getting degrees in medicine together. First, it had been Danny who had gotten news of a war in the Infinite Realms. Apparently with Pariah Dark locked away once more, there had become a huge war in who was going to rule in his place. Danny had denied his right to the crown as he had only been fourteen when he had defeated the ghost. But now the runners in the war had been Dorathea and Walker, both with large followings ready to fight until the end of time to decide who would rule.

It had been Danny’s fault that it had led to a war and the ghost part of him was demanding that he go and join the war, to do what he could to make sure that Walker of all people didn’t get the crown. At the same time, Bruce had decided it was time for him to go on his own journey, to finally get revenge on the people who had taken his parents away from him.

And so there they went, two separate paths ahead of them, a story for each of them to find the end to. Somehow neither expected their roads to lead them where they did but soon Bruce found himself as the Batman.

The protector of Gotham, the one who stalked the streets fighting crime.

And at the same time, Danny had found himself to be one of the best healers in the Infinite Realms, helping ghosts and the living alike.

Neither expected their paths to cross again, but thankfully, fate has a way of bringing paths together again.

check out the master list here for all chapters <3

#dis dreams #dis writes #dpxdc #danny phantom #batman

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bouncybongfairy · 1 year ago

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You Sure You Can't Come Over?

Danny x Fem Reader

Summary: Y\N and Danny have been going to school together forever. However, after an extreme blue balling encounter on Halloween night, you shoot your shot at hooking up with Danny.

Word Count: 4k+

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

You were sitting in your English class patiently waiting for the bell to ring. It was Friday and after an exhausting work week; you were really looking forward to the weekend. Everything was pissing you off today, from your friend's overly perky tone to the fact that the cafeteria didn't have space to eat in. Being November, you'd think the weather would cool down but, unfortunately the summer heat was extremely clingy this year.

"My make-up is literally melting." You said as you walked out of the classroom with your friend Nat.

"I took my lashes off during P.E., there's nothing you can do to combat this heat." She said, fanning herself with a paper folder.

"At least this will be one of the last hot days of the summer. It's November so the rainy season is coming, then we'll be complaining about our frizzy hair," you said, causing you both to laugh. Nat pulled her phone out of her pocket and stopped abruptly.

"Shit, my mom is picking me up at the back entrance. I can give you a ride home. You live like.. 10 minutes away." Nat said.

"No, I want to get some sun on the way home. As you said, I don't live far." You said stuffing your cardigan that you wore to cover your tank top into your bag.

"Alright well, text me if you wanna hang out this weekend!" Nat called out to you as she began to walk in the opposite direction.

You stick your headphones into your ear before starting home. Before putting any music on you scroll through your snap for a bit. That's when you noticed Danny posted to his story; it was a video. It was him walking alongside a couple of friends, his P.E. shirt was draped over the back of his neck. Sweat dripped from his forehead, collecting a bit on his lip. He tilted his head back and poured Gatorade into his mouth. Some of the blue liquid dripped down from his chin to his neck. His jaw came into full view when he took a drink, before panning over to his friends who were play-fighting each other.

Butterflies came into your stomach as you rewatched the video. It wasn't like you and him ever had anything serious. The first time you guys ever interacted was only a month ago at Nat's Halloween party. Even thinking about that night made your cheeks turn red. It was the first time you'd ever bought an 'adult' Halloween costume without consulting your mom. Nat's parents were out of town on a business retreat which left the house vacant. You got there in the morning to help her clean and set up.

"You don't think this costume is too much?" You asked about adjusting the nurse's hat that sat on your hair. Nat came over to you with a look of disdain on her face.

"Okay.. first of all, you could wear a hospital gown and still look hot. Secondly, it's a pool party, yes it's Halloween but people will still swim. And lastly, Halloween is the time to dress a little skanky. I'm showing more than you." She said giving you a kiss on the cheek before going back to putting several bottles of Pink Whitney and Svedka into the freezer.

You were wearing a weed nurse costume; it was essentially a sheer mini dress with green trim and a front zipper. It came with a small decorative apron and nursing hat that had a weed leaf stamped onto both. You bought a matching marijuana leaf bikini to go underneath it. Even with a costume so scandalous, Nat's was definitely more provocative. She was literally wearing a leopard print bikini with matching cat ears. It made you feel a little better about your costume.

"Like anyone is getting in the pool." You said to set up beer pong on the kitchen island.

"The boys will," She said, closing the freezer, "speaking of boys, you know Danny is coming." She said smacking your ass as she walked by.

"Is he really?" You asked following her to her bedroom.

"You've been into him forever, I would be a bad friend if I didn't. Not to mention I invited my boothang who isn't my boothang but will be by the end of the night." She said fixing her lashes in her phone camera.

"I'm nervous to talk to him low-key, I feel like it's easier to crush from afar." You said laughing at her,

"Fuck that, after a couple of shots you won't be feeling so nervous. I think you guys would be cute together so please stop acting like you don't want something to happen between the two of you." She said walking over to you and handing you a tube of lip gloss, "But even if you didn't want to fuck with him tonight please still let loose with me?" She finished her pleed by sticking out her bottom lip.

"One or two shots." You said sternly before breaking out into laughter from Nat's reaction.

You aren't sure what exactly led to Nat grinding against you with a joint hanging out of your mouth and half full plastic cup. The music was Blaring Beautiful Nightmare by Lil Tracy. The crowd inside the living room was dense, everyone was sweating, seemingly unaware of how humid the space was becoming. You pass the joint to Nat who takes a huge drag, blowing the smoke in between the both of you.

You knew you were pretty cross-faded when you started thinking Nat was right. As much as you hate to admit it you really did need this. Being able to let loose was nice, it was like you could physically feel the pressure of daily life lifting from your shoulders and it felt fucking amazing. Nat passes the joint back and your eyes light up when you realize it's your turn again. You feel Nat pull away from you but you were zoned out, moving your body to the music.

"Yo! Y|N this is Chris the guy I was telling you about." When you turned around you were surprised to see Danny by his side.

"I know you!" You giggle offering the joint to him. He laughs and takes it from you before responding,

"Yeah, you're in like three of my classes," He said, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"You have been keeping tabs on me?" You asked sarcastically, taking the joint back.

"Whatever," He joked back before asking a question, "Do you think we could step outside? It's deafening and hot in here." He said having to step closer to you to be heard. You nodded your head yes before finding the front door. Nat had already wandered off with Chris by this time.

You took him by the hand and led him into the kitchen before heading outside. Grabbing a new solo cup and filling it with a mixture of Pink Whitney and Sprite. The joint now starting to become a roach was starting to burn your lips. You handed it to Danny who put it out on a heavy-duty paper plate. Once you are done, you lead him outside.

"Sorry I don't mean to take you away from your scene, there was just a lot going on," Danny said, sitting on the bench that was on the porch.

"That's not really my scene, Nat's my best friend; this is her house and it was important to her that I was here." You said taking a sip of your drink before taking out a thin cylinder out of your bra.

"Could have fooled me, you seemed like you were really enjoying yourself on the dance floor," He said as you pulled the pre-rolled blunt out of the canister.

"Yeah, normally I'm not one to party or get this wasted but everyone has their own demons they need to release sometimes I guess," You said, using the Playboy lighter caked in black resin towards the bottom.

"Yeah, my family is seriously fucked up," He said taking the blunt from you; your manicured hand grabs the solo cup to take a sip.

"Grass is always greener on the other side. I'm an only child and my parents are always gone, they don't even bother with having a nanny after I got my license. Obviously, family drama sucks but... I guess I'd rather be fighting with someone rather than be alone all the time," You said, grabbing the blunt back and taking a deep inhale.

"Right, you know the saying that's like 'so and so always finds where the grass is greener and that's where they go to pasture' I always thought that was so stupid. Am I supposed to stay where the grass is dead as fuck with their stupid ass?" He said which made you laugh causing you to cough out your hit.

He laughed at your reaction before grabbing the blunt back. You finish off the rest of your mixed drink before standing up to fix your costume. It wasn't until you stood that you realized how fucked up you were. You stumbled on your footing at first but Danny stood up and grabbed your forearm.

"Sorry, I'm fine I didn't mean to do that, to like to push you." You said trying as hard as you could to sound sober. You began to mentally beat yourself up for drinking so much but Dan started to speak and it took all your brain power to focus on one thing at a time.

"No, you're good, do you want me to help you back inside?" Still holding on to your arm.

"Yeah, I feel like I can hear another shot calling my name," You giggle, starting to walk forward slightly swaying.

"I don't mean to uh, dictate your life but I think you've had enough no?" He asked softly, before you answer you whip around to face him but lose your balance causing him to reach for you. He snakes his arm around your waist, preventing you from falling off the porch stairs. Your body was pressed against his, your arms wrapped around his neck. Your head came to his shoulders, making you crane your neck to look at him.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna walk home. I live right up the street. I hate sleeping at Nat's when there's a party; I'm always paranoid that someone is gonna stumble into the room I'm in," You said, grabbing your purse before breaking away to walk down the stairs.

"I don't think you should walk home like this, the outfit or the inebriation," He said, skipping down the stairs to get in front of you.

"I know, I know but like I said I live literally a 10-minute walk down the street and I don't want to ruin your Halloween by having to babysit me," You said starting to walk down the sidewalk.

"Well if it's only a 10-minute walk do you mind if I join you? Just to give me peace of mind that you got home okay? I would want someone to do the same for my sisters, you know?" He asked as he began to match pace with you.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman," You remark as you start your trek home.

The walk home felt much longer in your head than it actually was. You guys made small talk about school among other things. He ended up hooking his arm around yours because you were still swaying a bit. Considering this was the first time you had formally met it was mostly getting to know the basic things. His siblings, what both of your parents did for work, what mutual friends you had at school etc. He began talking about his music and how he wanted to eventually become a producer. You pulled a mint puff-bar offering it to Danny who huffed on it for a bit. Once you got to your house, you weren't surprised to be greeted by an empty driveway. You walk up to the front door and pull your keys out of your purse. You unhook your arm and trail it down to his hand.

"Do you wanna come in?" You asked looking up at him; he didn't say anything, only nodding his head in agreement. You lead him by the hand into the kitchen where there was a note on the refrigerator that read: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the fridge, will be back tomorrow night for dinner. After opening the Du-Par restaurant to-go box, you shove it in the microwave. You gasp when you remember what you have in the fridge which scares Danny.

"What is it!?" He exclaimed, turning to your direction, you smiled at him and pulled out your diet coke. His facial expression dropped which caused you to laugh. You relight the somewhat of a long roach and sit up on the kitchen island. You motion for him to come closer to you which he does. He rests his hands on the counter next to your legs. You take a hit and tilt your head back and blow the smoke into the air.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" You asked.

"No," He said smiling.

"Do you wanna hook up?" You asked, pulling him closer to you with your legs.

"I would, but not when you're this fucked up," He said,

"That's really sweet, you know I've liked you for like ever. I know we're not gonna hook up tonight but I don't want you to think the only reason I asked is because I'm drunk. I think you're really kind, but I like the fact that you're not too soft. In 8th grade, you came in late to 8th period from P.E and you were sweating still. Your hair was dyed red and it tinted your sweat red, it was dripping down your sideburns and neck. You ended up sitting right in front of me and the entire class I literally couldn't get you out of my mind; even after I couldn't stop thinking horrible things to do together," You said hicupping and giggling after. He moved closer to you and rested his forehead on your shoulder.

"I'm not going to take advantage when you're drunk but holy shit you are hot," He mumbled into your shoulder.

"You seemed stressed, I don't know what you do for stress relief but maybe you could do me sometime?" You joke running your hands down his back.

"Oh my god," He sighed, biting your shoulder playfully, which made you squeal. You pulled at his shirt causing both of your chroches to press together. He wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you off the counter top. You were now standing between the island and him.

"I should get to bed, I have a nail appointment tomorrow morning at 11," You said looking up at him. He laughs and gives you a kiss on the cheek before you walk him out. If you weren't so wasted you probably would have thought about this encounter while laying in bed. However once your head hit the pillow you were out like a light.

~~~

Thinking about that night made your stomach flip. It made you feel more secure knowing that he seemed to be into you. Your insecurities were telling you it could be because he was stoned or drunk but you tried not to play into that. Once you got home you took a shower because it was so damn hot outside. Once you cleaned yourself up and got dressed you went into the kitchen to be greeted by another note; it explained that your parents would be in Utah for the weekend. You straighten your hair simply trying to pass time till bed. You open your phone and see that Danny posted another story. It was a selfie of him, laying back on his bed with the caption: the things I would do for joint rn.

You immediately set your straightener down and go to your parents room. Once you walk into the closet you start searching for your dads match box. The weed was practically glowing angelically as you opened the box. You skipped back into your room and started frantically trying to get yourself together. You grab your keys and use your EZ split to cut the wrap open. After grinding the weed and having a slight panic attack after the wrap ripped a little on you. You change into a short sleeve bodysuit; the fabric on your legs ends at your upper thighs. You grab your phone and sit on the bean bag in your room. Putting the blunt into your mouth and letting the canister lay on your lap. You find Danny's story and hit reply before taking a quick selfie and adding text over the image that said: horrible things?

You stared at the picture for a couple moments before sending it.The rush of adrenaline you got after was making you sweat. What if he thought you were being too forward? What if he really was just stoned that night and didn't mean to send the wrong signals? What if he had a girlfriend now or was talking to someone more serious? What if-. Your snowballing anxiety was interrupted by your phone going off. On your lock screen you see the message notification from Danny. You smile and unlock your phone before opening the snap. It was him, he was wearing a hoodie and shorts. His backpack on his shoulders and his longboard in his hand. The camera angle was high so you could see his head to his feet. The image was captioned: send your address and i'll be there soon.

Your cheeks flushed bright red and you quickly sent it to him before cleaning up your room. Picking up loose clothes and make up brushes that fell from your vanity as you were getting ready. You brush your hair and examine yourself in the mirror. You were so happy that he gave you the same energy back when you reached out. It wasn't like you were lying, you really did have a thing for him for the longest. I guess when you admire someone for so long they seem to become unattainable. After sitting on the bed for a while waiting, you finally hear the doorbell ring. You almost trip down the stairs to open the door. He was standing there, he was holding onto his backpack straps. He had slid his longboard underneath the bench on your porch.

"Come in," You giggled, which broke the ice. He smiled and walked in still gripping his backpack straps with both hands. You grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs, into your bedroom. When he walked into the room laughed which made you whip around.

"What?" You asked sitting on the bed motioning for him to join you.

"I expected your room to be girly but damn," He laughed before taking his backpack off and sitting down next to her.

"So did you only come to smoke or what?" You asked, putting the blunt in between your lips and lighting it.

"No, I meant it when I said I was into you. I just don't take advantage of girls while they're clearly wasted." He said taking the blunt from your lips and taking a drag. You loved how direct he was with his feelings.

"You know I literally can't stop thinking about you ever since that night. I can't lie, I thought it was super hot when you talked about how long you've liked me for. It's really sexy to think you've been waiting this long to get with me," He said.

"Are you gonna make me wait any longer?" You asked, staring into his eyes. They were bloodshot and were making the blue look extremely vibrant. You drop the blunt into an ashtray that was on your bedside table.

You slide over to him and straddle his lap. You run your fingers through his hair, pulling him into a kiss. He groans into your mouth bucking his hip up slightly as you bite down on the bottom lip. You arch your back, pressing your chest into his. It was like you couldn't get close enough to each other. He flips you over so that you're on your back. You move your hands from his hair to his back digging your nails into his upper back. He bites onto your neck which causes him to let out a moan. When you moan his hips buck again, you push him off of you gently which causes him to sit up immediately.

"Is everything okay?" He asked which made you smile before replying,

"You're so sweet," You said while getting on your knees in front of him. You tug at his basketball shorts and let you tug them down with his boxers.

When you saw his bottom growth you were shocked at how big he was. He was clearly swollen and practically throbbing, his head peeking out of his foreskin slightly. It was a shade of red that almost looked purple. He had pubic hair but it was clearly taken care of and trimmed. Almost cinematically, there was a drip slowly falling down the bottom of his head. You move your lips so that their hovering just over his t-cock.

"Can I suck it?" You asked looking up at him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, using his arms to support his body that was almost leaning back. He nodded his head and moved his arm to grab your bun, gently connecting your lips to his head. You swirl your tongue around it which causes his body to go rigid. He moves his other hand and moves his grip from the top of your bun to the roots of your hair. You let out a moan as he tightens his grip.

He starts thrusting himself into your mouth. In turn you match the flicking of your tongue against his head to match his rhythm. You look up at him and moan at the sight, he was looking down at you with his mouth slightly open. His eyebrows were furrowed as if he were angry and sweat was dripping down the side of his face. He grunts out the word fuck loudly, you could tell he was getting close because he was slowly getting harder in your mouth.

He uses your hair to pull you off him, a loud pop sound follows as you release him from the suction of your lips. You giggle when you look up and see his reaction. His face was completely red, covered in sweat with his bottom lip swollen from how much he had bit it. He moved his hands from your head to your cheeks before leaning down to make out. The kiss was wet and sloppy because of how much saliva covered your mouth and chin. He pulled away and without wiping his mouth asked,

"Can I finger you?" His eyes were practically black from how wide his pupils were.

You didn't even give a verbal answer, just stripping off your body suit and climbing onto the bed. You lay on your back, Danny follows and lays on his side next to you. He sets his elbow on the bed and uses his left hand to support his head. With his right hand he trails his fingers down your torso till he's parting your lips. He moans and drops his head slightly when he feels your clit and how wet you were. You arch your back and tilt your head back as he starts playing with you.

You pull him into a kiss and eventually just press your lips to his. You become unable to focus on making out from the intense amount of pleasure. He chuckled when he noticed this and slipped his index and middle finger inside of you. You moan loudly, racking your nails down his back.

"Ah fuck," He half moaned and half groaned.

He takes a break from fucking his fingers inside of you and presses his fingers deep inside you and starts swirling them around. You throw your head back in ecstasy, as you press yourself into the mattress he takes your nipple into his mouth. As you began to orgasm you could feel him thrusting sporadically into your hip. You can barely think and you cum, working your hips down on his hand. As your moans lower in volume and intensity he pulls his digits out of you.

He takes off his shirt and wipes you down with it, then himself before taking you into his arms. You guys cuddle in comfortable silence for a while. You almost fell asleep before he started kissing your forehead and face to keep you awake. You turn to face him and bury your head into his t-shirt. Once you are more awake you start rubbing his back gently.

"When you get the chance, I found this weird book that I wanted to show you." He said.

#fanfic writing #one shot #short fanfic #evil dead rise #transmasc #fem reader #danny evil dead x reader #danny evil dead rise #smut #smoking #drinking #mature #morgan davies #ftm ns/fw #ftm x reader #koby one piece

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kinglazrus · 2 months ago

Text

this isn't the beginning (but it's a start)

An AU where Portal Danny went missing his senior year of high school, and he's back home twenty years later.

Ch. 3 | Ch. 5 | Masterpost | Read on Ao3

Chapter Four: Lilith

Maybe he’s haunted, too.

Words: 4382

Lilith knows what it means to be haunted. Not in the horror story, phantom-in-the-window kind of way, but real ghosts. Memories. Spectres of the past that follow you wherever you go. You can’t always see them, but you can feel them a step behind you. Cold breath on the back of your neck. Tingling down your spine. A weight on your shoulders, just heavy enough that you can’t forget it.

Lilith has been haunted her entire life, and she’ll never forget the first time she saw her ghost. The broad strokes of the scene are lost to her. Were they at home? The park? Grandma’s house, if she were young enough. She might have been daydreaming, as she often did back then. Staring at the wall for hours and saying strange things that made adults look at her funny.

She isn’t really sure how it happened. All she remembers is the raised voices, then a blooming warmth as Lilith’s mom pulled her close, kissed the crown of her head, and promised that she would be safe. That she wouldn’t let anything take Lilith away. She felt the ghost, then, with her nose pressed to her mom’s collarbone, crushed in that too-tight, quivering embrace. Heard it in the wobble of her mom’s voice. Saw it in the dread etched deep into her dad’s face.

She met his gaze over her mom’s shoulder, searching for a reason why her mom was suddenly acting like this. But her dad wasn’t looking at her. In her direction, yes, but not at her. Somehow, she knew he was seeing someone else.

A few years would pass before she realized what it all meant, but she didn’t need to understand to notice. And once she noticed, she couldn’t stop.

The way her dad’s breath hitched when she talked about her dreams. How her mom panicked if Lilith was out of sight for too long. Sometimes they just needed to hold her and remind themselves she was okay. They never said that’s what they were doing, but kids are always smarter than adults give them credit for. Lilith always saw more than she was supposed to. Maybe she saw too much.

Enough for their worries to pass down to her, at least. For her to feel less and less safe on her own, until her parents didn’t need to remind her to stay close when they went out because she didn’t want to stray from their sides. And they didn’t need to tell her not to stay out at night, because she was already afraid of the dark.

And eventually, their ghost became hers.

She is, and always will be, haunted by someone she has never met. By experiences and memories that are not her own but still invade her life so deeply that she can’t remember what her life was like before the ghost.

It’s with her, now.

Lilith clutches her backpack against her chest, curling up as small as she can while the bus bumps along. Every lurch tightens the knot in her stomach, and she’s glad she didn’t eat breakfast that morning. She had sat at the table for twenty minutes, stirring her porridge until the gold streaks of honey disappeared into the creamy mixture, and her raspberries bled into the oats. She ended up wrapping the bowl and tucking it into the fridge without taking a single bite. If she had, all the twisting in her stomach might have pushed it right back up, and what an impression that would make on the first day of school.

“—and you’d have to wear a uniform every day, which is so lame. They start classes at seven-thirty, too. Gross. I don’t even wake up until seven-thirty. Well, okay, maybe a little earlier since the bus comes at seven-forty, but still.”

Lilith nods along to Andy’s rambling without really hearing it. Andy might be a chatterbox like her mom, but she inherited her dad’s soft-spoken manner, which makes her the perfect mobile white noise machine.

“What’s so great about Blackwood Collegiate, anyway?”

It has an entire campus, for one. And specialized tracks, so students can prepare for college right from freshman year. Better funding. Better teachers, probably. Not better friends, though. Not when the only way Lilith gets Andy is if she’s here, sitting on a bus headed for Casper High rather than the fancy prep school her parents wanted her to attend.

But Andy’s question was rhetorical, anyway, and she quickly goes back to listing all the ways Blackwood sucks, actually, and why Lilith’s parents are stupid for trying to send her there in the first place.

Lilith grabs one of Andy’s hands, catching it mid-gesture, and squeezes. Andy squeezes back without hesitation and without breaking stride. They spend the last few minutes of the ride like that, Andy waving Lilith’s hand around as she rants, and Lilith trying to keep herself grounded.

Staring at the seat ahead of her doesn’t help much. She loses herself tracing the cracks in the vinyl, and it would be so easy to slip into one of her daydreams. But every time the world around her narrows while her mind starts to burst open, Andy tugs just a little bit harder.

“And you would get so sick of all that rich people food.”

Lilith snorts, loud enough to make Andy pause before diving into a spiel about how much Lilith would miss out if she didn’t eat shitty public school food like the rest of them. To keep her humble, or something like that.

Casper High appears as the bus rounds the final corner, and Lilith’s breath hitches. Maybe it’s not too late to switch schools. She could text her parents right now, and they’d be here to pick her up before she even steps off the bus. They might not even mention the weeks Lilith spent trying to convince them—and herself—that the world won’t end if she goes to Casper High.

It started with an innocent comment. Lilith, in search of a late-night snack, had been in the kitchen when she heard her parents from the next room. She was standing in front of the fridge, picking through glass containers of prepped snacks, when she caught the word “Blackwood.”

“I want to go to Casper,” Lilith said.

Her parents fell silent. That would have been fine, but the silence stretched and was only broken by the scrape of a chair being pushed back. Lilith was struck by the feeling that she had said something very wrong. She slammed the fridge door, plunging the kitchen into darkness, and pressed her back to it.

Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark when her dad appeared in the doorway. The light from the next room cast a soft glow on his shoulders but wasn’t strong enough to cross the threshold. Lilith couldn’t see his eyes behind his glasses, but his voice was tight when he said, “Yeah?”

“Andy’s going there. We want to stay together.”

Her dad made a noise, soft and pained. “What about the collegiate?”

When her eyes finally adjusted, she nearly took her words back, said yes, of course I’ll go to Blackwood like you’ve been planning for me this entire year, just to get that look off her dad’s face. But she didn’t.

“Lil?” Andy’s voice drags Lilith back.

The bus has stopped already, parked in the loading zone at the edge of the schoolyard. Only a few stragglers linger on the sidewalk, and they’re slowly making their way inside. Inside the bus, everyone has risen from their seats and spilled into the aisle, beginning their own shuffle into the school.

It’s just a school. It’s just a school.

But Lilith still takes a breath and says, “Give me a second.”

Andy immediately reaches for one of the many keychains dangling from her backpack. A handful of thick, wooden beads on a braided string. She runs her fingers over it a few times before unclipping it from the zipper and handing it to Lilith.

The beads roll smoothly between Lilith’s sweaty palms. They’re stained a variety of colours. Tan, brown, and ashy white, and a single warm red beat that she pinches between her thumbs.

“Okay.” She still doesn’t move. “Okay.”

A bell rings outside, sharp and shrill and loud enough to make her flinch.

“O-kay.” A hand slaps the vinyl in front of Lilith’s face, fingers tipped with emerald green nails wiggling to get her attention. When Lilith looks up, Andy’s older brother, Eli, takes his hand back and picks at his nail polish. “I’m not gonna be late on the first day, and I’m not gonna let you”—he glares at Andy—“be late either, because your dad will kill me.”

Andy sticks her tongue out. “He wouldn’t kill a spider.”

“Which makes it that much more terrifying. Lil, you’re in my homeroom, right?”

“Um, I think so.” She can’t remember the teacher’s name right now. It’s written at the top of her schedule, wherever that is, and she only glanced at the thing long enough to ask Andy if they were in the same homeroom. That was a week ago.

“You are. Andy wouldn’t shut up about the injustice of it all. Come on, I’ll show you where the classroom is.”

“Can you show me where mine is?” Andy asks as she hops out of the seat, dragging Lilith with her.

“No. Use the map.”

“Jerk!”

Andy and Eli bicker as they shuffle up the aisle. The bus driver watches them through the mirror. He must be so annoyed at her for keeping him here longer than he has to be. The other buses have cleared out, now that the warning bell has gone, and they’re the only ones left.

“Sorry,” Lilith mumbles when she passes him.

He nods. “The first day is never as bad as you think.”

She ducks her head to hide her blazing cheeks. Of course. She’s getting worked up for no reason. Knowing that doesn’t stop her from hesitating on the last step. One moment, that’s all she needs. One more moment to collect herself, or throw herself backwards as the doors close and let the driver whisk her away to wherever buses go the rest of the day. But Andy won’t stand for it. She takes Lilith’s hand again, squishing the string of beads between their palms, and tugs her along. They join Eli just before he slips into the school, and Lilith squeezes Andy’s hand as they cross the threshold.

The building is unremarkable. After all, it’s not some evil den hiding horrors untold. There can’t be anything more horrifying than a dusty boiler room beneath those grey tiles. There’s nothing behind the posters spewing empty platitudes except purple walls and wiring older than she is.

She relaxes in fractions, shoulders losing some of their tension, hand loosening its grip so she’s no longer crushing Andy’s fingers. It really is a normal school, just a few shades off from anything she’s seen in movies. Lockers, classrooms, students. Even a glass case flaunting the school’s achievements over the years.

From the corner of her eye, it’s a gleaming mass of trophies interspersed with pops of colour, about what she expects from a display like this. But as she takes it in properly, she notices a few strange choices. A picture of a track and field team lurking half-hidden behind the football trophies; a handful of ribbons lying flat along the shelves; and a rack of medals leaning against the back wall, lanyards still dangling from the pegs while the medals themselves spill over each other like a pile over coins.

It almost seems like whoever made the display ran out of room and gave up. Lilith could believe that, if it weren’t for the bottom shelf.

It’s occupied by three portraits and a plain white vase, with plenty of space between them. The first portrait is of a man, bald, his goatee gone grey and wispy. Smile lines form deep wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. Lilith has seen this picture once before, in a newspaper left on the coffee table, folded open to reveal the obituary of William Lancer, principal of Casper High.

She spied it from the next room over while listening to her parents speak in rushed whispers.

“It’s not—” her dad said.

“It can’t be,” her mom answered the question that wasn’t asked.

“Yeah. It’s been too long.”

She had waited for them to say more but, apparently, they were satisfied with half a conversation and the heavy silence that followed.

Lancer’s frame is new and shiny, unlike the other two. In one, a girl with cherry-red hair stares out, a scowl settled on her face. It has that washed-out quality old pictures often have, where everything is too bright and a little fuzzy. A stark contrast to the crispness of the old principal’s photo.

The last picture is stuck somewhere in between. Not as new as the first, not as old as the second. A dark-haired boy with striking blue eyes smiling into the distance. She doesn’t recognize him or the girl, not that she really expects to. And she’s too far by the time she takes this all in to read the names engraved on the frames.

Andy’s whine pulls Lilith’s attention forward again.

“I’m not even in the same hallway!” Andy tilts her school map toward Lilith, but shoves it back into her pocket before Lilith can see anything. “Is it too late to change my last name? Dad said he’d understand if I wanted to.”

Eli rolls his eyes. “Yeah, because you were eight and all pouty about not being a Grey after I changed mine. I think he’ll be a lot less understanding if you give up his name just to be in Lil’s class.”

“He said it was fine.” Andy crosses her arms, but her pout breaks into a smile after a few seconds. “Ugh, fine. See you in English, I guess.”

She accepts a stiff pat on the head from Eli and one last squeeze from Lilith before taking off down the left hall.

Eli turns right, calling over his shoulder, “Come on.”

Lilith hurries after him. They’ve wasted so much time since the warning bell went off; homeroom will start soon. She doesn’t Eli leaving her behind, because then she’ll get lost, and she almost certainly doesn’t have her school map, although she vaguely remembers getting one. That might be a problem when she has to find her first class.

“So, why didn’t your parents want you to come here?” Eli asks.

“Sorry?”

“Andy kept moaning about it.”

“Oh. They thought a private education would be better. More attentive teachers or something.” And between every line they spat about healthy environments and better security, the spectre loomed.

Eli hums. “Guess we’ll see how Mr. Masters squares up.”

The classroom is nearly full when they arrive, and filled with a low murmur. Any students that aren’t talking to their neighbours are hunched over their phones, or resting with their heads on folded arms. As Lilith surveys the room, trying to pick out who the other freshmen are, she makes eye contact with a kid in the front row.

Her cheeks burn as if she’s been caught doing something wrong, and her gaze snaps toward the posters on the walls instead.

Science! It’s in your DNA!

Think like a proton: stay positive!

Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

Her parents were right—this school is the worst. She’s so distracted by all the puns that she doesn’t notice the backpack slumped into the aisle until she trips over it and falls into Eli. He catches her by the sleeve and drags her into the closest chair, which happens to be in the back row.

Lilith drops her face into her hands and peeks between her fingers, checking to see if anyone saw. The same kid from before is looking back at her, shoulders shaking as they muffle their laughter in their palm.

Mortified, Lilith her curls her arms around her hand and stares at the table. The only way to prevent further embarrassment is to stay perfectly still until the final bell goes. Maybe even the rest of homeroom. Or how about the whole day? She can stay here and count the seconds until she gets to go home.

One, two, three, four, five.

She’s surprised she can hear the clock over the scattered conversations.

Six, seven, eight, nine.

The other kid is still watching her.

Ten, eleven, twelve.

The back of her neck prickles.

Thirteen…Fourteen…

No, it doesn’t prickle. It stabs, like an ice pick driving into her skull.

Fifteen…

She squeezes Andy’s keychain, working her thumb between the beads as she waits for the feeling to stop, for the kid to stop watching her, for the clock to tick again.

And waits.

Lilith’s breath catches her throat, and once it does, she can’t push it back out. Her lungs ache with stale air, but no matter how much she pushes, it won’t budge. It’s like trying to blow through a straw into jelly.

When did Eli last move beside her? When did she last move? The classroom has fallen quiet. Not silent, but quiet. There’s a rustle beneath the static building in her ears, like someone took all the noise and turned it down.

It takes ages for her head to turn, toward Eli lounging next to her, his hands tucked into the open zipper of his backpack, folded around his phone. Across the room, the kid that had seen Lilith trip is slumped over their table, nose to a sketchbook, pencil dragging across the page in a glacial motion.

The prickling on the back of her neck hasn’t gone away, though. She means to look over the other students, to see if someone has zoned out in her direction, but when she turns again, her gaze is pulled to the front of the room.

It is neither a conscious choice nor one that she fights. It feels inevitable, like she has to look forward, like she had been drifting at the edge of gravity and that slight tilt of her head was all it took to bring her in, and now she’s hurtling toward the mass at its centre.

Her homeroom teacher, Mr. Masters, reclines at his desk, flicking through a stack of papers. He is not looking at her. He must have been, though, because the moment she lays eyes on him, the prickling stops. Unless that’s all her. Unless that’s just what it’s like when she tries not to acknowledge a pull so strong that its hooks sink into her bones, long fingers curling through her rib cage and tugging her forward bit by bit.

People aren’t supposed to have black eyes. They can have brown eyes so deep and rich you can barely tell them apart from the pupil, but not black. Mr. Masters has black eyes. She thinks, if he had been looking at her, she would sink into that void. Vast. Dark. Not empty, though. When his head turns, she can almost see something. A glimmer.

Shadows creep into her vision, dimming the room around her, making those spots in his eyes even brighter. It reminds her of lying on the grass with her parents, who always tried to point out constellations but could never get them quite right. They would argue softly about which is which.

“It’s definitely Cephalus,” her dad would say.

“That��s not even a constellation.”

“Sisyphus?”

“No. And if you say what I know you’re thinking next, I’m going to hit you.”

“Oh, fine…Cephalopod?”

On and on they would go, until Lilith broke out into giggles and asked where Andy was, since this was before she learned the difference between constellations and stars and galaxies.

She can see the ghost in those moments, too, and feels it creeping upon her now as she stares at her homeroom teacher. He stops flicking through the papers on his desk and brings a hand up to his face, clamping it tightly around his mouth. His shoulders rise and fall in a single, deep breath, and he closes his eyes.

The claws digging into her ribs disintegrate, and Lilith is thrown out of orbit once again. She flinches at a burst of laughter from Eli, and her thumb jerks. The last bead on the keychain pops off and smacks the chair in front of her.

She flushes when the student seated there glares at her over his shoulder, and she ducks under the table to retrieve the beads. By the time she comes back up, the classroom has returned to normal, a blanket of chatter falling over the room while students shuffle in their seats and wait for the bell. Which, according to the clock on the wall, is still ten minutes away.

Didn’t their bus only arrive five minutes ahead?

No sooner has the thought crossed Lilith’s mind than the bell rings out. She jumps at the noise, although she’s the only one. Mr. Masters sets his papers down, although he doesn’t move to stand or silence the class just yet. He finally releases his mouth, rubbing away at the imprints his fingers left behind, and drags his thumb along a faint line across the right side of his jaw, then down his neck.

The intercom clicks on. “Good morning, everyone. It’s school day one in our eight-day cycle, and you should be in your homeroom class for introduction.”

Lilith tunes out the rest of the announcements to watch Mr. Masters instead. He’s abandoned his papers to toy with his phone instead, peeling the purple gel case off the corners before popping it back on. He seems no more interested in the announcements than any of his students do.

After his phone, it’s his sleeves, plucking at the cuffs of his button-up shirt, tugging them the same way Lilith’s dad does when he has to dress up nice for meetings or parties. He always complains that he doesn’t wear those clothes enough to enjoy the feel of them. Maybe Mr. Masters feels the same way.

“Any students interested in joining media club, or any other club or sports activities, can refer to the booklets your homeroom teachers will be handing out shortly.”

On cue, Mr. Masters rises, grabbing the papers—or stack of booklets—he had been fiddling with earlier. He passes down the aisle to the left first, handing out stacks, then walks in front of Eli and Lilith’s table at the back. Eli doesn’t look up when his booklet hits the table, but Lilith reaches up to take it directly from Mr. Masters’ hand.

She looks up, hoping to catch his eyes again, see another glimpse of those stars. She can’t tell where his iris ends and his pupil starts, if he even has either. Maybe it’s all just void. Her parents’ worried faces flash at the front of her mind, and she shrinks away.

Mr. Masters’ stare finally meets hers.

And there it is, a flicker deep within. His face does something funny, eyebrows drawn up first, then down low over his eyes. He has very thick eyebrows. He lets go of the booklet he had been handing her, and it flops onto the table without either of their hands to support it.

Lilith’s gaze drops to the cover. Casper High Clubs and Activities!

She pulls it closer and pretends to flip through it. Doesn’t look up until Mr. Masters walks away, the hem of his dark blue pants and his polished black shoes leaving her field of vision, and the intercom clicks off.

“Hey, everyone. I’m Mr. Masters, your homeroom teacher for however many years you have left. You heard the announcement. Pamphlet, club info. Might seem boring at first, but it’s worth flipping through. There are a lot of options and you might find something you like. I don’t know about the art club, though. That one looks kind of sketchy.”

Mr. Masters ignores the scattered groans. “All clubs have a teacher advisor you can talk to, although for most you just need to show up and they’ll take you. Make sure to check what classroom they meet in, and how often. There’s also info on how to start a new club if that interests you.”

Lilith reaches the back of the book and would start flipping through it again, but she didn’t absorb any information the first time. She doubts a second pass will change that, at least not now. Instead, she watches the clock over Mr. Masters’ head.

The second hand ticks so slowly.

“Sophomores and up, you’ll remember the advisory system from previous years when it was mandatory on Wednesday mornings, or so I’ve been told. This year, advisory is mostly optional, and happens during lunch. All teachers are available either during the first half of lunch or the second, and you can choose who you need to see for extra guidance. It’s not mandatory every day, but you should go at least once a week. You can find our advisory schedules on the student portal.”

For every four seconds she counts, the hand on the clock only moves once.

Mr. Masters is back behind his desk, now. He slides a few sheets around, muttering under his breath as he scans the pages. “I think that’s everything important, besides attendance. The bell will go again when it’s time to head to first period. Any other day, you would have gone straight there. Homeroom will only be on days with important announcements, handing out report cards, all that stuff students love.”

He goes through the attendance list. The kid that laughed at Lilith raises their hand when Mr. Masters calls for Mickey Flynn. Two more names are called before it’s her turn.

“Lilith F—” He pauses. Makes that funny face again. Bewildered. Lilith has never used that word before, but it fits.

“Here,” she calls softly.

A beat passes before Mr. Masters nods and marks her down, glancing in her direction one last time. It strikes her, then, that maybe he’s haunted, too.

By the time he lets them go for first period, the clock is twenty minutes behind.

—

Masterpost | Next chapter

#danny phantom #Invisobang 2024 #danny phantom big bang #phicc #danny phantom fanfiction #Unlucky Alis #portal Danny #void Danny #Eldritch Danny #space core #this isn't the beginning (but it's a start)

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ourtearsofrain · 6 months ago

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Slow It Down (D.R.W/S.F.K)- Epilogue

Pairings: Danny Wagner x Sam Kiszka, (background) Josh Kiszka x Male O.C.

Genre: drabble, fluff

Word Count: 842

Warnings: ouchie but in a good way

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September 4th, 2034, 8:30 AM

“Alright everyone, I know it’s too early in the morning for this lecture, so I’ll go easy on you guys for the first day.” Sam smiles at the students in his lecture hall, praying that he would make a good impression even after all the years he had spent teaching. “We’re just going to start out with you guys getting to know me, I always feel better teaching a class when I know that my students know me, and then we’ll go over the syllabus and all that fun technical stuff.”

The room stays silent, all 57 pairs of tired eyes trained on him. “First of all, I just want to say that I’m fine with you all calling me Sam, we’re all adults here. If you’re more comfortable calling me Professor or Doctor Kiszka-Wagner, that’s fine too. I really don’t care what you call me as long as it’s not Sammy; that’s reserved for my family and close friends. Second, raise your hand if you’re coming from out of state.” He smiles again when he sees ¾ of the room does so. “Alright, good to know. I was an out of state kid at NYU too. And I know that you’re all freshman, right?”

Met with silent nods, he continues. “This is a small intro class so I figured. This isn’t like high school, if you need to go to the bathroom, just go. If you get hungry and have a snack, eat it, just don't leave a mess please. Attendance isn’t mandatory but all I ask is that you show up at least once a week. We will have quizzes on lecture material though, so being here will help. I do post notes from lectures online, but again, it will significantly help if you come to the lectures. We’ll get into more of that later but now I’ll introduce myself more. I’m originally from Frankenmuth, Michigan; which if none of you know where that is, that’s totally fine, it’s practically Christmastown, Michigan.”

When he hears quiet laughter, Sam feels a slight boost, helping him continue. “I didn’t come to NYU until I was a Senior at a college in Michigan, changed my major from business to astronomy the second I got here. To get really personal for a moment to help you guys better understand me, I want you all to know that moving here was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Since most of you are out of state, I know how hard this might have been for you. My older brother once told me that I needed to take control of my life, stop being scared to fully live and just do it. That has changed my life in more ways than I can count on one hand, so if that’s the only thing you take away from this first day, then I’ll be happy. My office hours are on the syllabus, if you need to talk, even if it isn’t about the lecture, my door is always open. And I know that the school has a complicated, longer than necessary process for mental health resources, so if you need that please come and talk to me. My brother’s husband is a local therapist, and he’s told me that he will always make time for any of my students if they need to talk to a professional. I know that I don’t need to share this with you all, it may be unorthodox, and you’ll find probably none of your other professors will do this, but it’s important to me that you know this. On a less serious note, my husband teaches some Marine Biology classes here that satisfy your general university requirements, and he’s a great professor so you should definitely take a class with him. Daniel Kiszka-Wagner in the directory, look him up.”

Sam is met with silence once more, not an uncomfortable one, but one of understanding; and he knew that he truly had begun to connect with his students. “Alright, I’ll pull up the syllabus now, although I am old so you might need to give me a minute to figure this technology out. I’m not that old, I’m only 35 so if you call me old to my face I will flunk you.” Met with quiet laughter again, he smiles before moving to the desk where his computer sat, working to project his syllabus on the projector.

Pulling it up successfully, he glances at the screen before addressing his students again. “Also, I do have tenure so I don’t care a lot anymore, I will drop some curse words, but I won’t tell if you don’t. And the textbook is definitely free some places online, so please don’t pay for it. You didn’t hear that from me though.” He winks once before raising the clicker in his hand, beginning to walk his students through the syllabus, only stopping to answer a question here and there. This semester was going to be a good one, he could feel it.

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A/N: thank you all for reading, I loved writing this (even though it was very angsty and painful, but they got a happy ending eventually)

taglist: @gretnavannfleet @aioba1503-sdm @jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka @milojames16 @sanguinebats @theres-a-tvjoe @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface @currentlyfangirling10

#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fan fiction #gvf fic #daniel gvf #sam gvf #sanny gvf #greta van angst #greta van fluff #sam kiszka x danny wagner #sam kiszka #danny wagner

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f4nd0m-fun · 2 years ago

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Another bout of Uncle Jon Angst

So, in this AU, a strong enough ghost will have wings of its own, showing the fact that it is powerful, akin to how some animals have different marks to showcase danger. Clockwork switches between a Pygmy owl as a child, barn as an adult, and snowy as an elder. Pariah is crow through and through. After Danny became Pariah's Heir, he was gifted a cloak made of Clockwork's feathers, constantly shifting, with Pariah's mixed in as well, since they technically ghost-adopted him. This makes the cloak not only even more comforting beyond its weight to Danny, but a very powerful artifact in its own right. Pariah has also had most of his abilities sealed by Clockwork so someone can directly watch the ghostling that is Danny. So he's stuck in a crow form sticking with Danny (thank you @hallowsden for the Crow AU!) and protecting him. I HC Pariah as having a shadow core, which means he can vaguely form in dark areas, but it's kind of like Johnny's shadow beast. Another detail, I have written that only Halfas can become Ghost Kings/Queens, which means Pariah was one once. By sealing him and sending him with Danny, Clockwork hopes to restore some of his humanity. (Why do you think the Observants were so quick to want to kill Dan? They had seen it before in Pariah). Thankfully, it does work, though slowly.

Final note, Crane wasn't going to let him skip school, and Johan Welch is an asshole literature teacher at Gotham High (not the Academy). He also wasn't going to use his last name so the Bats could track the poor boy, so he used an old name the family dropped ages ago to enroll him. Anyway, actual thing is longer than the others and I've already said so much that... boom, an actual Read More! Also, it's midnight when I'm posting. 😅 Finally, Trigger Warning

It describes some of Danny's accident, including the loss of his wings, and shows a panic attack.

Danny was no stranger to bullies, whether it be lunch money, tests, or a punching bag they were after. He was also used to teachers who pushed their rules, who played favorites and sneered at those they thought of as less. At least he had his cloak, a secure weight upon his shoulders, much lighter than the crown he would day wear.

Mr. Welch seemed to zero in on his sour mood. "Nightingale?"

A sigh escaped his lips. "Yes, sir?"

"Tell me, in the Silmarillion, what is the moral behind the oath of Fëanor?"

He stared at the board a bit before glancing at the book in front of him. "I'm not certain, I think it’s that you shouldn’t promise something if you can’t actually do it?"

The teacher sighed. “No, Nightingale.”

There was a snicker behind him, Danny ignored it.

“Yes, Atkins? Can you answer?”

“Choosing violence in the heat of the moment will almost always end with suffering.”

“Good job.” He looked at Danny. “Now, was that so hard?”

“But-”

“You got it wrong, Nightingale.”

Danny hadn’t realized how close the teacher was until the cloak was yanked off his shoulders, feathers scattering. “No! Give that back!”

“You can have it after class is over.”

The laughter that had been bouncing through the room suddenly stopped at that; all the students knew better than to take another’s prized possession. Some money, maybe their homework, or even a jacket? All fair game. But anything that was clearly precious? You never knew how the kid would lash out.

Danny watched as the teacher walked away, but he did not take stock of the room itself. His wings, they were gone, seared away again. And he shook, like the shocks that wracked his form, mouth aiming to scream the silent terror that took over as his vocal cords were fried and healed time and time again until he had made his way out, wings in tatters, the scent of burning meat hovering over his f-

“Ghostling, you are not experiencing that anymore...” The tone was deep and stern, the barest hint of kindness underneath the ancient voice, mingling with a soft sorrow..

Danny continued to shake, but leaned into the cold warmth of armor and shadow. He had no idea where he was or how he’d arrived, but he was glad his p̸a̴t̷r̵o̸ was here for him.

“I guided you to a dark space as well as I could, it is hard for me to show after all.”

Danny didn’t pay too much heed to the words, merely listening to the soothing tones and trying to calm himself.

Pariah was determined to get that cloak back quickly, It was an important gift to his heir, and was too powerful to be left in the wrong hands. But, right now? All his focus was on the ghostling. “You can see the glow of my eyes, yes?”

Danny slowly looked up at his face and nodded weakly.

“What else?” Pariah mused as he waited for a response.

“The... light under the door...”

“Good. Again.” Perhaps it was a good think Tik had trapped them together in a loop until Pariah learned how to help the ghostling.

“Uh... there’s shelves in here.”

“Can you find anything else?” Thankfully, ghosts could see well in darkness, though Shadow Cores like himself did even better.

“I think I see a mop? P̸a̷t̵r̴o̷, are we in a closet?”

“Are you feeling better? Can you name something you can feel?” He hoped he didn’t forget anything until Danny was fully calmed.

“A... bit.”

He felt a smaller hand grab the figment of his own.

“I... can feel you, sorta. Your armor, your... essence..?”

He nodded. “What else?”

“The... floor. It’s solid.”

“Good. Give me ano-” Before he could finish, Pariah’s connection to the shadows was lost as the door opened. His form lasted not even a second in the light, but his hearing caught the reaction of both his heir and the intruder. Suddenly, the door was slammed and he felt the connection grow again, sighing softly as he returned. “Call your uncle,” he hesitantly began, hugging the ghostling again. “I don’t think you should stay here the rest of the day.”

“But your- my-”

“The cloak will be returned, I assure you, and whoever picks you up will make certain it is returned.”

Danny sighed heavily, and clung to Pariah as he fished his phone out of his pocket.

#winged uncle scarecrow au #winged uncle jonathan au #uncle scarecrow wings au #uncle scarecrow au #jonathan crane #dark ages #clockwork #pariah #oc #crow pariah au #winged ghosts au

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dp-marvel94 · 1 year ago

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(Not) Alone - Chapter 9

Summary: Consumed with worry and scared after watching Dani almost die, Danny begs her to come home with him and meet Jazz. He wants to see her safe and happy and taken care of more than anything. An important reveal also weighs heavy on him – Dani isn’t the only living clone… and the other is him. He needs to tell her the truth; maybe that will convince her to agree to the idea of telling his parents. And she'll stay in Amity Park with him, where he'll never have to worry if she's safe ever again.

Meanwhile, Dani has mixed feelings. Still reeling from the loss of her clone siblings, Danny’s unexpected worry and care make her uncomfortable. And her own guilt… she hurt him and helped get him kidnapped twice. How can he care about a mistake like her? But having clean clothes and a bed is wonderful. And things aren’t as simple as she thinks.

Will Dani accept the help she needs and let herself be loved? Or will she push Danny and Jazz away and run again?

Word Count: 5,019

First-> Previous

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: Finally, I'm back to posting this story! I got way behind for a bit there. I was very busy writing my Ecto-Implosion story - a Lost Time Mer AU featuring a very ethereal Clockwork and a very conflicted Danny; it is posted now so go check it out if you haven't! Then there was Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas. And my sister and I are buying a house! We close on January 5th. So yeah, a lot of excited things going on. Enjoy the second to last chapter of this story!

The time before dinner consisted of a tour of the Far Frozen, given by Frostbite. They visited the library, the hall of murals, the artifact vault (including sneaking a peek at the Infini-map!). The stadium, the ice practice rooms, the guard’s training field. There was a hanger for the hovercrafts. An engineering workshop where an adolescent yeti apprentice was helping an adult with a hovercraft repair.

They passed classrooms, the excited voices of an in-class literature debate perking Dani’s ears. The girl peered through the glass window in the door, curious eyes fixing on the small group of students. One of the young yeti’s gaze met hers, the other ghost grinning toothily and waving. Blinking in surprise, the girl waved back.

“Come, you must see the ice garden!” Frostbite hurried the group through the hall.

“Wow.” The clone girl breathed. “It’s so pretty!”

Trees, flowers, even individual blades of grass sparkled in the light, despite the cloudy sky. Dani darted behind one of the towering trees, thick trunked with heart-shaped leaves.

“It’s almost clear!” She giggled, looking at her brother through the trunk. “You look ridiculous!” Flickers of his ghost form – white, black, and green – warped through the ice.

“Oh yeah?!” He flew forward, making funny faces at her through the other side of the trunk. “You’re the one who looks ridiculous.”

“But you look more ridiculous-er!” She laughed more, sticking her tongue out at him. “Like one of those fun house mirrors!”

The two played for a while, poking fun at each other. Then…. The ice drakes!

“They’re so cute!” Dani cooed, eyes round.

Jazz looked at the creatures. Part wingless dragon, part slinky lizard, they were twenty feet long, with sharp claws, sharp teeth, and blue-silver scales. She side-eyed her sister skeptically. “Cute?”

One of the drakes, a juvenile all of five feet long, stuck out its tongue and licked its eye.

“Just look at him.” Dani gave her best puppy dog eyes. “And look!” She pointed to a disturbed area in the snow, sky blue splotches and small silver bodies standing out against the white powder. “Babies!”

“Ah, the hatchlings have arrived.” Frostbite said warmly. He walked towards the nest, gently brushing snow away. With one hand, he waved to the two girls. “Would you like to hold one, Dani with an i?”

Dani beamed. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Excitedly, she held out her hands.

“Hold her like this.” Frostbite demonstrated. “Close to your body.”

The younger girl nodded eagerly. Gently, she took the hatchling, which let out a squeak. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Soon enough, the baby lizard relaxed, head resting on Dani’s upper arm, paws curled up against her chest, and tail wrapped around her other arm.

The clone girl cooed. “Yes, you are so cute. Yes, you are.”

Jazz watched over Dani’s shoulder, brow still furrowed skeptically.

Half ghost and hatchling stayed like that for a while, just looking at each other. But after a few minutes, the young drake grew restless. She squirmed in the hold, eyes darting to and then fixing on the human’s red hair. She chirped curiously, head lifting. The hatching half-wrestled out off, was half-released from Dani’s arms. She scrambled up Dani’s jumpsuit, onto her shoulder, and leapt onto Jazz’s.

“Hey!” The older teen protested, to laughs from her younger siblings.

The nosy drake investigated, sniffing, batting at, and chewing on the hair.

“That isn’t food!” Jazz complained.

At the same time, the hatchling spit out the mouthful rather spectacularly, having realized it in fact wasn’t edible. Still, she investigated Jazz’s hair and clothing, eventually wrapping herself around the red-head’s shoulders like a second scaly scarf. Innocent blue eyes blinked up at the human.

Jazz sighed. “Alright. I guess you are a little cute.”

“Yes!” Dani cheered. “Told you!”

The older sister rolled her eyes.

After that, Danny took a turn holding one of the hatchlings. A few more minutes of cooing at the smaller drakes and coaxing the adults into pettings and….

“Can we go back inside? It’s getting colder.” The red-head shivered, frowning up at the sky. “Actually, we should probably leave soon.”

“Yes. Of course.” The chief nodded sagely. “Some food first, very quickly before your journey home. There is still plenty of time yet, before the weather turns.”

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Actually, there was not plenty of time before the weather turned.

Danny frowned out the window, clutching another mug of hot chocolate. Outside the wind blew fiercely, the atmosphere completely white with the driving snow.

“My apologies, Danny.” Frostbite said surprisingly softly, a hand on the half ghost’s shoulder. “The storm blew in much quicker than anticipated. I should have hastened your departure.”

“It’s okay.” The half ghost looked up at his mentor. “How long do you think it’ll last?”

“A blizzard which arrived this quickly…” The yeti hummed thoughtfully. “Those storms like this are intense but they are short lived. Less than a day, surely. Perhaps eighteen hours.”

“So we’ll have to spend the night.” The boy bit his lip.

“It seems so.” Frostbite patted his back. “Come. We will prepare a feast for all. And a dance! Music and games will surely lift you and your siblings’ spirits!”

The corner of Danny’s lip turned up. “Alright. Let’s go.” With the chief’s enthusiasm, there was no way he could stay so somber.

The feast was amazing. Five courses. Ice kelp salad, with Caesar dressing straight from the Acropolis. Cave mushroom soup, topped with mammoth cheese and spices. An appetizer of garlic bread- a staple anywhere in the Infinite Realms. Giant Bison steaks with neon-colored fingerling potatoes. And for dessert…

Dani poked the shiny yet opaque, gelatinous slab with her knife. “What is this?”

It wiggled unappealingly and yet, Danny’s mouth watered. “Aojngofls.” He answered, grinning.

“What?”

“Aojngofls.” The boy repeated, to his little sister’s continued confusion. “That’s the yeti word for it. Have no idea what it’d be in English.”

“Okay? But…” Dani still eyed the desert skeptically. “What is it?”

“It’s some kind of pudding, I think. The consistency is kinda like flan but there’s nuts and fruit and stuff inside.” The boy greedily grabbed a spoonful, stuffing it in his mouth with abandon. “ ‘s so goof.” He gushed.

The young girl sniffed her portion, giving at another poke. “Why’s it shiny though?”

Danny swallowed his bite. “Ground up Ice Drake scales.”

At that, Dani pushed the plate away violently, a look of betrayal on her face. “No! How could they?”

“The drakes naturally shed their scales and the yeti’s collect them.” The boy soothed. “No drakes were harmed in the making of this dessert.”

“If that’s true….” His younger sister still wrinkled her nose, off-put. But hesitantly, she took a bite.

Danny leaned forward, eyes wide and eager for her reaction. “Well?”

Several emotions flashed across her face in quick succession, disgust turning to surprise and then relief. She swallowed. “It’s… actually good?”

“Yes!” The older half ghost fist pumped, laughing as the younger quickly started on her own piece with abandon.

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“We have most exquisite merriment for your enjoyment, Great One and Kin!” Frostbite practically dragged Danny and his sisters to the dance hall, so great was his enthusiasm.

The chief flung the doors open, the sound suddenly swelling. Drums banged, pounded. String instruments strummed and shredded, some high and quivering, others low and droning. The winds trilled and rumbled, like songbirds fluttering in the trees and the distant peals of thunder. It was a cacophony, the sounds weaving together in purposeful chaos.

Around the room, yetis stomped, clapped, danced. And Danny found himself pulled into the spiral of bodies. Jazz, her red-hair vibrant amongst the white fur, spun away from him. She danced beside Snowflake, movements at first awkward and unsure but quickly becoming exuberant and ridiculous. And Dani…

The shout barely carried over the crowd but it tickled Danny’s ear all the same. “Come dance with us!”

One of the younger yeti’s took hold of his sister’s hand, pulling her to join the other kids. Dani followed, smiling and then laughing, soon twirling as absurd and excited as their other sister was.

And Danny danced too. Legs jumping, arms flailing, feet pounding, head bobbing. His heart pounded, in time with the music. And the very air around him…. The excitement of the other ghosts, delighted to just be alive, together. His sisters, here and safe and happy. Jazz, her eyes bright and shoulders held high, without the worry she always wore like a heavy weight. And Danielle…. Twirling and laughing with the other kids, grinning like she’d never smiled in her life.

The older half ghost’s core buzzed, light with its happiness, with the warmth of its love overflowing. He laughed, taken by the sheer joy.

Danny danced for some unknowable amount of time after, catching the occasional glimpses of Jazz’s teal jacket or Dani’s midnight black suit. The words, unknown to his ears, and the music, foreign in arrangement but familiar in emotion, flowed around, in, and through him. His hair raised with chills, moved by the shaking drone of the strings, by the long, soulfully sung notes. And his body moved along, joining the song. No, not just his body. It was deeper. The feeling vibrated down, passed his blood and ectoplasm. Down, into his core, the center of himself. He danced, not just with his body but with his very soul.

Eventually though, the music slowed, a profound tranquility over taking the room. The dancer also slowed, many of them pairing up.

Danny stilled with a soft smile on his face as he pulled himself out of the crowd. He meandered to the edge of the room, eyes set on a table of refreshments. The boy picked up a cup of slightly glowing punch. Turning back, his gaze flickered over the gathering, searching for…

Ah, there. His heart squeezed, pleasantly warm. There was Danielle.

He raised the glass to his lips, taking a sip as he watched. His little sister still lingered in the middle of a crowd of younger yetis, though the group had drifted away from the dance floor. They huddled in a corner, a few adolescents giggling to each other about something. And… Dani sat in the air cross-legged, one of the cubs curiously running claws through her hair. A slightly older kid gently swatted away the paw, leaned forward to mutter something in Dani’s ear. The half ghost nodded, eyes lighting up in delighted surprise. The young yeti started braiding the shining white locks.

“Danielle looks really happy.” Jazz’s voice broke his attention from the scene.

Danny blinked, for a moment surprised, but then dismissing her sudden appearance… “Yeah, she does.” He smiled, contented eyes back on his little sister.

His older sister smiled too, just as happy. “I don’t think she’s been this happy the entire week. Bringing her here was a great idea.”

The boy nodded. It was true enough. Despite the slight bumps of the check up and the unexpected snowstorm, Dani looked about the happiest he’d ever seen her.

Across the room, the braiding finished up, the paws removed from Dani’s hair. The girl experimentally shook her head, the ends hitting her cheeks. Her mouth opened, laughter audible in the lines of her face despite the loud music.

“Aw. Look at that. She’s already making friends.” Jazz cooed.

In other circumstances, Danny might have scoffed at the mushy comment. But now, his heart was too full of relief and joy to hold any cynicism. “Yeah, she is.”

Neither sibling spoke for a long moment, just watching Dani talk and play with the other kids. Soon, the song ended, another fast one starting up.

Danny stepped towards the crowd. “Ready to get back at it?”

Jazz took a sip of her own punch. “I still need to catch my breath. I can barely keep up.” She chuckled. “These guys are more rambunctious than Aunt Alicia’s neighbors at a barn dance.”

The boy laughed at the unexpected comparison. “Oh my g-d, that’s what this was reminding me off.”

Just then, Frostbite’s booming laugh cut above the music, his energetic kick nearly knocking down his dance partner. The yetis were just as exuberant as any country folk.

“Do you remember that time Alicia’s neighbor's kid let all the chickens out during the dance?” Jazz asked with a snort.

“Of course.” Danny snorted himself. “They were all line dancing,” Hands on his hips, he kicked each leg and then clapped and turned with a jump. “to Cotton-Eyed Joe. And those stupid chickens...” He landed, leaning forward slightly, and moving his head back and forth in a very poultry-like manner. “Those stupid chickens were trying their best to become footballs!”

“Old Man Roberts kicked one and it sounded…” A laugh broke through the words. “it sounded like a freaking rubber chicken! Like…” The sad chicken noise Jazz then made….

The boy nearly doubled over laughing. “That’s the most pa..pathetic chicken noise…I’ve… I’ve ever… heard.” He gasped, diaphragm flipping with the sound.

“But that’s what it sounded like!” His sister argued.

“Like.. Like?” Danny tried to make his own rubber chicken noise but broke down in giggles.

A second of the red-head’s nose wrinkling, trying to hold but the sound and… hands on her knees, she cackled too. The two laughed for a long while, just the two of them and that memory.

Eventually, Danny caught his breath. Wiping his eyes… “Man, those barn dances at Alicia’s were the best.”

“Yeah, they’re always a good laugh.” Jazz chuckled, again. “The only thing funnier than those chickens is Dad trying to dance to Party in the USA.”

Danny laughed again, just picturing it. Jack Fenton, in all his uncoordinated orange-flanneled glory, stomping and jumping completely out of time.

He shook his head, grinning. “I wonder if Mom and Dad managed to catch a dance on their trip.” But as soon as the words passed from his lips...“Their trip.” His face fell, a chill anxiety suddenly dousing the previous joviality. “They’ll be back tomorrow night.”

His older sister stood up straighter, also sobering. “That’s right.”

Danny’s hand frantically ran through his hair. “I still need to talk to Dani about that.”

The red-head raised a brow. “You didn’t talk to her last night?”

Danny shook his head. “With everything else we talked about…” He bit his lip. “I couldn’t bring it up, not when she was already so upset.”

Jazz stepped towards him, nodding understandingly. “That’s okay. We can bring it up later, after the dance.”

His eyes darted back to Dani and the younger yetis. They were playing some kind of game, one yeti blindfolded in the middle with the others surrounding in a circle. His younger sister’s eyes sparkled, a hand over her mouth trying to hold back laughter.

His heart squeezed. “But she’s so happy. She’s happy and making friends. And she finally called me Danny again.” Such relief that statement brought… she was comfortable with him, all of him. “And we just had to talk about our brothers last night and that was hard enough.” It was painful, just remembering her crying, clinging to him like he’d disappear too if she let go. “But this… how can I do that to her again?”

Jazz glared, suddenly serious, as she pulled him farther away from the crowd and in front of some chairs huddled against the wall. “We still have to have this conversation with her, Danny.” Voice low but harsh, the red-head crossed her arms. “We can’t just let her run off to Ancients knows where.”

“Of course not.” The boy almost hissed, eyes narrowed in offense. “I barely want to let her out of my sight. I’d rather died than let her F-off into the sunset again. I want her at home with us. But…” He slumped into the chair, anger suddenly doused. “She doesn’t even want to meet Mom and Dad. I know she doesn’t.” His head dropped into his hands. “She shuts down any time they’re even kinda mentioned. I barely convinced her to meet you in the first place. You know how hard it was to convince her to let us buy her clothes, let alone anything else.” Her furious words, that first morning…. She didn’t think she needed or deserved help. She was trying to fight that thinking, he knew, from their conversation last night. But did that still linger below the surface? And…

“Jazz.” His voice lowered, shoulders curling in on themselves. “I… I’m scared. I want Danielle safe and happy so damn bad. So bad. But…I’m… I’m terrified that I’ll push her and she’ll run. She’ll leave without a word again. And I can’t… I can’t. I can’t go back to not knowing if she’s safe or okay or even if… even if…” His breath caught, voice choked.

“Oh, Danny.” The chair beside him creaked slightly, Jazz sitting. “It’s okay to be scared.” Her arm wrapped around his shoulders. “I… I’m scared too.” At that, he looked up, brow wrinkling as his older sister continued. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if Dani is going to surprise us and say yes. Or if she will freak out and run. Or any number of things could happen. I can’t make her say yes like I, like both of us want.”

Each word was a stab to his core, driving that desperate fear and sorrow deeper and deeper. If even Jazz had these fears, then how… how….

“But.” The strong conjunction drew Danny out of his growing despair. “Whether or not she stays with us is Danielle’s choice. We won’t know until we asks. There’s no reason to catastrophize yet. And…” Her face softened, kind eyes fixed on him. “I don’t know her as well as you do. But I know Dani loves you. She trusts you. She wouldn’t leave you without a word and hurt you like that. And besides…” Her eyes flickered toward the crowd of yetis. “Maybe staying in Amity Park with us or running off on her own aren’t Dani’s only two options.”

Danny’s gaze followed, fixing on Dani… playing with her new friends. He blinked once, the idea rolling over him. Something in his core loosened, a hint of hope brightening his face.

The boy sat up. “I need to talk to Frostbite.”

Jazz smiled, squeezing his shoulder. “Go on then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My turn! My turn!” Dani cheered, moving to the center of the circle.

Her core buzzed with excitement. This was the best day ever! The tour, the feast, the dance. New friends! GlacierPaw asked her to dance. WinterHill braided her hair. And now Icicle was tying the blind-fold around her eyes.

“Now we’ll count to ten while you spin in a circle. You want to find and tag whoever had the ice-shaker.” The yeti girl stepped back, and the sound of counting started.

Dani spun, head quickly growing dizzy. Then she wobbled forward, chasing the sound of crinkling ice. It shifted… there!

“I’ve got you!” The half ghost flailed for the target.

“It’s not me!” The other child laughed.

The sound of shaking again. Dani chased, still woozy on her feet. Another miss, this one near. And…

“Ha! There!” She grabbed the shaker, pulling off the blind-fold.

GlacierPaw grinned at her sheepishly. “My turn?”

With a nod, Dani tied the cloth on his head.

The games continued, with more dizzy stumbling, more running and jumping, and, of course, much more laughter. Eventually though, the fun stopped, the group breaking up as adults came over to gather their children.

“Bye!” “It was fun playing with you!” “See you later!” GlacierPaw, WinterHill, and Icicle shouted the various farewells, each pulled along by their respective parents.

Dani smiled, giving her own wave. “Bye!” Then she turned her attention back to the crowd. Where were Danny and Jazz? After a moment, her eyes fixed on familiar red hair.

“Jazz!” The girl ran forward, nearly crashing into the older teen in her excitement.

“Dani!” Jazz startled with a laugh.

“Did you see?!” She waved back toward the corner. “The yeti kids invited me to play with them! It was so much fun! We played freeze tag with actual ice! And Pin the tail on the Ice Drake. And…” She blinked, suddenly realizing. “Where’s Danny?”

“Talking to Frostbite.” The other girl smiled, ruffling her hair. “What else did you do?”

“The littler cubs loved this game called Rabbit, Rabbit, Hare. We all sat in a circle, one person walking around the outside. The person who was It went rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,” She patted the air with her hand. “On each person’s shoulder. But if you got hare, then you had to get up and chase them around the circle and try to get back to your spot first!”

“Ah. Like Duck, Duck, Goose.” The red-head mused with a nod.

“What’s Duck, Duck, Goose?” Dani stopped her ramble, brow furrowing.

“It’s the same game you just described.” Jazz chuckled kindly. “I played it when I was little. You’d go Duck, Duck, Duck….” She also patted the air. “Then…. Goose!” She furiously ruffled Dani’s hair and the younger girl giggled.

Just then, Danny returned. “Hey guys.” He waved.

A new song started up, fast and energetic. Dani grabbed each of the older teen’s hands. “Come on! I wanna dance!”

The clone girl danced with her two siblings for a few more songs. They drank some punch, snacked on some of the food. Dani talked more about the yeti kids she had met, the older two listening with rapt attention. Each wore an almost relieved smile though Danny’s harbored just a hint of sadness. Actually…. Both of her siblings were being oddly subdued, a heaviness in their responses that hadn’t been there before.

Dani noted the oddity with a wrinkled brow but before she could really dwell on it….

“It looks like everyone is leaving.” Jazz mused, eyes flickering to the musicians. Sure enough, they were packing up their instruments.

Barely a minute later, Frostbite arrived, gathering the three. “Come. I will show you your room.”

A few minutes’ walk through the halls and the group came to a surprisingly mundane wooden door. The chief opened it and inside….

Wooden paneled walls, a fireplace built into one side. Wooden furniture. A bed, a couch, a desk, dressers. The room was cozy and warm, enough so that Jazz started taking off her outer layers of clothing. “This is perfect, Frostbite. Thank you.”

Dani nodded. It did look really nice! But… her brow furrowed. “There’s only two places to sleep.”

The older girl gave her a chastising look, causing the halfa girl to blush sheepishly.

But the chief smiled kindly. “Never fear, we have prepared for this.” He left the room, quickly returning with a foldable cot. “See! All have their place.”

After good nights to Frostbite and a short… discussion (cough*argument*cough) about who would sleep where, the three collected borrowed pajamas from the dresser.

“You can go first.” Danny motioned toward the small, attached bathroom, Jazz agreeing with a nod.

As Dani got dressed and brushed her teeth, she tried to ignore the hushed voices coming through the door. The words were inaudible… but a seed of nervousness still sprouted in her gut.

She exited the bathroom to find Jazz and Danny huddled together on the couch.

“But Frostbite did say it would be okay if she-” Having noticed her, the boy cut himself off. He met her eyes and shuffled over on the couch. Then patting the seat between him and Jazz…

Dani’s brow raised in question. She didn’t ask, instead shifting nervously as she sat.

Her brother took a breath, hands balled in his lap. “Jazz and me need to talk to you about something important.”

Well, Dani did not like the sound of that. She swallowed nervously. “Okay?”

“First the good news.” Her brother started. “I talked to Frostbite about Vlad. Long story short. The Far Frozen has beef with him. So do Fright Knight and the Observants. The Dragon kingdom and the Acropolis don’t like him very much either. Mainly because Dora and Pandora are my allies and they’re not cool with anyone who messes with me.” He shook his head. “Point is, with all the ghosts on our side, we can probably get Vlad locked up somewhere he won’t be able to bother us anymore.” Danny met her eyes then, wide and earnest. “He is going to have to answer for what he did to you and me and all the other clones. He’s going to pay for it. And we’ll make sure he never even thinks about hurting you again.”

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. Not because they hurt but because…. The sheer relief. The feeling washed over her. She’d barely even thought about Vlad the past week, too absorbed in so many new experiences and revelations. But there in the back of her mind… (Would he come back for her? Try to hurt her again? Would he try to hurt Dami again, bring him to his side?)

But Danny’s words, the fervent conviction in his eyes swept those doubts and fears away.

“That’s great.” Dani hugged him. “Thanks for talking to Frostbite about that.”

“Of course.” He hugged her back. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t let this keep going. I had to do something…”

“And you did.” Jazz’s hand on her shoulder. “I’m relieved we have a plan now.”

The clone girl gave an agreeing hum, relaxing for a moment in that relief. Then…

She pulled away, a hint of renewed worry jabbing at her core. “You said ‘first the good news’ so…” She swallowed. “What’s the bad news?”

“It isn’t bad news.” Jazz smiled soothingly. “Remember when Danny asked you about meeting our parents?”

Dani nodded, anxiety sinking like a stone.

“Mom and Dad will be back tomorrow night.” Danny continued. “We’ll be back in the morning, plenty of time before they come home. But we need to make a decision…” The words came out, calm, sincere. But still… the boy bit his lip, betraying his own nerves. “About whether or not to tell them about me being half ghost and Phantom and… About you. And how we’re going to introduce you…”

“I don’t know…” Dani brought one hand up to her mouth, anxiously chewing on her thumb nail. (This. This was what she had been freaking out about last night…)

“You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to.” Jazz soothed, gently pulling the younger girl’s hand from her lips. “It’s your decision.”

“Yeah.” Danny nodded. “It’s up to you. And…” He looked out, towards the door. “Staying with Jazz and me isn’t the only option. Frostbite already said he’d be happy to give you a place to stay. And I have other allies we could go see if you don’t want to stay here. I’m sure Dora or Pandora would love to have you. But.” With the word, his expression hardened, deathly serious. “No matter what, running off on your own again is not an option. I’m not going to let you just fend for yourself. Not alone, on the street or wandering off who knows where. You deserve to be somewhere that you’re safe. ”

Dani blinked for a moment, startled. There was another option….

Then she scowled, offended. Did she really think she was going to run off on her own? Yeah, maybe a week ago she could have, but-

The anger wooshed out. A week wasn’t that long though, was it?

She shook her head. “I know running off isn’t an option.” She wouldn’t, not now. Not after finally having her brother back and… maybe kinda sorta gaining a sister? The point was, she finally wasn’t alone anymore. And she didn’t think… no, she knew, she couldn’t bear to go back. “I won’t run off. But…” She chewed on her lip.

The choice… that same dread and unease she felt every time she thought about the offer of staying at FentonWorks, those same feelings rose, wrapping around her core. For just a moment, she tried to imagine it. A dad to tuck her into bed. A mom to pack her lunch. Riding the school bus to school. Sitting in class. Making normal, human friends.

Dani frowned. She couldn’t picture it, the very thought turning her stomach. No, she wasn’t ready. She didn’t want that, at least not yet. If she ever would.

But…. staying here, with Frostbite… Danny had mentioned that too. And she had so much fun here today. There was so much to do and see. The food was so good and the yeti kids loved her. A large part of her wanted to stay here.

Another part of her seemed to curl in though, shy and ashamed of her desire. She had seen it in Danny’s eyes, and less obviously so in Jazz’s… they wanted her to meet their parents and live with them. They wanted her to say yes….

“Let me think about it.” Dani finally answered.

“Dani, we’re leaving in the morning.” Jazz countered, just as serious as Danny. “We need a decision before then.”

“I know.” The younger girl put her head in her hands. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll tell you guys in the morning, I swear.”

There was silence for a long moment. Then… “Alright.” Danny sighed, an arm wrapping around her. “Just tell us what you want to do then.”

“Okay.” The girl said quietly, leaning into her embrace.

Dani’s stomach twisted, torn in two. She wanted to keep hanging out with Danny and Jazz like she had this week. All fun and adventure, like an endless, adult-free summer vacation. She wanted to stay with them, to not let them down. But… she wanted the Far Frozen too. To learn to take care of the ice drakes, play hide and seek with the other kids, and get hugged by Frostbite every night.

“No matter what you decide, it’s going to be okay.” Jazz hugged her from the other side.

Dani hoped Jazz was going to be right.

#Danny Phantom #my fic #(not) alone #invisobang 2023 #Invisobang

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msfbgraves · 6 months ago

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What did you think about the 6 trailer? I was totally and hugely disappointed.

Kreese’s arc is so cringe and stupid, his story was over in the season 3 finale. I especially hate how everyone is apparently buddy-buddy (Sam and Tory pullowfight?? Robby and Miggy beat buds??) and also Daniel and Johnny at odds YET AGAIN. I am so tired of their snippy “friendship”; the writers really have run out of ideas for them.

I’m also just dead sick of alcoholic, deadbeat, never wrong Johnny, he hasn’t been interesting and hasn’t developed since the beginning of season 3. And now he’s got a baby too! What about your biological son???

Also: where is best character Terry??? Chozen should be back in Okinawa wooing Kumiko but he’s in Cali with cutiepie Daniel san. Again! And Mike Barnes…did his wife forgive him? Did he get his life back?? Talk about dragging everyone into the mix. The season looks bad.

I’m so sorry Danny boy, you deserved much better!

I'm going to repeat what I've said before, Nonnie, and that is turn your brain off and enjoy Daniel and Johnny get karate married. I'm glad that Ralph, Billy and Marty did well out of it financially - they've shouldered this legacy for so long, they deserve it. Other than that... I hate the mystification of Miyagi. He was a kind fisherman turned handyman who was also a war hero sergeant and a surrogate father to a lost boy. That is enough. He doesn't need to be more. For the rest of it: the writers have fallen into the first pitfall of fanfic. Ooc ness. You can't treat characters as if prior characterisation doesn't matter. They're not yours. Johnny Lawrence isn't working class because you feel that's more sympathetic. He's the King of the country club! Daniel LaRusso isn't closed minded, I'm sorry if that upsets you. The Karate Kid was remarkably non-sexist for its time. Aly's friends were well enough drawn to stand up to Daniel, let alone Aly herself. Cobra Kai's treatment of its female characters makes no sense. Its refusal to let Johnny take any responsibility towards the son he abandoned... while cheering him having another baby (because HUR HUR, real men impregnate), is atrocious. That man, as written, is an a grade loser. He even abandons his business to Kreese. It doesn't matter that Billy Zabka is a better athlete than Ralph Macchio. All of these men, even Terry and Chozen, act as if they have no responsibilities. It's supposed to be a cool male fantasy but at its core, the way the writers glorify Johnny's immaturity is pathetic. I was promised the story of a man who never took responsibility, screwed up his whole life because of it, and now, late in life, through passion and love really tried to get his life together. The drinking and the random fighting not aspirational, but signs of someone in trouble. Him being enough of a free spirit that he can unstuck Daniel, who has become too set in his ways, and Daniel, through Robby, teaching Johnny what it means to be a father and an adult. By the end of S2 nobody should have been teaching karate in the Valley. I thought that it would have been about that. Whatever does Johnny even do for money? Mooch off of Carmen? Do any of these students pay? It's escapism but it's also ridiculous. I would have loved to cheer Johnny from deadbeat boy to adult man but we didn't get that. He's not grown at all! He still drinks, he still fights, he still neglects his son and he's sabotaged the relationship between Daniel and Robby. When Daniel needed help against Terry, Johnny wouldn't listen to him. It took Daniel nearly getting murdered and their great plan? Breaking and entering and massive vandalism. How is only Terry in jail? It's men playing at being boys and making taking responsibility into something unmanly. Do Carmen and Amanda get to play? No. Women take responsibility, not men. Men should be allowed to stay children forever on account of their somewhat larger genetic ability to cause internal bleeding. OK boomers!

#Anti ck #Is it still fun?#Only if you treat it as a fantasy #karate kid #Wasn't a fairytale #A daydream sure #But rooted in reality #This is a bunch of middle aged men having tantrums about adulthood #We already have Peter Pan you guys #Billy Zabka didn't want this for Johnny either #No wonder it feels so forced

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karatekels · 1 year ago

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Omg how slow of me, but I would love it if it would be from CK Terry, idk there's something ab him with his slick back ponytail and his silver hair☺️, he's just so handsome he's a silver fox foresure, thanks ❤️

I’m 100% with you about CK Terry – I find his quiet, controlled plotting a lot more attractive than his… y’know, screaming maniacally at Kreese over the phone in KK3 (though I also appreciate him in the bath!).

Here you are, anon, I hope you enjoy! This is just part 1!

---

Lesson Learned - Part 1

---

Just breathe. Stay focused.

This was the mantra you were repeating constantly to yourself as you paced across the street from the Cobra Kai dojo, five minutes before the evening adult karate class was scheduled to begin. You had been taking classes twice a week for six months now from Sensei Kim Da-Eun, and had been a fast learner, quickly rising to the top of the class in the first few months. But last month, Kim had been joined in leading your classes by another sensei, the owner of the dojo. Having just dominated the All Valley tournament, Sensei Terry Silver had decided to hand off the mentoring of the teenagers to the other senseis over the summer to see how Kim had been training the adult students.

The first time he watched you spar with another student, you’d gotten distracted by his piercing blue eyes and tripped over your own feet.

The third time he showed up to lead the class, you were unable to mimic the move he was trying to teach you, as you couldn’t stop daydreaming about what his strong body could do with you.

And finally, last week as you were drinking from the water fountain, he had surprised you, causing you to gasp and sputter as you coughed up water. He hadn’t even done it on purpose, you were sure, but suddenly hearing his low voice – “Good evening, Y/N.” – had sent a shiver down your spine.

In short, you had embarrassed yourself in front of Terry at every opportunity, and were determined to prove yourself in front of him today. You were a damn good fighter, and, more importantly, a grown woman who did not act like a blushing schoolgirl from being in the presence of an attractive man.

Taking a deep breath to steel yourself, you crossed the street and entered the dojo with confidence.

---

Terry chuckled to himself in his office, having watched you across the street through the dojo’s security cameras. After ten minutes of pacing and muttering to yourself, you had strutted across the street and thrown open the door to Cobra Kai. Not a bad show of bravado, Terry mused, but you’d be more convincing if he couldn’t see the bright blush on your cheeks from across the street.

He was an incredibly confident man – cocky, in fact – but he knew it wasn’t his ego twisting his perception. Anyone that saw you around him would be able to see your infatuation with him, and while he had been with many gorgeous, successful women in the past, something about the way you tried to resist the pull you felt towards him was so damn charming that he found himself entranced by you.

He had first seen you on the security cameras while working in his office one night. You were a quick study, and he was impressed by your rapid progress, but had been focused on running Danny-Boy’s dojo into the ground and couldn’t investigate you further. Now that that had been dealt with – he smirked at the memory – he found he had time to take a special interest in the adult karate class.

You were even more stunning up close than you were through the security camera feed on his laptop, and he found that he couldn’t take his eyes off of you that first day. He maintained his composure and bit back a smirk as you tripped over yourself during that first spar before him, enjoying the ego-stroking as his presence had managed to distract you so thoroughly.

Over the next month, he had had the time of his life toying with you, keeping up the façade of the firm but caring sensei and going out of his way to seeing how he could distract you. He took great pleasure in watching your face – eyes darkened, lips slightly parted, and that blush – as he demonstrated moves in front of the class. The last straw for him had been last week, when he’d spotted you bent over the water fountain, giving him a perfect view of your ass and the curve of your spine, and he’d almost snapped and taken you right there. Instead, he had smirked, silently approaching you and saying hello to you in his huskiest voice, practically purring your name. He was rewarded with a gasp and saw your whole body shiver, and the memory had been making nightly appearances in his fantasies ever since. He hadn’t even touched you yet, but after a month of teasing had decided to put an end to that.

Watching you now, he knew you were more determined than ever to hide your little crush, which served to only strengthen his resolve. He did so love a challenge; it made the victory so much sweeter.

Part 2 here! Part 3 here!

#terry silver #cobra kai #thomas ian griffith #terry silver x reader #sensei targaryen #karate kid #sexy teacher #we're all adults here #teasing

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ashtet · 1 month ago

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Why are there no Stephanie Brown centric dpxdc fics?

Like, she did die for real at first in the comics- her death being faked was a retcon later on. She was 'dead' for infinite crisis and the following year (in universe), only coming back after the one year later arc, shortly before the Batman R.I.P plotline, which was shortly followed by Final Crisis and Bruce being lost in the timestream.

It would so easy to have Steph be a full ghost, or a halfa from Black Mask (who 'killed' her in War Games) experimenting on her with ectoplasm/her having been exposed to ectoplasm before that death.

There are so many ways she could have been introduced to ectoplasm, especially since Cluemaster has pellets with smoke/gasses/explosives in that he used as weapons, which he created himself with varying chemicals -which you could have ectoplasm be a part of.

Especially since Steph was a vigilante for a while before the bats even knew about her, operated mainly in the suburbs (where she lives, in Manchester) after Cluemaster was arrested, and only really teamed up with Tim until after no man's land (which was when Cass joined the bats, Steph first hears about Oracle, and Bruce actually begins to train and support Spoiler) - during no man's land she was still in the suburbs the whole time and she gave birth at the halfway mark or just before the half way mark of the No Mand Land year.

Gotham also canonically has a lazarus pit (which a lot of dpxdc has be connected to ectoplasm), said to be on the outskirts of the city - close to the mainland suburbs maybe?

There are also so many parallels between Steph and Danny that never get explored:

• Steph is suburbs based hero, who lives in the suburb she protects

[Danny is also a suburban, small time hero like Steph (who isn't a part of any young hero groups, or a member of the justice league, etc. She's only in Gotham (pre-death)]

• Steph's family is middle class, but has money issues due to her father's crime and mother's drug addiction

[I'm not sure if the Fentons ever canonically have money issues, but they appear to be middle class as well, and Steph really does have the closest socio-ecenomic level, and therefore pre-hero life experiences, to Danny]

• Steph's dad is Cluemaster, a failed game show host turned criminal, and at once both a brilliant criminal, and a fool who kept getting caught because of his obsession with leaving behind elaborate clues and game show inspired puzzles/hints. He was in prison for so much of her life because of this obsession with crime and clues that Steph hardly spent any time with him.

[The Dr's Fenton are brilliant, genius scientists who can make a portal to a dimension they can't prove exists but are utterly incapable of catching a ghost, never realise Phantom is their son, and spend all their time and lives obsessed with ghost hunting and not raising or caring for their children]

• Steph became a vigilante because of her dad's (criminal) actions, and named herself due to him (she's going to spoil his plans after he stops leaving clues after the latest release from prison, and she will leave them instead so the police will catch him again).

[Danny became a halfa because of the portal, started fighting ghosts because of the portal, and names himself Phantom because of being a halfa]

• Steph isn't trusted/believed in/supported by the majority of the 'real vigilantes/heroes' [batfam, birds of prey] - Bruce switches between ignoring her, disavowing her and ordering everyone else to shut her out, or supporting and training her before going back to kicking her out and telling her to go home and hang up the cape, and other adult heroes who know about her home life and situation only tell her to stop being a vigilante and don't actually really step in to help her.

Black canary helped Steph kick her dad and his criminal buddies - including the Riddler! - out of their house when he comes home from prison but that's the most support Steph ever gets from adults.

Tim is supportive of Steph but also agrees with Bruce she shouldn’t be a vigilante and never hides his disapproval at the start until they grow close. When they're dating, Tim knows Steph's vigilante and civilian ID but Steph only knows him as Robin, Steph grows unhappy and tries to find out his civilian ID despite promising not to, and their relationship isn't the healthiest (on both sides), because they're both vigilante teenagers with complicated views on life and relationships, and not great role models.

Cass starts off not very friendly then slowly become friends with Steph until Gotham Knights Vol 1 #37, where Steph fails a test Bruce set for her and Bruce completely disavows her. Tim is the only bat that still talks to her after that, Cass follows Bruce's orders and their friendship is gone. They don't become close again until Steph is Robin, just before Steph dies.

Cluemaster knows Steph is Spoiler (Batman told him when he was going to pour acid onto her face), and has her kidnapped, threatens to kill her mother and her if she interferes with his plans again, and is a very present and real danger to her.

[Danny isn't supported by any of the adults in his life, has a contentious to outright unfriendly relationship with vigilante Valerie and a romance with civilian Valerie - also with ID complication, and the GIW certainly aren't supporting or safe at all for Phantom. His parents are constantly trying to capture him to "tear him apart molecule by molecule" when they're not neglecting Danny, and Vlad is Vlad.

The only support Danny alway has and can rely on are Sam, Tucker and Jazz.]

[This is all post crisis pre flashpoint canon, I'm not sure about The New 52 and onwards]

Just, even when people are mentioning liminal bats, Steph often gets passed over for Jason Damian and Cass, sometimes Bruce, but Steph died too! She was also "to the point of death" in the retcon where she survived, I don't think it's ever stated whether she truly did flatline but Batman fully believed she died in front of him so it's not impossible.

#dp×dc

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anyathefandom · 2 years ago

Text

To Those Fortunate Enough chapter 40

It's over😭

@burned-lariat

"Dad!"

The three adults looked at the leather sofa, Rocco popping up from behind. He marched to the dining table, a sourness present in his face.

"What's the matter?" Dante asked.

"Danny isn't accepting the rules of the game."

"What's wrong?" Sam cut in.

"Well, he rolled a four, and if you roll a four, you go that many steps. Well, on the fourth step, he was supposed to lose $200. But he's been arguing that I counted wrong and that he has a card from Scout and-"

"Okay, okay," Dante got up, "let's go sort this out."

Sam and Alexis watched as the father and son pair walked back to the coffee table, wide smiles on their faces as they sat in silence.

"He's so great," Sam sighed blissfully.

"He really is," Alexis nodded in response, "A good family man."

Me: Sante being domestic together and the Dante compliments never get old.😌

"Family. Our family," Sam clarified, "Victor's gone. That generation is gone."

"Right…right."

"How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" Alexis repeated, "How do I feel that the last of the more-deplorable Cassadines are gone? Well, honestly, I'm not sure."

"How so?"

"Our family has a dark legacy. The elders that made it what it was, well, they're all gone now. They're nothing but dust and ashes. It feels a bit…surreal to know that that chapter of the family book is pretty much closed, so-to-speak."

Me: This is another thing I wish had happened in canon. We really should've had Alexis reflecting on this but of course it didn't happen because these writers suck.🥴

"Yeah," Sam crossed her arms, "and what's left is you, Valentin, and Irina. And the families that you all have."

"And that gives me some hope. Valentin and I…we braved that storm and we're better off. Charlotte's a lovely young woman now. You have a great family and excellent work as a PI, Kristina's happy at Charlie's, and Molly's thriving as an ADA. There's a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to."

Me: 🗣️ THE DAVIS GIRLS DESERVE MORE SCREEN TIME!

"Son of an assassin and mob kingpin, grandson of two megalomaniacs-"

"And somehow still sane."

"Indeed," the mother and daughter pair laughed as Dante rejoined them.

Me:

We could've had it all y'all.😭

"Yeah," Dante sighed, "It took some convincing, but I had them just redo the round. Scout and I played mediator and rules analyst as it went on. They should be fine now."

"Did you sort out the issue?" Sam asked as he slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Good, good," Alexis replied before standing up, grabbing her purse, "I'm glad."

"Heading out?"

"I am. I want to get a jumpstart on work at the office. Plus, I'm sure Gregory is there waiting anyway. I shouldn't keep him."

"Have fun, Mom," Sam said, watching her leave. Alexis stopped mid-walk and turned back, smiled, and eventually walked out of the front door.

Me: Damn Alexis is still stuck with that man in fanon too😭

"How are you?"

"I'm doing fine, just sitting in a hotel room."

"Hotel room?" Anna raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you flew out here."

"No, no. I'm in Manhattan with Laura and Charlotte. They're currently visiting Lulu."

"Aw," Anna's voice softened, "It must be hard for them to see her like that."

"Absolutely, but according to Charlotte, it was needed. It was actually her idea; she wanted to see her mother."

"I see. I wonder where she got that idea from."

"It truly is a mystery," Valentin chuckled before his tone turned serious, "How is your family?"

Me: So she actually took Dex's advice🥰

"Robin and Patrick love their jobs still," Anna scratched the back of her head, "so that's good. Noah's excelling in school, and Emma is eyeing admission to the WSB in conjunction with her university studies."

"Really. Your granddaughter and my nephew being part of the upcoming trainee class…the WSB has some good recruits on their hands."

"Anna," Robert stuck his head out from the backyard door, "who are you on the phone with?"

Me:

"Robert?" Valentin asked, "Is that you?"

"Oh, good grief-"

"You do know this is a private phone call between two people, don't you?"

"You do know that you're keeping Anna from her family by pestering her, don't you?"

"I don't see it that way."

"Of course you don't."

"Victor's gone now, Robert. You don't have to keep up your hostility."

"I don't act that way because of your father. I act that way because you're you."

"I quite like myself, thank you."

"Okay, that's enough," Anna shook her head, looking at Robert, "I'll be back in soon, okay?"

"Hurry it up."

"Love you, Robert," Valentin called out just as the man returned inside. There was a moment of silence, "Did he hear me?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh well, one day I'll earn his approval."

Me: It's truly a great skill you have with how well you capture these characters because I can actually see this happening on the show.😌

"Trust me: you don't need it. You just need mine, and you definitely have it," Anna giggled for a brief moment before dropping her tone, "How are you doing, with your father gone?"

"I feel fine. I'm glad he's no longer walking the Earth. He harmed my loved ones and his plans were ridiculous. Better he go than me."

"Agreed. You're quite a remarkable man. The world shouldn't lose you…nor should I."

"The only person more remarkable than me is you, darling. I couldn't bear it if I lost you. I eagerly wait for the day you return home."

"That day will come, just you wait."

Me: Valentin and Anna in fanon and canon are goals. I just love their love.🥰

It was the prettiest sight she'd ever seen.

The only light in the room came from the hotel window, moonlight pouring in and coloring everything a gentle blue. Irina sat on her bed, looking out over the city. Part of her ached with exhaustion, the plane ride from Greece taking a lot out of her. Her eyes darted to a number of places to keep herself awake: the empty street, the plethora of stars, the scattered lights from the other buildings.

"Mmph…"

Dex shifted around in the bed next to hers, his torso and legs enveloped in the comforter. His face was half-buried into the pillow, relaxed and calm. Irina turned to look at him, her heart melting at the sight.

Me: Aw their on their trip!!!🥹

"We made it, baby," she cooed, getting to her feet. She walked around the edge of her bed to kneel by his, "We made it, just like I promised."

Me: She really is mother.🫶

She laid a gentle hand on his arm, rubbing the skin as he rested. The sound of a phone vibrating from behind immediately stopped her, and she got back into her bed to answer it.

"Hello?" her voice was quiet.

"Liebling?" Wallace whispered back, "Did I wake you?"

Me:

"Something on your mind?"

"Yes…"

"Want to enlighten me?"

"It's just…I feel so free. I don't think I've ever felt this weightless before, not since I had Dexter."

Irina blinked back tears, her eyes still on Dex as she tried to suppress her emotions. A rush of relief overwhelmed her, and part of her wanted to completely drown in it.

"I…" she took a deep breath, "I'm not at the mercy of my parents. I don't have to constantly look over my shoulder, I don't have to hurt my family to protect them…I can just live."

" ...It's all just hitting you now, isn't it?"

"Yes. Being here in Amsterdam, a place that was nothing more than a prison for Dexter and I…and to be here of our own volition…it's really starting to register with me."

"You deserve your freedom from the dark side of the Cassadines, love. You were mistreated by them for so long; enjoy this feeling. It's been a long time coming."

Me:

"I plan to. I'm going to spend these next few days going around town with Dexter, doing all the things we can before we head back to the States…before I come home to you."

"There's no need to rush your return," Wallace's voice was firm yet gentle, "Stay until you can't, until Dex has to leave for the WSB Academy. Milk every second of being there."

"...I wish you were here with us."

"I wish the same, but it's okay that I'm not. As long as you two are happy and safe, that's what matters to me the most."

"I love you, dearest."

"I love you too," Wallace replied, "Get some sleep for me, alright?"

Me realizing this is going to be the last time I see them:

"We did it, Dexter," her whisper was near-inaudible, "we braved the worst of our family. No longer will we have to worry about your grandparents and their sadistic schemes, nor will we be forced to go our separate ways so brutally."

Dex's breathing was steady and light as she continued, "...I can watch over you and not have to panic that Helena will break into my room and take you. I can rest and know with certainty that when I wake up, you'll still be here."

She felt a lump in her throat, "I…I meant what I said when we reconciled: you saved my life. It wasn't just your quick thinking when Victor went down, it's everything you've done since you were born. I stayed on the ground because of you, I had a heart because of you. If not for the impact you had on my life, I'd have gone through with all of my parents' schemes, from hurting another man I cared for to destroying our family."

She felt her eyes flutter as her body relaxed, "It's true what they say: freedom comes to those fortunate enough to pursue it…and good things come to those fortunate enough to be it. The luck you and I have is…amazing…and I'm thankful…to be here with you."

Me once again: SHE SAID IT!

The words fell from her lips in a mumble: "I love you, baby. Thank you for everything."

This story was such a rollercoaster of emotions from The Heller family having me tearing up to thirsting for Wallace, begrudgingly respecting Victor despite him being delusional, My inner Mex Stan jumping out😂, and basically being bitter this wasn't canon. This fic is definitely⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and you truly deserve the hype you get it!

Sidenote: The playlist is done! Well okay i'm thinking of adding one more song but just know it's coming this week!!!😌

Also: Not you giving me Spy!Emma as well. Like wow can you please just break into the writer's room already!!! Also Dex and Emma training together would be an interesting sequel.👀 You could even do dual pov's. Just something to think about.🫵

#to those fortunate enough #general hospital

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