#Danny is going to treat him like a fly though either way

[noxcheshire]

A one sided crack ship I suddenly got in my delirious hungry state, and need to throw it up so here you go

Joker x Danny

But its JOKER whose one sided feelings for Danny who is really trying his best to ignore this weird clown mf

I was thinking that it could either be actual ‘oh no I have a crush on this guy’ OR Joker being liminal enough and ghostly enough to sense the otherworldliness of Danny Fenton. An otherness that Joker just wants. Like a hungry, starved beast that had finally found a proper meal instead of the bone scraps he’s been trying to scrap off of Batman.

He doesn’t even realize what it is he wants either, only that he wants to pull Danny’s skin back and nestle inside.

Danny on the other hand knows, he’s gone through a few ghostly sessions to understand that Joker is starved, and empty, and already half mad from hunger that he is willing to try and grab a fully loaded half ghost that could still kick his ass.

I just like the idea of everyone’s horror pov of the Joker trying to attract this one civilian guy and Danny just being annoyed by this one scraggly alley cat trying to gnaw on his arm.

[luxaofhesperides]

Dancing in the rain ; requested by @wandixx!

He hadn’t been expecting the Signal to chase after him. It is, after all, well after midnight, and he had seen the vigilante out earlier during the day. 

Maybe the Bats are understaffed tonight, he muses as he leaps over the rooftops, a wild grin on his face. Being on the other side of a chase is a lot of fun, he’s discovering. He can see why Selina enjoys it so much.

Though, it probably has to do more with who’s chasing her than it is the chase itself.

But Danny’s become a bit of an adrenaline junkie after a few years of being a hero, fighting ghosts and governments. He’s not a hero anymore, especially not in Gotham, but being Catwoman’s partner in crime is way more fun than being responsible for everyone’s safety.

It’s like he’s doing anything bad, either. Selina can steal whatever she wants; if they couldn’t protect things against her, then should they really have it? Danny doesn’t focus on jewelry or gems. No, he takes ghost artifacts or items contaminated with ectoplasm back to the realms where they won’t cause problems to any humans. There are enough ecto-contaminated people in this world, solely from Amity Park. Best not to let that number grow.

So here he is, leaping over rain-slicked rooftops and only using a little bit of flying to keep ahead, holding a cursed pocket watch that a ghost had requested he return to them, with the Signal chasing after him, disappearing into shadows and popping up unexpectedly. 

“Stray! Get back here!” Signal yells, and Danny takes a moment to spin on his heel to face the vigilante to stick his tongue out at him, then backflips away.

“I didn’t even steal anything important!” he returns, tossing the pocketwatch in the air ahead, then jumps up to catch it and scales his way up to the roof of the next building. 

“Seriously,” Signal says, suddenly in front of him. “Stop running and we can talk this out.”

“Woah!” Danny tries to get around him, trips over his own feet, and crashes into the Signal’s chest. 

“Careful, there.” He looks up to see the Signal’s smile, and he absolutely can not be blamed for having his half dead heart skip a beat. He’s in the arms of a hero who’s smiling at him so sweetly, what’s a guy to do? “Ready to talk now?”

Danny goes intangible for a moment, smoothly sliding out of the Signa’s grip. “Nope,” he grins, starting up the chase once again.

The rain isn’t very strong, and the drops feel cool against his face as he runs, getting a little more air with each jump as he uses more of his flight to keep ahead. He can hear the Signal chasing after him again, heavy footsteps that start and stop unpredictably as he travels between shadows. 

Just to be safe, Danny stashes the pocket watch inside his chest, leaving his hands free to grab onto the rough brick of the walls and scale them up, aiming to go higher and higher. Maybe if he finds a good building, he can dramatically fall off the edge and fly away invisibly. 

“Got you!” 

The Signal pops up out of the wall and grabs Danny, who yelps and tries to pull his arms away. The Signal is too strong, and his tight grip on Danny’s wrists is warm against the chill of the rain. 

They stand there for a moment, just staring at each other as they try to catch their breath. And then, “Is that any way to treat a guy?” Danny jokes, trying one last time to pull his wrists free.

“It is when it’s you,” the Signal replies. “Man, you sure know how to run.”

“I’ll be sure to put that on my resume for my next heist.”

“Seriously, can we talk?”

Danny eyes him curiously. The other Bats mostly tried to take back whatever it is he’d stolen that night, occasionally trying to get information from him. None of them had outright asked to have a chat with him. The Signal at least has some manners, compared to the rest of him. There’s no harm in sticking around for one conversation.

It helps that the Signal is cute, especially when he had saved Danny a few weeks ago. 

Sue him, he’s a bit soft on the Signal. Wouldn’t anyone be with their favorite hero?

“Alright,” Danny says, relaxing. “Go ahead. Talk.”

“Great! Okay, um.” The Signal bites his lip and Danny should really look away, but his eyes are fixed to his mouth. He doesn’t speak for a solid minute, during which Danny really begins to feel the chill of the rain. “Can I get less comments from the peanut gallery?” he says suddenly.

“What?” Danny laughs, confused.

The Signal sighs. “My comms are on. The others are being annoying. If they wanted to ask you questions, they should have caught you first.”

“Oh, protecting me from the big bad Bats? My hero,” Danny says sweetly, pretending to swoon. Except, the Signal follows his movements, releasing his wrists to catch him by the waist, holding him steady. Danny’s breath hitches, and from how close they are, he has no doubt that the Signal heard it. They freeze for a moment, then the Signal dips him like some fainting Victorian maiden.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind sweeping you up in my arms.” The smirk on his face only lasts a moment before he grimace and says, “I shouldn’t have said that on open comms. Man, they’re annoying. It’s not my fault I know how to flirt.”

Danny…

Well. Danny short circuits for a moment, running the words over his mind again, then blushes so hard he’s sure there’s steam coming off his cheeks. “You’re flirting?” he squeaks. “With me?”

“Flirting,” a new voice confirms, making them both jump, stumbling against each other as Black Bat hops down onto their rooftop. “Both shy and silly. I’m better.”

“You can’t even ask out Spoiler,” the Signal retaliates.

“She can’t even WHAT?” Spoiler yells as she also vaults herself over the alley below to join them. “You want to ask me out?”

Though she doesn’t say anything, Danny can practically feel Black Bat’s glare through her mask. The Signal winces, then says, “Oops.”

“Man, you can keep yourself busy, clearly Sig doesn’t need backup,” Spoiler says. “I need to go on a date with Black Bat. The rest of you suckers are on your own!” And then she grabs Black Bat’s hand and grapples away.

There’s a beat of silence, then Danny and the Signal share a glance and start laughing. 

“Well,” Danny says, “Good for them! Good for them.”

“They’re probably just going to Bat Burger.”

“And are you going to be treating me to a burger any time soon? I should be compensated for this conversation, you know.”

“Please, if I was taking you out on a date, it wouldn’t be to Bat Burger. I’d take you out dancing.”

It sounds like a date his dad would take his mom on. It sounds nice. Danny smiles and leans in closer to the Signal, taking hold of one of his hands. With the other, he puts Signal’s hand on his waist, then brings his own up to the Signal’s shoulder. 

“Why not dance with me now?”

Danny leads them in a few clumsy turns of a waltz, silently thanking Sam for forcing him to take a few ballroom dance lessons with her. The Signal seems a little dazed, following his lead, and when he lightly squeezes Danny’s waist, he shivers. 

Catwoman should be done with Batman soon. They had agreed to meet up at the newly opened Vintage Boutique in Diamond District, and he intends to beat her there. 

Reluctantly, Danny pulls away from the Signal with one final spin, and hops up onto the edge of the roof. “If you can find me during the day,” he says, “Then I’ll dance with you again. See you around, Signal!”

And with that, Danny hops backwards off the roof, free-falling towards the ground before he lets gravity lose hold of him and slips into invisibility, flying up just as the Signal peers over the edge, searching for him.

Unable to help himself, Danny floats closer until he can give the Signal a quick kiss on the cheek, then flies off, grinning wildly. 

He certainly can’t wait to see the Signal again. 

Maybe if he hired a few guys to pretend to rough him up while Signal’s out patrolling…

Well, either way, this cat is already half dead so he can jump straight to satisfaction bringing him back. And, hopefully, back into Signal’s arms again when they won’t be interrupted by other Bats. 

He’s already looking forward to it.

. . .

[send me a ghostlights prompt!]

[semperamans]

clo i need to know your thoughts on cal, johnny and benny all falling for the same, sweet local girl! <3 love ya xoxo

suse how could you do this to me :( currently trying not to scream cry and throw up in the coffee shop :( this somehow turned into jealous!danny? dunno how! kinda long, so ya gotta read more xo

benny says your name like it's this sacred thing and danny knows he's in for a treat. the sun grows weary as she dips beneath the tree line, but danny is unyielding; bony forearms braced on the tops of his thighs, microphone edging just a bit closer to his pondering interviewee. benny blows a stream of smoke from the corner of his mouth, watching as it mingles with the cotton candy clouds and it's hard, danny thinks, to be around benny because everything he does is so damn picturesque. he's filled more than three rolls of film with just benny and yeah, he's gotta be mindful because film isn't cheap and he's broke but there's something about the way benny looks; leather cut laying just so over his shirtless form, white levis baggy from age, speckled with either dirt or blood, he doesn't know, and he's just so cool that it's impossible to resist. danny snaps a quick picture, scolds himself as the ticker tells him he's got four shots left, then turns his chin to watch as benny plucks the near-extinguished cigarette from between his teeth, flicking it into the grass. "what'dya wanna know about her?" "well," danny shifts in the creaky lawnchair, "y'know, i've talked to the guys and they, uh, they say she's the best thing that's happened to the club. girls are sayin' it too, n'not just cus she made you nasty bastards start washing your hands." benny is chuckling, pillowy lips damp from the swipe of his tongue. "so what is it about her?" danny asks then waits and waits and waits as benny sits, per usual, in silence. and, okay, maybe this isn't going as well as danny hoped and now he's scrambling, throwing haphazard sentences around his brain, but then benny is speaking and holy shit he's speaking. danny has never heard him say more than fifteen words but now he's a leaky faucet "she's good - everythin' about her - doesn't have a mean bone in her body, y'know? gave all've us a chance, gave me a chance." benny shakes his head as though he still can't believe it then stops, turning his head at the faint sound of the screendoor closing and there you are in a pair of cutoff overalls, hair pulled back with a crocheted bandana and danny can see it, the whole angelic thing. you pay neither of them any mind, tending instead to the flowers 'round the porch. your little yellow watering can is cute and danny can see the fondness constricting the base of benny's throat. "think m'biased." benny says, turning back to face danny. "but 've said it once and i'll say it till they throw me in the ground: she's heaven sent. an' i hope imma good enough man to see her again when i get where i'm goin'." danny leaves with a rekindled belief in love and hopes that maybe one day he’ll be lucky enough to be loved the way benny is.

it's been three weeks since benny's interview and danny can't help but notice things. he carries this leather notebook around - jotting down names and places and tape numbers - but the page he keeps coming back to is one he scribbled across a few days ago. the thing about benny's girl is that she isn't just benny's girl. he's circled it three times for good measure because benny's girl doesn't just belong to benny - sure, maybe in the ways it matters - but every single soul adores her; lights up when she walks in and it sure is a sight to see fifty or so bikers grinning and stumbling over their own feet for this girl who looks like she couldn't harm a fuckin' fly. if she had a male equivalent danny reckons it would be cal. cal with a personality as warm as fire, who talks to everyone, and cracks jokes, and is unabashedly himself. but cal has a temper and it shows during a run to akron. danny is interviewing zipco when he hears the commotion then suddenly everyone is stampeding toward two swinging figures and he knows this is where he steps back. it's a full-on brawl now and zipco sure as shit wasn't going to stay and yap while there was chaos amuck, so danny plops down, lights a cigarette and waits. "s'guy called her a bitch," cal says and danny almost jumps out of his fuckin' skin. where did the sun go? he scrambles to a sitting position, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth and smacking the record button on his cassette recorder. "what?" "some fuckin' prick called her a bitch." cal's got a handful of ice cubes pressed to his busted jaw and because the man knows no personal space a bloody mix has dripped onto danny's pant leg. "her?" danny's not following but the beat up boy tips his head and danny should've known. it's you. of course it's you. "not gonna let nobody talk to her like that. i don't take too kindly for no one talkin' ill to a lady, but 'specially her. s'the most fucked up shit you can do." that's when danny realizes that cal has it too. it's the same look benny had when you came out of the house - that dumb, lovesick gaze - but cal's is laced with longing and danny actually feels bad for him. "she sure is something." he says, testing the waters. he's out of cigarettes so his nimble fingers pluck a handful of grass from beside his boot. "sure is." cal takes a seat, reaching behind danny to grab the jug of strong-smelling alcohol. "never met anyone like 'er. been everywhere; hell to fuckin' Houston, never met a girl like her before." he takes a deep swig, grimaces, then swallows. "benny sure is lucky, ain't he?" danny says, peering under his lashes at the golden-haired boy and he laughs. "we're all lucky. she's the sweetest of the sunflowers, man. she's like the fuckin' sun. least she is to me - to us." poor bastard, danny thinks. poor infatuated bastard.

"where ya gonna be sittin', baby?" "with johnny." "good girl, c'mere gimmie a kiss." danny's at the bar nursing a beer and a hangover and probably a concussion and you know what? this kinda talk doesn't phase him anymore. he's used to it by now; sure he doesn't know the rules, but it's none of his business anyway and in his four months with the club he's learned, above all else, that bikers are fuckin' weird. still danny finds you, watches as benny grabs your chin bringing you up up up onto your tiptoes before planting delicate kisses onto your giggling mouth. "you go see 'em." it's a whisper and danny's not trying to eavesdrop but he finds himself leaning closer. "looks like he needs some cheerin' up." and maybe danny is still invested because he turns, following you as you float over to johnny's table where he's hunched over an intimidating stack of papers. you say something, but your sweet voice is too quiet over the racket and danny cares so he stands, goes over to the pinball machine, but doesn't turn it on. "hi, pretty." johnny reaches over, takes your hand, tugs you closer and you giggle, bracing your hands on his broad shoulders and this is different. none of the other guys put their hands on you - just benny, just benny because he's yours and you're his but johnny does it so naturally danny knows he's done it before. "what's goin' on, old man?" your voice drips nothing but affection and johnny smiles around his cigarette and launches into club dues and the upcoming springfield run and the dwindling bail fund and danny starts losing interest; his feet are going numb and there's only so much longer he can stand there pretending to fucking play pinball before someone catches on but then you're on johnny's lap and yeah this never happens. danny has seen benny beat the dog shit out of a guy for even suggesting that you sit next to him but now here you are, balanced on one of johnny's broad thighs, spinning his wedding band around and around his finger and benny sees, fucking smiles at the sight, and drops his head, lining up his next shot at the pool table. danny realizes you're talking and running your hand up and down johnny's arm as you validate his feelings and strategize fundraising plans and promise to bake some of your infamous strawberry shortcake bites. johnny's promised hand lays so delicately upon your cheek danny thinks he may kiss you but thank fuck he doesn't because danny'd surely blow his cover and a load in his pants because, okay, yeah, he gets it. knows now why everyone loves you, has started to catch feelings of his own but he's not johnny or benny and he'll never be able to touch you the way he wants so he guesses he'll join the ranks with cal as just another distant admirer. just another love struck bastard.

[elizabethemerald]

A Shade Darker than Red: Part 6

Jason was exploring the Infinite Realms when he felt something pull at him. Danny had trained him in enough of the common ghost skills that he would be safe exploring on his own. Apparently he, as a brand new ghost and Danny’s trainee, fell under the aegis of Danny’s crown. Few ghosts would seriously attack him and he was now skilled enough that any of the playful bouts with the other ghosts could go either way. He was obviously still not as skilled as the ghosts who had centuries to train, and was nowhere close to Danny’s own level, (a fact that irked him to no end). 

When he first felt the tug, stubborn and insistent pulling on something inside him, he carefully looked around like he had been taught by Danny. The situational awareness he had been previously been trained in was next to useless in the endless green sea of the Realms. He was about to dismiss the strange feeling when he couldn’t find any source to the possible threat. 

Then the tug began to burn. He screamed in pain and fear as something yanked on his core. Danny said the ghost’s core was everything to them, brain and heart and soul in one, and something was pulling on his fit to pull it from his body. He screamed for Danny, screamed into the ectoplasm of the Zone, just like he did when he first formed. And just like when he first formed, Danny answered. The King of All Ghosts bent the very Infinite Realms themselves to fly to Jason’s side. 

Danny wrapped him in his impossibly large and powerful aura, surrounded him as the pull became too strong to resist and took the pull upon himself. Jason sighed in relief as the burning in his core eased. He could now focus enough to feel the emotions behind the pull. There was grief and muted rage and grief and sorrow and grief and grief and grief and…

A crackling tear opened in the Realms surrounding them and they both slipped through, invisible and silent to hover in the light of the sun over a large crowd. For a moment Jason felt like he was drowning in the grief of the people below him before he could focus on what was happening. He and Danny had emerged in the air above a funeral. His funeral. 

.

The day of Jason’s funeral, his second funeral, was a bright and sunny one. Dick felt it was a betrayal. The weather of Gotham, normally so gloomy and dark, was bright when it should have been in mourning just like him. 

There was a lot of debate among his remaining siblings about what to do with Jason’s body. After his first death, Jason had been buried on the grounds of Wayne Manor next to Thomas and Martha. Bruce thought it was fitting that his son was buried next to his parents. However once Jason came back, the manor was never really his home again. He had never felt welcomed there, no matter how much his siblings and Alfred had tried. Even though Bruce was currently staying on the Watchtower they didn’t want to risk it. 

Eventually they decided on a small plot in an abandoned lot in Crime Alley. That was where Jason was born, where he lived, and where he died. They would lay him to rest there. Tim handled the purchase of the lot, which was long overgrown and the locals treated it almost as a park. Seemed like the perfect place to lay him to rest. 

They had expected it to be just a private affair, only siblings and Alfred. Except apparently word got out that not only was Jason getting buried, but that Jason was also the Red Hood. Hood’s lieutenants came along with some of the working girls from the Alley. The kids Jason had saved or protected filled out most of the rest of the seats. Really it was a packed house. All here to grieve Jason and acknowledge his impact on their lives. 

There were no capes present. The family were dressed in their civilian attire. Roy and Kori were patrolling the rest of Gotham and would come to pay their own respects later. The Justice League not only hadn’t been invited, they had been explicitly banned from the funeral and the city. Any reporters that tried to enter the lot were forcibly removed by members of Hood’s gang. 

Dick, Tim, Cass and Steph were the pallbearers of Jason’s second coffin. Damian wanted to take part but he was too short, so he and Duke formed an honor guard on either side of the coffin. They choose a simple pinewood box, rather than the more expensive modern coffins. Jason had managed to dig himself out of the grave once, if he had to do it again they wanted to make it easier. There was also a bevy of sensors to detect movement and an emergency beacon, just in case. Damian had even slipped one of his favorite daggers into the coffin so Jason could use it to dig himself out if he needed to. 

The family sans Bruce stood around the grave to say their piece. 

Dick sobbed as he told Jason how much he loved him, and how he was sorry he hadn’t been there for him. He tossed his flower onto the coffin. 

Cass signed her farewell. Saying simply that she loved him. Would always love him and that he was her brother. She set her flower onto the coffin. 

Tim’s farewell was given in a monotone as he tried to reign in his wild emotions. He apologized for taking Jason’s spot the first time. He gave his own forgiveness for Jason’s attempts on his life. He had to turn away and press his face to Dick’s shoulder after he put his flower on his coffin. 

Duke called Jason a brother, a friend and a fighter till the end. He said the hole Jason had left was one that could never be filled. He set his flower on the grave and held Steph while she cried. 

Barbara told her favorite story of Jason, from a time when she was Batgirl and he was Robin, though she kept her real meaning hidden in metaphor. She tossed her flower on his coffin and pulled Dick’s hand to her shoulder. 

Damian sounded furious as he set his flower on Jason’s coffin. His hands shook with suppressed rage, the boy unable to give voice to his grief in any way other than anger. He promised Jason that he would continue to protect Crime Alley in his stead. 

Steph’s voice cracked and broke as she cried through her farewell. She said that Jason was like a brother to her, that she missed the way he cooked and their pranking wars. She dropped her flower from on the coffin then had to grab Cass in a tight hug, hiding her face from the gathered audience. 

Alfred was the last of the family to say his farewell. He placed his flower with the same precision and elegance he brought to every part of his life. If his hands shook when he pulled it back, then no one mentioned it. He gave his apologies and a soft farewell of, “May his memory be a blessing.” 

The family stepped back, standing to the side to allow the other mourners to step forward, but they were hardly the last to say their goodbyes to Jason. All manner of people from Crime Alley came up to the grave with Jason’s coffin laying in it. Old grannies from corner stores that Hood had protected, thugs and gangsters of every persuasion who had worked for former crime lord stepped forward and gave their respects, prostitutes who had worked the street corners under his watchful eye sobbed as they spoke, and children he had saved from kidnappers came forward, some not even understanding what they were doing but they still laid flowers on the coffin. 

Some of those who said their farewells came up to the family, some offered hugs, handshakes, or just a quiet hand on their shoulders. Some of the grannies offered food for the family, saying they were always welcome. Some of the kids offered drawings that drew fresh tears from everyone present. 

Eventually the crowd tapered down and drew back. Jason’s coffin was almost completely covered in a pile of flowers. An entire neighborhood united behind one family over the death of one man. If there was ever a greater testament to the impact Jason had made on the lives of those around him, Dick hadn’t seen it. 

As most of the crowd left the lot one of Hood’s lieutenants pulled Dick aside, a hand on his shoulder. Dick wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to someone who was part of Jason’s criminal empire, but from what the man said over the coffin, Dick had to assume the two were close. 

“Do you know who did this to him?” The man asked. 

Dick weighed his response, it was an incredibly inappropriate question to ask at a funeral, but he knew the criminal underworld of Gotham worked on a different wavelength than the rest of the city. In the end his fury at Bruce won out. 

“The Bat.” 

The man’s face soured and he growled. 

“If any of those capes show their faces in Crime Alley, we’ll fill them full of lead for you.” 

That wasn’t what Dick wanted. That wasn’t what Jason would have wanted he hoped. In his hurry to correct the misimpression he let his mouth run ahead of his brain for a moment. 

“We didn’t want this to happen.” 

Even as his voice cracked on the words, he wished he could pull them back. The man’s eyebrows rose and Dick could watch the calculating look on his face as he turned and examined the rest of the family in turn. Dick was about to panic as the man turned back to him. 

“Don’t you worry none, Red Hood cared for you, even if he didn’t always say it. We’ll keep the Alley running just like he would have wanted it.” He hesitated for a moment longer. “I can’t believe the Bat finally crossed his line. Who would have thought that Batman would kill Red Hood?” 

.

Jason needed to leave. He needed to go. 

He had cried in Danny’s arms as each of his siblings said their farewells. He had cried as the flowers on his coffin had piled higher and higher, each person there remembering and mourning him in their own way. Danny had held him, swathed in his aura, keeping them silent, invisible and intangible throughout the proceedings. 

But now he needed to leave. 

Batman had killed him. Bruce had killed him. 

Like a flash the memories of his second death rushed through him. 

He remembered tailing Bruce to an Alley, aiming to question him on what he was doing in his turf. Bruce had triggered something that took out his coms, then led him into a nearby building. They talked, Bruce told him that his criminal activities were too much, that he would have to take him into Arkham. They fought. Bruce kept punching long after Jason was beaten. 

Jason never would have thought that Bruce would have finally crossed his own line and murder him. Bruce, who had refused to kill the Joker, no matter how many lives he had taken, no matter that he had taken his own son from him, had decided that Jason was human enough to be worth saving. He wasn’t human enough to count against Bruce’s rule. 

Danny pulled the two of them back into the Infinite Realms as Jason hyperventilated even though he no longer needed to breathe. He couldn’t hear more than the ringing in his ears, though he could see Danny’s lips moving. Danny surrounded himself in a green, protective bubble, and kept mouthing something. 

“Let it out. Let it out Jason.” 

Jason threw his head back and wailed. He put his grief, his rage, his betrayal into the wail, every ounce of power he could behind it. He wailed and wailed, the very ectoplasm in the air around them shivering and quaking in the face of his grief. Danny stood, safe behind his shield and watched as he wailed and watched as the wail died on his lips. And Danny was there again, wrapping him up tight in a full body hug, allowing Jason to rest in the safety of his overwhelmingly powerful aura. Darkness crept into his vision, before he finally passed out.

[ajitated]

Kitsune au Preview (ch1) by ajility

Ectoberhaunt 2021, Day 18, Spider Lily (treat)

(Originally posted 10 November 2021)

This is an unbeta'd version of the first chapter for a much longer kitsune au fic I'm writing! @13thcat originally came up with kitsune au, though I'll be taking my version in a different direction :3c

Summary: Being from a family that has a history in exorcism mostly meant that he gets laughed at in school and his parents spend too much time building ridiculous weapons to fight things that don't exist. ...And then his parents decided to move to Japan, halfway through Danny's first year of high school, and he quickly learns that spirits do exist, and that finding them is a lot easier than his parents led him to believe.

Keep reading, or check it out on ao3!

Ch01 Sneak-peek:

Danny knows he’s dreaming in the same way that you know something terrible is going to happen to the protagonist in the beginning of a horror movie; it’s a fact, there’s nothing that can be done about it, but you still flinch when it happens, you still hold yourself back from yelling at the screen and telling the characters ‘no! don’t go in there!’

He’s in a forest, the same forest he always sees in his dreams, with trees too tall and wide to really exist and little dancing lights that flicker at the edges of his vision. There are a lot of things like the lights, that lurk and taunt and exist only until he tries to look at them more directly, but the lights are the most prevalent… and the only ones he doesn’t really mind.

At least they don’t make him feel like he’s being watched, like there’s something silently laughing at him and waiting for him to come just a little bit closer so it can pounce.

Leaves rustle and a stick snaps behind him. Danny spins around, already growling and ready to protect himself, but… there’s nothing there. Nothing he can see, at least.

Danny knows that ghosts aren’t real, when he’s awake — or at least, not real in the way his parents think they are. They don’t go around haunting and killing the living. They don’t hide items that are important to people. They aren’t malevolent, they aren’t the source of all living people’s problems, and they most certainly don’t need to be hunted with special weapons.

Maybe things were different in the past, he doesn’t technically have proof that they’re not real… but despite being from a long line of exorcists, his parents don’t have proof that they are real, either. You would think that a family of exorcists would have some sort of proof, if the things they exorcise actually exist.

But things aren’t as clear-cut, when he’s dreaming. Dream-him isn’t bothered by things like reality and science; he takes note of the little lights dancing just out of focus and thinks ‘will-o-wisps’. He sees strange shadowy shapes creeping between trees and thinks ‘bakemono’.

He does things like growl and bear his teeth at potential threats that never actually turn visible.

It’s probably a good thing he hardly ever remembers the dreams upon waking, because there are a lot of invisible potential threats in the forest, and it’d be really bad if Danny picked up a habit and started reacting to things by growling when he’s awake, too.

A gust of wind. More rustling leaves. A low growl builds in the back of his throat. A shadow starts building up just off to his right side, something growls back, and Danny slaps a paper tag in the direction of the shadow before taking off, twisting and weaving between the trees.

Branches almost seem to reach out for him but he’s gone before they can ever make contact, moving so quickly it’s almost like he’s flying, feet never even touching the ground.

He makes it to a stone path and stops for just a second, orienting himself and choosing a direction before continuing to run. He can just make out a splash of bright red through the trees and he grins — a torii gate. He must be near the entrance, if he can just make it through the gate-

A teasing laugh sounds out, directly next to his ear, and Danny lashes out with sharpened claws even as he’s jumping away. How did one get so close-?

A ripped paper tag drifts to the ground.

“Ohh, your reaction time is getting better,” a voice teases, from directly in front of him.

He growls in frustration, because he still can’t see the speaker. How can he deal with a spirit, if he can’t tell what type it is?

“You don’t want to step through that gate, though,” the speaker continues, either ignoring the fact he can’t see them or unaware of it.

“Why not?” Danny demands, “I want to go home.”

“And so did all of us, at one point or another,” the voice agrees, and it’d almost be sympathetic if the sharp edge of amusement wasn’t still present, “but that doesn’t make it a good idea.”

“So, what? You want me to wander around this forest forever?” Danny says sarcastically.

“No, of course not. This world has much more than a single forest, and you have a whole lot to learn.”

There’s a pause. He thinks that maybe they left or just don’t want to give him any real explanation, but then there’s a soft pressure on the back of his neck and the voice is directly by his ear again.

“We’ll see each other soon, but for now… What I want, is for you to wake up, little fox. Before you forget how.”

-

Danny wakes with a start, only to get pulled back by his seatbelt and to find Jazz staring at him with raised eyebrows. He grasps at the remnants of his dream, trying to hold on to anything at all, but it’s already fading.

His fingers feel weirdly blunted and tingly, there’s an uncomfortable pressure in his jaw, and even the way he’s sitting feels wrong, like he shouldn’t be able to lean back in a car like this. He’s felt like this after just waking up before but usually it isn’t quite this vivid.

It’d probably help if he could remember what he dreams about — are they even dreams? Maybe it’s nightmares — but all he can call up is the thought of running, needing to run, and an impression of teasing laughter. He sighs.

“We’re almost there, honey,” Maddie says, “and look! There’s the school you two will be attending now. It looks nice.”

“It looks old,” Danny grumbles, crossing his arms. What a way to start a New Year: another weird dream, and an overly long trip because his parents decided they’re going to move to Japan halfway through a school year. “Why couldn’t we at least wait until summer for this?”

“The shrine won’t sit there forever, Danno! Great grandpa Walker left it to us, and it’s our duty to uphold the Fenton family name and hunt down those ghosts!” Jack says, with way more excitement than the situation warrants.

“Spirits, Jack. We have to be respectful,” Maddie reminds him.

Jack nods and brandishes the ecto-gun he’s been polishing since they got off the plane and started driving. “Right! Maybe your school will be haunted, wouldn’t that be exciting? It could be our first job in Japan!” He points the gun in the direction of the school as they drive past.

Jazz puts a bookmark in the book she hasn’t stopped reading since they left, and snaps it shut. “I’ll pass on that, actually. I plan on getting an education at school, not performing exorcisms.”

“Oh come on kids, quit whining. It’s fun to move to a new place, it’ll be an adventure!” Maddie insists, glancing back at them for a second. This leads to them almost missing a turn, and she dramatically spins the wheel to make up for it with a “Whoops!”

Jazz’s book slides into Danny’s leg, and Jazz probably would’ve slid into him too if it weren’t for their seat-belts. The road gets bumpier, then turns into dirt and starts slanting up. Danny suddenly has a very bad feeling about this.

Jazz does too, if the way it looks like she suddenly swallowed a lemon is anything to go by. “...mom? Why are we heading up the mountain now?”

“We’ve talked about this, sweetie. We’re here to take over the upkeep of a shrine.”

“Yes,” Jazz replies slowly, “but that doesn’t explain why we’re heading up a mountain when we’re supposed to be moving into our new living space today.”

“The shrine is our new living space Jazzypants!” Jack booms, “and everyone knows that shrines have to be on mountains! It’ll be great, what better way to learn more about the gho- er, spirits on this side of the world than to live right in a real shrine?”

Danny is pretty sure that isn’t true, that there’s no requirement that says shrines have to be on mountains, but arguing it is probably a moot point. It wouldn’t change the fact that this shrine seems to be on a mountain, and that his parents have, evidently, decided they’re going to live in it. Are you supposed to live in shrines?

He exchanges a glance with Jazz. At least they’re both annoyed about this, and Jazz hasn’t been able to muster up her ‘look on the bright side of things!’ attitude yet. They’re going to have to walk down a mountain every day to get to school, just because their parents are obsessed with ghosts, despite the fact that they’ve never even seen a real ghost — or spirit, as they’ve started insisting ever since they first learned of the shrine great grandfather left them.

Danny never met his great grandfather. He didn’t even know they still had any family living in Japan, but maybe if he’d known, he would’ve been able to beg the man not to leave a shrine to his parents.

Jazz leans over and whispers, “...maybe it won’t be that bad? People probably don’t send spam mail to shrines, and mom and dad can’t attach any weird giant signs to it, right? It’d be too disrespectful.”

When the shrine comes into view, any potential optimism they’ve dredged up disappears just as quickly as Danny’s memories of his dream did.

It might have been beautiful, once upon a time, but now… well. He’s pretty sure their grandfather hadn’t been doing any upkeep for at least a few years now. The paint is cracked and peeling and it looks entirely abandoned, some plants have even started wrapping around the wood and growing up through cracks.

The inside isn’t any better. Some of the wood is rotting and there are even more spiderwebs. The only upside is that since their grandfather lived there for so long, there are valid living areas, even if they desperately need to be cleaned and fixed up. Upon seeing the outside, Danny had been half worried that there wouldn’t be a kitchen or bathroom or bedrooms.

...actually, maybe it would’ve been better if there hadn’t been a kitchen. Then they would’ve had to find an alternate living situation, and their parents wouldn’t be excitedly discussing how they’re going to fix up the place and what additions they should add on.

Their parent’s enthusiasm hasn’t wavered at all, despite the state the shrine is in — and worse, the fact this is a shrine doesn’t seem to be stopping them from pulling out plans for a lab and workshop space. Now that it’s happening, he isn’t sure why he and Jazz expected otherwise; their parents are nothing if not predictable. At least the living quarters are separate from the main part of the shrine.

Jazz glances at him and offers a weak smile. “At least we’ll get to learn more about the other half of our heritage?”

Danny isn’t sure that’ll make up for everything else, but he nods. At least Jazz can work up some excitement over learning about the culture.

All he’s thinking about is Amity Park and Nasty Burger and everything else they left behind. He’s interested in learning more about Japan too, of course, but… he would’ve preferred to do it through the internet. Or anime. Or anything less extreme than ‘move to the country with roughly 24 hours of warning.’

The moving truck has already dropped off all their stuff, at least. His parents start bringing in all the larger boxes and furniture, while he and Jazz bring in small boxes and suitcases… then start the arduous task of cleaning.

Danny stops and turns around more than once, quite certain something is watching him from the forest that surrounds the shrine, but nothing is ever there.

They work late into the night, getting rid of all the spiderwebs and dirt first. The next day, they start going through cabinets and counters and shelves, dusting and clearing out any of the random stuff they find.

It’s mostly empty, but Danny finds a few old papers with calligraphy he can’t read and a surprisingly nice teapot. It’s heavy and black, probably cast iron, with a gold flower design going around the outside. It feels strangely warm when he picks it up, but he can’t get the lid off, so it must be a decorative piece.

He sets it down on the counter and goes to get Jazz, intending to show her the teapot and see if she can open it… but it’s gone when they walk back over.

“...so?” Jazz asks, glancing around the room with a raised eyebrow. “I thought you found a fancy teapot.”

Danny goes through the cabinets quickly, but those are empty too. “I left it right there, it was black and had gold designs!”

Jazz stares at the counter that very clearly has nothing on it. “...mhm. I think the dust might be getting to your head. Oh!” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a little rectangular charm. “I picked this up earlier, here. It’s an ‘omamori,’ meant for luck and protection. You can keep it in your pocket or hang it off a bag, and when it gets really dirty or a year passes, you replace it.”

Danny examines the little charm for a second, silk embroidered with gold thread, then puts it in his pocket.

“Shrines usually sell these,” she continues, “so we might end up having a whole bunch here. I have no idea what mom and dad plan on doing besides the exorcism stuff, but… we’ll probably have to start doing some shrine stuff too, right? It’s just a local shrine, but people must still know it’s here, so we might get visitors… I have to research it more.”

Right. The exorcism stuff. Danny wonders if people here will be more open to the idea, or if they’ll get scoffed at and laughed at again — no one in the US ever took them seriously, though they did occasionally get accused of being devil worshipers.

“Thanks for the charm, Jazz,” he replies, instead of addressing any of the other stuff. He has no idea what they’ll end up doing with the shrine, after all, and with how long repairs and fixing everything up is going to take… well. There’s plenty of time for his sister to research.

Jazz smiles and nods. “There’s a bunch of different types, I’ll have to figure out what each is for. For now though, let’s go outside? I think it’s time for some fresh air. We can finish inside once mom and dad decide where they actually want to put everything.”

There’s a loud crash as something is dropped in the other room, quickly followed by Jack shouting, “I’m ok!”

“...yeah, outside sounds like a good plan,” Danny agrees, and they go to sit on the freshly swept steps to the shrine.

Danny takes a moment to actually look at the area surrounding them for the first time. They’re around three fourths of the way up the mountain, and there’s a stone path that splits in two right outside the gate, one side going down the mountain and the other leading farther up, disappearing into the trees. There must be something at the top of the mountain then, right? Besides more trees, since it seems to mostly be forest here.

He turns his attention to the gate, which desperately needs a paint job, and notices a splash of color he hadn’t seen when they first drove up. Spider lilies. Had those been there yesterday?

“Hey Jazz,” he asks, pointing at the flowers, “were the spider lilies there when we drove up yesterday? I didn’t notice them.” Considering they’re the only part of the shrine that’s bright red, what with everything else being so faded, he definitely should’ve noticed them.

“Spider lilies?” Jazz repeats, looking towards the gate. “Oh. Those are red poppies, Danny. I’ll have to get you a book on plants, whenever we find out where the nearest library is… They were there, they just hadn’t been in bloom when we arrived.”

Not being in bloom is a good enough reason for him to miss them, but… Danny is pretty certain those are spider lilies. He might not be great at plants, but even he knows that poppies are small and roundish, and those flowers are large and spindly.

Maybe he’ll get Jazz a book on plants instead.

Whatever.

He stands up and stretches. “I’m gonna go for a walk. Be back soon, ok?”

Jazz sighs and also stands, brushing off her pants. “Ok. I’ll do a little more cleaning, maybe try to convince mom and dad to get our beds set up for tonight. Be careful?”

“Yeah yeah,” Danny replies, already heading towards the forest. “I’ve got the charm you gave me, I’ll be fine!”

As he walks through the gate, he stops for a second to take a closer look at the flowers and determines that yep, they’re definitely spider lilies. He’ll have to make fun of Jazz later, for thinking they’re poppies… Maybe she needs glasses? But for now, he heads up the path. It’s time to find out what’s at the top of the mountain.

-

Check it out on ao3 for notes and more info.

[brokeitwiththepowerofmathamatics]

All This for New Clothes

Danny needed a favor, and while he didn't want to ask Vlad for help. He wasn't expecting Vlad to look at him with disappointment and say, "Daniel, I want you to be my apprentice; of course I’ll help! Why wouldn’t I?"

Vlad blinked as he processed what Danny had said, or rather what he had demanded. But after a rather excruciating silence that began to get uncomfortable, Vlad narrowed his eyes, sighed, and uttered with the most disappointed tone Danny had ever heard from him: “Daniel, I want you to be my apprentice; of course I’ll help! Why wouldn’t I?”

Danny frowned and narrowed his eyes, trying to find the trick in that statement. The words took him by surprise. He looked Vlad up and down, only finding disappointment in his gaze.  He knew Vlad. Vlad was a creep, a weirdo, and a loser. There had to be a reason why Vlad was willing to help.

Normally, Danny would never actually stoop so low to ask Vlad for help, but well…

He needed a suit in less than twenty-four hours, and he didn’t even know where to get one.

Vlad stood up from his desk and walked around the large slab of mahogany. He pulled a phone out of a pocket inside his suit jacket (and just why was he wearing his suit this late at night, anyways?) as he walked to the door, where he paused to type something in his phone, before looking up. He waved to have Danny follow him. “Come along, Daniel.”

Danny hated when people called him Daniel. It bothered him. The only people who called him Daniel were people he either didn’t know, or who were talking down to him.

But he also knew Vlad wouldn’t stop that, even if he asked him to.

However, as Danny walked with Vlad through his mansion, the silence began to get to him. Danny didn’t do silence. He always had noise around him; games, music, bantering with ghosts, joking with Sam and Tucker…

The whirl of the portal…

No, Danny didn’t do silence.

So he decided to ask the question. “Why do you do that?”

Vlad paused and looked up from his phone. He tilted his head and glanced between here and the door to his office, and then looked back at Danny with a raised eyebrow. “Do what?”

“That…” Danny repeated, getting an eye roll out of Vlad. “You always call me Daniel. I’ve told you not to.”

“Ah…” Vlad said, looking forward and continuing to walk. Danny followed a step behind him, half expecting Vlad to ignore him entirely. “The reason why I call you Daniel, is… well… to be frank, is to show respect.”

“You’re… showing me respect by not calling me what I want you to?” Danny scoffed as he folded his arms. He didn’t break stride, instead continuing to walk with Vlad, though he was beginning to wonder why they weren’t just flying where they needed to go.  

Vlad let out a hum. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” he muttered. “No, I call you Daniel instead of Danny because Danny is what one would call a friend or a child. I call you by your given name because while I do mock you for your age, to truly treat you as a child would be a disservice to what you are.”

“A halfa like you?” Danny scoffed again.

“No; a warrior, and a threat,” Vlad said, stopping for just a moment to give Danny all of his attention. Danny paused as well, taking a step back as Vlad focused on him. But just as quickly, Vlad continued again, leaving Danny scrambling to catch up.

“A threat?” Danny muttered. He couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice as he caught up with Vlad again.

This time, Vlad scoffed. He shook his head and said, “Come now, Daniel, you don’t really believe that you aren’t a threat? You have had your powers for, what? A year? And while you have never really beaten me, you’ve gotten close. Closer than any other being in the ghost zone.”

“You mean you didn’t get your butt handed to you by Pariah?”

“Pariah might have won the battle, but Daniel,” Vlad began, looking at Danny. He held out his hand in front of him and smiled as a glow began to emanate from his hand. “He did not win the war.”

Danny’s eyes widened as a crown appeared in Vlad’s hand. The burnished metal glowed in his hand, five spikes reaching up toward the sky. A heartbeat later, flames burst out from within it, obscuring the two spikes furthest away from Danny and giving it a shape he knew very well.  

The Crown of Fire vanished with a wave of Vlad’s hand, but Danny’s eyes stared, transfixed, at where it had been. “You grabbed that? When?”

Vlad frowned. “Don’t you remember? You nearly died piloting your parents' prototype of the… ugh…” Vlad groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Fenton Ecto-Skeleton… Couldn’t your parents just have named it the Ecto-Skeleton?”

Danny shrugged. “It’s a branding thing.”

“Quite,” Vlad sighed, shaking his head and continuing. He led Danny into the foyer of his mansion before going to the front door. “Hold that thought.” Vlad hummed, pausing at the door. He turned to face Danny as he pressed his hand against the doorknob. “The chauffeur is here, and while I could wipe his memories, I’d rather not go through that effort.”

Vlad opened the door to the night air, indifferent to the fact that Danny had frozen to the spot. He didn’t know that was a thing Vlad could do, and he suddenly became aware that he didn’t know at all what Vlad was capable of.

Danny didn’t know what he himself was capable of.

Noticing that Vlad was halfway to the limo (and wow, Vlad just had a limo on speed dial?) Danny jumped and started walking down the front steps to the vehicle. The doors closed on their own behind him, and he glanced back at them before Vlad cleared his throat.

Danny turned to see that the chauffeur was watching him with an eyebrow raised, waiting to close the door to the back of the limo.

Danny slid into the limo. The seats were arranged so that there were four benches set up, and Danny sat across from Vlad as the chauffeur shut the door behind him. Vlad rolled up the divider between the passenger cabin and the driver’s seat before turning to Danny. “Back to our conversation. When you nearly died from the Fenton Ecto-Skeleton, I came in and locked Pariah in his sarcophagus, as well as got my hands on the crown.”

“What do you intend to do with it?” Danny demanded.

Vlad shrugged. “Nothing, actually.”

“What?”

The incredulity in Danny’s voice made Vlad chuckle. “The crown is not exactly a source of power. Oh, it looks fancy, and it seems like it should have power. But it doesn’t, not by itself. It’s a symbol. Whoever wears the crown signifies they are the king of the Ghost Zone.” Vlad narrowed his eyes and folded his hands. “And I’ll admit I do desire the title, but I have no interest in defending said title from the various beings who would do much to prevent me from having it.”

“Like me?” Danny asked, narrowing his eyes.

Vlad scoffed again. “Please, Daniel… There are things much scarier than you.” Danny frowned at that. He knew he wasn't the biggest fish in the pond, but Vlad's casual dismissal still irked him.

He was still trying to find a polite response (he still needed Vlad's help, after all) when Vlad continued. "Daniel, I've heard rumors through the zone. You know who Clockwork is, yes?" Danny reared back. Clockwork has asked him not to talk much about him -- how had Vlad heard about them knowing each other? "Thought so," Vlad said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "Daniel, what do you think Clockwork is?"

"Uhhh…" Danny began, "a… powerful ghost?" The answer was wrong, he knew that, but he had no clue what the right answer, or at least the answer Vlad was looking for, was.

"He's capable of controlling time, with no limits. He can view every timeline, he can interfere with events that have already occurred."

Vlad leaned back and stated simply. "Daniel, he's a god."

Danny wanted to scoff. That was blowing things out of proportion a bit, wasn't it? "If he's a god, then why does he listen to the Observants?"

Vlad summoned the Crown of Fire again. "For much the same reason that I refuse to let any other being have this…" Vlad leaned over and let Danny look closer. Danny couldn't help it; he wound up leaning forward himself to inspect it. He never got a chance to really look at the Crown of Fire before, and he couldn't help but be slightly mesmerized as the flames lit up the back of the limo.

"You asked me what I intend to do with it," Vlad continued, after giving Danny plenty of time to look, "and the answer is nothing, but there are others out there who'd use its power to try and force ghosts to kneel, to obey them." He clenched his fist and the crown disappeared again. "I refuse to be forced to kneel."

Danny couldn't help but reach towards his core and grasp the energy thrumming there as Vlad growled. Usually that was followed by one of their fights, but Vlad sighed and ran a hand over his head. "The Observants have… something… which gives them sway over Clockwork. I haven't been able to discover it, probably due to the very same powers the Observants have been granted through whatever it is that they are lording over him."

Danny tried to keep the confusion off his face, but as Vlad's eyes raked over him he knew it wasn't hidden, so instead of trying to work through it himself, he just asked, "But… if he's a god, how did…" He trailed off, hot sure how to describe what happened. ‘Defeat him’ didn't seem the right phrase, but…

"How did the Observants gain control?" Vlad finished for him. He folded his hands and crossed his legs. "That, I can't answer. But I don't think that's what you're actually asking." He nodded toward Danny before stroking his beard in thought as he mused,  "When you hear the word ‘god’, you think of a powerful, all-knowing being that is indestructible." He paused to let Danny confirm or deny, but when Danny didn't react, he continued, "That's probably influenced by Christian theology, which posits that one singular being is responsible for everything."

Vlad shrugged. "When it comes to the gods of the ghost zone, it'd be more appropriate to think of the Greek, Roman, or Norse gods: powerful beings, capable of things no mortal man could understand, but still fallible."

Danny opened his mouth to ask a question, cutting Vlad off, and then pausing as he realized he’d done so. After a brief moment, Vlad nodded. "You have a question?"

Danny hadn't expected Vlad to let him ask. That was nice, actually, Mr. Lancer usually just continued on. "If they're so powerful, why would they want the crown?"

Vlad smirked, and Danny suddenly remembered this was his enemy. "I can attest, once you have a taste of power, you want more."

Danny folded his arms. "I'm not like that," he stated defiantly.

Vlad dismissed that with a wave of his hand. "It's easy to say that, but much harder to live up to that expectation." He pointed at Danny. "You once told me that your parents would accept you as a halfa, but not me. Do you still think so?"

"Of course!" The response came out of Danny's mouth immediately. There was no hesitation. No thought was needed. His parents, for all their flaws, loved him and Jazz more than anything, even their research.

"Then why haven't you told them?" Vlad asked, grinning like the cat that caught the canary.

Danny hesitated. Why hadn't he? If he told them, they'd understand. They might even cover for him, and help him learn more about his powers…

Or…

They might say it's dangerous, and that he needs help. They’d get involved in his ghost fighting. They’d start trying to fight with him.

Or worse, insist that he should stop entirely and leave it to them, the adults.

Vlad leaned forward. "It would be better for you to open up to them now, but you won't. You'll risk them capturing you, you'll risk them hurting you, and you'll risk them finding out in the worst possible way, but you won't tell them. Because if you do tell them, they might take it away from you."

Danny leaned back, putting as much distance as he could between him and Vlad. "That's different!"

Vlad nodded, agreeing with him. "Of course it is. We've been talking about gods who desire more power to solidify their already impressive domains, or me, a billionaire who can order a store to open at…" he checked his watch, "eleven o’ clock at night, but all of us have something in common: we all want to keep our little domains ours. " He looked out the window. "And speaking of, we're here."

Danny looked out the window as the car stopped. He didn't recognize the store, or even the area. This was deep in the business district of downtown Amity, an area Danny never needed to go to.

The store didn't have a sign on the front, and when Vlad walked up to the entrance, instead of opening it, he pressed a button near the door. Danny could hear a buzzing from inside the building. He glanced at Vlad, and the man raised an eyebrow.

Danny indicated the door and asked, "There's a doorbell?"

"Ah," Vlad intoned, "there is probably close to a million dollars inside this establishment. It's worth the extra security."

Danny's eyes boggled as the door opened. An older gentleman stood inside. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he had just woken up, and was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt. "Mr. Masters, welcome, welcome!" He stepped aside to let them in the store. "What can I help you with?"

Vlad walked into the store. "This is Daniel Fenton, the son of some family friends. He's in desperate need of a suit, by tomorrow, in order to impress his date's parents."

The man smiled, the wrinkles by his eyes becoming more pronounced. "Well, for impressive, you've come to the right place." He led the two of them deeper into the store, pausing to grab a measuring tape.

"Alright, Mr Fenton," the man said, indicating for him to stand in the center of three mirrors, "my name is James Tailor and I'll be assisting you." He gave Danny a wink and smiled. “I’m sure we can get you something that’ll knock their socks off.”

Danny stepped up and let James take his measurements. "Your last name is Tailor and you work in a clothing store?"

James shrugged and smiled as he walked around Danny. "I had it legally changed when I got this job."

"Really?"

"No," the man laughed, "but I had you for a moment, didn't I?" His laugh died down into a set of chuckles before he focused on the task at hand. "Alright, Mr. Fenton, just going to get your height here and…" He stopped talking as he stooped to measure Danny’s height in full. "Five foot four, that sound about right?"

Danny felt his throat seize up. He knew that was his height already, but he didn't want to hear it. He had hoped deep down that his height had changed, but of course it hadn't.

It hadn't changed at all since the accident.

"Yes…" Danny, muttered, looking at his reflection, "that sounds about right."

It was because he was looking at the mirror that he saw what happened next. Vlad's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing, and a duplicate of him stepped towards James, who didn't react as it overshadowed him. James's eyes glowed as he took on Vlad's posture, and Vlad stepped forward.

"Daniel… have you not grown since your accident?" Vlad asked, his calm tone of voice completely at odds with the intense expression on both his and James's face. Both of them were inspecting him with narrowed eyes.

Danny looked down at the ground and whispered, "No…" He rubbed his eyes and tried to keep his emotions in check. "It's… it's the reason why I asked Sam out…" He laughed -- thank God, it was better than crying. "I… I'm stuck… Sam isn't much taller than me right now, but… I'm gonna be fourteen… forever and-"

“Daniel," Vlad snapped, making him jump. "Look at me. How old do I look?" He indicated his face.

"Uhh…" Danny began eloquently, "old?" Danny wasn't sure what he was getting at. Vlad was almost a fifty-year-old man, after all.

"Right, old," Vlad repeated, "and when did my accident happen?"

Danny grimaced. He hated talking about his own half-death. It always felt too personal to share with anyone. He really didn’t want to be discussing the details of Vlad’s death with him. That felt like the offering of an olive branch he didn’t want to take. Regardless, he answered, "It was back when you were in college, right?"

Vlad and James nodded. "Exactly. I had the same problem at one point." Vlad explained, walking up to Danny. "We are human, but we are also ghosts. Ghosts are creatures of habit. They do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." Vlad tilted his head and pointed between the two of them.  "We are different. We should grow and age, but we don't. Not unless we want to…" Vlad froze for a second, and then suddenly Vlad was no longer in front of him. At least, not as Danny knew him.

Danny had only ever known Vlad as a bitter old man who had spent what should have been the best years of his life in a hospital bed.

But in a blink, that Vlad was gone. The wrinkles and grey hair were gone. There was no flash that would precede the transformation from Vlad Masters to Plasmius. Instead, it happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, there was an old man, another, a man in his twenties. The signs of age had been replaced by youth and almost-black hair.

This younger Vlad smirked. The cocky smile was familiar to Danny, but only because of the pictures his dad kept up on their walls.

The Vlad Jack knew in college.

And then he was gone again, that same smirk now on Vlad the wrinkled old billionaire's face. Danny blinked, stunned. "What?"

"Daniel," Vlad began, his tone disappointed but that insufferable smirk wide, "when I told you I had twenty years of experience with these powers, did you really think it had only to do with fighting?"

Danny took a step back. "Uh… well… I…"

Vlad turned and waved his hand about, dismissing Danny's thoughts and scattering them. "There is so much more to our powers than fighting , Daniel, and to be frank, there is probably much you could teach me about that. But no, what I wanted to teach you is so much more than that.”

Vlad indicated James as the overshadowed man pointed at himself. “I can teach you more . How to hear the whispers of people’s emotions, which arcane marks actually work at repelling ghosts, and which ones can summon them and bind them to your will.” He paused and took a deep breath. “And yes, I could teach you how to wipe someone’s mind if you wanted…”

Danny couldn’t help himself. He recoiled at the idea. That… was something he knew he shouldn’t know how to do. While he didn’t completely comprehend what he was capable of doing, he knew what he was willing to do, and sometimes that wasn’t a good thing.

He hadn’t exactly been responsible with all his powers, after all.

He jumped when Vlad put his hand on his shoulder and turned him toward the mirror. “But enough of that,” Vlad said, not quite harshly, but his tone snapped Danny to attention. “If that is something you learn you need, we can discuss it later. For now, let’s focus on the real issue.” He straightened his posture and folded his hands behind his back.

“As I said before,” Vlad continued, his voice mellowing, meeting Danny’s gaze in the mirror. “We are humans. We should grow, we should change, and we should be a great many things. But we are not just humans. Unfortunately or not, we are cursed with our halfa nature, and are also ghosts.”

Danny blinked and turned around, Vlad’s words repeating in his mind. ‘Unfortunately or not’. The phrasing made him think. He didn’t always enjoy being a halfa, but the amount of time he spent being upset about his halfa nature had shortened considerably.

Yet Vlad led with ‘unfortunate’.

“Daniel,” Vlad stated. This time there was a bit of a bite behind his words. Danny jumped before rubbing the back of his head. Vlad sighed and began again: “Daniel.” This time, his words were softer, much like Mr. Lancer in his moments where he cared about Danny and his friends rather than was furious with them.

“Sorry,” Danny said, “can you repeat that?”

“It’s important you understand this.” Vlad shook his head and let out a sigh. “If you had two years to live in the ghost zone to suffer through piecing yourself together, then I would be more than happy to let you try and fumble through this, but as it stands, you have a date tomorrow.”

Danny twisted to look at Vlad, his jaw dropping as he processed what Vlad had said. He wasn't sure if he was more shocked at Vlad saying he had lived two years in the ghost zone, or that Vlad was going to try and teach him something before the morrow.  

Vlad let out a hum before continuing, “Daniel, what do you know about the Platonic Forms?”

“Uh… what?”

Vlad sighed and placed a hand to his forehead. “I hope that your schooling will cover this before you finally graduate.” He sighed and shook his head in exasperation, as James walked up behind them, still overshadowed by Vlad.

James, or rather Vlad in James’s body, took over the conversation. He fixed Danny to the spot with the same glare that usually made Danny hesitate whenever he and Vlad got into a… disagreement. “The Platonic Forms are just ideas of things that actually exist. They are a representation what each individual thing is supposed to be like in order for it to be that specific thing. For example, the form of a human would show qualities of what it means to be a human.”

Vlad raised his hand. “Now, what does that mean? To have the qualities of a human? That’s an interesting question. Does it have two hands and two arms? No. That’s not what makes us human. One could describe a human as a featherless biped, but no, that is not a human. To be a human, is to think, to know. A human isn't a shape, it's a miserable pile of secrets and knowledge.”

“We’re getting off track, though,” James said, giving an annoyed look toward Vlad. He folded his arms and turned toward Danny. “Now, you might be wondering why I’m even bringing this up.”

“That is crossing my mind, yes,” Danny snarked.

Vlad poked Danny in the chest. “Daniel, what is the form of Daniel Fenton? To be a human is to think, but to be a human that is Daniel Fenton, you need what?”

Danny frowned and rubbed his chest where Vlad had poked him. It hadn’t hurt, but he still didn’t like the man touching him. “I still don’t understand what you’re getting at here.”

“In order to be the human Daniel Fenton, do you need to be five feet, four inches?” Vlad asked.

“Or…” James continued, “does he need to be able to turn into Danny Phantom?”

Danny felt something in his chest stir, and he placed his hand over it. The chill from his core bled through his clothes into his palm. He chewed on his lip as he processed that.

“Okay… I understand that,” Danny whispered. “I’m Phantom just like I am Fenton.”

"Quite," Vlad said, some approval bleeding into his voice before his eyes narrowed. "We've established that to be Danny Fenton, one must be Danny Phantom, correct? Now then…" He walked around Danny, and it took a lot of effort for Danny to not spin in place to follow him. "What is a ghost?"

"The spirit of a dead person."

"Exactly!" Vlad clapped. Danny didn't think it was deserving of that level of enthusiasm, but then again, his parents seemed to think that ghosts were simply monsters.

"What does this have to do with the Form… things you were talking about?"

Both Vlad and James sighed and gave each other a what-can-you-do type look as they shrugged in unison. James turned and continued speaking in Vlad's voice. "Perhaps another way of looking at a ghost is that they are the pure existence of a person. No corporal limitations on them. They are free to be what they want to be."

Danny blinked. "Free to be what they want to be…" he mumbled, and turned to look at himself in the mirror. That phrase repeated itself over and over.

He grasped at his core and tilted his perception, nudging his nature over just a little, and flipped the balance between alive and dead.

“Excellent…” Vlad breathed. “Obviously, it is possible do to this sort of thing in our human forms, but it is much easier to do to it in our ghost form.” He held his hand above Danny, just a couple inches. “Now, I’ve seen you stretch your body to dodge attacks before, so you should know how to do that.”

Vlad putting his hands anywhere near Danny was usually enough to set Danny’s teeth on edge, but he tamped that down and followed Vlad’s directions. He stretched his body just slightly until his head made contact with Vlad’s hand. It wasn’t hard. He had done it a million times dodging ecto blasts from the likes of Skulker… or Vlad.

Vlad reached over and tugged on Danny’s hand. “Your arms should be longer.” He poked at Danny’s hip bone. “Same with your legs…”

The next few minutes were remarkably uncomfortable for Danny, as Vlad continued to prod Danny into stretching his ghostly form until it was a good approximation of a sixteen-year-old body. If it took five minutes or it took an hour, Danny wasn’t sure, but eventually, Vlad seemed to find Danny’s proportions to be realistic enough.

“Good, very good.” Vlad said, leaning back and inspecting Danny’s work. “That’ll work quite well. You’ll eventually get the hang of this on your own, but for now-” He paused and pulled on Danny’s wrist again. “Careful, you’re reverting.” He stepped back again. “As I was saying, you’ll eventually learn to get this on your own… assuming you chose to continue aging. There isn’t anything wrong, per se, with wanting to remain young forever, but I’d give it six or so years. College documents are surprisingly easy to forge and are a good excuse for why you are moving.”

He paused one more time and poked Danny’s hip. “You're stretching your chest again. Your legs should be longer, not your chest.” He leaned back and folded his arms. “So, as you’ve understood, hopefully, the ghost form is a Platonic Form. It’s you in a pure sense.” He waved his hand about in the air. “It’s how we see ourselves, it’s the source of our advanced healing and-”

“We have advanced healing?”

Vlad sighed. “Daniel, you didn’t really think you were able to fight the Box Ghost at every odd hour of the night and make it to class with nothing but exhaustion?”

“What do you take me for? You think the Box Ghost can hit me?”

“Fine. Skulker, then…”

There was silence in the fitting room for a moment before Danny rubbed the back of his head. “I hadn’t thought about it.” He chewed on his lip for a moment, before turning toward Vlad. “Why are you doing this?” Vlad froze as Danny continued. “Like, I know you want me to be your apprentice, but why…”

Vlad sighed and looked up at the ceiling as if praying for guidance. Considering that Vlad was saying there were actual gods in the ghost zone, he might have been. “Daniel, think… I want you to be my apprentice, so why wouldn’t I help? If I don’t help when you ask for something, especially if it’s not counter to my own plans, then why would you ever come to me at all? My whole goal here is for you to know that when you need help, I can provide it. That’s what an apprenticeship is .”

Danny frowned. “So you’re saying you’re helping because you want me to come to you for help?�� When Vlad nodded in response, Danny scoffed. “If that’s the case, then why would I come to you, if I know that it’s all part of your plan to make me your apprentice?”

Vlad smiled. It wasn’t kind. It reminded Danny too much of Skulker when he had ‘mistakenly’ caught Danny in one of his traps. “Because, Daniel, you know that you’ll get that help. You might know that it’s my plan to make you my apprentice, but you also know that whatever you desire to make happen, I can support your endeavors.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Vlad smirked before giving a half-hearted shrug. “Well, unless it goes directly against my interests, but I think you already knew that.” With all the cards laid out on the table, he straightened his back as he stood behind Danny.  “For example, if you need to learn how to transform yourself permanently…” Vlad checked his watch and then looked back up at Danny. “Sometime in the last couple minutes, you stopped thinking about the fact your body was different, and it just became how it was supposed to be.”

Danny looked down at his hands and, yeah, he realized that Vlad had stopped pointing out when he had lost his shape. He also didn’t feel like he was stretching himself out anymore. “That was… quick…”

Vlad nodded. “It’s not a long process to change forms, at least for us. Ghosts do not change. They exist as they always will. It takes a massive outside influence to change a ghost.”

Danny froze in place. That statement brought back some images of what he could do to the ghosts he fought. Or rather, what he would have done if Clockwork hadn’t altered time. The idea that he would cripple Johnny or destroy Ember’s vocal cords kept him up at night sometimes.

Vlad was implying that such a thing was difficult. Ember had said that he had done it with the ghostly wail. It had taken his alternate self years to reach the point he could use that power.

Danny already could. If he got too careless… or too angry…

He shook his head, trying to banish images of the future of several ghosts he knew.  “But…” he said, thinking of one in particular, “I’ve seen Technus change forms.”

“True,” Vlad said, “but, did he really change? Or was it his expression of himself? He’s still an old man with delusions of being tech and hip… he just has a different idea of what’s hip, thanks in part to your efforts.”

Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t get it.”

Vlad let out a noncommittal noise showing that he had heard Danny, but didn’t respond beyond that immediately. Instead, he took some time and thought before saying, “Well… For example: Ember, at her core, sees herself as a forgotten rockstar. Her occasional pirate episodes don’t really change that at all. But you…” Vlad tilted his head and indicated all of Danny with a gesture. “You’ve seen yourself as a fourteen-year-old. You didn’t think you changed because it was so gradual -- until you felt trapped in your own body.”

Vlad turned to James. “Speaking of, perhaps we should get back to your fitting?”

Danny transformed back and looked down at his clothes. His clothes were always a little baggy, but now they were just on the wrong side of too small. He shifted uncomfortably as Vlad’s duplicate walked out of James’s body.

James put a hand to his head and let out a shuddering breath. “Whoa, uh… sorry, I think I spaced out there. Where were we?”

“You did,” Vlad said clearly, “and you need to measure Daniel here.”

“Right. Five feet, four inches, correct?” James said, readying the tape measure.

“Remeasure.” The order came from Vlad, and James didn’t argue.

“Hmmm… Five feet, six inches. Impressive.”

Danny glanced between James and Vlad. “Uhh…”

James raised an eyebrow as he measured Danny’s neck. He noted the measurement and then shook his head. “I don’t know what just happened, exactly, but I’m paid to not care.”

“Don’t you mean, you’re not paid to care?” Danny asked as James remeasured his arms.

“No, I mean every time Vlad calls and asks for a new suit, I am paid to not ask questions,” James smirked and threw the measuring tape over a chair. “Spacing out for a while and losing an hour of time might be worrisome for most people, but I’m making 50k tonight.”

Danny gaped as James addressed Vlad. “I can’t help but notice, though, that his clothes don’t quite fit. New wardrobe as well?”

“Of course,” Vlad said, nodding. “Just throw that on the rest of the bill.”

“Understood,” James said, leading Danny over to the suit jackets. “Now then, any preferences for colors?”

“Uh… black?” Danny offered.

“Alright then, black it is.” ***

The “gala” that Sam invited Danny was… posh… if nothing else. She had told him that the whole event was just a waste of time and intended for the Mansons to show off to the rest of the elite, so he shouldn’t have been surprised.

Which was why it was not held in Amity Park. No risk of ghost attacks if it was held in Wisconsin.

If only they knew.

Danny couldn’t help it. He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was a sixteen-year-old boy  wearing a suit that was worth more than the family car, weaponry included, standing in this dance hall with hundreds of people more than twice his age, wearing clothes that were…

Actually, there was a good chance that Danny’s suit was more expensive than their outfits. He’d seen the bill Vlad had paid for.

Danny saw Sam walking away from her parents. She had that frown on her face that was always accompanied by a rant about wasted resources and a disregard for the environment. He started walking towards her and called out before she could disappear into the crowd. “Sam!”

Sam whirled around, ready to tear into someone, but then her eyes widened. “Danny! I… uh…” She trailed off as she looked him up and down. “I… didn’t recognize you at first.”

“I don’t blame you,” Danny said, plucking at his suit. “I don’t get why Vlad wears these things. They’re awful to move in.”

“That’s…. not it at all,” Sam said, looking up at Danny. That was something she’d never had to do before.

“Oh.” The simple vocalization cut across the two of them with so much disdain that Danny thought Vlad had seen Jack at the gala. Danny turned and saw Sam’s parents walking over. ‘You’re the Fentons’ boy, aren’t you? Sammykins insisted that you be extended an invitation,” her mother said, glancing between the two of them. “It… has been a while since we’ve seen you. You’ve grown a bit in the last year, haven’t you?”

“I’ll say,” Sam muttered under her breath, and gave Danny a look that meant she demanded an explanation soon.

“Ah, yeah, I guess it has been a while.” Danny rubbed the back of his head and glanced at Sam for support, but he knew that was useless; Sam didn’t want to get along with her parents, so she didn’t care if Danny did. Actually, scratch that, she would be upset if Danny did get along with her parents.

Still, didn’t make the small talk any less awkward.

“Ah! There you are!” Danny never thought he’d be happy to hear Vlad’s voice, but the last twenty-four hours contained a lot of surprises. He walked up to Danny holding a champagne glass. “I must say, Daniel, you look like a million bucks!” He chuckled and tilted the glass toward Danny. “Well, perhaps a bit less. That suit isn’t quite that much.”

“Uhhh… what?” Sam said, glancing between Danny and Vlad.

“All things considered,” Danny muttered, “if you round up….”

“Mr. Masters,” Sam’s father began, “I wasn’t aware you knew Daniel Fenton here…”

“Oh, his family and I go way back. I met his parents in college!” Vlad chuckled and sipped from his glass. “I’ve actually been hoping to convince Daniel here to join me on some of my ventures.” He shrugged. “I’m sure you know how it is. So many projects, so little time. Would love to have someone I could consider an apprentice taking some of them off my hands.”

“Yeah…” was the nervous response made by Sam’s father. “I, uh… I understand completely.”

Danny knew better than to assume that Vlad was fooled for a second.

Vlad didn't seem off-put at all, and instead reached over and took Sam’s father by the shoulder. “Come, come, let’s talk. I’m sure there’s so much we could discuss.” He glanced back at Danny and gave him a smirk before walking off with Sam’s parents.

Sam turned to Danny. “Okay, what the hell?”

Danny sighed. “Look, it took a lot for me to get this suit… I don't even know where to start…”

"Usually one starts at the beginning," Sam growled through gritted teeth.

"Well, it all started when I was just fourteen and-"

"Not that far back, you dork!"

[lexosaurus]

Going Angst Week 2021: Family/Friends

Read: [1: Birth] [2: Instinct]

Continuation of the No One Knows AU plotline.

---

Everything had changed since the accident. The biological differences were obvious. He glowed, his hair inverted, his eyes turned green, he had ectoplasm running through his veins, he was cold, he didn’t need to breathe as much in human form—the list went on. 

But the psychological ones were easily more terrifying.

And nothing scared him more than the way his friends and family were treating him as of late.

He knew that deep down he would never be able to match the way he acted when he was fully human. But that didn’t mean that his heart didn’t skip a beat every time someone shot him a worried glance, every time someone asked if he was alright, every time he caught himself doing something wrong. 

He wasn’t human anymore. He wasn’t even sure what he was now, and Vlad seemed to have too much fun emotionally torturing him to give him a straight answer.

“You up for a movie tonight?” Tucker asked, leaning across Danny’s desk. 

“Hell yeah,” Sam said. “My house?”

“Oh, you know me too well. What do you think, dude?”

Danny realized that both teens were looking to him for an answer.

He wanted to stay home. Hanging out with either of them meant there was a chance they would see him slip up, and he couldn’t have that.

“Sure.” He hoped his voice didn’t sound too pained.

“Perfect!” Tucker clasped a hand down on his shoulder.

Danny tried not to duck away.

“So we’ll go to Sam’s after dinner. I can bring snacks. Anything you want in particular?”

The thought of eating anything was nauseating. “No. I’m fine.”

“Alright, I’ll just bring the usual then.”

But Danny should have known that something was up. After all, it had been a while since they’d done a movie night. And lately, Sam and Tucker had been acting...oddly. 

Well, that was nothing new. Danny thought that as time went on, they’d forgive him for being a bit jumpier than usual and everything would go back to normal. 

Except, of course, it didn’t.

The past few weeks had been especially hard. It seemed like they constantly had something to say, but never did. The worried glances had only increased, and the silent conversations seemed to only grow.

Danny had been trying his best to act normal, act human, but it seemed like the more he tried, the worse they’d get.

So of course, in between the first movie and second, the elephant in the room finally stomped all over Danny’s metaphorical floor.

“Hey, Danny.” Sam glanced over at Tucker. A moment passed between the two before Sam nodded and turned back to Danny. “We really need to talk to you.”

Dread pooled in his stomach. He knew exactly where this was going. “I can start the next movie if you want?”

“No, Danny. Listen, can you just sit down for a second?”

His ghostly instincts were begging him to run, but his human side forced him to sit down.

“Listen, we know that...well, Jazz told us about the lab accident.”

Danny could have sworn his heart stopped beating.

“She said it was pretty serious? And she was surprised that you hadn’t told us?” Sam fidgeted with her black rings. “We didn’t say anything to you because we wanted you to be the ones to confide in us.”

“That and we didn’t want you to get upset that we were talking to Jazz about you,” Tucker interjected.

“Right, and Jazz only told us because she was worried. And honestly? We’re really worried too.”

Any oxygen left in Danny’s body was sucked out of his throat like a vacuum.

They’d found out. They knew the truth, they knew he was a freak of nature half ghost and they were going to out him, they were going to tell his parents, they’d tell the school counselor, and Danny would have no one and he’d have to run away to become Vlad’s apprentice and he’d change, he’d be corrupted, he wouldn’t make it out alive.

“I’m just wondering why you didn’t say anything?” Sam asked, her violent eyes brimming with concern.

“I…” Danny’s mouth felt like it was lined with cotton. He tried to swallow, but it was like swallowing sand. “I didn’t want you to worry is all.”

“Yeah, and we get that,” Tucker said carefully. “But, I mean, we’re your best friends. And dude, you’ve been...well…”

At Tucker’s helpless glance, Sam took over. “You just have been acting really off lately.”

“Sorry.”

“No!” Sam nearly leapt out of her seat. “Danny, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I mean, hell, if I nearly died in a lab accident I’d be acting off too. It just, you know, it explains a lot. It must have been really terrifying.”

Danny didn’t trust himself to say anything. 

How much of his personality had shifted because of Phantom, and how much had shifted because of the accident? Were his ghostly instincts really creeping up that much into his human form? 

Would he ever be the same again?

Did they know?

“Is there anything you wanna talk about?”

“We’re all ears, dude.”

He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t say a word. Not without outing himself as Phantom, and that was bound to backfire on him in the worst way possible.

Oh god, he was acting too suspicious. He needed to save this.

“I’m good.”

There was a beat of silence.

Sam leaned forward. “Danny...I don’t mean to sound like Jazz, but bottling stuff up isn’t—”

“I’m fine!” Danny snapped. “I didn’t say anything and I’m sorry, but you know it’s not every day like you’re nearly electrocuted to death in your parents’ ghost portal.”

“Is that what happened?” Sam’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my god, Danny.”

“Holy shit,” Tucker agreed.

Danny threw his arms out. “Ta da! I survived, I’m fine. Nothing to talk about.”

“Danny, I—”

“No.” His tone was final. “Drop it, seriously.”

Another beat of silence passed, and then Sam finally sighed. “Fine, but I’m telling you as your friend that if you ever need anything, we’re here for you.”

He wished he could have trusted those words. But he knew they were nothing more than a farce.

It would have been cruel to hold onto false hope.

Still, he tried to smile. “Thanks.”

Even though he knew he hadn’t fooled anyone.

---

Maddie’s POV

Maddie watched her son from across the kitchen table, just as she’d done every night for the past several weeks. Quietly, as inconspicuous as possible, always watching.

Ever since the lab accident, he’d been….different. Jack hadn’t noticed, but to Maddie the changes were far too obvious. The dropped spoons, the flash of green behind his eyes, his limbs losing visibility without him even noticing, their ecto-inventions that always seemed to go off around him.

One day, she even saw him walk through his bedroom door.

At first, she thought it was just a simple case of possession. But there were telltale signs of possession, one’s that Jack, for all his enthusiasm, always failed to take into account.

Sure, Danny’s eyes flashed green every so often, but most of the time they were blue. Human blue.

And then there was his personality. In cases of possession, the ghost would be completely controlling the body. But in Danny’s case, he was still very obviously Danny. Still the sweet boy she always knew him to be, but he was just...different. Jumpier. Scared.

Like he knew he was living a lie.

And then, just a few weeks after Danny’s run in with the portal, a new ghost appeared. 

Of course, Maddie didn’t make the connection at first. The ghost was obviously new, and didn’t seem to have a grasp on its powers. Its fighting was laughable, its ectoblasts nearly always missed, and it seemed to constantly forget about its core powers.

Not to mention, its hair was white. Danny had black hair.

But then the ghost gave itself a name: Danny Phantom. And that was when Maddie decided to take a second look at it.

It was Danny’s height and build, its voice sounded similar to Danny’s, it seemed to know all of Danny’s classmates, it used a Fenton thermos, it wore a hazmat suit that looked eerily similar to the ones in their basement closet—not to mention that Danny’s hazmat suit had gone missing recently.

On its own, one small correlation didn’t mean anything. But when the little similarities kept piling up, then Maddie had to draw some sort of conclusion.

Just what was the conclusion though?

The Danny across the table had gone to school like any other human child, he’d eaten his meals like anyone else, he’d hung out with his human friends, he talked with his human family. On paper, he seemed normal.

Human.

But his grades were in a downwards spiral, Jazz had expressed concern about him and his friends, he’d been breaking curfew, and there were times when she’d peak into his room at night to find him gone.

He could have been just experiencing trauma from the accident. Maybe he was rebelling. There were so many explanations for his behavior that didn’t involve ghosts.

But then he’d do something ghostly or a weapon would beep around him or Phantom would fly nearby, and her red flags would be raised once again.

Maddie learned long ago to trust her red flags.

The Danny across the table took a bite of his salad, and his face immediately scrunched up.

Maddie felt sick.

He swallowed, and Maddie could see his eyes watering. “Is there something wrong with the lettuce, Mom?” 

She feigned innocence. “Hmm?”

“I don’t know,” he prodded a carrot on his plate. “Something just seems off.”

“Tastes fine to me,” Maddie said. “I just bought this lettuce today. Jazz, is yours okay?”

“Yeah,” she said.

Maddie suppressed a grin. She could always count on her “facts and research only” daughter.

“It could be the dressing? I used a new brand tonight. It’s healthier than the other stuff.” 

That, or it was the small amount of blood blossoms she’d blended into the vinaigrette. 

“Maybe.”

But it couldn’t end here. She needed to know. She was a scientist, she had to see the experiment through.

“Eat the rest of your salad, honey. I’ll buy the other brand tomorrow, okay?”

Danny carefully put another forkful of salad into his mouth. He gave a small wince, but swallowed. 

“Good boy,” she said. “I have fudge in the fridge for when you’re done.”

“Oh, fudge?” Jack exclaimed. He shoveled the rest of his salad into his mouth. With a mouth full of food, he said, “Thanks, Mads! You’re the best!”

“You’re welcome sweetie!”

Jazz made a face. “Gross, Dad.”

Jack laughed and bantered back at his daughter, but Maddie had already tuned out of the conversation. Her only focus was on Danny, whose face was now just too flushed to be healthy. Still, he forced himself to eat.

There was just no question. No doubt about it.

No matter how Maddie looked at it, this was proof enough.

Danny Fenton wasn’t human. The portal hadn’t nearly killed him, it probably did kill him. And now here he was, pretending to still be a part of the family while using Phantom to distract them from the fact that he was a ghost.

It was a truly elaborate ploy. And if Maddie was anyone else, his plans probably would have worked.

But she was Maddie Fenton. She had a PhD in ectobiology. She’d been researching ghosts for twenty years.

Dinner ended, and the children went upstairs to do homework. Although, if Maddie looked, she was sure Danny wouldn’t actually be in his room. And if she went outside, like she’d done in nights past, there was no doubt she’d see Phantom soaring through the skies.

But she knew. She knew. She knew.

She slipped a white business card out of her jacket pocket, grabbed her cell off the counter, went into her bedroom, and dialed the number. 

It rang once, then twice, then stopped. A deep voice sounded from the other line. “Maddie Fenton? I figured I’d be hearing back from you. Have you made your decision?” 

“Yes.” Her voice was mechanical, as if she’d only called about a malfunctioning weapon. “I have. I agree to the partnership.”

“Excellent. And the terms are to your liking?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. We’ll be in touch tomorrow to sign the official contract. Will your husband be involved in this, or are you working alone?”

Maddie closed her eyes. “The contract will be for my name only.”

“All right, then. We’ll talk tomorrow. You won’t regret this.” 

“I know.”

---

<previous / next>

[datawyrms]

Responsibility

For Phic Fight 2021, The Lord of Chaos’s prompt c:

Spectra fed off of misery; nocturne fed off of dreams.  The elusive town cryptid that only shows up when people need saving gains a following and Danny finds that he gets a boost from the people who have faith in him, he starts to become aware of them, especially when they needed him.

The rest of the town seeing him as benevolent was a positive thing. The uncomfortable stabs that his ‘parents were right’ about ghosts lessened as fewer and fewer treated him as a monster just as troublesome as Technus. He didn’t need to tense when the news was on, to hear his attempts to help called a ‘savage attack’, or that stupid nickname. He’d slept a bit easier, knowing that people did understand he only meant to help lately. Sure, Mom and Dad might still insist he was an evil ghost, but it was so much easier to ignore that when he didn’t feel he was only one step away from proving them right to everyone else. Clumsy and reckless he could take. Just as long as he wasn’t some ‘evil soul sucking abomination.’

Having Jazz a bit more in the loop had actually started to pay off. She wasn’t as good at catching a ghost as Sam or Tucker, sure, but she wasn’t hindering him anymore either. Honestly, if all three of them worked together, his powers weren’t really needed unless something huge found its way to town. Which his friends had insisted he take advantage of at least once a week, to let them handle the usual patrols and alerts while he tried to catch up on work and sleep. Mostly sleep, to be honest. Focusing on work was almost impossible when his ghost sense went off, even if he knew they didn’t need help. He wanted to go, he had to go; but they were very good at yelling at him for not ‘trusting them’ to handle things. He really did need the break. That’s why he was feeling a little less haggard, a bit more alert. At least, that’s what made the most sense.

Then the ‘lurching’ started. He couldn’t think of a better name then that. It wasn’t like his ghost sense, that sort of just crawled out of him and didn’t give him much to go on beyond ‘there’s definitely a ghost around’. That could go off and leave him rolling his eyes at the box ghost, or fighting for his life against Plasmius with the exact same feeling. The lurching was...different. Like his ghost sense forgot where his windpipe was and decided to escape in a random direction. Inssenantly. It didn’t hurt, but it was annoying, worse than the pang that would pass when he ignored whatever got his ghost sense acting up. It just kept pulling in a direction, but refusing to get out from under his skin. Sometimes it would keep going for an entire class, which just made whatever the lurch’s chosen direction noticeably cold. He was pretty sure he was immune to frostbite nowadays, but that didn’t make explaining things easier if someone spotted his hand looking almost blue from lack of blood flow.

Maybe his core was on the fritz again. Who knew what sort of weird things could happen to a human who spent half his time dead?

Tucker suggested that he was just getting ghost puberty to go with the ‘joys’ of human puberty. Which sure, was funny and they could shove each other around and forget about it for a time. It didn’t feel like the right answer. None of his other powers acted up, honestly he was feeling better after fights then he usually did lately. Less drained, anyway. It wasn’t stopping either.

It just got worse. More intense. More frequent. Instead of vanishing the area the lurch decided to pull in seemed to grow the longer he tried to dismiss it. Noticeably. To the point even Dash asked if he should avoid punching him because ‘that shit looks contagious’. (He privately hoped it was. Dash totally deserved weird pulling that made you frost over.)

He had to ignore it, he couldn’t just drop everything every single time the lurch decided to show up. He’d look completely off his rocker, running in some random direction because ‘my shoulder feels cold to the north-west’. If it was close enough to be a real danger, his ghost sense would just go off!

So Saturday was going to be a ‘lurch hunt’. No more ignoring it, no school or mandatory activities that should keep him from following the strange cold that felt desperate to go after something. Yet even deciding that made his insides squirm. He had to follow it, he should be- but that was dumb. He missed enough class as it was.

So why was it so hard to focus on anything else when it started going? Like nothing else mattered? It wasn’t like he was drifting off or sleepy either.

Jazz said he was ‘fixated’ on something.

But how do you fixate on some weird feeling under your skin? He didn’t even know what it was! Just that Sam and Tucker kept needing to flick things at him to get him to pay attention to reality. One of his best rested weeks in ages, and he was worse off then he’d been focus wise in years. Stupid ghost powers. Saturday took far too long to come. Even when one of the lurches stopped pulling he couldn’t relax. Instead of relief he just felt. Hollow. He’d woken up in a panic, half expecting to be chained down in one of Vlad’s sick laboratories, but he wasn’t cut open. He wasn’t even injured. Safe, in bed- and feeling like the cold ran off with his ribcage.

Something was wrong with him. That had to be it. Once they found the cause, he’d solve it and it would stop. It had to.

Following it shouldn’t make him feel as relieved as it did. Taking his ghost form and flying after some...feeling that wanted to drag him somewhere was more like when Freakshow’s Staff dominated his mind than anything positive. A compulsion he couldn’t help giving in to.

At least his ghost sense went off once he’d followed it long enough, finding one of Vlad’s mutant ghost animals chasing someone through the streets.

Normal. A bit of one sided banter to get it’s attention, a few punches and ectoblasts and it was shoved away in the thermos. No more pulling, and one less ghost terrorizing town. That didn’t make sense. Unless it really was just his ghost sense increasing in range while becoming infinitely more irritating?

That’s what it felt like, at first. He’d follow, ghost sense, find the problem. Except there was something odd. Every ghost he found like this wasn’t just wandering about, or making a mess. They were all actively chasing, stalking or attempting to scare someone. Okay, so it homed in on more ‘violent’ ghosts then? That seemed possible.

Until one of the lurches kept pulling, but there was no ghost sense. The one that kept pulling him towards a man with his back against the wall, fumbling with a wallet. The man who wasn’t being threatened by Skulker, or a vulture, or any of this typical fare. Just another human with a gun, and the will to use it.

This so wasn’t his thing. He fought ghosts, they were half his fault to begin with. So why was his ghost sense leading him to this? Well. It hadn’t. Lurching confirmed for not ghost sense?

Jazz would totally chew him out for tackling someone with a gun. He just had to forget to go intangible at a bad time, and he’d be all ghost. Or worse, go intangible and someone else got a body full of lead. He couldn’t just...ignore it now that he’d seen it though. The chill that hummed below his skin wouldn’t let him.

So the guy was a bit startled about getting pulled through a wall and dropped off the other side. Probably lost some change. He’d expected a bit of fear, at least. Like come on, some ghost just grabs you while a gun’s in your face? That’s still scary.

Yet he didn’t seem bothered. Just thankful. Called him a ‘hero’. For being in the right place at the right time. By just happening to be there because...because he knew? Something in him knew. That was wrong, he shouldn’t just know when people were in danger like that. He vanished without a word, not wanting to stick around and hear more. It was coincidence. Hopefully the guy wasn’t too offended that he just bolted, but he couldn’t stay there. He didn’t like how the complement felt good in a way he couldn’t describe. That the cold in his chest thrummed with a pleasure that made the rest of him feel ill. He wasn’t a hero, he was just some kid. A kid who still wanted to have a life that wasn’t all this, eventually.

He can’t ignore at dinner that he picks at his meal, not from exhaustion but because he’s not hungry. He’s still energized, he’s still full- and no amount of gagging over the sink makes his stomach empty. ‘Ghosts helping humans only do so for their own ends’. He’d ignored and denied that, he hadn’t been getting anything out of being the local ghost punching bag- so why was he now? Did he steal something? Feed on that person he saved?

He hated that his face didn’t even have the sense to look pale at the idea. He looked healthy. Probably better than he usually did. Even the circles under his eyes weren’t as noticeable. Were Mom and Dad right? Was he just...more of a ghost now?

Sam and Tucker don’t buy his ‘couldn’t figure it out’ explanation. Mostly because he refuses to try it again with them along to help figure it out. Even as he grows cold and more lurching keeps gnawing at his attention. He’s human too, he doesn’t need...whatever this is.

Sam kindly tells him he’s being a gigantic idiot.

He’s too distracted by the chill to notice. Tucker explains that after he’s blinking confused at the corn chips bouncing off his forehead. They laugh it off. He’s pretty sure they’re just being nice. They know something’s wrong, but he can’t bring himself to tell them yet. They wait. For now.

He ignores the feeling. He tries to ignore the guilt, that he knows someone out there is in danger. That someone out there needs his help. That all he needs to do is walk out of class and he can go do some actual good. He can’t go chasing after everyone in town. Things happen! He’s just one person! The sooner the lurching in him figures that out, the better. It still ruins his focus, makes him grit his teeth and fidget in place. He wants to go, he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t even know what he wants. For it to stop. That would work. The tugging stops halfway into his next class, the frost in his blood lifts. It leaves him empty. Starving.

Everything tastes bland. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Even his favourites barely seem worth the effort of snagging off a table. He’ll eat, he can’t have Mom and Dad looking at him like Sam and Tucker are now, but it just feels heavy in his stomach. A brick he’s decided to try digesting for fun. He’s hungry, ravenously so, but doesn’t want anything.

He knows exactly what he wants and hates himself for it. Stupid ghost half. He doesn’t need that, he doesn’t want to be some...leech. Seeking out trouble just to benefit from it. It’s wrong, he hates it, and if he could grab his core and slam it on the table for a few hours he would. Just until it remembered that they helped when they could. When it was close by, when it was a ghost problem. Not every bit of danger in town!

Misplaced aggression goes to the nearby ghosts. Which it often had,  really. It’s normal. He’s just making sure people don’t get hurt, ignoring the humming of MINE coiled in his ectoplasm. The other ghosts feel it. They hear it when he hunts them down and wants to keep swinging even when they put claws or hands up in surrender. He doesn’t trust himself to banter with them right now. He doesn’t want to hear the words his ghost side wants to say. He shoves them back into the Ghost Zone, and the smarter ones stay away. A stronger ghost is already feeding here. There’s nothing for them to take.

He’s running on autopilot. Days are meaningless. He can’t focus in class, his notes are nonexistent and his patience is beyond frayed. He can’t sleep, the cold is too much, the emptiness hurts and fewer ghosts show up. He can’t even blow off steam by kicking the Box Ghost through a wall. He won’t follow it, and he’s fairly sure it’s going to kill him. That or his parents will. Even they have to notice how he barely eats and won’t focus on anything short of a horn section in his face.

Sam and Tucker sit him down. Force the issue. They know he’s a mess. They don’t have answers. How could they? His choices are to starve this ghost instinct out, or to just give into it and completely ruin his human life. He’ll be fine. It’ll stop eventually if he keeps ignoring it. Then he’ll be able to focus again. It’s all he can cling to.

He’s stubbornly ignoring the prickling awareness of other thoughts. Ones not from his brain. Ones that get louder when the lurch grips him, that practically overwhelm his own as fear and panic grows. Maybe he’s just gone a little off the deep end. He doesn’t hear voices. He refuses.

Jazz has her concerns. That he can’t ignore it. She knows more about Mom and Dad’s research, more about classifications of ghosts. She tries to be gentle, nudging him to be aware that stronger ghosts were more...like a concept then an individual.

He doesn’t want to be some sort of ghost concept of problem solving. She’s worried he won’t have that choice. Some part of him already knows she’s right.

He seeks out Valerie. For help. She’s confused, baffled and suspicious. After all this time he spent convincing her he’s not evil, he’s begging her to call him that. To convince other people he is. To make them fear him and his help. He doesn’t want to be a hero like she is. He just wants to be himself, doesn’t want to hear the people begging for help when he’s trying to sleep.

She doesn’t understand, but understands one thing. He’ll feed on those who rely on them. She has to stop that, doesn’t she?

They fight, and often. He does poorly, lets her save people while his misfires cause damage and chaos. It makes him want to scream each time. Some of the thoughts and voices dim. Not enough. Too many are understanding, too many can see the regret and pain that wrack him with each failure. He’s always hungry. He wants to try again, but everything in him rebels against it. The ghost hunter avoids him. It’s ‘not a fair fight’. He’s ‘not himself’. His green eyes are more dead then they ever have been. He can’t maintain his legs.

As a human, all he wants to do is sleep.

Mom and Dad notice. He collapses and his eyes flare green when they try to help him. Just automatically sensing them as danger, against him, not someone that calls for him. They think he’s possessed, and he wishes they were right.

He half considers not telling them the truth. Let them think of a way to let his ghost half quiet down, to stop hungering for validation he doesn’t want.

Jazz tells them before they can do much of anything. Pinches his ear for being stupid- that getting experimented on won’t help him.

Their hugs make him feel bad. This should be a good moment, a time where he feels safe and accepted. But his mind is not his own, not with the others whispering in his skull. Their warmth and love feels like a drop in the empty barrel of his hunger.

They want him to be healthy. They want him to be happy. He can’t be happy if he needs to abandon his life to be healthy. He tries to explain it, the emptiness, the voices (Jazz cuffs him again for hiding this, which seems fair.) and they promise to try and figure out why, maybe find a way to limit it or separate himself from whatever connection his ghost half seems to have made with the town. Until then- they encourage him. To go ‘help’ people. To feed the clawing cold taking over his existence. He’s not sure if they really mean it. It doesn’t stop him from listening.

It’s hard to feel guilty when it feels so good. To have the fear quiet and be replaced with thanks. Someone’s out of danger and happy, and he feels less hollow for a time. Mom and Dad switch him to home school. They say it’s a better fit, to be able to stop and start based on when he’s not being dragged away by his own instinctive need to protect people.

It feels like giving up. Admitting he’s too much of a freak to live like everyone else. Dad tries to compare it to his special classes when he was young. Different to fit his learning style, not failing. The pulls and voices aren’t nearly as distracting when he’s full. Food actually tastes like more than sand again. Sam and Tucker don’t need to try as hard to smile now that he isn’t looking like death warmed over. He doesn’t like not getting to see them as often. He can’t deny he feels better this way, and can actually pay attention now. Even if most of the time he just wants to nap when the hunger stops. Go ‘back into hiding’ as the town thinks he does.

It’s getting better. Slowly. Not in a way he wanted it to. Better nonetheless.

[cabinofimagines]

Leo's ABCs

A/N: Hi I hope you’re happy to see me around -Danny

Request: Y'all I need more Leo x reader in my life! Idea: Leo knows mores code. Reader catches him tapping out cute little messages and taps back. Weird lil conversations ensue. I just really need some fire-boy fluff rn // Anything sweet with Leo qwq there's not much with him

Warnings: None that I can think of.

Words: 1,380

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Leo would be happy just watching you do your thing, or if it’s you the one who has free time, he would let you hang at the workshop and he’d ramble about his new projects– If both of you have some time to spare, you usually just watch movies and cuddle

Beauty - What do they admire of their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He loves the way you love. The way you treat your friends and family and how you express your feelings, he thinks it’s unique.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Leo is an expert at rambling, he’ll talk for hours and hours if you need a distraction, if you need a break from life he’ll take you to one of his hiding spots and will let you stay there just chilling, maybe brushing your hair gently while you breath in and put your thoughts in order.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Honestly, he still has a bit of trouble picturing a future, but not because he doesn’t want you in it! It’s just demigod life, you know? He prefers living in the present, and either way, time goes by so fast when you’re having fun…

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

I think it depends on the day. If Leo’s too distracted with a project to eat or to make plans with you, you’ll take the lead. But it’s usually a shared thing, he loves planning your outings and dates and you love making proper schedules so you can attend your duties and still have enough time to hang out together. It’s about equals <3

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Leo is the kind of person to walk away when he knows he’s wrong and that pisses you off, but he comes around eventually and apologizes properly. When it’s you the one who messed up, he really isn’t good keeping score about that stuff, his brain is always running so he usually forgets about your fights and treats you like nothing happened. You apologize anyway, even if he tells you it’s no big deal.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Leo is grateful even for the things he shouldn’t be lmaoo He just feels like having you in his life is enough to thank you every day.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Sometimes he has a hard time talking about his bad feelings on the spot, but he eventually gathers the courage to talk to you about it. You have to be patient though, sometimes he won’t mention it until it’s been a month or so.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

LEO KNOWS HIS VALUE!! HE KNOWS HE’S WORTHY OF LOVE!! AND YOU DID THAT!

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Would love to say no, but he definitely gets jelous. He’s the pouty type tho, won’t yell at you or treat the other person rudely, he just sits there and grumbles under his breath until you smoother him with kisses.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

He could NOT believe someone actually wanted to kiss him. Him??? on the lips??

Every time you guys kiss his brain goes !!!!!

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

I think he either blurts it out while being sleep deprived, or it’s you the one who takes the first step. But boi does he love to flirt…

Memory- (What’s their favourite memory together?)

Probably the first time you guys ever talked for more than two minutes. It was like sparks were flying, the chemistry was just THAT good.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Probably just your name in general, bc it’s his s/o name! I also think ‘Mi vida’ bc he’s that kind of guy, also sunshine bc I strongly he just likes the word

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

He’s such a lovesick fool, a stranger on the street could tell he’s in love. A very touchy fella, he needs to TOUCH to know it’s real (not in a icky way, just like, hand holding or stuff like that)

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

He just found the love of his life and you expect him to be quiet about it? PLEASE

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He’s really good at solving problems on the spot, once again his brain is always going fast af, you never have to worry about a mishap when he’s around. Also morse code, he taught you how to use it and now he’s always saying ‘I love you’ to you all day

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

He’s so creative in the weirdest ways, and you love it. It makes the relationship extra interesting. Again, bc he’s a lovesick dork, he’s also a hopeless romantic. He would give you the moon if he could.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Mr Valdez is known in every single one of your clubs and teams bc he’s that loud dude that’s always shouting stuff about how cool you are even when you’re just standing there.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

He’s a sucker for routines. After moving around all his life he just loves to know there’s a place he can just sit and enjoy stuff, he gets his excitement whenever he starts a new project and honestly that’s good enough, he doesn’t need another life-changing quest when he’s got you. He’ll never get tired of what you guys have

Understanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Leo knows your entire schedule by heart at this point. Whenever you cry he hugs you tight against him bc he doesn’t want you to see he’s crying too. He really feels every single one of your defeats and wins as if they were his own.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

YOU. ARE. HIS. LIFE. Sometimes the thought scares you, having someone who depends on you can be draining, but Leo has never put you on a tough spot, he loves you more than he loves himself but he’s considerate with your feelings to the point that he’ll give you space if you ask for it. All he wants is your happiness.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

When he’s especially happy he will snuggle his face on your hair and hug you close. You’re like his real-life teddy bear.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

YES.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Poor puppy, he tries his best to hide it when he’s with others, he laughs and continues to be the life of the party, but he usually calls you by iris message every morning so he can see your face, the reunions are always worth it.

Zeal - are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Ride or die, this bastard would die for you more than once and then come back just to die again. I hate him.

--

Taglist:   @beneaththeiceandsnow,  @bandshirts-andbooks

Leo Taglist: @diaphragmjellyfish​

[five-rivers]

Intervention

Prize for @reblogthegods!  This is a no one knows AU!

Enjoy!

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Danny touched down behind the school and leaned against the wall, one hand firmly over the gash in his hip.  He blinked at it, feeling bleary.  It wasn’t bleeding, exactly, ectoplasm was too viscous for that, and it tended to gel quickly, but…  Yeah. It didn’t feel good either, and it had been oozing before.  

He should get it cleaned out and put a bandage on it.  Fast. Before he missed even more classes.

Also, what would happen when he changed back to human?  Like, when he changed back, his wounds were usually less bad, but they were never completely gone, and he usually didn’t get anything quite this deep.  Or long.  

Mostly he just got bruises.  Or scratches.  One time he thought he’d broken a couple of fingers.  Which had motivated him to learn how to punch properly, but, well. Yeah.  

Cuts like this were new and terrifying territory. Why did that ghost have a sword?

Maybe he should just try and stay a ghost for as long as possible?  Would he heal faster like that?  He didn’t know.  

Between keeping everything secret from everyone, protecting everyone, and trying to live his life to whatever extent ‘live’ and ‘life’ still applied to him, he hadn’t any time to test the- the limitations of- of whatever he was now.  Maybe he could have made time, but he hated this so much.  

He just-

He just-

(He wanted to be a normal person in a normal town with a normal family.)

He took a deep breath, and trued not to notice how it didn’t make him feel refreshed, or that he hadn’t been breathing since he sat down against the wall.  

Right.  First aid.

And he still had classes.  

Slowly, he reached into the wall and pulled out the kit he had hidden there.  

.

He slouched into sixth period, avoiding Sam and Tucker’s eyes.  No one else really paid him any mind, although the teacher frowned at him.  It was still passing, though, and he didn’t get called up or told to go to the office.  So.  A win.

It didn’t feel like a win.  It felt like pain.  

Sam leaned forward.  “Where were you?” she hissed, through her teeth.  “You missed fifth period completely.”

Danny shrugged and regretted it instantly.  

It hurt.  

Tucker huffed and turned away.  “If you’re going to skip class,” he said, “you could at least tell us what you’re doing.”

“I’m just—” started Danny.  “I’m not doing anything.”

“Don’t lie to us, Danny.   We—”  She bit down on her lip.  “We are still friends, right?”

“Of course we are!”

Sam looked dubious.  Tucker, for all his staring as he came into the classroom, wouldn’t meet his eye.  

Then the teacher started class.  

.

“It has to be drugs,” said Sam to Tucker, sitting on the steps in front of the school.  “I don’t know how Danny could be that stupid, but it’s the only explanation.”

“Maybe the hospital gave him painkillers back in August and he couldn’t get off of them?” suggested Tucker.  “I think that happened to one of my aunts…  She got better, though.”

“Maybe,” said Sam.  Her face twisted up.  “But how is he paying for them?  Like, he doesn’t have an allowance.”

“Underground fighting ring?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Someone’s beating him up,” said Tucker, “and it isn’t Dash.”

“Dealer?”

Tucker shrugged, scowling at his PDA.  “I hate this,” he said.  “I hate – Why won’t he talk to us, Sam?  It isn’t like we’d throw him under the bus or rat him out. He knows that.”

“He should know that,” corrected Sam. “And I’m so mad at him, but…” She trailed off, staring down at the weathered concrete of the steps.  

“Yeah,” agreed Tucker.  “Do you think we should tell Jazz?”

“Heck, no,” said Sam, immediately.  “What is that going to do?  We need, like, an intervention or something.”

“Don’t you need someone’s whole family for something like that?”

“I’m going to intervene right in the face of whoever is selling Danny drugs.”

“Ah, the violence route,” said Tucker.  “How did we get here so quickly?”

“Shut up,” said Sam.  “Anything else we do is just going to get Danny in trouble, and I’m not doing that.  Even if he’s being a garbage friend right now.”

“Yeah…” said Tucker.  “So how are we doing this?”

“We?”

“I may not be the best friend in the whole wide world, but even crappy friends don’t let each other beat up drug dealers in alleyways on their own, even if they do have five years of self-defense classes under their belts.  What if this guy has a gun?  What if there’s more than one?”

Sam buried her head in her hands.  “Frick,” she said, very softly.  

“Would this count as vigilantism, by the way? That’s illegal, right?”

“Frick,” repeated Sam, more passionately.  

“Is this going to be our superhero origin story?” asked Tucker, turning his eyes skyward and making his voice waver dramatically.

“Don’t even joke about that.  The only superhero we know of is dead.”

Tucker turned to look up at Sam.  “I still can’t believe you believe that.  Something weird is going on, but… ghosts?  That sounds more like Danny’s parents than anything acquainted with reality.”

“You’d believe it, too, if you were there,” muttered Sam.  “If you—”  She shook herself.  “Whatever. You, me, tomorrow?”

“If I knew what you were asking me to do, I’d probably say yes.”

“Following Danny, duh.”

“Sure, but… Joking about punching drug dealers or whoever is beating Danny up aside, we should probably treat this as just recon. Because I don’t want to get shot by some crackhead in an alley.  Like, if I did become a ghost, my parents would kill me.”

“Not if the Fentons got you first.”

“Aw, Sam.  You wouldn’t let them hurt your bestest undead friend, now would you?”

“Best undead friend?  No.  You? Yes.”

Tucker snorted, choked, and started wheezing.  

“Anyway, I’m not getting into a fight with you anywhere near me.  If you didn’t take yourself out, you’d take me out.”

“Don’t say it.”

“Bad luck Tuck.”

“Ugh, you said it.”

Both of them sighed, staring across the street without really seeing anything.  

“Tomorrow, then,” said Sam, feeling vaguely relieved.

“Tomorrow,” agreed Tucker.

.

Whatever had decided to crawl out of the woodwork to torment Danny today hovered on the edge of his awareness, making him shiver intermittently as he played the most aggravating game of ‘hot and cold’ in the world.  Where was it?  He’d lost track of it after he chased it away from Mr. Quigley, the janitor.  

His breath came out blue, briefly, and green flashed in the corner of his eye before something checked him against the shoulder.  He stumbled, biting back curses (he was a superhero, now, technically, and he needed to be a good role model), and gripping his hip.  The cut from yesterday had healed a lot, but not completely.  

But- He knew the ghost was close, now.  Close and fast.  He’d been trying to save his energy by tracking the ghost down as human, but now…  He felt himself smile.  

It was not a particularly nice smile.  It was full of all the stress and nonsense he’d had to put up with since August.  

He was going to beat this little interloper into the ground, teach it better than to haunt his town, hurt his people and get away with it.

Bright white light swept over him, and he jumped into the air.  

.

“Holy—”

“No,” said Tucker.  “We did not just see that.  I refuse.”

“That was—” Sam made a large sweeping upwards motion. “He just flew off!  What the heck kind of drugs do that?  This is—This is—I don’t even know how to say it!”  She kicked a nearby garbage can and then sunk down into a crouch.  

(Even in this state of mind, she was not kneeling on the ground here.  It was gross.)

“We didn’t—It’s got to be something his parents made.  Like Fenton Ghost Steroids or something,” said Tucker, who was shaking.

“His parents,” said Sam.  “His parents.  They’ve been shooting at him, Tucker.”

“I mean…  Yeah.  I guess so. But we didn’t…  Sam,” he croaked.  “Did Danny die and not tell us?”

“No.  No. Just, no.  No way.  He—You were right, earlier.  It has to be ghost steroids or something, and his parents don’t know, so that means we still have to beat up his dealer, but they’re probably a ghost, how do we beat up a ghost?”

“We could ask Danny’s parents?”

“God, no!”  She shook her head violently.  “Did you miss the part where they’re shooting at him?”

Tucker shrugged, defensively.  “Well, who else could teach us how to fight ghost drug dealers?”  He pushed his glasses up his nose and stared up at the sky.  “Maybe it’s not drugs, though?  Like, in retrospect, if it isn’t painkillers, I can’t really see Danny taking drugs.  Even ghost drugs that give you superpowers.”

“I hate all the words that just came out of your mouth.  I must be having a psychotic break.”

“Hey, wait, that’s my line.  I’m the one in denial.  Give it back.”

“Find your own denial.”

“We can’t both be in denial.  Someone needs to drive this car.”

“Drive you right off a cliff, that’s what I’ll do. And I’m going to kill Danny for not telling us about whatever this is.”  Sam’s gestures grew progressively more violent.

“I don’t think you can kill a ghost.  They’re already—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”  

Tucker held up his hands in surrender.  “Do you think we should wait for him to come back?”

“He probably won’t,” said Sam.  “I mean… he can… fly… apparently.”

“Yeah.  Can’t believe he had his superhero origin story without us.”

“This isn’t a joke, Tucker,” snapped Sam.  

“Well, I’m sorry I have a coping mechanism, okay?” Tucker sighed.  “Should we go back to class?”

“I guess,” said Sam, kicking at the ground. “We’re jumping Danny at the first opportunity, though.”

“Duh,” said Tucker.  

.

Danny limped into seventh period, drained, and flinched away from Sam and Tucker’s glares.  He felt sick.

There wasn’t anything he could do about the ghost attacks except try to finish them faster, but he’d been a terrible friend lately. They probably were starting to hate him. They were going to leave him.  He could tell.  He couldn’t even blame them.  

If he told them—

No.  

They’d be in danger.  

Danger from what, at this point, wasn’t clear, because even if they knew, Danny wasn’t going to let them near any ghost fights, but danger was definitely involved.  A lot of it.  

But if they stopped being friends with him…

The cold thing that had taken up residence in his chest cringed, and he stumbled.  Dash laughed, made an inane comment about his coordination, and lobbed a ball of paper at the back of Danny’s head.  Danny barely noticed.

He didn’t want that.  He needed his friends.  

Sam and Tucker were having some kind of conversation with only their facial expressions by the time Danny sat down, effectively ignoring him.  Now the little ball of cold in his chest felt crushed.  

(Just barely, he resisted the urge to check his pulse.  Whatever had been added to him, he still had that.)

(He was still alive.)

Sam and Tucker were very studiously not looking at him.  

He sank lower in his chair.  

It hurt.  

.

As soon as they were able to, Sam and Tucker dragged Danny into a secluded nook formed by the intersection of two of the school’s exterior walls and shaded by a large bush.  It was unlikely that anyone would bother them there.  

Danny looked surprised, apprehensive, and oddly pleased at the same time.  

“Uh,” he said, very eloquently.  

He probably intended to say more than that, of course, but Sam didn’t give him the chance.  

“We followed you when you skipped today,” she said.

Immediately, all the blood in his face drained away, leaving him bone pale.  “What?”

“In our defense,” said Tucker, “we thought you were meeting a drug dealer.  Or going to fight in an underground club.”

“No, we didn’t,” said Sam.  “Well, we did with the drug dealer, but not the underground fighting ring.  That’s stupid.  Drugs make so much more sense.”

“You think I’m on drugs?” wailed Danny.  

“Thought,” emphasized Tucker.  “Past tense.”

“That’s not any better!”

“Au contraire!  Now we think you’re on ghost drugs!”

“I am not on ghost drugs!” hissed Danny. “Where would I even get ghost drugs?”

“Your parents?” suggested Sam.  

“Why would my parents have ghost drugs?”

“To drug ghosts with? I don’t know, man, your parents are weird.”                                                                                                                                        

“Why would ghost drugs even—Wait.  How much did you even see?” asked Danny, squinting suspiciously.  “Did you actually see anything, or are you just trying to get me to say something?”

“To be fair, we are trying to get you to say something.”

“We saw you turn into the ghost boy and fly off after a ghost,” said Sam, sharply.  

“Oh.  Heck.”  Danny leaned against the wall.  “You did see something, then.”

“Yeah, and we want to know, if it isn’t ghost drugs, how?  And why?” asked Sam.  “And why didn’t you tell us?”

“I just, um.  I didn’t—This is just—I’m freaked out, okay?  This is really freaking weird, and I—You’re not going to tell my parents, are you?”

“If you’re getting high off of ghost drugs,” said Tucker, “then, yeah, maybe.  Don’t think we haven’t noticed you looking like hell.  There’s got to be a bunch of side effects from ghost drugs.”

“Oh my gosh, Tucker, I’m not on ghost drugs.  There are no ghost drugs, and, considering everything, I’d really prefer it if you didn’t give my parents the idea of ghost drugs because that’s the absolute last thing I need.”

Danny finished the sentence in a rush and now he was breathing too much, which was just great, because apparently that was a thing that could happen to him, now.  Going from maybe not needing to breathe to breathing too much…  He was really having doubts about his humanity right now, and his friends were mad at him because they thought he was on ghost drugs.  Ghost drugs.  

“I’m not on ghost drugs,” he said, perfectly calm.

“Are you—Dude, I think you’re hyperventilating.”

Okay.  Maybe not perfectly calm.  He slid the rest of the way down the wall to the ground, which, wow, was a thing he was doing a lot, lately.  

“Danny?” asked Sam, hesitant.

“I’m fine,” he said.  “Mostly.  Just. Give me a minute, okay?”

They gave him a minute. The minute spiraled into five. Then ten.  Which was a really long time to spend in anxious, awkward silence.

“Okay,” said Danny.  “So.  Uh.  Accident.  In the lab. With the stupid ghost portal.  It kind of messed me up a bit.  Like.  And then I’ve been able to, uh, turn into a ghost.  Since then.”

“You can just… turn into a ghost?” ventured Sam.  

“Yeah.”

“Just, like, whenever?”

“Yeah.  Pretty much.  At the beginning I couldn’t control it at all, which was pretty, um…  Yeah.  And I can’t when I’m too tired.”

“So, you can die on command?”

“I’m not dead!” snapped Danny.

Tucker took a step back, hitting the bush.  “Sorry. I’m just trying to wrap my head around this whole… thing”

“Yeah,” agreed Sam.  “I mean, you’re breathing and everything. That means you’re alive.  You’re not dead.”

“I’m not dead,” repeated Danny.  “I’ve just got, like, ghost powers, or something.”

“Yeah.  That makes sense.  Because you can’t be dead and alive at the same time.”  Sam laughed.  It sounded more than a little forced.  “That would be—That’s impossible!  Right?”

“Right.”  Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  He was alive.  Sam agreed.  

“And, uh, thanks,” said Sam.

Danny looked up, surprised. “What?”

“For saving me from that ghost,” explained Sam.  

“Oh.”  He blinked.  “You’re welcome?  It really—I mean, of course I saved you.  You’re my friend.”

Tucker leaned in.  “I think Sam has a crush on ghost you.”

“Tucker, if I kill you, they’ll never find the body,” said Sam.

“No murder, please,” said Danny.  He sniffed. “Are we—Are we okay, now?”

“No,” said Sam.  She poked him in the head.  “I still don’t get why you didn’t tell us.  And you have to tell us everything.  And let us help you.  Because you really do look like you’re on drugs.  That’s how crappy you look.”

“You can’t,” protested Danny, alarmed.  “I’ve got, you know, but you-!”  

“I don’t think she means actively fighting the ghosts, dude.”

“The hell I don’t.”

“Okay, maybe Sam wants to actively fight the undead, or whatever, but you need people to cover for you, at least.  Your skipping out of class thing is… not subtle.  Why do you do that, anyway?  Why not go after the ghosts when it isn’t school time?”

“I don’t really have a choice,” mumbled Danny.  “I can feel them, and it’s like, I don’t know…”  He looked up.  “Can we… talk about this somewhere else?  I don’t want to do this in the open.”

“Crud.  Yeah,” said Tucker.  “No superhero stuff where normal people can hear it.  Come on, we can camp out in my attic or something.”

“Are there even normal people in Amity Park?” asked Danny, pushing himself off the ground.  

“I don’t—Oh my god, Danny, what is that?”

“What is-?  Oh.  Yeah. So.  Ghosts are not gentle.  And some of them have swords.”

“You got stabbed?” wheezed Tucker, his voice squeaking.  “By a ghost?”

“More like slashed, but…” Danny raised his hands helplessly. “Yeah.”  He rubbed one of his eyes.  He was exhausted.  

“Are you… okay?”

Danny laughed.  “No.  No, I am not. Can we go, now?  Please?”

“I’m saying this as someone who hates hospitals, but you should get that looked at.  Really.”

“I’m ninety percent sure I have ectoplasm in my blood, so I’m going to take a hard pass on that one.”

.

“Ouch!” said Danny. His most recent fight with a ghost had been violent, and he’d yet again come away with injuries Sam and Tucker deemed ‘serious.’  “Are you sure you’re doing this right?”

“Look, Mr. No-Hospital, I had to learn first-aid from YouTube.  And I’ve only had a week to learn, because you didn’t tell us you decided to take up the family business.”

“Still more than what he did for himself,” said Tucker, peering over the back of Sam’s sofa.  “It’s just butterfly clips, anyway.  Not stitches.”

“Heh, butterfly clips,” said Danny.  “Makes me think of—Ouch!—barrettes.”

“Berets?” asked Tucker, adjusting his hat.

“Barrettes.  Hair barrettes.  Like, you know, the one Star wears all the time.  With the flower.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  No, I get what you mean.  But, yeah, you’re right about Danny’s medical skills.  Or should I say, the lack thereof.”

“Guys, I’m injured. Can you give it a rest?”

“Hm.  As you let yourself walk around with a mostly untreated stab wound, no.”

“It was more of a slash,” protested Danny.  Again. “A cut.  Not a stab.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” said Sam.  “Anyway, I’m done.  And you’re lucky whatever’s going on with your body keeps you from getting infections. I had to pick so much gravel out of your back it isn’t even funny.”

“Are we sure he can’t get infections?” mused Tucker.  “He could just be really lucky.”

“In no universe am I lucky,” groaned Danny.  “You’d think the freak lab accident would have shown you that.”  Danny sat up and stretched before pulling his shirt back on.

“Speaking of,” said Sam. “Are you ever going to tell us what actually happened?  You said it had to do with your parents’ portal, but…”

Danny had frozen.  “I…” he said, softly, not looking at either of them. “I will.  It’s just… not yet.  I’m not…  Just not yet.”

“It’s cool, man,” said Tucker.  “Take your time.  We’ll be there when you’re ready.”

Danny smiled.  “Thanks.”

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Danny and Amadeus HC

Anonymous said: Amadeus and Danny friendship hcs?

A/N: Istg this anon knows the way to my heart. For those of you who are new, I think that Danny and Amadeus would make the perfect brosome but no one ever fulfilled my fantasy in the show so now I have to do it myself

Danny and Amadeus are brothers more than friends

Danny is like the older brother Amadeus always wanted

The protective mother hen that he never asked for but got

But Amadeus seems like the kind of person who complains when people fuss over him

But totally loves it

And Danny can see right through his Tsundere moods and just gives him all the love

But treats him like his equal at the same time

Cuz Amadeus doesn’t like to receive love because he thinks he’ll look too childish

But Danny values Amadeus’ opinions and things like that

Danny always makes sure Amadeus is heard

“Guys let’s hear him out.”

“I like his plan.”

But what Amadeus appreciates the most is Danny’s blind trust on him

Danny never needs to hear about Amadeus’ plan and try and plan together

He blindly trusts him

So that just confirms that Danny sees him as his teammate

As his partner

Which is very important to him

They have a special relationship

Everyone in the Academy can recognize it

Amadeus is kinda firm and doesn’t really like to do what others suggest unless he wants to

Very good at saying no

Never does anything he doesn’t like just because someone else does

But he always meditates and stretches with Danny

Even though he doesn’t really get it

Danny is like “Empty your mind.”

And Amadeus is like “Unlike you, there’s a lot of stuff in here, so that isn’t exactly possible.”

Another thing

Danny completely lets Amadeus’ insults and jabs fly over his head

It’s how Amadeus shows affection

By harmless teasing and things like that

Many people don’t get him but Danny does and that’s what matters

Everyone always asking Danny how he has the patience to deal with him

And Danny just being like hm? What do you mean?

Literally in his eyes Amadeus is just a sweet, smart child

Sometimes he says somethings that he won’t mean

Cuz ofc Amadeus is still a child

 But Danny never holds it against him

Danny plays the role of mentor, mother, father, brother, friend combined

He always wanted a younger brother

And it’s like his maternal/paternal instinct just comes out?

He gets annoyed whenever someone tries to pick on him

Even with Fury

“Yes, I know what Amadeus said was rude but did you really have to yell at him like that?”

It was the first time Fury has seen Danny get so protective over someone

So, he was like okay

Just let go and let Danny do most of the “parenting” for Amadeus

Danny is such a parent

And Amadeus totally acknowledges it

Amadeus is always silently asking Danny permission for stuff

Like when they plan to go out, he always just looks at Danny for the green light

And obviously Danny says yes, every single time

But it makes him feel safer knowing that Danny is okay with it

Danny looks out for Amadeus in a way that no one does

Amadeus is kind of a rough sleeper so sometimes his pillow or blanket will fall off the bed

Danny is across the room, snuggled in

But he will still get up out of his bed to put the blanket around him

More than once has hauled his ass from the lab to get him to bed

Looks after what he’s eating

Cuz Amadeus eats a lot of instant food cuz he can’t be bothered

But Danny will scold him like a child

Amadeus actually sometimes looks out for Danny too

Always handles Danny’s electronics cuz let’s face it

Danny’s old af

He seems like he’d be a boomer by heart

So, Amadeus is always helping him out with things like that

Danny listens to Amadeus’ weird questions

Always have talks about philosophy and things like that

But mostly it’s either Danny speaking spiritually and Amadeus having none of it

Or Danny speaking spiritually and Amadeus just going to sleep

They train often and are honestly one of the best duos the team has ever seen

So, in tune with each other

Always have each other’s backs

People saying that they were meant to be brothers

And them honestly agreeing

I know they weren’t featured much on the show

But Danny and Amadeus would be the most wholesome brother duo and you can’t change my mind

Forever Taglist: @simonsbluee

USM Taglist: @imcarolinashannon

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Week Glow Stick/REDRUM - Glow Snap

Danny’s been king for a while and that means helping ghosts out sometimes. And that helping has repeated required dealing with humans treating ghosts like crap. But farming ghosts for glow sticks is a new one.

Danny Phantom was beginning to get used to his role as High Ghost King, the balls, the parties, the formalities and respect. The fashion was more difficult to adjust to than everything else in all honestly. Frock coats and even dresses. At least usually all he had to wear was his cape, that was just part of him now though. Another thing he had to get used to were the royal attendances, where he effectively had to just sit at his throne and hear ghosts out. Only if he accepted their request for an attendance of course. He usually rejected the Observants and Vlad, generally on principal alone. Especially since it was nearly a guarantee they were just trying to annoy him. If the eyeballs really needed to see him then they could go through ClockWork and Vlad could literally just show up at his house.

Now if anyone else put in a request to have an attendance with him then he usually paid attention, since that was a rare thing. Most ghosts wouldn’t even dare due to the ‘behaviour’ of Pariah giving the entire throne, title, and crown a really nasty reputation. Most of the Zone simply assumed or worried that this Phantom fellow, who defeated Pariah, was just like him or worse. The ghosts that knew him didn't even bother going through official routes, they just showed up in Amity or invited him to their lair. So when he got a attendance request from a ghost he’d never heard of representing an entire species of ghost that he hadn’t yet met, he accepted without hesitation and felt rather worried. This Brextex likely only knew the High Ghost King as the guy who overpowered the evil tyrant Pariah and was thus taking a chance by willingly asking to be alone in the throne room and lair of the new King. It didn’t help that most of the rumours about him involved the fact that he beat up other ghosts and had made powerful allies. So either this ghost was desperate, out of options, or just recklessly curious. Just in case it was either of the first Danny had elected to stick with his true ghost form rather than ageing himself up to look more ‘adult’ and imposing (or in the Observants case, remind them of Dan). Sure his true form was more visually impressive than it was when he was fourteen, but his seventeen-year-old ass did not nearly have the muscle, size, or defined body structure his mid-twenties self would. He’s honestly wondering when the heck that growth spurt was going to hit him in genuine. But hey, at least his fangs had grown in and he’s pretty sure his ears are beginning to taper.

But anyway, accepting that attendance request is what finds him sitting at his throne, one leg over an armrest and drumming his fingers in boredom on the other armrest. He’s tempted to start pulling down his crown in front of his face only to let go and watch it spring back up, small amusements. The FrightKnight comes in just as Danny had decided to go ahead and do that.

Danny rights himself as his High Dread Knight speaks, “Brextex has arrived, your highness. Are you content to see him now?”. Danny just nods and absently waves for the guy to just go ahead and let the ghost in. He honestly would appreciate the FrightKnight relaxing more on all the formalities, not going to happen but still. His knight nods, letting the ghost in and going to stand outside the doors.

Danny will admit, this is one of the odder looking ghosts he’s seen. He looked kinda like someone who was nothing but skin and bones but the bones under the skin glowed. The skin didn’t though, and he just had glowing light in sunken eye sockets rather than physical eyes. The fact that he walked across the hall towards Danny rather than floated was pretty odd for a ghost too. Eh, maybe he just preferred walking on solid ground; Danny often did.

Brextex immediately kneels when he’s considered officially close enough, not coming any closer. Which was pretty typical for ghosts who had never met him. What does catch Danny’s attention is that he can hear the ghost's bones creaking and straining as if they were real solid bones that had seen plenty abuse. Danny’s joints and spine would creak like that sometimes. “Bless you for seeing me, High King Phantom. May you bless me speak?”.

“You may”. Danny makes a point to smile warmly when Brextex raises his head, which seems to startle the ghost for a second.

“I’ve come to request aid, your highness. My kind, linchens, we- we’ve been suffering for a long while”.

Danny squints a little and leans forward, “how so?”. He thought he had made it clear to the FrightKnight that he wanted to know about any groups, clans, kingdoms, or tribes that were genuinely struggling. Either he’ll have to have a talking with him about what qualifies as ‘struggling’ again, or he didn’t know himself. The Zone was large, so he couldn’t really fault him if that was the case. But the FrightKnight was old, reasonably he should know about all of the different groups. “The FrightKnight was supposed to inform me of any genuine suffering or issues”.

Brextex shifts slightly, maintaining the kneeling position though, “well sire, I don’t believe the... FrightKnight looks beyond the Infinite Realms. See, my kind haven’t been part of it for ages. We’re... located in the Mortal Realm”. Okay, that gets Danny’s attention real fast. He probably looks more than a little surprised, since ghosts weren’t generally capable of staying in the human world for very long. Obviously this kind of ghost, linchens, could. But then that’s kinda weird that he hasn’t run into one yet. Heck, showing in Amity would have been easier than finding a portal and coming to see him formally. It’s not like the hunters in Amity were much of a threat now after all the truces he’s formed. Dora could come without a human disguise and buy tea even. Maybe these ghosts simply didn’t know?

Danny nods, “feel free to explain the issue then, I’m often in the Mortal Realm so I can certainly help”.

Brextex just blinks at him for a bit before standing up quickly and motioning with his hands as he speaks. Clearly forgetting the ‘proper etiquette’ at the serious possibility of Danny not being an unhelpful asshole. “Pariah used to keep us as pets to break our bones for fun so when one of the old ones found a portal to the living world we all fled there. But the living were quick to capture us and decided they liked our bones to and somehow broke our connection to the Infinite Realms”. Danny doesn’t like where this is going and if the G.I.W. have anything to do with this he’s going to be having some words with their head boss... again. “Or that’s the story that’s been passed down. Ever since they’ve been keeping us and harvesting our bones until we fade from the-”, Brextex jerks a bit likely from Danny’s eyes flashing a little angrily. By the ghost swallows and continues “-from the draining. The others were able to get me out since my ecto-field’s weaker and young. We had heard about a new king and thought that- that you would maybe be different. We had to take the risk. We had to-”.

Danny holds up a hand to pause the ghost, because frankly he doesn’t even need to hear more to be willing to help. A group of humans actively murdering ghosts to collect their bones? Hell no. That is absolutely not something he’s going to let fly. But right now he needs to get across that his flash of anger wasn’t aimed at the ghost. Brextex does not need to start begging to him. Standing up, which Brextex looks a bit freaked by, “I’ll help. Absolutely I will”. Walking down the throne steps, Brextex remembering himself and kneeling again as Danny approaches. Danny making a point to reel in the anger, because he does not need to stress this ghost more, and patting Brextex on the head, “you're fine. Humans treating ghosts like monsters and whatnot is something that ticks me off and that I’ve gone well out of my way to deal with. And to hear some have been murdering ghosts, I don’t give a flaming crap why, that is unacceptable”, sighing, “now come on, get up. I should probably at least know why, or what you believe to be why, you and the rest of your kind are being treated worse than animals at an unethical and illegal slaughterhouse”.

Brextex stands up more than a little stiffly and eyes him warily, giving a strained, “bless you”, then clearing his throat, “well... our bone enamel glows really strongly if we snap or break a bone”, he digs in the small little beat up bag he’s got around his waist and pulls out a little bag. Handing it over to Danny though clearly avoiding actually touching the king. “They shave our bones down after harvesting so they’re opaque-”, pointing at the bag, “-and look like that. We’re not really sure why and we honestly don’t care“.

Danny nods and scowls, opening the bag and pulling out a bunch of freaking glow sticks. Danny blinks, honestly a bit too shocked to really feel much of anything, “glow sticks?”. Sure his parents had used to rave about a conspiracy theory that glow sticks were filled with ectoplasm and had thus banned them from the house. But them being actually right was utterly insane.

Brextex furrows his brows, skin pulling tight, “you’ve... seen these before? Why? What are they for? Their purpose? Are they needed? Do the living need to do this to us?”.

Danny shakes his head immediately, because holy shit no. “They’re used for cheap entertainment. Completely unnecessary entertainment”, then scowls deeply, even growling a little, “this is absurd and I’m not having it”. Looking to Brextex, who looks nervous, “where are the other linchens being kept? Because I’m about to have some very not nice words with whoever assholes thinks torturing and murdering anyone for freaking glow sticks is remotely okay”.

Brextex nods and grins a little, “I can take you”. While Danny lifts a hand to form a portal in the air, the ghost watching in a bit of amazement. Danny doesn’t need to tell the FrightKnight he’s heading out, the guy can sense it just fine.

-

They step out onto a rooftop in Amity, Danny sending away his crown and cape as he turns to look at Brextex who’s looking around, “this place... it is your lair too”, then adding on like he’ll get in trouble otherwise, “your highness”.

Danny waves him off, trying not to seem ticked off, “don’t bother with royal titles here. Humans don’t know and I'd mostly prefer to keep it that way”. The G.I.W. knew but that was purely so he could threaten them more effectively. “Yeah, welcome to Amity Park, the place I usually am. The one place the G.I.W. are banned from”.

“The... G.I.W.?”.

Danny shrugs almost aggressively, “group of anti-ghost terrorists. Almost blew up the Zone once. I’ve had words with them”, nodding curtly, “now, where to?”. Brextex stares at him for a bit before pointing off to the east, a bit of green light sting shooting off. Danny plucks it to see how far it goes. The area seemed just a bit outside of a populated area.

Danny nods, “alright, I’ve got it”, looking to the ghost, “do you want a place to rest? I live with ghost hunters but they’re cool with good ghosts that don’t run around attacking humans. They’re pretty knowledgeable too, so if you need anything they can help. My friends could keep you company too. I don’t want you coming off with me and straining or hurting yourself”.

Brextex stares a bit more before furrowing his brows, “you are... very different. Kind”. Danny smiles at that, “my friends say I’m a little too nice sometimes”, and quirks an eyebrow.

Brextex nods a little, “I’ll... take the offer then”.

So Danny teleports them down into an alley and changes back human. Though that makes Brextex jump back and look incredibly confused. Danny chuckles and rubs his neck, “ah guess you don’t know. I’m a halfa”.

“A... halfa?”.

Danny nods and starts walking, the ghost following behind, “yup, half a ghost, half a human. This is how I look as a human. The people I live with are my human parents”. Danny sends off a quick text for his friends to get their butts over to his house as he pushes in his home’s front door, “mom! Dad! I’ve got a friendly that needs a place to crash for a bit!”.

His mom sticks her head out of the kitchen, glances at the ghost and back to Danny, “well he’s an interesting one”. Danny doesn’t even let her finish that and points at her, “no labs”.

“Alright, no worries sweetie. He’ll be staying in your room?”. Danny just nods as he heads upstairs, his friends joining him and Brextex just as the two had gotten halfway up the stairs.

“Oh! New ghost huh dude?”.

Sam just smiles at the confused-looking ghost.

Danny nods at Tucker, “you guys hang with him while I go unleash ghostly wrath on some people”.

Tucker pats the ghost on the shoulder and the two walk into Danny’s room. Sam raising an eyebrow at Danny, “what is it this time?”.

Danny scowls, “glow sticks are ghost bones apparently”. She scowls immediately herself, “you have my full support”, and nods at him as he turns to leave. Danny promptly teleporting away as soon as he’s back outside.

-

Danny floats above the little factory-looking building, arms crossed and scowling. It’s not even a debate him taking his mid-twenties full ghost looking form, the fact that his royal cape had a flaming white collar and large green skulls pinning it shut with a shadowy chain only made him look slightly more threatening than Dan did with his simple tattered cape. His crown wrapped around the flaming hair pretty darn well too in a way that just emphasised the crown even more. But before he does anything drastic he’s going to check this place out invisibly.

And what he finds inside is frankly, disgusting. The first thing he comes across are these tools that looked like potato peelers and piles of what he’s sure are ‘bone peels’; which he scowled at, feeling his lips pull over his other fangs. The second looks to be a literal vat of ‘discarded’ glow sticks, ones that were misshapen, damaged and leaking; the fact that they were taking these ghosts body parts and just throwing them away very explicitly pisses him off. Who knows how many ghosts faded for these damn scraps. It wasn’t like fucking glow sticks were important or even necessary, to kill to make them was beyond wrong and idiotic. The room with just boxed up glow sticks doesn’t really bother him beyond just how much was here. How many ghosts had faded in this place? Was there a risk of extinction? If he were to ask the FrightKnight the guy would probably claim to have thought this species of ghost already had gone extinct.

Getting to the centre of the factory is when he finds the ghosts. There are at least twenty or so ghosts that looked similar to Brextex stuck inside plastic cases that were practically skin tight around them, with little hinges and doors that could be opened for access to their arms, legs, fingers, toes, and ribs. There was tubes hooked into the back of the cases that appeared to be feeding the ghosts ectoplasm, Danny can tell by smell there’s some kind of drug mixed in. He’d place money on it being a type of tranquilliser or complacency drug. Especially with one of these linchens ghosts having escaped recently. He can tell from looking at the ghosts faces that the drug(s) definitely weren’t any kind of pain medication.

Floating over to one of the cases and putting his large clawed hand on it, he can sense the ghost inside is a child ghost. Scowling, first thing first, he needs to get them out of here. At the very least there are no alarms set to the cases, even if there were cameras he quickly shorted out with a little ecto-electroshock, meaning he can immediately start disconnecting the drugs and start tearing open the cases; duplicating so he can catch/carry the ghosts when they effectively fall out, either too weak or too out of it to really be aware of him or what’s going on fully. One of the ghosts particularly worries him as she’s gooey to the touch; making damn sure to teleport her to his room immediately with a duplicate, the rest he gives a more thorough look over to before sending them off.

Glancing around the room and nodding to himself with a huff. All clear. Now to scare the crap out of some assholes. Letting himself return to visibility as he heads to walk out, slapping a hand on the wall to send ice out coating everything in the room. Try ever using any of that shit ever again.

It doesn’t take long for an invisible duplicate to find the boss over in the ‘office’ building section, which he smirks over as he kicks in the main doors and blasts blue ecto-flames around him; making damn sure his footprints scorch the ground. The receptionist and people hanging around in the lobby jump over the loud sound before standing up and freaking out. Danny comes to a stop and crosses his arms, forcing anyone with the guts to try and flee to have to squeeze past him. He has no clue how involved any of these people are so he’ll let them off with singed jackets, jolts of cold, and a healthy dose of fear. Most people chose to just huddle in corners and radiate fear.

Danny huffs after a bit and continues stalking towards the big bad bosses office, completely ignoring the secretary as he goes. Though he does grumble with a deep voice, “I suggest you get a better job. There won’t be much left of this company soon”. Let her take that threat however she wants to. He wasn’t about to burn the place down, but an ecto-blast or two should do the job.

Kicking in the bosses door hard enough to blow it clean off its hinges and into the far wall, it just skimming past the guys head. Said guy is too stunned to do more than jerk and stare at him, which Danny snarls at him for. But at least that makes it easy to grab the guy's face and slam his head into the back wall, hard enough to give him a nasty headache but not outright kill the guy. He’s not here to add on to the death-toll.

“Alright fuckface, you and I have a few issues to settle. And this is a non-negotiable communication offer. Specifically about your little ghost harvesting setup”. Dropping him and watching the guy groan before scooting away from him across the floor with his hands and feet. While Danny moves his hand to coat the open doorway with flames, blocking off the only real exit here. Flicking a wrist to make one of his thrones form, simpler than his official throne but still pretty stunning-looking; all in sharp angular black and white and peppered in ectoplasmic gemstones.

Danny sits down while staring the guy down, growling at him, “I suggest you take a seat”. The guy nods and scrambled up without hesitation, reclaiming his average black office chair. Danny snapping immediately, “name and position”.

The guy swallows, “Brillar Glühen. Head of the Kialuma Company”, Brillar clearly tries to force himself to relax into the back of his chair, “and you are?”.

Danny grins very meanly, making sure his fangs are very noticeable, “Phantom, High Ghost King and ruler of the afterlife”, then just to be mean, “some might prefer to call me Hades or perhaps Satan”. No one called him Satan, like, ever. But there were plenty who considered the Zone to be Hell, so he’s fairly sure he can claim the name just to scare some asshole.

Brillar is visibly shaken and swallows, “nice to... to meet you”. Which Danny huffs a mean laugh at, “no it’s really not”, Danny scowls and leans forward on the guy's desk, “look here fuck-stick, I don’t know how someone who’s clearly barely fucking thirty is running a company older than that, but not only do I not care but I also am not going to change my course of action because of that”, pointing a clawed finger in his face, he’ll give him points for not moving back even if the prick goes stiff as a board, “obviously you damn well know how your company goes about getting its end product, if you don’t then you’re an idiot that deserves to be yelled at anyway”. Brillar nods stiffly so Danny scowls at him before continuing, “tell me then, why the fuck do you think it’s okay to tear out a beings bones repeatedly till they effectively die just to sell as a party novelty item”, growling, “last I checked, even humans knew better than to commit needless murder”.

Brillar swallows, “the creatures are already dead-”. Danny snapping, “so’s your mother, your point?”, making the guy jump a little.

“They- they don’t feel pain and-and one moving on is a mercy”,

Danny rolls his eyes harshly, “let me guess, you got that load of horse crap from the previous boss or the G.I.W., well here’s a tip for you. That’s wrong. We feel pain as much as the living. And since you might as well be an informed asshole, ghosts can not ‘move on’ by being murdered. It happens naturally”, scowling, “so knowing that, you see why you and I might have a few issues”. Brillar gulps and nods slowly. Danny growls over the lack of an actual answer, so he stands, grabs the guy's collar, and smacks his face down onto the desk. Lighting a ball of ecto-fire in his hand and holding it in front of the guys face, growling, “so what are you going to do about our little issue?”.

Brillar sounds more than a little shaken, “f-find a different resource. And- and let the-the glowing creatures- uh, ah, ghosts go?”.

Danny bares his teeth in his face a bit, “don't say that like a question, mean it”, shoving his head against the desk a bit more before releasing him and sitting back down, “this is a company that sells a cheap novelty item, that’s it. You have no place torturing sentient beings. And bones? Seriously? Do you even think the living public would be okay with that? You disappoint me”, scowling, “at least if you were some kind of ecto-phobic bigot, your stupidity and cruelty would make an ounce of sense”, shrugging aggressively, “and I’d have an excuse to beat the shit out of you”.

Brillar sits back up slowly and stares at him, Danny flashes his eyes just to freak the guy out more. Brillar swallows, “I- please don’t”.

Danny sighs and rolls his eyes, “I won’t. You’re just an idiot fed some bullshit information and handed a company that was already spinning its wheels financially fine so you felt no need to change anything. Ethics, common sense, and basic decency be damned. Oh and if you think I can’t use human methods to sue you into oblivion or politically murder you, then you are gravely mistaken. So take fucking heed and watch your shit or I will be far far less nice if I have to show up here again”, snarling, “now good day and have fun fixing all the shit I destroyed in your factory”. Then making his throne and himself burst into flames before turning invisible. Let the prick think he ‘road the fires of Hell’ or something. He does have to restrain a laugh when he invisibly watches the guy right himself, pull out his phone while shaking so bad he can barely type, and says, “h-hey dad, uh, can you um, when does the church open?”.  

Danny smirks to himself and decides to speak as darkly as possible into the phone, “someone needs to repent and get off of Hell’s naughty list”. Making the guy shriek, launch himself across the room, and throw his phone into the air. Danny rolls his eyes and silently snorts as Brillar eyes his phone warily.

Danny flies out, gathers all the ‘discarded’ glow sticks/bones and the ‘bone peels’, then teleports home. He’s honestly not surprised to see his friends and all the ghosts in the yard rather than in the house. Brextex looking to be fretting over the other ghosts of his kind. All the ghosts jump and go bug-eyed when Danny suddenly appears. All the ghosts quickly and jerkily moving to huddle together when they actually get a good look at him; obviously frightened. Brextex looks less frightened but far more confused than the others.

Ticker comes over and smacks him on the bicep, “dude, maybe take your true form and cool your jets before you scare them even more”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “yeah yeah, but first”, snapping a clawed finger and making all the ghost parts he stole/reclaimed appear in his yard, “you know I have more energy at my fingertips like this”, then changing back to his true ghost form.

Walking over to the group of huddling ghosts, who shrink back from him some. The whole being feared thing may please his ghostly nature a lot but he still doesn’t particularly like being feared. Brextex is the only one who doesn’t actively noticeably shrink away or seem fearful. Danny waves and smiles friendly at them, “relax, please. One of my powers happens to be a pretty heavy dose of age slash form manipulation. That previous form happens to be good for scaring the crap out of assholes”, smirking, “I don’t think you have to worry about being bone harvested anymore and a few humans definitely need to change their pants”. Tucker snorts on the side, the ghosts just look slightly confused but do relax some. Danny looks around and spots the child ghost he was the most worried about, promptly moving to her and kneeling down. Grabbing her hands and checking her energy levels, “glad to see you’re looking a bit better”, frowning slightly, “you’re still lower than I’d like, you can take some from me if you like?”.

She shifts and fiddles with his fingers some, “really?”. He nods so she grabs him and gets rather clingy, Danny picking her up and standing; carrying her around as he moves to check on the others. Easily hearing Sam laugh a little and speak at some of the more surprised looking linchen ghosts, “told you he was a kind soul who’s stupid protective”. Catching a few ghosts looking at her and nodding jerkily, but the group of ghosts do start to seem less nervous and timid around him.

Once Danny’s satisfied with the state of everyone, eyeing the child ghost, “Alright, you’ve had enough. No getting greedy now”, she just hums innocently at him as he puts her down. Turning to face the group, “so I have a question for you all, Brextex said y’all have been disconnected from the Zone. So my question is if you want to stay here in the living realm or be reintroduced into the ghost realm”.

Danny watches as they all look to a linchen with stringy red hair and red ‘eyes’, he felt older than the others so Danny’s guessing he’s their leader, or as close to one as they have. He clears his throat and steps forward, “we don’t have... fond memories of this realm. While we believe our kind left the Infinite Realms for safety... I don’t believe we have to fear there anymore. You... are not Pariah. We’d like to go home... your highness”.

Danny nods curtly and smiles, “then that’s what we’ll do. Now it might take some time for you all to reconnect fully and properly. That’s just the nature of things I’m afraid. So I’ll have some knights keep guard over wherever you chose to set down your roots, that way the miasma and local flora and fauna won’t damage any of you. Alright?”. They all nod looking a bit stunned though. Danny gestures to the bone stuff he brought with him, “these are yours to do with as you wish, as far as I’m concerned they belong to you. If you remember your traditions for respecting the faded, then maybe these will help you do that”. They just nod, clearly only getting more stunned; which makes Danny chuckle a bit.

Sam and Tucker share a look and shake their heads, while Danny makes a portal and guides the ghosts through.

-

Danny speaks at the FirghtKnight while watching the linchens settle down from afar, “let me guess, you thought they were extinct?”.

The FrightKnight nods, “I rather assumed that when they disconnected from the Infinite Realms it was due to being whipped out. Ghosts being able to exist amongst the living indefinitely as you do is uncommon, my king”.

Danny snorts, “I’m uncommon, Frighty. There any other ghost species that fled to the human world and were never heard of again?”.

The FrightKnight seems to almost sigh, “‘fraid so sire. The fallen mad king chased many off”. Making Danny actually sigh, guess he now has a bunch of things to look into. Hopefully there wasn’t, like, horror movie companies using real ghosts as movie ghosts.

End.

[early2000smovieimagines]

Meeting and Dating Rafe McCawley

(My gif) (Requested by @minigranger )

(I’m so sorry this took so long! I’m trying really hard to write more often on all my blogs!)

- You and your family lived in the same town as Rafe so even though you didn’t directly meet him until you were older, you still saw him around a lot growing up. 

- For as long as he could remember, he had always had a massive crush on you. No, not just a crush, this boy was in love with you ever since he first saw you at the general store when you were kids. 

- Anytime he saw you, he’d stop and stare like an angel just walked past him. And to him you were an angel, one he needed to have for himself. If only he had the guts to talk to you. 

- He did in fact gain the courage to ask you out on a date but only after he got older and grew out of his awkward gangly teenage phase. 

- You were genuinely surprised when he approached you for the first time, introducing himself with such urgency and determination that you couldn’t help but feel as though you were the most important thing in the world. He really powered through his confession like his life depended on it which was honestly pretty adorable to you. 

“Ma’am? My name is Rafe McCawley and please excuse me, but I just need to get this off of my chest. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, inside and out, and you would make me the happiest man on Earth if you were to say you’d join me on a date.” 

- Who could say no to that?

- The smile you gave him once he was finished made his knees weak. He almost couldn’t believe his ears once you agreed, it was like all his dreams had come true. He quickly told you he’d pick you up at noon the next day before clumsily making his exit, running home to tell Danny everything that had happened. 

- He was so excited for your date that he literally arrived at your house thirty minutes early and waited outside, checking his watch until he deemed it appropriate to ring your doorbell. He was nearly speechless when you answered, handing you a bouquet of flowers before finally forcing out a “god, you are so beautiful”. 

- He took you to a gorgeous lake where the two of you sat in the shade of a big  willow tree and had a pretty little picnic. He was adorably clumsy throughout your whole date which only made you fall for him even more. He confessed that he’d liked you for a long time now and you confessed the same which caught him completely off guard. 

- The thing about Rafe is that deep down, he’s a shy loser. He can’t flirt for the life of him but god can he make a girl swoon without even trying. He wins your love with earnest compliments and sweet nothings that come straight from his heart. 

- You have your first kiss that same day, bathed in the setting sun and surrounded by the smell of warm dry air and flowers. It’s deliciously soft and beautifully slow, making your heart race and your mind stop. 

- You’ve been two fools in love ever since and you’ve got no intention of stopping anytime soon. 

- He wants everyone to know that you’re together so expect a lot of pda. Handholding, soft kisses, hugs, his arm wrapped around you, etc. It’s all very innocent but it sends a message and makes you both happy. 

- You catch him watching you a lot, often with this little smile on his face that tells you exactly what he’s thinking. How did I get so lucky. 

- Passionate kisses. 

- Spontaneous and adventurous dates and decisions. Most of them get ruined somehow but neither of you mind, the temporary thrill is amazing and the get-away is always amusing. 

- Even though you don’t come from much, he tries his best to make you feel like the classiest woman alive. Champagne, roses, diamonds, whatever he can get his hands on. 

- Folded cranes and other sentimental gifts. Both of you smile every time you see them. 

- He likes pressing kisses all over your face before he finally captures your lips in his. He adores the little giggles you make whenever he does it.

- He wraps both his arms around you in a bear hug when the two of you cuddle. He can hardly sleep without holding you close, almost as though he’s afraid you’ll disappear in the night

- He’s pretty clumsy so you’ll have to take care of your fair share of cuts and bruises. 

- Hearing about all of his adventures with Danny. Some of them are so outrageous that you can’t believe they’re real no matter how much he laughingly assures you they are. 

- He’s going to give you a complex with how much he compliments you. It’s kind of funny though because as much as he compliments you, he often gets pretty flustered when you do the same. 

- He uses a lot of pet names on you but you think you like it best when he calls you by your name. There’s just something so nice about the way he says it. 

- Sitting on his lap and snuggling close. 

- Soft caresses, he can never seem to keep his hands off of you. 

- Pulling his hat off his head so that you can kiss him. When you pull away, he likes to teasingly place it on yours, calling you captain and asking what you feel like doing. 

- There’s a lot of teasing in your relationship but it’s the “so sweet it’ll rot your teeth” kind of teasing. 

- Getting carried around bridal style. 

- Taking long walks together. He likes having a chance to get away from everybody and just spend some quality time with you. 

- He’s taken you on a plane ride at least once, he’s either very glad that you share his love for flying or finds it cutely amusing when you get scared. 

- Even though he’s fond of thrills, he does enjoy just spending a quiet night in with you. 

- Whenever he goes to order food or drinks for the two of you, he’ll hand you some money to go spend on the jukebox while you wait for him. He thinks it’s cute when you skip off all excited to pick a song. 

- Going to the cinema together. 

- Photo booth pictures.

- Going dancing. 

- Sneaky butt touches, he tries his best to act innocent but you know he’s a liar. 

- Tight hugs, he often lifts you up and spins you around whenever you wrap your arms around him. 

- He always tries his best to act like he isn’t sick or hurt but he rarely manages to do so convincingly. A lot of the time he can’t help but give up, apologize and admit that yes, he feels about ready to die. He want’s you to think he’s all tough and macho but he doesn’t have quite the pain tolerance or acting skills for it. 

- He likes for everything to be special when he’s with you, he loves making memories together and having things to look forward to the next time he sees you. 

- It always warms his heart to hear you talk about your future together or how much your parents like him. He loves knowing that you’re planing to stay with him and that he’s already a part of your family. 

- At the start of your relationship, he tried desperately to hide his disability from you, thinking that, for some ungodly reason, you’d stop loving him and think that he was stupid. You reassure him that that would never happen and help him whenever he needs you to. 

- Sometimes he just likes having you read different books to him or recount the plots of books that you’ve read. He loves your voice and being able to experience stories without the difficulty of trying to read them. 

- He’s insecure but in a secretive, no one would know, type of way. Anyone who doesn’t know him well would never be able to tell but you can see through the cracks and know exactly what he’s thinking most of the time. 

- He’s a pretty jealous guy, he takes people flirting with or being interested in you very personally and has definitely gotten into fights over you. He just cares about you too much to let someone “disrespect your relationship” like that. 

- He might be willing to let you go if you don’t love him anymore but god will it be hard for him. He firmly believes a part of him will always love you no matter what happens between the two of you. 

- You rarely ever fight, there’s hardly ever a reason to, your relationship is pretty much perfect. But on that rare occasion that you do, you’ll both just calmly get everything off of your chest before you resolve whatever needs to be resolved. 

- He doesn’t lose his temper with you very often. The very thought makes him sick so if he feels he’s like he’s going to snap, he’ll take a few moments to calm down on his own before attempting to fix things with you. It doesn’t take long for everything to be sorted out and for you to go back to your happy, in love selves. 

- He always tries his best to be there for you, offering you reassurance and a shoulder to cry on whenever you need. 

- He often treats you very gently even though he knows you won’t break. It’s just been drilled in his head that you treat a woman with care because they’re “gentle creatures”. 

- He’s very protective of you, he always makes sure you know that he’d never let anything happen to you. 

- He does everything he can to see you as much as possible especially after he gets accepted into the army.

- Sending each other letters when he goes away. 

- He keeps a picture of you on him at all times. He’s probably kissed it a few times. 

- He also has a necklace of yours that you gave to him when he first went away. It helps to keep him from missing you too much. Whenever he see’s it shining in his reflection he can’t help but feel better yet melancholy at the same time. 

- No matter how many times he has to do it, saying goodbye never gets any easier. He hates having to leave you, not being able to see you for such long lengths of time is torture. 

- He always promises to come back as soon as possible and you hold him to that promise, saying you’ll drag him back yourself if you have to. 

- Having your entire world shatter around you when you receive the news of his death. You bawl your eyes out for weeks, not being able to believe that it’s true. 

- Thinking you’ve died and went to heaven when he arrives at your door safe and sound. All you can do is fall into his arms and refuse to let go. Nothing will ever top the feeling of getting him back. 

-  Constant “I love you’s” not a day goes by when he doesn’t say it to you, at least when you’re together in person. He can’t help but swoon every time you tell him the same, especially when you say it out of nowhere, 

- He dreams of settling down with you, starting a family and living on a cozy little farm together. A future with fields of green, laughter and love. What more could a man ask for? 

[alexandenigtscreations]

Summary:

Tim Stoker stumbled into the archives, bloody and hurt. Demanding to talk to Jon. Having just escaped the clutches of the circus.

Jon dropped his pen, sitting back in his office chair rubbing itchy eyes.  Another day done, another statement recorded.  Another step closer to bringing down the circus- the Unknowing-

Hopefully-

He sighed.  Sending a silent curse towards Elias and his cryptic messages.  Why couldn’t he just give Jon Gertrude’s notes on the Unknowing?.  He was tired of feeling like a naughty child being led around by an ear.  His eyes prickled again and he stared blankly at the computer screen.  It would be best to call it a night.

He began to pack up, tucking papers into a briefcase, pulling on his coat and giving a fond pat to the lucky cat figurine on his bookshelf.  

“Here’s to hoping no one’s interested in the Archivist tonight, eay?”

The lucky cat cheerfully waved a paw.

“Right.”  

The only thing Jon hated more than coming into the Archives was leaving them.  The number of times he’d been snatched bordered on comical, if it hadn’t hurt so much.  Time had really gotten away from him today, then again, that wasn’t exactly new.  He considered calling a cab.  There hadn’t been any statements concerning cabs or cabbies that he knew of.  The underground, delivery vans and walking home felt perilous this late, but a cab- Of course, he knew just because a statement wasn’t in the archives, that there weren’t entity tied cabbies; but it provided the illusion of safety all the same

Jon opened the door and came face to face with-

“T-Tim!”

“We need to talk-boss.” he said, sagging against the door jam, teetering forwards in an unbalanced fashion.  

Jon hurriedly put a bracing hand on his chest, “E-easy now.  What on-”

“Don’t touch me!” he exploded, shoving Jon back, so that he nearly tripped over the spare chair, briefcase and folders sent flying.  Then, softer “don’ t-touch-me.” He was shaking now.

It hurt.  Course it hurt, but Jon couldn’t help feel that it was deserved.  Jon couldn’t remember the last time Tim had willingly sought him out, yet alone used the old nickname of ‘boss’.  Every inch of him screamed that something was wrong.  

“Right.” he said, holding his hands placatingly in front “I’m not touching you-” something damp and sticky on his fingers caught his attention. 

Blood.

There was blood on his hand, Tim’s blood.  He was hurt!

“Y-you’re bleeding.”

“It doesn’t matter!” he was shouting again “God, why can’t you just-just Listen!  T-The Circus-  Christ!” he stopped abruptly, clutching at his front.

Jon froze.  “The circus?” breath hitching as the ghost of calliope music echoed through his skull.  Hands, hard and plastic, grabbing him, holding him down, while he…he…lord  “Tim!  What happened-what-”

“Stop with the Questions!” Tim shook with the force of his voice, visibly distressed.  Jon snapped his mouth shut in horror.  The compulsion- he hadn’t meant too-

“Sorry, sorry Tim- I-I didn’t mean-”

“Shut up.” He was swaying dangerously, the door no longer sufficient in keeping him upright.  Resisting the compulsion had taken what little strength he had left.  

Tim tipped forwards, swearing, Jon rushed to catch him as his legs caved.  Never known as a strong man, Jon nearly buckled under the weight of his assistant.  A confused tangle of arms and clothing.  This close, the scent of blood was overwhelming.  Tim made a pathetic sound, clinging to Jon with surprising force.  For his part, Jon willed himself to get the man to a chair.  He could do that much.  He had too.  

It was less than graceful.  He jostled the taller man something fierce.  What little color there was, fled his face and his eyes started to flutter.  

“Tim.” Jon said, carefully holding his head, keeping him steady.  “Tim, I need you to breath.  Are you with me?”  He blinked blearily, until he focused on Jon’s face.  

“Unfortunately.” 

“Good.”  Jon’s eyes drifted down to the dark stain spreading across the hawaiian shirt, the cream flowers shaded red.  He slid the coat open wider, finding Tim’s entire front was covered.  He started at the buttons, wanting to get a clear picture of what they were dealing with. Tim grabbed his wrist.  “We need to stop the bleeding.”  Jon explained.  

Tim shook his head belligerent.  “We need to talk-” 

“And we will.  Just, let me help- first.” 

Tim held him a moment longer before relenting with a surly “Fine.”  Jon eased the coat off his shoulders and started at the buttons once more.  Each fastening undone revealed more of the goary scape of Tim’s chest.  That’s when he caught sight of- Christ- lettors! 

There were letters crudely carved into Tim’s flesh.  Jon felt sick reading the message.

COME DANCE~

N.O.

Nikola Orsinov had…

“Oh- Tim-” Jon felt a sharp pang lance through him as he stared at the ragged skin.  “I-we-” he took a breath, his stomach churning “I’ll be back, we need the first aid kit.”  He got as far as the door before turning “Just… stay put.” then took off towards the employee lounge.  

Jon braced himself on the sink, feeling as though he was going to be sick.  The Circus and-and skin-

“Christ Tim.”  he caught sight of the blood streaked cross his hands.  He had to wash it off, just had to.  He scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed them under hot water.  Wanting to wash away the dirt, the grime the-the grease-

It had looked so… bad.  He scrubbed, hoping the cuts were not too deep, hoping the muscles would be untouched, hoping that there wouldn’t be any-lasting-damage.  The memory of plastic across his skin made him shudder.  Stupid of course there would be lasting damage, they’d cut into his skin.

Skin-

Jon shuddered.  The Circus was toying with them!  And Tim!  He was his boss, he was supposed to protect his assistants!  

A nasty little voice in his head quirried “Like Sasha?”

More guilt twisted his insides.  

This was not alright.  

Tim needed looking after-  Jon swore, wishing Martin hadn’t left for the day- wondering if it would be okay to call him back.  He quickly dismissed the idea in favor of imagining how Martin may treat the wounds.  The first aid kit- he needed to start there.

Martin always seemed to know where it was.  Now that Jon needed it, it was nowhere to be found.  He searched the lower shelves first.  No first aid kit.  Did find a large bowl and a few flannels.  He remembered Martin washing him up with such things and decided they were useful.  It wasn’t in the cupboard by the fridge, or the one over the microwave, wasn’t in the tea cabinet either, damn- Martin would already be back with Tim by now, helping-

He glanced at his phone, wondering if he should call him after all.  That wouldn’t be fair though.  Martin deserved time away from this place.  They all did.  

At last he found it on the top shelf above the electric kettle.  Of course it would be there.  The Archival staff were the ones who used it the most these days, Martin wouldn’t have trouble accessing it there.  

“Right.” Jon sighed and hopped up on the counter, pulling himself upright with the cabinet frames until he could wriggle the kit out of it’s lofty position.  Before he left with his burden, Jon tucked a water bottle under his arm.  The Circus consisted of beings of plastic and stuffing, they never thought about the needs of human bodies.  

“Didn’t run away then?” Tim quipped, hunched over Jon’s desk.  

“And miss your cheery face?” Jon shot back, words lacking any true bite.  Jon sighed “Was trying to remember what Martin would do.” he cleared a space on the desk, carefully arranging the items.  

“You didn’t call-”

“He’s gone home for today.” Jon said simply, offering the water to Tim who took it gingerly.  “Didn’t think it would be fair to call him back.” 

Jon repositioned Tim so that they were facing each other and started to dab away at the bloody mess.  Tim hissed and twiched under his attention, but remained quiet, for once.  

In truth, Jon was much more adept at this sort of care than his assistance would have believed.  He just never had patience for his own care.  It was all so….tedious and easy to forget.  But when it came to other people, Jonathan Sims was perfectly capable of providing treatment.  It was just that he lacked Martin’s comforting presence, Sasha’s wit or Tim’s charm.  In short, he lacked people skills.  He chose to leave such tasks to others.

“So” Jon said, continuing to clean the mess, “You said we needed to talk.” No compulsion this time.

“Yep.”

“Will this talk explain what happened here?” 

“Yep”

“Right.” he paused over the discoloration along Tim’s ribs, sure something had been damaged.  “Whenever you’re ready.”

“What, no tape recorder?  No statement.”

“Do we need a tape recorder for a talk?” In truth, Jon was itching to turn it on, to compel Tim to tell him what happened, take his statement.  But the last time he’d turned it on around Tim, things had gotten….difficult.  Given the state of the man, Jon decided it could wait.  

Tim nodded, eyes closing and Jon resumed his work.  

“I- I went back, to where it began.” he was speaking so softly Jon almost couldn’t hear, almost.  

“Back where?” A small stroke down, over his ribs sent a shiver through him.

“C-Covent Garden Theater-” he admonished.

“The Royal Opera House?”  Jon’s mouth went dry.  Martin had sent him the tape, express mail.  It was the place Tim’s little brother had been taken by the Circus.  Danny.  

“One in the same.”

“Thought you said you didn’t expect they’d let you go a second time.”

“Welp, they nearly didn’t, did they?” he was shaking again, “We needed leads.  And with you galavanting cross the globe and Martin strung out on Statements, that left the follow up to me, didn’t it?” 

“You shouldn’t have gone alone, you could at least of taken Martin, Melonly, Basira even or-”

“Don’t pretend to care.” Tim burst out “You thought I’d murdered someone!  Followed me to my home!  I can’t believe y- ugh!” he doubled over.  The pain giving way to a choked sob.  

Jon floundered, wondering what on earth to do.  He had to get used to so many different Tims- the cheerful one that gave good hugs and annoying practical jokes, the angry one Jon had pushed into a corner and now, this- this defeated one.  

“W-We’re in the same boat, you and me.” he said softly “There’s no one in this p-place to trust. Heh- Maybe t-trust was an illusion all along-  Last time I saw Sasha, he was already dead.  With something else wearing his skin.  Didn’t even notice.”He hiccuped “I was supposed to protect him- they trusted me to protect him.  And he’s dead.”

Jon was deeply unsettled by the broken quality to his voice “Tim, who are you talking about?”

“You listen to all the tapes, don’t you.  You said as much.”

“Tim-”

“How many people are already dead, with something else wearing their skin.” he seemed to be spiraling, this was why Jon didn’t do this kind of thing!  He didn’t know what to do or say in this situation “They wanted to wear you too, didn’t they?” 

It was like a punch to the gut.  Jon didn’t know what was going to be said next, all he knew was that he didn’t want to hear….or did he?

“They wanted to wear you more than they wanted me- And you know what?  It sang to me as it cut me open, put a m-mirror above- made sure I could see the whole show-” Tim was crying now, rocking back and forth.  “Sang to me about the archivist- about how it wanted its skin.  Your skin.”  another sob racked through him “H-h-how c-come- how come it didn’t finish me off?  How come it didn’t take me like it did Danny?!  Or Sasha!  Jesus!”

Jon didn't know what to say. Perhaps there would have been a time before all of this started, back in research- Tim had been diffrent then,they all had been.

The silence stretched on while Jon resumed the treatment.

[mystyrust]

Tricks and Treats - Ectober 2020 Day 4

Prompt: Darkness / Poison

Word Count: 1286  AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27255454

Additional Tags: Slight crack, Halloween, also kyle shows up!

It was no secret amongst the inhabitants of the ghost zones that on Halloween, the divide between the realms of the living and dead were thin. The ghosts could visit the land of the living, and for once, they wouldn’t be ushered away. In fact, if they were scary enough, they could even get free candy.

Danny knew this wasn’t the exact truth – in Amity Park, where the ectoplasmic concentration was higher than average, ghosts visited the land of the living all the time. But he was still extra vigilant for Halloween. Last time, he messed it up by summoning the Fright Knight. This time, it would take place during a new moon, when the night would be darkest and a ghost would be strongest. With living people in creepy costumes and cosplay, anything could go wrong.

“Hey, nice claws. They almost look real.”

“My, what sharp teeth you have!”

“That scythe looks dope! SO creepy.”

Luckily, Danny’s ghost sense could help him tell apart living people from dead ones. So he took it upon himself to patrol extra vigilantly on Halloween night, to protect the living people from the dead ones. Sam and Tucker were upset at first, but Tucker decided that it was possible to patrol and go trick or treating at the same time.

“Listen, guys. We’re still patrolling; we’re just taking candy breaks on the way! And besides, if we dress up for Halloween, we’ll blend right in!”

Danny found himself agreeing – he wouldn’t even have to pretend to be home after curfew if he told his parents he was trick or treating.

Halloween was Sam’s favorite holiday of the year – she loved all things occult, candy, and costumes. She always had the scariest costume of the three, but this year she opted for a more expensive cosplay.

“Holy crap your Mikasa Ackerman costume looks dope! Very on-brand for you, Sam,” Using the Manson Money™ that she rarely flaunted, Sam had purchased highly detailed props – Danny wouldn’t be surprised if the Vertical Maneuver Gear that was part of Sam’s look would actually work just like on the show. While Mikasa’s color scheme wasn’t as gothic as Sam would have liked, the character was moody and independent – just like Sam.

“Thanks Tucker! You really outdid yourself with your costume this year!” Tucker’s ‘costume’ wasn’t cosplay like Sam’s, but he was wearing an oversized suit that made him look taller than he really was, with fake arms attached. Tucker’s head was “held” by the suit’s fake arms, making it look like a decapitated person was walking around with their own head in their hands. The fake neck on top of Tucker’s suit still smelled like ketchup.

“Why aren’t you in costume yet, Danny?” The two friends had arrived at Danny’s house at the same time, waiting for him to finish changing so that they could go out “patrolling” the best candy routes together.

“I am now,”

Danny covered himself with a white sheet, with just two holes for eyes.

“I knew this would happen. Listen, I have a spare Ghostbuster’s costume at my house.”

“But Sam!” Danny protested. “If I need to go ghost, the sheet can hide my transformation!”

“That’s no excuse for poor effort on the best holiday of the year. You can still keep the sheet for if you need to go Phantom, but I’ll be damned if you don’t have fun as Fenton, too.”

The three made a detour to Sam’s house, with Tucker complaining that lost time was lost candy along the way. Luckily, they hadn’t lost much time – it wasn’t too dark yet, and the trick or treaters had only just started trickling into the neighborhoods.

“Trick or Treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!”

The three friends combed through the neighborhood, getting nearly full buckets and some prized candy bars along the way. At first, Tucker was worried that the houses would perceive them as “too old” for trick or treating – but once it was obvious that people much older than the trio were also out trick or treating, he began to relax and enjoy himself with the rest of his friends.

Danny, though he was enjoying himself, was too busy keeping his guard up. Especially now, when it was darker out. His core hummed with extra energy – he felt the extra power bubble underneath his skin, and stretched his senses out as far as he could. His hearing, his sight, his awareness, his ghost sense. Suddenly, he felt a chill crawl up his spine, just as he saw a group of trick or treaters walk by. Ghosts – they all were.

“Sorry guys, I’ll be right back.”

Danny unfolded the white sheet and covered himself, turning into his ghost form before turning invisible and flying out. Just as the suspicious group of Halloween goers turned the corner, Danny approached them from above.

“Fancy seeing you out here, in your not so fancy outfits.”

It was Ember, a couple others in lazy ghost blanket sheet costumes, and –

“Aw c’mon!”

“Youngblood?”

The child ghost was the same as he always looked, dressed up as a pirate.

“We weren’t planning to, but the kiddo really wanted to come out,” Ember responded.

“I promise I’m not gonna cause any trouble, I just really wanted to celebrate Halloween and get some candy!”

And that resonated with Danny, a little. He just wanted to enjoy himself, but he was on duty protecting all the humans from a threat they didn’t even know to look out for. And, by the looks of all the ghosts, a threat that probably wouldn’t manifest, at least tonight. Danny sighed.

“Look, if you promise not to cause any trouble for anyone – no damage, no ghost powers, no whatever – and you just do normal trick or treating like a human would, I suppose I can let you go.”

It had been a few months since he’d last won against Ember, Youngblood, Kitty, and Johnny 13. A few months since they’d bother to cause trouble for Danny. They weren’t so bad all the time, and once they reached an understanding, they went from evil to annoying at worst.

“Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou ghost boy!” Youngblood floated up to give Danny a hug.

“Remember! No ghost powers!”

“Oh right!” Youngblood floated down, giving Danny a hug around his legs.

Not all ghosts would be willing to reach an understanding, but Danny would maintain an alliance with the ones that did.

The ghosts returned to their trick or treating route; Danny should head back to Sam and Tucker, before –

“Hey, Fenton,” Danny hears a familiar nasally voice behind him.

“Hey…Kyle,”

“Dude, nice Halloween costume,” The lanky teen complimented. “Nice glowing aura effect. And the flying part! Totally jealous.”

Kyle wasn’t alone. He was with his younger brother – and Danny’s classmate – Wes Weston. They were both dressed as… Danny Phantom.

“We couldn’t figure out how to get the flying part down,”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Danny delivered a knowing smile at Wes, who glared in return.

“Kyle, he got ‘the flying part’ down because it’s not a trick. Because he’s actually a ghost, you know?!”

“What are you talking about? Everyone knows ghosts aren’t real.”

“Augh! He’s floating right in front of you!”

“He’s obviously using strong magnets to – oh, he’s gone,” Danny had turned invisible, to return back to his friends. While the Weston brothers amused him, he had enough of them for one night.

The town was ignorant of the ghosts that lurked alongside them. Sometimes that ignorance was bliss, like tonight on Halloween, where any ghost can pass as human. And sometimes, that ignorance was… willful. Maybe it’s for the best that no one believes either of the Westons.

[creativeskullcreations]

HTaHHQ Episode 3: The Vengeance of an Artist (part 1)

Episode 3 is here! Nick has a job, but will Stacy go for it? Find out when the next chapter comes out! :D

The Oddballs belong to @enderdwarf123

Stacy had gotten quite used to her routine at the Studio. Go in, get list of tasks, then pick up Scout from Daisy. She then had to do the tasks she'd been assigned for the day, with Scout often "helping", to whatever effect she could. The most help she was able to help was when Stacy had to fetch props, since the Puppet always knew where they were. Sometimes they also worked in the cafeteria, but not anymore since Stacy accidentally set a microwave on fire.

In her defense, Scout had distracted while she was setting the time, so it wasn't entirely her fault. She just forgot to take a spoon out of a bowl, that's all.

Now the only time she went into the cafeteria was for lunch, which suited her just fine. It definitely beat having to eat with Mary in her office, even if she had to sit with the Oddballs. They were four young men, the youngest being a sixteen year old who went to the local high-school, and were always seen hanging out together. Stacy really only sat next to them because Nick Nack, who would often come to the cafeteria, avoided them like the plague.

Plus they didn't seem to mind she was there, just continuing to joke and talk, sometimes including her and Scout in their conversations. Which Scout especially loved, since it  meant she got to try out the new swear words she was learning. Though Stacy worried about her new vocabulary, and made her promise to never use those words around Daisy.

"I mean it, too. She might not let us hang out together anymore if she finds out you know how to swear now." The girl told her, to which the Puppet had nodded solemnly, treating it with the utmost seriousness. Scout certainly didn't want to be separated from her only friend outside her siblings, and could tell that Stacy didn't either.

Currently, it was lunch time on Friday, right before Stacy could go and sit at home for the entire weekend. She had collected her food on a tray, and was making her way to their usual table while futilely trying to defend it from Scout. As they got close, the could hear some of the conversation going on there.

"Anyways, so after all of that, Beth totally took all of his underwear!" One of them, Nathan was saying as Stacy approached, tray balanced on her right hand while holding Scout to her chest with her left. Held as she was, the Puppet could only pout and wait until Stacy let her go.

"Seriously?!" Sam responded. "Dude that is sick! He had nothing left?" He sounded honestly curious, and Stacy was as well.

"Absolutely not!" Nathan told them. "I guess that's what you get when-"

"And the girl's back." Daniel warned, covering Nathan's mouth. "Time to stop talking about your stupid college stories before we all get in trouble."

"I don't mind. "Stacy said, putting down both tray and Puppet. She picked up one of the sandwich halves as she sat down. "It's not like I'm gonna tell on you." She took a bite out of her sandwich while Scout went for the chips, devouring them like Cookie Monster would cookies.

"Eeeeeh, maybe? I mean, you're only twelve." John told her. "The stuff we talk about is for, y'know, older kids." He shrugged. "It's not really age appropriate for you."

"Ok first of all I'm thirteen." She told him. "Second of all I have seen so many R rated movies that nothing can faze me anymore."

"Aren't you scared of the Handeemen?" Sam asked, and received a death glare for his trouble. It was pretty potent, for coming from such a stick of a girl.

"No." She gritted out, before tearing into her sandwich. "I'm not scared of them. I just don't like them." A pause. "I do like Scout though. She's cool." Scout looked please at the comment, mouth full of crunched up chips.

"That's not what I heard." Sam muttered, and was popped on the head by his brother. "Ow! What?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the cafeteria doors bursting open. They made a loud bang as they hit the walls, making everyone jump and stare.

"Where is she?!" Yelled Nick Nack as he wheeled into the room. Any remaining conversation died as the people inside realized that, once again, a fight was beginning. In the furthest corners of the room money started to exchange hands, while new bets were made.

"Did you check the lab?" Someone called back, while Stacy slowly sank into her seat. If she thought she could do it without attracting attention, she'd make a run for the door. But Nick was right there, and she didn't want to go anywhere near him.

"What did she do this time?" John asked, and Nick rounded on him, glaring. He drew back a little, wishing he'd never asked as the artist came closer, voice getting louder with every word.

"She took my best paints!" He shrieked, and Stacy gave in to her urge to fully hide under the table, which went unnoticed by the Puppet. Scout joined her a moment later, though mostly for the fun of it. "I told her not to touch them, and she took them for her experiments and I need them back now!"

"You sound mad" Sam noted, and Nick rounded on him. But before the Puppet could tear him a new one, Daniel stood up, adjusting his jacket.

"Here, Nick, I'll help you go find Riley. Maybe she hasn't used the paints yet." He suggested, heading out the door with Nick. "And if she has, I'll help you find some replacements, and tell Lydia we'll need to order some new ones."

"For her sake, I hope not." The Puppet threatened as they left the room. Everyone waited a moment, and then the lunchroom conversations continued. Stacy climbed out from under the table and sat back down, ready to resume her lunch.

"Not scared, huh?" Sam asked, an eyebrow quirked. Stacy squirted her capri sun at him, and the others laughed as he complained about the sticky juice getting on his shirt. Stacy watched as he blotted at it with a napkin, pushing the rest of her food towards Scout.

After lunch it was back to reorganizing the closets with one of the others; taking what Bonzai had messed up and putting the props back into their proper places. It was tedious work, especially when Scout was doing her best to keep things chaotic. But, with some time and Stacy eventually just grabbing the Puppet, they managed to finish eventually.

From the closet Stacy went to sweeping, removing... confetti? from the main set, upon which filming had just finished. From the corner of her eye, she could see the Handeeman Puppets. Daisy had gone off somewhere, but Riley and Nick were having a very animated discussion. Not that Stacy could hear it, or even wanted to, but she was pretty sure it was about the stolen paints.

Instead she focused on sweeping the confetti, then moved on to collecting the bits of paper from the fake bushes. This usually involved smacking the foliage with the broom handle to shake it loose, then sweeping it into the long handled dustpan. Sometimes Scout would leap into the bushes to try and help shake loose the ones on the inner branches, which Stacy was thankful for.

Together they were able to get quite a bit of the confetti swept up, leaving the floor of the set spotless. That done she started gathering the discarded props, piling them into a wheelbarrow for someone else to put away.

As she was doing that, she hummed softly, some anime theme song or another. Scout had asked her about anime before, and Stacy had resolved to show her some whenever she could break her out of the studio. So far she couldn't, as Daisy expected to literally be handed Scout each time the girl left. But, eventually, Daisy would forget, hopefully before a weekend, and Stacy could make a break for it with Scout.

So she was stuck making plans that wouldn't be fulfilled, at least not for a while. But still. it made her happy to think of such things, and so she continued as she helped to reset everything, getting it ready for next week's episode.

Soon enough it was almost time to leave. Most of the others had already left, leaving just her and Danny waiting for Mary to finish up whatever and come get them. She spent the time straightening the props while Danny played with Scout. Stacy had no clue what they were playing, but they weren't being loud so she left them alone.

However as she worked, she missed the approach of a Puppet on a wheeled stand, though in her defense the wheels were made to be silent. He watched for a moment, hidden around the corner of a "building" so as not to scare the girl. He stayed quiet, watching as Stacy carefully put things into position, and thought 'Yes. She is perfect for this.' He then came out of his hiding place, clearing his throat. The girl turned around and stilled when she saw him, a half formed smile frozen  on her face.

They stared at each other for a long moment, but the second the Puppet tried to speak he was physically assaulted by a flying blue blur.

"Nick!" Screeched Scout as she launched herself onto his face. He caught her as she slid off, and spotted how Stacy grabbed Danny, holding the boy back. Unfortunate, but it made sense. Obviously she wouldn't want her brother around them, however safe they might be. Scout babbled on without a care as the girl shoved her brother behind her.

Tension now broken, Nick allowed himself to indulge in a small smile, looking Stacy right in the eye. "Miss Stein, I have a job for you."