#Jazz and Danny were more than happy to oblige

[rynan16]

Imagine if they were so excited because, they were sent back in time by clockwork, and allowed to change one thing to make the world better. He told them they would know what they were supposed to change when the time came (he already knew what would do and saw how much better the timeline would be) so as soon as they discovered what time period they had been sent back to, they immediately set to work on getting rid of the Jocker. So many people’s lives would be better without him they knew this for a fact. They only had one change they could make, and getting rid of the Joker was the best way to make it count.

After making sure the other important things still fall into place afterward (like Tim joining the team. They may or may not have helped Jason spot him), Clockwork took them back to the present. From Harly, Ivy (they def interacted with her if Jaz was interning with Harly), Bruce, Dick, Jason, and Tim’s POV, these sibling just appeared in Gotham one day, suspiciously around the time Joker “got sick” and then promptly disappeared out of existence once the batfam took in Tim.

Now, years later, (it’s only been like, a day for Jazz and Danny) they reappear, looking exactly the same as they did the last time they saw them. Chaos ensues as the batparanoia goes through the roof with Batman trying to figure this out. Harley and Ivy are confused, but are also quite happy to see their friend again, and Jazz is equally as excited to see them, talking about the old days as if they were yesterday.

I agree with some of the other reblogs that Harley still becomes a rouge, but I think she’s not nearly as violent, because she doesn’t have the tacked on trauma the Joker caused her. She fits into the anti-hero role a little better than just straight up villain.

Danny: Jazz! I just scored you a personal internship with Harleen Frances Quinzel! The same woman you write your college entrance essay on!

Jazz: *Squeal* How did you manage that?!

Danny: I pulled some strings on the other side. Pays to be Ghost King. Now pack your bags, we're going to Gotham for two years!

Jazz: We?

Danny: Of course. Like I would leave you alone for months on end. I got myself a paid internship in Wayne Tech.

Jazz: *Louder Squeal* This is going to be so much fun! Did you know Miss Quinzel just accepted a job as Arkham Asylum? She's going to personally work on Joker!

Danny: You have the perfect window to posion him!

Jazz: Dreams do come true!

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPXDC prompt: Spiritual Siblings

Bruce: My assassin kid can't be that normal!

Damian: Well, I’m completely emotionally stable by Amity Park standards. The problem is with you. Obviously.

~~~~~

Damian had long found peace and home in Amity, so he did not worry that the new family and Gotham might not accept him.

Sure, Al Ghul had lived without any contact with his biological father all these years but he could safely say that he had a happy childhood. First years were hard and he was raised more as a weapon than a human being. Even so, after that a ghost who decided to become his brother appeared and everything changed.

Damian still does not know what Ra's owes Phantom but Danny has a right to take him, without prior notification, to live with Fentons, to visit Aunt Alicia at her farm, and to make Vlad’s weekends much less calm and boring. Danny jokes that he just steals him as a hostage when Al Ghul does not pay taxes for using Lazarus Pits. Whatever the reason, he already has a family that loves him.

However, he still wanted to make an effort to fit in this one too. The model of conduct certainly was his older brother. No, not the oldest, of course. To be honest Dan wasn’t the kind of a man that could charm you from the first minute. But Danny, in Damian’s experience, had a calming effect on people. So he tried to act like him.

And, yeah, for lack of experience, he was more fun!Danny at home and super!Danny on patrol but he also really tried not to get any of his own assassin personality in his new-self and was tired of it. He couldn’t get a 100% match. Fine. Still doesn’t look like anyone in this house really likes him, so whatever.

Damian understood why Bruce didn't like his company. Jazz had long ago explained to him the importance of voluntary consent. His mother did a terrible thing. Al Ghul was not a child and therefore he was ready to admit it. However, he also understood that children were not responsible for the actions of their parents.

As a biosocial being, he wanted to be more than just a painful reminder of what had happened to Bruce. Wayne's ignoring of his existence was rude. But Damian wouldn't force this man to spend time with him just because he was legally obligated to take care of his well-being. He wasn't going to prove anything to Batman, and he definitely didn't need his attention. The care of his real family is enough.

But Damian really tried to get along with new potential siblings. He even shared Sam's and Danny’s special jokes with some of adopted kids 'cause he didn’t want them to feel like he put himself above them. He wasn't good at showing emotions but he was as open as the assassin could afford to be to strangers.

But they all obviously expected something from him. And it reminded him of the League in an unpleasant way. It was easier with Fentons. Almost everyone in Amity Park was saying what they thought, and Damian didn’t have to waste time decoding potential conspiracies.

Damian missed movie marathon nights with Sam, Tucker, and Danny. And he hoped Dani had time to bother Vlad in his absence.

It was so weird here. When Danny and Valerie were fighting, they would gather at the dinner table anyway. When Damian wanted to have combat training with Drake here, he was forced to stay in his room. A very strange punishment. And undeserved one too.

Al Ghul felt quite calm and fine sitting at his easel and painting the people he left behind. An unusual subject for his paintings. But, Ancients, he missed Amity.

He missed Jack's bone breaking hugs, Maddie's Ecto-Contaminated food, arguments of Sam and Tucker, cozy art class with Mr. Baxter and even Vlad's done look. He missed Danny telling him about the stars. He also missed sword practice with Dan's boyfriend Fright Knight and he missed Dan's stories about his other youth. He missed literary evenings with Mr. Lancer, Clockwork and Ghost Writer. He even missed the hours-long Jazz lectures. He missed the dance of death and life. He missed being looked at without expecting anything from him. He missed the crowd. In the league, he was never at one with himself and in Amity he was always surrounded by people who were not afraid of his fate as the heir to the said League. This Manor was full of people, but for the first time in his life he felt lonely. Damian has to admit that he felt left behind. Of course, he understood that people needed time to build relationships, but he could have sworn that even he didn't need that much time to connect with Fentons. Maybe this is one of the tricks of the Clockwork? Then this one is not funny at all.

~~~~~Phone call~~~~ Damian: Mom, I want to go home. Maddie: I'm so sorry to hear that, sweetheart. What happened? Damian: Just…Nobody likes me. Why was I sent here? I'm not weak. And my brothers are quite capable of protecting me from Raas. I don't need Batman for this. Maddie: We'll figure it out, champ. Moms love you, remember? I'll talk to Talia, okay? Your brothers and sisters are already on edge and ready to steal you right during the patrol. Damian: It would be nice, but it would put a bat on their tails. So lock them in thermoses if they bother you too much. Maddie: But that won't stop Jazz. Damian: I missed the part where that's my problem. Maddie: Well, it will be your problem if she comes to your doorstep with your childhood photos and moralizing.

~~~~~~~~

It's his birthday. And he was always excited about it. But now, looking at the pile of gifts, he realizes that these people don't know him at all.

And this is the family of the best detective in the world? Maybe yes, but none of them bothered to really find info about him or ask him about his likes. Damian's a stranger here, and that's obvious.

The lunch container, which he will obviously give to the Boxing Lunch when he's in the right time interval, tennis rackets that Youngblood might like, The Graveyard Book…

Valerie had already read it to him and Dani before it was published. Thanks to Clockwork for his little miracles. The book reminded him of home.

Obviously this one is from Jason. And well, Damian doesn't think it was a pun on his life in Amity, more like Hood's inside joke about death but Dami will definitely leave this thing in the room at the Manor and maybe take it with him to the GZ or Amity Park.

~~~~~~~

When they gather at the festive table, Damian realizes that he has to make some kind of speech. He tries to be as brief as possible in his report.

Damian: Todd, your gift is appreciated. And I found a potential use for items that were given by others, Bruce.

Damian never called Batman his father. With Maddie and Talia, calling both moms wasn't weird, especially when Jazz explained to his biological mom that he wasn't trying to replace her. But with Wayne, it was different. Both women took care of him, they deserved this title. Wayne provided for his needs, but his core heart didn't feel like they were close. Surely there's nothing wrong if they're just Bruce and Damian? Obviously, they both don't enjoy each other's company.

Jason: So, do you like books, little demon? Damian: Sometimes reading is quite relaxing, I should point out. I'm not indifferent to Stephen King and Lovecraft. Jason: Personal recommendations? Damian: Cujo is one of my favorites. Jason: Not a common opinion, huh. Damian: It reminds me of my family. Damian tries to smile like Danny does, but Jason's twitching eye clearly indicates that he screwed it up.

~~~~Dick and Jason synchronously drop their forks as an excuse for a conference under the table.~~~~ Dick*whispers*: How's the situation? Jason*whispers back*: If the boy asks for a dog, don't be fooled. He will be happy to dance on our graves.

~~~~Cass knocks over their heads, urging them to return to their seats.~~~~

Damian: So how good you are at fading and sliding,Todd? Jason: Why did you ask? I can't, of course. Damian: Because you're dead. It seemed to me that this was a completely understandable interest. Jason: Wow, what a jerk. Damian: I wonder why your own incompetence makes me a jerk? Even my sister could do this when she wasn't dead for even a month.

Jason, for some reason, looks awkward, although he has never been embarrassed before by the idea that a girl could be stronger than him.

Jason: Your sister? How old was she when... So it's all about age. Damian rolls his eyes.

Damian: We're the same age. It seems like it was four or five years ago. To be honest, I don't remember. I wasn't around then. I'll ask Danielle the next time I go to the cemetery to visit her. Dick: I'm so sorry, Dami. Where is she buried? We can take you. Damian: There's no need. She has no grave, as there was nothing to bury. Bruce sighs loudly and covers his eyes with his hands. Damian: It's just easier to contact the afterlife in places like this, you now? Duke: We are very sorry, dude. Damian: Don't be. People come and go, and then come back if they haven't finished annoying you. There's no point in regretting the past. Her creation was not the most ethical thing but everything is going as it should. At least that's what Grandpa says. Considering that the old man is older than time, I prefer to believe him. No one plays with fate without his permission unless they want to get hit by the clock. Tim now looks like he's going to throw up and Damian hurries to move his plate closer to him. Jason: Yes, Bruce, this is definitely your son. Damian: Did I say something wrong? Dick smiles faintly at him but still doesn't find anything to say. Damian shrugs and goes back to eating asparagus. People outside of Amity are so weird.

Signal looks at Damian suspiciously as he carefully rearranges the plate of soy sausages away from himself. Did he take him for an idiot? Everyone knows that even vegetarian sausage bite and fight no worse than those with meat when they come back to life. It's not Damian's fault that he doesn't have an ectoblast with him and wants to have extra distance from the opponent.

~~~At the same time, in the walls of Wayne Manor~~~ Dani: The operation codenamed "Get Haunted Idiot" is declared open. Danny and Dan *salute*.

~~~Several Days Later~~~

Damian: So, this is Dan. Danny says we keep him as a GIW repeller. Dick: And Danny and Dan are.. Jazz: His brothers. I'm Jazz by the way. Elle and I are his sisters. Damian: I feat the criteria to participate in their name cult, so they took me. Dan, Danny, Dani and Dami. Dan *ruffles Damian's hair* : I prefer to call this biting threat Damn, to be honest. Dami: Shut up, DaNtE, they almost wrote Dark in your passport, you idiot. I can't believe I thought I missed you. Danny: Wow. Rude. Your grandpa would be disappointed. Great job, lil one.

~~~Several years later~~~

[youyedesiyuyan]

Assuming that time and space are broken, in order to seek stability, a global retrospective is conducted. 16-year-old Danny suddenly falls into the hospital bed of 24-year-old Vlad, who is still one night away from discharge, due to falling into a crack in the retrospective process?

At this point, Jakr and Mads had already given birth to Jazz. However, due to Danny's intrusion into the timeline... on that day, which was also the day Mads became pregnant with Danny, the timeline backtracking determined an automatic repair for the same existence, allowing Danny, who had previously existed on Vald's bed, to continue to exist There is no medal to contact the mainspring, unless there is a malfunction, the mainspring cannot actively intervene in the timeline to find Danny, and there is no available Ghost Gate in this timeline. Without an artificial Ghost Gate to provide spiritual energy to the atmosphere, there will be a shortage of Turin energy here for a long time, which will prevent the emergence of a natural portal - Soooo... Danny can only be a half ghost like the one in front of him at the moment, seeming to be as poor and penniless as himself (if the pile of documents on the bedside table are not hospital and school loan bills), but Vlad, who has not done irreparable bad things, relies on him for survival (happy)

As a hero of justice, Danny has an obligation to watch Vald not do anything wrong; After spending 5 years alone in the hospital, I finally came into contact with a fellow Vald. I don't want to be lonely anymore and want to be in touch with the only other half ghost Danny... The two of them hit it off and started living together as roommates, penniless but at least having each other. In order to live a good life, they decided to fight together

Despite the hardships of life, Danny urged Vald not to use ghost power to cheat money and rob banks. This was the bottom line, otherwise Danny would leave him and make a living on his own. He believed that they could do well without using this power to do bad things, and had confidence in us. Vlad agreed, and the two of them worked together to start a small business and repay the debt (Danny was from the future, at least knew something was about to become popular, and had paid off the debt in just a few months). One and a half years later, after Danny's 18th birthday, the two of them made a lot of money through stock trading (Danny really knew they should invest in Microsoft and Apple). With startup capital, they started a company. Danny After the company started to operate well, three things were discovered: 1. Vald didn't just become a billionaire because he manipulated people to steal money, he has a natural talent for doing business - so on another timeline, he still lives in that castle 2. He succeeded in doing business much more times than he did as an evil villain - Vald's evil plans were always foiled by Danny kicking his butt 3. I am actually very good at being a secretary - the original purpose was to observe Vald's every move and prevent him from accidentally following the previous path, but now it feels great to be able to contribute more to the company

(Vald and Danny control several replicants working frantically in the office together)

Danny experienced for the first time since becoming a half ghost that he didn't have to start ghost battles at any time within seven days and 24 hours. However, the people around him are like half time bombs, and we can't let our guard down. Vald needs Danny to keep an eye on him to prevent him from going down the evil path, and watching his former archenemy look young is really strange. It makes people want to observe the difference between him and him at that time But in Vald's eyes, he was a teenage boy who was almost reaching adulthood, staring at him with focused eyes all the time... Danny had no reason to pay attention to himself at all times. When he was caught staring at each other, Danny would blush awkwardly and turn his head in a panic, so the only reason was

——This is the first time in many years that Vald has not spent Christmas alone, and it is also the first time Danny has spent Christmas without arguing. That year was also the first time that the two of them did not hate Christmas... and the first time that the two of them started to hate Christmas at the beginning of the New Year with a bottle of Panqu liquor

——————————————

hi， This is my first time posting here. My English grades are not very good, and I have used machine translation for all the text content. Please forgive me if the semantics are not appropriate hi，这是我在这里第一次发帖，我英语成绩并不是很好，文本内容我都是用机器翻译的，如果语义不当请原谅

[dp-marvel94]

(Not) Alone - Chapter 7

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

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

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

Word Count: 4,451

First-> Previous -> Next

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Danielle hadn’t left yet. The thought was a small comfort as Danny swung after dark, the younger clone humming contentedly beside him. It had been almost a week and despite his fears that first day, Dani hadn’t left. Instead, she’d grown more comfortable, most of the tension of that first night washing away. 

Jazz and him had worked hard to give her a fun time. They’d looked for opportunities to bond, to get to know the younger girl better. And they had; the younger clone’s laughter rang like music in his ears. Her bright smiles warmed his heart. And her growing comfort with him and even with Jazz…. He couldn’t help but be hopeful, the feeling blooming in his core. And yet…

He and Dani hadn’t talked about any of it. Not their argument that first morning, the horrible things she’d said about herself and the hurtful accusations lobbed at him. Nor his not-entirely-intentional clone-fusion reveal – even if she did repeatedly, almost exclusively, call him Dami now. Nor their lost siblings. 

Danielle was clearly so happy to have him here as one of her clone brothers. She was so relieved to be stable and safe, with fresh food, clean clothes, and a bed. She’d been so excited to have fun with him…. Danny didn’t want to spoil it. 

But they needed to talk about it, as much as Danny didn't want to bring it up. He dreaded the painful conversation. Part of him wished that Dani would bring it up instead. That she would talk about all that was bothering her, all the thoughts and memories hurting her. The loss of their other siblings weighed heavy on him and he was sure they were on her mind too. But she hadn’t said anything. 

No, that was his responsibility. His job as the older sibling to broach the hard topics. He couldn’t place that burden on his little sister. And he wouldn’t. He refused to.

But first… they were at a playground. They needed to have a little fun.

Danny jumped out of the swing. He rose higher for just a moment, falling in an arc. Then…. he just stayed in the air, buoyed by his natural ghostly weightlessness. “Wanna see how fast we can get the merry-go-round going?”

His little sister followed with a grin, jumping out of her own swing and twirling in the air. “Yes!” She zipped to the metal circle and plopped down in the middle. “You’ve gotta push me first!”

The boy laughed. “Alright.” Leaning down, closer to her ear. “It’s more fun if gravity actually affects you.”

With a flash, the girl turned human. “Spin me! Spin me! Spin me!” She chanted.

Danny obliged. Grabbing one of the metal handles, he flew parallel to the ground in a circle.

“Faster! Faster!” Danielle cheered

Danny zoomed fast, his aura blurring with the motion.

The girl laid down, her face towards the sky. She giggled, her chest heaving with the noise. 

And Danny reveled in the sound. He flew faster and faster. He could keep this up for hours. Dani’s head tilted, sparklingly blue eyes meeting his green, though upside-down. Cross-eyed, dizzy with laughter…. And just plain dizzy.

Eventually, the ghost boy stopped flying. Letting go of the merry-go-round, he watched it spin to a stop. 

In the middle, his sister panted. “That… was…awesome!” Another giggle burst forth. She tried to sit up, only to flop back down. “So dizzy.” She took another minute to equilibrate. Then with a flash, she transformed…. “Your turn!”

Danny took his turn on the merry-go-round, laying in the middle in human form while the younger girl spun it by flying in a circle. It was a blast, being able to ride it like this. Normally, Sam, Tucker, or Jazz got this treat, with him pushing the circle. And the one time he’d managed to summon a duplicate…. It wasn’t as fun, having to use half his attention to keep the other him from poofing. But this… this was perfect.

After his turn, Danielle turned human again and together, they enjoyed all that the playground had to offer. They raced down the slides. Swung on the monkey bars. Even made sandcastles in the sandbox. But the swings… the swings were the best.

“I bet I can go higher than you!” Danielle boosted.

“No, you can’t.” The boy countered.

“Yes, I can!” Pumping her legs, the girl soared higher.

Her brother chased her, laughing.

“I’m going to go so high, I’ll swing all the way around!”

Danielle gave it her best try, she did. But…. “Wa…Woah!” The chain creaked.

A bolt of panic. Too high!

Eyes wide, the girl wobbled. “D…Dami!” She fell.

“Dani! Float!” The boy reached.

Dani’s eyes flashed green, a ring of light sparking at her waist. Trying to transform, to float but… instead… “Umph!” She landed on her stomach, splayed in the mulch.

Danny’s eyes popped wide, jumping himself. Luckily for him, his core reacted. Weightlessness overtook him, slowing his fall. Gently, the boy landed on his feet. He ran to the prone girl.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His heart pounded in his chest, full of fear. “Let me see your hands. Did you skin your knees?”

“I’m fine.” Dani rolled over with a grumble. “Not a scratch.” She sat up.

His eyes searched frantically. Sure enough… there were no bruises, no blood. A breathy sigh. “You’re alright.” He squatted, hands on her shoulders. “Shit. I should have been more careful. Stupid. I let myself get too excited. I knew… I knew that could be dangerous.”

The girl huffed but she didn't shake out of his hold. “You worry too much, you mother duck.”

Danny laughed, rolling his eyes at the jab. Then… a stab of guilt. Why was he being such a mother hen? She’d only fallen out of the swing; he’d done the same thing a dozen times as a kid. And she had ghost powers, like him. Clearly, her human body was a bit sturdier than was typical. That or she did manage to use flight to slow herself, just not as successfully as he had. She was fine. Maybe he did worry too much…. 

Shaking the thought away, the ghost boy straightened. “I think that’s enough fun for tonight.” He offered the younger girl a hand up. “Besides. I’ve got something to show you.”

Danielle raised a brow in question, taking the hand. “What is it?”

“A surprise.” Danny said evenly. He took a few steps away, towards the trees lining one side of the playground. Then he looked back, a heaviness in his eyes. “It’s uh… this is actually the reason I wanted to go to the park tonight.”

The girl stiffened slightly, as if sensing something in his words, his tone. But she didn’t ask anything else. Instead… trust shone in her eyes. “Lead the way.”

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

Danny led her through the small wood, their path lit by the two ghosts’ spectral glows. Over branches, tree-roots, small boulders.

His heart twisted, nervous energy growing. He needed to show her this. Really, it was well overdue. But… how would she react? His core ached at the thought. Bearing all that pain, all the grief again. This was sure to lead to a heavy conversation. And with his seemingly bubbly little sister no less… Some of that happiness had to be a facade, a mask to pretend everything was alright; Danny was sadly familiar with doing the very same thing. The longer he let the mask stay on, the greater the damage was. And the more painful it was to remove. He needed to get Dani to talk to him….

 But would it just make everything worse?

The boy shook his head. No. He’d made up his mind… or rather, Jazz had verbally poked him with her big concerned eyes, until he agreed that, yes, he needed to talk to Dani about things.

A less than ten-minute walk later and the pair arrived. A tall sugar maple stretched above them, its wide branches heavy with leaves. This. This was their destination. And sitting at the base….

“Here we are.” Danny kneeled, brushing away the dirt, leaves, and…. wilted flowers.

Quietly, the girl lowered herself to her knees. “What’s this?” Her brows furrowed, eyes fixed on the pile of four stones.

Danny didn’t reply for a long moment, his insides twisting. This was it, the moment of truth. He swallowed, already feeling the grief rising in his throat. “We, Jazz and me…. we made this for our brothers.”

Beside him, Danielle stiffened. “Our… brothers?” Her voice was deceptively, forcefully even.

Slowly, he pulled four candles out of his bag. “It was Jazz’s idea, to make a little grave. A memorial to… remember them.” He placed the tall, white columns around the rocks. “After I told her and my friends about them… and about you. I… it was hard. I was… I was so upset. I kept thinking about them and you. I had nightmares, couldn’t sleep. Jazz… she said I should talk about them. We should make something to remember them. So we lit candles, left flowers and I talked, told them about everything I could remember.”

Danny paused, a moment to let the words sink in. Dani remained still, her fists balled in front of her. Her lips sat in a hard line but… they twitched. A hint of mist lingered in her eyes.

The brother shifted closer, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want to say anything?”

The girl swallowed. Her voice came out so quiet…. “The rocks… what are they for?”

Danny gave a nod. Slowly, reverently, he picked up each one. “There’s one for each of us.” First the largest, irregularly shaped and covered with bumps. “This one’s for Muscles.” Second, a rough textured stone, as white as bone. “For Bones.” A third, smooth, round, and solid black. “Daniel.”

Each name was a crack to Dani’s facade, pain blooming across her face. Finally, on the last, a tear leaked. “Daniel.” She whined. 

“There's one for each of them.” Danny said softly. “It’s… I know it’s not much but it’s the least they deserve and…” His own eyes watered with tears. “I love those three so much and I miss them. And I’m sure… I know you do too.”

Her face crumbled. “I…I do. I do. I miss… I miss them so much…” The last word broke, finally a torrent of tears. She rocked softly and Danny wrapped his arms around her. The girl buried her hand in his chest.

Together, for the second time since they’d been reunited, the two half ghosts cried. They wept. They held each other. Their one surviving clone sibling in their arms…. the only comfort for their crushing shared grief.

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

Dani knelt at the grave and cried in her brother’s arms. She bawled. She wept because, because… Dami being there did not erase that their other brothers were gone. They were gone. Bones, Muscles, and Daniel were gone…. And they weren’t coming back. 

She’d tried to push the knowledge away. Dami was here. He hadn’t left her. He’d found her again. And she was so happy. She loved him so much. But his presence didn’t wash away, blot away, erase that… that they were the only two left.

Everything they did this week…. Her heart kept trying to remind her. She wished her other brothers had been there too. But they weren’t. And it wasn’t fair….

Dani cried in her brother’s arms, her mind replaying these thoughts until she could hardly breathe. She sobbed, listening to the other half ghost cry until….

She pulled back, her eyes fixing on the little memorial. The pile of stones, one for each brother. Muscles, Bones, Daniel. She grabbed each one, whining their names. And…

There was a fourth one. “That one’s…one’s for me, isn’t it?” She sniffled out.

His words that first morning…. Since you left at Vlad’s, I had no idea if you were alive or… or dead.” He tripped over the word. “You could have destabilized anywhere, and I would have never known what happened to you. I thought… I thought you were dead.” 

“You… you thought I was dead too. Because I ran away. I ran away and I didn’t come back.” Guilt twisted. He’d… he’d told her all that. He’d bared his heart to her. And… and she’d just yelled at him. “I knew you were here but… I thought you didn’t care. Or…Or…” New tears welled, the girl wiping at her face. “You pitied me. I’m… I’m just a stupid copy. A mi.. mistake for you to take care of. You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t want me. And I don’t deserve it, not after… after…” She panted, choking on her words. (Unable to say what she’d really done, why she really didn’t deserve….) “But I was wrong. You were here and I left you. I left you too and...”

“No. No.” He shook his head, eyes wide and desperate. “That.. that one’s not for you. I…I knew you were out there somewhere. You had to be and…” 

He sniffled and Dani hugged him again, her head tucked under his chin.

Danny shook his head. “I always… I always cared, Dani. I always wanted you here. Don’t you ever think that I don’t. And… and you don’t deserve it?!” His voice pitched up, something in their hug shifting. “How could you think that? You do deserve it. You deserve to be loved. I love you so much. Jazz loves you so much and… and….”

He cried and Dani whimpered apologies. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She buried her head in his shoulder. “I shouldn’t have… have said that. I know you care about me. But I was being stupid and… and I’m sorry. I’m sorry.“ She’d said so many mean things. She’d caused him so much pain…

Again, slowly, the tears slowed. Breathing evened out, heart rates calmed. The pair gently pulled apart.

The boy’s hands (smaller?) gripped her face, eye to eye. “You don’t have to apologize for that. Ever. I get it. Believe me, I get it.” The words were so earnest. “Sometimes your brain tries to tell you lies. Like you don’t deserve to be loved. Or no one wants you; no one cares. But those aren’t true, okay?” He lowered his hands.

“Okay.” The girl said quietly, wiping her eyes. 

The other half ghost nodded, serious but just as tender as before. “You are good enough. You’re not stupid. You are not a mistake. And you deserve to be loved and to get help when you need it. Don’t let anyone, not even yourself, tell you otherwise.” He smiled softly. “You’ve gotta keep reminding yourself what’s true. And I promise, I’ll be here to help you with that too.”

What was true…. It was hard, so hard to believe what he’d just said. She’d spent so much time alone, having only herself to depend on. And not… not having her brothers by her side. They’d all suffered together. Vlad had never loved them; they were only useless, inferior copies to him. Mistakes. Damian knew all that; he understood.

(But… what she said at the store today. He was Danny too and she’d hurt him. She’d betrayed him…) 

She shook her head, pushing the thought down. No, he was her brother. He loved her. He wanted to help her.

“Okay. I’ll try.” The girl finally answered. “It’s… it’s hard. It’s like… I know it in my head. I trust you. I wanna believe you but…” She vaguely motioned to her chest. “My feelings are all mixed up in here.”

Dami smiled without mirth. “Welcome to being alive. It’s like that sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Her own humorless laugh. She pulled back, gaze fixed down guiltly. “Still… I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. I shouldn’t have….have said you just pitied me. Or that you’re not my brother.” Her eyes flickered, from her lap to the leaf covered ground to his white-clad boot beside her. “I know that’s not true now. You’re my brother and you do care about me.”

But she hadn’t known that then. She’d been furious, thinking he was Danny trying to take the place of her lost siblings. That wasn’t true though; he was one of her clone brothers. And…. he was Danny too.

The thought suddenly crashed in her head, a truth she’d been trying to avoid thinking about. A dozen emotions crowded her heart- guilt, dread, fear, sadness, hope, confusion, longing.

“Dani. It’s really okay.” That familiar, caring voice. “You really don’t have to apologize. I get it.” He’d already forgiven her, despite what she’d said (She didn’t deserve it, didn’t deserve it)….

An uneasy feeling in her heart, her gaze still flickered, anywhere but his eyes. A tall tree, wilted flowers, acorns laying across the path. That small pile of stones. One for Muscles, one for Bones, one for Daniel, and….

“Who’s the fourth stone for?” The question felt heavy on her tongue.

“What?” The boy blinked, as if startled by the question. 

“The fourth stone.” She bit her lip. “You said it wasn’t for me so who….”

The question lingered in the air for a long moment. Then… “It’s for me.” He swallowed. “That one’s for me.”

For him…. Dani’s heart sank like a stone at the words. “Why?” She hardly dared to ask. 

A pause, the body beside her tensed. Then he sat up more fully. “Just after the fusion was… hard. So freaking hard. I had these two different sets of memories. The fire and the shrinking powers were totally out of control and… I was angry. So freaking angry this happened to me. I was scared too. I didn’t really know what was going on. It’s like…” He sucked in a breath. “I woke up one day and I was a completely different person.” A shake of the head. “No, that’s not really right either.” His knees pulled to his chest. “It’s like… I wasn’t really Danny anymore and I wasn’t Tiny either. But I was. I was both of them. I didn’t know who I really was. Or who I was supposed to be. Was I supposed to just be Danny? But I couldn’t be. Sometimes, I felt like I was two different people, not just one person. But I’m still, somehow, just me…” He trailed off.

Dani looked up, eyes falling on his face. The distant green eyes, furrowed brow….

The girl swallowed. “But still… why the rock?”

His eyes closed. “I needed to mourn myself, Dani. I’m not…” He sighed. “I’m not the person I was before. The fusion happened and I’m not the person, er… the people I would have been if it hadn’t. I’m not really Danny… And I’m not really Dami either.”

This… this was what had been filling her mind with dread before. What she’d… what she’d been choosing to ignore.

Dani looked into the neon green eyes, eyes that she had known so well. They looked like Tiny’s. She could picture them, shining up at her with admiration. That expression was so different now. The thought made her heart ache, grief and anger stabbing at her. She missed the quiet companionship, the simple curiosity. Her core ached. That quiet little brother, he was… he was…. (gone).

And yet…

“Sorry.” His hand gently rested on her arm. “I know that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s heavy but you deserve to hear it.”

And yet… Dani had spent a week with his boy. They’d joked and played. He’d taught her things, bought her presents, made her meals. And…his arms hugging her earlier, the gentle voice muttering comforts in her ears…..

“I’m different from before.” He continued, eyes growing wider, more insistent. “Danny and Dami are both part of me but I’m not really either of them. I’m my own person. Their legacy, that’s how I explained it to Jazz. But I’m still your brother.”

He wasn’t the brother she had known but…

“I know I’m not the Tiny you remember but-”

“I love you.” She interrupted, finally meeting his eyes. He was different but she still knew him. She knew he loved her. And… “I love you.” The insistent, purposeful words.

Her brother’s mouth snapped shut, his forehead wrinkling. But before he could voice question (or doubt)....

“I didn’t really get what you were talking about earlier, the first time you explained stuff. Or maybe I was ignoring it.” Dani shook her head, frowning at herself. “But I get it more now. I know you’re different.” There was no accusation there, nor disappointment . “And I love you.” Just tender acceptance. 

Dami’s…. Danny’s expression relaxed, a tentative hope. “You really… mean that?”

“You’re my brother, no matter what.” The girl nodded, eyes wide and earnest. “Of course I love you.”

Still, there was just a hint of doubt there, lingering in his gaze.

“I spent the whole week with you.” Dani continued. “Yeah, I saw how you’re different now. You’re barely like how Tiny was at Vlad’s. And the Danny part….” She bit her lip, more unsure. She’d called him Danny Phantom at the mall, seen him act the hero in ghost fights, seen his love of the stars. And yet….

The girl blinked, a realization hitting her. “I spent a lotta time with you now, but…” Before she’d come here, before the fusion even…. “I never really knew you, Danny you, before.” There was almost… relief in that idea. “Before that day at Vlad's, when I helped kidnap him… you…” That look of betrayal flashed in her mind but she pushed it down. “I didn’t know you. Vlad told me things but… I didn’t really know you.”

Her brow furrowed, stewing on the idea. The other half ghosts’ brow did too, bunched up in confused contemplation. And yet… he didn’t say anything. Dani felt her heart squeeze, affectionate. He was being so patient, letting her quietly put her thoughts together. 

Finally….

“What I think I’m trying to say is… I never really knew Danny-you before. I knew Tiny and you’re really different from him. But…” She leaned, her shoulder bumping his. “I’ve been getting to know you. And I don’t know what parts are from Danny and which are Dami. But I know you’re fun to play with. You’re a good listener. You give the best hugs. You made me breakfast this morning and let me wear your old clothes. You care about me. You love me and….” Her arms wrapped around his back. “I love you too. All of you.”

“Oh, Danielle…..” The words shone with affection, the boy wrapping his own arms around her.

“I love being your baby sister, Danny.”

And that was the last thing. She’d been calling him Dami all week, her clone brother’s chosen name. But he was also called Danny. By his older sister, his friends. That was the name taped to his door, on the trophies in his room, written in the tags of his old clothes. He was Danny and he was Dami.

Dani didn’t understand how he could be both of them, but also somehow neither. Also somehow his own person, someone new. But she did know whoever he was, this person holding her… his name was Dami and it was Danny and he was her big brother. He was her big brother. She was his little sister and she loved him.

“I’m so happy to hear that.” Danny said, softly, lovingly. “I love being your big brother too.”

After a long moment, the pair pulled back. The boy smiled. “I’m really relieved to hear all that.” His hand rubbed the back of his neck, a tad sheepish. “I was afraid I was going to have to really push the idea sooner rather than later.” He lowered his hand, more earnest. “But I really wanted to give you time to come around on your own.

For a moment, Dani felt a flash of guilt but… “Thank you for giving me time.” She sighed. “This… everything’s been a lot since I came here. Some of it’s been hard, having to face things. But thanks for talking to me and… “ She looked at the pile of stones. “Thanks for taking me here.”

“You deserved to get to see it too.” The arm still wrapped around her back squeezed. “Crying for our brothers is no fun but I’m glad we were here together for it.”

Wordlessly, Dani met his eyes. She nodded. “I’m happy we’re both here too.”

With his own nod, Danny reached for his bag. “Do you want to light the candles? I’ve got a lighter in here-” He cut himself off, looking back at her. He blinked, brow furrowed. “You’re the same height as me.” His gaze flickered to his hands. “Did I shrink again?”

The bemused reaction chipped at the sadness encircling Dani’s core. “Yeah. I guess neither of us noticed?” 

Her eyes traveled up and down him. Sure enough, he was shorter, seemingly the same height as her, hence them being eye to eye when sitting. Their proportions and ages still were different though. Dani was as baby-faced as ever while her brother still looked sixteen, strengthening jaw, gangly limbs stretched by his growth spurt, and all. Closer to her four feet and eight inches, compared to his former five feet ten inches. (Out of curiosity, Jazz had measured each of them this week.)

“How did neither of us notice!?” He raised a brow.

Dani raised her own brow, then shrugged. “We were kinda distracted.” She smiled softly, a hint of humor entering her voice. “I think I like you being me-sized.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Guess I won’t shift back yet, then.”

“You better not.” She faux-threatened, eyes narrowed. 

In all seriousness though, there was something special about sitting side by side with him, truly eye to eye. It made her happy to see him use his size-changing power again. That was something truly of Tiny. And his comment, about the power being all out of wack right after the fusion….

Earlier, he’d talked about all the complicated things he felt right after coming back from Vlad’s. Feeling out of place, like he didn’t know who he was…. And now, sitting eye to eye, the reminder tugged at her heart. He understood how she felt, what it was to not know who you were, who you were supposed to be, who you wanted to be. 

The thought made her sad again, her eyes drawn to the flickering flame of the first lit candle.

“Do you want to say something about our brothers?” Danny quietly asked. 

“Yeah. I… I do.”

[allzelemonz]

Mr. Mayor: Vlad Masters X NSG Reader

Decided to make it gender neutral despite the request because I love Vlad and I know other boys and enbys do too. Also made the reader Jack Fenton’s sibling because I think there’s a slap in the face situation part 2 later on.

Visiting your brother’s family was always great. Jack rambled on about something ghost related while Jazz caught you up on her academic successes and Maddie told you about the big new events you’d missed since visiting last. Your favorite part of the visit was taking Danny to hang out. Your nephew was your favorite, not that you’d ever say it out loud.

So taking Danny to the Nasty Burger to meet with his friends was right in your wheelhouse. Sam and Tucker seemed like really nice kids. You admired Sam’s taste in the weird things and Tucker’s understandable love for technology. In talking to the kids you remembered what Maddie had told you.

“So, the new mayor, not your favorite person?” You looked around at the high schooler's faces.

“He tried to make us wear school uniforms, started a curfew at four o’clock, and we almost lost the Nasty Burger.” Danny explained.

“Does he have some sort of vendetta against you or something?” You asked as you went to take a bite of a fry.

The teens looked at you skeptically. As if you knew something you weren’t supposed to.

“What?” You looked around. “Am I missing something?”

“He’s just a bad guy, that’s all.” Sam clarified.

“He’s the guy that’s been chasing after Danny’s mom since they were in college, other than that he never seemed that bad.” You set down the fry you were never going to get the chance to eat. “He and Jack always spent summers between semester doing stupid ghost expermments in th attic.”

“So you knew him before…” Danny stopped himself from finishing.

“Before?”

“Before college?” Tucker filled questioningly.

“Yeah, yeah, you knew him from when my dad went to college?”

“Not really.” You answered. “Just caught glimpses of him. I was in high school so I didn’t really pay attention to what Jack did.” You shrugged. “He seemed nice, but he stopped coming over so often for some reason.”

Once again the teens looked at each other as if they knew something special.

“All right, who wants to tell me?” You broke their little staring contest.

“Tell you what?” Tucker spoke in more of a series of squeaks rather than words.

“Yeah, there’s nothing to tell.” Sam covered.

You turned to Danny. “Nephew.”

He gulped and let out a nervous laugh. “It’s like Sam said, he’s just a really bad guy now.”

“Explain.”

The look of a disappointed (Aunt/Uncle/Auncle-This is the most common gender neutral term I’ve found) was something that could move mountains. Danny shifted in his seat clearly trying to come up with a convincing lie.

“Daniel, tell me.” You narrowed your brows and the kid looked white as a ghost.

Hold on, no. His hand was gone. The one that was resting on the table. Gone.

“Is this a ghost thing?” You asked.

Danny looked down at his hand and tried to play it off as if it was just a weird angle. It didn’t work. With all the nervous muttering and poorly formed excuses it was obvious they were lying.

“You’re half ghost?” It was hard to believe, but it was the only thing that the kids didn’t sound like they were lying about.

“Yes, just keep your voice down.” Danny warned. “Vlad is half ghost too, that’s how he became mayor and got all of his money.”

“So he’s bad because he played to his strengths?” You muttered to yourself.

You gathered up the trash around the table.

“Why don’t you introduce me to him, Danny. I’m sure he’s not that bad of a guy.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sam chimed in.

“I may be related to Jack Fenton, but that doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.” You looked at Danny who seemed to forget that he could do ghostly things and was trying to hide in his shirt. “Come on, Danny.”

Reluctantly Danny left his friends to introduce you to his arch nemesis. A fourteen year old with an arch nemesis and it had to be your nephew. Town hall was busy, but that’s what town halls are like. Danny helped you walk through a few walls until you were outside of Vlad’s office. The fact that your nephew could just walk through walls was going to take some getting used to. Danny opened the door to see a rather handsome man sitting at a large desk with a fluffy white cat in his lap. He looked up at the sound of the door clicking open.

“Why Daniel, to what do I owe the pleasure?” His voice had a calming effect.

“My (Aunt/Uncle/Auncle) wanted to meet you.” Danny seemed tense in the way he spoke. “I’ll be at home.’ He muttered to you before leaving the room.

You closed the door as he left.

“Good to meet you Mr. Masters, I’m (Y/n), Jack’s (Brother/Sister/Sibling).”

“Oh, yes, I remember seeing you around.” Vlad recalled. “Please sit.”

You did so, taking the seat across from him.

“I wanted to meet you because I’d always been a fan of your work.”

“Oh, thank you, it's always nice to meet a fan.”

“And because I never got the chance to really meet you when you and Jack were friends.”

“I must say, I do regret not meeting you sooner.” Vlad leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands. The cat scurried away to a small tower by the window.

“Why did you and Jack stop talking?” You asked.

“Oh, college passed and we went separate ways.” He waved off the issues.

“That’s it?”

“Well, I used to have a bit of jealousy toward he and Maddie, but I feel it passing more and more with each word.”

“Each what?”

“Each day.” Vlad corrected himself.

“Right…” Your eyes wandered to the framed Packers jersey on his wall. “You’re a Packers fan?”

“Why yes.” Vlad smiled fondly at the jersey. “I’ve tried to buy the team itself, but no luck.”

“I’ve always been a bit of a fan, and I love the jersey.” You complemented.

“Say, would you like to accompany me to a game this season?”

You blushed red. A very attractive man just asked you to go to your favorite team's game.

“I, uh, I’d love to.”

“I have my own box, bottle service and all of the perks.” He bragged. “Afterall someone with your looks deserves nothing less.”

You let out a nervous half laugh. “Thank you, Mr. Masters.”

“Oh, please, Vlad.” He insisted.

“Right, Vlad.”

The name rolled off your tongue in such a pleasant way. Jack might kill you for this, but come on.

“If you’d like we go for dinner tonight as well.” Vlad offered.

“Sure.” You answered right away.

After having to interrogate Danny and his friends you realized you never really got to eat.

“Shall we then?” Vlad waited by you with his arm out to take.

You walked with him to a limo reserved just for the mayor. He sat next to you and gave great conversation. You discussed the Packers, politics of Amity Park, and personal preferences. Dinner was much of the same, but with more food. Vlad wasn’t like Danny had said. He was a gentleman. He may have acquired his money by not-so-legal means, but he was a nice guy.

The ride home was more conversation. Vlad bought the ticket to the game he’d promised and inquired about why you were in Amity Park.

“It was just time to visit, catch up with Jazz and Danny.” You explained. “I try to tune out Jack, he calls every week or so anyway.”

“And how long will you be staying in our fair city?”

“Around a week.”

“And I couldn’t persuade you to stay any longer?” Vlad offered.

“I, uh, I don’t know.” You thought. “Maybe.”

“There is a position open at city hall if it interests you.” He met your eyes. “I’d be happy to pull some string to keep you around.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” You nodded along.

You hadn’t noticed how close the two of you were. Until Vlad’s hand was already cupping your cheek. He gave you a moment to react before he leaned in and pressed your lips together. It was a sweet kiss, timid. As if he hadn’t done it in a long time.

You scooted closer to him on the seat and wrapped your arms around him, one of your hands finding his pony tail to play with. Vlad rested his other hand on your side and pulled you a bit closer. You pressed further and intensified the kiss. Vlad obliged and kept the pace, kissing you with as much passion.

The car came to a stop and made you both separate. Time was cut short.

“I suppose I’ll see you soon?”

“Of course.”

“Lunch tomorrow?”

“I’d love to.”

Vlad opened the door for you to step out and gave you one last smile before the car drove away. You were definitely going to see him again.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom episode 4-7 Thoughts: (under a readmore because, these got kinda long!)

-the outfit danny had to buy for dash's party. CLASSIC 2000S i cannot stop laughing. And also showing up to the party and everyone is dressed like the trio is hilarious. and further proof that everyone looks good dressed goth.

-dash has a closet full of cute lil bear plushies?? LOVE that. adorable. also his response to danny trashing his room fighting a ghost was SO valid if somone BROKE MY BED IN HALF ID BE PISSED TOO.

-technus being like 'oh smart, u should be a tutor!' then later being like 'forget tutor, be a teacher!' :) supportive king <3 I also really like his upgraded suit/design. AND SPOCK CAMEO??? HELLO??

-the music in this show is super. its so funky. I looked it up and the guy who does it, guy moon (awesome name) also did music for other cartoons like fairly odd parents, barnyard, chalkzone, billy & mandy, AND some actual movies like FIGHT CLUB??? the whiplash I got from reading that)

-sam being rich explains a lot about her, actually.

-I know the moral of the episode was supposed to be 'dont ditch your friends for popular people/spend a lot of money on clothes that arent You to Fit In'. but tbh. it wouldve been easy for danny to have been like 'well, okay, ill come but only if my friends can!' but I get. that hes 14. so. not a lot to say there.

-BOX GHOST IS BACK!!!!! also, danny sitting up and wearing the dress/wig/makeup. umm thats how I dress everyday LMFAO. unironically me. (hate the jokes that boil down to 'haha funney man in dress' tho. but this is a look)

-jazz being protective of her brother once again being like NOOO YOU GUYS BETTER NOT STAKE OUT HIS (actually haunted) LOCKER!! shes aware of how people perceive him and she wants to help :( which is also probably why she told dash to invite him to that party even tho she had no interest in going!! she wants to help him out :(

-gotta say im with tucker on the whole 'should danny use his powers to get back at bullies' debate. 100% yes. let him teach kids to fight back. making dash throw his food at paulina out of the blue? no. but when hes actually about to pick on someone? yeah! for self defense? YEAH! if dash and his friends just threw food at him, I think rather than. idk doing sneaky shit with frogs he couldve just threw it back and not pulled punches if they tried to fight. I kNOOWWW its a kids show so they are like 'if u fight back ur just as bad!! violence bad!!' but. theyre HIS POWERS. WHO CARES.

-like my only gripe is that dash really isnt LEARNING ANYTHING WHEN DANNY GETS BACK AT HIM IN THE MOST PETTY INDIRECT WAYS. whatever they had to add a bully psa episode I guess. I hate it and I hate the way cartoons usually handle it because these methods simply Do Not Work. 'aND YouRE USinG YOur poWErs FOR EVill???!' this is Not Evil. even when poindexter takes dannys body, theyre only being 'nice' bc hes stealing soda for them!! bitches deserve what they get (nothing too brutal bc theyre high schoolers but damn, if they pick on danny he doesnt need to be the 'bigger person' he needs to start biting people)

-SAM TRYING TO SMUGGLE FROGS OUT OF THE BIO LAB?? girl in middle school when we had to dissect frogs we could opt out, also, they came to us already dead and preserved...

-sidney's lingo and the fact hes in black and white is sending me. also, danny is a ghost celebrity apparently for being a halfa?? ok. thats interesting to know

-the DENTIST BEING EXCITED ABOUT THE COTTON CANDY FLOOD IS THE FUNNIEST THING SO FAR.

-I LOOOVE the trope of 'wishes gone wrong'. not crazy about the stereotypical genie, or the use of the dreamcatcher looking design. (also, I KNOW theyre scientists but the way theyre handling a cold...are the fentons ANTIVAX)

-the genie. she. whitewished paulina. JKASDFHKJ. (the ghost literally just being hello kitty???? im dying) 'why do i feel that im special and wonderful? because I AM! <3' paulina ilu self worth queen. felt bad for her also getting possessed by (2) boys later who were arguing INSIDE HER. WTF.

-imagine being the guy trapped in his now flying car. he thought danny and tucker were HALUCINATIONS. imagine being trapped in a flying car with two, what you think are imaginary arguing 14 year olds convinced ur gonna die. i WOULD say this dude is gonna need so much therapy, but he seemed totally fine and excited when they landed (I would be happy too if a chicken was on my head. chickens rule) stoner rights

-sam's bat slippers??? iconic. SO cute.

-I think desiree's backstory is so :( do all ghosts have messed up sad backstories?? poindexter's was sad too...cannot imagine box ghost has any kind of fucked up backstory. but what if. his mom got pushed off cliffs by boxes...........a la cruella... anyway her 'no man may lay a hand on me' iconic. ilu

-I know danny has no concept of how much bras cost but my god dont attack tucker with some girls bra. those are so expensive.

-its really. well its not a GOOD THING he went into the portal and got fucked up, but its good danny was the one to do it rather than sam or tucker. because even tho he was being influenced by desiree and kept getting more malicious and it prob wasnt 100% him...he sucked as a ghost like most the people he 'pranked' were innocent ppl just Chillin and he didnt want to help anyone at all. I think danny is the most responsible out of them but also, hes 14 and shouldnt HAVE to feel obligated to fight every ghost. hes a good kid and wants to, but I also feel like he feels like...responsible for the portal turning on?? because his parents did give it up,, but it was an accident and not his fault (if anything, why was the on switch on the inside. why was it that easy. why was there no safety measures. that seems like smth OSHA needs to hear about). like thats my son. hes a good boy. and hes never done anything wrong in his life, ever. if anyone hurts him im killing everyone in this room and then myself. etc.

-danny's curfew is 10PM????? DUDE. when I was 14...shit I couldn't be out that late, I had to be back at like, 8 at the latest, and my parents had to know exactly where and who I was going with, AND i had to call/text them regularly...is this a case of my parents being overbearing, or the fentons sucking??? the only time i could EVER be out that late was if I was at an overnight sleepover or smth...

-the vultures have lil fezes. why do they have fezes...theyre so fuckin funny 'ask him for directions' 'I KNOW WHERE IM GOING' these ghost vultures are my new grandpas. pick them up, put them in the adopt box.

-'I wonder why those guys were trying to waste dad!' THEYRE GHOSTS. YOUR DAD HUNTS GHOSTS. why is that not a conclusion you'd immediately jump to??

-*jazz voice, clearly disgusted* WISCONSIN???

-mrs fenton with the lab coat and leg warmers and PERM. YESSS STYLISH.

-was going to say 'ew billionaire' @vlad but. super valid he used his powers to assumedly steal and cheat to get that money, thats how all billionaires do it! but ew hes a SIMP. and spending your billions on FOOTBALL STUFF?? you are Not Valid overall. I DO respect the fact you have a castle instead of a mansion. in wisconsin. if youre going to be stupidly rich might as well go all out, torches on the wall and all. I DO like his ghost form's little kitty ears. catman. and his cape! every design can benefit from a cape. and how different his forms look, like danny looks the EXACT SAME IN BOTH FORMS ASIDE FROM COLOR CHANGES. vlad's is like,, I could believe they were different people!! also I love the drama. but dude you are fighting a 14 year old. lame. also he was like, telling danny he wanted his mom and him and like, wanted him to renounce his dad?? WHAT ABOUT JAZZ?? bitch. those r MY kids and they are both important and special. I do agree they need better parents but thats not u sir <3

-I thought vlad's 'little badger' nickname for danny came from the football mascot of the packers, but google says they have NO MASCOT?? so now I'm like?? is it because his hair is sometimes black and sometimes white?? I hate to give him props but thats a PERFECT NICKNAME. theyre also tiny and vicious!

-why did I get so excited that Skulker is back!! its been like. 2-3 eps LMAO. AND THE DAIRY KING. ICONIC I LOVE HIM. hes the nicest guy ever :) more nice ghosts please. danny cannot be fighting alone everytime with no ghost buds like every ghost being hostile sucks :(

-mr. fenton knew vlad was controlling him, but a few episodes ago he had no clue danny was doing the same thing...is it something about how malicious the ghost is?? he just seemed to think his memory had gaps the first time, this time he was INSTANTLY LIKE 'GHOST'. then again in this ep when danny did it again he was just slightly confused but not immediately freaking out like he did with vlad possessing him!!

-'my parents will accept ME NO MATTER WHAT' so. so why haven't you come out to them yet, danny?? if you really think that?? if theres no harm, and you're sure??? if vlad is a real problem, wouldnt that make dealing with him easier, to expose him???? SO WHY HAVENT YOU COME OUT YET?? COULD IT BE,, MAYBE YOU HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER YOUR PARENTS ACTUALLY WILL ACCEPT YOU??? 🤔 ... 🏳‍🌈 I get why people say He Is Trans. I totally totally get u danny.

-sorta unrelated, but it just occurred to me in one of these eps they go to casper HIGH not casper middle school??? theyre 14?? dont highschools usually do ages 15-18? (I didnt go to hs so I might be wrong, if I am ignore this...) freshmen are usually 14-15, could just be a case of them not turning 15 yet but they will sometime in the school year (I say they because tucker said he was 14 too)? I know the show has 3 seasons, so by the end of it will they be older? thatd be neat but usually cartoon characters stay the same age...I love shows where you can see the characters age and grow up, though...three seasons seems like a long time to spend on like, 1 year...

[kinglazrus]

Therefore I am

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @kili-kai-wox (kilikani on ffn): Danny is surprised when he receives an A+. I wonder what subject it could be from?

Summary: There are two things Danny never expected to get out of his philosophy class: an A+ and to be confronted about his never-ending existential crisis

Warnings: discussion of/thoughts about death and the meaning of death.

Word count: 2971

Today is a grim day for Danny Fenton. It just might be the end of him. He's backed into a corner, enemies approached from all sides. His allies have abandoned him. Friends, family, all gone. He's on his own out here and it doesn't look like he's going to make it. Rations are getting low.

Jazz slaps her hand against her forehead and groans. "Don't be so dramatic!"

Danny, pinned against the lockers by his friends and sisters, howls in outrage. "I'm almost out of gummy bears!" He shoves the near empty plastic bag in Jazz's face, shaking it furiously. "And look! It's mostly just the white ones! I might as well starve."

"Ooh, I love the white ones!" Tucker snatches the bag out of Danny's hand. Fishing a few gummies out, he pops them into his mouth and chews, a blissful smile on his lips.

Danny moans. "My rations."

Sam rolls her eyes.

Danny was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch when they cornered him. They came out of nowhere, surging out from the crowd of shuffling students, surrounding him before he could realize what was happening.

With Jazz in front of him, Sam to his left, and Tucker to his right, they block off all routes of escape. Except the ghostly ones, but too many students are milling about for him to safely use his powers.

Danny doesn't like the look in their eyes. Sam's eager glint, Tucker's grin, Jazz's stern frown. They all set him on edge.

"Can I just please go to lunch?" he begs. Thanks to Skulker, Danny didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning, except a handful of cereal. The only thing he wants right now is to go get some food, even if it's the crappy cardboard pizza they serve in the cafeteria. He needs sustenance damn it!

Tucker stealing his gummy bears is the deepest betrayal he could get right now.

"No," Jazz and Sam say at the same time.

Tucker stealing his gummy bears is the second deepest betrayal.

"Come on, man," Tucker says around a mouthful of gummies. "Just spill it."

"It wasn't my fault," Danny whines, wilting against the lockers. Jazz's frown deepens, turning from disappointment into a full-blown pout. Left with no other choice, Danny relents. "Fine! But I'm telling you, he was asking for it."

He's about to expose his plans but stops when he catches their confused faces. "What?" he asks.

"Lancer was asking for it?" Sam asks. She leans against the lockers next to Danny, eyebrow raised.

"Lancer?"

"Yeah. Mikey told us what happened in philosophy class. And we told Jazz," Tucker says. "What do you think we're talking about?"

Danny thinks about his parents' new ecto grenade—completely harmless to humans, of course—rigged up in Dash's locker, ready to explode as soon as someone opens the door. "It's not important right now. Philosophy? I got an A, yeah. Awesome, right?"

"And you didn't tell me!" Jazz says, offended.

Oh, Danny thinks. That's why she looked disappointed. He doesn't know how he was supposed to tell her, though, because this is the first time he's seen her all morning.

"Dude, you didn't just get an A," Tucker says.

"Okay, A+."

"Dude."

Sam, exasperated, grabs Danny's shoulders and forcibly turns him toward her. "Mikey told us how Lancer stood up at the front of the class and said your paper was the best he'd ever read in that class."

"Oh." Danny's cheeks burn and he ducks his head. "Yeah. That."

When he turned the paper in last week, he honestly thought he would fail the assignment. The night before it was due, Cujo managed to dig his way out of the Ghost Zone again and immediately wanted to play. Danny was happy to oblige since, for once, he had all his homework done on time and there were no ghosts to take care of that night. The real trouble came when he had to go downstairs for dinner, leaving Cujo in his room with a stern reminder not to leave it.

Miraculously, Cujo obeyed the command. But that meant there was a bored, excitable puppy in Danny's room, alone, for almost an hour, with nothing to play with. His room hadn't been neat when he left it, but it was trashed by the time he came back. His backpack was particularly mangled, and his essay ripped to shreds.

Danny hadn't thought Lancer would accept "a ghost dog ate my homework," as an excuse for not having the assignment done. But he no longer had the library books he used to write the damn thing in the first place. Which meant he had to replace his typed, carefully referenced, well-thought out essay with a rushed, handwritten mess that consisted only of Danny's personal thoughts.

Suffice to say, he wasn't too confident in the new essay. The last thing he expected was to get a passing grade for it, much less actual praise. Danny doesn't get praise, not outside hero work, at least. He gets lots of sighs and disappointed looks. Maybe a stern, "This is proof you can do better," when he pulls a grade higher than a D. But not praise. Never praise.

"It was... something," Danny says. He doesn't usually get embarrassed by attention, although that doesn't necessarily mean he likes it either. But getting called out by Lancer in front of the whole class was an entirely new experience.

Before Lancer started handing out the papers, he had stood at the front of the class and waved the stack in the air.

"I have to say, I'm very impressed by the work some of you did. Very thoughtful," he started. "But there is one paper in particular that I would like to bring up."

Lancer shuffled through the stack, shifting everything around until a bundle of loose leaf ripped from a notebook sat on top. The pages were stapled poorly, and the handwriting was borderline illegible. Danny knew instantly it was his and expected the worst.

"This paper was, perhaps, the most insightful essay I've ever read in all my time teaching this class," Lancer said. He beamed in Danny's direction. "It was speculative, introspective, and intuitive. Written purely from the student's own thoughts on life and death. This is what philosophy is about, and I hope I can see similar work from the rest of you in the future."

Danny sank into his seat as Lancer walked down the aisle, heading right for him, and held his paper out.

"Thanks," Danny muttered, taking his assignment. He couldn't bear to lift his gaze and meet the burning stares of his peers. The worst part, though was when Lancer asked to see Danny at the end of the day.

"Are you gonna go?" Tucker asks.

"I don't know." Danny's grip on his backpack tightens as he thinks about the paper stuffed inside. "I'm not in trouble or anything, and it didn't really sound like I have to go."

"I think you should." Jazz reaches out and ruffles Danny's hair, smiling proudly at him. "You did good, little brother. You're smart, and Lancer knows that. Whatever he wants to talk to about, I'm sure it's good."

Danny grumbles, shoving Jazz's hand away and fixing his hair. He doesn't make it neat, but he messes it up the way he likes it to be messed up. There's a difference.

"I guess. As long as no ghosts interrupt, I'll go," Danny says. Jazz is right—she usually is, much to his chagrin. Whatever Lancer wants, after what he said about Danny's paper, it has to be good. But he still hopes the Box Ghost shows up so that Danny doesn’t have to go.

"Can I have my gummy bears back?" Danny asks, turning to Tucker.

Tucker, cheeks puffed with gummies, looks down at the empty bag. He slowly shakes his head. "I don't think you want them back."

—

Danny hesitates outside Lancer's door. The final bell rang five minutes ago, and most students have already fled the school grounds. The football team is still here, somewhere, because they have practice in half an hour. Everyone else is out front waiting for their buses. Jazz left in the initial crowd. Sam and Tucker offered to hang around and wait for him, but Danny waved them off and told them to go ahead. They have better things to do.

It crosses Danny's mind that he can lie to them. If he skips out and only tells them he talked to Lancer, they will probably accept it and leave it at that. Jazz might probe him a little about it, but if he acts annoyed about it, she'll stop. But he's being ridiculous. There's no real reason why he can't walk through this door right now and get this over with. Jazz is right. It's probably a good thing. But something about it sets Danny on edge.

Sighing heavily, he reaches out and knocks on Lancer's door, standing on his toes to peek through the window.

Lancer, sitting at his desk, grading a pile of new assignments, looks up. He sees Danny and smiles, waving him inside.

Danny pauses for a second, then turns the handle and steps into the room.

"Please, Mr. Fenton, close the door and take a seat," Lancer says.

Danny does as told, closing the door a little too hard, and shuffles over to the desk closest to Lancer's. Swinging his backpack off his shoulder, he sets it down on the floor beside him and slides into the chair.

While Lancer makes a few more notes on the paper in front of him, Danny scans the classroom. Sometimes it feels like he spends half his day in this room. Lancer teaches a surprising number of courses. Danny's almost impressed by the range. Little hints of each course are scattered throughout the room. A poster about calculating surface area by the window, a cartoonish timeline of US history along the top of the wall, aperiodic table taking up most of the back wall.

For philosophy, there's a collage of famous philosophers taped to the front of Lancer's desk. Danny thinks a former student made it, because it's just some images cut out and glued onto a stiff piece of poster board.

Danny stares at each face in the collage, trying to recognize them. Friedrich Nietzsche is the only one he can identify by name. The only reason Danny remembers him in the first place is his wild mustache. Hard to forget something like that.

"Mr. Fenton."

Danny's head snaps up, gaze jumping to Lancer.

"I'd like to congratulate you again for writing such a wonderful paper" Lancer says. "But I had a few questions."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Are you okay, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny blinks. "I­­­– what?"

"In your paper, you spoke a lot about death, dying, and our perceptions of life now that we know there is some form of afterlife. Some of your points were rather... personal."

Danny thinks back over his paper. The moment he realized he had to make the whole thing up, he decided to talk about the one philosophical debate he was personally invested in: the significance of life after death. He mentioned his parents' views on the matter, that ghosts are mindless monsters, but mostly spoke about his own and what questions he had about it. Thanks to his personal experience with dying, he had a lot to talk about.

Lancer reaches for an open notebook sitting on his desk. Lifting it up, he scans the page for a moment, then reads, "'Some people falsely believe ghosts are not, and never were, human, but are instead creatures from another dimension connected to our own. While some ghosts definitely aren't human, I have met countless that were. They remember living and dying, and there is evidence of their human lives left behind. What does this mean for people who are still living? If we can die and nothing changes for us, does dying matter at all?'"

Danny immediately recognizes his own words. Lancer must have written down what Danny said in his essay. It makes him uncomfortable. He doesn’t want his thoughts lying around where anyone can read them. He especially doesn't want Lancer to pick and choose them at random for whatever this conversation is.

"That doesn't really sound personal," Danny mutters.

"No, it doesn't," Lancer agrees. "But the things you go on to say after this point are concerning, to say the least. Which brings me back to my original question. Are you okay?"

Danny's face scrunches as he thinks. So what if he got personal? It's a personal matter. That was the whole point when he wrote it. He doesn't understand what Lancer's getting at.

Lancer sighs and keeps going. "'Lots of people think about what happens after they die. Usually, they're talking about religion and what waits for them on the other side. Personally, I wonder about what happens to everything I leave behind, and what dying would do for me.' Would you like to expand on that?"

Danny leans away. "No?"

"What dying would do for you," Lancer repeats.

"What are you­­– oh." Finally, realization dawns on Danny. He squirms uncomfortably. "I'm not– I don't want to–"

He cuts himself off with a sight. How is he supposed to explain what's going on in his head without giving his secret away? Danny's not okay, but he isn't not okay, either. He's just... dead.

He died, but he lived, and it changed him. And yet, at the same time, nothing changed at all. In the grand scheme of things, Danny died and everything stayed the same. No one noticed, except his friends, who were there and are probably scarred for life.

Besides, Danny lived, in the end. So he's supposed to be fine, right? But he doesn't know how to deal with going through something that traumatic and realizing it didn't matter.

Ghosts look at life differently. They don't regret dying because once you're dead, whatever led up to that point no longer matters. They remember their lives, but they don't care about them. If Danny had died all the way that day, he wouldn't care either. Thinking about that messes him up.

Lancer watches him expectantly. Danny realizes he's been silent for too long, and he has to say something.

"It's complicated."

"We have the time, if you'd like to try," Lancer says.

Danny shakes his head. "I really don't. You don't need to be worried about me, or anything. I don’t want to die or anything. I just..."

My whole life is just one big existential crisis.

"Mr. Fenton." Lancer stands up, pushing away from his desk.

Danny keeps his eyes on the philosophy collage as Lancer approaches. Holding himself perfectly still, he doesn’t look away, even as Lancer crouches next to Danny's desk.

"Okay."

There's nothing special about the word, or the way Lancer says it. He has no clue what's going on in Danny's mind right now, but he's looking at Danny with warm eyes, offering him a comforting smile, and Danny actually feels like he could be okay.

"For whatever it's worth, Mr. Fenton, I don't think my days would be the same without you. But I understand."

He really doesn't, but Danny appreciates the effort.

"If this isn't something you'd like to talk about with me, I won't push it. Perhaps I could have approached you more delicately about the matter." Lancer pats Danny's shoulder. "I hope you will talk to someone, if you need it. And don't let this stop you from pursuing your interest in philosophy."

Danny doesn't have the heart tell Lancer he only took the class because he thought it would be easy.

"You have a knack for it."

"Um, thank you," Danny says.

Lancer pats him again, then stands. "Don't let me keep you. I'm sure, as you students would say, you have to get vibing."

Danny grimaces. "We really wouldn't."

Dismissed, he gathers up his backpack and practically sprints to the door, yanking it open. Halfway out, he pauses, looking back over his shoulder. Lancer is back at his desk already, resuming his grading.

"Thanks, Mr. Lancer," Danny says. "You're not really 'hip', but... you are kind of cool."

He runs out of the room before Lancer can respond. Lips pressed in a firm line, he contemplates whether today was good or bad after all. A+ on his essay? Good. Getting praised in front of the class? It sounded good, but it felt bad and it was awkward as hell. Tucker eating all his gummy bears? Definitely bad.

The talk he just had with Lancer? Debatable.

Danny rounds the corner, heading for the front doors, and almost barrels right into Dash. He swerves at the last second—thank you reflexes—and skitters out of Dash's way.

"Watch it, Fenfreak," Dash says.

Danny rolls his eyes. "You get more creative every day, Dash. Why are you even still here?"

"Practice tonight, duh," Dash says.

Right. Danny gives Dash a critical look. "Going to your locker?" he asks.

"My stuff's already in the gym, dweeb. Why do you care?"

"I just thought I saw Paulina put some in there early. Could have been a love letter or something." Danny shrugs.

An eager gleam enters Dash's eye. Danny almost feels sorry for the poor guy. He's probably the only person who can't tell Paulina is hopelessly in love with Star. Why else would Paulina say she can't date any boys because she's saving herself for the ghost boy? Seriously.

Dash runs for his locker, yanking it open. As a resounding bang echoes down the hall and green go splatters all over the walls, floor, ceiling, and Dash, Danny finally makes up his mind. Today is a very good day.

[sylph-feather]

heart on your sleeve

Summary:  

TWO FACTS: 1. Ghost’s own perceptions and feelings effect how they look. 2. Danny is a mess.

Wordcount: 1,304

Prompt by @burning-clutch 

“Outward in. A ghost's appearance is based on how they view themselves, at least partially. So what happens as Phantom views himself differently? Monster? Nerd? Hero? Etc.”

Notes:  I focused mostly on the “monster” aspect, but I still hope you like it! Maybe one day I’ll add on, because I like this idea

xXx

When Danny enters from the portal for the last time of his full life and emerges with only half of that life left, he has no time for measly perceptions. His ghost form crackles with green electricity and the only thing on his mind is death; he barely perceives that negative image in the mirror, almost loses it in the storm of his mind.

It is a long time before he goes ghost again, instead dealing with minor power accidents— sliding through floors, becoming invisible, the like.

Even then, all that is perceptions, desires.

I want to not be here, he thinks, and he will slide through the floor with a gasp.

Thoughts like that are easy to control. What are not so easy are the feelings.

I feel invisible, he thinks, staring out at the sea of faces in the hallway.

Nobody reacts when he sits in his seat; not even Tuck, who is placed beside him.

It’s not until he’s marked absent despite raising his hand that Danny figures it out.

Thankfully, he stops himself from foolishly protesting aloud, instead using that slipping through ability on the door (mastered that one quick, given continuing to slide through stuff was equal parts annoying and horrifying) and standing in the hallway and thinking of the feeling of eyes on his skin until he can see himself again.

xXx

The invisibility at the thought of feeling invisible is common. Frankly, Danny is a nobody, and when he doesn’t feel invisible then he often subconsciously prays not to be seen, and his ghost side is more than happy to oblige that as well.

It’s an easy fix to think of the eyes on him, to switch the want off, to be seen again. It helps that being invisible is something quite noticeable to him and not to others; easy to remedy without being caught, so long as nobody sees Danny directly as he flickers in or out.

You may ask, what’s something less noticeable, then?

Perhaps it’s the errant thought of smallness Danny gets when compared to high achievers, both of social status and grades.

This time, Danny does not notice the change (so caught up in mental comparisons to Jazz) until said sister is squinting at him, literally sizing him up, and he notices she seems a good bit taller than him, looking down more than another day.

She shakes her head, and he can practically hear the mental recitations of psych texts, likely noting the size discrepancy as slumped posture indicative of… some other nonsense.

Danny laughs a little nervous laugh, and he scampers upstairs before she notices that he truly had shaved off a couple of inches.

What am I supposed to do? Just… he frowns, think big thoughts?

So Danny squints and thinks of how tall he feels normally (which isn’t that tall).

It does work, one of the few things in Danny’s life that’s solved fairly easy.

Something mischievous inside him wonders at using this to grow taller. Another part doesn’t want to touch something that stinks of his monstrous ghost side.

xXx

It’s a multitude of moments that just seem to pile up.

Danny feels heavy and weighed down, and the stairs creak under that new weight, gravity pressing down on his lungs twofold until he (literally and emotionally) lightens up a bit.

Danny feels glowingly happy, and his eyes become a fiercer blue, noticeable to his friends.

His form subtly reshapes itself on how he feels himself; one day he is content and everything about him is glowing and floaty, another day he is morose with a form forced into a hunch that has been stretched into a dulled sadness, everything about him drooping and dreary.

Perhaps the worst are the days of self hatred, where his thoughts say I’m a monster. Danny has noticed more of the changes in his form, and thus these days become more and more.

So what? he scoffs to himself on a low day, just because I turn invisible, get a little small, sometimes, get heavier or lighter randomly randomly, get— stop! It doesn’t mean I’m…

There’s not much to say to his thoughts when he’s grinding such sharp teeth together, plucking at his shirt with nails that have filed themselves into claws.

I’m not, he protests.

He’s just lying to himself, true feelings simmered up to the surface.

xXx

It’s nearing a month after the accident where Sam asks, “can you get that ghost form back?”

Tucker elbows her, still treading around eggshells. Sam was never the type to avoid stomping eggshells with combat boots (despite the irony of her being a vegetarian, if such were taken literally).

Danny considers, for a moment, that form. Something about it is terrifyingly alien and monstrous in his mind, but curiosity draws him with equal if not greater tantalizations. A morbid curiosity, to be technical.

So Danny, tapping into those feelings, falls into that state of mind; thinks himself as ghost, thinks himself as monstrous. Halloween images flood into his head, and then more primal images of his own electrocution.

Phantom’s second appearance is just as terrifying as his first, albeit for different reason.

The first was filled with fears of death and ghosts. This one is filled with the same, and the ghost is far less recognizably Danny.

The halfa has not refined his transformation to something as elegant as a ring, nor something as mentally easy as flipping a switch to his core; no, no, he activated it with the much harder and less easy to control power of perception. The white ring is not a ring, but a crackle of thunderous electricity that eats at him like the first time, leaping around the room, and Phantom emerges.

Instinctively, Tucker and Sam flinch back from the cold, charged air, and they cannot meet their friend in his hollow, toxic green eyes. Everything about him crackles, from his aura to his form. When Danny reaches toward them with a clawed hand, his hair jerks around pointed ears like it’s suspended in water.

His mouth opens and too many sharp teeth and he makes a hurt sound that’s echoey, tinny, clutching his claws into his void black jumpsuit.

“Danny,” Sam is the first to get over it, stepping toward him as he floats suspended in Tucker’s room, a floating, tightly coiled ball.

“I don’t know how to change back,” he says, voice sounding like it comes over a bad radio. He squeezes his green eyes shut and now he cannot think anything but monster, and everything gets more.

“This isn’t what you looked like the first time,” she informs bluntly.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Danny hisses, wrapping himself tighter.

“You said one time you felt invisible,” Tucker starts slowly, “and you became invisible.” He blinks, slowly, continuing to list off all that Danny previously informed his two friends of— “glowing when happy, heavy and droopy or small when sad.” He pauses. “Is this what you think you are?”

Danny hiccups, and his tears glow.

“I don’t think of you like that,” Tucker says, pointedly ignoring all the, er, points. “You just looked like you.”

“With old man hair,” Sam prods, “and a weird jumpsuit.”

“Admittedly, you did look radioactive,” Tucker giggles, seeing Danny breathe evenly a bit.

With each calming breath, more of those features slip away until the normal (more normal, at least) negative Danny Fenton remains.

“Thanks,” he mutters, uncurling, and thinks about himself as warm, alive, human.

xXx

xXx

Bonus:

The first time Danny sees Vlad, he sees him with a little more pity, looking at that blue skin, horn-hair, fangs, red eyes, and thinking of his second transformation—

“What are you looking at, boy?” Vlad hisses, and fires a pink beam at Danny.

Ow. Danny stops feeling so bad.

[loveinthewriteway]

I'm Gonna Marry Her Anyway (Chapter 14: Denial)

Other chapters | 1DFF Maraming salamat - thank you very much Lumpia - Filipino egg roll, bomb as fuuuu Anak - term of endearment for a child Ano - what Matakow - greedy, usually teasing when someone wants food too much Tito - uncle (doesn’t have to be by blood, usually referred to an older man out of respect) Mahal na mahal kita - I love you very much Sisig - Filipino dish, usually pork based (also, bomb as fuuuuu) Bakla - gay --- I wasn’t expecting to see Zayn so soon after I cut things off. It was the Sunday after we went to LACMA together. He kept his promise with attending a Catholic mass, specifically, at the church where I sing for every week. I didn’t see him until, well, he was walking out the doors. My heart sunk. But what was I expecting, him to approach me? I hate that I doubted every song I sang that day, wondering if I impressed him at all. Since then, we haven’t talked. Or communicated at all - no texts, calls, e-mails. Nothing. It’s been hard, to say the least. Focusing on school has been the best option for me to move forward. Some people would think that all this shit happening to me is terrible timing since it was the time of my midterm exams, but I found it to be perfect. Dedicating more of my time into studying distracted me from this nonsense. It also made me realize how much work heavily affected my study habits. Although it took more effort and it was significantly more difficult, I managed to catch up in my classes and do well in my midterms. If I keep this up, I should be back to “Straight A Student Mary” on the Dean’s List. Surprisingly, Harry is one of the biggest contributions to me doing well in school. We still haven’t really talked about what we are exactly, but that hasn’t stopped him from coming around. He quizzed me with flash cards, gave me back rubs during my study breaks, and snuck kisses when my dad and lola weren’t looking. (No, we haven’t gone past kissing - not since he rejected me last time. But whatever, it’s not like Harry has really tried or anything… Yes, I’m bitter. Yes, I know I shouldn’t be. Let me be petty, please.) It almost feels like he lives with me since he’s here all the time. My dad doesn’t complain, especially since Harry helps clean the house and water lola’s garden. It’s pretty cute, actually. What I really like is how he just knew when I needed to focus. He never tried talking to me or distracting me - hell, Harry kindly told Tatay that I was busy studying when he was about to nag me about laundry. Somehow, my dad didn’t kick him out of the house like Uncle Phil with Jazz in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Styles charm, I guess. When I would be studying, Harry usually tried to read one of my textbooks - but that usually never lasted very long. Some things really never change: his short attention span, constant curiosity, unwavering optimism, selflessness. However, there are many things that I never noticed before when we were younger. The way his eyes are trained on me every time we talk, how often he pinches his bottom lip absentmindedly, the distinct smile on his face - only when he sees me. I’ve grown to love how he always rests his chin on top of my head when he holds me, and how his body is always warm. All right, I’ll admit… Harry is my favorite distraction. “Hello? Mary, are you not listening to me again?” I blink, realizing that I’ve spaced out for the majority of my phone call with my best friend. Oops. “Um. No. I’m listening, Niall.” “Hm, okay. So what do you think I should do? Give her my number or nah?” “Nah. You deserve better,” I easily reply, putting my phone on speaker so I can start picking my outfit for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night. When Niall lets out an obnoxiously loud sigh of frustration, I’m grateful I put the phone down since it probably would’ve damaged my hearing. “I fucking knew you weren’t listening. I was talking about work, you asshole!” I can’t help but snicker. “Okay okay, sorry! I’m just… there’s a lot on my mind.” Niall quickly snaps, “Yeah, there was a lot on mine too. But you wouldn’t know because your ass wasn’t listening!” Before I can ask him to repeat everything he said (contrary to what he thinks, I actually do care), his tone softens, “Thinking about Zayn?” I drop my sweater, caught off guard. Quickly recovering, I bring the phone back to my ear and hiss, “Again, Niall. I don’t want to talk about him.” “Mary, you’ve been leaving me in the dark for weeks. All I’ve gathered - on my own, mind you - is that Zayn is in love with you and not Perrie. But he’s gonna marry her anyway.” I’m ready to hang up, but my friend knows better when he hastily stops me, “Mary, wait! Sorry. It’s just… it’s hard working here without you.” This makes me quietly sigh. “How is it going? Their wedding?” “It’s… it’s going.” Niall is quiet for a couple beats, and I can already picture him frustratedly tugging on his hair. “Perrie hasn’t been meeting her deadlines. I’ve been trying to turn to Zayn instead but…” “Please don’t.” My mouth moves on its own, even though part of me wants to know how he’s doing. Thankfully Niall obeys, instead talking more about how my old co-workers miss me and how much of a twat Lydia is. Although I’m listening a little more intently than earlier, the thought of Zayn has me reconsidering what - more like, who - my favorite distraction really is. *** I almost drool at the sight of my plate full of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes ham, and lumpia. There was definitely more food to choose from, but there wasn’t enough room on my plate. I deserve this, okay? I busted my ass studying for midterms, and I’m confident in all of them. Treat. Yo. Self. My mouth is already open, ready for my spoon full of heavenly goodness, but Tatay elbows me. It all falls back into my plate, and I don’t bother hiding my look of shock and annoyance. He doesn’t seem to notice, or chooses to disregard it (probably the latter), when he mutters, “Anak. Lead the… um…” “Tay. We already prayed. Please let me eat.” “No no… ano… everyone says what they want to thank?” I try to not face palm. When was Tatay so sentimental? He really wants to do that thing where people say what they’re grateful for? “Can we at least eat while people are talking?” “Yes yes, you’re so matakaw!” I ignore my dad’s jab, because hey, he’s not wrong. But listen, the last thing I ate was a bagel this morning because I was busy helping cook dinner. And I don’t know whose bright idea it was to have Harry lead the prayer, because he may as well have lead an entire hour of mass. I clear my throat and use my spoon to tap my glass, gathering everyone’s attention. “Hi everyone! Thank you all for joining us, I hope you’re enjoying the food!” Although my tone is sugary sweet and fake as hell, my family easily buys it and claps. A lot more people came than I expected, which meant that greeting everyone took twice as long. Although I definitely don’t know everyone by name, it’s a Filipino requirement to hug and bless (we take an elder’s hand and place it on our forehead as a sign of respect) everyone. Again, more reasons as to why I’m so damn hungry! “While we’re all eating, let’s go around and say what we’re grateful for,” I “excitedly” clap my hands, and gesture towards my dad, “Tay, how about you start?” He throws me a tossed look, but I simply smile and rub his shoulder. He coughs and is quiet for a moment before beginning, “I’m -” I interrupt and encourage him to stand up, because I’m petty. Tatay purses his lips at me but obliges anyway. “I’m grateful for many things. The roof over our head, my job, this food, and all of you. But I do want to say…” My dad turns to me, the corners of his mouth slightly quirked (this definitely surprises me because I’ve been a little shit to him). “Mary. Anak, thank you for everything you’ve done for this family. You work so hard in your studies, but… you always put family first. Thank you.” When everyone in the dining room starts clapping again, I feel like Tatay just won an Oscar and thanked me in his acceptance speech. Ever since I left my job, my dad and I have been the closest - ever since my mom died. We may express ourselves in different ways, or not at all, but hearing something like this from him truly uplifts my spirit. I try to hide my teary eyes (unfortunately, I can’t blame my emotional and simpy self on my period because it ended last week), but this is unsuccessful when Harry places his hand on my bare thigh. “It’s true, you know,” Harry whispers next to me when Tita Alma starts speaking. My face heats up, along with the spot he touches. Because everyone in my family is extra and truly do sound like they’re presenting an Oscar acceptance speech, I have time to indulge in the food I helped cook. Hell, I’m sure I have time to get seconds and dessert since Harry’s ass is probably gonna take a million years. When it’s his turn, unfortunately he murmurs to me before standing up, “Mary, you’re staying for mine, right?” “I… um…” I trail off, but then I see his wide, hopeful eyes and pouting lips. Yeah, I’m done for. “Yes. Of course.” He beams before clearing his throat. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Maraming salamat to all of you, especially Tito Danny for welcoming us to his home.” Here I was thinking I was special when my dad grinned at me, but nope. Tatay is giving Harry a close mouthed smile (which shouldn’t make me feel immaturely jealous, but it does). Harry runs his hands through his hair, something he does when he’s nervous. It’s strange though, he’s usually a natural when talking to a big group - especially our family. Then he nods at Tito Boy, who abruptly leaves the dining room. Maybe he’s going to finally grab the alcohol… yasss. “Um… I also want to thank your daughter, Tito Danny.” My brows furrow, because hello, I’m right here. Just say my name. “I know we… we talk already but. I just want to make sure this is okay, one last time.” My head whips towards my dad, who is already nodding. What is going on? “Harry, what are-” “Wait,” Harry cuts me off, earning a glare from me in response. He easily sends me a knowing smile, seemingly not as intimidated by me as he used to be. “I want to say that thank you to you too, Mary. Being with you has made me the happiest I have ever been.” My eyes widen, definitely not expecting this. “You’re one of a kind. You are hardworking, and…” he trails off, scratching the back of his head, “ano ambisyoso in English?” “Ambitious!” Tita Alma exclaims, sounding like she’s on the verge of tears for some reason. “Ambitious,” Harry affirms, turning towards me and brushing some of my hair off of my face. “You inspire me, and help me be better. You changed my life, and I want to be with you for a long time…” My head tilts in confusion, not entirely sure where this is coming from. Still, I think more about how Harry’s English has has improved impressively. However, once Tito Boy finally returns to the dining room holding a Scrabble board, my jaw drops to the ground once I read the letters. WILL U MARRY ME I barely have time to process this, because before I know it, Harry is on one knee in front of me. The Scrabble board replaces my empty plate in front of my seat. My family is loud with cheers and whistles, but all I can focus on is him. Harry Melchor Styles. The boy who was always by my side when we grew up in the Philippines. The boy who killed cockroaches for me, even though I found out that they were his biggest fear and he never wanted to tell me. The boy who chose easy hiding places during Hide-and-Seek so I can win. The boy who swore to protect me at all costs, and still hasn’t broken his promise. The man with a soprano singing voice and happy-go-lucky personality that perfectly complements my alto vocals and strict planning mindset. The man who is always smiling and has the most sincere heart. The man who puts everyone before himself, except now - when he wants me to be his. “Please be my wife, Mary Bandong,” Harry finally says after I stare at the board in awe. I don’t realize tears are rolling down my cheeks until he reaches over to wipe them. “If you say yes, I will be the most supportive and loyal partner. If you say yes, I will try to make you as happy as you make me - because you deserve it.” I’m breathless. “If you say yes, I’ll… I’ll be the luckiest man on the planet,” he breathes, his eyes glistening in tears too. “Mahal na mahal kita, Mary.” The room finally falls quiet, and everything is still - my heart, my mind, the entire world. If only time worked that way. What I need is everything to legitimately be still. There is too much happening right now, and my mind can’t properly process what’s going on. But knowing my family… any answer that isn’t an enthusiastic “Yes!” is equivalent to no. I owe it to Harry to save face. I ignore the tug at my heartstrings, and do what I know is right during this time. My body has been frozen for what seems like hours. Finally, my eyes divert away from Harry’s hopeful ones and towards the bag of Scrabble letters next to the board. My hand shakes a bit when I reach over to grab and hastily dig through it. Once I find the three letters I’m looking for, I place them onto the board underneath his proposal that took up the entire middle row. I DO I only have a second to let out the breath of air I’ve been holding, because I’m instantly brought to my feet and pulled into Harry’s tight embrace. My entire house is roaring in excitement, but it feels like it’s only Harry and me right now. He pulls away just a bit, his eyes drinking me in entirely. My heart skips a beat when Harry wears that smile he only has when he’s looking at me. He shyly closes the gap between us, and I’m grateful he did. Not necessarily because I want to though… while that is true to an extent, I’m mostly glad that our kiss prevented him from seeing that my tears that differ from his own of joy. My tears were from sadness and guilt. *** What better way to solve my problems than with alcohol? Regardless, I didn’t have much of a choice. If there’s anything you need to know about the Bandong family (by the way, this isn’t limited to blood relatives, oh no - this includes my cousins’ cousins, in-laws, neighbors, babysitters, dentists, behind-the-wheel DMV instructors…), we know how to get down. (Or, what is the new term kids use nowadays? Get lit? Turn the fuck up? Whatever.) Filipinos are a perfect example of the whole “get you a girl who can do both” (more like, get you a person who can do both - to be more gender inclusive). By day: We are known to be very hard workers, pursuing careers in competitive fields (read: medical), and excelling in academics. By night: We are known to start drinking as early as 4 PM, taking shots of Grey Goose like water, drunkenly singing karaoke (no matter how drunk, we’ll always have great singing voices somehow), and dancing to “Achy Breaky Heart” for half an hour straight. It’s pretty much a double whammy today - Thanksgiving and celebrating that dear ol’ Danny’s daughter, Mary, is finally getting married. To the ever so perfect Harry, her childhood friend. More like a triple whammy, because we’re also celebrating that this means Harry will be a legal US citizen once we’re married. I swore to take a shot or two because I was ready to slip into a food coma after all that turkey. But… one shot became three. And then ten. Or something. I don’t know, I’m at the point of being so far gone that I am in 100% denial that I’m drunk. By the way, I’m not drunk. I’m just closing my eyes to say a prayer. Thank you Lord for my family, sisig, and tequila. “Are you sayin’ ‘nother prayer, Mary?” I hear Niall mumble against my shoulder. Oh yeah, because Filipinos “are lit as fuck” (direct quote by Niall), my friend tends to crash my family parties often. I don’t mind, and my family doesn’t seem to mind either since Niall hooks it up with a shitload of beer. (Tatay also still thinks that Niall is bakla, so he’s not a threat.) “Mmmmhm…” “That’s like, your thirteenth one.” I snort, opening my eyes just to roll them. “Niall, please. Do you know how many times you have to say the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer during the rosary? There’s no limit with prayers, excuse you.” He scoffs and adjusts his body so he’s laying completely on this small couch, his legs resting on my lap. I’m definitely not drunk, but I’m regretting that last shot I just took. My head is starting to spin, and Shrek on the TV screen is looking even more ugly than he’s supposed to look. I grumble, squinting my eyes so my vision can somewhat adjust. “Why the… why the fuck are we watching Shrek?” “Dunno. Are there any Thanksgiving movies?” “Ugh. Don’t know. Maybe like, Charlie Brown?” Niall thoughtfully strokes his chin and asks, “Isn’t that�� isn’t that a dance move in the ‘Cha Cha Slide?’ I never know what to do in that part.” This was said genuinely and not as a joke, which makes me laugh so hard that he falls off the couch. “That’s what you first think of? The motherfucking ‘Cha Cha Slide?!’ Not the boy with Snoopy?” I’m shrieking at him through my laughter, which I immediately stop once I realize how strikingly similar it is to all of my titas. My God, am I becoming one of them? Yikes. The Shrek scene playing right now is when Lord Farquaad is interrogating the Gingerbread Man, which honestly isn’t even that funny, but for some reason I can’t stop laughing. Lord Farquaad is taunting the Gingerbread Man with his broken off legs, “Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!” When the Gingerbread Man squeals in his shrill voice, “You’re a monster!” and the “No, not the buttons!” I pretty much lose it. I’m crying tears of laughter, not even caring that my makeup is probably ruined at this point. Niall doesn’t seem to think it’s as hilarious, probably because I still haven’t helped him off the floor. I look around, trying to find someone to laugh with because this isn’t that fun alone. No matter how drunk I am. Wait, I’m not drunk. Anyways. Even though I spot Harry not too far away, he’s just not the person I want to talk to right now. In fact, the person I want to talk to isn’t even here. And I haven’t talked to him in, well, months. I think. I might regret this but… come on, it’s the Gingerbread Man. I unlock my phone and scroll to the bottom of my contact list, pressing call without a second thought. “Mary?” I’m definitely not expecting him to answer so damn quickly, so I gasp in surprise. I clear my throat, remembering my mission here. “Ahem. D-do you know… the Muffin Man?” His hearty laugh makes me smile really big, but I hastily recover into concentration. My purpose is important here. “Did you mean to call me, Mary?” I nod. “Hello?” Oh wait, he can’t see me. That makes me sad. “What makes you sad?” Oops, I think I’m thinking out loud. “That you can’t see me.” And I’m talking without a filter, I guess. He lets out a deep sigh, and I can imagine him running his hands through his messy hair in frustration. Maybe I shouldn’t have called. “No no… I’m glad you did.” Maybe I am drunk. I don’t even know what I’m thinking or what I’m actually saying. “Are you okay -” “Zayn!” I cut him off, because again, I can’t lose sight of my mission. “I asked you a question… Do you know the Muffin Man?!” It’s quiet for a couple beats, and I almost think he hangs up. Damn, mission failed. “The Muffin Man?” He repeats in the same tone as Lord Farquaad in the scene of Shrek. I manage to stifle my ugly tita cackling with quiet giggles, which Zayn seems to echo through the phone. “The Muffin Man,” I affirm with a nod, even though his ass can’t see me. “Yes, I know the Muffin Man… who lives down on Drury Lane?” Zayn is playing along so perfectly, I think I start crying again. “Well, she’s married to the Muffin Man…” “The Muffin Man?!” I shout, not giving a shit if I sound delusional, “The Muffin Man!!!” At this point, I’m not even disguising my unattractive laughter and hysterics anymore. I haven’t heard Zayn laugh this hard before, and I’m pretty sure it’s his first time hearing me too. We take a couple moments to catch our breath. “I wish you were here,” I whisper, sadness overwhelming me all of the sudden. My head is pounding again, and my lips begin to quiver. Simply put, I’m a hot ass mess who went from laughing at Shrek to sobbing over my complicating love life. Zayn finally says in a low voice, “I can be, if you want.” That’s when I finally realize that that’s all I’ve wanted this entire time. --- Hiiii friends, it’s definitely 3 AM here but I wanted to post this before I left for my retreat this weekend!!! Sorry this is shitty sigh. Wow, what a pleasant surprise to have received some new reviews for this despite not updating for awhile??? I thought this fic was long forgotten so yay welcome :) I’m going to try my absolute best to keep working on this, it’s just hard juggling more than one fic ah how do y’all do it? You may recognize the Gingerbread drabble from awhile back! I decided to alter it so it fit Thanksgiving instead because it fit the chapter well, and I’m honestly pretty proud of it. So why not make it canon, eh? Anywho! For the first time ever, one of my fics was featured ahhhh!!! I would appreciate if you read my author’s note at the end of this chapter of Here :) And this story if particular got nominated for Best Love Triangle in the Rooftop Awards O M G honestly I’m shook?! Please vote for your faves here, hopefully this fic is one of them :’) Last day to vote is today!!! Please tell me what you think of: -Harry’s Scrabble proposal, and Mary & Harry’s relationship overall -Mary’s bond with her family, specifically her dad -the Charlie Brown part in the Cha Cha Slide (not but really, what do y’all do??? I just stand there, confused lmao) -Mary being a hot ass mess over Shrek LMAO I still don’t know how I thought of that, bye -favorite line, favorite scene, predictions, anythaaaanggGggGg Aiiiiight I’m tired. Love y’all, thanks for reading :) - Angel P.S. Yes, I changed Harry’s middle name to a Filipino name. I’ve expressed this on Tumblr before, but I honestly regret not using another Filipino face claim for Harry’s character. This was written back in 2013 and I was ignorant of the opportunity to have proper Filipino representation, so I sincerely apologize.