#Neither does Danny want to hear about this stuff

[altra]

Another nugget for Vlad tries to redeem himself and more or less accidently adopts a new halfa Jason coupled with my personal headcanon.

I see lazerus water as a disgusting version of ecto. A corrupted Version of what it should be. A bit like what Vlad got in his face.

Perhaps different grades of corrupted ecto, but eh.. Close enough.

So a halfa Jason would definitly have a ghost Version like Danny and Vlad, but it would be closer to Vlad.

A bit more fruitloop Vampire instead of teen hero.

A bit more fangs and stuff.

So when vlad teaches him to control his powers and how to change back and forth, they would find out that Jason resembles Vlad in a few features.

And other ghosts would notice as well as soon as Plasmius shows Jason the infinity realms.

Word would go around that Plasmius has a son, which vlad would not deny at all.

So everyone in the infinity realm thinks someone actually made a kid with Plasmius and that Jason is his biological child.

And somewhere in Amity a young ghost King hears about the rumors and screams into the void at the thought of 2 fruitloops.

[starry-bi-sky]

i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.

He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.

And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.

And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.

Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.

Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."

There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.

It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.

Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.

At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.

"Do you like to do anything?"

Nothing. Just silence.

Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.

Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.

Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.

And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.

He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.

Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.

So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.

"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"

"Don't."

He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.

Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"

"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."

It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"

The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."

Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."

And they fall back into silence.

Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."

He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.

(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)

At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.

Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.

("Tucker told me once--") ("Tucker?") ("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")

(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)

(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)

It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."

The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."

The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.

When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.

Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.

"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."

When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.

Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.

[stealingyourbones]

*offers a (sanitized) owl pellet* Here, it’s got at least half a small rodent skeleton.

I was thinking… for DPxDC… Have we ever put Danny in Gotham as a garbage man? NOW HEAR ME OUT!

He could START as a trash collector in a relatively low-chaos part of the city, neither Diamond District nor Crime Alley. Then… he starts volunteering for Dock Dumpster Duty™️ because the middle-class neighborhoods are “too bland.” (This kid is from a city somehow more chaotic than Gotham, he gets paranoid if he goes a full shift without trouble.)

His supervisor is baffled by this. DDD is the single most dreaded assignment for every other worker in the area. They don’t want to put Danny on it, ‘cause he’s a good employee! But nobody else wants to… and the kid’s been both anxious and bored the past few weeks… a few daytime DDD shifts should be fine, right?

Eight. Danny gets almost-mugged eight times on three days of DDD. The worst part? His supervisor doesn’t hear about it until the third day, because Mugger 9 gets a slash on Danny’s arm and manages to nab his (atrocious) earbuds. The boy just calls the office to say,

“Hey, the latest mugger got a lucky shot so I gotta head home for the day- No, no, nothing serious, it’s a small cut… Yeah he got my earbuds, which, I’ll be impressed if he can actually sell ‘em… No way, cops wouldn’t care about this, it’s fine! … Thanks, I’ll let you know if I’m able to come in tomorrow bye!”

The supervisor and the secretary stare at the phone in disbelief. He wants to come in tomorrow?!

Just… give me Danny as a guy with an “undesirable” job, and taking on the tasks that even his coworkers don’t want to do. Everyone is both in awe and a little afraid of him, and not even for ghostly reasons.

oh i absolutely adore this. He's had to pick up the wildest shit near the docs where various rogues dump their stuff, but he doesn't even blink loading a dumpster full of biohazard bags into his truck. He learns that he can't wear headphones because they are for sure going to be taken if they're anywhere above absolute shit quality. Using a speaker would alert more people to him and THAT would be stolen as well. Gotham is a tad sucky but god damn does his job pay a decent salary and his coworkers are pretty fun to talk to. He's having the time of his life.

[radiance1]

Danny doesn't get into an accident, and he doesn't become a ghost. The portal? It does get turned on, although neither Danny, Jack, nor Maddie knew how it came to be, and nobody thought to ask Jazz because, well, she is utterly disinterested in Ghosts as a whole and everyone knew it, so why would she even be in their lab, and even more so near their portal??

Danny, along with having an affinity for space, also has one for stealing here, though he knows that it's wrong he just... loves do it. He loves the thrill that comes with taking what isn't his, and the chance at being caught in the act as well.

He got better at it than when he was younger, and it isn't like he keeps most of the stuff he steals. Well, most of it at least.

Anyways.

Danny is good at stealing, Danny likes stealing, but his family is already used to his antics, though his parents do have some kind of ghost thing going what with the portal to hell and what not, but he digresses. One day, an old family friend pops up and Danny is curious about him, interest doubling when he finds out the guy is rich.

So he steals something off the guy when they met, and he successfully stole some weird gem thing off the guy- Vlad or whatever- or at the very least, he thought he did. Because when Danny was in his room, Vlad knocked, entered (after getting his position obviously), and then said he would like his possession back.

Danny is quite surprised, but gives it back after asking how Vlad knew he stole it, Vlad just looked at him and smiled (Did his eyes just flash red?). Then said that Danny has a talent for stealing, and, well, Danny always knew he did, it was obvious really.

But hearing someone praising him for it is quite different from disappointment and lectures about why it's wrong when they find out it was him after a while.

Then he offered him a place where he could train said talent, and, well.

Danny didn't have anything better to do, really.

He didn't know what he was expecting, but actual stealth training wasn't it, nor was Vlad creating an actual goddamn museum filled with items of value with an actual security system and guards (He thinks they're robots) for him to actually try against.

This was... wildly out of Danny's depths. But again, he didn't have anything better to do. His grades did fall overtime since then, but he didn't really care much about it, it wasn't like he was some genius like Jazz, so why bother?

His friends bothered, but he just told them he was spending time with his godfather you know? Nothing bad or anything! Sam and Tucker wanted to meet him, and Danny took them along.

Vlad was a cool dude, and seemed to click well enough with Danny's friends, and much to Danny's chagrin was utterly appalled by Danny's falling grades, and told Danny to focus on his grades more, or he'll have to cut back his training to include studies.

Danny picked the latter.

A while later there's been the appearance of some ghostly hero who fought other ghosts and avoided his parents. Which is neat, he thinks. Sam was very interested in her, and Danny couldn't say he wasn't curious either.

Then that whole 'Amity Park hostile plant takeover' happened and uhhh. Sam developed plant powers and then somewhere along the line Tucker gained super intellect and then Danny is the only normal guy out of the three of them.

Well, he is a master thief in training but still.

Regrettably, Sam's parents don't like her newly developed powers, because she doesn't use it how they want her too, and Sam decided to stop using it all together, then Vlad popped in and was like "You can use your powers in this place I have prepared specifically for using powers" and told them not to question why he had such a room, because it looked pretty used and obviously not newly built.

Tucker becomes really good with tech, like, really good with it. Sam gets very powerful with her plant based powers, and Danny is kinda feeling... out of place? In his circle of friends.

He's a bit jealous, he won't lie.

So he asks Vlad if there's a way for him to get powers, and Vlad thinks on it for a bit, and says that there is but Vlad would need to run a few simulations before coming back to him.

A bit later, and Danny is taken down to Vlad's lab, Vlad asks if he's sure, Danny says yes, and then he goes under.

Then wakes up, and he has ghost powers. Although he doesn't have some of them, like intangibility, invisibility, or overshadowing (he never even knew they had that power) like normal ghosts though, but he isn't a ghost, so it made sense.

Vlad said he had to modify his body to be able to contain ectoplasm without any unnecessary risks, which is why Vlad took some time instead of doing it straight away.

Danny is stronger, more durable, more agile, stronger reflexes and stronger stamina, so Danny had to use Vlad's training room to get a proper grasp on his powers, and then his training had to be modified to suit his powers and it really good, suspiciously good.

Did Vlad have another student with superpowers before Danny? Is that why he knows how best to train Danny's powers, and also why he had a training room?

Then he completed his training, and he could finally be called a fledgling master thief! Then Vlad employed him in his service, to get some practical experience outside of Vlad's control.

First mission? To infiltrate, obtain a copy of and then wipe away any and all files in a GIW facility, Vlad asked Sam if she was willing to go with Danny, as her powers would prove useful, she agreed. Tucker is staying behind, as deploying him is much more danger than it's worth, he will be the one to hack into, copy, and wipe away the files when Danny and Sam gets to them though.

Vlad warned them, however. Because the city they're going to in one rife with crime and supervillains, so they'll have to lay low, and even lower because they don't want to catch the eyes of the night's protectors.

Which city are they going to?

Gotham City.

[i-wanna-die-like-now]

Dp x bnha headcanons part 2! Or just weirdly specific things I see happening, idk just my thoughts on stuff.

Tsuyu gets super sleepy around Danny because of his ice powers and almost always struggles with being directly next to him, unlike Todoroki he doesn't have a warm side she can stick to.

Iida almost breaks down when Danny refused to listen to his rules by clicking on his aids (suppression for his sensitive hearing) Bakugou on the other hand finds it hilarious and takes to turning his own aids off when he no longer wants to listen.

Sato invites Danny to his weekly “sugar time” to teach him how to bake as a favour, Danny is surprisingly good at it and eventually him and Sato work together to include ectoplasm into their baking (without it coming to life) so Danny could top up his energy.

^^Bakugou refuses to let Danny near him when he cooks because of that very reason, he'd seen what his ectoplasm can do to food, he does still cook for him on occasion because he's never seen anyone savour his food the way Danny does! It most definitely goes to his head. Danny savours the food because 1. His parents can't cook to save their life. 2. Bakugous food is so much better than any type of take out and 3. He never knows when his next proper meal will be back home and is taking full advantage.

Danny goes to Hatsume for help with making a Fenton thermos (just in case) and she falls in love with the blueprints because what in the world was that layout, it's a mess that she finds thrilling to decipher it. Actually talking to Danny she realizes that no its not a mess he just has ADHD and can't write it down in a way anyone but him understood. (Danny is a genius and you can't convince me otherwise, he just has untreated ADHD 😭)

When Toga drinks Danny's blood her body has trouble with picking what form she changes into and they merge together, eyes changing and flashing in between green and blue and her hair being a mix of black and white. Her face almost looks exactly like Danny but something is off, his eyes are a little too big, his ears are a mix of pointed and normal and his skin has blotches of tan skin and deathly pale. She is fascinated with his green blood though and really wants to taste it, when she finally does get to it burns her tongue and throat and leaves her craving more. (If she separated the ectoplasm from the blood, which is virtually impossible, she'd be able to use the blood for Fenton and ectoplasm for Phantom. Because its the same DNA her quirk registers it as one person when mixed together and that's what causes them to blend)

Stain on the other hand would hate the taste and then finds out his quirk doesn't actually work on him properly, it makes his body heavy and very hard to move but it doesn't paralyze him completely because of the ectoplasm. He also definitely sees the potential Danny has.

Danny info dumps about space to everyone and everything at any chance he can, someone asks a question that shows they have a mild interest in the subject and he's off like a rocket. Izuku joins in with his own info dumping about heroes and their quirks, it somehow merges together and they start talking about space quirks and space themed heros.

Uraraka brings up sending him to space with her quirk halfway through a disagreement and Danny straight up drops it and asks her is she would. "Don't worry I can survive if I'm in my ghost form, it's for science! Hey- No wait don't walk away!" He ends up moping around for a whole week after and when Aizawa asked why he loses 5 years off his life. "Please don't ask your classmates to try and kill you." "But sir I'm already dea-" "get out!"

He duplicates himself so he can hold both of Eris hands to swing her, Eri loves to try and figure out which one is the original and she's surprisingly good at it.

Todoroki uses his fire side to help with Danny's chronic pain, after a while it becomes a habit to hold hands and all their spare time they're glued to eachother, neither of them are complaining.

[luffyrose]

Dc x Dp Blurb #3

It's late, I'm tired and on my phone so it's weird writing here but I must share this one instantly.

So, I saw a Trans Danny AND Trans Jazz thing earlier and I lost it. The idea that they both are is so good to me, and I have so much angst for it.

Just, neither of their parents even REMEMBER that they're trans. Like Danny's their son, Jazz is their daughter....but only because they know they have one daughter one son and clearly that was correct, not because they remember they're both trans. Acceptance through negligence basically.

Also side note but totally an au where the kids at school know and are like "Hell yeah you go!" About the trans stuff. Dash will push Danny into a locker but if he hears someone deadname his nerd friend he's taking a note from the ghosts and breaking shit.

Now the crossover aspect that's been invading my brain. Danny is visiting Gotham temporarily for something and is just like not hiding that he's trans, he's got a lol pin of the flag on his bag. Class trip with the Fentons being some of the supervisors, they came along to see if Batman was a ghost, and Danny us just very tired at this point. He's king of the realms, come to a midpoint with his 'rogues' after realizing it was more a ghost thing than a hate thing for 99% of them, and finally become friends with most of his class even if Dash still liked to mess with him.

Walking through the museum they're touring with Lancer, and a class from the local high school, Danny ends up near the edge of his classmates group next to the other school group. They're not avoiding one another but also not really talking, but this one kid just goes, "nice flag pin," before showing off the bisexual and polyamorous ones they have.

It's Tim. Because he saw the flag and went :O friend time. And also no one he talked to was with the group he was in, so he'd rather talk to this stranger who probably won't treat him differently since he doesn't know him.

The two talk as they are going, some of the other Casper high students chiming in since hey if a kid is nice to their weirdest classmate they're pretty okay in the books. (50/50 if the class know Danny is Phantom but they totally know he's different from all the osha violations in his house and most of them are so worried after really paying attention after they became friends).

Randomly Jack and Maddie come out of nowhere and grab Danny talking about something to do with ghosts, much to the apparent tiredness and even slight distaste on their kid's face, which they didn't even notice. Tim is unsure what is happening but seeing the dislike on the whole class's faces and some worried looks Danny got he's now wanting to go all detective on him because hey Danny's fun to talk to! Totally not because he's very very gay-

So after they leave, he causally tries to learn more about the two and why the class seemed to hate them, even why Danny himself didn't seem to want to be anywhere near his parents. Of course he tries to be subtle.

"So you're parents seem pretty accepting of you being trans, that's good!"

Maybe not so subtle, in his defense, he hasn't slept recently. Danny tried to smile at it though but completely failed, just giving up and slouching as he shrugged.

"More like they don't even remember."

So now Tim is concerned and confused, but much to his luck, the tour is over and the Casper students are leaving. He's worried about his new friend, even if they exchanged numbers, so he goes down a rabbit hole. Not only does he find suspicious stuff about this small town that was heavily deleted from many things, but he finds that Danny has a sibling. It's evident to him they're also trans from the few pictures before and after but the sibling's name isn't anywhere to be seen so he tries to dig deeper.

He pauses before going further down though to respond to some of Danny's messages. But his sleep deprived brain decided 'let's just ask'. So he asks a bit of questions about Danny. Like what's his town like? Any other family? Are they fine with you being trans, because he'll totally beat anyone who's not, etc. Danny answers them and in turn asks about the Waynes, mainly because Danny is not entirely convinced Bruce himself isn't weird like Vlad, but he does acknowledge that he's at least not evil.

Eventually Danny offhandedly mentions Jazz is trans to, and Tim being the detective he is is like "huh..." and asks if his parents were accepting of Jazz too. It's a while before he responds but Danny just says;

"They don't remember we are trans...so no problems or anything with it..."

Tim doesn't get the chance to say anything about it as Danny asks about something about him being poly and what his dad and siblings thought. Of course he replied but his mind was also reeling from the fact that Danny's parents literally don't pay attention to their kids enough to not realize both kids are trans.

They keep in touch and Tim puts investigating on the back burner some since while kinds neglectful they seem to be decent enough parents.

He regrets that though as Danny doesn't message him for nearly a month. It worries him enough to put that investigation back to the forefront. Of course he finds osha violation city in the Fenton's house, as well as the actual paranormal activity happening. What concerns him the most is that apparently the town hero, a ghost boy, is missing...from around the same time Danny stopped messaging.

It's a week into trying to find Danny that he gets a message from his number, except it's not Danny. It's Jazz. She asks Tim if Danny had gone to him, she was trying everyone since no one knew where he was. This sparks a big ol search.

Danny meanwhile ended up with a hero (any but Clark or Bats cuz we want some rarer family dynamic, the good juice) after crash landing, most literally, right by em. The hero, I'm thinking Hal or Barry idk, is too busy trying to help this random powerful teenager who was bleeding way too too much to not have some regeneration ability.

After some drama of trying to find Danny, and Jazz, Tucker, Sam, and Tim knowing identities(Danny's included) because Tucker accidentally hacked around and found out, hero parent of Danny shows up with said boy closely in tow to a meeting after their surprise break from league work and Tim just jumps up and doesn't even remember that Danny doesn't know his identity.

Danny panics initially but quickly realizes it's Tim and finally gets back in contact with Jazz and all of his friends/classmates who had most definitely stormed a GIW lab in his absence. The league is confused and it's a whole mess before Danny trauma dumps on em and Tim as RR just admits this all started because he saw the trans pin.

My brain is rambling too much for this now, but basically lotta trauma, the league appalled and Danny getting a good family after everything is settled. His classmates so visit him and Tim, Kon, and him date because I feel like Danny would meet him, learn he's a clone (after being very gay for a moment) and just be like "heck yeah, my younger sister is a clone" which also caused more panic but like gay trio.

I'm gonna go sleep now, enjoy the angst and randomness this blurb is-

Remember these are free to take and do whatever you please with them, it's just random ideas/thoughts that I have but don't plan to do anything with for the foreseeable future!

[windsweptinred]

OK I had to do these for Corinthiel cause they're the pinnacle of crack prompts.  

who controls the netflix account and what have they dominated the suggestions with by watching 

Well, since Danny has every streaming service living rent free in his mind, it's got to be Cori. You've got to have all the modern luxuries when out doing your Lord's bidding in the Waking, including the best streaming has to offer. His watch list is full of the usual you would expect for THE nightmare paramount. A chocolate box of horrors so psychology damaging, one wonders who or what the director had to fuck to get it green lit. His suggestions however, are curiously dominated by the suspiciously twee likes of the ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ and the ‘The Secret Life of Cats.’ He blames Ruin… Everyone knows it's not Ruin.

who snores

Daniel, oh yes, perfect little princess face Danny boy with all the grace, poise and finesse of an expert geisha… Snores like an alcoholic sailor with severe sleep apnea when he's out. That ‘unique’ laugh of Morpheus's had to go somewhere. And it chose make a new home for itself in Danny's nasal passages. Eldritch horrors live in fear of hearing it, demons tell stories of it in hushed, reverant tones. It's the most horrific sound to ever take form. Cori adores it. 

who has an embarrassing ringtone that the other calls them in public just to get to go off 

Wait, you think Cori's phone blasting ‘Pour some sugar on me’ while his phone  flashes a salacious lockscreen photo of Daniel, isn't meticulously planned? For his own delight and everyone else's discomfort? He's purposely arranged callbacks from sales companies, just so he can stand there like a smug git while a Jpeg Lord of the Dreaming flashes his sugar tits. He's done it with Constantine, Hob, the archangel Michael… That one time with Destiny. He doesn't talk about that though… 

who sleeps on the top bunk if given the chance 

If by top bunk you mean the finely sculpted pectorals of one blonde nightmare.. It's an all out war between Danny and Madison about who gets to curl up and purr themselves into oblivion. Trust me, those catfights gets naaasty! They're the closest thing the Dreaming has to bloodsports. Trauma for the eyes in a flurry of white hair. 

who plays the piano at 6 in the morning to wake up the other 

Matthew once spent a month making Mervyn hit a piano repetitively with a heavy duty chain whip to get them out of their bed chamber. Does that count? Would you want to face an enraged librarian on the warpath because their peace has been heinously disturbed? Well neither did they. It was the only way to get them to put their pants on. 

who has accidentally set something on fire by attempting to cook a birthday meal 

Well, since Cori is the accomplished male wife he is, I'm going to say with no canonical proof ( but we all know it's true) his skills in the culinary arts could make Gordon Ramsey renounce swearing in euphoria. And Daniel should be able to pull from an encyclopedic dreamer knowledge of this stuff. So… Ruin did it. How did Ruin set fire to the deep fat fryer when making a romantic icecream  sundae for his Lord and mentor in all things night terrors? Well, let me tell you, he has a particular set of skills! 

[aibhilin-atibeka]

So I got tagged TWICE somehow XD (jk, love y’all, big thanks to @that-cloud and @a-knight-owls-curse, I adore these tagging games!!!)

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

So, yes, the ones I’m working on, eh? Ought to only be a handful...

...

10 minutes later, it’s decidedly NOT a handful. It’s more like five handfuls, y’all. when did I ever accumulate this many??? why did I decide to work on them simultaneously??????????? new rule: ones that I’ve touched in the past five days or so. also, apparently I don’t have only ONE wip folder, what do you take me for, a heathen? no, I’ve got to have three different ones, one of those an analogue one that I had to hunt for behind the newspaper stash on my desk.

Around 6 original short stories that a) don’t all have titles yet but are plotted and planned out to a T and will be written within the next few days, if not weeks.

Through Troubled Waters (yup, why start into an easy, nice, oneshot after a writer’s block when I can start with the frigging longest longfic I’ve ever longed to write for???) One Piece, Buggy the Clown time travels to his own past and eventually his mini!me and Shanks stumble upon him and don’t leave him alone (neither does he them tho, so it evens out). (mind the tags, please!)

Dead Man Walking (it counts if I edit stuff, right? ... yup, it means I touched it within the last five days or so.) One Piece, a dimension travel (or is it?) piece about Portgas D. Ace (and company). (please mind the tags on this one!)

The Second Part to This Series That Still Exists, Why, Yes, It Does. One Piece, a young Buggy meets Garp a year after his ex-captain’s execution and, well, baby!Portgas D. Ace, as it so happens. Buggy doesn’t trust Garp to treat babies right and gets himself force-adopted/kidnappedoes with him to wherever he’s going. Dadan, meet pirate apprentice!Buggy. Buggy, be flabbergasted at Garp’s choice in babysitter. Ace, be happy.

An unpublished Christmas fanfic, namely a Danny Phantom/DC Batfamily crossover fanfic that doesn’t frigging leave me alone until I finish it.

An as-of-yet unnamed alternative crossover fanfic about Danny Phantom and the Batfamily that insists it wants to be a longfic and whose dreams and aspirations I regularly have to dash to dust cause I do not want any more longfics on ao3 until I’ve finished at least ONE, darn it all.

at least three more oneshots in the One Piece fandom I’ve yet to finish/write more on so they can count as done/edit

So. I had writer’s block for a while there (helloooooo job search, I hate you so. much.) cause I had to write other genres of text a LOT lately and am as unhappy about it as to want to actually publish a freaking book sometime soon, just so I’ll have something else to write for.

as for the tags, I have no clue WHO to tag? Feel free to ignore them if you don't want to.

@gallus-rising and anybody else who’d like to? Feel free to jump in and let me know about your wips, folks! I love hearing about any you’d like to share!!! :D

[mylifeisweirdok]

AHH OK IMMA CONTINUE IT

Aighty so Danny does his lil humming thing and Bruce is like lowkey in shock, not that it shows completely but enough that those who notice (I'm thinking Cass, duke, Damien?) know what it is but dunno how to react.

Alfred cleared his throat and stepped forward, greeting Danny and like welcomes him, but neither say anything out loud about, ya know, just in case.

The League doesn't notice Batman's predicament outside of Superman (who hears Bruce's heartbeat stutter) and step forward to greet the teen and take him to medbay, still thinking he's immune.

Superman hangs back as the others escort Danny and Tim, and asks Bruce and Alfred what had happened. They don't reveal who they recognized but they mentioned knowing a boy once very similar and seeing him brought up old memories.

Superman nods and heads to medbay too, while Alfred and Bruce share a look only they can understand, basically having a telepathic convo being like "is that-" "i think so, should we ask?" "Hold off until they're out of medbay" etc etc

So a lil while later Danny and Tim are cleared from medbay and night watch takes over, while everyone else heads to the bunks and whatnot of the safehouse. Bruce and Alfred, though, ask Danny to talk real quick

The confession is quick and Not painless but is comforting enough. Danny refrains from telling them the halfa situation and ghost kings stuffs, but instead tells them of the zone and being able to glimpse in every now and again. Danny makes it seem much less frequent than it actually was, skipping over some of the more difficult parts of Bruce's life.

Bruce and Alfred have so many questions but right then they settled for just having Danny back for the time being.

After the reconnect, Danny asks what's going on cause like Tim told him some stuff but had been injured so I'm sure he wasn't the most coherent

Bruce explains what Lex and Ras did, and Danny asks how he can help. Alfred mentions helping the League and Danny talks about being able to communicate with the infected

Together they come up with a semi solid plan, not realizing that Jason and Damien were still up and listening to their convo, sus that Danny was who he said he was but willing to play along for now.

The next morning the League interrogates Danny and tried to figure out why he is the way he is, slow heart beat and glowing veins-not to mention the Bullet Wounds they found while in medbay the day previously-and Danny goes along with it but keeping up the facade that he was just some random citizen with a new medical condition (being dead is a medical condition, isn't it?)

Tim vocalizes his theory that the virus evolved and could potentially be infecting other dead people, and tried to break it to Danny that he had been dead, not knowing that Danny knew he was dead and thought it was obvious lol

They clear up the confusion and continue on, eventually trying to trace Lex and Ra's location so they can locate the bioweapon source before All the dead come back, and Danny then again mentions the communication with the infected thing and suddenly the League is Invested. Cause like. In a zombie apocalypse, don't you want to be able to talk to your enemy, if not tell them what to do?

And so they get Danny on recon, sending him out briefly over the next few days with a tag-along, trying to figure out Lex and Ra's plans and location.

That's all from me, @s incoming

A DC X DP IDEA #3 Oh Brother,

Imagine dis…

We all read and heard about the lost son of Bruce Wayne and also the Lost twin of Damian Al Ghul Wayne. 

But what about the lost brother of Bruce Wayne?

On the night of the 26th of June, The young Bruce Wayne didn’t just lose his parents but also his brother. After murdering both of their parents the gunman, Joe Chill turned his attention to the boys, one young teen who could not be older than 16 keeping his young 8-year-old from seeing the corpse of their parents. Thinking that it is better to leave the scene with no witness fired two more rounds in the direction of the children and quickly turned tail.

Daniel Wayne covered his little brother’s body from the bullets catching the two rounds with his own body. Catching the horrified look of his younger brother, feeling the blood in his mouth as well the fact that his own body is shaking from what had just happened in a matter of minutes. Grabbed his brother’s shoulders, smiled, and hugged him so tight as he knows that his brother is not allowed to follow him or his parents to the afterlife for a long time.

As his consciousness fades he catches the teary-eyed brother of his, trying to catch him before he hits the pavement.

…

Clockwork frowns at the timelines between the two realms, one who is not supposed to exist, exists while the other who is supposed to be born is not to be born thus collapsing the timeline of both realms but with the recent development to the other realm made him have a difficult choice. Guiding the young Daniel’s soul to the other realm to replace what was lost.

…

Danny grew up feeling missing something, with absentee parents and a parent sibling it’s no wonder what he would have missed. 

Maybe he missed the times when his parents were actual parents to them instead of focusing their attention on their machines.

Maybe it is the life he had before the tragic accident that changed him.

Maybe it is the normality between him being a ghost hero and being a normal teen.

But…

Every time he saw two brothers playing near Casper High, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing.

His ghostly core and human heartache for the familiar setting to the point he kept seeing a younger “double” of himself.

Don’t get him wrong he can create clones of himself to help him during fights but this “double” is different from him he looked like someone he missed so dearly while he looked like someone who has the same delicate face as him.

Which would be impossible if it was always been him and Jazz alone in the house full of things that could potentially end his existence.

The phantom pain he would feel from bullets on a specific month, day, and time, instead of electricity made him quickly go to Frostbite and Clockwork.

Frostbite explained that it is quite normal for a newly formed ghost to feel the phantom pains of its reason for death.

But he died from electrocution, not from bullets.

He went to Clockwork but the moment he saw the figure of his grandfather mentor he couldn’t help but sense a feeling of dread.

…

Clockwork knew that in each timeline there would be a day and time for his grandson apprentice to ask about such ire that had been bothering him ever since he became a halfa. Each time he tried to prolong the inevitable but it seems that he was caught off guard for today. 

…

Clockwork explained to Danny his crimes to him and his soul. How the Master of time itself forced him to live a life just after he had ended his first one.

Danny’s mind may have had a million thoughts at the time but at that moment he only cared about two things.

Who has he been before and what happened to his brother?

Clockwork explained He was Daniel Thomas Wayne the firstborn son in the union of Martha and Thomas Wayne. He used to live in a manor with his family grandfather/butler, he gained a little brother that was named Bruce Wayne. On the day of his former death day, his brother kept pestering their parents to go to the movies as they have been busy and Bruce felt that he was alone, being loving parents they indulged Bruce in his pestering as they too noticed them being too busy. On the night they went to Crime Alley for a shortcut to Wayne manor, they were ambushed and killed, and his parents were.

Shakingly, Danny begged to see Bruce, his core ached for his missing family, his brother. Bruce his little brother, hoped that he didn’t follow, he hoped that he is doing fine.

Clockwork didn’t respond but showed him a one-way mirror-view of his former dimension. There the mirror shows a familiar dining room, with a grown man who has black hair and striking blue eyes talking to a younger boy named Jason as Alfred serves Bruce’s morning coffee.

Danny could not help but smile, his little brother is all grown-up. Starting a little family of his own, Danny’s only request is to be able to visit Clockwork’s haunt to observe his little brother.

Each visit made him learn more about the man his little brother turned into.

He turned into a vigilante protecting the people in Gotham, his favorite soup stayed the same despite the fact he used to eat that soup with someone else, he has an adoption issue (He could not blame him though, not when he adopted both Dan and Dani), then his little brother went and adopted a sentiment starfish from outer space, that he owes his nephews and nieces a ton of gifts from missing their milestones, and many more…

But he wished that he was there as well…

When Jason died at the hands of Joker, when he was lost in the time stream, when he learned that he missed a decade’s worth of his “blood” son’s life, the death of Damian, not protecting Barbara from being shot by the Joker, letting his demons run his life…

He just wished he was there to hold his little brother in his arms as he protect him from the dangers of the world just like he had done when he was Daniel protecting Bruce from his nightmares as well the monsters under his bed.

After a reveal went wrong he gathered up his human friends and flee toward the zone after destroying everything related to ghosts and the realms.

Taking up the mantle of Ghost king he made sure that he still have time to observe his family on the other dimension.

…

Meanwhile, in the DC universe, Ra Al Ghul and Lex Luther had created a bioweapon that turns ordinary people into some sort of zombie slaves of the Lazarus pit minus the death part of being a zombie. Things got out of hand both villains and heroes are scrambling to contain the bioweapon virus as well as looking for a cure as it has spread from Gotham, Metropolis, Star City, and more big-name cities. They could not merely kill the infected just like in a movie from a zombie apocalypse as they are still alive.

Symptoms include glowing green veins that are seen as well pupil-less eyes in addition to an extra boost in strength, as the infected multiply by having an open wound be infected by the green veins that produce some sort of green murky blood aka the Lazarus pits.

Danny saw the predicament of his home dimension and decided to intervene, with the approval of his court. He entered the dimension, and as he turned into his human half he noticed that his age was regressed to the time he was murdered.

The infected ignored and followed his commands as per his position, avoiding any confrontation with his brother or any supers that might demand him why the infected are ignoring him, he pretended to be infected that can think and speak as well that was raised from the dead.

It was quite easy for him to pretend on the glowing veins as pure ectoplasm flowed through his veins. He just made sure that he is always a glowing green glowstick.

Walking around in a zombie apocalypse is less fun than he thought it would be, grabbing a backpack that was discarded he filled it up with weapons and started his journey at the foot to look for the cure.

(Thoughts of seeing his brother made him fill his head full of possibilities)

On his way to Gotham, he saw his nephew (Tim) surrounded by infected and about to wound him when he immediately snatched him to safety. Seeing the deep eye bags of his nephew he let him rest at his makeshift safe house as he guarded Tim he can’t help but wonder why on earth he was out in the open.

…

Tim groaned awake as he remembered what had just happened in a few months. Ra’s and Lex made a bio-hazard weapon that was made from the Lazarus pits (Which made him wonder which of the two thought that was a good idea as the Lazarus pits are still a mystery to the Batclan as well to the world) and went out of hand thus ended up having the Justice League cleaning up their mess.

He remembered being surrounded by the infected after his usual recon, he was pretty sure he broke a rib and his arm as running away from the horde or getting them with tranquilizer darts were the only options, he was sure that it was his end.

When he woke up he didn’t expect to be still infected free nor the infected teen, who is a blue-eyed black-haired teen, definitely a Wayne bait, in front of him trying to bandage him.

After the initial confusion and panic and the conversation, he concluded that the bio weapon had evolved to the point of reviving dead teens.

(Seeing what the Lazarus pit had done to Jason and Ra was not far fetch)

The teen who introduced himself as Danny woke up somewhere which was near Metropolis and stated that he was nowhere near his hometown nor where he was buried initially and was walking around to find more humans as he was pretty sure when he died zombie apocalypse are nothing more than fantasy as well the supers are but fictions as he kept reading the latest yet tossed out newspapers, which explains the newspapers in the corner and had concluded that it has been more than 2 decades since he died.

He made an offer to Tim that he couldn’t possibly refuse, he could help him return where he was as the infected tend to ignore him thus having a guide and bodyguard in his injured state as well a specimen that can talk and walk around cities without having the risk of being infected, in return he just needs help in finding his brother.

After a long tenacious walk to Gotham, both bond over small talks, jokes, and camping as well as filling up Danny with what he had missed in the decade while he was 6 feet under.

Tim learned that Danny adored his little brother and wished to see him one last time before going back to the dead.

…

Bruce was worried, Tim was supposed to time in a few hours back. He along with the rest of the bats and the Justice League members were lucky enough to escape and regroup at a later date. Sitting in one of the fortified safe houses with a few infected being wandered.

When he was about to check the communication for the umpteenth time the cameras caught something. Immediately all went to the monitor to have a better look at what had just tripped their alarm. There is Tim wounded and bandaged but still infected free, which gave relief to the Batclan behind him on the other hand caused worries.

An Infected teen behind Tim follows him while looking around him, upon closer inspection they can see the boy’s eyes despite being infected. Some of the Justice League thought that Tim may have found someone who has at least some sort of immunity to the Infected.

The Batclan on the other hand caught sight of Bruce stiffening along with Alfred. Both seemed to look at the infected teen with familiarity. Luckily that the cameras had audio and played the live feed.

Tim was talking to the mystery teen about meta-human rights while the mystery teen kept nodding along. Tim asked about the mystery teen’s little brother which the teen brighten up and talked about his little brother’s pranks towards their father every time he left them on their own devices like melting crayons on top of his shoes to adding color according to his little brother. As well as the fact he made a special lullaby just for him.

The mystery teen began to hum an unfamiliar tune to those who are watching except Alfred and Bruce, Alfred was ready to cry while Bruce made a face that both his co-workers and children never saw him make.

Bruce’s mind immediately supplied the missing lyrics while the mystery teen kept humming along.

If I was dying on my knees

You would be the one to rescue me

And if you were drowned at sea

I’d give you my lungs so you could breathe

I’ve got you brother-er-er-er

I’ve got you brother-er-er-er

I’ve got you brother-er-er-er

I’ve got you brother-er-er-er

 As they were nearing the armed gate of the safe house, Tim asked what is his little brother’s name was as once this was over he was willing to pass the message. 

The mystery teen smiled sadly and said fondly… oh brother,

[blackacre13]

more younger loubbie please where she is also jealous of rusty and debbie 🙏🏼

Part one (Debbie jealous of Lou/Tess at Danny’s Poker Game) is here; Part two (but really Lou POV of part one) here:

“I want her back,” Debbie whispered to Rusty. “Fuck, I want her back.”

“Anyone can see that’s what she wants too,” he whispered back, pretending to ask Debbie about his cards.

A few more rounds gone, and plenty of drinking glasses emptied later, pressed up against the wall of Danny’s guest bathroom with Lou’s lips against hers, their hips locked together as the brunette gripped her waist tight, promising herself she’d never let go again, Debbie had to admit one of the things she least liked to: that Rusty was right.

“So what happened?” Tess asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde as Lou shied away, hiding her face.

“It’s nothing,” Lou sighed.

“It’s something,” Tess corrected her. “Can’t remember the last time you two weren’t attached at the hip.”

“Things are different now,” Lou spat, the words sounding bitter on her tongue. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head as she looked up at Tess. “It’s been…hard.”

“I know,” Tess smiled, her face full of sympathy as her hand found Lou’s thigh. Neither of them missed the way Lou swallowed thickly at the gesture, looking anything but smitten. “Just because somethings broken, doesn’t mean you can’t fix it. You know?”

“You ever tried to put a broken plate back together, Tess?” Lou asked solemnly as she stared ahead at the wall, her eyes growing empty and sad.

“How does Deb feel when she sees someone else flirting with you?” Tess asked after a moment.

“Seriously?” Lou snorted. “I’m here, attempting to share my feelings with you, which are sad and angry, and I’m not really good at, by the way, and you—“

“I’m asking if you think she’d react if you made her jealous,” Tess smirked.

“Could go one of two ways,” Lou sighed, afraid to put any ounce of hope in Tess’s impromptu plan.

“Meaning what?” Tess laughed, leaning forward towards the blonde, full of curiosity.

“She’d be furious. Never speak to me again. Go absolutely crazy. Throw a drink in my face, batshit sort of stuff. Or…”

“Or?” Tess waited, nodding at the blonde.

“I can’t get my hopes up like that,” Lou whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. “I can’t, Tess.”

“I think it’s worthwhile,” Tess smiled. “You never know until you try, right? And wouldn’t you hate yourself if you could’ve done something but you never acted on it. Better to try than to always wonder.”

Lou waited for a moment, until she met the older girl’s eyes once more. “So what do we do?”

“I hear Danny’s getting the boys together for a poker game tonight,” Tess smiled.

A few hours later, Lou found herself at Danny’s apartment wanting to vomit, but instead, choosing to drown her sorrows in various rounds of Danny’s best whiskey collection.

“What about Danny?” Tess suggested, peering at him over the rim of her wine glass.

“Isn’t that like incest?” Lou choked, wrinkling her nose at the thought. “Like she’d ever believe that.”

“You’re right,” Tess nodded. “Would do more harm than good. I mean there’s always Rusty, if he can stay away from a sandwich long enough to pretend he’s got some interest in you.”

“Won’t work,” Lou shook her head. “It’s gotta be—“

“Me,” Tess winked, tugging Lou in against her hip and bumping it. “I can lay it on thick, don’t worry, honey bun.”

“Don’t push it,” Lou grumbled, swigging back the rest of her glass.

The blonde was too frazzled to let go and join in on the poker fun, like she usually would have done. She craved distraction. But this wasn’t cutting it. All she could think about was Debbie and all she could obsess and dread about was things backfiring and going very, very sour.

“Miller,” Danny called out suddenly. “Make your sorry ass useful and answer the door!”

“Seriously?” Lou scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.

“Sorry, was I interrupting your plans to sulk in the corner all night?” He teased as Lou flipped him the bird before heading towards the door and swinging it open with a huff.

“Lou,” Debbie breathed, suddenly appearing in front of the blonde as Lou gripped her newest glass of whiskey for emotional support, her other hand settling on the door frame and grabbing it for dear life.

Lou didn’t know what to say, the words starting and dying in her throat, afraid she’d only be able to let out a croak or a gasp of air.

She looked good. More than good. But then again, Deborah Ocean always looked beyond stunning. The sight of Debbie’s usual trench coat, probably the only item of clothing that was well-loved and religiously worn over and over again, calmed Lou’s nerves for a moment, her body feeling more at ease than it had all night. And she couldn’t tell whether only seconds or whole minutes had passed, but she could feel Debbie studying her. Observing her. Her eyes ghosting over her body. And Lou wondered if Debbie’s mind was reeling the same ways that hers was. If she wanted to tell Lou she missed her. If she would feel the same comfort from Lou’s old blazer that Lou felt about the coat.

She needed to say something. Needed to ask to talk. Tell her she loved her. Tell her she wanted to fix this. Fix them. Anything.

But then the sour feeling was back as Tess intervened, crowding them as she fell over Lou to give Debbie a hug as she shrieked with excitement.

Lou’s eyes flickered back and forth between Debbie and Tess as Tess squealed and Debbie grumbled, clearly not happy to see Tess, and already seeming to calculate that Tess was playing another round of off-again with Danny, and could have been anywhere in the room at all, but was falling over Lou.

“Rusty’s idea,” Debbie grumbled, physically pushing past the two of them and almost knocking Lou off her feet. This was it. The game was set. And Debbie was already furious.

Lou could do jealous. Could do this. She had to.

The blonde let out a dark chuckle as she watched Debbie saunter over to Danny, full of fury, as she sipped from her glass, studying the younger Ocean.

Lou watched them bicker for a moment before Tess whispered in her ear, nodding her head towards the living room.

“You should play around,” Tess murmured. “You know Debs can’t resist you at that table. Give her something better to look at than her glaring at her brother while she sips a martini. Please? For all our sake.”

“Fine,” Lou hissed, sliding past Tess and doing her damndest not to get distracted by Debbie as she headed towards the table. “I want in.”

“You got it,” Danny grinned, shaking his head with a laugh. “Careful with those bets, boys. Lou’s in this round.”

Lou pulled out a seat, slipping into the chair as she studied the cards she’d been dealt. Child’s play. Had this in the bag. But then her face soured and she had to do her damndest to keep up her poker face for a whole other slew of reasons as she felt Tess brush against her, her hair tickling her cheek as Tess laughed, passing her a new drink. Scotch, not whiskey, Lou noted. Debbie wouldn’t have made that mistake.

Tess wasn’t even really flirting. Just murmuring nonsense into her ear as Danny tried to throw her away from the table. It was only then that Lou realized, she wasn’t the only one trying to win someone back tonight. She couldn’t tell if it was for her benefit or for Tess that the woman stuck around, standing beside her, her breath on her neck making Lou uneasy and rigid, not the way it felt when Debbie stood behind her, whispering sultry things and making Lou’s stomach stir in a sinful way.

And then Lou was livid, watching her own nightmare come true as Debbie leaned over Rusty, across the table, kissing his neck just in the spot that Debbie knew could pull a moan from an unsuspecting Lou. Placing her drink next to his. His and hers.

Lou couldn’t even be bothered with the fact that Tess was bothering her as she leaned on her and brought her drink refills. The wrong drinks. Snacks. That she didn’t like. Tried to give her advice on her hand that Lou would never take.

She wanted to sweep the cards and chips off of the table and tug Debbie away from him. Laying her down on the green and crawling on top of her. Asking if Debbie couldn’t stop thinking about her. Asking if she wanted her. To kiss her. To touch her. To Fuck her.

Lou was tipsy and she knew it. She could barely look at the cards in front of her and her brain seemed to be short circuiting as her eyes flickered between Debbie’s pouting lips, needing to kiss her, and the cleavage spilling out of her dress. But she also couldn’t tear her eyes away from Debbie’s arm that clung to Rusty’s and eventually she found herself swatting Tess away with a hissed, “Stop it. I can’t do this. Stop.”

And while she felt bad and was already ready to eat crow for that decision in the morning, Tess didn’t seem to mind, locking eyes with Danny as he sent her a wink. She tried to focus on the game, but Debbie didn’t even need to do anything for her to be distracted. She’d lost it. And she needed Debbie in every which way. Now.

She’d only made it through another two rounds before she found herself excusing herself from the table and tapping in Linus, who looked absolutely bewildered, but she couldn’t care less, needing to splash some water on her face, or see if Danny had any weed hidden anywhere, or—

“I’m sorry.”

“Debs,” Lou breathed, whipping around as she switched the sink off, her face flooding with relief and lust, trying to figure out what to say, but Debbie was pushing her back up aghast the sink as she gasped, Debbie’s hands slipping down her pants, cupping her ass as Lou’s fingers tangled into her hair laughing deliriously, wanting to scream and cry as well.

“Fuck me.”

“I’m sorry,” Lou gasped, falling against Debbie’s neck.

“No, me,” Debbie whispered, her lips peppering kisses down Lou’s neck as she groaned.

“You’re never getting rid of me again, Ocean,” Lou murmured, pushing one of her hands into Debbie’s panties as she moaned, the other groping at her breasts.

“Never,” Debbie gasped, her nails raking down Lou’s back.

“Never,” Lou whispered. “Mine, Debs. Fuck, you’re all mine, honey.”

“Forever, baby.”

[snackleggg]

Loud music and hard of hearing conspiracy

~~~

An Unidentified Flying Ship one shot

~~~

The music was blaring loudly but from the hallway at least it was a little muffled. Not entirely, Wes could still pick out the words to whatever awful pop song was playing if he focused but it was muted enough that he could at least ignore it.

How did I end up here?

A week ago everything had been fine, normal. Then everything went downhill.

It started when everyone was getting hyped about prom because it was only a week away. What was once an occasional subject that was mentioned once or twice in conversation quickly dominated the forefront of everyone's minds.

Of course with it came everyone talking about dates and Wes had rolled his eyes at the relationship drama that would proceed the school dance.

"What about you Wes?" His twin brother Kyle had asked.

Wes at the time was glaring at Fenton from across the cafeteria, totally zoned out from the world around him and whatever conversation was going on at the table but his brother's question had reeled him back in.

He blinked, turning his attention to Kyle who sat beside him "What about what?"

"Are you going with someone to prom?" One of the others at the table asked. Oh so the conversation had drifted there.

Before Wes could answer no, he was going to be too busy trying to gather evidence to expose Fenton someone else at the table went "I'm pretty sure he wants to ask Fenton to prom"

Wes' brain blue screened for a moment but when he saw everyone at the table nodding he was immediately snapped out of his stupor "wha- NO! Of course not! Why would you even think!?" Wes fumbled but then Kyle put his hand on Wes' shoulder.

"Bro, no offence but we all know you have a crush on Fenton and that you're just using your conspiracy theories as an excuse" Kyle said while looking at Wes sympathetically.

"I don't- I'm not using anything as an excuse, Fenton is Phantom! How can you guys not see it!?" Wes said, he was pointedly ignoring the heat he felt rush to his cheeks.

Another person at their table just shook their head in pity "Oh you poor thing, still in denial about your feelings. You know well still accept you no matter your sexuality right Wes?" They said and Wes heard his brother mumble something about how sad it was Wes thought ghosts were real.

At this point Wes was left completely speechless at the way all his friends seemed to agree with the outrageous notion that he had a crush on Danny Fenton. A crush.

Wes just stood up and walked away with his tray of half eaten slop. He could hear his friends sighing over how hopeless and oblivious he was.

It didn't stop there though.

Later that day at home Kyle, Wes and their older brother Easton were in the living room together quietly doing their own things. Kyle doing some homework, Easton texting someone and Wes looking over all the pictures he had gotten of Phantom after the fight earlier that day, unfortunately all were too blurry to make out anything Wes could actually use as evidence.

Then Kyle broke the comfortable silence.

"Hey Easton, you think you can give Wes some advice for asking his crush to prom?" Kyle asked, not even looking up from the algebra equation he was doing.

If Wes had been drinking anything he would've done a spit take, instead he settled for just staring at his brother in growing horror.

"Hmm? Crush? Oh you mean Jazz's younger brother?" Easton asked as he looked up from his phone. Wes already knew that Easton was good friends with Jazz Fenton but he became even more horrified by the fact that he had immediately connect the 'crush' Kyle had mentioned to Danny Fenton.

Kyle just nodded and Wes was still too shocked to say anything as he looked between his brothers.

"Well, you can never go wrong with chocolates and just straight up asking" Easton said with a shrug before looking back down at his phone.

Finally Wes regained he ability to speak "NO! I don't have a crush on Fenton!" Wes exclaimed.

"Wes you shouldn't be embarrassed to ask for help. I'm your brother, you can't really hide the fact that you have a huge crush on Fenton from me" Easton said simply and some part of Wes was thankful that neither of his brothers are currently looking at him because he knew his face was probably almost as red as his hair.

The larger part of Wes though was shocked and horrified by what his brother had just said.

Not for the first time that day Wes just got up and left without another word.

The rest of the week didn't fair any better.

Anytime Wes inforned his brothers or friends that he was going to tail Fenton to finally expose that he was Phantom they just rolled their eyes before going "Are you finally going to ask him to prom?" And everytime without fail Wes would turn bright red before stomping off in whatever direction Fenton had ran off to, muttering under his breath about how he did NOT have a crush on Fenton.

Finally, Friday he snapped.

"WHY!? Why does everyone think I have a crush on Fenton!? I thought it was obvious that I hate him!" Wes yelled after Kyle had off handedly asked if he had asked Fenton to prom yet.

"Duh, it's because you're pretty much infatuated with him" Kyle stated like it was obvious.

"I'm NOT infatuated!" Wes said.

"Then what do you have to say about all those pictures you take of him? Or following him and his friends around? The fact that you have an entire notebook filled with little facts about him that no one else would care to notice?" Kyle pointed out.

"That's all evidence! It's me trying to expose that he is really Phantom!" Wes argued.

"Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that but you can't live in denial forever bro. I mean why would you need to keep a catalogue of his interests or have so many photos of him just being normal and not at all 'ghostly' " Kyle said while making air quotes "that stuff can't be used as evidence so why still keep it?"

"Because! Be... because..." Wes stopped. Why did he keep all of those things? They weren't particularly helpful in exposing Fenton so why?

"It's cause you like-like him. Prom is tomorrow so I'm sorry to say your denial made you miss your chance to ask him out" Kyle said while patting Wes on the back.

Wes once again stood from the couch and walk away, up to his room and slammed the door behind him.

He spent the whole rest of the day just laying on his bed, staring at his ceiling. He went to prom the next day because some of his friends insisted he couldn't miss it.

For most of the night he had felt numb, especially as he watched people dance and talk and laugh together while he practically glued himself to the wall.

Then he spotted Fenton and Wes was hit again with his brothers words 'it's because you're pretty much infatuated with him'.

Wes hated to admit it but Fenton actually looked good. He wore a white dress shirt with a dark green bow tie and black slacks. It was simple but he pulled it off quite well and Wes couldn't help but notice how the flashing lights of the gym reflected off of Danny's ice blue eyes. How the constantly changing angle of the light highlighted his face a hundred different ways and none of them looked unflattering, at least not to Wes.

The music was loud, he could barely hear people standing right next to him so of course Wes couldn't hear what Danny and Sam were talking about on the other side of gym but Danny seemed to laugh at something she said and Wes couldn't tear his eyes away. He could almost imagine the laugh in his head, light and easy becoming a soft chuckle towards the end.

Wes looked down at the plastic cup full of punch he held in his hand. He could practically smell that someone had spiked it.

He soon found himself stumbling out of the gym because everything was so bright and loud and he needed more space between himself and Danny, definitely more than just a gymnasium's length at least until he figured out why the heck he felt his face flush when he thought about Danny's laugh.

So that's how Wes ended up sitting on the cool tile floors of the school's empty hallway. The lights were off so it was dark but the smallest bit of light poured in through the high up windows front the street lamps outside so it wasnt pitch black, even if it was hard to make out any details of his surroundings.

He didn't know how long he sat there staring at the swirling cup of liquid in his hands.

Eventually he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and he didn't need to lift his head to know it was Danny.

"Hey Wes" Danny's familiar voice echoed a little in the empty hallway, it wasn't the same kind of echo that his voice gained when he was Phantom Wes absentmindedly noted. He heard Danny sit down next to him on the cool tile floor.

"What brings you out here? Would've thought you'd be in the gym with your friends" Danny said.

Wes jostled the cup a little with his hand before gesturing to it "I think someone spiked the punch" Wes said instead of giving a straight answer to Danny's question.

"Oh? Good thing I was never a fan of punch. You good?" Wes could've sworn he heard actual concern leak into Danny's voice.

"Yeah, I only took a few sips" Wes shrugged and he leaned backwards against the metal lockers that lined the walls.

"What about you? Why're you out here?" Wes could now see Danny in his peripheral vision quite well. His legs were spread out straight infront of him unlike how Wes had his knees tucked against his chest. He also seemed to be leaning against the lockers behind them, looking relaxed against the cool metal.

"Technus decided to try and take over the DJ booth. I managed to stop him pretty quickly but I needed a breather so I came out here" Danny said, making a vague gesture with his hand.

"Hmm" Was Wes' only reply. The source of all his troubles, both old and new was sitting right next to him and they were holding a proper conversation like real people. No threats of exposing identities, no witty banter or mocking remarks.

To someone who didn't know any better it would almost seem like they were on civil terms with eachother.

What kind of terms are we on?

They weren't friends, not by a long shot. But enemies seemed too strong a word now that Wes thought about it. It wasn't like they were physically hurting eachother like Danny's other enemies. It was less literal battling and more metaphorical and figurative battling.

But after tonight would I even be able to do that anymore?

Wes couldn't just ignore the revelation forced upon him. He wasn't one for ignoring the obvious and when Kyle presented the evidence he had to admit his feelings were a tad obvious.

A comfortable silence was now between the two and Wes turned his head to look at Danny directly. His breath caught in his throat.

Danny was completely relaxed leaning against the lockers behind him. His hair was slightly disheveled, more so than usual. His eyes were closed and he had a faint smile on his face. The dim light shining in made his pale skin look like it was glowing, giving him an ethereal look. Wes was pretty sure that he could only glow in ghost form but that didn't stop the way the light reflected to make it seem otherwise. Wes also became hyper aware of the fact that they were sitting very close to eachother, if he leaned to the side a bit they would be brushing shoulders.

'Yeah, super obvious' Wes thought as he felt a blush find it's way onto his cheeks.

Wes managed to pry his eyes away and looked back down at his cup of spiked punch.

"Screw it" he mumbled before downing the whole thing.

"Hmm? What was that?" Danny asked as he peeked an eye open.

"Screw it" Wes said louder as he grabbed Danny by his collar and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Danny froze in place as Wes pulled back. The blush stood out against Danny's pale skin and Wes knew he was probably as red as tomato as he spoke "Wanna go dance? With me?" Wes asked cautiously.

Danny blinked before a doppy smile found it's way onto his face "Yeah, sure" he said.

Wes pushed himself up and held out a hand which Danny took without a moment's hesitation.

[jensensfanfic]

JUST WANNA GO HOME

[my gif - from sideblog @dojolarusso​]

pairing: daniel larusso x fem!reader

word count: 948

warnings: emotional whump

a/n: can also be found on wattpad and ao3 :)

You hear it before you see it: Daniel's voice echoing through the apartment complex as your hand freezes in your bag, where you’d been searching for your keys. He slams his hands against the wall as he yells. "Why can't we just go back home!?"

"Listen to me." Lucille starts to pat his face with a piece of cloth as you walk closer to them. "I cannot help you unless you tell me what's wrong."

"I gotta take karate, that's it."

"You took karate."

"No, not at the Y, a good school!"

"Fighting doesn't solve anything."

"Yeah, well, neither does palm trees, Ma."

You close in on them at that moment, and Lucille turns to you with surprise but also - a little bit of relief. "Ah, Y/N, do you want to try and ask him what happened to his bike? Maybe he'll tell you the truth."

"I told you the truth, Ma!"

You decide to try and ease the situation, suggesting that you go inside and talk. “Hey, is it okay if I come in and watch a movie tonight, Miss. LaRusso."

"Of course, let's go inside- what about the bike?"

Daniel sighs as his mother takes his arms and guides him back to their apartment, with you closely following. "It's safer taking the bus."

-

Once inside, Lucille tries to find some first aid supplies but pauses when Daniel goes straight to his room, mumbling to himself about New Jersey. She sighs, and you share a look before going after him. "I got it," you mouth to her.

She smiles in thanks. "Take this." She whispers, handing you a bag filled with plasters and alcohol wipes. You had been Daniel's best friend since you were both four years old, and she knew that when he was angry or upset, you were the only person he would even consider listening to.

You head over to his door, tapping your special coded knock, before twisting the knob and letting yourself into the room. His back is against the wall, his long legs dangling over the edge of the bed. He looks up at you as you close the door and smile. "Hey."

"What's up?"

"Oh, you know, just coming to check on my sulky, bleeding best friend."

"That all?"

"Yep." You plop down on his bed next to him and cross your legs, ready to get the truth. "So, what happened, Danny? Those kids from the beach, again, huh?"

"Why'd you even ask?" He huffs, touching his head and wincing when his two fingers coat with blood.

"Idiot! Don't touch it." You tut him and then unzip the bag that his mother had given you. "Here." You wipe his head, slapping his hand away whenever he would complain, and then cover it with a cut-out square of gauze. "And you were the one who spilt to me about the fight on the beach, so it wasn't much of a guessing game."

"Whatever. I just wanna go back home."

"It's not so bad here." You put the medical supplies away and throw the bag on his bedside table. "I mean, despite the obvious of you getting hurt, I like it."

"You do?" He asks, looking at you like you're crazy.

"Yeah, come on. I miss Jersey, too, but I didn't have any friends there. Here, I've gained a little group of really nice people; I like my classes.. and have you been to golf 'n' stuff yet because it's so fun."

"Lucky for you. My only friends are still back home."

"Excuse me! What about your best friend? She's sitting right in front of you. And she's trying to help you, but you are making it so incredibly difficult right now, you know?"

"Jeez, I'm sorry! I appreciate it, really, Y/N."

"You'd better. Now, how's your head?"

He goes to touch it again, but when you frown, he stops and rolls his eyes. "Better, I think."

"Alright, well, maybe we just give this place a few more weeks, huh? If you still aren't happy here, by... let's say - New Year, then I will personally help you plan some 'reasons why we should go back home' speech for your Mum." You giggle at yourself, and Daniel finally smiles, finding you amusing, as usual. "Sound good?"

He chuckles, holding his side as he sits up and offers his hand. "Deal." You shake his hand, and then you both fall back against the wall together, staring at the stack of books leaning against the opposing wall. "What now?"

"A game of scrabble? With curse words acceptable this time." You suggest, over a laugh.

"Mm, okay. I'll go get the box."

He stands, groaning at his sore ribs as he does. "Soda?"

"Please."

He leaves the room, then, but not before popping his head back in and whispering, "by the way, thank you."

You jump to your feet and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. "Anytime, Danny."

He smiles, and you return to his bed, smoothing out the blankets and making it as flat as possible for the board to sit on.

Meanwhile, Daniel mindlessly collects the game, drinks, and a few pieces of candy from the kitchen. All the while, wearing a pretty pink blush on his face, as his mind lingers on the kiss you'd just landed on his skin.

His mother looks up from the sofa, looking pleased as she asks, "Is everything okay now, Daniel."

"Uh.. yeah, Ma. Everything's good. Oh, and I'm sorry, Ma, for yelling out there, you know."

She smiles and nods, and then Daniel appears back in the doorway to his room, smiling. "Time to kick your ass at scrabble then, Y/N/N."

[cowandcalf]

Thanks again @mayberrycryptid for tagging me! I love that @trickster-archangel created such a great ask! Thank you so much!

I gave that topic a lot of thought and I just want to let you in on my POV. I go with the two separate worlds that are the mind of a civilian and the mind of a SEAL and I'm convinced neither of the guys would ever say 'I love you' in a manipulative way. They really mean it when they say it.

In 7.01 Danny is worried out of his mind for Steve and fears the worst. He has hoped that this terrible accident and the GW to the liver would bring Steve to his senses about how to treat his body with much more care. Instead of saying "I'm so worried about you. I don't want to lose you and when you keep being so reckless, I fear burying you before we have a chance of enjoying life outside Five-0 because I love you" … instead of saying that Danny rants at Steve and tries to make him guilt-ridden by accusing him of being ungrateful. Danny is passive-aggressive, we've experienced this before (the stakeout episode.) And Steve wants to calm Danny but instead of saying "Look, Danny, I'm a SEAL and my body is just another tool. I will never change. I don't want to change because that's who I am. I need to prove myself every day because I'm wired like this. That's who I am. My oath comes first, always. I don't mind dying to protect others. I know it's difficult to understand my world and how it works but as long as I can walk, I'll fight. I don't do rest-ups and stuff like that. It's not how my mind works. It's not what I want" … instead of saying that, he says that he loves Danny and that his love for him has nothing to do with how he treats his body.  

(And just for the 'proving always something' stuff: McRaven explains why every SEAL no matter how far he'd come has to prove himself every day of his life. He had a horrible parachute accident and almost got torn in half. When he was able to walk again he mingled with his men on the daily PT course and dragged himself through it, his body not quite fit yet from the accident. One sailor came up to him and said 'Why are you doing this? You don't have to prove anything anymore' and McRaven (Admiral) explains with vehemence why this sailor was wrong. Because every SEAL must prove himself every day of his entire life. Always. No slack. Never. Ever. Not one second. So, there you go and it makes more sense to what Steve is dealing with and why he doesn't want to take a break not even for the people he loves because it's who he is!)

Neither Danny nor Steve express what they really feel and mean. In the end, (7.01) Steve only agrees to take a few days off because he isn't doing well. He always rubs his fist against his heart. He knows that his body needs to rest but he only does it because he needs to, not because Danny has asked him to. He never rests. That's not what SEALs do. And in 10.22 he just can't live the way he did not even for Danny he can stay. He needs to go away. And in both moments his 'I love yous' are meant in the most honest way. From my POV.

Some information to understand SEALs better:

I guess, one needs to understand a SEAL's mind to make sense of what they do to their body. I only can refer to all the articles and books I read, to the podcasts I've been listening to held by former Navy SEALs where they exchange life experiences as a SEAL. I will add all the links to those great podcasts at the bottom of my little meta so you can hear and read for yourself. Resting and taking care of injuries isn't really on the top of their list.

SEALs are a special breed, and they treat their body differently. It's a tool that is used until it breaks and even broken, they use it until they collapse only to recover as fast as possible to jump right back into the game. It's what they do. It's how they are wired. They aren't successful because they treat their body carefully and respectfully, or living healthily. They are successful because they stress the physical laws to the max and even further. And they are trained to do that in every second of every day as long as they live. I don't speak for all of course, and my horizon is limited but what I learned so far fits Steve's behavior.

Just an example of what aspirants in BUD/S need to endure and want to endure because it's voluntary and they could ring the bell anytime, but they have a goal, and no matter what they rather die than give up. They deal with concussions, broken bones, dangerous infections, and near-drownings, many of them suffer from SIPE (Swimming induced pulmonary edema) from surf torture and they just keep going. After BUD/S, especially Hell Week their body is wrecked.

There was this article I posted once: Death in Navy SEAL Training Exposes a Culture of Brutality, Cheating, and Drugs

And here you can listen to the podcast with Jocko Willink and Rich Diviney talking about attributes, drug abuse in BUD/S, and why training must be hell and only hell among so many great other things.

And here you can listen to the podcast with Jocko Willink and Admiral McRaven talking about life in the Navy, being a SEAL, and all the missions they experienced. Wisdom of the Bullfrog. A fantastic podcast I highly recommand.

And as for Danny - he learns to speak his mind and express his deep worries later on in the season when Steve got hit with a portion of radioactivity from the dirty bomb. There he finally could just tell Steve how much he is worried and there Steve admits that he is worried too but he needs to keep going.

It's a completely idiotic thought brought on by my insomnia, but last night I suddenly realised that Steve’s 'I love you' at the end of 10x22, before leaving Danny (thus doing something he knows will hurt and/or disappoint Danny), has absolutely the same meaning, tone, and purpose, as Steve's 'I love you' in 7x01, when Danny is trying (and failing) to make him reason and not throw his life away. It's basically the only method Steve's devised to stop Danny and offer some sort of justification for the shit he's about to pull, despite knowing he's doing something wrong.

Ok I swear in my mind it made sense, but after today and with only a few hours sleep I'm not logical anymore!

ok so! here is my take on it but I would love to have others chime in cuz this fandom has the bestest metas and thinkee thoughts.

sneakily tags: @cowandcalf @stephmcx @ellena-asg @teruel-a-witch

Steve is a SEAL and SEALs get a ton of training. He's also a mess, thanks to shitty parenting, trauma of his mom's death and Freddy's death and his dad's death, and a whole lot of PTSD, on top of a pretty rough re-entry into civilian life.

I think Steve honestly means it when he says it both times, but he is still being emotionally manipulative. He is taking the counseling and doing what he is trained to do--use the tools he has been given to achieve the end goal.

What's really awful, but heartbreakingly accurate, is we're also seeing in both scenes how Steve can so easily fall into Doris' pattern of emotionally manipulating her family.

Thats the problem with abuse and trauma. People are so comfortable with these patterns that form such a huge part of their lives that it's seductively easy to repeat those patterns, even when they fighting tooth and nail not to.

This is also why so many stories about survivors make me do a hard eye roll. Being a survivor is not about suddenly being magically all better. Being a survivor is stepping into the shower and realizing that something you did at work last month was super shitty--and then feeling super guilty it took a full month for you to even grab a clue.

So yeah, you'e right but I believe Steve's not consciously aware of what he is doing. And I have always read Danny's expressions when Steve says it as Danny going into 'dad' mode.

Kids will often go through a 'I love you' phase where they try to wriggle out of consequences and Danny really seems to be like, Uh huh. I didn't buy it when Grace did it when she was three and I am not buying it now. But if you really want to act like a toddler, Steven, I'll humor you and say 'I love you' back.

cuz lets be honest, Danny humors Steve a lot😂😂😂

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

Hi~ can I ask for headcanons for that retro scarf rebellion please

YE!

~ This fun relationship started after Jazz found the new secret human world hiding spot the two were hiding in, and kept it a secret from Danny and her family and instead come by time to time talking to them and hearing their sides of the stories

~ After a bit of their meetings things slowly began to happen without either one knowing it. Excitement for the next hangout, sad when it ends, stuff like that

~ How Jazz realized her feelings was during a motorcycle ride when she looked ahead and looked at the for a moment share a kiss together and seemed happy being on the rode like this

~ How they realized was more of them thinking and talking about Jazz then thought of Jazz dying one day...and they hated that

~ They go on dates like diners and biker bars, and Kitty and Johnny aren't scared to get into bar fights if something happens. Neither does Jazz

~ They would come to Jazz's window and either she sneaks them in or they sneak her out in the night when her parents are asleep

~ Danny wasn't too thrilled when he first heard about this and Johnny doesn't help a damn bit on teasing him

~ "Can we speed this up lil man? I have a date with your sister"

~ How they cuddle/sleep together is something I have thought about since I had been wanting to draw it for a while! So it's Johnny sleeping on his back a little to his right side with Jazz sleeping on top of his right arm on her back and Kitty flopped on top of both of them with Johnny and Jazz's arm(s) over her and their legs a tangled mess

[dp-marvel94]

Face to Face- Chapter 34

Summary: When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of the ghostliness that had haunted him since the accident, not to wake up on the lab floor with his parents saying he’d been overshadowed but everything’s back to normal now. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to then dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was supposedly possessing Danny remember a life that wasn’t his? Most of all, why do both the human and the ghost feel that something vital is missing, in their very soul? Or: Trying to cure himself of his powers one month after the accident, Danny accidentally splits himself but neither his ghost nor his human half know that that is what they did

First -> Last -> Next

Word Count: 5,208

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: I'm finally back with an update! It's been a while. I've been busy with my Invisobang story but it's finally finished. There's more about that at the end. But anyway, enjoy this much awaited chapter of Face to Face!

Fenton was distracted staring at the clock...again. His math teacher, Mr. Faluca, droned on in front of him and he was trying to listen. He really was but….there was just so much going on in his mind. Yes, he was less worried now that Phantom was back from the Ghost Zone, but now his curiosity was peaked. Halfa. There was a word for what he was and right now, his other self was talking about that with Sidney, the ghost he’d met earlier. 

Fenton was so tempted to peak. He could, he realized. He could softly withdraw and see through Phantom’s eyes and hear through his ears. But… he needed to stay here, stay present. He was the human half right now, just Fenton. He couldn’t risk getting lost, getting tangled up with Phantom again before they were ready and able to really be one person.

So Fenton pushed away the thought. He put his pencil to his paper, copying the numbers and equations down. So this was new material. His brow furrowed, trying to figure out where the teacher was. After a few minutes, his expression relaxed. Alright, okay. This was actually starting to make sense. 

Class continued and Fenton continued taking notes. About ten minutes later, the intercom turned on. “Danny Fenton.” The boy looked up, stiffening at his name. “Danny Fenton. Your father’s here to pick you up.”

Fenton’s stomach suddenly flopped with nerves as he felt his classmates’ eyes on him.

Mr. Faluca turned to look at the boy. “Go ahead Danny.”

He quickly started packing up his things, trying to ignore the muttering of the teens around him. Moments later, he stood and slung his bag over his shoulders. Head hung low, Fenton walked past his teacher and opened the door as the lesson continued without him.

Now in the hallway, his thoughts whirled, his worries resurging. Why was his Dad here? Why was he picking him up early? And-

The boy paused, the realization suddenly hitting him like a freight train as he passed by the rusty locker 724. Phantom. His ghost half had run off, in front of Mom. The woman was probably worried out of her mind. 

The boy then continued, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Huh...it was actually surprising that he hadn’t got a panicked phone call from one of his parents yet. But that must be why Dad was here to pick him up. Obviously, Mom had told Dad what happened in the lab. And it made sense. If ghost Danny was missing, they’d want to make sure human Danny was safe at least.

Fenton’s heart sank in guilt at that thought. He hadn’t even called his parents. Not after he’d calmed down at lunch and not after Phantom had arrived through the portal. They’d both been silent for the past hour. Well...at least he’d get the chance to tell his parents what happened and ease their worries soon. Actually, he could do more than just tell them that Phantom was safe.

The human reached out with his mind, calling into the empty space between the two pieces of his mind. Phantom?

A gentle nudge was received in acknowledgement.

Fenton swallowed. Dad’s here to pick me up. You need to come too. He’s probably worried out of his mind.

The echo of his own guilt came back, projected from Phantom. Alright. I’ll meet you in the car.

Fenton nodded, humming in acknowledgement before he turned his attention back to walking down the hall. After a quick stop at his locker, the boy continued towards the front office. He pushed open the door, freezing as he saw the people staring back at him.

“Dad….Jazz.” He muttered, eyes flickering between his father and sister’s worried faces.

“Danny.” Dad breathed, relief flashing over his face. He took a step forward, sweeping the boy up in a hug.

The human Danny stiffened, blushing at the attention. His gaze shifted to the secretary who was looking at the large figure blocking the door with barely contained judgment. “Dad. I’m okay.” The boy muttered, pulling away.

His father’s face fell but before he could reply, Jazz advanced. Her face was set with deep worry. “Danny. Do you know where-”

“Yes.” Fenton cut her off, anticipating her question. “He’s safe.”

“But where-” She started.

“Not right here.” The boy whispered.

“Come on. Let’s go to the car.” Dad interjected, placing a gentle hand on Fenton’s shoulder. 

The man returned to the desk to sign the two teenagers out of school before the three quickly walked towards the front doors. They exited, crossing the parking lot towards the GAV. Dad unlocked the vehicle and the three piled in. 

As soon as Fenton was seated in the backseat, Jazz turned to face him from her place in the front. “Your ghost half ran away to the Ghost Zone?!” Her eyes were wide, tone rising with exacerbation.

“Yes. We did but-” Fenton held on his hands.

“How could you do that, Danny?!” She pointed. “And how long ago was this?”

“Maybe...an hour and a half? But-”

“An hour and half?!” Jazz glared. “And you didn’t come get me! You didn’t even call-”

“Jazz.” Dad cut her off, voice uncharacteristically serious. “Stop berating your brother.” He turned to Fenton, expression softening. “The other you is safe?”

The human Danny nodded. “Yes.”

“And where is he?” The man calmly asked.

His eyes flickered out towards the school. “Still in the school.”

“What?” Jazz gapped. 

Dad raised a brow. “Maddie said he ran off through the portal.” 

“We...he did.” Fenton bit his lip. “But uh...long story short, he managed to find his way back.”

“How?” His sister asked.

“So...umm...apparently, there’s a portal to the Ghost Zone in one of the lockers? Phantom managed to find it and flew through it.”

“And he’s still in the school because?” Jazz sounded slightly skeptical.

“He’s making sure Sidney gets back to the Ghost Zone okay.” Fenton said plainly, the information suddenly entering his mind. “He’ll meet us out here soon.”

Dad’s brow furrowed. “Who’s Sidney?”

“Oh.” The boy blinked, realizing what he said. “He’s...uh...a ghost who helped the other me find the portal. They talked about ghost stuff and..” He met Dad’s eyes, tentatively. “Apparently, the ghosts have a word for what I am. I’m a halfa.”

His father’s eyes widened in response. For a long moment, he paused as if processing. Then he swallowed. “We can talk about all of that later but your mother….”

Fenton paled, looking down. “Oh...uhh...yeah.” He froze, anymore words dying in his throat.

Jazz broke the silence. “Where is Mom?”

Dad’s frown deepened. “She’s….” He trailed off as if it was too hard to continue.

More tense silence. There was a tickle in the back of his mind, Phantom wondering if Dad was still waiting in the parking lot. Fenton replied with the image in front of him.

Phantom responded. Wait for me. I’m coming.

The ghost’s more active presence withdrew before Fenton could reply. The human looked up. “Phantom will be here in less than a minute.”

True to what he said, his ghost self soon phased through the back of the GAV. He flickered into view beside his human self.

Dad and Jazz both flinched, surprised at the sudden appearance before relaxing.

Phantom bit his lip. “I’m here now. Sorry it took so long.”

“You didn’t have any trouble with the ghost, did you?” Dad asked, raising a brow.

The ghost boy shook his head. “Nope. Sidney’s cool. We had to finish our conversation.” For a second, Dad and Jazz looked like they wanted to ask. But Phantom continued before they could, his gaze flickering nervously around the van. “Where...where’s Mom?”

There was a pause before Dad started, tentatively. “Your mom….she…” He pulled out his phone. “She left me a message on my phone. Here...let me show you.”

Fenton and Phantom both said nothing, anxiety flaring as the man pulled up the voicemail.

“Jack! Pick up your phone!” Mom’s panicked voice rang through the phone. “Come on Jack! You need to pick up! Jack!” Her voice rose as she rambled. “Our son...our son, he ran off through the portal. Through the portal Jack! He...he came downstairs to talk to me and….I f-cked up Jack. I f-cked up!” Fenton flinched, shocked at the language. 

“Oh god I...I...Jack, I screwed up.” Her voice wavered, sounding watery. “He...he said...he said he was upset with me and...and...oh god...I just yelled at him. I just sat there and yelled at him and….oh god, I f-cked up Jack.” 

There was a clatter, the sound of quick footsteps. “He ran off and…. I need to fix this. I have to fix this. I….” She paused, determination entering her voice. “I’m going through the portal. I’m...I’m going to find our son and bring him home.” More clatter, metal thumping again metal. “Go pick up Jazz and the other Danny. Make sure they’re safe and tell them I love them. And I’ll see you soon, okay? I’ll see you soon and the rest of our son will be with me.” 

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

The message ended with a beep. There was a sudden, deep silence. After far too long, Phantom spoke. “She went...she went after us. Through the portal.”

Dad nodded grimly. “I went back to the house before coming to get you and she was gone.”

The ghost’s hands were shaking. “She’s….Mom’s in the Ghost Zone, looking for me. But…” He put his head in his hands. “I’m not there.”

“I know.” Dad said quietly. “You’re safe and...your mom is a capable woman. She’ll be okay.” He turned back to face the windshield. “We need to head home now, okay? We’ll find a way to get up with her and everything will be okay.”

Phantom really hoped so. He did. He took a seat beside Fenton, reaching for his seat belt at the same time the human reached for his. The ghost’s hand lingered over the lock. He hadn’t done this, hadn’t been in a car since he’d split himself, since he was still trying to pretend that he was a normal human. He buckled the seatbelt. Now he was a ghost and he was sitting in the back of the GAV and Mom was the one lost in the Ghost Zone. Suddenly, he wanted to zip right out of this car, through the roof and go home. He needed to find Mom, even if...even if-.

He shivered, a thousand possibilities tumbling around in his head. He’d managed to push it away for a time but what Mom had said to him before he ran off still tore at his heart. The anger had leaked out of him but he was still hurt and scared and confused. And now he was shook up after hearing that message. Mom cussed. She cussed. And she was panicking and scared and said she’d screwed up, that she’d had to fix this. She was determined to bring him home. Was she...maybe she was sorry? Maybe she...she got it now. And...he wanted to hope. He wanted to hope so bad but it hurt and he didn’t know what to do or think or-

Fenton leaned into him, interrupting his thought. There was a brief flash of worry and then...the human was taking deep, purposeful breaths, trying to calm down. Phantom needed to calm down too. He couldn’t panic, couldn’t worry about all this right now. Instead he leaned back into Fenton’s side and tried to relax. Passively, the two clasped hands.

“Danny?” Jazz’s voice interrupted, her eyes focusing on Phantom, who looked up in acknowledgement. “I’m happy you’re safe.” She bit her lip and the ghost boy knew she was nervous like he was. “It’s going to be okay.” The girl could have been saying that for his benefit or for her own.

In response, Dad’s gaze flickered towards his daughter and then at the two boy’s through the rearview mirror. His eyes rounded, worriedly but lovingly, before he focused back on the road as they turned a corner.

The vehicle flew down the road while the passengers sat in silence. For once, Dad’s fast driving was the least distressing thing on Phantom’s mind. And it was fitting, that the man was in such a hurry to get home and figure out what to do. But the ghost had already made up his mind.

After what somehow felt like the blink of an eye and hours at the same time, the vehicle pulled into the driveway and slammed to a stop. All the passengers unbuckled. In a breath, Phantom turned invisible. 

Dad looked back, eyes widening. Jazz gasped in worry. “Danny!”

The boy huffed. “I’m still right here. I’m gonna stay invisible until we get in the house. I don’t exactly want the neighbors to see me.”

His sister sighed. “Alright.”

“Come on kids.” Dad said visibly relaxing. 

Phantom exited the GAV, following his human self. He shivered in the air. Now that he was here, at the house, it was taking all his self control to not dart forward in front of his family and fly down to the lab, through the portal, and-

Fenton found his wrist without effort and led him to the front door without a word. Dad unlocked it and the kids followed him into the house. Once they’d passed the threshold, Phantom had had enough. With the door closed, he returned to visibility and raced across the living room, kitchen, and down the basement stairs. He stopped at the bottom, eyes falling on the still open portal. 

Behind him, the sound of footsteps pounded. His sister’s and father’s worried voices rang out. But the ghost didn’t listen, too focused on the portal and the soft song emanating from it. A sound which he knew the purpose of and wasn’t as scared of anymore.

Fenton jogged through the door and hopped down the stairs with the rest of the family at his heels. The human stopped abruptly, coming to stand beside his ghost who then turned to face his father and sister.

“I need to go after her.” Phantom said quietly but with determination.

Jazz’s expression shifted, turning serious. “You can’t do that.”

“Jazz.” He started, testedly. “I need to help Mom. She’s only...she’s only there because of me and anything could be happening to her and-”

“Your Mom can handle herself.” Dad cut in, equally serious. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger too.”

The human Danny frowned. “She went off without a plan. No supplies. No idea what she’d face. She’s probably lost.”

His sister argued. “And getting yourself lost wouldn’t help her!”

“I won’t get lost.” The ghost straightened, confidently. “Look. Mom’s not coming back on her own until she finds me. I’ve actually been in the Ghost Zone before. And I can fly. I can get us out of trouble if something happens and get both of us back in no time.”

Dad took a breath considering. “I understand that son. But...none of that will help you if you manage to get lost yourself. You don’t know how far away your mom is. And what if you do find her but get lost on the way back?”

“Mom couldn’t have gotten that far.“ Fenton insisted, holding up his arms. “And Phantom literally can’t get lost.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jazz rose a brow in challenge.

“I literally can’t get lost in the Ghost Zone.” The ghost deadpanned. He grabbed onto Fenton’s arm. “If other me stays here, I’ll always have a beacon to lead me back.”

Dad and Jazz’s brows both furrowed in confusion. “Really?” Dad frowned.

“That’s how he got back to the school earlier.” Fenton supplied. “We’re connected because ya know, same person. He followed that line back to me.”

Dad tilted his head. “You could use that to find your way back after you find your mom?”

Phantom nodded. “And Fenton can keep you guys updated. I can show or tell him what’s happening.”

Dad still looked confused, like he wanted to ask more but after a long moment, acceptance crossed his face. He conceded. “Alright. Go find your mom.” The ghost boy floated higher off the floor and turned to face to portal.

“Hold on a second.” Jazz interrupted. She stepped forward and hugged Phantom. “Be careful little brother.”

“Yeah. Of course.” Ghost Danny returned the hug before pulling away.

A second later, Dad was wrapping him up in a bear hug. “I love you and...I’m sorry.” 

“I...it’s okay. I love you too.” He whispered, returning the hug. His core pulsed nervously. The memory of his conversation with Dad last night flashed through his mind. He might have understood what Dad was apologizing for. For how Mom acted, for not being there for that conversation. But either way- “It’s not your fault.”

Dad didn’t reply to the statement, squeezing his son a little tighter. “Hurry back but be safe Danny-boy.”

Phantom pulled away from his father and finally, his eyes fell on the one person left to address. He grabbed Fenton’s hand and squeezed. “I'll be back soon.”

The human put his other arm around him, pulling him into a hug. “I know. Go find her. And…” He bit his lip and the ghost could feel his worry at the idea of facing Mom again. “It’ll be okay...we’ll be okay.”

The ghost squeezed back. “Yeah. We will.” He pulled away before flying towards the portal. With one last look back, he dove through for the second time that day.

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

The Ghost Zone (World of the Dead? Infinite Realms?) was the same as the last time he’d entered. Swirling green, floating rocks, purple doors in the distance. But this time, he was more aware of his immediate surroundings. He paused, right outside of the portal to take in the environment. The portal’s frame was sitting on a shelf of rock. The shelf dropped off about ten feet in front of him. To either side, it dropped off after about twenty feet. He turned back around, facing the swirling green light. There was the portal but...what if he walked behind it?

There was in fact something behind it. The frame of the portal closed off in the back, forming a wall of  sleek metal that reminded him of the lab at home. Phantom turned away from the frame, his back facing it. He frowned, spotting the edge of the rock again. It went all the way around, like the portal sat in the middle of an island or...he quickly floated over to the edge. The rock continued downward, like he was on the top of a mountain or a cliff.

He felt the shadow of his heart skip a beat. If Mom wasn’t up here, then had she fallen? His eyes desperately searched over the landscape for a scrap of blue, the color of his mom’s jumpsuit.

“Mom!” He called out. “Where are you?”

There was no reply, her form not in sight. Frantically, Phantom turned to the side. Still nothing. He flew to the front of the portal. “Mom!”

He then looked down, gasping. There was a tiny spot of blue, standing out in clear contrast to the green and brown landscape. It must have been hundreds of feet down, at the base of the structure. The boy started shaking, panic overtaking him. She’d...she’d fallen, hadn’t she? Was she hurt or...or….

His eyes then widened noticing something. The small dot of blue was moving. No, not just moving. But moving quickly as if the figure was running or jogging along a narrow strip of rock, away from him. Stepping off the ledge, the ghost started descending. 

“Mom!” He tried again, to no response. Obviously, she couldn’t hear him.

Phantom dove faster, keeping his eyes pinned on the blue figure as it continued down the twisting path. The road, since that’s what it resembled, twisted back, forming stairs and sloping down under itself.  Then it met another, darker colored strip, forming something like a crossroads.

The ghost boy flew closer as the figure jogged down the stairs. Then he paused, flinched at what sounded like a motorcycle engine. Reflexively, he flickered invisible. He glanced down the darker path at the crossroads. Something metal glinted in the dim light as the noise approached. Seconds later, the object materialized in the crossroads. It was in fact a motorcycle and...two glowing figures sat on the bike. The blue figure froze.

Phantom paled, his speed increasing. Seconds later, he landed above the crossroads at a raised part of the road. His back faced the stairs that the blue figure had just run down. His eyes widened as he recognized the scene.

In the crossroads, two ghosts, both of whom were in their early twenties, sat on a motorcycle. The man had greasy looking blonde hair and was wearing a biker jacket. Behind him sat a woman with green hair, in a red jacket and mini skirt.

“What is that?” The woman asked.

“Kitty, I think...that’s a human.” The other glowing figure’s voice rose in harsh disbelief. “What is a human doing here?”

The girl scowled, judgmentally. “And what are they wearing?”

The blue clad figure slowly approached, holding something long and metallic to their side. “I’m not looking for any trouble.” A familiar voice rang out, slightly desperate. “Please. I’m just trying to find my son.” 

Phantom gasped, his core pulsing excitedly. That was his Mom’s voice. Mom! Mom was in front of him. She was okay. She was alive and walking around and….She was...being pinned by two unfamiliar ghosts.

The ghost boy stiffened at the sudden realization. He sprung into action, calling out. “Mom!”

The two ghosts looked in his direction, brows furrowing at his exclamation. “What was that?” The girl, Kitty, asked.

Phantom ignored the question, darting in between the ghostly couple and his Mom. He tensed, holding his arms out to shield her. 

“What’s going on?” Mom startled, taking a step back. “What was that?”

The man’s brow furrowed. He blinked, eyes focusing on Phantom. Then he snorted. “Kid? You tryin’ ta mess with this human too?”

“Mess with?” He muttered. Then Phantom frowned, realization hitting him like a brick wall. He was still invisible. With a slight mental push, he reappeared. 

“Danny?” Mom’s disbelieving voice rang out behind him. Then it shifted into something relieved and hopeful. “Danny!”

The boy turned to the side. “Mom.” The same relief was in his voice.

The woman dropped her weapon. She took a step forward until she was close enough to touch. Mom reached out but Phantom was faster. Before he could really think about it, he was clinging to the woman from the side. “Mom! I found you.”

Mom was shaking. Her hand reached up to run fingers through his hair. “Danny. Baby, you’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” He squeezed her. “And you’re...you’re not hurt or….”

Near the pair, someone snorted. “Mama’s boy.” Then there was yelp. “Ow. What’d you elbow me for?!”

“Give him a break Johnny.” The green haired woman chastised. “He’s what? Twelve?”

Phantom scowled, turning his head towards the other ghosts. “I’m fourteen!”

“Same difference.” The man waved him off.

Ghost Danny stepped away from his mother again. Now that he knew she was really here and uninjuried, he turned his attention back to the other ghosts, though he did cast a worried look behind him.

“So…” The man, Johnny, looked between the two, a curious if slightly up-to-no-good expression on his face. “How did a human end up here?”

“None of your business.” Mom said quickly, seriously.

Johnny raised a brow. “Some ritual to contact your dead son gone wrong?” Phantom and his mother both flinched at the word. “Found a thin spot and you waited for a portal to open.”

“Like she said.” The ghost boy glared. “It’s none of your business.”

The man smirked, opening his mouth to retort but Kitty elbowed him again. “Leave them alone Johnny. Let’s go.”

“Come on kitten. There’s a good story here.”

The young woman crossed her arms. “We’re going to Ember’s party. We’ll be late if you don’t hurry up.”

“Fine. I’m going.” Johnny rolled his eyes. Placing his hands on the handles, he pumped the gas. “See you ‘round kid.” 

The two ghosts speed off, Phantom watching them warily until they disappeared into the distance. Finally, he relaxed, turning around to face the woman. For a moment, he hovered. After the initial hug, he was at a loss for what to do. He’d found Mom and she was physically okay. They should head home-

Mom quickly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him without hesitation. “Danny baby.” She gently cupped the back of his head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Somehow, with the stress of the confrontation over, she sounded more relieved than before. Her voice broke, sounding watery. “I shouldn’t...I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t have said that. But I love you. I love you so much, baby.”

The ghost listened to the words, his eyes tearing up. But he didn’t have it in him to return the hug. He didn’t pull away either. Instead he stood there, torn in two directions. He was happy, so happy that his Mom was safe. And the lack of hesitation, the words. They were exactly what he wanted to hear but…..

“It’s okay. You’re okay. It’s going to be okay, Danny. I love you so much.”

What was with the change in attitude? Well, he did run off to another dimension, after telling Mom that he didn’t think she loved him. And well...oh god he had no idea what to think. This was too much. Too much. He needed to just get them home and-

Mom pulled away, peering at him with tearfilled eyes. She gently cupped his face. “Danny baby. Look at me.” Obediently, he shifted his eyes up, to maintain her gaze. But it was a struggle as tears welled in his eyes and his lip quivered. “I love you.” The woman breathed. “I love this you. I love Fenton….” He averted his gaze from her eyes, an ache piercing his core. “And I love Phantom. I love both parts of you. You’re a part...you’re a part of my son. And I love this part.” Her voice wavered, tears falling down her face. “I shouldn’t...I shouldn’t have made you think that I didn’t, that I wouldn’t love you because you’re a ghost but-”

Suddenly looking down again, Phantom pulled away. Damnit, damnit, damnit! This hurt too much. He couldn’t stay here, couldn’t do this, could’t hear her say those words when...when….

Mom’s expression fell. Slowly, she lowered her hand and didn’t reach for him again. “You’re still upset with me?”

Numbly he nodded. Yes, yes he was. Because they’d done this before. He’d heard her say this before, that she loved all of him and then she’d contradicted it with her actions. And he couldn't...he couldn’t hope again, he couldn’t trust again. It was too good to be true. It was-

“That’s alright.” Mom finally said. “You should be upset with me. I deserve that. But I do...I do lo-”

Another stab at his core. “We should get out of here.” Phantom cut her off. “We can have this conversation later, once we’re back through the portal.”

Somehow, Mom’s expression became even more heartbroken but she didn’t argue. “Come on then.” She started turning back the way she’d come.

“I was going to fly us back.” Phantom said plainly.

The woman turned back around. “Oh of course.” Her frown deepened, studying him. “You’re going to carry me?”

His shoulder’s fell, pouting. “You know that I’m perfectly capable of that.”

“That’s not what I meant, sweetie.” She said gently, taking a step forward. “How do you want to do this?”

Phantom hesitated for a moment. “Here, put one arm around my neck.” The woman did so. “And I’ll grab your legs. Now hold on.” The ghost grabbed her legs, adjusted the woman so he was holding her legs and back with his arms. Both her arms looped around his neck. Slowly, he rose off the ground. “Don’t look down.”

A small forced smile unfurled her lips. “I won’t.”

The boy hummed, looking up at their destination. “How did you get all the way down here anyway?”

“I climbed.” Mom said plainly.

“You climbed?” He rose a brow in disbelief.

“It was the only option.” She muttered. “I had to find you, Danny.” There was no anger, no judgement. Just the determination, the desperation he’s heard from her earlier.

Ghost Danny didn’t reply, looking at the portal again. Well, it turned out, he had found her instead of the other way around.

Mom bit her lip. “It really scared me, when you ran off. But...we’re going home now.” She looked at him earnestly. “Everything will be okay. I’ll...I’ll find a way to make all of this up to you.”

Oh god. He hoped...he hoped he could believe her. He wanted to but...time would tell.

Endnote: Thanks for reading! I'm also going to take some time to pump up my Invisobang story. It's 76K, guys! That's literally the second longest fic I've ever written. Posting day is August 23rd so please check it out when it comes out (For the angst, clones, identity crises, friendship, sibling bonding, and Frostbite being a good mentor/dad.)

[kinglazrus]

Not Your Danny – Ch 2. Small Signs

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Word count: 3514

Awareness returns to Dani the same way it always does: instantly and with a deep, rattling breath. It echoes the dry rasp of her very first. Even after all this time, she still remembers what it was like to wake up in that vat. The thick ectoplasm that flooded her nose and mouth when she tried to breathe. The panic and confusion as her mind scrambled to understand what was happening. The overwhelming weight of knowledge that wasn't hers, that she didn't remember learning. Even thinking was a struggle in those first hours.

Sometimes waking up from sleep feels like that, minus the drowning. And being asleep is just like before. Before the electric current ran through her body and shocked her awake. Before she could think, or even knew what thinking was. Back when everything was just darkness and a mild awareness that she existed, but no certainty whether she was dead or alive.

Dani never dreams—she doesn’t think she's capable of it—but she's always aware.

Another light tap comes at the door.

On instinct, she scans her surroundings for danger. She takes in the blue walls, the plastic star constellations on the ceiling, and the general mess of the room before relaxing and remembering. This isn't some old house she's squatting in for the night; it's her new home.

She frowns. Her new home. Home. Home. The word doesn't sit right with her. It's what she's always wanted, but this place... could it really be home without Danny?

"Danielle?" a soft voice calls through the door.

Dani jerks upright, throwing off the blanket, and transforms in a flash. "I'm awake."

The doorknob rattles then turns, and the door slowly opens. Maddie Fenton peers inside. Her eyes land on Dani and she takes a sharp breath. "Oh, you're..." She trails off as she looks Dani over.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wasn't expecting your ghost form."

Dani draws her knees to her chest, making herself small. "It's kind of my default."

"That's fine." Maddie steps forward. When she moves, something makes a crinkling noise, and Dani's gaze is drawn to a plastic bag hiding behind Maddie's legs. All wariness forgotten, Dani uncurls and crawls to the edge of the bed, clinging to the mattress while she leans forward.

"What's that?" she asks.

Maddie smiles and glances down at the bag. "We know you don't have much. Or"—she scans the room—"anything. So we picked up a few things on the way home. You'll probably need more, but we can take you shopping so you can pick things out for yourself. These are just some essentials."

She holds out the bag, and Dani eagerly snatches it up. Maddie wasn't lying when she said just the essentials. Inside, she finds a pair of pyjamas, a toothbrush—a toothbrush! She's never used one before—a hairbrush and some other toiletries, and lastly, a box with some kind of pad thing on the front. Dani takes out the box and turns it over in her hands.

"What are these?" she asks. They look vaguely familiar. Perhaps, once or twice, she glimpsed them sitting on drugstore shelves, but they had never caught her attention before.

"They're period pads," Maddie says.

"What are they for?"

Maddie opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Her eyebrows crease together in confusion. Instead of answering, she walks forward to the end of the bed and kneels down. She reaches out, but stops before she can touch Dani and draws her hand back.

"How old are you?" she asks. "Jazz said you were at least fifteen."

"Technically, yeah. I think I was twelve biologically when Vlad made me? So I guess that makes me fifteen. But I've only existed for three years. My birthday is next month!" Dani grins. She didn't do much for her first birthday, but last year she visited Amity Park and Danny made a whole day of it! He even bought her a present, although Dani lost the music player pretty quickly. Not that she hadn't loved it, but it was hard to keep track of belongings when you weren't used to having them. She couldn't wait to see what they would do this year.

A second passes before Dani realizes what's wrong with that statement. Her grin falls away.

It doesn't look like Maddie noticed, though. She's too busy frowning at the box of pads that are still in Dani's hands.

"Have you never...?" Maddie gestures to the box, but Dani doesn’t know what she means. With a sigh, Maddie reaches out and takes the pads, setting them down on the floor. "I guess it doesn't matter what they're for right now, then. We can talk about that later. For now, how are you?"

Dani shrugs. "Okay, I guess." She was better a few seconds ago when she forgot Danny was dead for a blissful moment.

"We understand that this is all very new for you. And it's hard for all of us right now. Take your time. If you need anything, let us know. Other than that, you can just focus on getting settled. We'll take care of the rest," Maddie says.

Dani doesn't know what else there could be to take care of, but she nods anyway.

"Are you hungry? It's a little after noon right now and I was going to start making lunch. I could use some company."

"I could eat," Dani admits. Before arriving this morning, she didn't think to grab breakfast anywhere, and it has been well over a day since her last meal. Her stomach cramps, far from the worst hunger pangs, but still annoying.

Maddie smiles and stands up. "Perfect." She waves her hand, gesturing for Dani to follow. When Dani rises off the bed, her eyes widen. It only lasts a moment, a second of stunned silence, but it's enough for Dani to drop to the floor, her boots thumping on the thick carpet, feeling rather self-conscious.

Neither of them mentions it as they head downstairs. On the way down, Dani strains her ears, listening for Jazz or Jack elsewhere in the house. Jack, she hears quite easily, unsurprisingly. Loud, tromping footsteps carry up from the lab, their beat steady and constant. He must be pacing, Dani thinks. It reminds her of Danny. He used to pace when simply thinking didn't suffice; he needed to move through some problems, treat them like physical things he could see and touch. That's how he explained it to her once, not that long ago.

Jazz, if she's still home, doesn't make a sound.

Dani takes up residence at the kitchen table, pulling out a chair and sitting with her legs crossed over the seat. Meanwhile, Maddie starts taking ingredients out of the fridge. Nothing fancy. Lettuce, tomatoes, a few packages of sliced meat. A small pile of vegetables grows in the empty space beside the sink.

"If you don't mind, can you tell me what it's like?" Maddie asks as she pulls a cutting board from a drawer.

"What what's like?"

"Being a halfa."

Maddie, with her back to Dani, misses the way she presses her lips together at that word. Halfa. It's not a bad word, per se. Danny never had any issue with it, as far as Dani could tell, but it never sat right with her.

"I'm not a halfa," she says.

Maddie's hand pauses halfway to the knife block. She looks over her shoulder, finally noticing Dani's grim expression. "Am I saying it wrong? That's the term Jazz used."

"It's Danny's word." Maddie flinches, but Dani presses on. "And Vlad's too, I guess. Being a halfa means being half human and half ghost, but I'm just me."

"But you have both forms?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't all human before I became part ghost. And I didn't have to die for that to happen."

Maddie quickly turns back to the counter. Dani can't see her face, but it is impossible to miss how her shoulders tense. She grabs a knife from the block and a tomato from the counter and makes her first cut. The knife thunks against the cutting board. "What's it like being you, then?" There's a tremble in her voice. "With your powers."

Dani shrugs. "I'm okay with them. I'm a pretty fast flyer since that's how I always get around. Faster than Danny was."

Another chop, another loud thunk.

"But I'm really good at the weird body stuff! I got the hang of it really fast!" Dani can't help but smile. She holds her arm out, watching it slowly turn green and goopy. The sleeve of her shirt melts into skin and fat drops or ectoplasm slip off onto the table. The goop clings to her bones, only held together by her force of will. If she wanted, she could let it disintegrate into a bubbling puddle. Even the bone can turn soft and malleable as a licorice twist, although she doesn't let it get that far.

Thinking about why she can do this always brings up bad memories, but Dani pushes those aside in favour of how cool it is that she can melt into slime at a moment's notice.

"Look! Look at this!" Dani jiggles her arm, giggling as bits of ectoplasm go flying.

Maddie isn't looking, though. When Dani glances up to check, she finds Maddie staring down at the counter. "Was it like that for Danny?" Maddie asks.

Dani's smile falters. "Maybe? I got lots of training before I met him, but he was still better than me with most stuff. He couldn't do this, though!" She gives her arm another shake, then slaps it down on the table with a loud splat for good measure.

Maddie still doesn't look, though. She resumes her chopping, grabbing a pepper while pushing the tomato aside. "Tell me more."

—

Lunch is brief. Maddie brings a small stack of sandwiches and a plate of salad down to the lab for Jack, along with a small container of fudge. She comes back upstairs long enough to grab her own food before joining him.

"We're making some of our weapons safer for you to be around," Maddie explains before disappearing downstairs.

Dani isn't too disappointed to be left alone. While talking with Maddie was nice, it was always about her powers, always came back to Danny. Did Danny like flying? Did he struggle with his powers? You have this ability, did Danny have it, too? Genuine curiosity lingered in Maddie's voice with every question. Dani knows she's a scientist, and with that job comes a need for knowledge, a desire to understand everything. Having Dani in the house provides a unique chance to learn everything she can about ghosts and half-ghosts.

But something else lurked behind the curiosity. Dani, in her inexperience, can't properly name what she had felt, but it irks her. Makes her feel off-centre. When Maddie leaves, and Dani has a minute to herself, she breathes out a sigh of relief.

Her food disappears quickly. The sandwich is good; simple, but good. Same with the salad. Dani never starved on the road, but she ate what she could steal, pre-packaged foods snagged off gas station shelves. Once or twice, she snuck into restaurants to steal plates right from the kitchen, but that required stealth and patience if she didn't want to get noticed.

Once she has finished eating, and her plate is licked clean, she doesn't know what to do. Maddie left the fixings on the counter along with her dirty utensils. After a moment's debate, Dani deposits her plate and fork in the sink. She's washing her hands, squishing soap between her fingers, when Jazz enters.

Like Maddie, Jazz pauses when she takes in Dani's ghost form, but she doesn't comment on it. "How was your nap?"

Dani shrugs. Dipping her hands under the faucet, she watches the soap wash away, bubbles forming at the bottom of the sink. "It was good."

"Good." Jazz gathers her lunch in silence, grabbing the sandwich Maddie left out for her and loading a plate with salad. Once her plate is full, she starts putting everything away. Cutting board and knife in the sink, vegetables back in the fridge, bread wrapped and retied.

Dani watches, noticing little aborted movements Jazz keeps making. When she goes to put the bread away, her arm jerks as if she was about to throw it. She catches herself at the last second and walks it to the pantry. After the food is away, she grabs a tea towel rather than a dishcloth, and reaches toward the left sink, only to stop.

Dani peers between the empty left sink, and the right sink with the dirty dishes. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's... it's nothing." Jazz folds the tea towel and lays it on the counter, then grabs the dishcloth instead.

"Want some help?" Dani asks.

Jazz blinks. A strange look crosses her face, a soft smile tinged with hope that, to Dani, doesn't fit the situation at all. Jazz holds out the dishcloth and says, "First one done picks the show."

Dani grabs the tea towel since it's closer. "That doesn't really make sense. I can't finish drying until you're done washing," she points out.

Jazz stares at the tea towel, her own hand curling tighter around the dishcloth. "No, I guess it doesn't."

Dani abandons her cloth with the first dish Jazz passes over, phasing the cutting board dry rather than doing it by hand. She doesn't bother opening the drawer, either, shoving the cutting board right through the door instead. It takes less than a minute to get all the dishes clean and put away.

Jazz picks up her plate once the kitchen is clean and heads out. With nothing better to do, Dani follows her. They end up in the living room, Jazz claiming the left side of the couch while Dani takes the right. The remote lays between them for a second before Jazz grabs it. As she reaches for it, slowly, she keeps looking at Dani, as if she's checking for something, expectingher to do something.

Instead, Dani looks around the room.

Of all the rooms in Fenton Works, this is the one she has been in the least. With three windows looking out into the street and the front door right there, she and Danny always thought it was too risky to hang out here, in case Maddie and Jack came home when they weren't expecting it. A few family photos hang on the wall, and the cushions are well worn. Dani notes a significant dip on the loveseat. That must be Jack's favourite spot.

A burst of music pulls Dani's attention to the television. Jazz has put on a TV show. It starts mid-episode, but Dani actually recognizes it, to her surprise. She's only watched TV a handful of times in her life, although she has snuck into plenty of movie theatres. Although she can't remember the show's name, she knows it's about space explorers. The actors look different for some reason, but those colour-coded shirts are undeniably familiar.

"Has a redshirt died yet?" she asks.

Jazz hits pause. "You know Star Trek?"

"Danny showed me some of it. It's okay, I guess." When she says this, Jazz's eyes widen. A flicker of hurt passes through them, although Dani has no idea why. She ignores it. "This doesn't look like what I saw," Dani adds.

"He probably showed you the original series. He liked to start with that," Jazz says, quieter than before.

"So, what's this, then?"

"One of the series from the 90s. Deep Space Nine, I think? It's... it's the most recent one he was watching." Jazz's hand drifts over the remote, her fingers skimming the play button. "Do you mind if we watch it?"

Dani shrugs. "I don't care."

Starting partway through the episode, Dani doesn't quite know what's going on, and she doesn't care much to find out. It's entertaining enough to watch, but sci-fi isn't her thing. Hard to get into a genre that her whole existence revolves around.

Jazz is still eating by the time the episode ends. She's done by the end of the next, her crumb-ridden plate sitting on the coffee table, but neither of them makes a move to stop the show.

Every once in a while, Jazz glances Dani's way. She thinks nothing of it, at first, but by the fifth episode a frown has etched itself into Jazz's face, and Dani is getting annoyed as they near the two-hour mark.

The next time Jazz discreetly turns her head, Dani snaps. "Yeah?" The couch bounces as she swivels to face Jazz.

Jazz starts, then flushes, embarrassed at being caught. "I was just wondering, aren't you tired? I know you were sleeping earlier, but you've been in your ghost form all days. It's not exhausting?"

Dani shrugs. "No? I'm almost always like this."

"But Danny always got really tired if he stayed in his ghost form too long. Sometimes he would pass out or just lose the transformation completely."

"I'm not Danny, though."

Jazz stills. "Right. No, yeah. I guess you aren't."

"I'm not," Dani affirms.

Jazz nods sharply, jerking her head, and snaps her attention back to the TV.

—

The Fentons clearly have their own daily rhythm, one that sees surprisingly little impact without Danny's presence. Maybe they have already filled in the gaps in the couple of weeks Danny has been dead, but Dani doubts it. More than likely, he spent so much time as Phantom that it affected his daily routine.

Maddie and Jack spend most of their time in the lab, or out roving the city in their RV. There hasn't been another ghost attack since the one that killed Danny, and it probably isn't a coincidence, but the eldest Fentons don't seem to take that into account.

"They're trying to keep things normal," Jazz says when Dani asks her about it on the third day. "It's a normal coping mechanism. A good routine can prevent depressive episodes, as long as they aren't overworking themselves."

Ironic considering how Jazz is always working. Despite being on break from college, Dani catches her every day studying hard, chipping away at some paper, or breezing through a textbook thicker than her fist. She also has a notebook she keeps with her most of the time, labelled "Memorial Plans." An event Dani still knows very little about.

Dani falls into her own routine in those first few days. At mealtimes, she keeps whoever is cooking company. Maddie, if she's home. Jazz any other time. Dani takes to waiting in the kitchen for them, around noon and later at six o'clock. The first couple times they walked in to find her there, they looked startled, then pleased. Jazz's eyes actually watered, once. It doesn't take long before Dani fills in as a helper. It's more entertaining than watching, and after so long on the road, there's something nice about learning to cook. A reminder that she has time for it, that she will be here tomorrow and can do it again.

She and Jazz keep watching TV together, although the time varies. Whenever Jazz wants to sit down for an episode—and it's never more than that, despite how long they watched the first day—she finds Dani and asks if she wants any "Trek time." Dani gets the remote only once, on their second time watching. Instead of Star Trek, she picks a sitcom that looks funny and normal.

Jazz keeps the remote after that.

The only person Dani doesn't spend time with is Jack. She sees him once or twice, lumbering through the hall between the kitchen and the lab. As far as she can tell, he sleeps down there. He must since she has yet to find him on the second floor where the bedrooms are.

When she's alone, Dani occupies herself with Danny's things. He has a lot of stuff, and she has no idea what to do with all of it, much less what he did with all of it. Posters especially elude her. What's the point of something that doesn't actually do anything? She goes through his closet the most, picking at his clothes. There are a few shirts close to her size, since Danny didn't get his growth spurt until last year, but none of them suit Dani's style.

On her fourth day at Fenton Works, more than half a week since she arrived, Dani has all the shirts that fit her laid out on Danny's bed. None of them fit perfectly, but she wants to wear something new. You get sick of the same hoodie and shorts after three years, even if they grow with you.

A heavy, thumping knock comes at the door.

Dani, distracted by the shirts, says, "I don't really feel like it right now, Jazz."

"Dani." A voice much deeper than Jazz's greets her. When she looks up, she finds Jack in the open doorway, ecto-gun in hand. "Can we talk?"

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