#au phanfic

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Tim Encounters a Fae at a Gala

Which may be a problem, yes, but the much more alarming part? The Fae looks like Damian.

"This is pretty boring, don't you think?"

The voice comes from behind, and Tim recognizes it instantly, but at the same time, he doesn't. He's never heard Damian talk like this, easy and a little amused, with no usual stiffness to his speech. Yet this couldn't be anyone else - being a vigilante means you can never drop your guard even in your civilian identity, and who other than Damian could have sneaked up on him?

He turns around.

It is Damian, and at the same time, it's not. The boy looks just like the demon child, the same face, same height and skin tone, the same way he puts his hair. But something is wrong. The way he holds himself, his relaxed and almost lazy posture, the absence of a usual scowl on his face, the way he feels comfortable here, in a crowd of people.

And his eyes, when he looks at Tim. Icy blue, almost translucent, like the color of icebergs and glaciers.

The not-Damian tilts his head a little and smiles just slightly. Tim blinks, realizing that there was a question, and he just stares at the boy instead of answering.

"Yeah, sure," he clears his throat and breaks the eye contact, looking away from not-Damian's eyes, his thoughts a frantic mess. Is this another clone? Or some kind of a shapeshifter? In any case, they approached Tim first, he can't lose his chance at gaining some information. So Tim smiles back, "Is it your first time? At the gala, I mean."

Now, when he looks at the boy again, the stricking resemblance doesn't hit him so hard. Instead, Tim notices something else - the boy is... eerily beautiful. He's never noticed Damian looking this nice - because that would be kind of creepy if he did, - but this not-Damian is... He can't really put it into words.

He's just beautiful.

Almost unnaturally so.

"You could say that," not-Damian answers, looking over the crowd around them, "I'm not used to so many people around, but I've seen my fair share of social gatherings."

Tim blinks. That statement compiled with his absolute lack of any kind of nervousness makes little sense.

Alright, he needs to get at least some information from the mystery twin. He is a detective, for god's sake.

"Are you here with someone?" That can be a useful question. Tim sure as hell knows that Bruce could not invite some Damian lookalike without prior warning, which means the boy had to come as someone's plus one. Or he sneaked in with no invitation, that's also a possibility.

"My godfather should be here somewhere," not-Damian nods, scanning the crowd before nodding his chin in the direction of a small cluster of people. Tim follows his gaze and finds a white-haired man in a matching white and silver suit in the middle of telling some kind of story.

"Vladimir Masters?" He questions with a noticeable amount of disbelief. The man never said a word about having a godson. Ever. And Tim did a thorough background check on the owner of DalvCo.

"Got it in one," not-Damian grins. Is it just Tim, or do his teeth really look sharper than they are supposed to?

Come to think of it, his ears are also not as round as they should be.

Unnatural beauty, sharp teeth and pointy ears, questions answered in a vague and unclear way. And Tim hadn't noticed him blink even once.

He has a guess. He doesn't like it, it's a very, very bad guess, but Tim is a Bat, a Robin, and a Detective. He knows when he needs to trust his gut even if his gut is telling him absolute nonsense.

He just needs to make sure.

Tim swallows the anxious feeling in the back of his throat and turns back to not-Damian, smiling:

"I think I didn't catch your name?" He does his best at sounding confused and not alarmed. The boy's grin widens just a bit, but Tim feels a cold shiver run down his back, and his mind is all but screaming for him to run away for this is not human, and whatever it is, it is dangerous.

"Would you give me yours in exchange?" The boy's voice is soft and easy, not a hint of mischief. Just a casual question. Maybe a little teasing.

Tim's blood runs cold as he tries to remember everything he has ever read and heard about the fair folk. Never give them your name, but there has to be a way to answer this question, right?

"You may call me Damian," he finally answers. Maybe this is a risk, calling himself his brother's name, but Tim feels like this is somehow a right thing to do since the boy - the creature - looks like him.

Not-Damian's eyebrows shoot up, and there's a hint of surprise in his eyes when he starts quietly laughing. The heavy pressure of the air around him disappears at the sound of the crystalline laughter, like it was never there. Tim feels like he had just disarmed a bomb or passed a test with his own life at stake. Maybe he actually did.

"Clever," the boy grins again and nods politely, bowing his head down like they are at a medieval ball and not a gala, "My name is Danny. It is nice to meet my brother's brother."

| <-prev | next-> |

[xnihilosays]

phanfic idea where dnp are actors working on a project together. they don't know each other very well but seem to have good chemistry and everything is going swimmingly EXCEPT phil's character is constantly bullying/antagonizing/sniping at dan's and dan knows that it's just a character but his anxiety just won't let go of the idea that phil hates him.

so being an emotionally mature, problem solving adult he starts hanging out with phil more in an attempt to get to know him better and separate phil lester the actor from the character he's playing and is absolutely FLOORED by just how much pure sunshine phil radiates. the two become fast friends and dan gains an appreciation for phil's acting ability, because how can somebody so sweet seem so cold and cruel in front of a camera?

then a new problem arises. dan starts catching feelings, and since heart-eyes howell has all the subtlety of a cartoon anvil, it carries over into his acting. fans of the tv show (is it a tv show? a play? a movie? who knows) are quick to pick up on the change in dan's character and suddenly the studio is getting all of these questions about queer subtext and an entirely new fan base and dan has to navigate this new dynamic, personal questions about his identity, and a series of comical misadventures where he desperately tries to keep anyone from telling phil that dan loves him before dan can do it himself.

[secrets-of-ty]

Danny Phantom Fanfic Masterlist

I've been meaning to do this for a bit! Since I've been in the Phandom for 10+ years I've picked up a lot of good fanfics over the years and I think it'd be great to share them again in case people have forgotten/haven't encountered them!

I mostly used Fanfiction.net in my older days so a lot of them will be linked there. I'm also pretty picky when it comes to fics being completed, so expect the ones listed to be bingeable with an ending! And finally, I'm not huge on romance/smut so most of them probably won't involve those genres, I'll point out ones that do. (These are in no particular order).

👻 Happy Reading! 👻

👻 = Regular Fic

🟢 = Alternate Universe Fic

⚔️ = Crossover Fic

💙 = Would Recommend!

💙💙 = One of my Favorites!

💙⚔️💙 Mirrored by Lynse

"As a general rule, diving into unknown swirly vortexes in the Ghost Zone is a bad idea, but this was a time when Danny had no other real choice. Meanwhile, Jake thought he was through dealing with ghosts, but Rotwood, well, he's just getting started."

I posted about this one a few years ago and the author, @ladylynse , said it's also available on AO3. This is by far one of my f a v o r i t e fanfics that I read annually or so! If you're a sucker for American Dragon too, definitely check this one out <3 The characterization of both Jake and Danny, plus watching their friendship grow, always gets me in the feels.

💙👻 Phantom's Sketchbook by AkoyaMizuno

"Mr. Lancer finds himself in an unparalleled situation, he has access to something which can give him incredible insight into the personal workings of Amity Park's local ghost teen hero, Danny Phantom."

It's been a while since I've read this one, but I remember it having a lovely characterization of Lancer plus his mentor relationship with Danny. (I loved this one a great amount back in the day that I, uh, made fanart and turned it in for a school assignment. Which is lost to the ages now 😅)

👻 Darkness by Cordria

"Maddie and Phantom are trapped in the dark. Can they come to an agreement to work together before they both die at the full moon? Part 1 of Illuminations Saga."

I don't quite remember this one but I DO remember Cordria had some absolute bangers. You'll probably see their name a few more times on this list.

💙👻💙 Masks by Cordria

"Sometimes, people hide who they truly are behind masks. This is a short story about the day that Lancer decides enough is enough when it comes to Daniel Fenton. Sequel is 'Plunge'"

When I said Cordria had bangers, THIS is one of them! Another fic that I read annually, this one involves Lancer getting closer and closer to Danny's secret while he's stuck in detention for the weekend. I love love LOVE the characterization of Danny and Lancer in this, another at the top of the favorite list!

👻 Plunge by Cordria (sequel to Masks ^)

"Sequel to 'Masks'. Now that Lancer has learned the truth and has let Danny out of his office, Danny needs to face the next hurdle: his parents."

For some reason, I always forgot to put this on my favorite list so I often missed out on reading it with my annual read of Masks. I remember it being a decent sequel where the Fentons pick up the pieces of Danny's reveal.

👻 Pits by Cordria

"Danny has been captured and thrown into the Pits by Walker to fight for his life. Listen in as he tells his dark, twisted tale of surviving despite the odds. Warning: dark and depressing. Sequel is 'Final Exam'."

Another one I don't fully remember, but it had to be a solid read since it's on my favorites haha! I have a vague sense that it was a little angst/gore-y(?) as the description warns, so just heads up!

👻 Lab Rat by AnneriaWings

"The look on my parents' faces – eager, curious, somewhat hateful – wasn't exactly hard to give away their intentions. I knew what they were going to do to me even before Mom snapped on a pair of rubbery, white latex gloves."

*** This one is definitely a vivisection fanfic with graphic descriptions, so beware that content. Again, haven't read it in a long time but it had satisfied my angst itch back in the day.

👻 Wondering by Phantomrose96

"A continuation to Cordria's starshot #69 "Wondering". Danny's been captured and tortured by his parents, but he refuses to say a word until his psychiatrist starts connecting the dots. Can he risk keeping it a secret any longer?"

*** Another angst, lab experiment-esque fic. There are definite graphic scenes (as warned in the first chapter). I do remember this fic being huge in the 2010s (definitely a staple of the Phandom). The relationships and Danny recovering from his torture were great highlights.

👻 Connections by Lynse

"Maddie knows that the Booo-merang has keyed into Danny, for whatever reason, so what's she to think when she sees it collide with Phantom?"

Don't quite remember this one, but Lynse is amazing at writing, so it's bound to be a good read.

👻 Confessions by Lynse (Sequel to Connections ^)

"Follows Connections. Danny's secret's not as safe as he thinks, what with Maddie unable to ignore her wild suspicions any longer and piecing things together and Jack asking questions all on his own."

Same as above!

💙👻 Earthquake by Turkeyhead987

"Danny leaves with his bathroom excuse and leaves Dash curious. He follows Danny and ends up the the gym room with him. While they're in there, an earthquake occurs and leaves them trapped inside. Will any secrets be revealed? No DashxDanny! They're just the main characters!"

This one is another one that I've read multiple times over the years! From what I remember, it was a fun read involving Dash and Danny being trapped in the gym after an earthquake, and explores how Danny handles his secret around Dash while they wait for rescue.

💙👻 A Jock and a Hard Place by AnneriaWings

"Danny and Dash were silent, trying to wrap their mind around that stupid, simple fact – the door was locked. They were trapped. In a janitor's closet. Together. (Collab with Haiju)"

No romance in this one! Another story where Danny and Dash get trapped together. I've read this one several times, and remember enjoying the tension of Danny's secret being revealed. I also think they explored Danny and Dash's relationship in a fun way!

👻 An Unlikely Alliance by Represent

"Maddie wants her family back. In an attempt to understand her Danny's change in behavior, she unwittingly enlists the GIW to exorcize Phantom from her son."

Gonna be real with ya'll, I don't remember this one at all. But uhhh I'm gonna throw it on here just because I can. :)

👻 Flip Turn by dreamsweetmydear

"Danny's life the last couple of years has been chaotic and pretty scary, to say the least. However, one detention with Mr. Lancer opens a window of opportunity that promises to turn his life around in more ways than one. Revelation fic. Post-"Kindred Spirits.""

Yet again, I don't remember this fic. Sorry! But it's under 8000 words, so it's a little bit of a shorter read than some of the ones on this list!

👻 Journey of Secrets by WolfKael

"First Danny Phantom fic! DXS, TXV, but not super-heavy. Lancer's class is on a trip to the Ghost Zone, courtesy of the Fentons! (Takes a couple chapters to gain momentum, and I promise it isn't your average 'field trip' fic!) T because I'm paranoid, but it could probably be K ."

Also not a fic I remember. It's got about 50,000 words so thought I'd throw it in for anyone that likes a longer fic!

👻 Vulnerable by HaiJu

"A desperate moment leads to a difficult choice, and Danny must deal with the consequences. A collaboration between Anneriawings and Haiju."

Don't remember it, but HaiJu had/has some great fics! Seems to involve Danny and Maddie after skimming the first chapter.

👻 Little Fires by Represent

"My family's supposed to be geniuses, yet they've never figured it out. Now I know why. Because they already know I'm Phantom. They must know. The better questions are: Have they known this whole time? What's in that vial? What happened to Skulker? And what's in the locked drawer?"

You know what, if I remember it, I'll say something 😂

👻 Judge, Jury, Executioner by Cordria

"The Observants and the Ghost Council are sick of the Fentons creating half-ghost creatures that disobey the rules of the universe. It's time for them to step in before more are made. Can Danny save his parents and keep his secret intact? A three-part fic."

💙👻 A Phantom Marooned by LordPugsy

"No one but Danny was suspicious when his English class was awarded an all-expenses paid cruise trip by an anonymous benefactor. Everyone but Danny thought it was bad luck when they became ship-wrecked on an island in the middle of nowhere. No one but Danny fully understood the dangers lurking in the trees. No one but Danny knew how much danger they were all in so far from home."

This one involves Danny and his class getting out of Amity Park, so it's a little more oc-filled and explores a nontraditional setting for the trio. There might be a little SamxDanny in this one if I remember correctly, but overall I do remember having fun reading through this!

🟢 Candlelight by HappyLeif

"Sam's only friend is the ever-loyal Tucker, ever since Danny began slowly distancing himself from them after some accident freshman year. She wanted a friend, but she never thought she'd find the one she was looking for in the highly debated ghostly hero of Amity Park.

AU = Danny alone during the portal accident. Looks like there's some SamxDanny in this one! Don't remember it but heck I might have to reread it since the synopsis has me interested.

👻 Crashing and Burning by GriffinRose

"For two years, Maddie has put up with Danny's ridiculous lies and excuses. She's tried everything to get through to him, but the pattern just goes on. She's so tired of fighting him on this all the time. And so, after two years, she's done. She doesn't care what her son does anymore, because Danny doesn't seem to care that he's her son."

👻 I'll Be Here by HaiJu

"Some days you can't pick yourself up. Having family means you don't have to. Danny-centric, three oneshots. Completely shameless hurt/comfort. Bring tissues… and antiseptic."

👻 What Little Girls Are Made Of by HaiJu

"Phantom and his younger double save Amity Park from a monstrous ghost, nearly destroying themselves in the process. The Fentons have always hunted ghosts; now it's time to save one."

💙👻💙 You Should Be Dead by SaphireDragon11

"Dash and Kwan are horrified to discover they've accidentally killed their classmate, but perhaps even more so when he shows up at school the next day. With his secret on the line, Danny soon discovers Dash and Kwan are the least of his worries."

THIS story is definitely a favorite and fun read! The ending battle chapters always gets me excited to reread! ***Danny does get straight up shot by Dash at the beginning so be warned for that content. But I remember a post going around a year or so ago where someone had drabbled about Danny getting up after being shot by Dash. This story explores that concept with a longer plot!

💙👻💙 Roughing It by HaiJu

"Lost deep in the woods with an undead pack on their heels, Maddie and Phantom find themselves entangled in an awkward alliance. Can they cooperate long enough to get out of this mess?"

Another favorite! This one explores Maddie and Danny's relationship, kind of similar to how the show did in the Maternal Instincts episode. I adore how HaiJu explores Maddie's thought-process with dealing with Phantom in a situation where she kind of needs him and he won't leave her alone. Great mother-son fic!

👻 Phantom of Truth by Haiju

"Locked away in a secret government lab with Phantom as her subject, nothing stands between Maddie and the truth... except, perhaps, herself."

Haven't read this one in a loooooong time, but I remember being around for HaiJu updating this fic, posting about it on Tumblr, and the Phandom being generally hyped for it. Another staple for the Phandom! It's another torture fic, so heads up regarding that content!

💙👻 Shadow of a Doubt by Haiju (Sequel to Phantom of Truth ^)

"The truth was supposed to save Danny. Fix things. The lab, the experiments, the lies, those were all in the past. Weren't they? Sequel to Phantom of Truth."

And then BAM on top of finishing Phantom of Truth, HaiJu hit us all with a completed sequel! I was super excited whenever this fic got updated, felt like I was waiting for a new episode to air on TV every time! There's some OCs in this since it explores Danny running away from Amity, but I remember genuinely loving the OCs and loved reading about Danny mentally recovering from being experiment on.

👻 Just a Boy by Tay1019411

"Maddie and Jack finally have Phantom right where they always wanted him: in there lab, helpless, but everything is different now. Now, Maddie faces the truth about what Phantom really is."

🟢 Make It Go Away by DarkNymfa

"Not for the first time, Danny cursed himself for never telling anyone about his extra-curricular activities. And now, far more injured than he could fix himself, Danny desperately wished that he had told just one person."

No one knows AU

👻 Flicker by DarkNymfa

"It had taken just one moment, one split-second in which she had seen Phantom instead of Danny. Now she found herself on a path she didn't want to be on. One she couldn't leave, not anymore."

👻 The Scientific Method by ReconstructWriter

""After two years of failures you'd have better luck asking Phantom to be your lab-rat," Jazz said. The Fentons decide to try just that."

👻 Phantom Hitchhiker by ghostanimal

"Phic Phight Oneshot: While students get to leave early after a ghost attack, teachers have to stick around for boring meetings to discuss the attack. The ghost attack was now over, but it didn't mean all the ghosts were gone. Lancer finds himself driving a certain Phantom home while reflecting on how young the poor kid is."

👻 Returning After the Reveal by Illusn

"Phic Phight attack, using a prompt by Love-ly-ish. Danny returns to school after his secret was revealed in a ghost attack, having to deal with people suddenly treating him differently."

👻 Vantage Point by Lynse

"Phantom was young. Painfully young. Somehow, Lancer had never really noticed that before. One-shot, written for the 2019 Phic Phight."

👻 Oddities by Lynse

"Jack can't deny that their ghost hunting equipment malfunctions around Danny-consistently and exclusively around Danny-and decides to get to the bottom of it, once and for all. One-shot, written for the 2019 Phic Phight."

👻 To Be a Hero by cosette141

"Danny has always known the consequences should he be captured by the Guys In White, but now Tucker is going to learn firsthand just what the stakes are for his superhero friend and what it really means to be a hero. (not slash) hurt/comfort"

👻 Family Reunion by Dp-Marvel94

"For Phango. Prompts used- Setting: Family Reunion, Wes Weston, Aunt Alicia, Stuck in the thermos. And Identity Reveal…kinda (does it count if Wes had already worked out that Fenton was Phantom but hadn't seen him actually transform so wasn't completely sure?)"

Wes Fic!

👻 Stuck by SummersSixEcho

"[OneShot] After a prank from two of his ghostly acquaintances, Danny is stuck in ghost mode during one of the most important events of his young half-life. If only he didn't have to give a speech on top of it... [Phic Phight 2020 entry; prompt by Ghostanimal]"

👻 One-Eighty by SummersSixEcho

"[One Shot] After a grueling battle, two teenagers at a diner try to sort out a night of revelations. [DannyMay 2020, Day 28: Diner]"

👻 Threads of Time by ZombieRed

""I just want to know what's going on with you, Danny! I wish I could just, I don't know, spend the day figuring out what you've been hiding from me. Then maybe I could help you. But you being closed off from everyone is only hurting you. Can't you see that?" Or Maddie keeps on waking up to Thursday morning [No PP, pretty much ignores season 3 as a whole]"

👻 Invisible Stitches by Lynse

"Family bonding time might be less dangerous now that his parents know his secret, but that doesn't mean Danny is wild about being kept in the dark when it comes to his dad's plans for the weekend. One-shot."

Loved the concept of Danny having trouble being away from Amity Park!

👻 Whenever You're Ready by SummersSixEcho

"[OneShot] Jack and Maddie try to show their son they are very supportive of Phantom once they find out his secret. They want him to tell them on his terms, but everything ends up in bigger misunderstandings and more revelations they weren't prepared for. [Belated Phic Phight entry for Star G, Arioz, Bird, Dekalkomania, and Wife]"

Written in a Journal-Entry style! Interesting format if I remember correctly.

👻 An Attempt at Camping by Seasilver17

"They should have known that even when they were in the middle of nowhere camping. Something would have to go wrong. Curse his Fenton luck"

👻 Secrets Secrets and Advice (This Teacher's Vice) by AppleScentedLazers

"After a particularly grueling day Mr. Lancer just wants to go home, kick up his feet, and read some Shakespeare. But, when he runs into two of his students looking for their missing best friend, Lancer ends up with more questions than he has answers for. Such as, who is Phantom? And just what is Daniel Fenton hiding?"

👻🟢 Going Ghost by cosette141

"My take on the moment Danny turns on the ghost portal and becomes half-ghost… as well as an alternate way for Sam and Tucker to find out. Friendship Oneshot"

👻 Lair by Lexosaurus

"When something goes wrong with a piece of Vladco tech, Valerie ends up stuck in the Ghost Zone. With Phantom."

💙👻 In Case of Emergency by Unlucky Alis

"Lancer is grading papers when he gets the call. "I'm calling from Amity West. I have an underage patient here who has named you as their emergency contact." Lancer rushes over, of course, fretting all the while about what accident Danny Fenton has gotten himself into now, because it could only be him. Except, when he arrives, it's not the Danny he expected to find."

I remember enjoying the little twist on Lancer being the emergency contact for Phantom yet having no idea. Lancer handles it pretty well all things considered. (I think you guys can tell I just like Lancer fics at this point HA)

👻 Furthest from Myself by WastefulReverie

"An accident during a ghost invasion leaves nearly a hundred citizens with inexplicable ghost powers. Little did they know, this was only the catalyst for a series of revelations."

👻 Ghost Smarts! by Dekalkomania

"When it becomes clear the ghosts are here to stay, the Amity Park school district decides they need to teach proper safety precautions. In dire need of extra credit, Danny takes Mr. Lancer's offer to be the assistant in an assembly titled, "Ghost Smarts!"

Very unprepared for what he signed up for, Danny must deal with the eccentric detective J.J. Bittenbinder, all while not blowing his cover."

[evermorepeyton]

The Drama (it’s your favorite dnp formula 1 au fic <3)

[trashcanflagic]

DPxDC prompt:

The Justice League liked to keep a line open for help requests.  Somewhat of an emergency line.  They didn’t get many calls on it.  They never thought they actually would.  That was until a meeting went off the rails.

A normal meeting took a turn when all of a sudden, the line began to ring.  They picked up, but all they heard was screeching.  It was still ringing.  It kept ringing, the screeching getting louder.  Superman tried to speak into it, getting nothing back.  A swirling portal opened, a chill taking over the room.  A yeti stepped through, red and green staining its fur.  It looked at the heroes, holding a limp form in its arms.  “Please, help our King.”

[phantom-margaritas]

Mondays were swiftly becoming Erik's least favorite at the Rosy Hours, not due to the noisy crowds, but because Christine never visited on her day off. Besides, she had mentioned plans to visit her fiancé’s family, not that he paid much attention to that conversation. No, not at all. Despite this, he managed to endure yet another Monday, especially after ushering out the lingering patrons who clamored for one last drink. It was now 2 a.m., and he was nearly done cleaning out his station for the night when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. Draping the dish towel over his shoulder, he brushed his hands off before fishing out his phone.

It was a text from Meg Giry, and that in itself caused Erik to raise an eyebrow; she rarely sent him anything aside from random, silly videos that reminded her of him. Meg was a former waitress at the Rosy Hours, having joined at the age of eighteen to earn some extra cash to spend in college. Their personalities clashed rather often, but they grew to understand each other near the end of Meg’s stay. Moreover, he needed to thank her, as it was Meg who introduced the Rosy Hours to Christine in the first place. 

Meg Giry

Hey Erik, Christine’s heading your way. She’s not doing too good. I tried to persuade her to stay with me but she refused. Please take good care of her.

Well, if he was confused then, he was concerned now. Christine? Out by herself? At this hour? How is she going to get here? The subway? No, the last train must’ve left by now. Walking? Out of the question, the streets at night are not safe for women. Driving? It’s dangerous to drive when one’s distraught.

Tossing the dish towel onto the counter, Erik raced into Nadir’s office. He grabbed his wool overcoat from the coat rack, shrugging it on as he made his way to the front door of Rosy Hours. Outside, snow continued to fall, and the blanket of white seemed to have deepened a few inches while he was indoors. Erik felt his stomach drop. Harsh weather and a volatile mood were a dangerous combination on the road—he knew that better than anyone. 

But then he remembered something else: Christine didn’t expect to see him outside, and he had no reason to be there other than to see her the moment she arrived. To appear nonchalant, he leaned against the pillar and started scrolling aimlessly through his phone, all the while stealing glances at the passing cars.

He didn’t have to wait long. An all too familiar car came to a stop across the street, and he dashed across the bricks and asphalt before the door even swung open. Hesitating for but a second, he bent down and knocked gently on the window.

“Christine?”

Through the glass, he watched as her shoulders tensed, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. Her head bowed, brown curls blocking her face. She was not looking in his direction at all. 

“Christine, are you alright? I— I’m concerned about you.”

At his words, her body slumped against the driver’s seat, her hands dropping from the steering wheel. Slowly, as if in a trance, she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle. But Erik was a step ahead, opening the door and holding it for her, his hand extended to offer assistance.

Grasping his hand, Christine stepped out of the vehicle, Erik shutting the door behind her. His hands had grown cold from standing in the snow, but what surprised him was that Christine’s hand felt just as icy. Giving her a once-over, he realized she was only wearing a turtleneck and jeans, with no jacket in sight. Without a word, he removed his overcoat and draped it over her shoulders. Then, wrapping an arm around her, he guided her across the street.

“Erik, what about you?” Christine asked, attempting to shrug off the coat, but the arm around her held the warm fabric snug against her.

“Don’t worry about me. What matters most right now is your well-being.” He replied, the two coming to a stop near the front porch of the bar. Under the entrance lighting, Erik could see Christine’s face much more clearly, including her flushed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. This will not do. “My uh… my apartment is directly above the bar, and it should be warmer and more comfortable there. Just give me a moment to lock up, and then we can head upstairs.”

———

Erik learned more about Christine that night than he had in the past four months combined. 

As soon as they entered his apartment, he gently seated her on the sofa and went to the kitchen to prepare her usual drink, concerned that she might have gotten too cold outside. Holding a warm cocktail in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other, he sat down beside her and waited patiently until she was ready to talk about what had happened.

And oh did she talk. Before, she rarely spoke about her personal life, focusing mainly on their shared interests in theater and music. Now, she was telling him about how her father's music career influenced her, recounting his passing just before her high school graduation, and expressing her growing doubts about the opportunities she had received throughout her life. 

“Do you remember the modeling gig I got a few months ago? The one with that jewelry brand?”

“Of course. I saw the final poster in a metro station and other places around the city too. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Christine sniffed, fresh tears streaming down her face, “apparently Raoul’s older sister convinced them to hire me. They probably weren’t even going to move forward with me had she not persuaded them. Now I’m wondering if they were the ones that gave Carlotta’s role to me, and if that’s true, do I even deserve it? Maybe I never even had the necessary skills to perform in the first place!”

She was crying in earnest now. Her chest heaved with sobs, and Erik’s heart constricted at the sight of his love reduced to tears. His hand hovered in the air between them, and he wasn’t sure if he was about to cross some forbidden boundaries between a single bartender and an engaged actress, but soon he was cupping her face in his hands and thumbing away her tears, wrapping his arms around her and letting her cry on his shoulder, whispering how wonderful her voice, her acting— just how wonderful and perfect she is as a person. 

Eventually, perhaps it was out of pure exhaustion or the emotional toll or the tears, but by around half past four, Christine was sound asleep. Her head had somehow found its place in his lap, a few lingering tears rolling freely down the contours of her face. The confidence Erik once felt in embracing her had faded, and now his hand was once again hovering near her shoulder, unsure of what to do. Ayesha, who had been hiding in his bedroom from the presence of a stranger, finally decided to emerge, gazing up at Christine with wide-eyed curiosity.

“Shhhh.” Erik pressed a finger to his lips. “We wouldn’t want to disturb her rest now, darling. Would you do me a favor and keep her company for tonight?”

———

Inspo: the song Goddess by Laufey

[ghostlyglimmer]

Frat Party Fight

Ao3 Link

Summary:

Danny Fenton finally moved away to college and gets dragged to a Halloween frat party by his new classmates.

The pounding bass of the frat party throbbed through the old house, lights flashing in rhythm with the music, and people spilling out of every corner, drinks in hand, laughing and chatting. Danny Fenton hovered on the outskirts of the chaos, sipping from a plastic cup filled with something way too sweet. His friends from one of his college courses had invited him to the Halloween rager, and while this wasn't really his scene, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to socialize a little.

Living here was different from Amity Park—a little quieter, a little more distant from the constant threat of ghost attacks. But ghosts weren't ever completely absent from Danny’s life. It was supposed to be a chance to start over, but tonight, that familiar sense of dread tingled at the back of his neck.

"Yo, Danny!" One of his new friends, Kevin, staggered over, grinning wide with glazed eyes. "Check this out!" He pointed toward the center of the living room, where a group of drunk students had gathered in a circle. One of them had a worn-out book in his hands, and the others were crowded around a Ouija board, laughing.

Danny froze, his heart lurching. He squinted at the book. That looks way too familiar.

As he edged closer, he overheard snippets of conversation.

"Got this at a thrift store, man. Bet we can summon something cool!"

"Yeah, maybe Phantom will show up!" someone joked, sending the circle into a fit of giggles.

But Danny wasn’t laughing. His eyes locked on the book—the cover scrawled with symbols that made his chest tighten. It wasn’t just some cheap knockoff occult book. He knew it. His core twisted, recognizing the ghostly energy radiating from it.

"Guys," Danny interrupted, his voice cracking over the music, but no one seemed to notice. "Guys, seriously, stop."

Kevin turned back to him, laughing. "Chill, man! It’s just for fun!"

"No, you don't understand." Danny's voice sharpened, urgency cutting through. He made his way toward the center of the room, his heart hammering faster with every step. “That book—it’s not some joke. It’s real.”

The laughter died down. One by one, heads turned, and the room went unnervingly quiet. People were staring now, watching as Danny stormed forward, reaching for the book.

"Come on, man," the guy holding it—Tom—slurred, pulling the book away from Danny. "We’re just trying to have some fun." His eyes glinted mischievously as he continued to read from the page. "In fact... why don’t we finish the incantation?"

Danny lunged. "No! Don’t—"

But it was too late.

Tom slurred the last syllable, grinning as he spoke the final word. The air in the room shifted, a cold wind sweeping through despite the closed windows. The ground under their feet vibrated, and Danny felt it—the pull. His breath hitched, and the world tilted as the green portal swirled open beneath him.

He didn’t even have time to yell as the portal yanked him in, his body twisting in midair as the students screamed. The last thing he saw was the terrified, wide-eyed stares of his friends, frozen in place as he disappeared.

The party plunged into chaos. People scrambled back, knocking over cups and furniture, some trying to run for the door. But as soon as they moved, glowing green runes ignited on the floor in a perfect circle, trapping them inside.

Out of the center of the runes, something began to crawl.

The Ghost King emerged from the runed portal. His massive, clawed hands gripped the edge of the floor as he pulled himself up, his sharp fangs visible even in the flickering party lights. His eyes blazed an otherworldly green, and his form was much larger and more monstrous than any of them could have imagined.

Everyone went still.

Danny—or the thing they once knew as Danny—stood before them, a hulking figure that barely resembled the boy who had just been at the party. His glowing eyes swept over the room, fangs bared, claws flexing.

The silence was suffocating.

Danny took a step forward, awkwardly. “Uh… okay, listen,” his deep voice rumbled, somehow both terrifying and familiar. “I know this looks bad, but—”

Someone screamed.

“Please, stop!” Danny raised his hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture, but the sharp claws didn’t help. “It’s just me! It’s still me! I'm not gonna hurt you!”

His new friends stood motionless, their faces pale. Kevin’s mouth hung open, eyes darting between Danny and the ghostly runes on the floor.

“Just... just stop screaming and let me explain,” Danny tried again, his voice strained. "That book—it summoned the Ghost King. Which is, uh, me. But I’m not here to hurt anyone, I swear!"

Tom, still clutching the summoning book, stared in utter shock, backing up slowly. “D-Danny?” he croaked.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Danny gestured to himself, forcing a smile that only made him look more terrifying. "Surprise?" he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The crowd didn’t seem convinced.

“Oh, this is bad,” Danny muttered to himself. He glanced around, looking for anything that could help de-escalate the situation. “Okay, how about we just… calm down, yeah? I’ll get rid of the runes, and no one gets hurt. Sound good?”

No one moved.

Danny exhaled a heavy, ectoplasmic sigh and slowly bent down to trace a glowing claw along the runes. One by one, the symbols faded from the floor, their ghostly energy dispersing. The room seemed to relax slightly, but the tension still hung thick in the air.

When the last rune disappeared, Danny stood up, dusting off his claws awkwardly. “See? All good. So... how about we, uh, pretend this never happened?”

The partygoers blinked at him, still frozen in stunned silence.

Danny winced. "Or, uh, I could leave and… you know, never come back?"

Kevin finally found his voice. “Dude, you’re the Ghost King?”

Danny grimaced. “Yeah, about that… Long story.”

The room remained quiet for a beat longer before one of the other students, clearly still shaken, stammered, “Cool...?”

Danny smiled sheepishly. “Cool.”

[cozyfoxy]

I truly think Dan and Phil have a love that most of us will never be lucky enough to understand. They’re best friends, you can tell by how they talk to each other, their inside jokes, weird antidotes and how they laugh freely. They’re business partners, I mean seriously look at all they’ve accomplished not only together, but separately. They’re soulmates, sure, Dan doesn’t believe in soulmates but I do, and damn, they are the literal definition of the word. It doesn’t even matter if they’re lovers or not, their lives are so carefully intertwined together, they love each other so wholeheartedly. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Watching them no longer be careful on camera, no longer panic about what they do or say to the Phans is beautiful. When I think of fate, I can’t help but think of Dan and Phil. Maybe that’s a big reason why I love them so much; their love reminds me that some connections that feel completely by chance, are really meant to be. Just think of who you would be if your life hadn’t been touched by Dan and Phil. They were meant to be, in whatever form they are. They were always meant to make a great impact.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Pregnant!Phil Masterlist

a name unlike no other (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: phil wants to name their daughter after kath

A Sibling For Pup (ao3) - gorgeousnerd

Summary: Dan hasn't seen Phil kink on pregnancy since he got knocked up. But Phil wants to try something new.

cake and surprises (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: it's dan's birthday, and phil and his daughter bake a cake before he wakes up. but phil has another surprise for dan as well.

Everything Changes (ao3) - pasteldnp (missjuliet)

Summary: Dan and Phil return from the hospital and need to adapt to their life-changing news, but fear stands in their way.

Good Alpha (ao3) - sleepyslag (galacticneighbor)

Summary: Dan's never been a good alpha, if you ask his parents.

His mate has a different opinion.

how rare and beautiful it is to even exist (ao3) - cyanica

Summary: Phil experiences the world in an awful new light, Dan has to hold onto three lives at once, and they have a newborn. Somehow when falling in love, they were destined to collide with the solid concrete ground eventually, and Dan and Phil have distorted ways of copping with it.

Or they have a baby, but it's not that kind of story.

Make My Wish Come True (ao3) - sleepyslag (galacticneighbor)

Summary: Two years after the first heat they shared, Dan and Phil decide it's time to grow their family.

natural (ao3) - watergator (orphan_account)

Summary: dan and phil discover something new that will change their lives forever

Ours (ao3) - iihappydaysii

Summary: Phil takes a pregnancy test for fun and when it's positive, he worries that he might have cancer--but the test may be more right than he ever expected.

out of the blue (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: “Did you know my first word was ‘light’?” Phil asks. His pale skin reflects the blue so strongly he may as well be glowing too.

Dan smiles. “Explains a lot.”

(TW) Paradise Lost (ao3) - dannigranger

Summary: Dan does the unthinkable and Phil ends up pregnant and scared.

Soft Place to Land (ao3) - pasteldnp (missjuliet)

Summary: Phil faints after several days of feeling poorly. He and Dan were sure it wasn’t anything serious after being assured Phil’s brain was fine, but then the doctors have more news for him.

the egg (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: There were traditions, of course. Eggs were precious and rare, holding within them the chance of a new dragon life. These traditions were even stricter for royals. There were procedures, rituals, public proclamations and examinations, tournaments for finding the strongest or wisest suitor to fertilise the egg. But Phil had ignored all these conventions. “I want to lay it with you,” Phil said.

the end and the beginning (ao3) - vvelna

Summary: A pregnant Phil searches for Dan in the wake of an apocalyptic disaster. Told from the point of view of his unearthly fetus.

The Future (ao3) - imademon

Summary: Dan and Phil spend an afternoon in their living room on the couch, going from talking about parental nerves as Phil is pregnant to comfort oral.

The Pregnancy Fic (ao3) - thewakeless

Summary: my dan and phil mpreg fantasy turned crack fic.

tucked away, safely (ao3) - keeplovinanyway

Summary: He looked at the both of them – the three of them! - in the mirror again, and Phil looked back. The sheets on their bed behind them were crumpled and cozy, the light was bright and happy, and there they stood, two tall and gangly guys, just starting to become a family.

With Your Love, Your Love, I’m A Better Man (ao3) - Ash_Writes

Summary: Pregnancy pheromones, their lover carrying their children, drives an Alpha closer to their Omega.

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

they’re buffoons actually. like so stupid. absolute clowns. sillybillies even.

[kinglazrus]

The Moment it Breaks

AO3 | FFN

Summary: He knew his identity couldn't stay a secret forever. Eventually, someone would find out. But he always thought it would be on his terms. Instead, that chance is ripped away from him in the middle of a ghost fight, and now all of Amity Park knows the truth: Tucker Foley is the Tech Hunter.

After a harrowing fight with Phantom that they both limped away from, Tucker needs his friends more than ever. If only Danny would answer the phone.

AU where Vlad sought out Tucker as his teenage ghost hunter instead of Valerie.

Word count: 4340

—

Phantom lunged with teeth bared and claws outstretched—and was met with a cannon to his chest. Lost in his mindless pursuit, he did not react or even attempt to push the cannon away. The barrel dug into his gut as his body curved over it, the light within smothered against his jumpsuit.

The cannon fired.

The street exploded into light as Phantom took the blast at point-blank range. It tossed his body across the street, slamming him into a parked truck, where the door crumpled and held him like a jagged maw biting down on its prey. A moment passed before he phased through the twisted metal and collapsed onto the street. Ectoplasm dripped from his ears, nose, and stomach, hissing against the pavement.

There was more green than black on his suit.

Across the street, the Tech Hunter stood with his arm raised, his left gauntlet unfurled into a cannon. His arm flagged under the weight but did not drop. Violet light still glowed within the barrel, gathering for another shot.

Although he was too far away to hear, the dancing line on his mouthpiece showed he was speaking.

It was impossible to tell if Phantom could hear Tech. The ghost's eyes were bright but unfocused. One arm pressed against his side while the other struggled to hold him up.

Everyone knows that ghosts don't breathe, but it looks like he had been gasping, his mouth gaping as he struggled to catch a breath he could never take.

Tech limped forward. Light rippled across his suit, or seemed to, as he stepped under a streetlamp. The nanobots surging over his body drilled into the pavement as he braced his cannon arm with his other hand, readying for the next shot.

Phantom jerked his head up, eyes completely white.

Tech fired. In that instant, Phantom unleashed twin beams of ectoplasm from his eyes. The beams tore through the street as Phantom raised his eyes to Tech, and the attacks met.

Night turned into day as ectoplasm swept across the street. A horrible screech sounded from within the blaze as it flung the two silhouettes aside like limp dolls.

The light was gone as quickly as it came, letting the night sweep back in just as Tech hit the pavement, the visor on his mask shattering as his head bounced off the curb.

No one moved. Phantom lay in a puddle of ectoplasm, and Tech sprawled in the middle of the street.

The seconds ticked by.

Tech stirred first, lifting his head as he struggled to rise. The crack in his visor exposed the face of Tucker Foley.

“It’s not too late,” Tucker's dad says.

It takes a moment for the words to sink in, and even longer for Tucker to drag himself back to the present. He pauses the video he had been watching on his phone, freezing it on a close-up of his battered face. Although the footage is somewhat out of focus, his teal eyes are unmistakable. If Tucker's timeline is correct, the video had only been up for ten minutes before someone mentioned his name. By morning, everyone had known the truth: Tucker Foley is the Tech Hunter.

He closes the video—there's no point watching the rest when he already lived it—and looks at his dad in the driver's seat.

“You can wait in the truck while I talk to Mr. Lancer, and then we can go home,��� Maurice suggests. “Maybe stop at the Nasty Burger on the way. No harm in missing a Monday.”

Tucker gasps. “But then I’d miss out on the love of my adoring fans!” His voice softens as he continues. “Besides, I already told Sam I’d be there.”

“And Danny?” Maurice glances away from the road long enough to catch his eye.

Tucker’s gaze drops back to his phone. Notifications had been pouring in all weekend, setting his phone off so often that he had to turn off his alerts to get a few seconds of peace. But things have settled down, and only one message waits for him now. Sent from Sam at the start of second period that morning, her first class with Danny.

AWOL again. Have you heard from him yet?

“No,” Tucker says, texting Sam the same thing before putting his phone in his pocket. No texts. No calls. Tucker’s whole world turned on its head, and everyone has had something to say about it. Everyone except his best friend.

He feels his dad’s stare but refuses to meet it, glaring at the parking lot as they pull in. He doesn’t want to see the expression on his dad’s face, whether it’s pity or worry. After a year of dealing with this new Danny, Tucker has grown used to the silent treatment. But he had hoped something this big would make things different. Apparently not.

Tucker opens the passenger door and stands up slowly. Although his concussion is minor, his head spins when he moves too quickly. He braces himself against the truck while lowering to sit on the door frame before sliding to the ground, mindful of his injured ankle.

Gravel crunches under the boot he has to wear for the next three weeks.

“Crutches,” his dad reminds him, not that Tucker would have forgotten. He grabs them from the back seat and fixes them under his arms.

He makes his way to the front doors slowly. Since he has never sprained an ankle before, he’s unsteady on the crutches. The doctor said he would get used to the crutches and that he should keep off his right ankle as much as possible.

The temptation to sprint the rest of the way to the door is still there. Has the sidewalk from the parking lot to the front door always been this long? Ironically, the reason Tucker wants to make a mad dash for the entrance is the same thing keeping him from trying it—rows of classroom windows looking out over the front lawn.

The lunch bell won’t have rung quite yet, which means plenty of antsy students looking outside as they stave off the last boring minutes of class before they can finally eat. Tucker makes the mistake of glancing up once and making eye contact with a girl on the second floor. She stares at him, her mouth falling open.

Tucker tosses her a brilliant smile before hobbling faster, catching up to his dad just as he opens the door.

The secretary is on the phone when they enter the main office, but Lancer intercepts them before Tucker and his father can sit down to wait.

“Ah, Mr. Foley! Thank you for coming in. Tucker, I hope you’re feeling well,” Lancer says.

Tucker gives Lancer an incredulous look. What a dumb question. He knows Lancer saw the video, along with everyone else in Amity. He saw the fight. Can see the crutches and the bruises. He already knows the answer.

Tucker humours him with a shrug but offers nothing further.

“You wanted to talk about Tucker’s grades?” Maurice asks.

Lancer's stare lingers on Tucker a second longer before switching to Maurice. “Almost right. After the, um, revelation, I went through our records. Tucker’s grades started dropping when he began ghost hunting, and I doubt that's a coincidence.”

“I don’t choose when ghosts attack,” Tucker says.

“Of course that's not your fault; you were doing this city a great service. But school is still important, and I'd like to help Tucker keep up. We have a student advisor program that could be useful.”

“What does it entail?” Maurice asks.

A tugging draws Tucker's attention away from the conversation, and he tunes out his dad and Lancer's voices. The feeling comes from behind him.

The visitor chairs calling my name, Tucker jokes. Despite his doctor's warnings, he may have put some weight on his ankle in his rush to get inside, and now it throbs through the boot. Plus, leaning on the crutches has started hurting his arms.

He turns away from the desk and looks at the three chairs against the wall.

The furthest is occupied. Tucker hadn't even noticed when they came in, but the office door hadn't opened again since they arrived, so the kid must have been there the whole time. They look more like a lump than a person, swathed in a hoodie three times their size, clutching a backpack that has seen better days.

Tucker recognizes that backpack, which would look more at home in a trash can. That orange and green logo stamped on the hoodie sleeve. That unruly fringe of hair splaying out from the hood.

“Danny?”

Tucker’s best friend flinches.

That tug again, harder this time, pulling Tucker forward half a step.

Danny's arms, lost in the sleeves of his father's old hoodie, curl tighter around his stomach as Tucker moves. No wonder Tucker had not recognized him at first glance. Jack's sweater smothers Danny, and the way he curls around himself with his head ducked… It's no surprise that Tucker called out first. That's how it always is, now.

He pushes down the flutter of anxiety and drops into the chair closest to the door, leaning his crutches against the wall. The space between them feels like a canyon. For months, Tucker has stood on one side, shouting across the chasm, while Danny watches from the other. How many bridges has he built trying to cross that gap? How many times has he reached out to nothing but open air?

How many times has Danny bothered to answer him?

As if sensing Tucker's thoughts, Danny lifts his head, exposing pale cheeks and sleep-starved eyes.

Tucker looks again at Danny’s arms around his stomach and asks, “Sick?” Danny's go-to excuse, although it appears true this time.

Danny doesn’t answer right away. His eyes lock on the golden band around Tucker’s throat. Tucker barely notices the choker these days, or the longer chain accompanying it, but it's hard to ignore when Danny stares. He becomes aware of how the choker shifts—so unlike the solid metal band the nanobots parade as—when he swallows.

The matching bracelets on his wrists and ankles constrict as the nanobots spread, reacting to his quickening pulse. He knows better than to try and will them down. Sometimes, he thinks his suit has a mind of its own and trying to fight it only makes his heart beat faster, makes the suit more reactive.

“Something like that,” Danny says.

“And without a note,” the secretary adds.

Danny sinks in his chair, eyes lowered.

Lancer stops talking mid-sentence. He turns, surprise lighting his eyes, as if he hadn't noticed Danny before.

Tucker realizes that he hadn't. Like him, Lancer had not clocked the quiet observer in the corner.

“Again? You don't have a note excusing your absence this morning?” Lancer asks.

Danny shakes his head.

“Can you contact your parents for us and have them give a verbal notice?”

“I’ve been trying,” the secretary cuts in. She sets the phone down on the receiver. “Four times, no answer. I can’t leave a message, either, since their voicemail is still full.”

Tucker is willing to bet his PDA that all the messages taking up the Fentons’ voicemail are from the school. Anyone who knows them knows calling the house is a useless endeavour. Danny could offer up his parents' cell phone numbers, but his lips stay sealed.

Tucker could give Lancer their numbers. Or Maurice could. Tucker has reasons for not offering the phone numbers up—frustration being the biggest among them—but his dad…

Maurice watches in contemplative silence.

Lancer sighs. “Daniel, you know what we talked about.”

“I wasn’t skipping!” Danny makes a move forward but abandons it with a sharp hiss. “I didn’t feel good, so I overslept on accident, honest.”

“I want to believe you, but you don’t have a note, and we can’t reach your parents. We can’t ignore this problem.”

“​​Please, I’ve been trying.”

“You’ve been late nearly every day this month, gone missing from class three times last week, and have sixteen absent days without explanation from the beginning of the year. Not to mention your streak of late or incomplete assignments and failing grades.” Lancer recites each offence as if reading off a grocery list. He could have said “bag of flour” instead of “failing grades,” and it wouldn’t have sounded out of place.

Danny's face crumples as Lancer speaks, and his eyes water. Although, judging by how he grips his side, Lancer's words may not be the only thing causing him pain.

Tucker wonders if he should speak up. A good friend would, and Tucker is a good friend, but something holds him back. Part of him wishes Lancer had taken Danny into his office to have the conversation in private, so that he didn't have to watch this. He may be annoyed with Danny, but he doesn't enjoy hearing Lancer scold his best friend.

But another part of him, much smaller yet big enough to keep him quiet, thrums with satisfaction because someone is finally calling Danny out.

“Please.” Danny's voice cracks. “I swear it's not on purpose.”

Then stop doing it, a voice hisses in Tucker's mind.

“Now, hold on.” As Maurice steps between Lancer and Danny, the growing sneer vanishes from Tucker's face. “Can we talk about this? I might not be Danny’s parent, but I am one of his emergency contacts.”

“Only a guardian can provide an absence note,” Lancer says.

“I know, but this conversation is for an adult, not a fourteen-year-old. What kind of punishment are we looking at?”

“In-school suspension at the least, but we need to consider Danny’s record. Property damage—”

“I stopped dropping beakers,” Danny mumbles.

Lancer glares at Danny for the interruption. “Property damage, and bringing questionable substances to school. Two months ago, we had to confiscate a lip… balm?”

 “Lipstick.”

“Thank you, Daniel. We confiscated a lipstick blaster. He fired it at a student as revenge for a prank.”

“Ghost weapons don’t hurt regular people. Much,” Danny says.

“And we were lenient enough not to suspend you then since Mr. Baxter wasn’t injured, but it’s concerning behaviour. Taking that into consideration, we’re now looking at a three-day suspension.”

“I don’t see how taking a student out of school will help when they’re struggling to stay in,” Maurice says. “I’ve known Danny his whole life. He's a good kid, and someone should speak up for him. Can we at least talk about this?”

Lancer purses his lips. “Daniel, are you comfortable with me talking to Mr. Foley about this?”

That’s funny, since Lancer already recited Danny’s record from memory without care.

Danny stays silent, stare fixed on the carpet, hands trembling in his lap. The bell for lunch goes off, ringing right outside the door, but he doesn't move.

“Dude.” Tucker nudges Danny's foot with his own.

Danny's leg jerks, pulling out of reach, and he finally looks up. “Um. Sure. Yeah.”

Lancer nods. “Ms. Nichols, could you go to the guidance counsellor and get a packet on the student advisor program? I’d like Tucker to read it over. Mr. Foley, if you’d come with me.”

Tucker’s dad casts Danny a worried glance before disappearing into Lancer’s adjoining office. The secretary steps out a moment later, leaving Tucker and Danny alone. By that time, Danny is back to staring at the carpet. His trembling worsens, and he lowers his head to his knees.

“Hey, man. It'll be okay. A few days isn’t so bad.” Tucker pats Danny's shoulder, but he flinches again. Tucker's hand hovers in the air before pulling back. It’s the first time they’ve seen each other in days, and this is how Danny acts. No, “I’m glad you’re not dead” or, “Hey, how’s your leg?” If Tucker hadn’t noticed Danny, would he have said anything?

No. Tucker knows he wouldn't have.

Anger sparks in his chest. He tries to swallow it, but it leaks into his voice. “I'm surprised you care this much. It's a free pass to skip more school.”

“I can't afford to miss any more school.”

“Really? You could have fooled me.”

Danny glares at Tucker. “What does that mean?”

In the back of his mind, Tucker knows he should stop talking. A few words in, and the conversation is turning sour already. There’s a bitterness growing between them that wasn’t there before. It shadows Danny's gaze and turns the spark in Tucker’s chest to a blaze.

He doesn’t think before he says, “I know your grades are bad, but I didn't realize you were actually stupid.”

Danny reels back. Tucker is nowhere near him, but his words are enough of a slap in the face. Tucker regrets them the second they leave his mouth. It's too far. Too close to Danny's greatest insecurity. He knows it was an asshole thing to say, but he keeps talking.

“It's hard to believe you care when you're never here.”

“You don't understand.”

“It doesn't sound that complicated. Stop skipping class, and Lancer won't suspend you. Simple.?

“I have—there are things I have to do, okay? You don't­—” Danny bites down on his words. His gaze drops to Tucker's choker. “You should get it.”

Tucker puts a hand on his throat. The collar responds to his touch, rippling beneath his fingers. The chain resting against his chest grows warm. “Are you serious? I don't know where the hell you've been the last few days, but I'm a ghost hunter. What I'm doing matters. What's your excuse?”

Danny opens his mouth, but Tucker pushes on. Now that he's started, he can't seem to stop.

“Whatever it is, I guess it's more important than your friends. Where have you been, Danny? Because it's not here. First, you miss school, then stop hanging out with us, and then you miss Sam's birthday. We tried to reach out. We asked what was wrong, but you kept shutting us out! You've done some rotten things this year, but we still thought you cared. We still­—”

Tucker's voice cracks. Is it cold in here? He feels cold. And wet. Phantom raindrops strike his nose and cheeks, just like that night. The world around him grows fuzzy and distorted, making his head ache. His ankle hurts. His suit is broken. There are no enemies here, but his instincts scream at him to fight.

To attack.

“I needed you! It was the scariest night of my life, and you weren't there. I had to limp home alone because my best friend wouldn't answer his phone. And you kept ignoring me! You didn't come to the hospital. You didn't visit me at home. You didn't answer any of my calls. I need you, Danny, but it's like you're not even here. Where the hell are you?”

Tucker looms over Danny. He doesn't remember standing up, but his shadow falls over Danny's face. Danny isn't here. His eyes are wide and distant, looking through Tucker at something very far away. He curls into himself, his trembles turning to full-body shakes.

“You don’t have anything to say?”

Danny grabs his head and squeezes his eyes shut, the backpack falling from his lap.

“Say something!” Tucker grabs Danny's hoodie and hauls him up. That's when Danny screams. Tucker's first instinct is to shove him back, send him sprawling. Danny hits the floor with another broken cry. The rain vanishes, leaving Tucker with a sheen of sweat as he returns to himself.

“Shit, Danny.” Tucker is drowning in an ocean of anger, but he swims for the glimmer of light above his head, reminding himself with each stroke of his arms where he is, who he's with, that Danny isn't his enemy.

Tucker reaches out to help. No matter how angry he is, Danny is still his friend. Tucker grabs Danny’s arm to hold him steady, wondering what he’s supposed to do now. Should he call the nurse? His dad and Mr. Lancer? Whatever’s wrong with Danny isn’t like a cold or flu.

Unconsciously, his grip on Danny’s arm tightens.

He doesn’t see Danny move. Tucker is standing, and then he’s on the floor, staring up at the ceiling rather than down at Danny's crumpled face.

“Mr. Fenton!”

“Tucker!”

Tucker blinks, trying to process what just happened. Grabbing the nearest chair, he hoists himself up and surveys the scene. Lancer and his dad hover in the doorway, staring at Danny in disbelief. Danny stands in the middle of the room, his fist extended. He’s the one looming now, but somehow he looks small.

Tucker’s chest throbs where Danny had struck him.

“Fighting in school is prohibited. Thanks to Mr. Foley, I was willing to give you another chance, but I’ve just changed my mind.” Lancer goes to a cabinet behind the desk and opens the top drawer, pulling out a pink slip of paper. It only takes him a second to fill it out.  “You’re not allowed on school grounds for the rest of the week. This needs to be signed and brought back to me as soon as possible.”

Danny grabs the paper without looking. “How can I bring it back if I’m not allowed?”

“Your parents need to bring it in, so we know they've seen it. You can wait in the hall until we send you home”

Danny’s jaw clenches. For a moment, Tucker thinks he’s going to protest, wants him to protest. Do anything to show that he still cares about any of this. But Danny only lets out a shuddering breath and leaves.

Tucker stares after him until a hand appears at the edge of his vision.

“Tucker, are you okay?” his dad asks.

“Fine. Been hit worse by nastier things.”

“We heard shouting.” His dad helps him up.

“We were just talking, but then…” Tucker doesn't understand how it spiralled so fast. Danny's scream snuffed out the fire in Tucker's chest, but watching him walk away without a word fans the lingering embers. “Be right back.”

He snatches his crutches from the wall and hobbles out of the office as fast as he can. The hallway is empty. Bursting out the front door, Tucker scans the schoolyard. He spots Danny halfway across the grass, heading to the side fence.

“Danny!” Tucker shouts.

If he hears Tucker, he doesn’t show it.

“Hey!” Tucker stumbles down the steps, swearing under his breath. Damn crutches. Damn ankle. Damn stupid best friend and their stupid argument.

They aren’t the only ones outside. It’s lunchtime, and on such a nice day, a handful of students have congregated at the picnic tables and bleachers to enjoy their food in the sun. Tucker feels their stares as he crosses the field but ignores them. All his focus is on Danny, who moves much too quickly for him to catch up.

“Danny Fenton!” Tucker bellows.

Danny falters but doesn’t stop.

“Fuck this.” Tucker throws his crutches aside and activates the boots on his suit. With a burst of lavender rocket fire, he soars across the field, overtaking Danny in seconds. His landing is sloppy, too hard on his injured ankle, but he drops right in front of Danny and grabs his collar.

“What the hell was that?”

“Leave me alone.” The words are harsh, but Danny's voice trembles as he says them.

“Uh, no, because there is something wrong with you. Aren't we friends? Why can't you tell me what's going on?” Tucker searches Danny's face. He doesn't know what he's looking for, but he wants to see something.

“Like you told me about the Tech Hunter?”

Tucker can't hide his wince. He thought about it—so many times, he thought about it. Had never cared about his friends knowing his identity, hoped for it even. It would have been so easy to say. Hey, guys. I'm the Tech Hunter. Cool, right?

There had been many moments he could have said it, especially to Sam, but he always wanted both of them to know. On his favourite PDA, he has a note saved, a confession, spilling everything to them. All the fights, all the excuses, his most triumphant moments, and his lowest ones. Every time he opened his mouth, he fought down the urge to confess.

Sam and Danny are his best friends, and they have always deserved to know. But…

“That's different.” Tucker's voice is quiet, but not soft. “Vlad said it would keep you guys safe.”

Something other than grim acceptance finally flashes through Danny's eyes, but it's here and gone so fast that Tucker can't identify it. But he knows he said something wrong. Danny's face falls as soon as the words leave Tucker's lips.

“I don't know what's going on, but this doesn't have to be whatever it is. You're still my best friend.” A lump forms in Tucker's throat. The nanobots respond to his distress, their hum drowning out his haggard breathing. His choker, the chain, and the bracelets grow warm as the suit activates. It doesn't cover him completely, just enough for him to see the gleam of his gauntlets, and feel the weight of his helmet. It calms him down. Makes him feel safe. The Tech Hunter is cool, strong, and brave. Nothing phases him.

Nothing except the terror that fills Danny's eyes as the golden armour appears.

“Stay away from me!” Danny screeches.

A burst of wind pushes Tucker back a step. His grip loosens, and Danny pries his hands off. For a moment, Tucker swears something sharp digs into his wrists. The surrounding yard has fallen silent. He can feel the other students watching them. No one speaks. No one moves.

The inferno roaring in Tucker's chest has finally gone out, snuffed by Danny's howl. It leaves a blackened pit behind. Tucker's arm rises imperceptibly, an unconscious move to reach out one last time.

Danny's gaze leaps to Tucker's hand as he steps back.

Finally, something in Tucker shatters.

“Fine,” he whispers. “I don't care anymore.”

His arm lowers, he turns away, and limps back to the school. Tucker is done offering his hand to someone who won't take it.

[buskingalbatross]

wrote a short fic today about dnp playing the board game wingspan back in january when phil was sick with laryngitis.

[evermorepeyton]

i am here to encourage you to read fan fiction, it was philosopher phil lester i believe who said “if you’re reading fanfic, that is increasing your attention span a lot more than a tiktok.”

so go ahead and read silver arrows to the heart because i wrote it and i would love you forever if you did<3 it’s basically just a formula 1 au

some people say it’s good idk i try pretty hard

[trashcanflagic]

DPxDC Prompt

Jason has been feeling like he's being watched for the past week.  He’s a bat, of course he knows when he’s being watched.  Every time he looks, nothing is there.  The nagging feeling won't go away.  He’s on edge, constantly looking over his shoulder to the point his family has taken notice.  Whatever is following him doesn’t want to be seen.

Danny just wants to take his wayward subject to the closest thing the Zone has to a doctor's office or urgent care.  The guy’s core is starving.  

[occasionally-intelligent]

If We Never Met- Part 1

hiya!! this is my first @invisobang piece ever!! it's around 25k words in total, but i plan to post in parts, this part being around 1.2k. i'm so glad i got to work with @this-is-z-art-blog and @thickerthanectoplasm to get the wonderful art that's coming with it (plus quite a bit of beta reading)!

Summary: In the episode "Memory Blank", Danny loses his memory and powers to Desiree, the wishing ghost. What if, instead of forcing Danny to go through the portal again, Sam became the new half-ghost protector of Amity Park? She thinks she's the only one who remembers how it used to be, but as she adjusts to her new reality and discovers her new powers, Sam soon finds she's not alone.

“Do I know you?”

“Oh, very cute. I said I wish we’d never met and now you’re pretending we didn’t meet. You’re hilarious.” Sam rolled her eyes, hand on her hip as she waited for Danny to cut the crap.

“No, seriously, do I know you?” He responded in earnest confusion.

Before Sam could respond, Tucker spritzed something minty into his mouth and practically pushed the other boy away. “And more importantly, would you like to know me?”

He held out his hand for Sam to shake, “Hi, I’m Tucker. Tucker Foley. That’s T.F. as in ‘too fine’.”

“Oh, gross!” Sam’s entire body shuddered as she slapped his hand away, “Are you hitting on me?”

As this was happening, one of Casper High’s various nerds was being cruelly shoved into a locker down the hall. Even if it was a regular occurance, this particular nerd had had enough. “I wish someone would give you a taste of your own medicine!” He screamed.

And as if she could hear the calls of Murphy's law, Desiree materialized from the void to make everything worse, announcing– “So you have wished it, and so it shall be!”

Desiree smiled as she zapped the kid, ignorant enough to make a wish around her, turning him into a ghoulish, green monster. He leapt out of the locker excitedly and (deservedly) beat the snot out of Dash and Kwan. 

She smiled, proud to display her power and ready to move on to the next victim. But before Desiree took her leave, something peculiar caught her eye. She began moving cautiously towards the moody girl she knew as the ghost boy’s friend, but quickly changed trajectory and headed in Danny’s direction instead.  

Once she was close enough to tower over Danny, she smirked as she said, ”Boo.”

“G-g-GHOST!!” he screamed, throwing his scrawny arms over his head. 

Desiree was pleased with herself, and before any of the trio could stand up to her, she flew away, cackling and mumbling to herself. 

Sam was less than impressed at Danny’s shenanigans today. “That’s Desiree, the wishing ghost!” Sam grabbed Danny by the shoulders, and avoided the temptation to shake him a little. “Danny, you’ve gotta do something. Why aren’t you going ghost?”

Unfortunately there was zero recognition from her friend. Danny shrugged her off and backed away, “Look, kid. I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about. All I know is I am out of here!”

---

All Sam could think as she watched Danny run off like a coward was how someone like that could have ever ended up a “fearless superhero”.

Sam was at a complete loss for words. Only two things in her mind were possible; either the boys were playing an asinine prank on her, or they really didn’t remember who she was.

She hoped it was the former, but the fact Tucker flirted with her (weird) pointed, hopefully, to the latter. He’d always flirted with every girl that moved– but was adamant he’d never flirt with Sam. And if he’s gone back on his word, it better be because he doesn’t remember her. No matter how stupid it sounds. Otherwise she’d have to strangle him. Probably.

But that train of thought would have to stay in the back of her mind– she had classes to prepare for, and a locker to visit. Her day, apart from this, should be completely normal.

Or not.

As soon as Sam opened her locker, she was smacked in the face with undeniable evidence that her friends (if she could even call them that anymore) truly didn’t remember her. Her favorite polaroid, one of the three of them on the first day of school, one she had only taken a few months ago didn’t have a single trace of her in it. Only Danny and Tucker standing with an awkward blank space between the two of them, as though she was erased.

This… this isn’t right– There’s gotta be some way to prove I was in the picture– I’m the one who took it!

Sam shook her head and pocketed the photo for later. The halls were emptying and she couldn’t risk being late, or worse– detention.

As she hastily grabbed all the books she needed for the first few periods, Sam’s hand brushed against the spine of something that was definitely not a textbook. Is this where this damn thing had been misplaced for months? She yanked out her old photo album. 

Well, it’s not that old, but old enough she gave up on finding it again. Hell, she was close to making a new one the last few weeks, seeing as she hadn’t seen it in months. It isn’t anything special, really. It started out with a few of her birthdays from before middle school Danny or Tucker were occasionally in the background, but once she gets to the pages from middle school onwards, the two become more prominent. The most recent pages were fresh after Danny’s accident and stopped around the time she misplaced the damn thing.

How convenient– this might actually work if she shows it to the bo–

Suddenly, the bell rings shrilly, making her want to cover her ears.

‘Dang– are you kidding me?? My parents will kill me if they find out I’m late again.’

Sam simply sighs, rustling around in her bag and producing a stack of hall passes, quickly forging a signature without a thought. 

What? She’s a responsible student. Usually.

---

The fake pass barely works, but Sam manages to slide home to her first period seat unaccosted. Tetslaff has a nigh unreadable signature, even to hawk-eyed Lancer.. She slumps down in her usual spot in the room. It takes her a moment but she notices Tucker and Danny are nowhere to be found.

Didn’t we always have first hour together? 

The three are inseparable, both at home and in the classroom– specifically by parental ‘suggestion’. 

When the three finally made it to freshman year, Sam offhandedly mentioned her worry of being alone in her classes, very loudly, within her mother’s range of hearing. Not even a week later, her parents made a call to the school to ensure the trio would have all their classes together. all day. Even when they drove each other up the wall.

She smiles fondly as she prepares for Lancer’s blabbing for the hour. She looks at her friend’s empty seats and feels the emptiness in her heart when she realizes there would be no passing notes or sharing whispers.

‘Now is not the time. I need to help Danny get his powers back. Or maybe even convince him to do it on his own. I wonder if the portal has even been opened yet…’

As Lancer drolls on about the book of the week, she finds her mind wandering to earlier that day. Specifically to what Danny said. More specifically, the thing about her being the reason he had ghost powers in the first place. 

��Wait, if I gave him his ghost powers in the first place– that means… all the stress and responsibility,’

Sam frowns at the realization before her train of thought continues. ‘If I did that to him, to my best friend, doesn’t that mean I can do the same for… or to someone else?’

With that heavy train of thought, she starts to make a plan.

---

Stay tuned for part 2!

[ghostlyglimmer]

Where Are You? (And I'm So Sorry)

Summary:

Tucker Foley receives a desperate text from his best friend, Danny Fenton, asking for help. When Tucker arrives at Danny’s basement, he finds the inactive Ghost Portal Project is on.

The evening had been quiet—too quiet for Tucker Foley’s liking. He had been tinkering with his tech in the comfort of his room when his phone buzzed on the desk. Picking it up casually, Tucker froze at the sight of the message.

“I’m in trouble, come quick.”

It was from Danny.

Tucker’s heart skipped a beat. Deep in Tucker’s gut alarm bells rang that something had gone very wrong. He trusted his gut with his life. Tucker’s hands moved on autopilot, tossing his stuff into a backpack as he sprinted out the door, heart hammering in his chest.

It wasn’t a long run to Fenton Works, but the growing knot of anxiety in his stomach made the journey feel like an eternity. He tried calling Danny twice, but both calls went straight to voicemail. No answer. No sign that Danny had even seen the messages Tucker sent back.

By the time Tucker reached Danny’s house, the sun was sinking low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the street. The familiar shape of Fenton Works loomed before him, and Tucker’s stomach churned at the sight of green light seeping through the  tiny basement window. The ghost portal. Had something gone wrong with the portal?

Bursting through the front door, Tucker barely paused to catch his breath as he descended the stairs into the lab. The moment his feet hit the basement floor, the hum of the ghost portal surrounded him. The air was thick with an unnatural energy, sending goosebumps prickling across his skin.

But it wasn’t the glowing portal that made Tucker’s heart stop.

It was Danny.

He was sprawled out in front of the portal, unmoving, his body limp against the cold metal floor. His white and black hazmat suit was torn, his face pale— too pale —and his chest wasn’t rising. There was no mistaking it. Tucker had seen death before, but never like this. Never Danny.

Tucker dropped his bag and ran to his friend, dropping to his knees beside Danny’s lifeless form. His hands trembled as he touched Danny’s wrist, then his neck, desperately searching for a pulse.

There was nothing. No heartbeat. No warmth. Only cold, stiff skin.

“No… Danny, come on, man, wake up!” Tucker’s voice broke as he gently shook his best friend, hoping for some sign, any sign that this wasn’t real. “You can’t—this can’t be happening!”

But Danny didn’t move. He was dead—had been for hours.

Tucker’s breath came in ragged gasps, his mind reeling. How had this happened? 

And yet here he was—cold, lifeless, gone.

Tucker wiped at his eyes, his vision blurring with tears. The ghost portal behind him thrummed ominously, casting an eerie green glow across the room. It was on.

The portal was working.

His parents had been trying to get it operational for years, and somehow… somehow it had activated.

Tucker’s stomach twisted. Had Danny been caught in it? Had the portal malfunctioned? The possibilities raced through his mind, each one worse than the last.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Tucker blinked, momentarily confused. With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone and looked at the screen.

A new text.

From Danny.

“Where are you? Hurry.”

The blood drained from Tucker’s face. He stared at the screen, his mind unable to process what he was seeing. It couldn’t be real. Danny was dead. Dead. His body was lying right in front of him. How could he be sending texts?

His phone buzzed again, the noise slicing through the heavy silence of the lab like a knife.

“Please, hurry. I’m still here.”

Tucker’s breath hitched, and he glanced back at Danny’s body. His best friend hadn’t moved. He was still pale, still cold. Still dead. Tucker’s hands trembled as he looked between Danny’s body and the glowing ghost portal.

“Still here…” Tucker whispered, his voice barely audible. 

Another buzz.

“Please, Tucker. You need to help me.”

Tucker wiped at his eyes again, determination settling in his chest as he stared at the swirling green vortex of the portal.

His phone buzzed one last time.

“Please. I’m scared.”