#but amity parkers would definitely be affected by
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idekwthmuistb · 2 years ago
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So the students of Amity Park have noticed that when Danny Fenton runs to the bathroom a ghost almost always appears right after, right? Right. And eventually it becomes commonplace for them to mentally prepare themselves and to pack up their stuff when Fenton rushes out the classroom.
BUT
What about the few times where nothing happens? Cause now you've got this classroom full of kids who just automatically shove their papers into their backpacks and just...wait. They sit there, maybe making jokes about who's going to show up and at first it's all easy going but then. Then the anticipation starts to get to them. It's that nerve-wracking feeling of Knowing something should be happening But It's Not.
There's a slight buzz of nervous energy by the 5 minute mark where nothing has happened yet. It sets them on edge. Everyone is silent, shifting their gazes from the windows, the clock, the door, trying to spot anything of the usual. There's absolutely nothing.
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justv0id · 15 days ago
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DP+HEADCANONS
I was browsing through some posts when I found this picrew and thought "Hey, I really like Vall's DC headcanons (or at least Batfamily's), so why don't I make a Danny Phantom headcanons post to match?"
So here we are.
To begin with, let's establish the Everlasting Trio because there's no way, very iconic and wonderful together, and a pinch of Ghost King/Prince Danny.
With this, I like to think that, cuz they're always so close to Danny, before and after the right to the throne, Sam and Tucker, being exposed to the strooong ectoplasm he emits, would become even more liminal than the others Amity Parkers, this with the help of Tucker being the reincarnation of Duulaman and Sam being the heir to Undergrowth (I feel disgusted every time I remember what he did to her in the episode, cuz, personal trauma, so I refuse to accept this canon and that's why in my head he was actually pampering her the whole time to be able to convince her to be his daughter).
Because of this liminality and Danny's strong ectoplasm, they would develop powers and/or the powers they kind of already have of their own would become stronger.
I like to think that with this their appearance would change a little, Danny by the power of Ghost King/Prince and Sam and Tucker by liminality, just some subtle changes but they are noticeable, like for example, pointy ears! (I love the "Danny the elf" thing and yes, I'm going to drag Sam and Tucker into this, nothing will stop me! Except Vall definitely maybe- BUT- but, he likes it too so it's okay).
So, like, I don't think it will change much whether the DP and DC universes are the same or not in your view, but they could be considered metas or aliens or magical creatures(?) to someone outside, it depends a lot on their aura I think.
And you know, as much as I may love the concept of Jack and Maddie "giving up" on their obsession for their son, their beloved child and becoming/triyng to be better parents, I'm kind of corrupted already, you know?
The bad reveal is a classic in this fandom already and sometimes I even find myself like " 🤡🤨😒" when I go to read a fic and it has the tag "Good Reveal" or "Good Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton" which is honestly kinda VERY CONCERNING if you think about it-
But anyway, if there is revelation, it's bad, very bad, vivissection and all.
Also as much as I like a redeemed Vlad, I also like to see him have all the shit he put Danny through come back to him. You know, IT IS CALLED KARMA, YOU BITCH!
Ahem ahem, pardon :)
But for Dan case, oh my boy, I want him to have redemption, I want him to cling to this little drop of a person that is Dani and to do therapy with Jazz. Besides the sparrings with Danny, obviously.
Coming back now, where am I going with this? Bad Revelation, Revenge on Vlad and Dan redeemed? Of course it's the crossover part!
Anyway, then, a mentally exhausted Danny from school fights Vlad, but thanks to the new strength that comes with the right to the ghost throne and Sam and Tucker's new powers (Which I think everyone agrees that for Sam it's like Poison Ivy-style power but to a greater degree not only affecting plants but animals as well, and for Tucker being powers based on those Pharaoh and mummies stuff and such and the classic technokinesis!) he FINALLY manages to trap Vlad in the Thermos, Tucker quickly seals this blessed Thermo in the base of welding and then Danny throws it in Walker's prison.
And then, now tired mentally and physically, he goes home, but oops! he didn't pay attention because of tiredness and got caught in the middle of transformation! And then the basic chase before he is captured and imprisoned in the lab.
But gosh, just his torture (which lasts a long time because Jazz is out busy with... eh, I don't know, and Sam and Tucker are worried and looking, but they are a little far away) wasn't enough, they caught Dani, and he started to despair, because there's no way he's going to let dad and mom Jack and Maddie touch his daughter little sister, but he can't move, can't do anything, and then they catch Dan, and Danny still can't do anything to help them, trying to draw attention to himself doesn't work (Hehe classic angst my dears).
Dani and Dan are so badly hurt by the Fenton doctors that they retreat into the cores, but since the cores are practically indestructible, and the Fentons have never even come close to studying one, their weapons don't work and don't hurt them. So the attendant is back with Danny.
But then Jazz, Tucker and Sam break into the lab to rescue the three Dannies, barely getting out while Jazz stays to slow them down. Some time ago, they managed to close the portal that was in the Fentons' basement and prevent it from working again, so Sam and Tucker have to race with the Dannies to Vlad's portal (I don't remember exactly what happened when he became president of Amity Park, but I'm going to say that he moved the portal to the city with him for pure plot convenience) but when they are about to go through, the doctors arrive, and then there is a small conflict until Jazz manages to push the trio into the portal and destroys it, but in an inadequate way, thus also destroying their home dimension (Yey more angst)
Sam and Tucker then go to CW to seek help. He cures Danny, or at least about 60% because he says he needs to cure the rest himself for his own good, and that unfortunately Dani and Dan won't be able to leave their cores anytime soon if they aren't incubated. So, stop! Danny is pregnant and then CW puts them in the DC universe, it can be in Gotham or anywhere else they want, it doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that now they will live there together.
And that's where that Picrew I mentioned comes in, since I made the appearances of the Everlasting Trio+Twins Dani and Dan+Surprise for an AU like this.
For me, they arrived in Gotham right around the time Bruce was starting to come out as Batman or when Jason was Robin, I can't decide. But anyway, the fact is, they are in a new universe with Danny at his literal 60% carrying two cores with him, so when they discover more about this world a little with their powers, they decide to be discreet, and even with that, they also let themselves be registered as metahumans to avoid problems if they use their powers, but of course in the records the written powers are much simpler and weaker than the real thing.
Anyway, I think they would all work at WE but in different sectors (obviously), or have independent or simple businesses or something like that.
Now let's move on to appearances!
first of all, Daniel James Shade "Danny" Fenton Nightgale
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Here as you can see, Danny has a lighter eye because of the incident, if there was an option for a lightning scar in the picrew I would also put it, this lighter eye of his only has about 75% of the vision.
You have to wear a single lens in that eye, he may not wear it, but it is inconvenient most of the time.
His hair is longer, and yes, I gave him the anime dead mom hairstyle, sue me. His hair used to be black, but over time, because of his great power, and the fact that his ghostly side is bleeding into his human form, his hair has turned about 70 to 80% white. Sam and Tucker like it, Sam says it's cool and Tucker says he remembers some anime character but can't remember who (😉)
The necklace and earring are a set he has with Sam and Tucker.
Piercing just because.
Makeup done by Sam, but is learning.
He also renounces his birth middle and surname, changing them as soon as he could. He only doesn't change his name because he got used to it (of course he did) and cause he learned from Jazz that she was the one who suggested his name.
Nightgale is a name that the Trio invented together and use, so as not to get too big with the three two surnames together.
He is called "Mama" by the children. And "D" and "Darling" by Sam and Tucker.
He/them
Samantha Ingrid "Sam" Nightgale
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As I said, necklace and earrings are a set.
Piercing just because.
She dyed her hair completely purple, but after a while the liminal side of her powers also bled into her form, so now there's green in it, Danny likes it and says it's pretty, Tucker likes it too, but he also calls her eggplantie cuz of it tho-
And as always, she is gothic, and now, she does makeup for others with the help of [surprise, wait a little longer]
She is called "Mom" by the children. And "Sammy" and "Honey" by Tucker and Danny.
She/her
Tucker Rick "Tuk" Nightgale
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Braided and colored hair, Sam did the braids and Danny helped pick the color.
Piercing just because.
Again, the necklace and the earrings are a set.
I made up the middle name because I couldn't find it anywhere.
Now he wears lenses more regularly than glasses.
Makeup done with Sam's help, he knows how to do it himself but normally when he makes lines like that he can't replicate them, but Sam can.
He is called "Dad" by the children. And "Tuk" and "Babe" by Sam and Danny.
He/him
Dante Ruth "Dan" Nightgale
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Because he was incubated by Danny, he was born with white hair.
He has no memories of before, but he vaguely has some deja vus, his personality remains practically 98% the same.
He is quite influenced by Sam, that's why he dyed his hair her colors.
Piercing just because.
He still has a clear eye with 75% vision because it is a mark on his and Danny's core from the incident.
He helps Sam with the makeup with [surprise, wait just a little longer]
Glasses because you don't really like the idea of using a single lens on your eye, so you prefer glasses with two lenses of different degrees, it's more comfortable.
He is called "Dan", "Dandan" and "Dear". And also "Big brother" and "Bro".
He/him
Eleanor Dawn "Ellie" Nightgale
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No problem with the eye because was born a halfa even though she was a clone cuz she didn't had to die and revive to, so there is no mark on the core.
Born with white hair because she was incubated by Danny.
Like Dan, he has no exact memories of the past, just deja vus, and his personality has remained largely intact.
He is more influenced by Tucker, so he dyed his hair his color.
Piercing just because.
They wears sunglasses almost all the time, even at night, because 1) she likes them, 2) he feels cool, 3) they wanna have something in common with Dante.
Makeup done by Dan.
When it's "she" she goes by the nickname "Ellie", when it's "he or they" he goes by the nicknames "Dawn" and "Noir", Dawn more commonly, but Noir is when he's with Dan, so as not to confuse the two. But she is also nicknamed "Little sister", "Big sister" and "Sis". And "Muffin".
She/him/they
And finally....THE SURPRISE!
Jordan Ezra Mary "Ez" Nightgale
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They was born from Sam, and just biologically speaking, the father is Tucker.
But
They are more influenced by Danny :)
Heterochromia because I want.
There's no way he could remember before since she didn't even exist, but she likes the stories of her dad, mom and mama's chaotic adolescence.
Piercing just because.
They dyed their hair pink because they really likes the color very much.
Glasses because they inherited the short-sighted from Tucker and doesn't like contact lenses very much.
Do the makeup with Sam and Dan to the others.
She is called "Ez" and "Ezzie", and also "Little Sister" and "Sis". And "Sweetheart".
They/her
And that's it! I chose for the Trio to arrive between Batman's first year and Robin's time! Jason so that the children would already be born when Damian's time as Robin arrived cuz of shenanigans. :D
Like, just imagine if Ezra becomes friends with Damian, to the point of knowing about his family's night business, or already knows. And then some typical problem happened with a being from another dimension and when Dami vents to them, Ez is like "Oh my daddy can help you!"
And instead of them bringing a sorcerer or warlock or wizard like everyone thought it would be, Ezra brings the FUCKING DAMN HIGH KING OF THE INFINITE REALMS.
@valletydarwin here, a gift, ya can name the AU 🖤💜
The picrew
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lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 3 years ago
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How do you think the Fentons would react if they realized that Phantom isn't consciously doing these things? What if they were to confront him about it & learning this about himself, it's like everything shuts off. Like, the aura sorta... retracts & he's like, "I am SO sorry." Cause he thinks he's brainwashing people, but it turns out he's not. The people choose to support Phantom & thus it shows that, if anything, Amity Parkers have more control of Danny than he has of them.
oooh just imagine the town losing this blanket of safety and comfort that they've felt for so long and now everything just feels cold and scary and normal again
and they hate it
and the Fentons see it like some kind of drug addiction and try to convince the public that it's okay with time the ghost's mind altering effects will pass and they'll be enjoying normal life again!
but they don't enjoy normal life, parents liked being able to let their kids play out in the streets without constant anxiety and vigilance, women liked being able to walk home alone at night without being afraid
as far as they're concerned, Phantom's influence, mind altering or not, made them happier and didn't damage or affect their lives for the worse in any way, so why shouldn't they let him make them feel warm and safe? it wasn't as though it was a false sense of security, bad things didn't happen in Amity Park any more
the Fentons would be furious, but Danny would definitely feel somewhat relieved, he'd probably wait a while to see if his influence wore off at all like his parents said, but in the end he wasn't forcing his will on people, they wanted to feel safe
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snappingsound · 7 years ago
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Summerland
Happy Halloween, everyone! I really wanted to begin posting Part III today, but it’s just not quite ready. I have a few more chapters to finish up and then an editing pass. So I thought I’d post this instead. This ditty takes place in the same world, but is along a different timeline. It is tangentially related to the main story of A Snapping Sound. I had lots of fun writing it. Hopefully you spooks will enjoy it too. 
Alice Fox did not believe in ghosts. In fact, she didn’t believe in much of anything. It was a constant thorned crown of pain to her devoutly Christian mother and father, and a source of bemusement to her recently converted Jewish older brother, Parker. Faith, and the dearly departed, more than politics, was the one topic best avoided in the Fox den.
So why was she working the reception in a haunted ‘museum’?
It was a question that, just this morning, Alice had been asking herself more often than not. She had opened the museum one hour ago. Already, an older woman had fainted on the morning tour from a ghost-story induced panic attack. Alice had already been already asked five times if she had ever experienced any paranormal activity while at work, and, on top of all that, had been cornered into hearing the long and bloodied past of a guest’s Palm Springs condo.
It wasn’t even ten in the morning.
Alice let out a small groan and, instead of letting her head fall onto the wooden surface of the receptionist desk like it wanted to do, she tilted it up at the ceiling. Her curly brown hair fell away from her face as she squinted two equally brown eyes up at the museum’s infamous ruby chandelier.
“Disneyland,” she whispered, a reminder. Or, more of a pep talk.
That was why she worked here, and would remain working here all summer long. She needed exactly four-hundred and seventy-two dollars to fly to Anaheim with the rest of her high school orchestra. She played the Viola. And while she wasn’t one for animated movies, she loved theme parks. More specifically— roller coasters. Also, she had never been out of Ohio. Her parents weren’t ones to travel, and her family rarely had spare cash.
Most of the time, working the museum wasn’t so bad. It had air conditioning and free coffee. In between tours was hours of downtime where Alice could do her homework or watch YouTube. Once in awhile a guest would wander in without making a reservation, and she would deal with them, but for the most part the entryway remained quiet.
It really was a pretty place to work, too.
Alice took in the restored frescoed ceiling and the delicate Victorian lace trimmings. Far, far above her head on the domed ceiling, lions and wolves leaped and chased prey, tearing fur and skin apart, their eyes staring directly down at anyone that passed beneath. The morning sunlight refracted off the absurdly intricate ruby chandelier, making their eyes seem to glow red.
If she was easily spooked, or believed any of the rumors of this place, spending hours alone in this hallway would have gotten in her head. It was why her boss paid her even more than any of the guides. He couldn’t find anyone else who felt comfortable sitting alone in this house. Alice didn’t understand it, but hey, why question a gift horse?
A hollow clunk jolted her out of her thoughts, jerking her attention from the ceiling.
A tall, fit boy with creamy dark skin smiled. In one hand he held a mug of coffee. With the other, he pushed a second mug across the table. “Wilmot Morgan,” he said, by way of a greeting.
Another very strong case for not quitting: Bishop Lee, or as everyone called him, Hopper. He was a Senior and Alice had spent the past year crushing on him. She wasn’t alone. Almost every girl at Casper High crushed on Hopper at some point or another. It was because he was a good head taller than every other boy his age and he was steadfastly shy. His introversion had been misinterpreted as enigmatic. It didn’t help that, in her overly superstitious hometown of Amity Park, Hopper’s Native American heritage placed him squarely in the ‘folklore’ category, whether he liked it or not.
While Alice’s crush had definitely centered around his high cheekbones and kind hazel eyes, the way her class exotified him not only infuriated her, but had been what, ultimately, forced her to let go of her crush and get to know him as a friend.
This past summer she had shared more sentences with Hopper than she had the past five years of elementary, junior, and high school. And while she certainly still liked him, she was no longer paralyzed with affection whenever he swung by her desk. During those daily desk visitations, Alice had learned he harbored a meganerd obsession with this house and a strong belief in spirits, which made him a lot less mysterious and a whole lot sillier.
Alice realized Hopper was staring at her expectantly, although his grin had faded a bit.
“Sorry, what?” she asked. She reached out and grabbed the mug from him. It said I SEE DEAD PEOPLE on the side. Hopper had most certainly picked it out on purpose.
“The ceiling. It was painted by Wilmot Morgan in 1902,” Hopper explained, taking a sip from his own mug and shooting the fresco a fond glance. “A commission.��
“He was a very detailed artist,” Alice entertained.
“She,” Hopper corrected. “Morgan was a woman.”
Alice blinked. She took in the ceiling again, in a different light.
Most of their conversations revolved solely around the house itself— never about homework, or school, or family life. Alice could never tell if this was Hopper’s way of trying to get her to believe, or if it he found those other topics too painful or too boring to bring up.
He raised his mug in a cheers. “You should—”
“Go on one of your tours,” Alice interrupted. “Yes, I know. Unfortunately, my job is to man the front desk.”
“You might learn something.” Hopper took a long sip from his mug. His usually sparkling eyes hollowed out and his grin twisted into more of a grimace. “My people say this house sits atop sacred land. An Indian chief was buried long before it was ever built. That’s why the land is cursed.”
Despite herself, Alice felt a chill run down her spine. “Are you serious?” She had meant it to come out sarcastic, but her body betrayed her.
Hopper’s haunted expression cracked and he let out a short laugh. “No, Alice. There’s no stupid Indian burial ground. That’s just a bunch of crap white people made up.”
“I knew that,” Alice blurted. She hid her burning cheeks behind her coffee mug, taking a big, flustered, sip. It burned. She forced herself to swallow it instead of spit it back out to avoid any further mortification.
“I hope you’re not saying stuff like that to the guests,” a voice grumbled.
Hopper winced and spun. “Of course not, Mr. Lancer. Guides speak only truth,” he recited.
Coming from down the hall, Mr. Lancer paused and spared the two of them a suspicious look, though it was hard for him to see Hopper’s face considering Hopper was abnormally tall and Lancer had developed a rather bad hunch in his old age. “Enough actually happened here. We don’t need to further encourage rumors and hearsay,” Lancer warned.
A blanket of gloom descended over the entryway.
Mr. Lancer had personally known the teenagers that died here. It was the reason he had founded this museum in the first place. Whenever her boss mentioned what happened, Alice couldn’t help but feel a tinge of remorse for being so unaffected by the house’s past.
Lancer didn’t make Hopper uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, Lancer’s stories fascinated him. Hopper had also worked here a lot longer than her. Alice supposed she’d get used to Lancer eventually.
“Good morning, Alison,” Lancer greeted.
“Morning.” She didn’t know if she would classify it as ‘good’.
It seemed to satisfy Lancer, though, who handed her a sheet of paper with the list of attendees for the noon tour, and shuffled back down the hall towards his office.
Alice plucked the paper and scanned the list. “Twenty-seven,” she counted.
Hopper whistled. More people meant a bigger tip pool for the guides to split at the end of the day. “I should go change.”
Movement out on the very edge of her gaze caused Alice to peer at the second floor railing. She had sworn she had seen a dark shape, like a cat or a raccoon, but there was nothing. Some of the rubies in the great chandelier casted jewel shine on the wallpaper up there and whenever a breeze passed through it gave the sensation that the wallpaper was crawling. That had probably been it.
When she took in the room again, she found herself alone. Hopper must have gone to grab his uniform. She had missed him leave. Alice sighed, a little disappointed, and instead set about logging the number of people attending the tour onto the museum’s spreadsheet.
A knock on the door interrupted her as the computer booted up.
“It’s open,” Alice called.
It wasn’t uncommon for guests to knock instead of freely enter the museum. The museum was a house, so it was a bit weird to walk straight inside without knocking first, but it meant Alice had to get up from her desk to open the door constantly. After her first week, she had even made a sign that said ‘Come on in!’ and had taped it next to the door handle. Still, some guests continued to knock first.
When the knock happened again, Alice gave up, sliding off her stool and opening the door. “Next time, you don’t have to knock. You can just walk right in,” she said, trying be as polite as possible, while still being informative.
A boy around her own age tilted his head. “Really?” he asked, still standing on the doormat, despite the fact that Alice was holding the door open.
“Sure. I mean, as long as we’re open.”
The boy walked inside. As he passed her Alice felt a radiating cold, as if the boy was carrying an open freezer. Something in her unsettled, wanted to run, but just as quickly as the impulse came upon her, she shrugged it off as stupid.
Alice settled back behind her desk and watched the guest meander the entryway, taking in the double staircases and the ceiling that Alice herself had been ogling earlier.
This wasn’t odd behavior. They were, after all, a museum, and the detail poured into this house’s construction at times felt like a kaleidoscope for the eyes. But, something about this boy was familiar, and the fact that Alice couldn’t put her finger on it made her uneasy. She knew him from somewhere. Maybe he resembled a famous person. With hair and an outfit like that, he reminded her of James Dean.
“You’re pretty early for the noon tour,” she mentioned, feeling like she had to initiate polite conversation. “It’s not for another twenty minutes.”
The boy turned and stared, bright blue eyes blank.
Oh, so he was one of those guests that didn’t read the website. Looked like it was just going to continue to be one of those mornings. Swallowing her annoyance, Alice explained, “The museum gives four tours, each about two hours long. Our guides will take you through the entire house as well as the backyard and surrounding forest. The next tour is at noon.”
At the boy’s completely baffled look, Alice felt a little bad for being so cold. She grabbed the sheet of tour attendees and a pen. “There’s still three spots left, if you want to join?”
The boy scrunched his freckled nose and scanned her desk for a long moment, almost as if he didn’t understand what it, or she, was doing there.
Alice’s annoyance came back, this time tempered with a tiny bit of fear. This kid was beginning to creep her out. Once in awhile a guest wandered in that truly loved all the horrific gory shit that went down here, and those guests always freaked Alice out a lot more than any of the ghost stories ever did. “What’s your name?” she asked, working to keep her tone squarely in the polite camp, lest she provoke this weirdo.
He looked upset and a little lost. Like he had been expecting someone else. After a minute his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Danny,” he told her.
“I’m Alice,” Alice greeted.
Introductions seemed to break Danny out of whatever little mood he had been in. He neared her desk, eyes flicking towards her nametag. An amused smile spread across his lips. “I can see that,” he teased. “Alison Fox.”
Alice couldn’t help but lean back a bit. The guest smelled faintly like cigarettes. If Parker didn’t also smoke occasionally, she would have taken the smell as a sign of delinquency, somewhere next to tattoos. 
He didn’t look like a delinquent. If anything he looked like he was on a debate team, what with his sweater vest and gelled hair. Only, his style was so accurate, it had transcended nerdy and had crossed over somewhere into cool. His clothing could have been thrifted straight out of her great-grandfather’s closet.
She cleared her throat. “Want me to put you down for noon?”
“How long has this place been a museum?” he asked.
Alice put the roster down and blinked. “Dunno. As long as I can remember.”
The guest quieted, humming to himself.
Figuring that was the end of their conversation, and that he would look around before deciding twenty minutes wasn’t worth the wait, Alice turned back to her computer which was now on. She typed in her password. The old monitor flickered a quilt of static and she blinked, reaching around to jiggle the wiring.
“What do you think of it?” a voice asked, sounding so close it almost came from inside her own head.
Alice jumped, narrowly missing a mug of coffee.
The guest was super close. He was leaning over her desk atop his elbows. He craned his neck to peer around at her monitor.
Alice scowled and tilted the screen away. “What do you mean?”
“This place,” he clarified. “What do you think of it?”
No one had ever asked her that before. Sure, there was a lot of ‘ever see any ghosts?’ or a lot of ‘how long have you worked here?’ then the subsequent disappointment when she said two weeks. Never what she thought about the museum. Alice found people rarely asked her what she thought of things.
Alice let go of the screen and played with the handle of her mug for a second, trying to get a read on him. She supposed he looked earnest. “I’ve only worked here for a few weeks so I don’t really know a lot about it besides the stories I heard growing up,” she admitted. “I suppose it is beautiful, in the same eerie, disorienting way an eclipse is.”
The boy glanced down at the top of her desk, brows furrowed. 
Maybe he didn’t like her answer. Feeling a little self-conscious, Alice said, “Hopper can answer better. He’s worked here longer and he’s a guide.”
Danny glanced up, a wide grin unfurling across his face. His teeth were really white and perfect and so was his skin. “Let me guess. Hopper is the guide for the noon tour?” he teased. “You’re pretty good at pushing these tours on people. How much do they cost?”
Alice blushed, embarrassed. “I wasn’t trying to push anything.”
Footsteps, thankfully, interrupted them.
“Did I leave my coffee...?” Hopper trailed off, gaze darting between the guest and her. He was now wearing his tour guide white button up jacket and his name tag. He skidded to a halt in the middle of the foyer, jaw going slack, face pale.
“So you’re a guide?” the boy, still leaning on her desk, accused.
Hopper nodded, mute.
Alice was starting to feel embarrassed at Hopper’s weird reaction. Strange or not, this boy was a guest. He wasn’t even as bad as the Wiccans and Spiritualists that plagued the tours, hoping to scry something meaningful from the mansion’s creaky floors. She raised her eyebrows at him, motioning for him to say something.
If the guest noticed anything unusual, he didn’t show it. Instead his blue eyes lit with amusement, like he had just thought of something really funny. That grin widened until it felt edged with mania. “What’s it take to become a guide?” he asked. “I’m looking for work.”
With Hopper still frozen, Alice scrambled to overcome the awkwardness, shuffling through the mountains of papers hidden in the drawers of her desk. “Ah, here.” She grabbed an application and scooted it across the desk. On the top, a simple logo read: Masters Villa. Erected 1892. Amity Park Historical Monument & Museum.
The boy scooped it up. “Thanks.” Just as quickly as he blustered through, he left.
As the door clicked shut, Alice fully turned to give Hopper a frown. “What was that all about?” she complained, gesturing at the door.
Hopper swayed slightly.
Alice’s anger snapped to concern. It looked like he was about to pass out. She contemplated trying to get out from behind her desk and catch him, but with how tall and built Hopper was there was no way he wouldn’t crush her.
Instead of fainting, Hopper asked, in a weird and floaty voice, “You don’t know who that was?”
Damn, Alice thought. So the boy had been famous. “No. Who is he?” Now she was curious. Although, something about Hopper’s glazed look filled her with dread.
Hopper yanked out one of the pamphlets from the wall holder, flipping through the mini stapled book. Finding the right page, he held it up so Alice could see. “Who that was,” Hopper corrected.
It was a black and white photo of a kid in a lawn chair. A kid that looked remarkably the same as the one that had just taken a job application. He had his ankles crossed and his t-shirt sleeves rolled up as if it was a hot summer’s day. In one hand was a Coke, only, it was one of those old curvy Coca-Cola-shaped glass bottles. The ones they stopped making years and years ago. Alice glanced at the caption.
Danny, 1959. Disappeared August 12, 1962.
Alice flicked the pamphlet away. “Very funny. That was one of your higher production jokes.” She scowled. “You know, Lancer’s going to fire you one of these days.”
“It’s the truth,” Hopper insisted. His slap-glazed look faded into annoyance.
Something in his tone made her pause and reconsider. He truly believed it. Either he wasn’t trying to pull one over on her, or whoever was doing the pulling was pulling it on them both.
Alice glanced down at the roster where she had written, on the last line: Danny. Just Danny. “Well, he might become a guide, if he’s qualified,” she said, not knowing what else to say. Internally, she was trying to explain the past five minutes and the longer she couldn’t come up with a plausible answer her skin inched further and further in all directions.
Alice Fox didn’t believe in ghosts.
“Qualified?” Hopper repeated, offended. “Of course he’s qualified. He’s been here the whole time.”
106 notes · View notes