#dan fell off his chair

[dapgolf]

I love that we're being so so normal about today's video <3

[honeybadger16]

Honey Badger in the Lion's Den

Pairing: Max Verstappen x reader x Dan Riccciardo

Warnings: smut, threesomes, fmm, swearing

Word Count: 1.5k

a/n: Maxiel is real, prove me wrong. Let me know what you think about the pairing, I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: Being the girlfriend of Max Verstappen has its perks: traveling all around the world, attending luxurious parties, and grabbing the attention of a certain Australian driver who can't stop staring at you and Max.

You and Max had been dating for two years, and enjoyed every second of it. From traveling around the world to attending the most luxurious parties, Max made sure you were always comfortable and happy during the busy racing season. For him, most weekends consisted of tough practice sessions and grueling workouts.

You made it your mission to help him relax when necessary in order to prevent burn out. This consisted of massages or venting sessions before bed. If it was a particularly bad day rough sex in the bed or shower was usually the solution.

This weekend you arrived in Australia, just as Max and Daniel were doing media duties. You couldn't imagine any serious answers were given as the two drivers loved to mess with other during interviews. Watching the two interact from a screen there was no denying Max's boy crush on Daniel. This had been a long running joke online between fans, but it wasn't far from the truth. Max had been idolizing Daniel since they first met, and considered him a best friend. Max would never tell a soul, but whenever his imagination ran loose, the idea of Daniel on top of you made his pants get tighter. He thinks to himself it's wrong to imagine his girlfriend with another man, but it's just a harmless fantasy right?

Australia had been a total disaster for Max, not finishing the race due a gas leak was the last thing any driver wants on Sundays. Daniel had finished 6th, a respectable position considering he was driving in a shitty McLaren tractor-like car. Max was still in a bad mood as night fell on the racing city. Most drivers wanted to go clubbing and celebrate their earned points, including Daniel.

That's when the two of you heard knocking on the hotel door around 10 P.M. Opening the door you find Daniel's signature smile pulling you into a hug. "Hey y/n I haven't had a chance to say hi all weekend, how are you?" You responded by giving him a recap of the shops you visited and the restaurants you tried- his recommendations of course. Max hadn't looked up from his phone, not in the mood to match the Australian's cheery mood. "Are you guys coming out with us? The club we picked has the best champagne."

Max responds by telling him he's too tired to go out tonight and to have fun without him. Daniel could see through Max's bullshit response and looks over to you for an explanation. You shrug your shoulders not exactly sure what to say. Usually when Max had a rough race, him fucking your brains out helped him feel better. That's when you thought of an idea to cheer up Max. It was risky and could ruin one of the closest relationships Max had, but you were positive it would exciting.

Leaning closer to Max, you whisper, "what if we let Daniel watch as I suck your cock?" Max turns quickly around to face you, turning red in the cheeks, "what?" You snake your hand to palm his crouch, already hardening. You turn to face Daniel who's eyes glaze over with desire as he stares intently at the two of you sitting down on the chair nearby. "I think he also wants to watch me take you in my mouth."

Kissing up Max's neck, you unzip his pants and continue to palm his hard cock through his boxers. Max had given in to the pleasure and began making louder noises in response to your touches. You could hear the zip of Daniel's pants as he takes his semi-hard cock out beginning to slowly stroke it.

You decided it was enough teasing for one night and helped Max take off the article of clothing that was separating your mouth and his cock. He was already painfully hard, his tip was colored brightly red, begging for some sort of relief. You began at the bottom licking the shaft and taking his balls in the hands, avoiding the head. "Fuck-please take it all in y/n." You could see how much pre-cum had collected on top of his cock and collected it all on your tongue.

Max soon becomes confused as you get up and walk over to Daniel. He can only watch as you sat on you on one of Daniel's thighs and connected your lips together. After releasing your mouths apart you ask, "How does Max taste?"

"Like fucking Heaven" Daniel is quick to putting his hands on your shirt tugging it off of you. He was pleased to see you opted for a braless outfit as he began to fondle your breasts, kissing you once again. Max began to notice your hips moving against the Australian's thighs, in an attempt to give your clit some attention. Your hands found Daniel's cock and began rubbing him until he was fully erect.

Max thought he had died and was in his personal Heaven, this scenario only played out in his head when he was jerking off by himself, giving him the most intense orgasms. Yet, here they were, his girlfriend and best friend making out as Max got unbelievably harder. He could see y/n whispered something to Daniel as they both got up to remove the remaining pieces of clothing they both had on.

You came up to Max, while Daniel came from the back. Stroking his cock Max let his head fall back onto Daniel's chest. "That's it baby keep going" You however had another idea. You took one of Daniel's hands and placed it on Max's cock, molding it to go up and down the shaft. Max opened his eyes and began grunting louder turning to face Daniel. The two began to make out as Max was reaching closer to his orgasm. Daniel's lips tasted like the pre-game vodka he drank before he knocked on their door. Even though the taste of alcohol lingered on Max's lips he could get drunk on the feeling of having Daniel so close to him only. Why hadn't they done this sooner?

You removed Daniel's hand and instructed Max to lay down as you climbed on top of him and began rubbing his cock on your wet pussy. Finally, you push yourself down, having to adjust to his size no matter how many times you take him inside you. Riding on Max's cock you take Daniel in your mouth moving up and down. Sounds of moans and grunts could be heard as the three of you reach closer to the end.

Max moves his hips at the same time as yours to reach into deeper and faster. Max's cock curves perfectly into you pushing on your walls as you bounce on him in a faster, more desperate pace. He takes his fingers and rubs your clit, "come with me y/n." With the combination of Max deep inside you and stimulation on your clit, you explode first, Max following soon after. The two of you feel as Max's cum fills you up to the brim.

Daniel grabs your head and brings it down on his cock until your nose pressed against his abdomen. "Shit I'm going to cum." He pulls you off and releases his cum onto your lips and face, groaning as waves of pleasure ripple through his body.

You pull off of Max when Daniel puts you on your back, legs open towards him. Max's cum had started dripping out of you when Daniel began licking at your pussy. Throwing your head back in pleasure you couldn't believe you were close to cumming again so soon. He stuck his tongue inside of you licking up all of Max's cum and swallowing it. You finally reached your end as you tugged on Daniel's dark locks and made eye contact with him. As you rode through your second orgasm of the night, you noticed Max had gone to the bathroom and brought water and washcloths for the three of you.

Still breathing hard, you sat up on the bed and accepted the water giving a soft thanks, while Daniel helped clean you up. The room was silent, but comforting. Daniel and Max put on their boxers once more, while you wore one of Max's shirts. In the middle of the bed Max welcomed the embraces of both you and Daniel. He first kissed you also whispering a soft thank-you. He turned to Daniel and kissed him tenderly as the older man accepted the show of affection. Cuddling up all together the three of you drift to sleep, not worrying about the questions you would receive the next day from the other drivers about your absence.

[angelismmm]

a slice of life. ❀ ft. hsr + genshin men — synopsis. just little scenarios that have happened to me with this one guy that i think they'd do<3 — notes. wtv the synopsis thing said!! i just think how these little scenarios went down in real life was so cute that i wanted to write something about it!! — heads up. hopeless romantic thoughts, these can be simple situations, but when i word it out, it becomes overly romantic. thats the warning yes, btw modern au!

・ you can't help but feel bored in class, watching the clock go 'tick-tock! tick-tock! tick-tock!'. your pretty seatmate just happens to be taking notes as the teacher discussed about something.. tapping his shoulder, he looks to you, blinking a few times in confusion. you give a cheeky smile and gesture you want to draw something, your ball pen in the air trying to write out words, blinking a few times again, he lends you his empty hand. looking back in confusion, realizing he wants you to draw on his hand. you do it with an enthusiastic look, leaning your chairs closer together, to get a closer look and tattoo his hand like an artist. as he tried to listen more to the discussion, he can't help but let a chuckle out at your happy expression as you drew stars, cats, and what not on his hand. and 'till class ends, he walks to the canteen with you on his other arm, and the other with doodles all over, out in the open for his friends to see.

dan heng, al haitham, xiao, zhongli, caelus, aether, arlan, albedo, chongyun, kazuha, more utc.

・kind of guy to pick things up for you that fell off your seat, even if you didn't notice it, and you don't have to ask him.

zhongli, dan heng, caelus, diluc, bennett, gorou, welt yang, yanqing, thoma

・keeps the doodles you give him in class.

dan heng, albedo, xingqiu, chongyun, venti, diluc, arlan, gepard

・let's you play with his hair on breaks/whenever, doesn't fix it 'till hours later

jing yuan, blade, diluc, albedo, cyno, gepard, wanderer/scaramouche, xiao, dainsleif

・ your eyes slowly closed, giving in to the drowsiness that you were gifted due to staying up for the test in the last afternoon. your seatmate beside you, he notices about 15 minutes later, instead of informing your professor, he put his jacket on you, and started jotting notes down. and once the expected pop quiz appeared, he'd lightly shake you, whispering that there's an activity, and telling about the topic while the professor finishes the small review for the quiz. "i'll let you copy my notes later, ok? this topic is easy, don't worry, remember to not overthink." he says, giving you a piece of paper. "i wasn't even really supposed to take notes honestly, but i know you love to take notes, so i wrote stuff down about the topic in my notebook, just in case you wanted."

dan heng, dainsleif, zhongli, xiao, blade, yanqing, gepard

・listens intently when you really wanna talk about something, gives serious advice back, or just comforts you, whatever you want.

dainsleif, dan heng, jing yuan, kaeya, zhongli, tighnari, ayato

・"take your jacket off! it's gym class you're gonna get sweaty!" x *takes jacket off

dan heng, caelus, albedo, al haitham, zhongli, baizhu, xiao, kazuha

・if you're busy and can't hold something that you need, he'll hold it for you, 'till you aren't busy looking for something in your bag.

dainsleif, zhongli, al haitham, yanqing, gepard, jing yuan, albedo, tartaglia

・ you sat beside him at the cafeteria, fiddling with your thumbs because you didn't have enough money to buy lunch, nor did you get time to pack your lunch and bring it to school, so your stomach growled. sitting beside someone with luxurious food prepared by his hands, and the delicious aroma that circled around you didn't help, all you could do was look at his food. delicately prepared, sighing in defeat and banging your head on the table. "you want something?" he asked when you faced him and his lunch. "i'm sorry, i can't help but look at your lunch, i haven't packed anything, and i haven't got any money, my stomach is roaring at this point too." leaning your head on his shoulder, "how about we share? i don't mind, just as long as you have energy for the next class. so you don't fall asleep again." cutting back to present time, still in the cafeteria, leaning your head on his shoulder as he feeds himself and you, he never fully finishes his lunch anyway.

dan heng, caelus, blade, yanqing, welt yang, zhongli, diluc, tighnari, cyno, kaveh, gepard

・if you ask for something that's really deep inside his bag, no matter what time it'd be, class time or break time, he'll find it, no matter how many times you ask, he'll get it.

zhongli, caelus, al haitham, welt yang, jing yuan, tighnari

・sitting beside each other on the bleachers after class, or during an event, no reason, just leaning your head on his shoulder, and holding his hand. in silence.

dan heng, blade, tartaglia, thoma, jing yuan, heizou, xiao, wanderer, aether, welt yang, gepard, al haitham

・being the only two doing a chemistry group project, the other members doing nothing, while you both fully enjoyed making the project together and making sure the others that didn't help get points

welt yang, il dottore, albedo, al haitham, kaveh, tighnari

・just sitting by each other on a bench in a park. a quiet park, where you both held hands, and bonding over the opposite music tastes you both have. and after 30 minutes or so pass, deciding to get matching ice popsicles on a stick together, just walking and having fun. even an old couple complimenting you both make a great couple <3

dan heng, caelus, welt yang, jing yuan, al haitham, zhongli, diluc, gepard, honestly any1 i love tis one sm

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[phanfictioncatalogue]

Terrible Influence Tour (3) Masterlist

part one, part two

angel and demon (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Dan and Phil go out to a bar dressed in a couple's costume, and Dan is surprised at just how freeing it feels.

(A fic about Halloween 2024, pushing boundaries, and the perils of red hair dye.)

apple dragon (ao3) - ShiwiSins (IetjeSiobhan)

Summary: Phil grumbles something into his coffee, and Dan’s face lights up with an expression so fond it feels almost wrong to look at.

Or: Dan and Phil on tour, through the outside eyes of a staff member.

boops! i did it again (ao3) - jonsaremembers

Summary: Phil's newfound confidence calls for a new kind of Halloween costume, and Dan can't resist him.

Color Theory (ao3) - skygremlin

Summary: Dan and Phil spend Halloween night out in Milwaukee dressed as Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens, and Dan unfortunately learns the consequences of committing to red hair dye when he gets back to their hotel room to wash it out.

cowboy hat canoodling (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: Usually they’re of a height, somewhat because Dan has that tendency to slouch. But today Dan is in boots and the cowboy hat, both making him taller than usual.

Do beach chairs qualify as an emergency? (ao3) - skygremlin

Summary: Dan and Phil have a few days off in San Diego, and Phil is determined to relax on the beach, preferably with some comfortable chairs. All he needs to do is call and ask if they have any chairs available, so why do hotel phones have to make things so complicated?

Based on a question from the Toronto pre-show.

Everyone's a feminist until there is a spider around (ao3) - skygremlin

Summary: Dan and Phil are wrapping up their North American leg of the Terrible Influence tour on the east coast, getting ready for a show in a basement dressing room backstage. Dan notices that Phil's acting really suspicious, trying to keep Dan distracted from whatever he's doing. As it turns out, there's pretty good reason why.

Based on the question from "Our Phanniversary Newlyweds Game": Who kills/removes the spiders?

Falling for you (ao3) - dnpangels

Summary: Dan and Phil are cuddling in Phil's tour bus bunk. When Dan slips and falls out of the bunk, he wakes up the entire tour crew. Fluff and teasing from the crew ensues.

falling off the moon (ao3) - jonsaremembers

Summary: "Dan fell off the moon!"

"I fell off the FUCKING moon!"

get to heaven in our own sweet time (ao3) - jonsaremembers

Summary: Dan and Phil choose their costume for Halloween 2024. Yeah, it breaks the internet, but they only have eyes for each other.

Heat (ao3) - blossomsphan

Summary: Phil has eyes for a cute waiter. But Dan only has eyes for Phil.

if you weren't mine (i'd be jealous of your love) (ao3) - phook

Summary: dan and phil reminisce.

everything’s still romantic after fifteen years.

Karma is a cat (ao3) - skygremlin

Summary: Dan and Phil visit the San Diego Zoo and Dan insists he could beat a leopard in a fight. When their tour bus gets a flat tire in the middle of the night as they're on their way out of California, he's forced to defend his words and himself.

Like You Used To (ao3) - easybubbyy

Summary: The boys go out for drinks with their crew. Dan is a horny and clumsy drunk, and Phil is a goofy and flirty drunk. Smut ensues. Enjoy!

misplaced (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Phil misplaces his favourite hat while on tour.

On Tour Bus Beds (ao3) - katiecal1013

Summary: “Best buddies can share a bed!” - Phil Lester, 2024

Open Doors And Coffee Stains (ao3) - SpiritsDJH

Summary: Things feel different. He noticed it maybe after the first few uploads, reading comments from some users he would recognize anywhere, and some from people he did not recall. Although familiar, the feeling of distrust or annoyance doesn’t pang in his chest anymore. If anything it is a breath of fresh air, a relief he didn’t know he needed.

our lips must always be sealed (ao3) - uhmyeah

Summary: dan and phil have silly tour sex

since before dan & phil. (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: “are you serious?” asked dan, peering down at phil, who sat in their dressing room with his gaze locked onto his phone.

sleepy hog (ao3) - ShiwiSins (IetjeSiobhan)

Summary: It takes him a moment of disoriented, sleepy blinking to realise the noise he’s missing is Phil’s snoring.

Or: a semi-sleepless night on tour with Dan and Phil.

Stinky Baby (ao3) - easybubbyy

Summary: Phil can be a bit bossy sometimes... (especially in the mornings). Dan doesn't mind one bit.

take on the world (ao3) - blossomsphan

Summary: just some soft, post-show intimacy <3

too long (ao3) - Mildredo

Summary: they're horny on tour. that's it that's the fic.

When in Washington (ao3) - dnpangels

Summary: An outsider POV fic about a guy sitting behind Dan and Phil at the University of Washington football game.

[fiorella-a]

Playing with the HSR mens hair

Info:

-Gn! Reader

-fluff

Welt:

Welt closes his eyes in relaxation as you play with his hair; carefully undoing any tangled hair, gently and slowly massaging his scalp and running your fingers through his hair. You can tell he enjoys your actions as he is on the brink of falling asleep. Although don't do this in public, he claims he still has a reputation to keep.

Sampo:

After a long day of selling (or bribing) stuff to people, he sits down beside you and mumbles "can you play with my hair?" You chuckle at him and nodded your head as he rests his head onto your shoulders. You ruffle his hair before brushing your fingers through his hair, before he fell asleep, he whispered "remind me of your reward, m'kay?"

Luocha:

"Y/n?" Luocha calls out for you from the bathroom, you make your way upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door, "come in" he yells out softly, as you go inside, you see Luocha smiling at you with the shampoo bottle on his left hand while pointing at his hair with his right hand. You make your way inside, closing the door behind you and then sitting on the chair next to the bathtub. You grab the shampoo from his grasp and poured some into your hands as you gently brush his hair with your hands. "Tell me if it hurts" you say to him as you detangle the ends of his hair, he nodded at you and hummed.

Jing Yuan:

He sat on the floor in front of you as you sat in his chair, carefully undoing his updo hairstyle and pulling out the brush from your bag that you had brought, you brush his hair starting from the end and making your way to the top. Soon, you felt his body getting heavier so you gently led the back of his head onto your lap as he finally dozed off to sleep.

Dan Heng:

He went inside your room as you were laying down on your bed– watching something on your phone, you looked up and sent a smile to his way, he looks away from you as he mumbled with a low voice "Can you help me put wax on my hair?" You stood up from your bed, "sure. Sit here" you point at your chair and he gladly obeyed your words. With him now sitting still at your chair and you gently waxing some of his hair that stood up, he only wishes that most of your days are as leisurely as this one is now.

Gepard:

He sat beside you on the couch with his back facing you– he sighs from relaxation as you gently dry his hair with a towel from his sweat after patrolling and defending the city of Belebog. Occasionally rubbing the towel on his hair (roughly) as he laughs and of course you pat his hair gently with the towel too.

Caelus:

He snores loudly on your bed as you sit on his back, gently combing his hair and trying not to tug on too harshly at the tangled parts of his hair, afraid to disturb his peaceful slumber.

Blade:

Both of you sat in front of each other, he stares intently at you as you gently brush and play with his bangs. "Don't complain if it feels dry" he says to you, you paused for a moment before blinking a few times at him and continuing what you were doing, "okay."

[dp-marvel94]

Sweet Reconciliation

Summary:

The last thing Danny expected was Phantom showing up at his front door and dragging him out for a day at the fair. He certainly didn’t want to hang out with 'Dan', much less trust him. But finding himself enjoying a day of rides and games? Sharing quips and food and heart-felt confessions? Maybe he and Dan have more in common than Danny realized.

Word Count: 9,217

Also on AO3

Notes:

It's finally here! I'm so excited to be posting my Valentine's Core Exchange. My giftee was @strawberry-avalanche . I went for a Danny & Dan centric fic, with some fluff, bonding, and redemption. I hope you enjoy this not-so-short story of Danny and Dan enjoying a day at the fair. Happy Reading! @valentines-core-exchange

Finally, it was a perfect Saturday, Danny thought. After all the chaos of time restructuring, his ghostly alter ego becoming number one on the most wanted list again, and learning how to help the ghosts instead of just fighting them, finally the half ghost had a day to himself. There was no one to bother him. His parents were out of town at a conference, his sister on a college tour. Vlad was out of his hair, busy with his new ward, a certain (formerly?) evil alternate Phantom. Best yet, he had plans with Sam and Tucker, an all day movie binge with all the popcorn and candy he could eat. Everything was absolutely perfect.

The boy bent down in his chair, tying his shoes to leave, when an insistent knocking came at the front door. 

His brow furrowed; his friends weren’t supposed to be meeting him here, were they?

Another knock came, this one more forceful.

Danny stood, calling. “I’m coming.” He hurried across the kitchen, a second later pulling the door open. “Weren’t we meeting at S-”

The boy blinked, cutting himself off in his confusion. There, on the other side of the door was… himself. Or at least, the figure looked like him. The other teen wore all black, gothic look complete with eye-liner and half a dozen ear piercings. And a familiar scowl.

With that last piece of the puzzle, the answer fell into place. “Phantom?” Danny’s mouth fell open.

“Actually, it’s Dan.” His double shrugged, still scowling.

“Dan…” The boy said slowly. Was this really happening?

The other teen, at least in appearance, didn’t acknowledge the word. Instead, his eyes flickered to the house behind. An odd look flashed in them for a second before a forcible disaffection shifted into place. “You’re not doing anything today, right? Good.”

That broke Danny out of his disbelieving stoop. He stood up straighter, eyes narrowed in distrust. “Actually, I was going to-”

A hand suddenly pulled him out the door, distracting him from his protest. “We’re going to the fair.”

Danny blinked once. “What?”

“The Fair.” Phantom said slowly, like he was stupid. “What, got cotton in your ears?”

“I heard you.” Danny pulled his hand away, arms crossing. “Why?”

The other rolled his eyes. “Vlad is driving me crazy. So I stole his credit card.” With a flash of sharp teeth, he swiped out said card. “I’m gonna eat all the disgusting greasy food I want, cheat at some carnival games, and ride the squirrel cages ‘til I throw up.”

“Have fun?” Danny’s nose scrunched; why exactly was ‘Dan’ telling him this? Not that he cared, on his one day off in months. With a head shake, he pointed back into the house. “Whatever. Knock yourself out. I’m gonna-”

“No you don’t.” Phantom grabbed his arm again. “You’re coming with me.”

The movement gave Danny pause. That hand wrapped around his bicep, the solid warmth of it… he knew that Vlad had stabilized Phantom in this timeline using a human clone of himself, making the figure in front of him a half ghost again. But actually seeing the reality in front of him was another thing entirely. And the demand…  “Why?”

The only answer was another eye-roll. Instead, Phantom started pulling Danny down the sidewalk. And the boy found himself following. He could keep arguing; a large part of him wanted to. He could even easily pull away – the other halfa’s grip wasn’t all that tight– but he didn’t resist. 

Instead, Danny followed his counterpart into the alley beside Fentonworks.

Hand still around his arm, familiar white rings appeared around the other’s waist. They spread, the warm light tickling Danny's skin in an eerie reflection of his own transforming light. He stiffened, watching.

His double changed, corpse blue skin replacing the human tone. Shoulder-length black hair flickered to white flames. Familiar icy blue eyes became blood red. 

Danny couldn’t help but flinch, the image playing behind his eyes, if in reverse. Cords of burning ecto energy binding him. A hellish warping of his own face, looming menacingly over him. Those same white rings, enfolding the figure into a smaller mirror image. So much worse than the towering monster -the nightmare of his enemy taking his place and hurting his loved ones.

The corpse-blue reflection filled his vision again. But now… they were truly eye to eye.

Phantom, teen-sized and equally scrawny, released him. His hard expression wavered for just a moment, brow furrowed, almost… remorseful. He stepped back. After a pause… 

“Well? Aren’t you going to ‘go ghost’?” The air quotes were audible, with more than a hint of derision. 

And yet, Danny felt his shoulders lowered ever so slightly, the anxious tamper of his heart easing. He summoned his own rings, turning into ghost form.

The two lifted from the ground, silently flying towards the fairgrounds. Danny followed his counterpart’s lead, eyes fixed on the back of the flaming head. The other ghost didn’t turn and look, gaze fixed on their destination. And that destination…

Soon, the colorful tents and rides rose into view. Music and laughter drifted through the air. Despite his swirling nerves, Danny couldn’t help the up-turned twitch of his lips.

“Here.” Phantom said gruffly, breaking Danny from his observation. The other half ghost pointed down, landing between two trailers. With a flash of light, he turned human again.

Danny did the same. A quick text to his friends to tell them where he was instead of handing out with them, and he was following his counterpart out of the fair employees’ parking lot and to the ticket counter. Phantom, surprisingly politely, bought two tickets. They passed through the gate, a cheery older woman giving the even-faced halfa a map. 

“Where to first?” Danny asked, hands in his pockets. He gave a deceptively casual shrug.

The other didn’t look up for a long moment, nose buried in the map. His brow wrinkled in contemplation, like this was the most important decision he’d ever make. 

Then, he pointed. “There. I need to see the biggest pumpkin in the state.”

Danny raised a brow, but he didn’t question. Wordlessly, he followed the other half ghost through the crowds and into a large white building. They passed through the door, the crowded barn smelling musty, of straw and barnyard animals. 

All the while, Phantom’s even severe expression didn’t change. Flat faced and silent, his eyes flitted over the giant pumpkins and watermelons. Slowly, he walked along the rows of painted gourds and prize-winning apples. Through the bee-keeping display. Passed the glass case holding someone’s grandma’s first place honey candy. 

Straw-floored pens held bleating lambs and wide-eyed calves. These didn’t crack that disaffected scowl. Nor the tiny piglets. Not even the fluffy baby chicks.

All the while, Danny’s stomach churned with conflict. Earlier he’d flippantly thought he didn’t care what ‘Dan’ did but that was a lie. Now his muscles pulled tense, ill at ease. His mind flickered back to the fight, to throwing down the thermos. The realization of how cruel, how unfair it would be to imprison the ghost in front of him again. 

And now… said ghost was watching a carton of eggs under heat lamps. Around him, small children pressed curious palms to the glass. 

Danny had decided not to lock Phantom up again. He’d chosen to give ‘Dan’ a second chance. He’d agreed to Vlad’s plan to help the other ghost. And he desperately hoped, desperately wanted to believe it was for the best. But… 

“Mommy! Chicky!” A little girl enthusiastically pointed at one egg sporting a tiny hole.

But… Danny certainly didn’t want to hang out with his counterpart. He remembered…. The graves, the rubble, the crazed laughter. The nightmares he’d had for months after seeing that ruined future. The twisted bodies, his own hands covered in blood, the world aflame.

And now, the author of that ruin was here. And frankly, Danny didn’t trust him. Of course he didn't. And here in public, around so many children…. The thought was making his stomach turn.

A finger gently tapped the glass of the incubator. Danny tensed, carefully eyeing the other half ghost. Power swirled in his core, ready to intervene if necessary.

“There you go.” The words were almost so low to be inaudible, spoken toward the glass, to the hatching egg. 

Danny’s energy stilled even so slightly. He watched his counterpart, head tilted. 

Phantom just stood there, watching. “Good job, little guy.” Something sparked in his eyes. Just the subtlest wrinkle of his brow, the twitch of his lips….

The other half ghost felt something in his loosen. Hardly even realizing it, he let out the breath he’d been holding.

Suddenly, the other’s head turned sharply. “What are you looking at?”

Just like that, the moment broke. Innocently, Danny raised his hands. “What’s next?” 

Phantom huffed, eyes narrowed. He whipped out the map, studying it again. “Pig races.” He answered curtly, turning and walking away without a look back. Of course, Danny followed.

Phantom demanded they find some pig races to watch, and they did. A short walk found the two at the sawdust covered track. Metal bleachers surrounded the arena, crowded with people. Tired parents with strollers, carrying bags of cotton candy and huge stuffed animals. An old couple, the husband in a trucker hat, the wife carrying an oversized bag. A few twenty somethings, scandalously eating pork barbeque in front of the pigs.

The two half ghosts managed a seat on the end of the bench, beside a little boy wearing a tiny plastic pig nose and vibrating with excitement.

“When are the piggys gonna race, Daddy?” The child bothered his father, who patiently showed him the time again. 

“One more minute.” The man ruffled his son’s hair. 

Just then, the sound of a trumpet sounded. The announcer swaggered into the center. “It’s Pig Racin’ Time!” The southern accent came on long and thick. “Good morning and welcome pig racing fans to the Hogway Speedway…”

With wide spread arms and charming enthusiasm, their host masterfully engaged the crowd. He introduced the racers, hogs punnifuly named after different Nascar drivers. The trumpet sounded again, the crowd shouting the name of their section’s chosen racer. And the pigs were off.

Danny watched his counterpart much more than the sprinting pigs. Phantom’s eyes followed the track, lips pressed closed and even. The expression was strange; it wasn’t that ‘Dan’ didn’t want to be there. It was like he was unsure…

“Hamica!” The little boy sitting to Phantom’s side shouted above the crowd. “Go Hamica!” The child jumped out of his seat. 

The sound swelled, the cheering and stomping shaking the benches. The little boy hopped up and down, small body carelessly slamming into Phantom in his excitement.

For just a moment, Danny’s breath caught again. Then….

“Number 10! Hamica Patrick wins!” The announcer shouted while the pigs gobbled up their prize of cheese doodles. 

“Our piggy won!” The little boy clapped. “She won! Did you see?” He turned to Phantom, starry eyes blind to the halfa’s tense posture. 

Wait. Why was the other half ghost tense?

The child continued. “She won! Everyone was cheering so loud and our piggy won.” 

“Yeah…” Phantom finally answered quietly, giving an almost sad shrug.

With that, the boy lowered his raised hands. “You weren’t cheering.” Lips pursed seriously; maybe he was picking up on the seeming-teen’s odd mode. “You havta cheer next race. Everyone's supposed ta cheer!”

Meanwhile the boy’s father was giving apologetic looks, trying to get his son’s attention back to the race. “The duck’s are going next. Don’t you want to see?”

The boy pointed at ‘Dan’ demandingly. “You havta cheer.”

“Alright, Alright.” Phantom put up his hands and… he smiled. “I’ll cheer.” 

Again, Danny felt like he was looking at an alternate reality. His counterpart was smiling. Not malicious or teasing. Nor mocking or crazed but…

“I’ll cheer. But…” That genuine smile cracked brighter. “You have to cheer even louder. So loud everyone’s eardrums bleed.”

Well… he was being a little macabre. But the little boy was laughing brightly all the same. 

And Phantom kept his word. “Oinkheart! You better run!” He did cheer, as loud and enthusiastic as any other pig racing fan.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Danny’s own even lips cracked into a smile. He cheered too, just as loud as Phantom.

The pigs races finished, the host announcing the next show while selling plastic pig noses and pooping pig keychains to the parents of excitable kids. Then a quick trip to the ATM and Phantom pulled Danny towards the fair games. 

“That one.” The black clad ghost’s eyes fixed on a wall of balloons. Various prizes including a five feet long stuffed shark hung from the stall.

Phantom handed over a few bills. He fingered the darts, carefully aiming with furrowed brow. He threw, the projectile sailing straight for its target. “Yes!” He cheered, only for the dart to harmlessly hit the balloon and fall. 

Danny frowned suspiciously, unintentionally mirroring the other half ghost. Still both said nothing. Instead, Phantom just threw the rest of his darts. One by one, each failed to pop a balloon.

“Come on.” Danny shook his head knowingly. “Let’s try another game.” Trust that the first one they try would be rigged.

“No.” Phantom grumbled, giving the attendant a few more bills. “I’m going to get it.”

Again, the seeming-teen carefully tested the aim of the dart, fixed on his target. Then… his gaze shifted for just a second, fixing on the other half ghost. His eyes flashed red, a purposeful smirk in them. Danny's brows furrowed in question.

The dart flew through the air, again harmlessly bouncing off the balloon and falling. Except this time, a second later the rubber sphere popped with a startling bang.

Danny flinched, shocked. For just a moment, a misty person-shaped outline wavered in front of the wall, a long clawed finger outstretched toward the balloon’s carcass.

Phantom smirked, self satisfied. Then his knees buckled.

Before he could register, Danny’s arms were wrapping around his counterpart’s shoulders, stabilizing the other half ghost.

“Is he okay?” The attendant asked, eyes wide with concern.

Was Phantom okay? He frowned down at the pale, shaky figure. His stomach flopped, feeling unbalanced. What was happening? 

Danny shook the unease away. “He’s fine. Just needs something to drink.”

The fair worker still looked worried, brows furrowed, but didn’t argue as Danny started pulling Phantom away.

“Wait. I won.” The other complained. “My shark.”

Danny gave him a dubious look but without a word, accepted the giant plushie from the worker. Holding the shark under one arm, he helped Phantom forward with the other. True to his excuse, he did steer them towards a truck selling lemonade. The two slid to the window, Danny handing over the money.

“I can stand by myself.” Phantom grumbled, just as the server handed over the two cups.

Unceremoniously, Danny unhanded his counterpart who ripped the shark from his grip. 

For a few minutes, the two silently shuffled forward, finally finding an empty bench. They sat, drinking their drinks. Phantom wouldn’t meet his eyes, head fixed down, almost as if embarrassed.

Finally, Danny broke the tense moment. “What was that about?”

The other seeming-teen looked up tentatively, almost sheepish, before shrugging forcibly casual. “I said I wanted to win at some carnival games. Don’t give me shit about it.”

Danny shook his head. “No. You almost fainted. Because you were, what, using a duplicate to cheat at balloon darts?”

“It’s not a big deal.” ‘Dan’ made a point of looking at his fingernails. “Just over did it. Stupid… I need to be more strategic next time.”

“Or just.. Not use your powers to cheat?” 

Phantom’s eyes narrowed. “I said not to give me crap.” His arms crossed, the perfect picture of a petulant teen. “It’s not like I started melting this time.”

Danny’s eyes popped wide. “That doesn’t make it any better!”

“Like you give a shit.” The other halfa sneered. “You’ve been avoiding me like the plague. I’m stuck here, shoved in this tiny, scrawny body. With all the hormones and the acne and my powers barely working. It’s like I actually am a kid again. The fruitloop keeps trying to act like he’s my dad now, making me go to therapy and shit.” His hands waved, pointing at Danny. “And you’re off, doing god knows what, playing the hero. Trying to completely forget about me.”

Danny’s mind spun, trying to process the onslaught. That last part… “Wait, that’s not-”

“This was a mistake.” Phantom stood abruptly. “I see how you keep tensing up whenever I do anything. Like I’m five seconds away from ripping everyone’s head off.” He grabbed his lemonade and stuffed shark. “I don’t know why I even bothered. I wanted to tell you, show you that I was-.” He growled, cutting himself off. “Go do what you want.” The half ghost turned, stomping off.

For a long second, Danny just stared after him, thoughts churning. The other’s figure grew farther and farther away. Then…

“Wait!” Danny’s mind clicked back into action. “Wait!” He jumped up, running after his counterpart. “Dan! Wait!” 

Within seconds, he caught up. “Dan.” And wasn’t that strange, using the name the other half ghost had given him for the first time. Danny shook away the thought. “Dan. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Phantom… Dan stopped walking, giving him a dubious look. “Yeah right.”

“No, I am sorry. You showed up at my house and dragged me here because you actually want to hang out with me, right?” 

Dan didn’t respond verbally, just gave the ‘you’re stupid’ look again. 

Danny didn’t let that cow him, instead forcing himself to continue. “You’re… you’re right, I have been ignoring you. And that’s not fair. I can’t even imagine why you want to spend time with me but…” The flickers of hurt in Dan’s face, the tension like… he was afraid of miss-stepping. Reasons churned in his head, nebulous and indistinct but so close to focus. His guts twisted; he wasn’t ready to face this, whatever this was. 

“But you do.” Danny continued. “And we’re here. So let’s buy some greasy food, ride some rides, and play more games. But no more cheating.” He pointed severely.

For just a moment, Dan’s hard expression softened, visibly letting out a breath. “Alright.” Then his eyes rolled, pointing back. “And yes more cheating.” The corner of his lip turned up. “I know for a fact you cheated at the spring carnival to get that stuffed bat for Sam.”

Danny stumbled over a response. That was true but…

“It’s not going to kill anyone.” 

Again Danny felt like he was hit in the head. The understanding, almost compassionate look Dan gave him…. It somehow wasn’t a joke. 

Danny couldn’t help but notice his stomach drop. Still, he rolled his own eyes. “I guess it won’t hurt.”

With that, the two went off to find more games. 

“How about this one?” Danny motioned to one stall, a line of water guns set up opposite a line of moving targets. 

Dan raised an appraising eyebrow. “How am I supposed to cheat at that?” He muttered.

The teen gave him a light elbow jab in response. “I’m sure you can figure it out.” His voice lowered conspiratorially. “Plus it’s Vlad’s money. Who cares how much we waste?”

Dan looked almost surprised. “You have a point.”

The pair bought two seats. They played several rounds, not winning once. 

“Come on!” Danny put up his hands. “It’s like half an inch away!” The dolphin-shaped racing marker smiled down mockingly, barely failing to reach the finish line. 

The fair worker shrugged helplessly. “So close but so far. I’m sure you’ll get it next time.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed. Oh yeah, next time for sure. Then again… if they gave it another go, maybe?

“I’m bored with this.” Dan interrupted his debating, pulling him off his seat by the back of his collar. “Oh. Those headphones look sweet.”

He marched up to a set of basketball hoops, set up fair behind a metal barrier. Sure enough, a pair of sleek black over-the-headphones hung from the side. 

“I see you eyeing these beauties.” The host’s voice projected. “Real Beats, would you believe it? Three shots to win them. Three in a row! Are you up to the challenge?” 

Dan’s eyes narrowed, wickedly smug. “Of course, I am.” 

The black-clad halfa handed over the money, receiving a ball. He stood in front of the line, lining up the shot. Again, his eyes flashed ever so subtly. And he threw. The ball sailed through the air. It bounced off the backboard. Then its edge hit the hoop and it wobbled, starting to fall out.

Danny’s shoulders fell, disappointed at the near shot.

Then, impossibly, the ball wobbled the other direction, falling neatly into the hoop. 

Danny’s mouth fell open. How was that possible?

The game’s host looked just as shocked for a moment. Then, schooling himself, he collected the ball. “Lucky shot.” He handed it back to Dan, who just wordlessly smirked.

The dark-clothed halfa lopped his second shot, then his third. Each landed perfectly. Suspiciously perfectly. 

“That’s three for the three.” The fair worker looked somewhere between stunned and suspicious. Still, he handed the headphones over.

Dan accepted the prize with a grin. “I guess I’m just lucky.” He had the audacity to shrugged casually, the movement in sharp contrast to the smugness radiating off of him.

Danny didn’t have it in him to begrudge the other half ghost his success though. The two walked off, in search of another game. 

They’d walked for about a minute, out of sight of the basketball stall and Danny couldn’t keep his surprise in anymore. “How did you do that?” He asked, almost awed.

“Just simple telekinesis.” This time, Dan’s shrug was legitimately casual. 

“Telekinesis? But…”

“Wait.” The seeming-teen stopped in his tracks, seeming to pick up on the other’s stunned confusion. “You can’t do telekinesis yet? How?” He turned to look at Danny, a mirror of his own confusion. “That’s as easy as breathing. How…” He chuckled. “How don’t you have that power yet?”

“Well, excuse me.” Danny frowned, hands on his hips; he didn’t appreciate being laughed at. “Not all of us have Plasmius’ powers and expertise downloaded right into our head.”

“What? No.” Somehow, Dan sounded even more stunned. “That’s not… Even if that was how that worked…” He looked almost… queasy saying the words. “Plasmius doesn’t have telekinesis.”

“But… yes he does.” Danny tried to argue. Vlad had definitely fought him with telekinesis before. Right?

“He can’t move things with his mind.” The other half ghost shook his head vehemently. “He’s never been able to. Not even now. I’ve tried to explain it a bunch of times.” He pointed severely. “And not out of the goodness of my heart. He wouldn’t stop annoying the shit out of me about how to do it…. And Vlad can’t do it.”

Danny blinked once, twice. “And… you’re serious. You’re not messing with me?”

“Not about this.” Dan rolled his eyes. With a quick look around, they flickered red again. An aura seeped out of his hands, surrounding the newly won headphones. “This telekinesis is one hundred percent Phantom.” The prize hovered off his palm ever so slightly, bathed in green light. 

The other half ghost studied the floating object. It was an impressive show, even more shocking that Vlad apparently couldn’t do it while Dan could so easily. Speaking of easily… Danny raised a brow, teasingly. “Maybe not one hundred percent Phantom. Since you’re not the only one, what with, Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, Technus-”

“Shut up.” Dan elbowed him, surprisingly gently, not a hint of malice in the words. “And I guess we’re not the only ones.”

Danny blinked once, surprised for just a moment. Then… “Oh right. I guess I’ll be able to do that at some point.”

Dan shrugged, the light around the headphones winking out as he caught them. “Want me to teach you?”

“Really?” The other half ghost asked, skeptical.

“Somehow you haven’t figured it out yet.” The other snarked back. Was he… blushing? “And how else are you supposed to cheat at fair games?”

For just a second there was the impulse to snark back; he still didn’t really want to cheat. But Dan was offering, authentically offering to teach him something. And Danny had said he was going to actually give this hanging out thing a shot

“Sure. I’d love it if you showed me how to do it.” Danny said, surprised at his own sincerity. 

Dan gave a nod. “Come on then.” He pulled the teen along, searching for an at least somewhat secluded place. After nearly ten minutes of looking… “This will do.”

They wedged between two stalls, the busy sound of fair goers waiting for food and workers calling out orders at their backs. The alley smelt of roasted turkey, cotton candy, and the sour tang of throw up. The perfect place for an impromptu lesson. 

“That’s going to be your target.” Dan pointed to an abandoned beer bottle. “First…”

After about ten minutes of unsuccessfully getting his younger counterpart to understand, Dan looked just about ready to pull out his hair. “No. You have to reach out. Like the power’s an extension of you.”

“Sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense.” Danny also wanted to pull out his hair.

“Okay, fine. Here. Let’s try this.” Dan grabbed his hand and-

“The fuck!” Danny just about screamed as his counterpart’s hand phased inside his. “What…” He panted, panic suddenly clawing at his throat. “Are you doing?!”

“Bad idea.” Dan was also panting, eyes blown wide. “Bad idea. Too late now.” He pinched red-flickering eyes closed. “We’re like three steps away from being the same person. I should be able to tell your core exactly what to do.”

“Okay?!” Still, Danny’s heart pounded, mind racing back. Dan’s hand, in chest. The solid gear clicking into place. Belittling laughter.

“I’m not…” Dan growled. “That’s not me anymore. I won’t hurt you.”

That was ridiculous. This was crazy. Why did he even agree to doing this? Any of this? Hanging out with Dan, learning from him? Just letting him wander around free?! Why did he trust him? He tried to trust him and this-

Like cold water rushing over him, heavy bricks falling. An immaterial wall shattered. Emotions flooded in. Pain, fear, guilt, regret. But not… not his.

Danny struggled to force his eyes open. When had he closed them?

Dan’s eyes, the same as his own, half a foot from his. They rounded, sincere, desperate. “I’m sorry. Just let me help….”

An exhale. There was a line that had been a solid wall. There was Danny and there was Dan. And Danny could see, he could feel over the line, into his counterpart’s self. The anger, the prickliness, the spite, the smugness. It was all a cover. A pathetic cover over the guilt, the fear, the regret, the pain. 

A small, tentative nudge at his own core. Comfort, reassurance. He was out of practice.

Danny looked away, at his right hand. The one uncannily possessed. His stomach lurched violently. “Do whatever it is you were going to do.”

“I’m trying!” Dan grit his teeth. “Stop fighting.”

Stop fighting? How was he supposed to-

A hand wrapped around his core, not crushing but… comfortably warm. Behind his eyes… 

Rain dripping down the windows, the world dark and gray. A huge, canopied bed. At his bedside, a picture of his family, the glass shattered.

“Danny?” A voice far away. “Danny?” He couldn’t will his head to lift, not after- 

“Danny?” The boy blinked and he was back in that smelly alley. Fingers snapped in front of his face. “Pay attention.” Eyes focused on… Dan. Right.

Wordlessly, Danny nodded. 

“Let’s get this over with.” His counterpart shook his head. His brow furrowed in concentration. And Danny felt his own core act.

Energy swirled around, flowing down to his fingertips and passed them. It stretched, ghostly fingers brushing the bottle. Then, as easy as moving his physical fingers, they wrapped around the target. The object lifted, eerily floating above the dirty ground. Gently it moved side and side of Dan’s volition. With hardly a shared thought, the black-clade half ghost gave over control. Roughly, Danny grabbed the bottle, setting it spinning in the air.

“Wow.” Danny gave a laugh. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

The other halfa rolled his eyes. “Try moving two things at once.”

The shared hand flexed, Dan guiding the movement while Danny acted. His telekinesis reached out, enwrapping a small pebble. It lifted, dipped, and spun. 

At the same time, the bottle dropped. Reaching out with his other physical hand, Danny felt his power stretch. He let out a sigh of relief, catching the object.

For a few more minutes, Danny flexed his new power. His aura wrapped around handfuls of trash, the pieces bobbing in the air. They spun around the pair. First slowly, then faster and faster. Like dirty little moons circling a planet. 

Slowly, a smile grew on Danny’s face. He was actually doing this! His eyes twinkled playfully, suddenly dropping all the trash.

“What? Already tired?” Dan asked. 

The other half ghost didn’t dignify the question. Instead, he jerkily pulled the shark into the air. He sent it in a slow circle around them. Closer and closer, all the while humming. 

“Is that the Jaws theme-”

Danny rammed the shark into his counterpart’s side. 

The plush snoot had Dan bending forward dramatically. His eyes narrowed. And Danny’s smile disappeared. Maybe that had been a step too far; he was getting too comfortable. Then…

Dan rolled his eyes. “Oh, you can effectively attack me with plushies. Color me impressed.” The words came out thick with sarcasm, not the least bit amused. But underneath…

A feeling like subdued laughter brushed Danny’s core. 

The smile wavered back into place. “You say that all serious but…” Just hint of a smirk. “You thought that was hilarious.”

“I did not.” Dan tried to deny. But standing side by side, core open to Danny’s prodding, he had no leg to stand on. “It’s this stupid teenage brain.” He lifted a hand pleadingly. “The meat suit thinks the dumbest things are funny. I’m…I’m a big scary grown up ghost, I swear!”

He sounded so desperate, it was almost funny. Danny struggled not to laugh. “Sure you are.”

For a moment more, Dan pouted, eyes trying to argue his point. Then… he huffed. “Fine. It was funny.” 

Effortlessly, he pulled his incorporeal hand out of Danny’s. The other half ghost shivered, feeling oddly bare as the background nose of Dan’s emotions faded away. 

Across from him, Dan’s arms were crossed, eyes fixed down.

Danny’s brow furrowed. What exactly was Dan’s deal? Flip flopping between emotions. He was snarking and joking one minute and then the next, clamming up and serious. He wanted to be having fun, and then admitting that he was enjoying himself the worst possible thing ever. Part of Danny was at a loss, at his wit’s end. How was he supposed to deal with this? 

But another part… the glimpses he caught from the other’s core. The anger and harshness, covering all that pain and guilt and grief. That made sense. How many times had Danny himself put on a brave face while he was hurting? 

There was another layer though. Uncertainty, insecurity, loneliness. 

So much there and Danny had no idea where to start, what he could say to help, to make it better. 

So he offered what comfort he could. “It’s okay if you thought it was funny, you know. It doesn’t mean you’re any less badass or terrifying or whatever.” He shrugged. “Plus, we’re here to have fun. Let yourself actually enjoy it.”

The other half ghost’s shoulders loosened. He looked up and… for a long moment, there was something heavy and serious in his eyes. His mouth opened and closed, chewing on the thought. Then….

“Al… alright then. Let’s go have some fun.” Dan finally said, seemingly letting the heavy words go, for now at least.

“Yeah.” Danny gave him a hearty pat on the back. “I saw one of those milk bottle toss games with a bunch of giant plushies. Wanna play that?”

“Sure.” Dan shrugged. Then pointedly. “And I expect you to use our lesson.”

“Of course.” Danny replied airly. “Can’t have you shoving your hand intangibly into me for nothing.”

“Again, I blame the teenage brain. You get forcibly de-aged and all the common sense goes out the window.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Danny waved him off. “You don’t see me complaining.”

“You haven’t been de-aged before, have you?” Dan raised a brow. 

“Well no, but…” He trailed off, at a loss for a response to the seeming-teen. Or rather, just teen. The thought almost knocked him off his feet…. Dan actually was his age again, wasn’t he?

“Thought so.” The other teen snorted, ignoring the odd look. Then pointing. “There’s your milk bottle toss.” He blinked. “What the hell is that?”

Danny’s brow furrowed, just as confused at the ambiguous giant stuffed animal. “A cat? Racoon? Maybe a red panda, except… you know, green?”

Dan rubbed his chin, deadpan serious. “Ah, the famed green cacooanda. Of course.”

That earned an appreciative snort from the other half ghost. “Nice.”

Despite his earlier sarcasm and resistance, Danny fully intended to use what Dan had taught him. A few telekinesis assisted ring tosses and he was walking away from the stand with his own green cacooanda. 

“I can’t believe it.” Dan said, dubious. “You actually did it.” He gave a scoff, his typical haughtiness as present as ever. But a twinkle in the corner of his eye…. Dan not-so-secretly looked proud. 

More games followed. Wack-a-mole. Skee-Ball. The Shooting Gallery. Darts. Ring the Bell. Even Duck Pond and Bingo. The pair hit up every one, until all the game hosts eyed the two suspiciously, muttering about calling security, much to Dan’s amusement.

“That was satisfying.” The black-clade teen smirked, carrying his collection of cheating-won spoils. “How ya feel about getting burgers?”

“Yeah.” Danny nodded. His eyes nervously flittered over the booth, still wary of being caught cheating. But… he smiled down at his own pair of headphones and the stuffed bear he planned to give to Jazz; his stomach leapt, giddy at the thrill. Slowly, he grinned. “There’s a bunch of stalls set up by local charities and stuff near the South Gate. The food’s normally good and not that pricey.”

“Awesome.” Dan agreed with a nod.

They grabbed lunch, sitting at one of the picnic tables in front of the impromptu restaurants. Neither really talked. Not that Danny minded. That had been the pattern for most of the morning and early afternoon, conversation revolving around what game to play next, which prizes either had their eyes on.

Now, Dan chewed his burger, the corner of his lip subtly lifted. At the same time, his eyes flitted from stall to stall, drifting over the crowds of people. People watching. Just the smallest hint of awe and curiosity flickered in his eyes.

Danny watched all this, his own lips quirking slightly.

Next came the rides. After a quick discussion about what to do with their prizes – they really should have waited until after to play the games – and finding a place to phase them into the ground for later, the two hurried to the midway. So many options stretched in front of them, Dan’s eyes practically shining with excitement. 

“We have to do the Gravitron first.” The black-clad teen pulled Danny through the crowds.

As they rounded the corner, the ride appeared before them. Danny could almost feel his eyes go heart-shaped. His heart picked up, airly giddy. It was shaped like a spaceship!

“Come on!” It was Danny’s turn to tug his counterpart onward. 

With fastpass bracelets, the two boarded the ride. Back against the padded wall, the boy grinned as the lights started flashing and everything started spinning. 

“Yeah! Woa!” People cheered and screamed as the ride rotated faster and faster. 

Without even a belt to hold him in place, Danny’s back pressed against the wall, the weight of gravity overwhelming. Suddenly, the panels slid up, the lady to his right shouting in surprise. The boy’s feet rose off the floor, body held in place solely by the centrifugal force. He just shouted louder.

Far too soon, the ride slowed, the panels slotting back into place and feet returning to the floor. The spinning gradually stopped and the force of gravity lessened to its normal weight. 

Danny’s ears rang slightly, balance wobbly and stomach churning; boy was he glad they hadn't pigged out on too much greasy food yet. Still, his heart pounded, a buzz with adrenaline. He grinned. “Let’s do that again!”

Ride again, they did. A second spin and then a third had Dan grinning with him, eager to try something else. 

“The drop tower?” The teen pointed. And the pair was rushing off again.

The tilt-a-whirl. An upside down swinging Pirate Ship. The Round-up, the Gravitron’s almost vertically spinning cousin. 

The two half ghosts took turns choosing which to ride next and excitedly pulling each other across the midway.

“What’s this one?” Danny pointed. “Music Express?”

“Looks kinda boring.” The other half ghost shrugged. “Let’s try it.” 

The cars formed a circle, alternating flat and sloped sections making the track look lop-sided. The two picked a car, Dan sliding in first. Danny sat beside him, the metal bar over their laps locking them into place. Again, music started and they were off.

The circle of cars rotated, first slowly and evenly. Honestly, indeed a little boring. Then…

“What wants to go faster?!” The operator yelled into the microphone. 

The riders screamed their agreement, the music speeding up. The cars spun faster. Laughter and shouts rang out; Danny’s screams joined the merry noise, caught up in the joy around him. 

Then, he slammed into Dan, his shout choking. The spinning force pulled him towards the center and right into his car-mate. His hip and shoulder dug into the other teen, Dan’s own enthusiastic shouting cutting out. The black-clad teen’s mouth snapped shut, face going beat red in mortification.

“Your.. your face!” Danny burst out laughing, unable to keep the amusement in.

Dan just wordlessly shoved Danny’s face away. 

The ride continued for a few more minutes, the rotation even reversing and sending the cars backwards. All the while, Danny laughed, a large part of him enjoying Dan’s discomfort. 

Finally, the music slowed, movement trickling to a stop. The ride over, Danny exited first. He offered his hand to help his counterpart out. 

“I guess this one’s on the no list, huh?” Danny asked, taking pity. 

Dan took the offered hand. “Nah. I want to go again.”

“Oh?” The other teen blinked once, surprised.

“Yes. You’re sitting on the inside next time.” His teeth flashed mischievously. 

“Guess I deserve that one.” Danny chuckled. 

Sure enough, they rode again, this time Danny suffering through being crushed by his seat companion. Dan laughed somewhat evilly all the while, reveling in the discomfort just as much as Danny had earlier.

Bumper cars. Three different mini-coasters. A few turns on the Racing Slide. A surprisingly disorienting house of mirrors, followed by a ridiculously lame “haunted house.” Even the good old carousel and ferris wheel. 

Conversation drifted, most trivial but some… almost serious.

The fairwheel ground to a stop, the pair hanging at the apex. “So… how does it work?” Danny asked, casually looking at his nails. 

Dan gave him a suspicious look. “How does what work?” 

“If you didn’t just download Vlad’s expertise…then how does it work?”

The other teen stiffened slightly, eyes fixed far away on the Amity Park skyline. “It’s mainly emotions. I mean, you and Vlad figured that out. Ghosts are made of emotions. And there’s… they’re not really memories, I guess. More like… the shape of them.” Slowly, the car started descending. “Like I watch football with Vlad… because he’s into it and won’t shut up about father-son bonding.” Dan narrowed his eyes pointedly. “And I find myself liking it.” He stuck out his tongue. “And the weird images of boring board rooms. And Maddie with long hair. It was so curly then, falling against her cheeks…” He grimaced. “Sometimes I really wish I hadn’t eaten Plasmius.” 

The words were so blunt, so casual; Danny choked on air. Dan ignored his hacking. “I mean… I think I would have just faded away if I hadn’t so…” He shrugged.

Danny blinked at him. What was he supposed to say to that? A response did niggle at his mind though…and to his horror, the question slipped out. “What did he… taste like?” 

“The grossest cheese ever.”

Danny and Dan enjoyed all the rides the fair had to offer, the afternoon gradually giving way to evening. The sun set, the warmth of the day becoming the chill of night. The lines grew longer, teens and young adults piling in to enjoy the bright lights and music. Still, the two were unbothered by the waits, thanks to their blessed fastpasses. 

The night stretched on, every ride enjoyed to the two teens’ hearts’ content. And finally…

“The squirrel cages.” Dan spread his arms, practically beaming up at the towering mess of metal. “Saving the best for last.” 

“Yes!” Danny’s stomach leapt, queasily excited. 

They boarded one of the odd, apostrophe-shaped cars. The plush bench sat under them, metal bars and mesh cradling the two riders. The center, oblong frame creaked, beginning to spin. The car rose into the air, swinging. 

The sound of more people being loaded onto the ride rang out below. Danny held his breath in anticipation. Any second now…

A sudden jolt of movement. Beside him, Dan gasped. 

The center rotated, the cage swaying violently. Rising higher and higher in the air. Danny’s heart fluttered. They reached the top… A burst of speed and everything spun. Both boys screamed, the cage flipping end over end. 

A flurry of movement, the world turning. The inky-black sky flashed into view, then the thousand glittering lights of the fair loomed below. The sky, the ground, the sky, the ground. The scene flickered. On and on. 

Screams reverberated, terrified and elated. Weight shifted, the car turning and flipping. Danny’s heart pounded, his stomach in his throat.

Far too soon, the ride ended. Danny looked over at his counterpart, both’s eyes blown wide. “Go again?”

Dan nodded eagerly. 

They rode again. And again. And again. 

Head over heels, the world turned in flashes of light and dark. Danny’s ears rang, shouts and cheers filling his brain. His head swam. Pressed side by side with Dan, hands grasps to the bars over the door. His veins filled with more adrenaline than blood. In every molecule… terror, giddiness, elation. 

The joy bubbled up, first in a smile. A grin. A shout. A laugh. The cackle burst out, unrestrained. Beside him, Dan’s guffaws rang in kind. The laughter filled his world, his mind. Dan’s laugh and his… they were the same laugh, but also so different. Chests and shoulders shook, the delight too much to hold. 

The two half ghosts laughed and laughed and laughed. 

They laughed until they couldn’t breathe. Until the ride stopped and both stumbled out of the car. Until Danny, one arm around the other’s shoulders, helped a green-faced, wobbling Dan past the ride operator and the line of waiting riders, and the other teen threw up on his shoes. 

“Stupid clone body.” Dan complained without heat, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“That’s just being human.” Danny laughed. 

“Well, can my body not?” He rolled his eyes, the orbs still sparkling with mirth. “Eating and sleeping are great, really, but I could do without the ability to vomit.”

“Hey, you’re doing better than my first time. You lasted for more than one ride.” The other half ghost shrugged, the movement bringing his counterpart just the tiniest bit closer. “When we went to the fair when I was eleven, I was finally tall enough. I begged to ride. Jazz and Mom absolutely refused, the chickens. But Dad rode with me. It was the best thing ever. We flipped so many times.” His speech grew faster with his excitement. “I was so dizzy after. Stumbling around like I’d just drunk a six-pack. I wobbled up to Jazz, told her she was a chicken and missed the best ride ever and…” A snort burst forth, threatening to choke his words. “I threw up all over her! I’d eaten so much cotton candy before, it was bright blue! And little bits of popcorn and hotdogs.” Danny held his stomach with one arm. “You should have seen her face.” He giggled lost in the memory, in the lingering adrenaline rush. 

Beside him, Dan shook his head in amusement. “I remember. I was there.”

“Yeah.” Danny laughed. “I guess you were… there.” He trailed off, the meaning finally hitting him. Eyes trailing over, to his counterpart’s face. Similar to his, not just because the human body was a clone, but… “I guess you were.” 

Something shifted between the two, in that meeting of eyes. An unspoken understanding lingered. That heaviness that had flashed in Dan’s eyes, right after their lesson…. It leered, visible but not weighty. 

“Come on.” Danny finally offered, smile gentle. “You wanted to eat a bunch of greasy food today. Think your stomach is up to it?”

“Of course.” The other flashed his teeth playfully.

The two weaved through the midway, away from crowded rides. They passed tens of food stalls, visiting at least a half dozen for all the staples. Cotton Candy, Kettle Corn, Candy Apples. They got the best ice cream from a local farm’s stand and incredible homemade pumpkin fudge. And so much fried food- a red-velvet funnel cake, corn dogs, fried pickles, bacon-wrapped fried Reeses’, and the famed, delectable fried oreos. 

With their haul, they walked past the fairy-light lit garden displays, plants of all shapes and sizes swaying in the breeze. Clangs sounded from the old-fashioned blacksmith’s shop, curious onlookers’ faces lit by the fire light. A bluegrass band played on the lawn to ground-shaking stomps and cheers.

“This looks like a good spot.” Danny motioned. 

They’d wandered to an empty spot on the grass, near the pond at the edge of the fairgrounds. Dan gave a nod, carefully putting down his portion of the food.

And so the two teens sat and ate. Lights flickered on the water. At their backs, music spun. Fiddle and mandolin sang, soft and slow in some kind of lullaby.  

The quiet weighed but… not heavy, not oppressive. It encompassed, gentle and protective, like a blanket. Dan ate slowly, unhurried. His eyes drifted over the lake, gaze on the gentle lapping water. But his mind was elsewhere.

And Danny watched his companion. Not tense and distrusting as before but patient, ready to talk when Dan needed.

The lullaby ended to cheers. The sound petered out, the set ending. The murmurs of the crowd ebbed away. 

The wind picked up, movement catching Danny’s eye. At the other side of the pond, the trees swayed. Needles and pine cones ruffled, falling to the water with tiny plops. 

“Do you really think I’m terrifying?” Dan finally broke the silence.

Danny turned, eyes wide. Of all the questions to ask, he hadn’t been expecting that. “Why do you ask?” He swallowed, eyes darting away evasively.

“Earlier…you said having fun doesn’t make me any less terrifying or whatever. But that’s not…” Dan looked down, picking at his nails. “I don’t care about being scary. I don’t… I don’t wanna be like that. That’s not why… I don’t deserve… that’s not…” He stumbled over the words, finally gritting out. “Just answer the question.”

For just a second, Danny’s stomach twisted; his impulse was to lie. But… back in the alley, his core brushing Dan’s. A door opened between them. And… a door, once opened, may be walked through from either side.

He couldn’t lie, not about this.

Danny swallowed, nodding. “After I saw your future and the CAT and everything… I had so many nightmares. Mostly about you escaping.” The evil laughter, terror on his friend’s faces, Amity Park in rubble. He’d wake up sweating, heart pounding and ecto-blast in hand. Ready to defend. Now… his mouth felt dry, an odd feeling squeezing his core. “Those went on for months.”

“And then it happened.” Dan’s knees pulled his chest, eyes wide, haunted, and… guilty.

Numbly, Danny nodded. It had. He remembered; the rubble, the cries for help, the flames. He shivered. That reality had been erased. Clockwork fixed the timeline, like he had the first time. But it still happened. The monster from his nightmares returned, more powerful and dangerous than ever. And now….

His eyes focused. On the boy sitting across from him. That monster was here and… he wasn’t a monster at all.

And that was the hardest part. The Phantom as evil incarnate. As a twisted, unfeeling abomination. That was easy. But this Phantom? This oddly human reflection….

“I’m sorry.” Danny found himself saying. 

Dan looked up at that, blinking at him startledly. “Why the hell are you sorry?”

In a less somber setting, he might have laughed but now, Danny just shook his head. “After the CAT, I kept telling myself that I promised I’d never be like…like you.” The odd feeling squeezed again, something like guilt. “I’d never let that happen. Because… because I promised.” His head fixed down, gnawing on his lip. “Because I was stronger. I knew better now. I was better. I was… I was different somehow. But that’s… that’s a lie.” He forced his gaze back up, focused on the wide-eyed boy in front of him. “We’re… three steps from being the same person. If things had been different…”

The rain, the bed, the shattered picture frame…. That terrible scene from Dan’s memory. It was so easy to imagine that as his reality. Losing everything, his life destroyed… A twist of fate and their places could have been swapped. 

“So… I’m sorry. I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry that you lost everything and that you’re stuck here. And having to deal with being 16 again and Vlad thinking he’s your dad. And…” Danny wrung his hands. “I’m sorry that I forgot…”

After the fight, when he’d thrown down the thermos, he’d realized, he’d seen it. That Phantom was hurting, in pain. That he was still just a grieving kid. But in the months since, he’d lost sight of that. “I’m sorry that I forgot you’re a person too. I forgot who you really are.”

Dan stared at him for a long moment, brow wrinkled. His mouth opened and closed a few times. Then… “You are so stupid.” Somehow, no heat was in the words. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be saying sorry. I’m supposed to be groveling, on my knees, begging. I…I destroyed the world, Danny.” His voice started to tremble. “I killed so many people. Maimed so many ghosts. Tried to kill Valerie, my only friend, so many times. I…I tried to kill Mom and Dad.” His eyes shone, taking on a glassy sheen. “Jazz, Sam and Tucker. I tried to kill all of them twice. Twice. And…” His face paled, almost queasy. “I am horrified. I am disgusted. I… It makes me sick. I hate… I hate what I did. I hate who I was. And…” Finally, tears started falling. “I don’t deserve any… any of this. I definitely don’t deserve you saying sorry to me. You… you idiot. You’re too good for your own good. And I’m… I’m just…”

Dan stuttered to a stop, words choking as he furiously whipped at his face. 

And it was Danny’s turn to stare stunned. What could he say to that? Nothing was good enough. Nothing would ever be good enough. By all accounts, Dan had done horrible things, unforgivable things. Danny had every reason to still hate and fear him. No reason at all to offer forgiveness or sympathy. But…

The empathy was there, twisting Danny’s heart into knots. Somehow, he understood. Far too well.

“Do you want a hug?” The question slipped out before Danny really considered it.

Dan, apparently completely stunned, nodded immediately.

What he’d asked hit Danny just as the response came. For a moment, he mentally berated himself; what a stupid thing to ask. Dan didn’t actually want a hug. And what was he doing trying to comfort his formerly evil, formerly older alternative self? But then again…

Danny’s resolve crumbled. He leaned over, wrapping his arms around Dan’s shoulders.

The breath-hitching sob caught Danny off guard. Dan letting his walls crumble in front of him had been unbelievable just this morning. But after the rides and games, sharing quips and food and heart-felt truths…. Now it all made sense.

The pair sat for a long time, Danny hugging his counterpart. Dan’s shoulders shook, hands balled in the back of his jacket. Tears wet his shirt. And the only sounds were his own heartbeat, Dan’s pounding right next to his. And the dark-clad teen’s soft cries. 

Gradually though, the tears slowed. The sobs quieted. The shaking stopped. Breathing slowed and evened. 

Taking a deep breath, Dan pulled away. “I… Sorry.” His face burned red, embarrassed. “That isn’t… I didn’t want to break down on you.”

“It’s okay.” Danny shook his head. “Maybe it didn’t go how you wanted. But this is why you wanted to hang out with me, right? To apologize, getting everything out in the open.”

The other half ghost nodded. “And show you that I’m…I’m different.” He wiped his eyes. “I’m trying to be better.”

“I can see that.” The skin around his eyes crinkled, dawning smile genuine. 

And Danny meant it. In a dozen little ways today, he’d witnessed it. This Dan was a far cry from the Phantom he’d fought all those months ago.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Dan gave a watery smile. 

Just then, a loud boom cut that air. Lights flashed in the sky. Fireworks above the pond. 

“Look at that.” Dan’s eyes widened, voice breathlessly awed.

The two sat, side by side watching the fireworks. Sparks danced across the sky, spheres and swirls and spirals of every color.

And Danny could never have been happier he opened that door and let Dan drag him here. He didn’t know what the future held for them, where exactly his and Dan’s relationship stood; were they friends now? Family? But… 

“Cotton Candy?” His counterpart offered, holding open the bag.

“Sure.” Danny nodded, taking the last handful.

There had been tears and apologies. A release of tension and fear and bitterness. New discoveries made and old similarities uncovered.

Danny tore the piece of floss in half, giving Dan back the other piece. 

And most importantly, the incredible chance to start again.

Dan accepted with a nod and a smile. “Thanks. For everything.” 

Reconciliation was indeed sweet. 

[kipsels]

A Second Opinion

#danstelle ft. Oblivious Stelle

Stelle burrowed her chin into her fist as she studied her purchases. 

On their last night on the space station, Stelle had ordered them while she sat in March’s borrowed pyjamas, but it hadn’t been until their return from Jarilo VI that she’d gotten the chance to actually go through what she’d ordered properly. 

A pile of various colours, patterns and styles littered her bed. Polkadots and butterflies, pretty lace and utilitarian cotton. More than enough to last her the next decade, really, but Asta and March turned out to be very enthusiastic shoppers. 

Was all this really her style? Did she even know what her own style was? She felt like she needed a second opinion. 

Yes, a second opinion sounded like a great idea.

Piling the clothes back into the packaging for ease of transport, Stelle waddled out of her room towards the archives. 

“Dan Heng?” Stelle called out as the door slid open. She heard him grunt in answer to his name.

Peering around the pile in her arms, she found him hunched over the terminal, fingers tapping away at the keys as he added his latest notes to the data bank. 

“Will you give me your opinion on some clothes I bought?”

“Go ask March.”

“March picked them out for me, of course she likes them.”

Dan Heng slumped back into his chair, turning his head to look at her with that look of mild exasperation she was oh so familiar with. Then, the corner of his mouth quirked up as he gestured to his bed with his chin.

“Go on then.”

Stelle gave him a cheery little smile as she transported her cargo to his bed, turning the packaging over until every article fell out. 

Leaning over, she hooked the first one onto her finger to lift it up. Pale blue with little pink love hearts over it, it definitely screamed March in its design.

“Do you like this one?” She asked as she turned to Dan Heng.

Dan Heng stared at her like she had grown a second head. With a stellaron inside of her, it didn’t seem like an entirely impossible scenario. 

“Stelle. That’s a bra.”

“Yes?”

“I thought you wanted my opinion on some clothing.”

“I do.”

“But- I-” A number of half finished syllables spilled out of his mouth, none of them coherent.

His cheeks turned a charming shade of pink (not unlike the colour of the love hearts on her bra) and he pinched the bridge of his nose as his entire face scrunched up. 

“Are they all bras?”

“Yep.”

“And you want… my opinion?”

“Yep!”

Dan Heng looked a little dazed as he stared at the pretty blue bra hanging off her fingertip. With a slow, drunken blink, he replied.

“It’s… nice?”

“Okay… what about this one?”

Minutes passed as Stelle diligently listened to Dan Heng’s feedback, though his words really didn’t mean all that much. ‘Nice’ and ‘Fine’ and ‘Whatever’ were not exactly great descriptors of value.

But his usually stoic expression had collapsed, the gape of his mouth and the wide set of his eyes far more telling than any words. Stelle had already separated them into two piles - the pile that made him cringe and the pile that made him blush. 

Dan Heng carded his hand through his hair, his unfocused eyes staring somewhere into the void above his bed.

“Are we done now?��

“Wait, I have one more.”

“Fine, just… just get it over with.”

Fair enough.

Stelle hooked her thumbs under the bottom of her shirt, lifting the hem up to her shoulders. The cool air of the archives brushed across her bare stomach, but it was not the chill that sent a shiver down her spine. 

Dan Heng stared at her chest, his pupils blown wide until only a sliver of green remained. Stelle didn’t know that eyes could even do that. 

Was he okay? 

“What do you think?” She asked, the silence stretching out to the point of just being plain awkward. 

She glanced over the hem to peer down at herself. Her modest breasts were covered by a sheer green bra, the edges of each cup trimmed with black lace. There was a little bow at the centre of her cleavage, crowning the single dew drop jade charm that dangled below it. 

It had been her favourite of the bunch, but March had said it was kind of boring. Still, a second opinion couldn’t hurt…

A strange rumbling filled the room. Stelle twisted her neck to look at the servers, wondering if they had begun to overheat. 

No, not the servers. Maybe the ceiling fans were malfunctioning? 

The fans seemed fine. Wait, was it getting louder? It sounded like an animal… growling? Was it... coming from Dan Heng?

“Dan Heng?”

A muscle in Dan Heng’s jaw ticked as he ground his teeth together, his dark brows pinched together. His gaze had not wavered from the obviously offensive bra. 

“Can you leave, please?” He bit out.

“But what about-”

“It’s fine! It’s– It’s great! Dandy! Now get out.”

Stelle dropped her shirt, a frown marring her face. Dan Heng’s entire chest expanded with a mighty inhale, like he’d been holding his breath for the last five minutes. 

Jolted into action, Dan Heng hauled all of her purchased brassieres - packaging and all, off of his pallet and into her unsuspecting arms. Stelle squeaked as she struggled to keep a handle on all the straps and frilly bits. She stared at Dan Heng. He glared back. 

“Okay, okay. Sheesh, I should have asked Mr Yang for his opinion instead.”

“Out!”

Right. Leaving.

Stumbling out of the Archives and into the corridor, Stelle turned around just as the door slid shut, catching a final glimpse of Dan Heng crouching on the floor with his head in his hands. Under the whoosh of the door’s hydraulics, she thought she heard his voice ring out.

“F-fuck…”

Stelle blinked. The sliding door clicked shut. 

Dan Heng? Swearing? 

Nah.

Must have been the wind or something.

Well, at least she now had three different categories, she thought. The cringe collection, the blush collection, and the one bra Dan Heng thought was 'great'.

[gracegrove]

TW 70s era use of the word "queer"

Neil Hargrove doing a very working-class thing by volun-telling Billy that he will be spending his summer as a 14-year-old doing hard manual labor on a job site with some random ass uncle he didn't even know he had until one morning over dry Cheerios.

Neil drops him off at Uncle Matt's in Anaheim with a backpack and a duffel bag. See ya in September. "Don't cause your uncle any trouble," he warned with a thick grip on the shoulder before he took off for the interstate.

Billy stared at the man with hard eyes, his arms crossed in defiance. "You're not my real Uncle..."

The man chortled, ash sprinkling from the thick cigar chomped in his teeth. "Ya think so, tough guy?" He chuckled some more, waving for Billy to come inside.

Uncle Matt was a large man, as wide as he was tall. The furniture groaned when he sat down, casually kicking off his work boots and shrugging out of his suspenders as he picked up the can of beer from the side table.

"So Willy..." "It's Billy." Uncle Matt gave him a toothy grin. "Billy," he corrected, "Ya ever work a day in yer life?"

Billy sat on the corner of the couch, as the man took a long sip from his Coors. "Kinda. I mow lawns n' stuff."

Matt chuckled, "Ya ain't gonna be mowing no fucking lawns here! This is gonna be hardass work kid. Best get some sleep now..."

Billy rolled his eyes and headed off to the bedroom he was given.

After the first month, Billy and Uncle Matt fell into a routine. Matt's wind-up alarm clock was grating and shrill enough to wake Billy before Matt got two extra snores in at sunrise. The pair shared toast, eggs, and Folger's instant before heading out to the job site.

Billy's hands had gotten rough and calloused. Blistered and scabbed over more times than he could count.

"Hey Billy!" Matt called out over the ending shift horn. Billy slung the hammer in his grip onto the loop of his jeans and began climbing down the ladder. "Yah?"

"We're gonna have some company over tonight for dinner. My bookkeeper, Dan. So play nice." Billy smiled wryly. "I always play nice."

Things seemed a bit odd when dinnertime began rolling around. Uncle Matt was combing and carefully parting his hair in the mirror and was that the stench of aftershave on his beard?

Also for the first time in his life, Billy discovered what a tablecloth looked like as Matt carefully smoothed it across the dining room table. Billy crinkled his nose in suspicion, "Dan's a woman."

Matt barked out a laughed. "You're a hoot kid! Wait till Dan hears that!"

The doorbell rang and Matt stood up straight, smoothing his shirt. "Billy, can you set the plates out while I get the door?" Billy squinted at him, as the man hurried out of the room.

Peeking his head around the corner Billy snuck a glance at their guest.

Dan was not what Billy was expecting and he certainly wasn't a woman either. Dan was an average man of average height. He had shaggy brown hair and a thick mustache to boot. His face was set with round thick-rimmed glasses. What was so special about Dan that they had to have dinner with him?

The men hugged at the door, the embrace uncharacteristic of how Billy believed men should act around each other. They regarded each other warmly. "I'm so glad you came," Matt said quietly. "Me too. I've missed you."

Scurrying back, Billy quickly set the table and sat down, his heart thundering. He suddenly felt like he shouldn't be here. Like he was now a part of a horrible secret.

"Billy, this is Dan." Matt introduced as they entered the room. Billy awkwardly rose from his chair, weakly shaking his hand. "H-hey."

"Why don't you two have a seat and I'll fetch the chow, huh?" Matt said happily, a hand on Dan's shoulder.

"Oh, I'll help!" Billy forcibly stated, rushing into the kitchen.

Matt raised an eyebrow, "Ok..."

In the kitchen, Billy was nervously wringing his hands around a hot pad as Matt entered. "Are you a queer?" he blurted out, regretting it in an instant.

Matt set down the crockery he had set to take in. "I am Billy. Does that make you uncomfortable?"

Billy twisted the hot pad back and forth in his hands, "I... – I don't know. It's like..." He was struggling, his nose scrunching and his eyes watering up. "You're... you're not supposed to."

Uncle Matt ripped a paper towel off the rack and handed it to Billy. "It's okay tough guy, you don't gotta figure it all out right now. If you wanna have dinner in your room you can."

Billy shook his head, blowing his nose loudly. "But you made all this, and... you're real nice, and... –"

"... a damned queer." Matt added with a deadpan delivery. "Just don't tell your father, he'd have a heart attack."

Billy laughed.

"Now c'mon. Chow's gettin' cold."

[decibly]

Danny thought he had been doing fine. It had been months already, and what had happened hadn’t been that bad, really. He had only been with the GIW for a few hours, after all, so they mostly just talked to him instead of anything worse.

But then someone had said the word.

He had no idea what had happened. All that Danny could remember was that he had just finished up a fight with some loose animal ghosts who were wrecking the mall, and someone had said it.

“What a monster, I swear…”

All he could see was the white of the walls, of their suits, of the painful spraypaint on the metal chair he was strapped to, and he ran. He had run somewhere far away in a terrified panic, and now he was sobbing on the sidewalk somewhere, head between his hazmat-clad knees. Danny couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened, how awful it was, how lucky he was that it hadn’t been so, so much worse.

“What are your intentions, monster? If you do not answer, you will be punished.”

“...”

Danny froze his hands to ground, trying to reassure himself. It had been so hot in that room.

“Why do you imitate emotions, monster? If you do not answer, you will be punished.”

“I- I’m not imitating-”

He buried his face further into his hazmat’s black, far away from the white highlights. There had been no colour there, just white with touches of black and green from the weapons and restraints. They would never allow this much of something that wasn't white.

"Clean up the monster's mess. Ectoplasm stains, remember."

Danny must've been crying for at least 10 minutes when he saw a glimpse of teal from the small bit of his peripheral vision that wasn't covered up. "J-jazz?" He crawled over, easily melting the ice on his hands since she wasn't getting closer for some reason, and settled back into his previous position. He saw a glimpse of orange at some point, which must've been her hair.

"I'm not a monster, right Jazz? You'd tell me if I was, wouldn't you?" Jazz was talking now, but Danny couldn't understand any of the words she was saying. "Yeah, you would. 'm not a monster. I'm not- I'm not Dan. I'll never be- be him." Danny transforms back into a human, and hears some noises that might be some distant gasps and maybe even a small scream. Maybe he should go help… no, he's too tired. Val could deal with it.

"Can we go home, Jazz? I'm-" Danny yawns- "really tired. Please?" Instead of his sister's hands helping him to his feet like he expects, big arms pick him off the ground entirely. There's a voice, or maybe two, murmuring things like "of course, sweetie" and "we'd never leave you here, Danno" and these arms aren't his sister's but they remind him of the one time two years ago he fell asleep on the couch and his dad picked him up and carried him to bed, and the voices are similar in that they're familiar, but not Jazz, and Danny thinks he should be scared. He should be, but he's not, and it's because the voices are soothing, and the arms are hugging him close but not so much it hurts, and everything about this feels loving and kind in a way that does make him think of Jazz.

So Danny falls asleep, the green glow he was unaware of fading from his eyes, and let's himself be taken home by his parents.

[specialagentlokitty]

Lucifer Morningstar x Sibling!reader - all this time

Lucifer x twin! Reader - Reader meets Lucifer after he first comes to LA - @mxacegrey 💜

You hadn’t seen your brother in so long, you wondered if he was still in hell or if he’d thrown in the towel like he always told you he was going to do.

Sitting at the cafe, you took a sip from your drink and turned to your friend as she walked over and smiled with a small wave.

“Hey Chloe.”

“Sorry I’m late.” She sighed.

You smiled and shook your head as you handed her your bank card.

“I can pay you know.” She laughed.

“Yeah but I said this was my treat so take the card and get your drink.” You chuckled.

She rolled her eyes at you but did it regardless, walking back over she handed you the hard back and dropped into the chair with a huge sigh.

“What’s stressing you?”

“Everything.” She sighed.

Nodding your head, you leant back, resting your arm on the back of your chair as you thanked the woman who brought over her drink.

“Well, let’s hear it.”

“Honestly it’s so much don’t worry.” She smiled.

“Chloe Decker spill. Now.”

“Fine! Fine!”

She began to tell you everything to was eating away at her, from the cases, to her new assistant she just couldn’t seem to get rid off who was making things hard.

From Trixie being bullied to Dan and the whole police force, she told you everything.

When she was done you had finished your drink and she looked visibly more relaxed then she did before she sat down.

“Better?” You smiled.

“So much better, thanks.” She sighed.

You guys carried on talking for a while, he phone kept going off but she eventually put it on silent before turning back to you.

Not long after you felt a presence of another celestial being, and you started to look around, your eyes fixed on the man wearing a suit coming closer.

“Detective!” He yelled.

He froze when he saw you sitting in front of her.

“Oh my god.. lucifer! (Y/N) I’m so sorry…” Chloe quickly apologised.

“No, no it’s fine.”

You stood up and looked at the man with a soft smile.

“Hey Luci…” you whispered.

Lucifer rushed forward, crushing you into a hug and you happily hugged him back while laughing, holding on to him tightly.

“I.. I heard rumours but I didn’t think…” he whispered.

He pulled away and got a good look at you.

“You two know each other?” Chloe asked.

You turned around and Chloe looked between you and Lucifer, gaze flicking between the pair of you.

“We’re twin’s Detective!” Lucifer laughed.

He pulled up a chair and sat down with the two of you a huge smile on his face.

“Twins?”

“Yes, though we haven’t seen each other in a long, long time.” You smiled.

You guys told her about how you fell out of contact, while he kept mentioning hell and heaven, you tried keeping it a little more normal for her.

She believed you more then she did your twin and you could tell that easily.

“Well if lucifer is the supposed devil, what are you?” She asked.

“(Y/N) is the Angel of tranquility, peace.” Lucifer said.

Chloe looked at you and you laughed sheepishly.

“I suppose if I was an Angel that’s what I would be yeah.”

“At least you’re normal unlike him.” She laughed.

Both of you laughed and Lucifer pouted and you smiled at him.

“Is Maze here?”

“Of course! Come to Lux, she’s always there.”

You immediately agreed because you wanted to know what your brother had been up to all this time you were apart.

You wanted to rebuild that bond you used to have with him, and he wanted nothing more than that as well

[aftg-random-fun]

Andrew paused as he looked at the scene in the apartment. The couch was covered in blankets and all the stools and chairs were covered up too. The TV was on playing some film from the turn of the century with a laugh track. He knew the movie title of course, but that’s not what is important. The cats were darting in and out of the blankets chasing and batting at each other.

“What is this?” Andrew asked as he finally entered the apartment and closed the door. A rummaging sound came from the pile.

Finally an auburn head popped out from one of the blankets. “Andrew! Look what Matt showed me!” A crooked smile and gleam in his eyes. Andrew took off his Docs and bag before entering into the mound with Neil’s assistance. Inside the mound it was dark. “Where did I put the switch?” Neil muttered as he felt around near him. “Ah-ha! Okay, this part Dan suggested.” Neil explained as he clicked the switch. Above them the mound lit up with fairy lights. The lights twinkled and covered the top of the mound.

“Oh wow!” Andrew breathed. He lightly touched one of the lights. “What brought this up?”

“Matt was reminiscing about blanket forts he made as a kid and when I said I never made one he called Dan and we built this. I was thinking we could camp out here tonight.” Neil gestured to the makeshift bedding at the sides of the mound. “Matt and Dan also gave me a pile of DVDs and said that it was our homework to watch them all.” Neil pulled out a stack of ten DVDs. Andrew took the pile and started to card through them.

“I haven’t seen any of these.” Andrew admitted as he looked through the different animations. “Did any of these pop out to you to start with?” He laid them out on the ground so they could look at all of the titles.

“Matt thought we should start with A Nightmare Before Christmas or The Princess Bride.” Neil tapped the DVDs. Andrew tapped A Nightmare Before Christmas and grabbed the TV remote. Andrew turned the TV over to the DVD channel as Neil popped the case open. Once the movie was starting Neil wrapped them both into another blanket which goes to show that Andrew having blankets stashed in every room was a smart decision.

“Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil replied meeting Andrew’s eyes. Andrew reached around and hugged into Neil. As they moved into a better position for cuddles they moved the DVD pile out of the way. The movie progressed and drew both of them in from the visuals to the soundtrack to the plot. When the movie ended they both were tired and each had a cat on top of their laps.

“Want to stay in the fort tonight instead of moving to the bed?” Andrew asked since he could feel Neil’s breathing begin to even out.

“Yes, Matt and Dan said we needed to do that.” Neil agreed as he stretched like a cat before wiggling into the blanket more.

Andrew gazed at his junkie fondly before turning off the television and fairy lights. When he was done he laid down and looked at Neil’s face. He fell asleep counting the freckles that appeared on Neil’s cheeks from his time in the sun. They both slept peacefully in their blanket fort that night.

Of course, in the morning they awoke to both of their cats meowing for breakfast right in their ears.

End

[almayver]

I'm doing a spooky week marathon as one does and I legit forgot that Dan fell off his chair on the first ever spooky week video. They really established the vibe from the beginning

[jadedwolf18-blog]

Mini Phantom Invasion

<< Chapters One - Six | << Chapters Seven - Twelve | << Chapters Thirteen - Eighteen

^^^^^

Mini Phantom Invasion - Mini Adventures

^^^^^

Fourth lot of chapters begins! Thank you for all the interest and likes!

And the time line has caught up to the start of the Mini Adventures!

🤍🖤💚💙💚🖤🤍

Chapter 19

Danny fell silent after their recount of everything they had gone through, from when they died, all the to how they became king. They had shared bits and pieces with Dan and compared their live up till the Nasty Burger incident and how Danny’s was different after Dan was sealed away but it had never been in such detail or in one whole sitting. It felt like a weight, they didn’t know they had, had been lifted off their shoulders.

They had a brother, a blood related older sister who understands the feeling of being thrust into a hero role and a brother-in-law had also experienced finding out he was an entirely different race than they had been raised as. Not to mention their niece and now, officially, their daughter.

They had a family, people who understood in ways their friends and Jazz had never been able to do. They new their true heritage, even if half was still missing. They felt more whole than they’d ever felt, even before the accident. All the little odd behaviours they’d has a a child, that the Fentons had basically trained them out of doing, that they were told was wrong. They finally knew why and that they had in fact been normal behaviours for a mer-child.

Looking over to where Rukia and Elle were playing… they were relieved and happy that Elle would be able to embrace all of her instinct from the start. They still found themself holding back or suppressing some instincts, even around others of their kind. Years of being told, trained, to act human were hard to shake off.

****

Clock Work had come to inform them that the claiming ceremony was ready and the family of siblings and nieces made their way to the private room. The ceremony was short and sweet. An exchange of ectoplasm and a sworn oath of familial bond. 

They had all been surprised, excluding Clock Work who was acting as the main witness, when Elle was engulfed in a bright light. Once it had faded they were met with a human looking Elle as a three year old.

Clock Work was quick to explain that the ceremony had corrected the unnatural age progression that Vlad had put her through in the pod, as well as the error in her make up that had made her susceptible to destabilisation, even with the Ecto dejecto. She was now a true Halfa. Her memory was still intact but she would now act more her true age.

Danny had scooped Elle up and held her close, they had always had the fear, that she would one day disintegrate and they would not be able to help her. This was one less fear they had to worry about. She was safe and healthy and she will never destabilise again.

****

Dan sighed as he slumped back into his chair. Dan had a strange mix of emotions, he wanted to go after Vlad for what he had done but he was happy to have another niece, there was also the jumbled thought on if Elle could be counted as his as well or if, despite being the same person, their genetics were different.

It was something to look into, for curiosities sake, for all they knew they could actually be brothers… their mother could travel dimensions for fucks sake, it was in the realm of possibility. Did Clock Work know? Who was he kidding, they probably did. Continuing that thought he wondered if they had the same father? Was a different time period also considered a different universe? It that was the case, how did he end up the same in the same environment, with the same people? He new of other Earths, thanks to his time with the JL. They had made no progress in finding their father… 

Maybe it was time they asked Clock Work directly. He didn’t have much hope in finding him nor that he would be happy to learn about them, to be honest, unless Clock Work hinted or told them where to look. Considering time, would their father even be alive now? They didn’t have a time frame or any indication of what time period or universe he was from. He didn’t particularly care either way but Danny…He would keep looking for his brother’s sake.

His intrusive thoughts were interrupted by a pat to his leg, looking down he came face-to-face with his youngest niece.

“Hi!” The smile on the three year olds face made him wary. It was to much like Danny’s, when they were up to something, to not be suspicious. Dan knew for a fact he did not smile like that when planning something. Danny had told him many times he had more of a smirk, Danny, and therefore Elle, had a smile that radiated to much innocence that anyone who was not familiar with the little gremlin would never suspect the chaos they had, were causing or will cause in the future.

“Hi… can I help you?” He continued to watch for any hint of what she was up to, as her eyes widened and her smile brightened, his senses prickled further. Danny had caught him off guard, more times than he’d like to admit, with that look. Were her eyes sparkling…?

“Can I call you Uncle Udon too?” Dan stared before slumping further into his chair, in resignation. ‘I’m never going to shake this nickname now.’ His siblings’ laughter and his older niece’s giggles just further cemented the thought.

****

Their older sister and her family stayed with them for a week after the coronation and Dan had informed the JL that both he and Phantom would be off world for the week and had Katana checking in with Japan during the week while Superman had offered to do a few flybys during his free time. Their claimed haunt was relatively problem free but they did suffer natural disasters at certain times of the year. Though they were quick to boot anyone who planned to cause trouble, before it could truly begin.

It had been nice, all the heavy stuff had been felt with on the first day and that left the rest of the week to relax and bond as a family. Rukia and Elle had become fast friends and they Danny, Lucia and Kaito got to know each other more and they had learned more about their Mother and the world their sister lived in. Sharing stories of being teen heroes in worlds that had no other heroes to guid them. Danny was happy.

Once their sister and her family had gone home, Danny and Dan had returned to Japan and their home town, Elle in tow. To say the town was overjoyed was an understatement, they had shown a festival in honour of Yuurei and the the fact that they would continue to prosper for many generations in the future. Elle had had a blast as she played with the town children and are to her hearts content. She loved the fact that she now had a place to, permanently, call home. That night they slept at the Shiro as the festival continued for three days.

****

Things had settled down, after three weeks, and Danny was only now ready to face the box of their mother remains. It was common for some ghosts to have keepsakes of family members, even the mere kept blood pearls, either to remember or as gifts of protection or  proof of bonds. The thing was, usually, it was one or two pieces. A tooth, lock of hair, blood pearl or fur. Not every usable piece, like the Hunters had kept. Now faced with the box full of fins and scales… They didn’t know what to do. Deciding that they could figure it out later, they started organising them, trying not to think about where they had come from. Ells was taking a nap and Dan had come in at some point to help them. They were thankful for the quiet support.

****

Danny was exhausted. It didn’t happen often anymore, due to the power boost being King of The Infinite Realms gave them, but it had been a long two weeks. There had been an intergalactic war that was getting to close to their planetary orbit and almost everyone had gone to investigate and help, in any way they could, to resolve the problem peacefully. Everything had been going well but one side had decided that they still wanted the other planets resources. The JL were then fully dragged into the war. They were finally able to resolve thing with minimal casualties but it had taken its toll on everyone their.

Dan had stayed back so Earth wasn’t left unprotected while most of the heavy hitters were off planet. He had also kept an eye on Elle. Once Danny had returned home, despite their fatigue and heavy body, they had spent some much needed time with Elle. All three of them had gone to the hot spring and messed around as Danny unwound the tension they had built up over the  weeks they had away.

It had been their first large scale fight, they had been involved with, Dan was usually the one to go on these kind of missions but this one had been in space. In Space! Sure they could go anytime they wanted but they also had a pull at their protection obsession. So two vultures one stone.

It didn’t hurt that their partner for this particular mission was Red Robin. They had gotten to know the other hero on a more personal level, though that is rather subjective, they were friends now. Besides, war didn’t allow for deep discussion, as much as movies portray at least. They mainly worked on information gathering, hacking alien tech and espionage, in some cases, in their quest for information. For the first week at least. The second week was filled with fighting and making sure their teammates did join their domain so soon.

Danny sighed as they slipped further into the hot water. They were so relaxed that they didn’t notice a certain three year old sneak up on them.

“Daddy? When can I get a sybling?” To say Danny nearly drowned would be false but they did sink into the water and flounder around in surprised embarrassment, before coming up and sputtering. Dan was laughing in the background.

“Not unless someone manages to clone me! Again!” They cried out in a rush before mumbling. “Or someone actually agrees to marry me.” 

****

Danny collapsed onto their bed at Phantom’s keep. The rush of Ectoplasm would help them get back to normal quicker. They snuggled into their pillow and their thoughts drifted to Elle’s question and immediately blushed when Red Robin crossed their mind. Forcing their mind to be quiet, they slipped into sleep. Their dreams were hazy and fragmented and their consciousness remains out of reach for almost to days. Unaware of their sleepy actions.

🤍🖤💚💙💚🖤🤍

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[simply-whump]

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (꽃선비 열애사) - Whump List

Whumpee : Kang San played by Ryeoun, Kim Shi Yeol played by Kang Hoon and Jung Yoo Ha played by Jung Gun Joo

Synopsis : Yoon Dan Oh had enjoyed a comfortable life as the beloved youngest daughter of a well-off family, but no longer. Now the family breadwinner, she runs the Ihwawon Inn. Current guests are scholars taking the civil service entrance exam in the hopes of becoming high-ranking officials. Among them are Kang San, Kim Si Yeol, and Jeong Yoo Ha, who all have deep secrets. They and Yoon Dan Oh will share information and cooperate to find Lee Seol, who disappeared 13 years ago. (MDL)

Genres :  Historical, Mystery, Romance

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Kang San

Ep 1 : Fighting — More fighting, shielding someone from a falling shelf with his body

Ep 2 : Fighting

Ep 3 : None

Ep 4 : Fighting — Shot by a poisoned arrow, chased, running away with the arrow in his arm, bleeding, heavy breathing — Stumbling, pulls the arrow out (Gif Set) — Weak, looking exhausted and really unwell, vision blurry, stumbling — Collapses unconscious, concern for him (Gif Set)

Ep 5 : Unconscious, bleeding — Laid down on a bed, concern for him, wakes up — Unconscious/asleep in bed, concern for him, treated — Wakes up in bed, told to rest (Gif Set) — Has a hard time getting his clothes off, medicine applied on his wound a bit roughly — Training with his arm still injured, holding his arm

Ep 6 : Arm hurting — Using his bow with an injured arm, bleeding, arms shaking — Chased, hiding 

Ep 7 : Fighting, surrounded by ennemies, at sword point

Ep 8 : Worried for someone — glass smashed on his back while protecting someone — Arm in a sling — Wincing in pain — Injured arm hit, grabbing his arm while wincing in pain, bleeding — Identity revealed 

Ep 9 : Told he looks unwell, injury grabbed accidentally — Arm bleeding, concern for him, injury treated — Drunk, put to bed

Ep 10 : Sparring, hit, more intense sparring — Surrounded, attacked

Ep 11-12 : None

Ep 13 : His legs fell asleep because he squatted for to long, helped up — Surrounded, attacked, fighting

Ep 14 : None

Ep 15 : Fighting multiple ennemies at once, almost shot, falls from a cliff, hits a tree, bleeding from the head, passes out (Gif Set) — Woken up, helped up — Arrested, tied up to a chair

Ep 16 : Worried for someone, fighting, hit, thrown to the ground — Tied to a pole — Frees himself, fighting, at sword point, more fighting

Ep 17 : None

Ep 18 : Fighting, loses his sword, sword at his neck, saved, more fighting — Fighting, crying

Kim Shi Yeol

Ep 1 : Thrown down some stairs, pretends to be unconscious — Punched, blood on his lips — Taken by some guards — Looking disheveled 

Ep 3-4 : None

Ep 5 : Knocked out, arrested and tied to a chair — Sword at his neck

Ep 6 : Tied to a chair, burning iron put on his leg (torture), groaning in pain, heavy breathing — Limping

Ep 7 : Trips and falls while running away

Ep 8-9 : None

Ep 10 : Identity revealed

EP 11 : Fighting

Ep 12 : Scratch on his hand, concern for him — Concern for him, checked out to see if he has any injuries

Ep 13 : Fighting, arm cut — Asleep, concern for him

Ep 14 : None

Ep 15 : Surrounded by ennemies, attacked, fighting while protecting someone, arm cut, bleeding, concern for him — Injury treated, lots of scars shown on his body — Depressed

Ep 16 : Crying — Fighting

Ep 17 : Fighting, crying

Ep 18 : Fighting

Jung Yoo Ha

Ep 1-5 : None

Ep 6 : Watches his mother die, crying

Ep 7 : None

Ep 8 : Teary eyed

Ep 9-11 : None

Ep 12 : At sword point

Ep 13-15 : None

Ep 16 : Tied to a pole — Freed— At sword point, sees someone he cares for die in front of him, crying, shocked, stumbling, stays behind to protect his friends

Ep 17 : Tied to a chair, face grabbed roughly — Brought for a public execution with a bag on his head, hands tied, put to his knees, neck, hands and feet tied so that he can be torn apart

Ep 18 : Limbs pulled by horses (to tear him apart), saved, heavy breathing

>> More Whump Lists

[ghostcaterwaul]

My Thoughts On Rory Culkin Movies/Characters That Absolutely No One Asked For!

My thirst for Rory Culkin has been reignited thanks to TikTok, so I’ve been (re-)watching a lot of his movies this past week, and I have a lot to say.

Jack Goes Home - About 20 minutes in (the dinner scene with Jack and his mother), I knew I was definitely not in the headspace for this movie, but at that point I was like “I’m not gonna stop 20 minutes in, ffs”, so I got stoned and kept watching. Also took an edible which I kinda regret because watching the last like, half of that movie that fucking baked? A bit too intense, ngl. Oh and the “I don’t need help. I’m fixing things.” part? I feel like that’s what I look like to my roommate when I’m very obviously spiraling in some PTSD/Borderline episode and in denial about it. Like, that’s gotta be the vibes I give off (My roomie watched this part with me, and I mentioned this, and he agreed so… yikes.) The ending with Jack going back into the house kinda fucked me up, emotionally.

Gabriel - I tried to watch this immediately after watching Jack Goes Home and ended up having to stop halfway through and watch the rest the next day. First half was hitting a little too close to home and I couldn’t handle it directly after Jack Goes Home. Cried a little when I did finally finish it.

Intruders - Overall a good movie. Gave me a bit of anxiety because home intrusion stuff freaks me out. Worth it due to Rory’s character, Dan, whimpering and whining while getting absolutely wrecked for a decent portion of the movie. That cry he lets out when his knee is relocated? An absolute blessing.

Welcome to Willits - The movie itself isn’t the best but I enjoyed it. Maybe it would have been better if I had gotten more stoned, tbh. Possum is my absolute favorite Rory character though. Possum deserved better.

The Song of Sway Lake - Ngl, I felt like this one moved kinda slowly. I got bored at one point, checked the time stamp, realized I was only halfway through, and had to come back to it the next day. So, not my favorite Rory Culkin movie but I do think his hair looks the best in this one.

Scream 4 - So, I’ll be honest, I’m not like, an avid fan of the Scream franchise or anything, mainly due to the fact I’m not big on slasher films. However, I love horror movies and the Scream franchise seems like required viewing for any horror fan. I do enjoy the genre-aware characters and the meta-ness of the franchise and I think a lot of it is pretty clever. However, I don’t really revisit these movies all too often. That being said, I’m just going to focus on Rory’s character, Charlie, because that’s all I really feel qualified to talk about. I love Charlie so much. Definitely one of my favorite Rory characters, ngl. Probably a close second to Possum. Also, seeing him tied to that chair? And then the “Shh, shh, I know, I know”??? I have a lot of very inappropriate things to say about all that.

Electrick Children - This was what really got me thirsting over Rory when I watched it about 10-ish years ago. I hadn’t seen it in forever so it was nice to rewatch it. I don’t really have as much to say about this one as I thought I would. Clyde does hold a special place in my heart, though, as the first Rory character I fell in love with.

[jmkho]

The One Where They Did A Farmers Market

Summary: The boys, for some reason, decided to sell some stuff at the local farmers market.

Words: 1130 ish I added a little more

Warnings: swearing, Josh with a chainsaw, purple neon shorts, farmersmarket!jake

Jake stood behind his stall as he looked down at his little pots of jam. He smiled to himself as he stood there. 

Nice, he thought.

He hoped the wine he worked his ass off making would also sell well because damn, that was rough but also worth it. 

The stuff is not only delicious, with hints of delectable fruits and the smokyness of the wood from the barrel, but that shit will get you fucking DRUNK.

He felt good and looked good. He wore his big black wide-brimmed hat with a blue and white striped shirt, with one button done up as usual. He felt like part of the market, like a fancy farmer.

Josh said he looked the part, too, but should have worn his straw hat instead.

His eyes went from his precious jams to the stall opposite. There, staring back at him, was Sam. He sat in his camping chair, his head barely peaking over the stall table, chewing away just watching Jake. 

Jake's brow furrowed, but he laughed softly as he moved to go look at his brother's stall. He eyed the sign his younger brother had made for the market as he approached the table.

It was a poorly taken photo of Sam with a thumbs up and cheesy smile, with the words "Anything can be pickled & tickled!" sprawled across it in thick, black letters.

Jake's eyes went from the sign to the man sitting down, who still chewed away as he ate something.

"Cwan eye hfelp hew?" Sam asked as he chewed.

"Sammy, what does your sign mean?" 

Sam looked up at his sign, despite the sun burning down on his face, and read it out loud. He shrugged. "Seems clear to me!" He swallowed, then dug his fingers into the glass jar of pickles and grabbed another one to eat.

"Shouldn't you sell your... pickled goods rather than just eating them?" Jake watched, slightly concerned because he spotted two empty jars pushed off to the side.

"Whwats bpetter 'dan seein tthe ownder eatin' dare' own prwoduuuce?"  He answered.  And with that, Jake turned away and went over to the stall next to Sam's, which belonged to Danny.

Danny decided to sell some plants he had been growing along with some homemade plant pots. After their somewhat eventful pottery class, Danny got into a new hobby and actually became quite successful at it.

His pots and mini-pot pals were a hit. Jake approached with a smile as Danny handed the wrapped-up pot to a lady who gushed about plants with the curly-haired drummer. He wished her a good day before acknowledging Jake.

"Looking the part," He laughed

Jake returned a soft laugh and then looked at the stall. "I'm really impressed."

Danny smiled brightly and thanked him. "How's yours coming along?"

Jake shrugged.  "Okay, I sold some stuff. "I'm worried the wine will have people pass out, though." Danny laughed as he sprayed some water on a hanging plant. 

"I'm pretty sure Sammy is just eating his stuff, but it's fun to participate." Danny commented.

Jake went to say something, but the sound of a chainsaw being ripped alive stopped him.

He knew Josh was doing woodwork and wood carving; hell, he'd watched his brother try his best to twiddle an animal out of a small log. But he didn't expect to see his twin, chainsaw in hand, goggles on, going ham on a log.

He was moving the chainsaw around, making odd cuts into the wood. Taking out chunks here and there and making the odd line. 

He stopped and lowered the chainsaw as he moved his head from side to side, looking at the log and at his new masterpiece. 

To Jake, it looked like someone got drunk, got hold of a chainsaw, and lost a fight with the log. But his twin seemed pleased as he turned to look at him with a wide smile. 

"Not bad. What is it?" Jake asked as he stood there, trying hard to see what the heck he just carved. 

Josh's smile fell. "Can't you see?"It's a sunset." 

"Eye sfeee eit." Sam spoke out, bringing everyone's attention to him suddenly standing with them while eating from a jar of pickled peppers. 

Jake eyed the new jaw in his brother's hand but then noticed a few people at his stall. Patting his younger brother on the stomach, he quickly went over to try his charm at selling more stuff.

Josh pouted a little as he watched his twin walk off to sell his jams but smiled to Sam when the taller man lifted the jar with a wink.

Josh ripped the chainsaw back to life and went back to the log.

"Pepper Daniel?"  Sam offered the open jar to his friend, who gladly took one. 

"Have you sold any of your jars?" 

Sam shrugged.  "Yeah, a few. "Offering people a taste test helps, and I've sold some dog biscuits too."

Danny paused to think for a minute about asking about the dog biscuits, but Sam walked away. 

Danny watched his friend walk away, still eating, as he looked at random stalls. The sound of the chainsaw going nuts brought his attention back to the small man who was currently attacking the log.

"You ok there, buddy?" Danny yelled.

Josh didn't hear him, he was in the zone and the chainsaw blocked out everything

His cheeks were red, and his whole body shook with the chainsaw as he wield it at this damn fucking log.

The rest of the guys didn't understand his obscure wood carvings were going to be a HIT. And then they'd all be sorry. They'd be begging him to make their own personal piece.

Back over at Jammin Jams, the name Jake gave his stall because hey, he likes jam and jamming.

"These are delightful!" The old lady pointed at the little pots of jam. Jake's cheeks rounded in a smile as he felt a wash of pure joy. He loved getting praised. And the fact that this old lady was currently acting like he was the jam master when she probably knew how to make jam was making his cheeks hurt with happiness.

"What a handsome, clever man!" He gushed again and looked down shyly, his hat blocking his view of Sam, who was walking past the old lady, heading back to his stall, one eyebrow raised as he chewed away.

"Would you like to try some?" He lifted a little pot of mixed berries he had made with a smile. The old lady made a noise that Jake took as a yes and offered her a sample. 

"Oh my, what is that?"

Jake leaned closer with a smile, his giant hat almost getting in the way. "That, my dear, is the mix of strawberries and--" 

Sam watched as Jake chatted away to the lady as he ate some pickled onions. The lady seemed charmed by his brother's smile and his farmer's outfit and was buying nearly the whole fucking stall. 

Sam decided to dress casually with bright neon purple shorts and a vintage shirt that put every 80s pattern to shame. He sold some stuff, yeah, but maybe he needed to do something else.

Next time, he'll just shove that stupid straw hat on Jake wore once.

Josh soon came over to his stall with his goggles pushed into his hair, the indents of the tight goggles leaving an imprint around his eyes with a huge smile. 

"Hey, do you have a first aid kit?"