#day 22: cryptid au

[jackson-imbecille]

Imagine you’re walking down a dark hallway and feel something watching you so you turn around and see this lanky motherfucker right behind you.

Dannymay Day 22: Cryptid AU

[underforeversgrace]

green in the air

DannyMay2023 Day 22: Cryptid AU

title: green in the air

words: 2042

Summary: Ectoplasm is invasive and all consuming, and it shows in Amity Park's residents. (OC outsider POV)

Warnings: None!

Beta by: @probably-dead

~~~~~~

Ectoplasm is invasive. Once it’s in the air, in the water, on the ground, it is there to stay. Most places have such minor hauntings that it is inconsequential an amount, a ghost or two at most struggling to maintain its form and unable to spare any.

Amity Park isn’t most places. Unknowingly, Jack and Maddie Fenton had released more ectoplasm onto the human plane in the past year than in all of history - recorded and not - up until that point.

And, despite science’s belief otherwise, ectoplasm can absolutely be absorbed into the human body, live alongside living tissue, it just had never been present in this large an amount before, unable to be studied. It snuck into the humans in so many ways. In the air, merely being breathed in, growing and multiplying within the humans’ lungs. In the water for hydration, coating the pipes inside and seeping into the liquid. On the ground, sticking to clothes, sticking to the skin of children too young to walk, who’s hands always end up in their mouths.

Invisible, untraceable, even as it changed the humans, changed the definition of normal for all within Amity Park and Elmerton. Only a year since the portal had been opened by a teen’s half-death and already, outsiders could see the change.

Could see everyone here was just a little wrong.

~~~~~~

Joanne hefted the box out of the moving van, carefully avoiding her pet cats running around her feet as she moved up the stairs, depositing the box in her new bedroom. She wiped sweat from her brow, eyeing the mattress lying on the ground and debated collapsing onto it, making the bed frame be damned.

She sighed and instead moved to the window, looking at their new home.

Jo’s mom had been transferred to the Amity Park branch of the company she worked for and was expected to be here at least the next two years, updating software and training employees, unable to leave until corporate felt these employees knew the subject matter as well as the other locations did. Her mom had complained about it, worried about how poor the internet connection for the whole city must be, as this branch consistently had internet issues, thus the need for them to move on site.

At least Amity Park was pretty, she determined as she saw suburbia around her, trees and leaves dotting the area around them. It was still warm, the middle of July, and she had two weeks before she began her life as a sophomore at the high school. Jo wasn’t thrilled by this, though it wasn’t the first time her mom’s job had moved them. But two years here? That would have her moving again right before her senior year of high school, and who wants to be a new kid for their senior year of high school?

Maybe Amity would end up being nice and she could finish out her schooling here, convince her mom to stay an extra year.

She pulled herself from her thoughts, deciding her break was over and it was time to get more boxes from the van. Had she always owned so much stuff?

~~~~~~

The first two other students she met were a few days later, when she had ventured out to the mall by herself, with her mother’s blessing and her cell phone in hand.

The mall was… not what she’d expected. Something in her just said something was wrong, though it didn’t pinpoint what it was. It was like the beginning of a small muscle cramp, almost entirely ignored except for the nag in the back of her head. As she settled in line at one of the fast food stores, she realized what was wrong.

It was too quiet here. People were everywhere she looked, in crowds, in all ages, walking and chattering excitedly, yet their footsteps were too soft, like walking across carpet. Their voices didn’t echo like they should in a room like this.

An uncomfortable tingling in her fingertips that she shook away. It was just nerves, she was just somewhere new.

“Oh, I don’t think we’ve met before.” Someone said behind her and Jo nearly jumped clear through her skin. She whirled around, willing her heart to calm down. Two girls stood there - a pretty Latina girl and a blonde who was almost as pretty beside her, both with friendly smiles on their faces.

“Oh, uh, hi? I just moved here a few days ago.” Jo said, offering out her hand, which the darker skinned girl shook. A chill sent shivers down her back. Man, was this girl anemic? Her hand was so cold.

“I’m Paulina.” She said in greeting.

“I’m Star!” The blonde added, waving.

“I’m Joanne. Uh, Jo. I prefer Jo, though.”

Paulina tilted her head to the side curiously. It was a move she’d seen for years and it had never unnerved her but Paulina’s head went a little too far, her eyes taking too long between blinks. “It’s nice to meet you, Jo. Will you be attending Casper?”

“Yeah, tenth grade in a few weeks.”

“Oh! You’re in our grade, then!” Star said, grinning. Were human teeth normally that sharp? “Maybe you’ll be a part of the A-List.”

“A-List?”

“The best, prettiest, and most popular of Casper High.” Paulina explained, straightening her head back up. Jo had to resist the urge to swallow nervously. Why were these girls setting her so on edge? They were being perfectly friendly.

Whatever, they had just moved into territory Jo knew how to navigate. Popularity had always been a given for her and she knew how to say the right things. She shrugged, running her fingers boredly through her hair. “Hm, maybe. I just moved into Highland Park, do either of you know the area?”

Paulina smiled, no teeth, but the corners of her mouth went just a little too far up. “Oh, that’s where I’m from! You must have moved into the old Edgewood property.”

“Good guess.” Jo said, smiling back. The three had finished assessing each other and Jo slid in easily - rich and pretty was all it required.

“Oh, no, that’s just the only vacancy in Highland. There’s actually not a lot of available housing in Amity. People don’t leave here.”

That’s definitely a normal thing to say. “Ah, really?”

“Surprising, I know. But… we’re safe here. Protected.” Paulina said, Star nodding sagely beside her.

“Okay then…” Jo said, suddenly at a loss.

“Oh, you haven’t seen our biggest attractions, have you?” Paulina asked, understanding lighting up her eyes.

“What’s the biggest attraction?”

Paulina and Star glanced at each other and giggled. “You’ll know it when you see it. Trust me.”

“Uh. Okay?”

The two girls laughed again. “Here,” Paulina said, pulling a piece of crumpled paper and a pen from her purse, scribbling on it. “My number. Message me and I’ll introduce you to the rest of our group before school starts.”

Joanne took the paper, glancing at Paulina’s neat handwriting and nodding. “Sure, sounds good!”

“See you later, Jo!” Star said, and both girls waved at her. The waves were perfectly synced, each moving in tandem with the other. Again, discomfort in the back of her head. It just seemed… unnatural. But she said nothing of it, waving goodbye to the two.

If that was the popular crowd, she was almost afraid to see weird kids.

~~~~~~

When school started ten days later, Jo had successfully integrated with the A-List, becoming easy friends with the popular kids. They’d hung out several times and - while they still sometimes made the hair on Jo’s arms stand up - she had gotten used to the weird vibe they gave off. Joanne had lived in a lot of places, but the people here continued to give her a sense of wrongness.

“Oh, you never told us about your first encounter with our big attraction.” Paulina said as the group lounged around outside the school before class started.

“What is this attraction? I haven’t really seen anything memorable.” Jo said with a shrug.

“Wow, you’ve been here two weeks and not seen them yet?” Dash said, wonder in his eyes.

“Seen who?”

Dash opened his mouth to answer but Paulina slapped a perfectly manicured hand across his mouth. “You’ll see. They’re seen at school pretty often.”

Jo just rolled her eyes, convinced at this point she was being pranked. What attraction sometimes popped up at a school?

The warning bell rang and they gathered their things, standing up and chatting about nothing again.

A bump against her shoulder sent her books tumbling to the ground.

“Sorry!” A boy said and the feeling of wrongness she’d had since arriving here spiked again, worse than ever before, a knife to the base of her spine. She spun around, suddenly feeling like she shouldn’t have her back to whatever this kid was.

She was surprised to see what looked like a normal teenager, black hair and blue eyes on a tired face. Still, as normal as he looked, something was wrong with him. His eyes were too bright to be real, his hair didn’t seem to be moving the way it should with the wind. He smiled apologetically and too large teeth filled her vision. She jerked back, suddenly convinced he was about to strike like a snake. A hurt look passed across his face, apparently surprised by her intense need to get away.

“Are you okay?” He asked and his voice reminded her of an avalanche, of a boat slamming against an iceberg, each killing anyone who dared be too close.

“Fine.” She squeaked. He eyed her and then bent down, picking up the books she’d dropped as she continued to not move.

“I’m Danny,” he introduced, holding her books out to her. Her instincts snaked into her stomach, her throat, her mind, to not touch him, but she didn’t want to be rude so she grabbed at the stack. Her hand just barely brushed his and fear flooded her every sense, terrified tears coming to her eyes.

Whatever this boy was, it was not human. It was death and decay, it was destruction and damnation.

This time he jerked away from her, worry etched onto his features. 

Predator. Her mind whispered to her as her heart beat so fast in terror it caused her pain.

“I’m gonna go now…” Danny said, turning and walking away.

Joanne did not stop staring at him as he left, frequently turning and glancing at her in confusion.

That was when she noticed the fact his chest was still. She did not see the rise and fall of breath, of life.

What was he?

~~~~~~

The answer would come in second period, when a metal man crashed through the wall, locked in tense combat with a white haired boy.

When the chill she’d felt earlier returned, when the feeling of imminent death struck her like a hammer and she screamed.

When ghosts were explained to her.

When she realized Danny Fenton was a dead teenager and the others around her… they had to be toeing the line between life and death, with their too sharp teeth and too wide smiles, with their soft footsteps and the way their voices refused to echo.

Was anyone in this city fully alive anymore?

~~~~~~

Joanne had no way of knowing that, no, they weren’t, death had touched all of Amity Park, the entire city too close to the veil but still far enough away.

Had no way of knowing the second she’d stepped out of that moving van, that death was infecting her too, that she’d never be able to leave without growing ill without the ectoplasm sustaining her living death, if she could even bring herself to try to leave, the air addictive.

No one in the city was fully alive, not anymore, not since the Fentons had punched a hole in reality. And she had lost her own claim to that idea - of being fully alive - the second the ectoplasm entered her lungs.

This was Amity Park’s normal.

This was her new normal.

Even if anyone from the outside could now tell she was a little bit wrong, too. A little too predatory, a little too quiet.

A little too dead.

[five-rivers]

Cryptid Crawl! 6

The problem– The main problem– The– Okay, the problem that was pertinent at the moment was that the hunters, cryptid and otherwise, had to leave having seen nothing even remotely interesting, nothing that could be a draw for tourists.  

That meant that, whatever else they did, they could not be seen being anything other than unbelievably lame by the general population.  Of course, the best way to do that would be to keep them from seeing anything.  

The very first piece of prep work Danny and Tucker had done was getting into Jack’s YouTube account and setting it to private.  That was, however, a temporary measure, and in addition to not wanting tourists flooding into Amity Park, Danny didn’t want his parents in hot water with the GIW.  Again.  

Once they filmed, Jack or Maddie could upload videos at any time, so something that would have to be done afterward was getting back into the account, deleting the videos, and corrupting the original files.  Not too difficult, considering that Danny lived with them, had a hacker friend, and could possess technology.  

But for the other groups?  Especially the ones that were filming live?  Not so much.  

They could not see.  Any measures Danny and the others took to stop them had to look either like local kids playing pranks, incompetence, or nothing at all.  Luckily, they were local kids playing pranks, and there was a lot of incompetence going around, lately.  

Danny and Tucker ran through eerily empty streets, listening for the GAV.  They paused, seeing the GAV hurtle past the mouth of an alleyway.  

“Okay, well,” said Tucker, “there it is.  You sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah,” said Danny.  “Who else is going to?”  He went ghost.  “Show me again where the GGBE are.”

Tucker held up the PDA and pointed.  

“Okay, yeah, I can do that,” said Danny.  “I can do that.  Sam, you still managing?”

“Haven’t made contact yet,” admitted Sam, over the Fenton Phones.  “This wig is surprisingly high quality, by the way.”

“Cool,” said Danny.  “Remember, call us if you need help.”

“I’m dealing with two completely normal YouTubers who think you’re some kind of endangered species, not ex-military super-spies.”

“He kind of is an endangered species, though.  Even Skulker says so.”

Danny shook his head and pushed off from the ground.  “Can hybrids even be considered a species?” he asked.  

“The New Mexico Whiptail–”

“It was a rhetorical question!”

.

William Monroe Delaney Montrose Woods the Fourth, generally known as Bill, was remarkable for three reasons beyond his name.  The first was that he absolutely and entirely believed in the existence of cryptids and loved helping Crawly, who he’d met in college, with their YouTube channel.  

The second was that he was a former Navy Seal, discharged due to an elbow injury that had never healed right.  

The third was that his last job was in data analytics… for the CIA.  Nothing special.  He just collated data in a nice, boring, quiet room.  He’d hardly call himself a super-spy.  And he’d quit.  Too stressful.  

But…  All his training did have the side effect of giving him a very good sense for when he was being followed.  

He tried to watch the figure out of the corner of his eyes, excited.  Finally, he was going to see a real life cryptid.  He’d just have to be careful… it was clearly trying to stay out of direct view… he didn’t want to spook it.  Crawly hadn’t noticed yet, either.  He’d have to figure out some way to let them know.  Maybe he could angle the camera towards the cryptid…

“Oh my gosh, Bill, look!”  Crawly jabbed a finger at the space behind his shoulder, and Bill quickly turned to see something black and white skittering around a corner.  “Quick!  Chase it!  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Bill needed no further encouragement.  Camera in hand, he ran.  

.

Danny flickered ever so briefly into view in front of the GAV, and to the right.  He probably would be picked up on the cameras like this, but, again, his parents’ videos were the only ones he could afford to be caught in.  As expected, Jack turned the wheel so hard the GAV rocked up on one set of wheels before slamming back down.  Danny reappeared further down the street, at the mouth of another road.  

“STOP MOVING, GHOST!” roared Maddie over the intercom. 

“YEAH!  WE’RE FILMING YOU FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION!” added Jack.  “THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO BLAST GHOSTS LIKE YOU TO SHREDS!”

“NOT TO SHREDS, JACK.  WE NEED HIM INTACT FOR OUR RESEARCH!”

“OH, YEAH!”

“Wow,” muttered Danny under his breath.  “That really makes me want to stop, guys.”  He could, just barely, understand them thinking ghosts were evil.  He didn’t understand how they were still under the impression that Phantom, specifically, was that unbelievably stupid.  “Tuck, am I still on track?”

“Man, I don’t know why you’re asking, you know Amity Park better than I–”

“Why… parkour… expert… how?”

“Uh, Sam?” said Danny.  “I think you’re breaking up.”

“I’m being… chased!”

“Maybe I should–”

“Just a few more roads!  At the rate your Dad drives, that shouldn’t be any time at all!”

“Sam, can you hold out that long?”

There was no response for a long moment, during which Danny almost lost his lead on the GAV.  

“Managed to hide,” said Sam, audibly panting.  “Where did that camera guy come from?  He’s built like a tank and he can move.”

Danny let out a sigh of relief.  “I’ll be there in just a minute.”  He let himself fade into view again, luring his parents down a blind alley.  He phased easily through the brick, turning invisible again.  He did a quick check to make sure none of the people on the other side were too close to the wall - they weren’t - and that no one saw him - the tiger might have - and then the GAV plowed through the brick wall, sirens blazing and PA system blasting.  

“YOU WON’T GET AWAY THIS TIME, GHOST BOY!”

Danny flared his aura, well aware of how that would show up on the GAV’s sensors at this point, and snickered as the GAV crunched over the Groovy Ghost Blasters Extreme’s illegally parked ATVs and dirt bikes in an attempt to get to Danny.

“My bike!” shrieked Brenner.  

“Dude, not cool!  Dude!” repeated Sullivan as Jack hit reverse and rolled over the bikes again.  

“Okay,” said Vid, pulling out her blaster (a Dalvco ripoff).  “We already knew these guys sucked, but this means war.”

She took aim at the GAV.  Of course, according to his parents, anything attacking the GAV had to be a–

“GHOOOOOOOOOOOST!” hollered his parents in unison.  And then the shooting started in earnest.  

Danny didn’t stick around.  Unlike all the humans here, he actually could be hurt by most of the weaponry going off.  

Besides, Sam needed him.  

.

“Hey,” said Az, falling back slightly as Ned expounded on some made up personal story that had only tangential interest to the actual investigation.  “Jimmy.  Do you hear that?”

“Hnh,” said Jimmy.  

“Like, a sort of electric sound.  Like the world’s biggest bug za–”  For the fourth time that day, Az tripped over his shoelaces.  

“Oh, I know what’s really haunted now.  Az’s shoes!”

“Screw you, too,” said Az.

“Yeah, yeah, they’re haunted by the ghost of his coordination.”

Az climbed to his feet and angrily redid his laces.  “If you’re doing this somehow–” he started, threateningly.  

“No, no,” said Ned, “I don’t need to make this look any more ridiculous than it already is.  Are you sure you researched this place?”

“I’m sure,” said Az, gritting his teeth as yet another crepe-paper and balloon ghost drifted down into the camera’s view from who-knew-where.  “I researched.  Extensively.”

“Because as fun as these are, I don’t think they’re actual ghosts.”  He grabbed the balloon and waved it at Az.  “Fun times with local pranksters who are really into the whole Halloween aesthetic?  Yes.  Haunted?  No.  The way things are looking, Amity Park falls squarely into the hoax category.” He gestured broadly, exaggerating his mannerisms for the camera.  

“At least let us get to the next location before you say that, Ned.”  He got back to his feet and smiled at the camera.  “Locals aside, this place is spooky.  An old observatory that was damaged and shut down under mysterious circumstances, it has had numerous reports of lights moving inside, strange sounds, and even the dome opening and the telescope inside moving.  Is this the ghost of an astronomer?  Or, like certain others believe, something else?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of the cryptid YouTubers.  Those lights, though, I’m going to bet they’re kids smoking on the sly, or someone squatting.”

“And on the way there, we’ll drive by a few other points of local interest, such as–”

.

“They’re going to the observatory?” hissed Dani.  “They can’t go to the observatory, Danny will flip!”

Valerie looked at her sideways.  “Which Danny?  Your cousin, or Fenton?”

“Does it matter?  Both of them love that place.”

“Didn’t it get shot up by the GIW?”

“Yeah, and that’s why you don’t mention those guys to him.  He hates them.”

“He’s… a ghost.”

“Yeah, and the observatory is why human Danny hates them.  Keep up.”  Dani leaned forward, careful to keep both her feet on Val’s hoverboard.  She was the one providing invisibility, after all.  “We need to stop them.  We need to get… more drastic.”

Valerie made a face and waved a crepe paper ghost at Dani.  “I’m not sure how much more drastic we can get without advertising that Amity’s got something to hide.”

Dani scrunched her nose in thought.  “Then we don’t do it while hiding anything.  We do it while showing off things.”

“Not my hoverboard or your ghostly face, I hope.”

“No.  We’re going to take a page from my cousin’s book.”

“We’re going to chase a dog into all their equipment and ruin them financially?”

“I mean, that sounds like a good plan ‘B’ if you’ve got a dog we can use.  But, no.  How do you feel about fake-out make-outs?”

.

“Uh, Sam? I’m looking for you, but–”

“Running… again…  swear… last time… I dress up as you.”

“Okay, okay, but where are you?”  There was a sort of scraping sound from the Fenton Phones.  “Sam?”

“I’m okay!  Nasty Burger.”

“Gotcha.”

Danny changed direction and arrowed down to a very familiar alleyway, where Sam was stripping off her costume.  She threw the wig at Danny as soon as she saw him.  

“Get ready to run,” she said breathlessly as Danny transformed.  “Those weirdos are fast.”

“I don’t know if we have any room to call other people weirdos,” said Danny.  He pulled the wig over his hair, then phased the rest of the suit off of Sam, who was struggling with the zipper.  He didn’t like his chances of fasting the suit on, though, and phased off his shoes before starting to pull the costume on.  The material was much thinner and filmier than his own hazmat suit, and wouldn’t be much protection against, well, anything.  “How’d you get away if they were so fast?”

“Cut through Amity Antiques,” said Sam.  “Ms. Larson made them go around.  No cameras in the store.”

“Smart.”  Danny phased his feet back into his shoes.  

“Thanks.  Contacts.”

“Right, right,” said Danny.  He phased his hand through his suit and into his pocket.  “Contacts.”

He hated this part.  Putting stuff like this in his eyes felt wrong.  Worse than swallowing sporks.  But, the ‘Amity Park Phantom’ had super noticeable glowing green eyes, so the ‘fake’ Phantom had to as well, and for Danny’s sake, those glowing eyes had to be caused by contacts.  

These ones had been produced by his parents after Walker’s invasion.  The idea was that a human could use them to walk unmolested among the overshadowed, but when no testing opportunities came up, the concept was abandoned.  

Danny opened the case, and already regretting every life choice that had led him to this moment, stuck one in his eye.  “That hurts.  I don’t know how people do this.”

“You get thrown through buildings daily.”

“That’s different,” whined Danny.  

“I’m getting pings from Cryptid Crawl’s phone, moving to your location,” said Tucker.  “Better get a move on.”

“Heck,” said Danny, squeezing in the other contact.  “Go rest in the Nasty Burger, I’ve got this.”

“I’ll try to shadow you after you leave,” said Sam, “but don’t expect anything fancy.”

“I’ll zig-zag,” said Danny.  

Sam patted him on the back and moved past him.  Time to do this.  

Danny ran back out into the street, but stuck to the shadows, scanning everything.  He had no idea how cryptids were supposed to behave, but he figured–

Holy moly, Sam was not kidding when she said that guy was fast!  He wasted a disbelieving second staring at the sheer speed at which that absolute tank of a man approached him, but he was too used to being chased by unreasonably huge and fast guys to hesitate any longer.  He bolted, using every piece of cover and concealment he could.  

He glanced over his shoulder.  The guy was actually gaining on him.  After chasing Sam on and off for at least ten minutes.  What was this guy made of?

Danny tapped into his ghostly strength and put on a burst of speed.  

… The guy also put on a burst of speed.  

That was scary.  

“Tucker,” said Danny, “which way am I going?”

“Give me a second.”

“They’re hanging out in front of the Skulk’n’Lurk,” said Sam.  “They’re posting live, Tucker.”

“I’m just trying to find the best route!”

“A better one than he can find on his own?”

Danny looked back again.  What was this guy made of?

.

Valerie and Dani stepped onto the street just within view of the cameras.  They were both wearing glasses, to protect their identities, and had swapped headgear - Valerie’s headband for Dani’s beanie.  

“Are you sure about this?” asked Valerie.

“Absolutely!” chirped Dani.

“I don’t think this is actually going to stop them from going to the observatory.”

“But it might make them stop and think, right?”

“... You know, I saw the post about this on the forums, right?  And the whole thread?”

“Shush.  Threads don’t matter, now,” said Dani as they crept deeper into the camera’s field of view.  “I think this is good.  You ready?”

Valerie rolled her eyes.  “Ready when you are.”

This had the side effect of making Dani freeze for a solid minute.  “Uh,” said Dani.  

“You can back out if you–”

Dani rammed her face into Val’s, probably way too fast, because kissing didn’t seem like the kind of thing that was supposed to hurt.  They did various things with their lips for a few seconds, and then pulled apart.  

“Uh,” said Dani, eloquently.  

“Yeah,” said Val.  

They both looked towards the ‘Investigation,’ the members of which were, in fact, staring at them.  

Val pumped her fist in the air.  “The only ghost here is Sappho of Lesbos!” she said, her voice wobbling.  “Yeah!  Girl power!”

“Girl power!” repeated Dani.  She hadn’t heard of any ghost going by that name, but she supposed that Danny couldn’t keep her one hundred percent up to date on his rogues gallery.  There were just a lot of them.

At that moment, Dani was slammed into from behind by none other than her beloved cousin-clone, who was dressed as a bad caricature of himself and running at what had to be something approaching a world-record pace.  Danny, who didn’t have the worst set of reflexes in the world, but did have the most ridiculous set of reflexes, picked Dani up, threw her over his shoulder, and kept running.  

“Is he still following me?” asked Danny.  

“Wh- Who?” asked Dani, lifting her head to see that Danny was being chased by either a red-faced fridge or an extremely buff dude who was pushing himself so hard all the blood in his body had gathered in his skin in preparation for exploding (if that was a thing humans did; Dani was a bit uncertain on the finer points of anatomy).  “Oh my gosh, that’s scary.”

Meanwhile, Valerie had recovered from her surprise.  She started running after them.  “Hey!” she shouted.  “Bring back my girlfriend!”

“Oh,” said Dani, pleased that Valerie was getting so into the act.  

“What are you doing standing there?!” shouted a man wearing a hat that said ‘DIRECTOR,’ his voice starting to go tiny from distance.  “Wasn’t that one of the ghosts?”

“Ahhh!” said Danny.  “Why is that guy so scary?!”

“Why are you scared?” demanded Dani, who had already forgotten that she, too, had been scared.  “You’re a ghost!”

“He’s just scary!”

“Bet I’m scarier!”

Danny’s fingers clenched tightly on her hoodie.  “No.  Are they following us?  All of them?”

“Not yet?”

“Rrrrrrgh,” said Danny, rounding a corner and doubling back down the other road.  “I hate this!”

.

Ned had never thought any of their ‘investigations,’ not even the Investigation, would ever lead to something real.  The image of that thing chasing that boy and grabbing that girl…  It filled him with equal parts wonder and fear.  

This special was going to make them.  They’d be famous forever as the ghost hunters that proved the existence of the supernatural.  

Jimmy put a hand on his shoulder.  

“Not now, bud,” said Ned.  “We’ve got a chase.”

Jimmy did not let go.  Not even when Az and the rest of the crew packed up and took off after the ghost.  

“Edward, dearest,” said Jimmy.  “My heart has been uplifted by the actions of those two young women, and I should like us to express ourselves as they did.”

“Aw, come on, Jimmy.  That’s sweet, but the network would kick us both out in minutes.  Not to mention we’d pasted across every TV in America as the latest scandal.  The shame would kill me.”

“You said it yourself, my love.  What paranormal investigator has self respect?  Let us throw it all to the winds of chance, and let them carry us away.”

Ned blushed.  “You make these things sound so nice.  But… maybe after we get the ghost.  You know how much this means to me.”

“Hng,” said Jimmy.

.

Danny re-emerged on the original street, which still held some of the crew and cast from the TV show.  “Help me find somewhere to crash believably.”

“There!” said Dani, pointing at a small lot with some abandoned construction in it.

“Perfect!” said Danny, throwing himself in that direction.  Time to absolutely eat it on live TV.  He cast himself on the mercy of the lot, and wiped out spectacularly, coming to rest against the fence at the back of the lot.  

The buff guy just… Stopped.  Then very slowly sat down.

“Hi,” said Danny.  

“Ow,” said the guy, which was fair, actually.  

The guy from the Investigation got there next, and spent the next thirty seconds staring reverently at the buff guy while the camera people set up.  “Incredible,” he whispered.

“Oi!” shouted Crawly, clambering over a stack of pipes.  “Back away from the cryptid!  We’ve got evidence to film!”

“You step away from the ghost!” countered Az.  “Our evidence is more relevant to the human condition!”

“The Amity Park Phantom is not a ghost!” Crawly countered in return, stabbing a finger at Danny.  

“What are you talking about, that’s a kid in a costume!”  

“No it–!  Wait, who are you talking about, then?  What ghost?”

“The one standing next to you!”

“Wh– This is Bill.  My cameraman.  Is this because he gets flushed when he exercises really hard?  That happens to everyone!”

“No, actually, it–”

Danny shifted, which was enough for Crawly to zero in on him, only to recoil.  “What,” they said.  

“Well,” said Danny, coughing only a little bit as he got to his feet and pulled off the wig.  “I am just a kid in a costume.”

[dnpanimationstudioclone]

Day 22, Cryptid AU👻

     Sam’s trying to convince Mr Lancer to talk to the School Board about adding Cryptozoology in the school course or atleast be added as a course option.

[emo-batboy]

A Wild Battinson (Social Media AU)

MASTERLIST

Part 1 — Temporary Baby Acquisition

Part 2 — HE POUT ????

Part 3 — The Babygirl Agenda: Origins

Part 4 — Stuck in a Bookstore

Part 5 — Dior Bruce Wayne Supremacy

Part 6 — Please Sleep

Part 7 — GALA UNDER ATTACK

Part 8 — Stuck in an Elevator

Part 9 — Bruce Wayne is scared of bats?!

Part 10 — Lex Comes to Town

Part 11 — HIT THE DECK

Part 12 — Career Day in Gotham

Part 13 — Bruce Wayne is GAY????

Part 14 — The 30th Annual Wayne Business Convention

Part 15 — Monday: Puppies!!

Part 16 — Tuesday: Protecc Him

Part 17 — Wednesday: Crafts

Part 18 — Thursday: KIDNAPPED

Part 19 — Friday: The Seminar

Part 20 — Gotham's True Cryptid

Part 21 — Temporary Baby Acquisition II

Part 22 — Valentine's Day <3

Part 23 — "I'm used to it"

Part 24 — Weird Bruce Wayne Pics

Part 25 — Permanent Baby Acquisition

Part 26 — Richard "Dick" Grayson

Part 27 — Who's Batman?

Part 28 — A Baby!!!!

Part 29 — Magical Girl Bruce

Part 30 — A Kid on the Roof

Part 31 — Grounded

Part 32 — Bruce Wayne doesn't blink?!

Part 33 — Gotham Bingo Cards

Part 34 — A Secret Third Thing

Part 35 — Q&A with Bruce Wayne

Part 36 — Bat-Themed Bandaids

Part 37 — Bruce Wayne is MOTHER

Part 38 — Be Gay Do Crime

Part 39 — PLOT TWIST

Part 40 — No Bruce?

Part 41 — Permanent Baby Acquisition II

Part 42 — Bruce Wayne Should Punch Someone

Part 43 — Vigilante Discourse

Part 44 — A Wild Superguy?

Part 45 — LexCorp Goes on Strike

Part 46 — Gift Shop Shenanigans

Part 47 — Be My Valentine

Part 48 — BRUCE WAYNE PUNCHED SOMEONE

Part 49 — #BlockBruce

Part 50 — Bruce v. The Horrors

Part 51 — Monday: Lost in NY

Part 52 — Tuesday: The Tonight Show

Part 53 — Wednesday: amFAR GALA

Part 54 — Thursday: Ice Cream Kidnapping

Part 55 — Friday: SUPERBAT

Part 56 — Saturday: Night Live

Outtakes: Part 1 Part 2

Updates Whenever I Feel Like :)

[petalsscribbles]

Bitter Blood

summary: After a betrayal by his blood servant centuries ago, Sunghoon vowed to never devote himself to another human ever again. His resolve is tested however, when a boy transfers to his academy - a boy that smells just like the traitor ages ago but more beautiful than anyone Sunghoon's ever seen. Torn between undeniable attraction and bitter memories, Sunghoon struggles to decide which he should give in to.

pairing: park sunghoon x male reader

genre: smau, fluff, humor, angst(just a teensy tiny bit), boarding school au, vampire au

featuring: enhypen members, TXT's Yeonjun, Itzy's Yuna, aespa's Winter, Ateez's Jongho, ZB1's Jiwoong

content warning: blood drinking, injuries, alcohol consumption, kms and sexual jokie jokes, cursing

status: completed

started: 26.6.2024

finished: 24.9.2024

taglist: taglist CLOSED

@starchasing-cryptid @foxilsdenn @moonslie04 @kkurbys @winter-world @bleedingxheartt @gnusihcom @dkmyman @mortifesboy @kkyoluv @teoluvsyou @bubblztaro @conwunder @xavi-in-kpopland @monstaxpuppy @gabrielllx

author's note: feel the bite between my jaw so tasty

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and is not meant to be taken seriously or as a representation of the idols.

navigation:

profiles:

profiles 1 profiles 2

chapters:

1. first glance

2. day one

3. first impression (written)

4. apology

5. let me in

6. experimenting

7. results

8. peace

9. hell aka bus without ac

10. all in a day's work

11. and there was one bed (written)

12. decisions decisions (smau + written)

13. doubts doubts

14. bad dreams

15. color coded

16. competition within a competition

17. save me (written)

18. blood oath

19. changes

20. first bite

21. fools in love

22. till the end of time (written)

[duchi-nesten]

🐓 DannyMay Day 22: Cryptid AU 🐓

I think I misread “cryptid au” as “chicken little au” but like….. it’s still cryptid enough so :)

Can you tell I’m running out of creative juices lmAo

[marzfartz]

Dannymay Day 22: Cryptid AU

I also made it a video but major flash warning!! So it's below the cut

[genko-yoru]

Day 22: Cryptid AU

I know Danny Phantom is a kid's show, but I like the idea that Danny's world is filled with hidden, extremely terrifying spooks. That the ghosts we see in the show are more like modern-day ghosts, but there are older, more powerful ancient ones lurking around. Like all our folklore and Cryptid legends actually exist as creepy ghosts. ( and why the GIW was founded in the first place)

This is a scene from Day 26's fic, which is also today's prompt. I sooo wanted to draw the actual ghost's form because it's creepier- but I haven't got to that chapter yet, so that'll have to wait till Friday.

You can read the spooky fic Here.

[norman-smsl-guidancecounselor]

DannyMay Day 22 was Cryptid au

[mynameisnotsoda]

NOW INTRODUCING.... THE CRITTERS !!!

Technically Corvid is still a part of an au, i really like everyone's designs so i guess its just like a weird little au that are also kinda ocs?? Idk. Im still tagging it as the animatronicfication au and using the other ccs names but im completely separating wilbur from Corvid.

The one that probably changed the most is simp LMAO i just went back to his old design that was inspired by Luna (@starrixle's transfem simpbur turned oc) and Spencer is such a fitting name in my mind i literally can not imagine him with a different name *bwomp*

Also I'm working on refs for the other characters associated with the respective critters! I wanna finish them all and dump them into one post and I'll link it here when I'm done.

ANYWAY INFODUMP TIME

Before we go into individual characters i want to say that this is absolutely Minecraft. Like. The world is built off of Minecraft lore yk !!!! The overworld will still be called the overworld but it's basically just earth, with more magic and humanoid species! Along with supernatural creatures and cryptids n stuff :D also with more advanced tech considering Corvid exists pFF

Spencer for the most part kinda was like he is in canon or whatever. She used to lean more towards incel ideology because she was REALLY insecure and uncomfortable with herself for the longest time. Despite that, Spencer and Adrianne (egirl) started dating when they were 17, his unhealthy obsession with her was only fueled by her unhealthy attachment to him. They needed each other and it wasn't good for either of them. Spencer had developed horrible separation anxiety which only made things worse. Over time Adrianne became suffocated by his constant neediness, overwhelming insecurity, short temper and lack of contribution to household chores. It pained her to leave, but things needed to change. It wasn't until the breakup that Spencer met Shepard, who was his first irl friend in a long time. They met when they were around 22/23, at first Spencer just used Shepard as a distraction from Adrianne, especially since he was surprised that they wanted to even be his friend in the first place. But after a while he genuinely started to enjoy their company, plus they offered him really good advice and helped him through a gender/sexuality crisis. Eventually they became partners! Maybe not romantically, as they're both aromantic, but life partners nonetheless.

OH and i did make Spencer white/Salvadoran. Her mom is the first generation from immigrant parents while her dad is British; And her dad's younger brother is Adam's dad! He's also an ex-christian, he left due to religious trauma and moved to America to escape his family hA

Spencer's also a no sabo kid LMAO (he knows some words/phrases but other than that he cant speak Spanish to save his life)

ALSO ALSO. Oh my god i could talk about Spence all day LMAO but i made him a werewolf !!!! Hes SOO jealous of Adam because she wanted the cat genes but instead got bitten and turned into a werewolf as a teenager. She's done a pretty good job at hiding it from her family so Shepard's the only one who knows.

I already dumped everything about Adam into that other post, so I don't really have much else to add. HOWEVER !! Him and Spence are cousins now :3 Adam doesn't get to meet Spencer in person until he moves to America with Charlie & co, but he does follow her socials with his secret accounts that his parents don't know about. The only reason they know they're cousins is because Spencer's dad told her so and she reached out! Much to the dismay of Adam's parents but they've secretly kept in touch online.

Keith's pretty much stayed the same apart from a slight design revamp. Although I've made him a little older since originally i made him look young. But then I decided hes a dad so i started drawing him older for the asks pFF he also has a hooked nose now! In case it's not obvious. Keith got married to Jean VERY young, they were maybe 17/18 in human years. It was an arranged marriage and their only goal was to have an heir to the throne. Well they did, they had two kids, the eldest being a boy named Lune and the youngest being a girl named Sunny, who's the would be heir. Until Jean took both the kids and left. It was completely unprompted and left everyone in the kingdom confused, especially Keith. Sure, they had a loveless marriage and maybe he was insufferable at times, but he wanted to make it work if not for the kids then for the kingdom! But its been almost a year since she left, he's lost hope in ever finding her. Keith desperately wants his kids back, not because Sunny is the rightful heir— though that is part of it—but he loves them both dearly. He misses them the most.

Wilfred has pretty much stayed the same as well! I did give him a grey tshirt and darker hair to further distance his design from wilbur though. Hes just as unhinged and immoral as he used to be !!!! Nothing has changed aside from appearance actually.

Tobi also pretty much stayed the same except for its now got an orange jumper and lighter brown hair pFF although i do now have a story for him! Tobi was found by Alejandro in a storage auction, he managed to sell a lot of pretty valuable things from there but Tobi stood out, obviously, so he kept it. Alejandro is a travel vlogger and lives in an RV with his friends: Tomas, Philip and Charles. His friends just call him Alex. Anyway, they go from town to town trying local food, visiting tourists traps and vlogging the journey! While doing that they also try to find out how to get Tobi's memories back and possibly turn him human again, if they even can. So far they haven't had much luck but maybe one day...

Corvid was created as the backup singer and lead guitarist of the first all animatronic band! Brought to you by Beloved Entertainment! The other members include lead singer Ranboo Beloved, keytarist Tommy Raccoon, and bassist James Tomcat. Located in Ranboo's Mega Pizzaplex, the only location in the world (so far). Corvid adopts a showman personality while on stage, hes charismatic and such a heartthrob, very popular with the ladies. Off stage he's very calm and soft spoken, he's rather shy but still manages to be a flirt and a tease. Lightly poking fun at his bandmates, coworkers and even guests at times. He's definitely a fan favorite for a reason!

This was so fun to write and i cant wait to share more !!!! Stay tuned !!!!!!

[the-tooth-goblin]

Dannymay Day 22: Cryptid AU

First piece of art for this fandom 👍

[bubble-popping]

day 22! more cryptid dream au since some people seem to like it so much :>

When Technoblade set out to better his life and put his violent ways behind him, this was not what he had in mind.

Just a week into his new arrangement, the Farlander had gone from occasional night visits to living under his roof 24/7. When he woke up, the giant glorified cat was sprawled out, long limbs haphazardly this way and that, leaving Techno with maybe a quarter of the king-sized bed--and he just knew he did it on purpose. Every meal, Floof (Chat's idea for his name, their only good one ever) sat like a person at the table and used his claws to feed himself in the most disgusting ways Techno had ever seen--and again, he KNEW he did it on purpose. Finally, when night fell and Techno retired to bed, he'd find Floof already curled up on his side, pretending to be asleep, waiting for the second Techno laid down to smother him in warmth and fluff.

Okay, so while he didn't expect this, he also had to admit he didn't hate it.

Sometimes, and he'd never say it out loud lest the creature get an overblown ego to boot, Floof was actually enjoyable company. Especially on those freezing cold nights when no amount of layers and blankets was enough to fight the Arctic air, Floof somehow seemed warmer than usual, practically radiating heat as he wrapped his spindly arms and legs and tail around him.

Mundane tasks became little games because the Farlander required constant attention, otherwise Techno would never get anything done with how he whined and climbed over him like a needy cat. Collecting firewood turned into seeing how far and quick Floof could teleport when Techno threw a stick, maybe Techno's favorite game as a very biased dog person. His reading time was now 'trying fruitlessly to teach Floof to speak English' time, but to be fair Floof had made a little progress. (Every time he tried to warble out "Techno," the pinkette could feel his chest explode from an inability to handle the sheer overload of cuteness.) Cooking stayed relatively the same, although Floof did like to add in the chopped vegetables and stir the pot when making soup.

All the things Techno normally did alone, things that had once been nuisances to him, suddenly were fun and entertaining. The days stopped dragging on. No longer did he need to constantly occupy himself just so the cacophonous urging by the voices didn't overwhelm him. Don't get him wrong, he liked the solitude he had before, but Floof brought life everywhere he went. His unending curiosity with the world always got a chuckle out of him; how he'd try to capture butterflies and marvel at the tenacity of Arctic plant life.

Without Techno even realizing, Floof had carved a very special place in his heart. (Not to mention Chat absolutely adored him and became the most manageable they've been in years.) And it made him yearn to learn so much more.

He started traveling to the most distant villages in search of libraries that housed books on Farlanders, pestering Ranboo any time he was free for more information--which was the actual worst, because of course the guy with memory problems would be his only primary source, Techno wasn't even surprised by the irony at this point. This was also why he initially bothered to teach Floof English. Who else could possibly know more than the creature himself?

More than anything, Techno pondered on Floof's very strange sentience. He had more intelligence than even villagers--and certainly more than any enderman--a trait only seen in Players, which led to a somewhat scary line of thinking.

Could Floof actually be a Player? He could craft, he understood potion recipes, he even seemed to have an inventory. Unless, Farlanders were just built different like that? Ugh, this was why he needed to know more!

Apparently, Techno had gotten rather poor at hiding his frustration as without warning Floof nudged his chin with his nose and nuzzled into his neck, whining in that garbled endermen accent he had. Techno couldn't help but melt and chuckle, the voices singing with 'aww's.

"I'm alright, Floof. Just stuck on this one part of the book is all," he lied, gesturing to the open book in his lap. Floof sat up and leaned over him to get a better look, as if he could possibly understand it better, but the sentiment was there.

Floof appeared to think about something before he pointed to the page and then wiggled his fingers in front of his mouth. In the absence of words, Techno had taught him a few phrases in sign language for exactly things like this. A simple gesture of "read aloud" before he plopped back down, head in Techno's lap and long body sprawled over the rest of the couch.

And since he had nothing else to do what with his brain starting to hurt thinking about all the abnormalities surrounding the Farlander--and Chat breaking down over how endlessly endearing Floof was--Techno did. He read the paragraphs and passages with one hand rubbing the longer fluff on Floof's head, paying special attention to his sensitive ears and enjoying the quiet rumbling emanating from his chest.

[ofmdjanuaury]

Welcome to OFMD AU-gust! Check out the prompts and start creating 💙

Rules and text version under the cut!

RULES:

Any OFMD fan creations count! Fic, art, dioramas, bakes…

You can do one day or all of them, and use as many prompts from the day as you want!

Tag everything #OFMDAU-GUST

Every time you post something, try and comment on someone else’s, too!

You can post any prompt any day AFTER that prompt’s official day! So you can post Improv fics any day after 8/1, but you can’t post theatre fics till 8/31.

HAVE FUN!

Text version of the prompts:

1. Mechanic | Mail Carrier | Improv

2. Fantasy | Solarpunk | Fiber Arts

3. School Staff | Art Model | Taxidermy

4. Social Media | Tentacles | Identity Theft

5. Music/Band | Specific TV Show | Jumanji

6. Journalism | Specific Movie | Planetarium

7. Phone Operator | Rennaissance | Y2K

8. Sports | Ancient | Pacific Rim

9. Medicine | Aquarium/Zoo | Makeup Artist

10. Celebrity | D&D | Gig Worker

11. Science Fiction | Superheroes | Birdwatching

12. Coffee Shop/Bakery | Magical Girl (gn) | Influencer

13. Restaurant | Medieval | Eldritch Horror/Cryptid

14. Science | Place-Based | Weed Guy (gn)

15. Porn Star | Specific Book | Natural Disaster

16. Crime/Mob | Specific Cartoon | Drag/Burlesque

17. Farm/Rural | Time Travel | Polar Explorer

18. Small Business | Apocalypse | Stargate

19. Writer | 19th Century | Escape Room

20. Law | Nightclub | Professional Cuddler

21. Rebels | Zombie | Desert Island

22. Bar | Ghost Hunters | LARP

23. Transit | Daemon | Community Meeting

24. Archeology | Aliens | Paint and Sip

25. Epistolary | Public Access TV | Gas Station

26. Neighbors | Heist | Reality TV Hosts

27. Noir | Grocery Store | Blacksmith

28. Disney | Olympics | Sentinel/Guide

29. Boats | Non-Anglophone Place | Lumberjack

30. Canon-Divergent | Gardening | Kink Club

31. Theatre | Free Space | Someone Else's Universe

(Thanks to yerbamansa for reminding the mod to be accessible!!)

[ectolilly]

Day 22: Cryptid Au

I definitely didn't do the prompt right, but I reeealy wanted to do this.

Bonus Dani!

I like to think she is more of a cryptid than Danny anyway.

[tealfluff]

DannyMay Day 22: Cryptid AU