#holiday truce 2019

[vladdyissues]

Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 🎄🎁Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 🎄🎁 Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 🎄🎁 Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 Pompep Christmas Truce 2023 🎄🎁 Pompep Christmas Truce 2023🎄🎁

I haven't done a fandom holiday gift exchange since 2019 and I am exxxxcccciiiittteeeddddd

[dynamitegun]

Top Ten Albums

I might be the wrong person to ask since my tastes vary wildly, but I'll try I'll do it for you @lilmissnatcat24

Rules: List your top 10 favorite albums, and (if you want) include a brief description for why each one made it onto the list. Then, tag 10 (or however many you want, really) others to do the same.

You want to try?@strawberrykidneystone No pressure if not. I promise.

1# Daft Punk: Discovery (2001)

Featuring the first appearance of the DJ duos iconic headgear, a tie in ANIMATED FILM and an hour of tracks that range from perfect for clubbing (One More Time) to a song that makes you want to grab onto who you hold most dear. (Something about Us) Discovery holds a special place in my heart, having listened to it dozens of times over the years, owning it on CD and digital and feeling its style changed my outlook on music entirely.

2# Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (1978)

Embarrassed to admit, my introduction to H.G Wells Sci-Fi classic The War of the Worlds was composer Jeff Wayne's musical adaptation from the '70s. With a distinct funky style mixed with a mix of classic keyboard and vocals, his retelling of an England under siege by Martian invaders made me a fan of the novel and spinoffs to this day. The track detailing the valiant act of HMS Thunderchild against a trio of Martian tripods is in my mind the standout piece. (hell it's on the cover)

(Wayne did do a modern remake in 2012, featuring Liam Neason and a more Techno-Electric backing. I like both but prefer the original)

3# Sabaton Heroes (2013)

My darkest hour, deep in my thankfully long dead Wehraboo phase *shivers* I discovered Swedish Power Metal band Sabaton and their 2013 Album Heroes. Dedicated to unsung heroes of WW2 it includes tracks on the exploits of an all female bomber regiment on the eastern front (Night Witches), the unsung men of the Brazilian expeditionary Force in Italy (Smoking Snakes) and Karel Janoušek, the man who commanded free Czech pilots against the Lufftwaffe over France and Britain in 1940. (Far from Fame) Heroes gives forgotten parts of the past a new light. And for Sabaton? This will not be the last time they appear.

4# Marty Robins, Gunfighter Ballads and Other Trail Songs (1959)

Not a fan of country, but between one of its tracks inclusion in Fallout: New Vegas (Big Iron)and my love for historical ballads Robins' nostalgic send up to the romanticized American West (As opposed to its actual, much less family friendly, historical truth) is a guilty pleasure that I actually went so far as buying a CD of for a road trip. El Paso a tale of love and violence is probably my favorite track.

5# Sods Opera Come on Lads!

WW2 pub songs as they were originally performed, with all the filthy language and vulgarity intact. Nothing better to wash the dishes to, or perform in the shower. Standout is a heartbreaking rendition of The D-Day Dodgers

6# Sabaton, The War to End All Wars (2022)

100% Bias since I had the absolute privilege to see this performed in concert, Sabaton's excellent second part to their 2019 The Great War album is masterful in bringing to light the forgotten stories of the poorly branded Great War. The standout for me is Christmas Truce, a retelling of the 1914 spontaneous holiday cease fire held in some parts of France between Entente and German troops. We actually sang this together as the audience. *Chills*

(My first concert experience. Could barely speak the next day my throat hoarse from screaming)

7# Daft Punk Random Access Memories

I still remember picking up the CD for myself well Christmas shopping back in 2013. Random Access Memories is a walk back in time, to the age of disco, funk and the beginnings of techno. With talent like Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams and Pharrell... Williams (no relations) it was their most mainstream album to date, winning them a Grammy award that same year. It was also their final album, but at least they ended on a high note.

8# Michael Giacchino Medal of Honor Frontline soundtrack

I'm going to have to stretch the definition of "album" here, but Micheal Giacchino (Of Ratatouille and The Batman fame) and the Northwest Sinfonia performance is on par with any big budget film. In that same style as those classic '60s and '70s war films with just a touch of Indiana Jones style pulp mixed in, I honestly use this as a workout aid sometimes because it really gets your blood pumping. Perfect music to shoot Nazis to.

9# The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

Can't rightly describe this album, but it has such a diverse mix of style and surreal sound that I've always come back to it. The titular song, alongside Fight Test are my favorites.

10# Smokey Bastard Propping up the Floor (2008)

As is obviously clear I like history. So it's of little shock I like a good sea shanty or ballad, mix a bit of rock in there and to quote Carl Weathers "Baby, you’ve got a stew going." Their rendition of The Cumberland Crew is especially moving.

[cyberbenb]

Russia’s history of violating ceasefire agreements in Ukraine

As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to push for a swift end to the war in Ukraine, fears are mounting that Kyiv could be forced to accept a peace deal on unfavorable terms, and that will leave it vulnerable to future Russian attacks.

The fears aren’t unfounded. After Russia invaded Ukraine’s east with the use of proxies and annexed Crimea in 2014, Moscow violated multiple ceasefire deals 25 times, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.

“We will not agree to a ceasefire without security guarantees. A document is not enough. We need a strong army. Russian soldiers fear ours, but if we have empty stockpiles, we won’t have anything to defend ourselves with,” Zelensky said.

The Trump administration has ramped up the pressure on Ukraine to quickly negotiate an end to the war. But given Russia’s history of violating ceasefire agreements, Zelensky has continued to look for firm guarantees from both the U.S. and European partners to protect against any renewed Russian aggression.  

“If (Trump) can at least get a ceasefire, then he can claim credit, even if Russia violates it every day and no peace deal is ever agreed,” Jenny Mathers, senior lecturer in the department of international politics at Aberystwyth University, told the Kyiv Independent. But Russia is likely uninterested in a ceasefire, said Stephen Hall, assistant Professor in Russian and post-Soviet politics at the University of Bath. “(It) wants Ukrainian neutrality, ‘denazification,’ and ‘demilitarization,’ and all of these things that they’ve been saying for the last three years." If it were to agree to any ceasefire in Ukraine through negotiations with Trump, “it will only be to build up their forces and then carry the war on,” Hall said.

How many times has Russia violated ceasefires with Ukraine?

By launching the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Russia first and foremost violated the 1997 Russian-Ukrainian Treaty of Friendship, that “confirmed the inviolability of borders” between the two countries, and according to which Russia was obliged to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

After the start of the war in 2014, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which included representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, was formed. The Normandy Format, which Ukraine, Germany, Russia, and France chaired, was also created at this time.

Following the signing of the Minsk Protocol, also known as Minsk-1, a ceasefire began at 6 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2014. The next day, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council announced that Russian troops had fired at Ukrainian positions at least 10 times after the ceasefire was declared.

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Donetsk rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko, OSCE envoy Heidi Tagliavini, Russian Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov, and Luhansk rebel leader Igor Plotnitsky announce a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 5, 2014. (Vasily Maximov/AFP via Getty Images)

In February 2015, a document on the implementation of the Minsk agreements, also known as Minsk-2, was signed, which included a ceasefire starting Feb. 15. The agreement lasted only a few minutes, as Russian units fired on a Ukrainian checkpoint near Zolote in Luhansk Oblast, according to Ukraine’s military.

Since the signing of the Minsk Agreements, Russia violated the ceasefire several times a year from 2016 to 2022. The two sides tried to conclude truces on more than one Christmas and New Year holidays, the start of the school year, or the harvest. None of them lasted.

On July 21, 2019, a “harvest” truce came into effect. Following the start of the ceasefire, one violation occurred when Ukrainian positions were shelled.

A year later, a “full and comprehensive ceasefire” was declared in eastern Ukraine on July 27, 2020. Within 30 minutes, Russian forces attacked the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, according to Ukrainian military reports.

In October 2020, the number of Russian attacks increased, and an extraordinary meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group was convened. It agreed to extend the “full and comprehensive ceasefire.” The agreement again did not last long.

“I will be absolutely flabbergasted if the Russians (conclude a ceasefire) and they actually uphold it,” Hall told the Kyiv Independent.

Trump’s ‘peace efforts’

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he wants a swift end to the war between Ukraine and Russia. In the meantime, he has suspended military aid and U.S. intelligence to Ukraine, putting the war-torn country under even greater threat.

“The U.S. is taking steps to reduce Ukraine’s capacity to wage war in an effort to persuade Ukraine’s political and military leadership that they have no hope of victory — however that might be defined by Kyiv — and must instead agree to whatever terms are offered by Russia via Washington,” Mathers said.

According to Mathers, Trump is “showing blatant favoritism” to Russia by ruling out Ukraine’s ability to join NATO or revealing his eagerness to restore economic and diplomatic relations with Moscow.

“It is pretty clear that if Trump gets his way, Kyiv will feel that it has no choice except to agree to a ceasefire that would, in fact, be a surrender,” Mathers said.

Given the uncertainty over further U.S. assistance and potential security guarantees, the Ukrainian government has increasingly called on its European partners to invest in their defense and help Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) looks at U.S. President Donald Trump during the welcoming ceremony before the G20 Summit’s Plenary Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 30, 2018. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

The Trump administration’s actions have also forced Europe to review its approach to defense funding. Ursula von der Leyen on March 4 presented the ReArm Europe plan to strengthen Europe’s defense capabilities. The EU agreed to mobilize up to 800 billion euros ($867 billion) for defense spending on March 7.

Mark Temnycky, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, believes that sending European troops to Ukraine could provide the necessary defense against any future Russian attacks.

International support for Ukraine’s defense innovation and manufacturing capabilities would also act as a future deterrent, according to Temnycky.

Trump’s alignment with Russia derails Europe’s push for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine

European countries have intensified talks on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine to monitor and enforce a possible ceasefire. But the potential deployment of European peacekeepers to Ukraine faces a lot of challenges and uncertainties. There is no unity among European countries on the issue, with some…

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Wednesday, 21st February

Welcome, merħba, ողջու՜յն (voġčuyn), მოგესალმებით (mogesalmebit) 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 21st February through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

21st February 2022 🗓️ : Event - Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine In the Russo-Ukrainian crisis Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and moves troops into the region. The action is condemned by the United Nations. "In March and April 2021, prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia's border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilisation since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. This..."

Image by U.S. intelligence agencies (unclassified)

21st February 2019 🗓️ : Death - Stanley Donen Stanley Donen, American film director (b. 1924) "Stanley Donen ( DON-ən; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer. Donen directed some of the most iconic films of the Golden Age of Cinema. He received the Honorary Academy Award in 1998, and the Career Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2004. Four..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Adam Schartoff

21st February 2014 🗓️ : Death - Héctor Maestri Héctor Maestri, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1935) "Héctor Anibal Maestri Garcia (April 19, 1935 – February 21, 2014) was a Cuban-born Major League Baseball pitcher. Maestri was one of nine ballplayers to have appeared for both of the 20th century, American League Washington Senators franchises, and one of only three to have played for them in..."

21st February 1974 🗓️ : Event - Suez Canal The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt. "The Suez Canal (Egyptian Arabic: قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, Qanāt es-Suwais) is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5? by Baycrest

21st February 1924 🗓️ : Birth - Thelma Estrin Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2014) "Thelma Estrin (née Austern; February 21, 1924 – February 15, 2014) was an American computer scientist and engineer who did pioneering work in the fields of expert systems and biomedical engineering. Estrin was one of the first to apply computer technology to healthcare and medical research. In 1954,..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Achituv (talk)

21st February 1824 🗓️ : Death - Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène de Beauharnais, French general (b. 1781) "Eugène Rose de Beauharnais ([øʒɛn də boaʁnɛ]; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, he was the stepson..."

Image by Andrea Appiani

21st February 🗓️ : Holiday - Birthday of King Harald V (Norway) "Harald V (Norwegian: Harald den femte, Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈhɑ̂rːɑɫ dɛn ˈfɛ̂mtə]; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He succeeded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line..."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by Sámediggi - Sametinget

[kayla1993-world]

Sudan fighting: Army says foreign nationals to be evacuated

Diplomats and nationals from the UK, US, France, and China are to be evacuated from Sudan by air as fighting from the Sudanese army says chief Fattah al-Burhan agreed to facilitate and secure their evacuation "in the coming hours."

He is locked in a bitter power struggle with the leader of a rival paramilitary faction, the Rapid Support Forces. The UK government said it was preparing for "several contingencies."

Previous plans to evacuate foreign nationals have not been implemented because British, US, French, and Chinese diplomats would be evacuated by air on transport planes from Khartoum.

The UK government said it was "doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum." Its defense ministry was working with the foreign office to prepare several specifying whether immediate evacuations were among those plans.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired a Cobra meeting—an emergency response committee—on Saturday morning about the situation in Sudan.

Saudi Arabia also announced it was arranging the evacuation of its citizens and nationals of "brotherly" countries. State TV channel Al-Ekhbariyah reported that some Saudi citizens and others arrived in the port city of Jeddah on Saturday.

Khartoum's international airport has been closed due to the violence, with foreign embassies - including the UK and the US - unable to bring their citizens home.

The conflict has entered its second week despite both sides - the army and the RSF - agreeing to a three-day ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, starting from Friday.

Sporadic gunfire and air strikes were heard in the capital on Saturday despite the truce. A former foreign minister, Mariam al-Mahdi, who is sheltering in the BBC the ceasefire was "not taking at all."

"We have of electricity for the last 24 hours. We have of water for the last six days," she fighting, she said, adding: "There are rotting bodies of our youth in the streets."

Fierce street battles erupted in Khartoum on 15 April after disagreements emerged between the leaders of both sides - General Burhan and the RSF's Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo - over how Sudan should be run.

They both held top positions in Sudan's current military government, formed after the 2019 coup that ousted long-time leader Omar al-Bashir.

They were supposed to merge their forces RSF resisted this change, mobilizing its troops which escalated into full-scale fighting last week.

The World Health Organization says more than 400 people have been killed. The death toll is believed to be much higher as people struggle to reach hospitals.

Thousands of people, mainly civilians, have also been injured, with medical centers under pressure to deal with the influx of patients. Along with Khartoum, the western region of Darfur, where the RSF first emerged, has also been badly affected by the fighting.

The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people and children - have fled Sudan to seek safety in Chad, across the border from Darfur.

[eggthew]

hey hey @ectolights, I’m your holiday truce gifter! heard you wanted some fenton sibling fluff <3 hope you like it!

[spookberry]

A slow and steadily growing friendship :)

@hugthesquids happy holiday truce!!!

[ghostsray]

danny grows baby fangs

truce gift for @phantomofprocrastination!! happy new decade :)

word count: 3,080

____

Being friends with a rival ghost has its pros and cons. The pros are that Danny can call on them whenever he needs help fighting a bigger, badder ghost. The cons are that this does nothing to stop his ally from attacking him whenever they like.

He was awoken in the dead of night (pun intended) by his ghost sense escaping his throat. He quickly transformed and flew outside, preparing to fight a ghost wreaking havoc. Instead, he was met by Johnny, who asked for a spar.

Danny sighed and ran a hand across his face. "Really? You couldn't have picked a better time for this?"

"Of course not!" Johnny delightfully replied. "All the humans are asleep, so you don't have to worry about hurting any of them."

That was...surprisingly thoughtful. Still didn't make it any less annoying. Danny fixed him with a glare and said, "Johnny. I'm half human. I also need to sleep."

The ghost's eyes widened, and his mouth formed a circle. "Oh."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Can you go back to the GZ so I can get back to bed?"

Unfortunately, he already knew the answer he would receive when Johnny's face twisted into a wicked smirk. "But you're already here, aren't you? And I do have some energy I need to let out..."

"Dude, I swear..."

Danny didn't have time to finish his threat because the biker ghost was already sending his shadow to attack him. Inwardly, Danny groaned. Here he thought that he was making good progress this year in befriending his previous enemies, but it turns out they're too trained in Hating Danny On Sight to fully stop torturing him.

Danny blocked another swing from the shadow. He formed a ball of ectoplasm in his hands and used its light to fend the phantom off. As he watched it retreat, he bared his teeth at Johnny with a growl, trying to convey clearly that he wasn't happy.

For some reason, Johnny had the opposite reaction. He held up a hand to hold his shadow back and stared at Danny. "Wait, do that again," he said.

Danny frowned, confused. "Do what?"

"Bare your teeth."

Danny was Hella Confused, but he did as he was asked. Johnny clapped his hands and laughed.

"You're growing baby fangs!"

"...What."

The older ghost got closer until he was floating right in front of Danny's face. He pointed at the halfa's mouth, and his face adopted the kind of expression Jazz would make if she saw a baby animal. "Right there," the ghost said with a smile, "the cutest, widdwest baby fa--"

All of a sudden, a light enveloped Johnny, and he looked down to see the halfa sucking him into a Fenton thermos. "Hey! Not fair!" he whined, his voice shrinking as he went in.

"Sorry, but you deserved it," Danny spoke into the cylinder before he closed it.

He sunk from his spot in the air until his boots touched the ground. As soon as he did, he thought about what Johnny said. Now that he noticed, his gums were hurting. When he touched them with his tongue, he felt something sharp growing among his teeth. What did Johnny say? Fangs?

Danny looked at the building sitting across from his home. The lights indoors were all turned off, and the windows perfectly reflected the street and Danny on it. Danny let himself hover an inch off the ground and floated toward the glass. Once he got close enough, he studied his reflection.

Over the years, his ghost form had changed into something a bit more...ghostly. Before, the only parts of his appearance that changed were his eye and hair colors. Now, his hair became wispy, his skin grew tinted green, and even the freckles that had long ago faded from his human skin now literally glowed in ghost form.

Danny ignored these details. (He especially ignored how uncomfortable he felt seeing himself look less and less human.) Instead, he opened his mouth and focused on the trait Johnny pointed out to him.

Sure enough, two small, white points were growing from where his canine teeth should be. Danny stared. Were those really going to grow into fangs? Honestly, he's not sure why he was surprised. Pretty much every ghost he knew had fangs. Even Vlad did, and he's a halfa too.

He grinned at his reflection, and the reflection grinned back, showing off his brand new pair of fangs. Danny tried to imagine what the would look like on him once they grow, replacing the small points with something longer and sharper.

This was a mistake.

Suddenly the image before him seemed eerily familiar. Wispy hair, almost like fire. Greenish skin bordering on teal. Growing muscles underneath his jumpsuit. And fangs.

The grin was gone from Danny's face, but the reflection still smiled. Since when had its eyes turned red?

Danny took a shaky step back.

It was him.

The thermos slipped from his hands with a clunk. He gulped.

He was turning into him.

Fire entered Danny's nose. Fire, and the smell of burning flesh. He whipped around, eyes out of focus. The Nasty Burger. It was gone. The flames licked the sky and danced on where the building once stood.

His family. His friends. He couldn't save them.

"No," he softly said, as if that could erase the scene before him.

He dropped onto his knees on the pavement. The smoke stung his eyes and filled his lungs. He couldn't breathe.

"No," he repeated, gasping and gripping onto his hairs. "No, no, no."

His eyes fell on the thermos next to him. The metal surface reflected Danny's face, but it wasn't the face he saw in the mirror yesterday. It was his face from tomorrow. Red eyes, wispy hair, and grinning at him with long, sharp fangs.

An ecto-blast shot past his ear, jolting Danny back to reality. He looked up, his eyes finally focusing on someone standing over him...someone wearing a teal jumpsuit and red goggles...his mom?

But he saw her die, didn't he? There was the explosion, and...and she was blasted apart like everyone else...and then...oh, right.

It felt like he was finally waking up. The air around him was clear. He wasn't in front of the Nasty Burger, he was in front of his own house. And even if he was there, the restaurant would still be standing. The explosion never happened. Clockwork erased that timeline.

His family was still alive. Maddie was still alive.

A fact that helpfully made itself apparent by the gun she was pointing at him.

"Why are you doing that?" his mother asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Doing what?" he replied.

"Pretending to cry."

Danny touched his cheeks. Was he really crying? Sure enough, his gloves came back wet.

"Answer me, phantom," Maddie's voice cut through his thoughts, sharp and bitter.

Danny let his hands fall onto his lap and gulped. "I'm not pretending."

"Of course you are," Maddie stated matter-of-factly. "Ghosts can't shed genuine tears. After all, it's not like they can feel--"

"Yes, they can," Danny suddenly snapped. "They feel! All they do is feel! That's why they're aggressive. Not because they lack emotion, but because they're created from it! Not that it matters to you, since you never listen to what I say."

Maddie's jaw dropped. As soon as the words left Danny's mouth, he knew it was out of character for him. Phantom was a smooth ghost who only spoke to tell bad puns and mock his enemies. He never snapped at anyone like that. A part of him felt ashamed for yelling at his mother, but he wasn't in the mood to feel guilty about it.

He averted his eyes and wiped at his tears. Man, he must have looked pathetic. Why was Maddie even out here? Of course, he had forgotten that his parents had almost as little sleep as he did. She was probably pulling an all-nighter working on some new invention to kill him when she noticed the ghost having a breakdown outside their house.

Danny tried to ignore the embarrassment he felt and pushed himself to his feet. If Maddie noticed the way he shook as he pulled himself up, she didn't comment on it. He took a deep breath. The smell of fire still lingered in his nose.

"Never mind," he said, not looking at her as he spoke. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you tonight." He turned away and prepared to take flight, but a hand suddenly gripped at his wrist, and he turned back to see Maddie holding on to him.

"Wait," she said. After a moment of hesitation, she let go and...lowered her gun? "Let's assume I believe what you said, about ghosts feeling emotion. Why are you crying?"

Danny had to assure himself that he wasn't dreaming. Talking and not shooting? That was new. He must have stared at her for a long time in surprise, because she frowned and urged, "Well?"

He blinked and looked down. "It's nothing."

"So you are faking?"

"What? No!"

"Then what is it?"

He bit his lip. How could he even begin to explain it? Hey, no biggie, but I sort of saw an alternate timeline where I went evil and killed you, which happened a long time ago but apparently I'm not as over it as I thought. Yeah, no. Instead, he asked, "Why do you care?"

He looked up and saw something soften in her face. Her brows knitted, but in an I'm-willing-to-hear-you kind of way, just like the days in his childhood when she sat next to him in bed, ready to soothe him as he woke up crying from another nightmare. It made him meet her eyes, forgetting for just a moment that they were supposed to be enemies. She was not Maddie the ghosthunter, but Mom.

Then the illusion broke when she said, "With how much power you have, it is my duty as a ghosthunter to make sure you dont step out of line. Anything that would cause you to act differently from usual should concern me."

His chest crumpled. Of course she didn't care, and why would she? He was a ghost. This was nothing more than another duty for her as a ghosthunter.

He tried not to show his disappointment, but it must have shown anyway because Maddie asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," he lied. "Of course not."

She sighed. "Of course not." She crossed her arms and turned away, then muttered under her breath, "I don't know why I thought I could help a ghost. I can't even help my own children."

Danny guessed he wasn't meant to hear that last part, but he did. He stared at her incredulously and asked, "What?"

She stiffened, then quickly said, "Nothing. I don't need to tell you about my family life."

He took one step toward her, then immediately took a step back when she aimed her gun on him. Right, he forgot she didn't holster that.

"I mean it," she warned. "This isn't about me."

He stumbled and fell onto the pavement. Maddie stood over him, still aiming her weapon at him. Were they not just having a moment? Obviously not. Maddie Fenton was never one to have moments with a ghost.

"Really, quit breathing. I know you don't need to do that."

Danny only then noticed how hard his chest was rising and falling. He gulped. "I can't keep doing this," he suddenly spoke.

The hand holding the gun faltered. "Doing what?"

His eyes stung, but he held back his tears because he knew she would tell him he was faking again, and he didn't want that to happen. Instead, he fixed his eyes on the red goggles that covered hers and said, "Fighting you, being your enemy, until the day you die."

Maddie remained calm as she said, "You're a ghost. I'm a ghosthunter."

"That doesn't mean we have to fight." He gestured between them and added, "I mean, we were just having a conversation. At least until you pulled out your gun again."

"Is that why you brought me out here?"

"I didn't. You came on your own."

"You were acting strange," she replied. "You still didn't answer why."

His core thrummed against his chest as he continued to stare into her gun. Why are you crying? Because he's still scared of becoming his evil self. Because he doesn't want to hurt his family. Because every time he closed his eyes, he saw their scorched remains, and he doesn't want to be the person to cause that to happen.

"I don't want to be a bad ghost," he answered.

Maddie tilted her head. "That can't be it," she spoke in her snobby scientist voice. "Ghosts dont have a sense of right and wrong--"

"Would you stop making assumptions about ghost morals? I'm the ghost here, not you."

That was the second time he snapped at her. He tore his eyes away from her, instead choosing to glare at the street. Maddie was quiet. "...You're serious," she finally said.

"Yeah, no shit."

She lowered her gun...just slightly. "That still doesn't explain things," she said. "Why the sudden reaction? The tears?"

His eyes landed on the thermos that lay a few feet away, reflecting his green skin and wispy hair and glowing eyes on its surface. His gums hurt.

Danny shut his eyes and gulped back bile. "I...I did something bad, okay?" he said, his voice small. "I thought I could forget about it, but I can't. I--I don't want it to happen again."

A moment of silence hung between them, broken only by the soft whistle of the breeze. He hoped she wouldn't ask, but he knew the question was coming anyway. "What did you do?"

His hands shook. He gripped them into fists, but that did nothing to ebb his emotions.

"Phantom," Maddie urged. "What did--"

"I killed people!" The tears escaped his eyes, which opened to reveal toxic green irises that shone brighter than the streetlights. He faced Maddie, his expression contorted in guilt and pain and Ancients why do his gums still hurt as he cried, "I killed people. They died, and it was because of me. I killed them."

He waited for her to get angry at him, to shoot him. Instead, she gave him a reaction he didn't expect.

"Now I know you're faking," she said, lowering her gun completely.

He blinked away his tears. "What?"

"Feeling guilt over someone's death? Ghosts can't care about that." She held up a hand and continued, "Before you argue again about whether ghosts have morals or not, I'm talking about the concept of life and death. You're dead, so you shouldn't be able to bother over whether others are, too."

Danny sat back and let those words sink in. Was that why his alternate self had seemed so heartless? He had removed his humanity, and along with it, any sympathy he had left toward life. If Danny had fully died in that portal, would he...?

He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. "But I don't want others to suffer the same fate I did," he argued.

"That's not what other ghosts seem to think," Maddie pointed out. "Even if your obsession was saving others, it should be easy for you to get over a few deaths after some time has passed. It simply doesn't make sense for you to care." She crouched until she was at eye level with him and inquired, "So tell me, Phantom. What makes you so different?"

"...I don't know." What else could he say without revealing his secret? He truthfully told her, "I never asked to be this way."

She scrutinized him, as if looking at him could somehow reveal the truth. After a while, she sighed and stood up...and holstered her gun.

"I can never understand you," she said. "You're just...so human. Your emotions, your thinking, your morals, even your appearance."

He perked up. "You think I look human?"

She looked at him as if he just said the dumbest thing on the planet. "Of course you do," she answered. "Even if you've changed since your first appearance, the change isn't nearly as much as it should be for such an increase in power as yours. Other ghosts your power level would look much more monstrous. But not you. You may grow claws and fangs, but you can still pass as a person."

Danny was dumbfounded. Here he was worried that he might be losing his humanity, and now he was proven wrong by none other than one of the world's leading ghost researchers, his own mother. He thought that was as much relief as he could feel, and then she said,

"You're not a bad ghost, Phantom."

He bit the insides of his mouth to keep himself from crying again because dammit he's already cried enough times this night already. Instead, he blurted out the thing that was on his mind in that moment, which was, "You're not a bad mom."

Mom faltered. For a second, Danny worried that he screwed up. He should not have said that, now she's going to try shooting him again and then everything that just happened would be a waste... But she didn't do that. He couldn't read her face well from underneath her mask, but something crossed her face. She observed him silently, and he squirmed, wondering what she saw. She opened her mouth to say something, but then changed her mind and turned away without a word, leaving the halfa behind as she went back indoors.

Danny sat in the middle of the empty street, watching his mom leave. What just happened? He wasn't sure, but Mom just left without leaving him an injury, which he didn't think could be possible. The world lit up around him as the sun rose from the east.

Shit, he had to return home before someone could walk into his room and find it empty. He fumbled around until he caught the thermos, then paused to look at his reflection. He saw...himself. No evil alternate self. No monster from the future. Just Danny Phantom, existing in the present.

He grinned, showing off his brand new pair of fangs.

Now that he thought about it, having fangs sounds pretty cool.

[hashtag-art]

Happy holiday truce, @fretful-ferret! You said you like Clockwork, Danny, and wretched angst, and I am here to deliver on those goods as best as I can. Hope you like it!

[galaxyghostart]

together through the end, and through a new beginning too.

it’s a little early, but here’s my holiday truce present for @eggskie ! i’ve never tried a future au before, but i tried my hand at some designs and i hope you like them! ^^ happy holidays!

[gggoingghost]

Happy Truce to @little-egg-buddy !!

Danny gets so overwhelmed with fear that he can't control his abilities.. This is my take on "internal problems manifesting in an outward way"

[hugthesquids]

It’s a bit early but here is my Holiday Truce gift for @phlabberghasted​ with some Gray Ghost art.

Sketch below the cut:

[gh0stzonedarchive]

A Dead Man's Stare

merry christmas! this is my piece for this years Holiday Truce! I was given @auroraphantasma as the person to receive my gift, so i hope it is to your liking! its my first time participating in the holiday truce, so i hope i did your prompt correctly ^_^

one of your prompts included "the town talllying/noticing danny's ghostliness/weirdness", and one of my first thoughts for this was his eyes. i mean, dead people usually don't have bright eyes full of life, right? so i played around with the concept that danny's eyes always have that far off, glassy look that corpses have, and people [in this case kwan and wes] noticing the way his eyes dont shine like a normal humans.

in all honesty, i havent tried to make a comic-type piece in a long time, so im sorry if its hard to follow.. i tried my best!

[lesbianpegbar]

“Stop, you know me, Danny! Danny Fenton! You have to know me...”

Happy holiday truce @currently-lurking! Sorry it took so long, hope you like it!

[hauntingyourself]

Merry holiday truce @cyroclastic!

You asked for blob ghosts interacting with other characters than Danny :)

[qhostbyrd]

Gosh this is last minute, but here’s my Holiday/Christmas Truce gift for @wanna-bee-artsy!! They asked for somethin with Dan, Dani, and Danny hanging out. I’m really sorry its not much !! ended up getting swamped in Dec. with some college application stuff. I had something else in the works, but my art program was crashing because of some new virus protection software my dad put on my computer yesterday, and it corrupted a lot of stuff i was workin on. Was gonna post this back on the 30th but I couldn’t find your @ ;0;” The BG is from a screencap of Clockwork’s lair that I painted over w/ some extra details. I really hope ya like it though! Its Jan 1st here right now, so happy new year too! Hope you had a good holiday!