#i like to view Danny as that but opposite. ''oh he's normal actually''

[pa-pa-plasma]

love fics where Danny ends up in the DC universe & every alarm goes off at once & the magic users are like "yeah that's the most powerful being in the universe & also possibly super evil we are FUCKED fucked" & the Justice League is freaking tf out trying to find this thing that casually tore a hole in reality & it just cuts to Danny (Fenton) standing in the background blissfully unaware & like "man my life sucks but at least i have this candy bar—" *drops it in a puddle*

[phantomrose96]

Fenton Fact

Danny leaned back against the red brick chimney of the Casper High roof, and he looked across the stretch of land rolling far off from the building top. For a place so off-limits, so hidden-away from the normal bustle of the school, the view really wasn’t anything special. Sure, the school was decently tall, but it overlooked the staff parking lot, and the empty Casper High tennis courts, and the back of a strip mall two blocks over with the recently-haunted laundromat.

Not that it mattered. It took more than tall-building-views to impress Danny anyway, even the nice ones. And he wasn’t up here for the view.

Danny let his eyes drift shut.

“Sup loner, room for one more?”

Danny startled, and it wasn’t Sam’s voice specifically that startled him. (He’d grown used to her bursting from his Fenton Phone earpiece during most nightly patrols.) He’d just lulled himself a bit too comfortably into the idea that no other human could follow him to the top of the locked rooftop of the Casper High building.

“Did I just surprise a ghost?” Sam asked. “Should I do it again with a ‘boo’?”

“Haha,” Danny answered with a fake chuckle. He blinked himself back to prickly awareness, drowsiness batted away like dust bunnies, and stared up at Sam. “I’m not surprised. I just wasn’t expecting anyone else to be on the roof. How did you even—”

Sam was a few steps ahead of him. In explanation, she waggled the Fenton-branded grappling hook gripped in hand.

Danny leaned back with a faux-exasperated sigh. “Since when do you even have a grappling hook?”

“Since I told your mom it would be a wildly cool line of gear to add to the Fenton brand.”

“Does this mean my mom now has a grappling hook too?”

“Yes. And your dad. And Jazz. And Tucker.”

“Great. When I go home and all the ceiling fans are torn down I’ll know why.”

A gentle silence lapsed over them, punctuated with the swell of fall wind.

“So…” Sam continued. “Can I sit here?”

“Huh?” Danny looked at her, anchoring his drifting thoughts once more. “Oh, yeah. I thought the ‘yeah’ was implied.” Danny shuffled a bit to the side, back still resting against the chimney. He patted the spot he cleared. “What am I gonna tell you? No?”

“Just making sure.” Sam stowed the grappling hook to the side of her belt and settled into the spot beside Danny, feet outstretched. “In case maybe you wanted some alone time.”

“’Alone time’ isn’t really something I get anymore. I’ve had about a hundred-too-many ghosts crash through my bedroom for that.”

“So why the roof?”

“Roof is more for uh…” Danny twirled his hand, “‘less adoring crowds’ time. ‘Less classmates ogling me’ time. You can stay so long as you don’t ask me to sign anything.”

“I was never interested in the parasocial or capitalistic value of celebrity signatures. Besides, you cross your ‘t’s weird.”

Danny replied with a half-hearted chuckle. His line of sight drifted into the middle-distance again, unfocused.

“Is it getting to be too much?” Sam asked.

“Hmm?” Danny answered, eyes shifting back to her.

Sam gestured broadly, hands and arms outstretched. “You know just. All this. Everything.”

“…Nah.”

Another small silence grew from the cracks in the concrete between them.

“Paulina and Star are looking for you. You know that, right?”

“Oh, are they?”

“Danny. You knew that.”

“Maybe.”

“…And you’re not interested in seeing what they want?”

“I figure Tucker is keeping them busy.”

“You’re unfortunately right.”

“Phantom Phacts?”

“Phantom Phacts.” Sam nodded. “I made him promise to leave out any embarrassing trivia from the trivia section.”

“Thanks for that,” Danny answered. “Is his presentation any good?”

“You think I’ve ever stuck around to hear it?”

“Fair.”

Sam pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and set her chin to her knees, staring forward.

“You’re really not interested in sitting with Star and Paulina for lunch?”

“Not really. Why? Is that bad?”

“No, it’s absolutely great. But I’m…” Sam shrugged, “surprised, I guess. I feel like usually you’d jump at the opportunity. And I kinda don’t think you’re refusing because you’ve suddenly recognized the banality of A-lister status.”

“Maybe that is what happened, you don’t know that. Down with capitalism, Sam.”

“Danny.” Sam tilted a fraction to face him. “I’m worried that this is all too much for you, and you just won’t admit it.”

Danny sat with the silence that followed. “I don’t think it’s too much. I’m just—I dunno. I mean. I’m just not feeling it.”

“…You can admit if it’s overwhelming, Danny. I’ll be the first to shut down ‘Phantom Phacts’ if it is.”

“Nah, nah let Tucker have his fun. He’s not the problem. It’s… I dunno.” Danny pushed himself taller against the chimney, upright now and unslumped. “It’s a little bit overwhelming, I guess, maybe. But it’s kind of what I expected. Maybe even a little easier than I was expecting. I thought I’d be dealing with a lot of Phantom-hate once everyone knew but, I guess that kind of died down a long time before everyone knew.”

“Valerie holding you at gunpoint in the cafeteria wasn’t Phantom-hate?”

“We’ve had a lot of good talks since then, okay?”

Sam let out a quiet laugh. “So then… why aren’t you sitting with the popular kids right now?”

“I just didn’t want to, I guess?”

“And why didn’t you want to?”

“It just didn’t really feel right.”

“Is it because of me?” Sam asked, another side-long glance cast to Danny. “Because you can sit with them. I’ll still make fun of you if you do, but you don’t have to… not sit with them because of me.”

“What? Huh—no. Nah, nah I mean I do care what you think Sam. But I mean if I wanted to be sitting with them then I would so. I mean. You don’t have to worry that it’s you.”

“So then what is it?”

Danny took a moment to answer.

“It’s just… it’s a feeling. I dunno. Like.” Danny spread his arms out. “The invitation is wrong? Or the invitation isn’t actually for me?”

“…The invitation is for Phantom instead?”

Pensive indecision set into Danny’s eyes. “That’s not totally it. Because I mean I AM Phantom. I’m not not me when I’m Phantom. Maybe I trash-talk a little more in ghost form but I’m not… not me. That’s still just me. You know that.”

“Right, yeah, no Danny. It just sounded like that’s what you were saying.” Sam let her legs slide out a few inches. “So what are you saying?”

Danny sat with the question. “When the news first picked up on Phantom, way back when—Inviso-Bill?—that wasn’t really anyone, you know? They made up some spooky icon to make the news about. Which was just like, whatever, not me. I didn’t even take ‘Inviso-Bill’ too personally because that just wasn’t me. And even when I stopped being an enemy and started actually being ‘Danny Phantom’… no one actually got it right, you know? They kind of came up with a character for me. Just some hero. I listen to the news and how they talk about me and I think, even now, I think ‘That isn’t me.’”

Danny pulled his knees in, a mirror to Sam, and stared down into his tattered jean fabric. “And when everyone learned I’m Phantom I guess I kind of expected them to be like ‘Oh it’s Fenton’ and then that fake version of Phantom would go away.” Danny raised his eyes to Sam, far more bothered than before. “…I think the opposite happened. They don’t look at Phantom and think ‘oh it’s Fenton’. They look at Fenton and think ‘oh it’s Phantom.’ I think Danny Fenton got put away. I think the person I was for 14 years doesn’t exist to them anymore. Whoever they invited to lunch isn’t me. He doesn’t exist. But I’m suddenly responsible for him. And it’s not even me.”

Danny paused. “And now I’ve been wondering like… how long until I disappoint them? You know? How long until I do something that makes them angry because I’m not doing the thing they expect ‘Phantom’ to do? How long until they start seeing there’s too much ‘Fenton’ in me and they start to hate me for it all over again? For them to really like me, I don’t think I can be me, and I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to be someone who doesn’t just disappoint everyone in the end.”

A long gust of wind swept between them, stealing away the seconds.

“…So now you’re hiding on the roof.”

“It was the easiest solution to my problem.”

“But not a lasting one, if you ever want to get down.” The wind settled, and Sam swept a lock of hair behind her ear. “…Do you care if you disappoint them?”

Danny shrugged. “I. Yeah. I think. I don’t—I don’t think I totally know for certain, but I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

“Well, you’re not going to disappoint me, or Jazz, or Tucker—and if Tucker does act disappointed over any lost Phantom Phacts ventures I’ll whap him over the head. But I mean, we know who you are. We’re not going to be disappointed realizing you’re not ‘Phantom.’ The worst you can do is land right back where you started.”

“And what if I started acting like ‘Phantom’ instead. Would that disappoint you guys?”

“Do you want to act like ‘Phantom’?”

Danny paused. “…No. Not at all.”

“Then don’t. It’s that simple.” Sam stood, and she stretched until her back popped. “It’s not your responsibility to uphold whatever delusions people project onto you. I won’t hesitate to call them out on it. You know I’m good at being direct, and you know I’m even better at making enemies.”

“I don’t wanna be mean to them though when they’re finally being nice.”

“They’re not being nice, they’re projecting. If their niceness to you is conditional on you fitting to the box they created for you, that’s not nice, that’s manipulation, and it’s exactly the root of my ever-frothing disdain for popularity. It’s always some element about popular people that people latch on to, and they can fit the box that people give them, or they can reject it and find themselves wallowing amongst us outcasts. Don’t do that to yourself, Danny. Don’t live in their chains.” Sam tilted her head to Danny. “You spend all day trapping ghosts into tight little boxes and you can’t even recognize when it’s happening to you. I think you’d be better at spotting this.”

“It’s a cylinder, really. The thermos. It’s a cylinder. And don’t say ‘box’ so much. You might summon company.”

“You just said ‘box’ though.”

“I did say ‘box’.”

“Box.”

“Box.”

Sam laughed, noise trailing light on her lips. “…Feeling any better?”

“A little, I think… I still… I still think I... it's not as easy to just say 'I don't care if I disappoint them.' It's still scary. I don’t want to end up proving them right that they were right to hate me all along.”

“Are the opinions of Dash Baxter really the ones to be holding on a pedestal? Is his opinion of you really more important than what you think of yourself? You’ve been through this with the A-listers already. Don’t torture yourself again just because the door is wide open. I promise you Danny, it won’t make you happy.”

“So I should just do whatever makes me happy?”

“Every time.” Sam nodded.

"Even if I'm a total disappointing loser?"

"All the better."

"Even if I blow any chance I have with Paulina out the window?"

“Wouldn't have it any other way. Got any idea what you intend to say to her when she finds you?”

Danny paused. He pushed himself standing. “Maybe I could talk her ear off about NASA until she gets bored of me?”

“Excellent. Can I join? I have a lot to say about SpaceX and private capital encroaching on space exploration.”

“Does that apply to me? I’ve been to space. Am I private capital?”

“You’re not private capital.”

“Then what am I?”

“Annoying.” Sam locked arms with Danny, and dragged him along forward, her combat boots clunking against the rooftop. “And my friend. Come on. I’ll brief you on everything wrong with privately-owned space exploration while we’re rappelling down the side of the building with my sick and cool as hell grappling hook.”

“I can fly.”

“And I have a sick grappling hook. What’s your point.”

“It’s probably called a ‘Fenton Hook.’”

“Is that a Phantom Phact?”

Danny shook his head, and a smile pulled on his lips. “Nah. I think it’s a Fenton Fact.”

[lastsonlost]

Even with a grain of salt,

what the ever loving holy fuck!

A 16-year-old boy being held at a Los Angeles County juvenile hall developed enlarged breasts after he was prescribed estrogen to treat a behavioral disorder, a move that baffled doctors who said the treatment defied medical logic, according to a lawsuit filed last month.

The teen, whose identity is being withheld because of his age, was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD, two days after he was arrested and housed at Eastlake Juvenile Hall in June 2019, the lawsuit said. Medical records reviewed by The Times show that the teen’s testosterone levels were “slightly high” when the doctor who diagnosed him prescribed daily doses of estrogen.

Estrogen regulates the development of female sexual characteristics and reproduction. Men produce the hormone at much lower levels.

After taking approximately 13 daily doses of the hormone, the teen was diagnosed with gynecomastia, defined as the enlargement or swelling of breast tissue in males whose estrogen level is too high, medical records show.

ODD, a behavioral condition that is sometimes suffered by patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is normally treated with therapy, said James McGough, a professor of clinical psychiatry at UCLA.

“Estrogen is not a treatment for ODD. I can’t be more emphatic about that,” McGough said. “You won’t find a reference anywhere that supports the use of estrogen for ODD.”

The lawsuit described the treatment as “experimental.” The doctor who prescribed the estrogen, Danny Wang, could not be reached for comment.

Los Angeles County’s juvenile detention facilities are overseen by the Probation Department. Medical needs are provided by Juvenile Court Health Services, which falls under the county Department of Health Services. In an e-mail, a Department of Health Services representative confirmed that Wang has been employed by the county since 2012 but declined to comment on his current status with the agency, describing it as a “confidential personnel matter.” The department declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The suit — which names as defendants the county, Wang and David Oh, medical director of Juvenile Court Health Services — alleges medical battery and negligence

Probation officials and the teen’s attorney, Wesley Ouchi, declined to say why he was in custody. Ouchi said the boy, now 17, was released in April and will require surgery to treat the physical issues he developed as a result of the estrogen treatment.

Wang prescribed a daily regimen of 2 milligrams of estrogen to be taken in pill form, according to medical records. The boy’s parents were not aware that he had been diagnosed with ODD or was undergoing treatment until late July 2019. Doctors said the treatments should not have been carried out without the parents’ consent.

The boy’s father, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his son’s identity, said he found out about the estrogen pills when he visited the juvenile hall one weekend last July.

“When I found out they were giving him the pill, I was like, why didn’t they ask me? When I found out what kind of pill was it, I was like, this is terrible,” the father said. “He’s only 16, and they were forcing him to take it.”

The father said he later confronted Oh, the medical director, over the phone. Oh admitted that Wang had made “a mistake,” the father said. The health services representative declined to comment on Oh’s alleged remark due to the ongoing litigation.

The treatments stopped last July, after the teen began to complain of negative side effects and refused medication, records show. Prior to that, Ouchi said, his client felt compelled to take the pills because he feared that disobeying Wang would have a detrimental effect on his pending criminal case.

Reports from probation officers about a youth’s time in custody can carry significant weight at sentencing hearings, and the teen’s case had not been adjudicated at the time Wang prescribed him the estrogen, Ouchi said.

Ouchi also alleges the boy was bullied by other youths in custody once his gynecomastia symptoms developed.

“As a teenager, he felt self-conscious already,” Ouchi said. “Going through these changes made it a lot more traumatic for him.”

Sara Coffey, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Oklahoma State University, said ODD is normally diagnosed in children between the ages of 6 and 12. Children diagnosed with the disorder often struggle with authority, in school or in social settings. Common treatments include family therapy or medications that have had success in aiding juveniles with ADHD, including Ritalin and Adderall.

Using hormones to treat ODD might actually worsen the situation, Coffey said.

“The other concern I have, as a psychiatrist, is that we know hormones play a role in mood,” she said. “If his mood got disrupted, that could only further complicate things.”

Estrogen is normally stocked at L.A. County juvenile facilities for use as part of hormone therapy for contraception and treatment of gender dysphoria, according to the health services representative.

The boy’s father said the hormone therapy has had a long-term effect on his son, who now scares easily and has become antisocial.

“He’s like a different person. He just wants to be in his room, and he don’t come out for nothing, all day in his room,” the father said. “He was never like that.”

And people wonder why I'm so critical of California.

Also I'm gonna leave this here.

People swear we live in the handmaid’s tale. But I don’t see anyone trying to fix women the way they’re trying to fix men.

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Day 10: Ring - Heavy On The Heart, Light Upon The Head

Maddie worries over Danny plenty and he’s more than a little strange. But ghost royalty seems to be taking things a bit far. Yet somehow, it suits him.

Maddie knows something’s up with her son. Has been for a while. Two years at least. And she has a bad feeling ghosts have something to do with it.

He was stronger, bolder in personality and she knows his baggy clothing hides defined muscle. More muscle than either her or Jack have. She doesn’t know exactly how that happened. But the muscle she could understand to a level, same with the scarring she occasionally spots. Ghosts had plagued this town for nearly four years now. And the school was a hot spot. Self-defence was a required class now and everyone frequently had to run or even possibly fight. Every single person was stronger, Danny just seemed more so than others. She could maybe pass it off as genetics from Jack; who had always had an easy time putting on muscle... and fat.

What concerned her more was the mental changes. The increased confidence and boldness was one thing, not strange in the slightest for a teen nearing adulthood. But it was more than that. He had this wise air about him. Not smart, but wise. Something she once felt off of her grandmother. To get that from her son was strange and wrong. Not bad, just wrong. And that air about him felt powerful too, and commanding. It was as if an army commander had just walked into the room half the time. And the way he would look at people, soft and protective. Like he really was a soldier coming upon a group of sweet innocent children. Even relaxing or lounging around, it still seemed like power thrummed under his skin. And talking to him often made her feel like he knew things she didn’t and that he knew that she didn’t know what he did. But it wasn’t pompous. It was more like an adult protecting the innocent mind of a child. In Jack’s case, she could understand a little. Jack could be a little naive and oblivious. But her? Danny shouldn’t be able to make her feel that way so easily, and clearly unintentionally.

It was strange. It was off. And it didn’t make sense. Sometimes he didn’t even seem to resemble the boy he used to be.

As for why she thought ghosts might have something to do with why? Well looking at him at the supper table... It’s late October. The sun is setting. And the lights were broken this morning. Leaving the fading dark orange sunlight as the only thing lighting up the mess of noddles, her son, and her. Jack off fixing the lighting situation and Jazz off at Havard. And in this dark light, she notices that ring of his, the one he’s worn like it’s attached to him for the past year, is glowing. It’s green and it’s glowing. It’s faint, but it’s there. So that’s why she thinks he’s gotten involved with something ghostly; and that it’s changed him. Because that ring is absolutely ghostly in origin.

The first thought that enters her head as she pauses, spoon halfway to her open mouth, is: could that be possessing him? Or allowing a ghost to? The second is: did he steal that from some ghost? Those thoughts should be in the opposite order, but they’re not. Because something’s off with Danny.

Her eyes move from the ring to Danny, finishing the motions of putting the noodles in her mouth while he moves his left hand under the table. Obviously he noticed she noticed. Obviously he knew something was up with the ring and was hiding it. Obviously he didn’t want her commenting on it or being suspicious of it. Was that something to be concerned over? Or suspicious of? Did that mean there was, in fact, something nefarious surrounding the ring or why he wears it? She’s unsure, and other than moving his hand out of her line of sight, he doesn’t outwardly acknowledge her suspicions. He successfully made the motion look nonchalant. Normal. But she can’t let that make her feel better or trick her into thinking he didn’t actually notice her pause. Because she knows how good of a liar he is. How skilled of an actor he was. Could that be the doing of the ring? But that wouldn’t quite make sense, he’s been changing, changed, for a while. It’s just become more pronounced as of late.

She needs to think.

But in all honestly? Thinking hasn’t been doing her much good. All she’s done with Danny is think. Think on his changes. On if the ghost problem affected him. On if he really could ever become a hunter, take over FentonWorks. On a lot of things. And it had gotten her nowhere with him. It was like no matter how much she stared at the puzzle, she couldn’t put it together. Like too many pieces were missing or damaged to make any sense of the whole. And how is she supposed to figure out what those missing pieces were if she couldn’t even understand the whole? She couldn’t. So maybe she should try something different. Though Jack was always the more vocal and bold one, she could do that too. And sure, she could ask Jack to talk to him, but he didn’t put enough thought into things. Didn’t notice the finer details. And with Danny, those finer details were everything.

Like how he was eating just slightly faster. Clearly wanting out of this situation before she decided to speak up or maybe noticed something else. Saw a different glimpse of the mystery that was her son. If he even was her son.

She tries not to follow him with her eyes suspiciously as he gets up to put away his dishes. Choosing to speak up just before he actually crosses the threshold to the living-room, “your ring is glowing”. No beating around the bush, give him as little to work with as possible. And if he keeps walking now it would not only be very rude but also effectively an act of running away. No way would his pride allow for that. Whether that pride was from plain old confidence or ghostly in nature.

As she hoped and planned he pauses, stilling for a second before turning his head back to her; body only turned slightly to her, hiding his entire left side from her view. “Oh?”. Guess he was giving her as little to work with as possible too.

Maddie nods softly, better to not seem on the offensive, “yes it is. No the question is, why?”.

He’s silent for a bit before, “no reason, Halloween knick-knacks like copying ghosts. Especially around here”, shrugging, “glow-sticks are pretty popular after all”.

Maddie can’t help sighing at that. She could throw in the towel and just leave it at that. Just accept the blatant lie. Stay ignorant. The look Danny’s giving her is obviously encouraging her to do just that. It’s the kind of look given to children when they ask where babies come from when they’re honestly still too young. But with more... pity. Just the thing is, if she doesn’t ask now. Doesn’t grab the small thread that’s unraveled from his tightly woven cover before he snips it off. Then she’ll never know. And not just about the ring specifically, but Danny as a whole.

If she ignores this now, she’ll have to write him off as a lost cause. And based on that look on his face and the fact that he’s still standing there, waiting on her. Tells her that he knows that too. So to her that leaves her with no choice. He’s her son, or maybe was, and she won’t leave him behind. If this is some ghost possessing him or polluting him, then she’ll save him. And if it’s not, then she’ll go from there. “Danny, please. I know that’s a lie”.

Danny blinks at her, and he looks like he can’t decide between a smile and a frown. He catches her completely off guard though, “yeah. Yeah it was”, and chuckles. Lifting up his left hand and looking down at the glowing ring before looking back to her, “I’m surprised it took you so long to notice”, chuckling some more.

If it wasn’t for the clear humour behind his words she’d almost feel offended. Her, a ghost hunter, not noticing something ghostly. That was absolutely embarrassing. But Danny didn’t make it feel like she should be embarrassed about it. She’s oddly thankful over that. “If I scanned that, would it have an ecto-field”, there’s no point framing that as a question. The answer was obvious to both of them honestly.

Danny looks around, rubs his neck, and gives an oddly charming lopsided grin. Chuckling, “heh. Caught me?”.

Maddie blinks at that. Just like that? That... that didn’t even make sense. It usually took teeth-pulling to get Danny to be fully honest. And a ghost wouldn’t give up that easily; especially not around a ghost hunter. Getting up, “just like that? I mean, you know I’m not going to be happy you’ve got something ghostly on you. Ghostly of unknown origin at that”.

Danny shrugs, “no point really”, lifting up his left hand again and thumbing the ring to spin it around his finger. It was plain unnatural how smoothly and easily it spins around. Like it was slick and flawlessly fitted. “It’s kinda noticeable, and like you said, you are ghost hunters. I don’t think I genuinely could convince you it wasn’t ghostly”.

Maddie furrows her eyebrows at that, “picking your battles. Is that all it is”.

“Yes and no. Part of me was wondering if you ever would notice. And if you’d even be bothered to ask”.

Maddie can’t help but flinch at that. She knows she hasn’t been the most attentive mother. She knows that. She also knows she hasn’t given Danny all the support and help he probably needed when he was younger. Jazz thrived so much on her own, preferred that. In some ways she had just thought Danny would be the same. And sure, in some ways it does look like he’s thrived; is actively thriving. But he clearly wants her, needs her, in way Jazz never did and never would. But he’s always been so hard to read, to know. You could always tell what Jazz was thinking, how she felt; and if it wasn’t obvious then you bet she would make it obvious. While everything with Danny was just out of arms reach. Danny didn’t put the first foot forward with them the way Jazz did. Danny didn’t pounce on openings to make his thoughts and feelings known the way Jazz did. She needed to chase after him; but he always seemed to pull away more or throw up a wall. Maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough? Or maybe he had just grown up. Maddie puts away her dishes, turning away from him, “sorry. I just never know what to do with you”, looking back to him, “you're just so...”.

Danny quirks an eyebrow, and finishes her thoughts for her, “strange?”.

Maddie sighs, a bit relived to hear him acknowledge that himself, and nods. Sitting back at the table, “yeah”, looking to his hand and the ring, “that ring. Can you take it off? Can I see it?”.

“That depends”, Danny actually smirks a little, “will you try to destroy it?”.

Maddie can’t help chuckling at that a little, that was blunt but he did have a point. She will absolutely admit to being a bit... rash when it comes to ghostly anything. But she knows Danny doesn’t like it when they get on about the evils of ghosts. And more than once that feeling of him knowing something has nagged at her during those rants. Jazz too, but Jazz always had an air of knowledge around her. And here and now, she’s positive that Danny will refuse outright if she even seems like she’ll damage this ring thing. So she shakes her head, “no”, thinking on it a little, “you’ve been wearing that for a while now. Constantly. Obviously there’s a reason or it’s important”, sighing, “I though it might be a gift from Valerie or even Vlad”. Danny becoming friendly with Vlad still threw her through a loop. Especially since it happened out of nowhere. And his girlfriend could honestly be downright intimidating. She could see either of them giving him a ring with a skull on it, even if the skull looked sad for some reason.

Danny laughs a bit loudly at that, “Vlad would let Jack punch him in the face before giving me this”. Maddie’s not sure what to make of that. “But in that case, then okay”, and walks over to the table, twisting the ring off and eyeing it for a bit before setting it down on the table; it making a loud click like it weighed a lot more than it seemed.

Maddie eyes it, making no move to grab it, “so Vlad knows what this is”, Danny was obviously implying as much. But honestly? Right now she’s just glad he can take the thing off. That means it’s not possessing him. Doesn’t eliminate influencing him though. And if this was something that belonged to a ghost overshadowing him then there’s no way It would hand it over to a ghost hunter. None.

Danny nods, “he never did lose interest in ghosts. He’s more into the mythology and history though, than biology and weaponry. More anthropologist than hunter”. Maddie looks up to him as he sits down across from her. Him nodding his head at the ring still sitting on the table, “that’s very old. In a way”, smirking and eyeing her a bit, “it’s not going to bite you know”.

Maddie gives him a look clearly saying with ghost things anything could possibly bite or harm. But she does pick it up, thumbing it and bringing it close to her face to inspect; though being a bit cautious about it, “if you say so”. Danny chuckles at that, “I do”. Which fine, does make her laugh a little.

Flipping the ring around, it really did just seem like a glowing ring. That’s it. Nothing seemed special about it. Of course she knew better. Ghostly things, and ghosts in general, could often be unassuming. So that didn’t really mean much. “What is it exactly?”.

Danny deadpans, “a ring”, making Maddie give him a ‘you know what I mean’ look, which he chuckles over, “you might understand a bit better if you scan it”, tilting his head, “slightly surprised you haven’t already done that”.

Maddie sighs, “I didn’t want to push it”.

“That’s fair”. Regardless, she does pull out one of her smaller scanners -not like something of this size would need anything more- and promptly scans the ring. Immediately stilling and just staring at the screen.

This thing... she could literally see waves of ectoplasmic energy being sucked into it. And the things glow was actually the reverse of normal. Instead of bleeding out ecto-energy it was creating a small field that pulled in ecto-energy. What in the world? What was this thing?

Pulling out a small vial of ectoplasm she had left in her pocket and holding it near the ring; never noticing the slight look of concentration on Danny’s face. Instead watching as all the ecto-energy is just... sapped out of the sample. What? Was this something that could literally remove ecto-energy from anything? What about a full-blown ghost? Or- blinking, or what about decontaminate someone. Danny had been badly contaminated ever since his accident and nothing seemed to permanently decontaminate him. Somehow the ectoplasmic energy would just restock itself. Could it be? Could he have found something that could constantly and consistently decontaminate him? And Vlad, he likely was ecto-contaminated in a similar fashion. His ecto-acne did return that one time after all. So that would explain him likely wanting this thing. Looking back to him, “have you been using this to control your contamination?”. If so, then this was something she should really be encouraging him to wear.

Danny blinks at her and looks slightly like he doesn’t understand how she came to that conclusion for a couple seconds. Which tells her she’s missed something here. He gives her a quizzical look, “mom... when was the last time you scanned me”, and seems almost worried for her. Like he found it concerning that she hadn’t been doing that frequently.

Maddie blinks and glances to the scanner then back to him, “you never seemed to like that, so we just... stopped”.

“Oh”. He sounds a bit apologetic.

Maddie nods, looks to the scanner, and bites her lip slightly. Looking back to him and holding it up a little, “can I?”. He nods and she nearly drops the scanner when she scans him. His contamination was worse. So much worse. He was practically bleeding ecto-energy. She can’t find anything to say and just watches him as he moves his hand over the ring. Her eyes widening at seeing energy move from the ring to his hand. Like it was feeding him. This wasn’t reducing or control his contamination, it was making it worse! And Danny knew. What the Hell?

She can’t help snatching the ring away from him, looking to him with worry, “why?”, there was so many questions in that one ‘why’. Why was this expelling ectoplasm into him. Why was he wearing this if he knew. Why was it even doing that. Why was it absorbing ectoplasm from everything but him. Why would he even want something like this. And better yet, glancing back down at the ring through the scanner and seeing that it is not feeding ectoplasm into her, why the heck was it only expelling ectoplasm into him specifically.

Looking back to Danny, who’s giving her a clear ‘you said you wouldn’t damage it’ look as he speaks, “I have my reasons”. Making it clear he wasn’t going to tell her unless she gave it back and trusted him. Which yes, was more difficult than it had any right to be.

She gives him back the ring.

She’s surprised though when he just leaves it on the table in front of him. She clues in though, that this is him saying the conversation isn’t over. That he’s open to explaining. Trust for trust. Danny nods, “thanks”. Maddie nodding back awkwardly, she honestly did not want to give it back. That thing shouldn’t be anywhere near him. But checking the scanner, it wasn’t feeding into him; obviously it wasn’t quite close enough. So clearly he was aware of her discomfort.

Maddie swallows, looking back to him, “so...”. Her question was still the same and she didn’t even know where to start on elaborating. He had a ring that sucked ecto-energy out of things and fed it into him, and wanted it. Could be like an addiction or something?

Danny nods and leans back in his chair, “alright. This ring, it’s part of a set. I have the other part, obviously”, nodding his head at the scanner, “that’s why it only does that to me. Not you”. Maddie looks at his other fingers, which he clearly notices, “the other part’s not a ring”.

Maddie nods and bites her lip slightly, “so, this... effect would happen to anyone if they had both parts. But that- why? Why would you want that?”.

Danny wiggles his hand in the air, “that would depend. Most would be destroyed if they did”. Maddie chokes at that. This thing could destroy someone??? What is her son thinking???? She doesn’t even have to ask though, Danny poking the ring and wiggling it back and forth on the table, “the set was modified specifically for me, so I’m fine. Don’t worry”.

Maddie barely feels relieved by that. Because honestly? That just raised even more questions. “Why? How even?”.

“That’s complicated”.

Maddie instantly recognises that as another ‘will she push or just accept it’. “Then explain it. I want to know, Danny. I want to know you”, sighing, “and I don’t. Haven’t for a while”. And Danny doesn’t even beat around the bush when he replies, “yeah”. Which hurts to hear. Sure she knew, but still.

Danny eyes the ring for a bit before nodding, looking up to her, “it makes more sense if you know the story of this thing. And before you worry too much, while the ring takes in energy, the other piece expels it”.

Maddie leans back at that, likely noticeably relieved, “that... I’m glad to hear it. Even if that doesn’t seem to make sense. What’s even the point of pulling in energy just to expel it?”, that made zero sense. None. But at least that meant it wasn’t actually making him worse.

Danny chuckles, “and that’s even more complicated. The backstory really will help”. Maddie sighs and nods, Danny was clearly directing this conversation. Which on one hand made her happy because he was trusting her; but that also meant he would only tell her what he wanted to, nothing more. Not like she could make him tell her more though.

Danny smirks slightly, “there were three before me. I honestly don’t know the name of the first. Or much about her for that matter. But the second was a guy named Laufiel who thought he was blessed by the gods and had some seriously speciesist opinions. Thought ghosts were some kind of ultimate beings. He also killed the first owner”. Maddie can’t help but shake her head and scoff a little at that, though she could see how someone could think ghosts were god-like; especially if this-these things were really incredibly old. “The third owner killed Laufiel and also had some weird opinions on ghosts. More like a hunter I guess. Thought ghosts needed to be contained, controlled, or obliterated. Also thought humans were inferior though. He thought he literally was a god. Ridiculous, I know”.

Maddie has to cut in, “so all these ‘previous owners’ had opinions on humans and ghosts, and clearly acted on them? And... killed the previous owner?”, that last bit carries an implication that she hopes he doesn’t miss. Because this trend... it implied Danny had killed someone. Danny gives her a look that makes her think she missed something again.

Danny purses his lips and hums, “hmmm. Okay. I guess that wasn’t all that helpful. Though it does have to do with them acting on their opinions”, rubbing his neck and seeming slightly embarrassed, “and the ‘killing the previous owner’ thing”. Which makes her gulp, he thankfully explains himself though, “it’ll be better if I explain who the previous owner was, and -to you at least- what he was”. Maddie’s eyebrows raise, was Danny implying that this previous owner was a ghost. Because yes, that did change things. Killing a ghost and killing a person weren’t the same thing. Though Danny was also obviously pointing out that it wasn’t all that different to him.

Danny shocks her out of her thoughts as he speaks up again, “he was Pariah. Yes, as in the ghost that transported Amity into the Ghost Zone a couple years back”, rubbing his neck again, “I might have... kinda... wound up ramming a sword through his Core”.

Maddie... Maddie has a lot of questions about that. How did that even happen? When was he even in a position to do that? Why’d he do that? She does feel a bit proud that he destroyed a ghost, but he clearly wouldn’t appreciate that pride. Which just makes her mentally emphasis the ‘why the heck would he do that’ question. And Pariah... that ghost was the most powerful they’ve ever seen. She knows Danny can be reckless but that was pushing it. “You know how powerful that ghost was, Danny? Why did you? How were you even? Is that why Vlad found you all beat up?”. She barely resists giving him a full scolding.

Danny rubs his neck some more and looking around, “yeah it was reckless and stupid. I know”, sighing and looking back to her, “but, he was effectively comatose when I did that. Down for the count. And if I didn’t, someone else would have”, fiddling with the ring again, “these two things, that have this kind of... aspect let’s say, that can tell if the wearer is ‘no longer worthy’ and needs to be passed on. Which happens if whoever loses to many battles or damages the Zone a ton. Pariah, he was sealed away by a bunch of pissed off ghosts a long time ago, and then when he was let loose Phantom went and beat him up. And so Pariah lost too much. So the ring and whatnot needed to be passed along”.

Maddie shakes her head a little, that practically explained nothing, “but that doesn’t explain why you did that? So what if someone else would have done that and got this ring? Why did you have to do that? Want to do that?”.

Danny sighs, “I have my reasons. A lot of them actually. There really wasn’t any one reason why I did it. Someone else possibly being able to do it was definitely a deciding factor for why I did it when I did. I personally would have preferred to wait ‘till I had graduated”, shrugging, “but I don’t mind. And the reduction in ghost attacks, and them not really attacking people is because of this”.

Maddie looks to the vial, which still was lacking any kind of glow. Could he? Could he destroy a ghost with just a touch? That... that would definitely encourage ghosts to be more restrained. She knows Danny’s a protective person. He is absolutely the type of person that would go to an abnormal extreme if it would protect a lot of people. But... protecting the town, humanity, from ghosts was a hunters job. Her and Jack’s job. And he was still young, and this sounded like something that was an ‘until death’ kind of thing. That.., that absolutely makes her feel guilty, “Danny, protecting the town isn’t your job”, she ignores the slight tense she almost misses, clearly saying that he did think it was his job, “why couldn't we have done this? Me or Jack?”.

Danny actually looks at her like she’s nuts. “Mom, that- you-“, shaking his head, “not just anyone can just take these things. There are prerequisites. And you two do not meet them”.

Maddie frowns, okay that makes sense but... “what... what are they? What could you have that we don’t?”. He was a minor for peat’s sake! And they were hunters.

Danny purses his lips, crosses his arms, and taps at his chin. Muttering, “how to explain this...”, and opens and closes his mouth a few times. Then sighing after a bit and meeting her eyes, “you’re going to hate Vlad for this”. Which immediately gives her an unpleasant ominous feeling. “Remember how I mentioned Vlad would never give these to me? Yeah he let Pariah out after finding the key to his keep. Vlad is at fault for that entire situation. And he did it to get these items and used Valerie as bait. Vlad didn’t ‘find me beat up’ he threw me at Pariah and watched me get beat up”, grumbling seemingly to himself, “if it wouldn’t have upset you, he might have left me to die”.

Maddie stares at him, feeling more than a little furious. “I’m going to kill that man”. Danny actually rolls his eyes, “you and half the Ghost Zone. Don’t bother”, shrugging, “besides, he’s better now. Still vaguely evil, but not actively maliciously evil. It’s something”.

Maddie blinks at him, “why the Zone are you even friendly to that scumbag. And I’m still going to kill him”, sighing and putting her head in her hands for a second before looking back to him, “but this still, still, doesn’t explain things. Vlad’s douchebaggery aside”.

Danny gives her another slightly pitying look, “our relationship is stupid complicated. I’m not sure I could even explain the mess between us. But ignoring him and his past villainy, because of that situation it was either me or him”, shaking his head with a slight chuckle, “and Vlad does stupid crazy things if you give him even a slight amount of power. The whole mayor thing is a stellar example”. Maddie cringes at that. That had been pretty bad. It did also effectively make his point though. And she knows Danny can be spiteful, even impulsive, when it came to Vlad. So that did explain things a little. Barely. But a little.

Danny pokes the ring, regaining her attention fully, “so there’s the backstory, and my part in it I guess. As for the rest of the background, it explains things more. Better”.

Maddie straightens up and gives him a strong nod. This is already a lot honestly. But, thinking on it, it was almost nothing too. All he had really explained was how he got this thing, or pair of things really. Heck, she doesn’t even know what the other thing was.

Danny rubs his neck and nods himself, “okay. So the pair, they’re artifacts of sovereignty. Yeah, you heard that right”, tapping the ring.

Maddie blinks, what? Is he using that word right? “What... what do you mean. ‘Sovereignty’, as in kings and queens and royalty, ‘sovereignty’. Are you trying to say you’re royalty now?”. What? No seriously, what?

Danny actually winces at that, “well... yeah. That’s what I’m doing”, Maddie just blinks at him which he obviously takes as a hint to keep going, “the items, their names and appearances change from owner to owner somewhat. But...”, he holds up the ring in front of his face, “the rings default name is The Ring Of Rulers”.

Maddie blinks at him more, mouth a bit dry. Swallowing and trying to put the sovereignty thing on the mental back-burner, “and the... other item?”.

Danny is clearly studying her, “I don’t really think you’re ready for that. I’m glad I can keep that one invisible”.

“...And you can’t do that with the ring”. Did Danny even realise he basically just said he had a ghost power!? Or maybe it only applied to these items. Shaking her head a little, “I want to know”.

Danny looks at the ring and shakes his head, looking back to her, “no I can’t. It’s because it sucks in instead of expels. Which I know hasn’t been explained yet”.

Maddie gives him a hard look, he was avoiding the question. Which means she would probably never know if she doesn’t push it, “no you haven’t, but I still want to know what the thing that expels is and everything. And the royalty thing”. Royalty over what? Where? How? Did just having these things make him royalty somehow? Biting her lip, “is that why you said you’d rather wait till after Highschool? Has this given you some kind of responsibility?”. What has Danny gotten himself into? What’s this ghostly thing done to him?

Danny sighs and seems to sag slightly against the chair, she can tell he’s clearly debating something. Him sighing again, “do you think you could wait a little? Explaining the expel/pull thing will kinda explain that, the royalty thing. But, yeah, that’s why I wanted to wait. Things can be a lot”, shrugging, “but I’m used to it at this point”.

Maddie has to force herself not to wince at that. No one wants to hear their kid say they’re used to things being difficult. Nodding while looking at the table instead, “okay. But I still want to know”.

“Fair”. Danny fiddles with the ring some before pointing to the scanner, “okay so, hear me out here”. Which only makes that nagging ominous feeling return full force for Maddie. “These items are obviously ghostly, right? And everything ghostly is connected to the Zone in some way, correct? Well, these two items are much more connected”, pointing to the vial, “you saw what happened there, when the ring was close. Now imagine what would happen in the Zone. Where not being close to ectoplasm is functionally impossible”.

Maddie furrows her eyebrows a bit, “well then it would just suck it all...”, eyes widening a bit, “in. It would suck everything in”. Oh god. Shaking her head, “but... but you’re here, not there?”.

Danny blinks at her, “um. Mom? Here and the Zone overlap, remember? Me being here doesn’t stop me, or the ring really, from pulling in energy from there. Like I said, more connected. Being here just slows it down”, pointing at the vial again, “normally sapping from that would have taken way longer, but I was making the ring focus on it so you would notice”, rubbing his neck, “since that helped my explanation”.

Maddie blinks, glancing at the ring quickly, “you can do that? Change it’s... effect?”, swallowing, “and, so you just perpetually absorb from the Zone? I- I don’t know what to say or ask about that”, shaking her head, “why?”.

Danny chuckles awkwardly, “I can alter the effect yeah, I can’t stop it though. And yeah, that’s what I do. Or the ring really. And the other piece sheds or expels all that energy back out to the Zone. So it doesn’t stay in me, it just moves through me. Kind of”, rubbing his neck and looking around a little before continuing, “-kind of like a filtrator. The ring pulls everything in, my body siphons out the bad and impurities, and the other piece feeds the cleaned ecto-energy back into the Zone. But also like a heart. Because you know that ‘contamination’ I have? Yeah that mixes in with the stuff I expel out, which makes the ecto-energy stronger”, he then starts gesturing with his hands a little, still not meeting her eyes, “which effectively sustains the Zone and the Zone takes the extra to repair or grow itself”.

Maddie has to cut in at that, “wait wait, so you are actively helping the Zone. Making it stronger. And, and what happens to the ‘bad’ your body’s taking? Is the Zone just using you to fed itself? I still- this doesn’t make sense and this sounds actively bad. And you can’t get out of this without someone killing you. This just makes me want to take that away from you. But I don’t know if that would even do anything”, she clamps her mouth shut to avoid rambling and possibly offending him. Sighing after a beat instead and hopes Danny speaks up before she winds up putting her foot in her mouth.

Danny quirks an eyebrow and actually chuckles slightly, at least she hadn’t offended him. “I’m sort of part of the Zone circulatory and respiratory system yeah. Which a body can’t exactly survive without”. Maddie can’t say she’s exactly bothered by that. She doesn’t want the Zone to ‘flourish’. Why would she! That would just make ghosts stronger. Why was- how was Danny okay with this? Obviously he can tell she’s not impressed. Him narrowing his eyes, “mom, have you ever thought about what the Zone is? Not in the literal ‘home of the ectoplasmic manifestations’, but in the ‘what is the Zone’s relation to Earth’ way”.

Maddie just purses her lips, the Zone was just an alternate dimension that Earth happened to be close to. Sure that dimension was part of the afterlife obviously, but that didn’t really mean anything. But clearly Danny was heavily implying it did mean something. Danny sighs and doesn’t give her a chance to say anything, him shaking his head seeming almost disappointed; which does sting a little. “It’s not some detached plane. It’s intrinsically interconnected”, motioning with his hands, “if you take a coin and flip it in the air, sometimes you’ll get heads and sometimes tails. But regardless of what side you see or what side you’re on, both are still there. And if you, say, try to blow up or dissolve or cut off one side you’ll wreck the whole coin. You can’t have one without the other. If one sides damaged, the whole thing is. If one side has a giant hole, then so does the other. The Zone isn’t just connected to earth either, but the whole universe. Mom, if the Zone goes, everything goes. And the Zone goes if there isn’t someone doing what I am”, tapping the ring again, “I’m a rechargeable battery for the Zone that’s perpetually being recharged, yes. But that isn’t a bad thing. It’s emphatically not”.

Maddie blinks a bit owlishly. That can’t be- but that’s not- how? Is he? How is he even? Maddie can’t help sputtering a bit, “b-but how, how, are you- how can you even be? Sure? H-how are you sure?”.

Danny’s stare is honestly a bit unnerving, “I can feel it just as I can my own body. The Zone is as much a part of my body as I am part of Its metaphorical body. It is effectively an extended part of myself. Every bit of ectoplasm, of ecto-energy, every ghost even; is technically part of me. And-”, Danny pauses before suddenly looking a bit calmer, “I’m overwhelming you, aren’t I?”, looking to the side, “and I didn’t even respond to what I do with the bad I siphon out, did I?”.

Maddie shakes her head a bit stiffly, “no.... but I honestly, forgot. And yeah, this is, a lot”. Danny winces at that before looking back to her.

The two sit in silence for a bit, Maddie’s not really sure where this conversation has gone or what of any of her questions has actually been answered at this point. But she can tell by the way he’s just staring off into space, though it doesn’t look unseeing, that he’s giving her time and that he probably won’t speak back up till she does. She can appreciate that. And he’s probably off... feeling this Zone? How does that even work or make sense?

That’s another thing about Danny, he’s gotten really good at being confusing.

Okay, take stalk of what she knows and the answers she’s gotten here. Danny has a ring that is indeed ghostly, that has to do with ruling/royalty and three other people -at least one being a ghost- had before him; oh and there’s some other item that is paired with it. He destroyed the previous owner, Pariah, but it was all because Vlad is an even worse person than she thought. Which she is now again a bit mad over. What else? Right, the whole ecto-energy of the Zone being filtered through his body thus cleansing it and strengthening the Zone. And the whole spiel he just went on that had something to do with the Zone being part of his body? Which didn’t make sense. And an analogy about coins that somehow means that destroying the Zone just destroys everything. Which, that makes some sense. It was obvious to even a fool the two places were connected, it wouldn’t take much of a leap to suggest that disconnecting them would be catastrophic. And didn’t he say that ghosts were part of him or something? What?

Maddie blinks and bites her cheek, she’s not going to guess how long it’s been now, “okay, so I think I get most of what you’ve said. Hopefully. And I could see how destroying the Zone wouldn’t be exactly good. But the.... you can feel it thing. I don’t- that doesn’t make sense. And how can it be part of your body?”, gesturing to him, “your body’s right here. You’re a solid being. A person”.

Danny looks to her and hums, “well let’s see”, tapping his chin before stilling for a second, then pointing a finger at the scanner, “if you look at me through that I might be able to make it make more sense”. Maddie nods, pulling it back up and looking at him through it. He really looked no different than anyone else who happened to have enough ecto on/in them to shed off energy. Danny hums, “I guess you need something to compare to, to realise what your looking at isn’t normal”. Maddie’s almost offended by that.

Watching him look at his hand for a second before shaking his head and sticking his hand under the table. Producing an actual glob of ectoplasm a second later. “Where did that come from”. No way that was just stuck under the table.

“No where particular”. Maddie squints at him and honestly can’t tell if he’s lying. Though he should know exactly where he got that, he grabbed it. He just points at it so she sighs a little bit directs the scanner to it. Managing to get Danny and the glob in frame and staring. It takes a few seconds to notice the difference. The energy shedding of Danny appeared solid rather than transparent. How hadn’t she noticed that? Muttering, “yours isn’t transparent”.

Danny nods, “exactly. But”, Maddie watches through the scanner as he moves his hand and actually plucks on one of the strands of ecto-energy, it bending with his finger like he was actually touching it. Which was utterly illogical. It was like how you couldn’t literally pluck a ray of sunlight. What he just did, was a literal impossibility. Whispering, “what?”. Which he apparently finds funny and promptly chuckles. Her watching a bit stunned as one of the strands moves and bends to spell ‘I can touch these as easily as hair. And move them as easily as fingers’. She was firmly gobsmacked. “That should be impossible”.

Danny chuckles some more, “you’d be surprised how often I hear that. Like I said all that energy is part of me as much as my fingers are. Though hair would be a slightly better comparison, except you don’t have feeling in your hair. This one-”, she watches him pluck a different strand of energy, it coils around his finger slightly, “-one of the branching off sections is connected to an area of the Zone where there’s a big battle of some kind. I can tell because of how they are moving through the ectoplasm, which is again connected to me. And through the ectoplasm in them, which is also connected to me. If I wanted, I could move that ectoplasm and make them unable to move in an instant”, he chuckles quietly, “but I’m not that mean. I’m kinda big on the bodily autonomy thing”. She’s pretty sure she hears him mutter, “that, and it’s pretty hard... and feels unnatural”.

All Maddie’s hearing is that her son can control ghosts and without even being near them. Immediately she wants to ask why he didn’t do that to all the ghosts that show in Amity, but considering the last bit he said; he’d be really against doing that. But... why? They’re ghosts and the Amity ones are attackers. Why wouldn’t he just stop them if he could? Blinking at him, “why?”.

He looks to her, “‘why’ what? Why I’m oddly impossible. Why siphoning the Zone makes all of it connect to me. Or-”, Danny then gets that hard dangerous look in his eyes, and just feels dangerous; but catching a glance of the scanner she finally knows how he does that, because all the strands and bits of ectoplasm coming off him are vibrating and even lashing. “-are you asking why I’m not ripping away any ghosts bodily autonomy”. Like usual when Danny does this, that entire sentence feels like a threat. She’s a bit grateful right now for having experienced this side of him before.

Maddie swallows, “stop that. And honestly? All of them”, feeling the need to explain herself when his eyes narrow, “it’s just, with all these ghosts that... attack Amity. Couldn’t you just... make them, leave”, swallowing a bit again, “or something”; because damnit, Danny’s intimidation tactics were really good at hitting that part of the brain that just screams at a person that whatever’s in front of or around them is absolutely dangerous. And while she’s proud of him getting bullies off his back, he shouldn’t be doing that to family and he knows that. Both her and Jazz have told him that multiple times, but sometimes it was genuinely an accident.

He stares at her a bit more, with her trying not to shrink in her seat, before looking away and huffing; the feeling alleviating almost instantly. And glancing at the screen, the ecto-energy was back to normal slow waving. Well, almost. For him to do that accidentally at all... it must just be like an instinctive natural response. Which supports Danny’s claim that all this was connected to him. Ectoplasm literally behaved ‘angrily’ if he was angry. That was... so strange but nearly undeniable proof in a way. Which means he absolutely knows what he’s talking about and isn’t just being fed baloney by some ghost. Danny runs a hand through his hair and mumbles a, “sorry”, before looking to her again, “and I guess you do have a point. Though like I said, ghosts are less aggressive towards humans now and that’s my fault. They aren’t generally stupid enough to cause serious genuine problems in the home of- my home”. Maddie absolutely picked up on him cutting himself off from saying something else. Did ghosts have a specific title for him? Though thinking of it, that’s probably rounded back to the ‘royalty’ thing. It was probably ‘king’, ‘prince’, ‘lord’, or something. What? Zone Lord? Dimensional Prince? Or- oh god.

Maddie looking to him a fair bit wide-eyed as he explains her previous sorta questions. “Which is actually partly just respect. Yes ghosts are capable of respect. But fine yeah, some it’s just because they know I can basically smite them”. That doesn’t make Maddie feel better about what she’s currently thinking. “I’m not going to straight-up control their bodies though mom, like I said that’s mean. That would be no better than controlling a human to me. Which, in the interest of honesty”, he points to her arm, looking almost sheepish. While her eyebrows raise as she watches her arm lift up and wave at her entirely out of her control. She can tell how though, she can feel the slight pressure the ecto-energy in the air is exerting on her arm to do this. So it was more like he was grabbing her with the invisible ecto-energy than actually controlling the limb. Danny continuing as her arm comes back entirely under her control, “so no, I’m not going to control ghosts”, shrugging, “I have my other reasons too. The Zone creates ghosts after all, which rather means I do. It’s not an active thing on my part but I can feel it. So in a way, ghosts are a bit like children”.

Maddie blinks, when thinking about Danny that made a weird level of sense. He did seem oddly defensive about ghosts, quick to explain away their actions or claim they weren’t bad. A parent would do that. But... Shaking her head and staring down at the ring, “I wish the Zone wouldn’t make more. No offence. And I don’t know why you’d be okay ‘making them’”, swallowing and meeting his eyes, “but it’s more than that isn’t it”.

“Ghosts aren’t evil. I’ve pointed that out many times”. He continues when she gives a disbelieving huff. “Amity Park just sees more of the rotten eggs. Well okay, I wouldn’t call the Box Ghost a rotten egg. He’d just... stupid and has delusions of grandeur. Maybe a masochistic streak”. That Maddie can agree with. “But they’re all ghosts created under Pariah’s reign. And he was obviously a really bad dude”, fiddling with the ring, “you haven’t met any of the new ghosts”.

Maddie opens and closes her mouth a few times, because he had a point. If he was part of the ectoplasm in these ghosts, it would be logical to assume he had a level of effect on them. Like a parent's genetics when they have a kid or something. So she decides to give him something of a leap of faith, “I guess I’ll try to withhold judgment on the... new ghosts”, thinking on the words he used, “the ones made under your reign”. She can see the moment he realises his wording gave away more than he meant to. Or at least implied something he was likely skirting around. Avoiding. Because well... “Danny, answer me honestly, are you considered their king. The King Of Ghosts or the Zone”. She doesn’t bother making it sound like an actual question. Because she knows both of them know it’s not a question. More a statement of fact. One that she needs to hear him confirm. And if he denies it... then how?

Danny folds his hands in front of his mouth and stares off into space, humming contemplatively. Which he often does when he was acknowledging that she said or asked something but wasn’t choosing to make his opinion known. Which makes her worry he’s going to clamp up. That he’s not going to answer. And now that she thinks about it, didn’t that Pariah ghost have a crown?

Danny nods after a while and gives the simple blunt answer of, “yeah”.

She looks down to the table, “okay”. And doesn’t know what else to say about that. Because, even if she wrote off the ‘my children’ feeling or Danny’s ever-present odd tolerance of ghosts, that has been around way longer than the ring. Then ghosts would still be his subjects. His ‘people’. And a king is supposed to support and protect his people, whether he likes all of them or not. Hell, he could hate them and that still wouldn’t change his role. Sure part of her feels glad or impressed maybe over that since ghosts at the very least reasonably shouldn’t go after their king. Swallowing and speaking at the table, “is it just a... title, or do you have responsibilities. Do you actually rule them”.

“Yeah. I rule them. My word is effectively the highest level of law. The Kings Decrees. But again, I’m not a controlling person. And I don’t ask for much”, she can hear the shrugging in his voice, the forced nonchalance, “I stop wars sometimes. Resolve skirmishes. Hear requests or complaints. My birthday is a Zone wide holiday”. She’s not sure what to make of the weird emphasis on ‘birth’ there. “There’s balls and parties. I have knights and an... army”. She can feel that he hadn’t really wanted to keep talking but did probably because he feels she deserves to know at this point. She put her foot forward. She chased after him. She tried. Both to get to know him and to trust and believe him. Maybe that was all he needed to be open with them, open to a degree at least. And it had taken four years. No. Longer than that. Most of his life.

And how sad was that?

But... Armies and knights. Balls. This was a lot. And he didn’t just work like the Zone’s battery. Wasn’t just being used by it or part of it or however he felt about it. If anything, that was just an aspect of being their king. The real secret, the real revelation, the piece of the puzzle, here wasn’t the ring and what it does. Wasn’t him sucking in and expelling ectoplasm ‘like a filtrator’. It was what that ring represented. It was that her son was the ruler, the king, of the things she hunted and wanted to destroy and study. He fed them, nurtured them, supported them, socialised with them. And they respected and feared him. Maybe followed him. Her and her son's ideals and goals couldn’t be more opposing if they tried.

No wonder he never said anything. No wonder he had become so distant. Now wonder he would oppose or question their hunting and ethics. And no wonder he had the air of a commander and a sense of wisdom to him. He was a king for peat’s sake! That probably comes with the... position. A requirement or learned attribute. And he quite literally had power thrumming under his skin. His power was technically even in the air. It was an entire dimension and species. What is she supposed to do with this? Because this obviously isn’t something he can change. And it’s not even fair for her to even consider asking him for that. And to ask him to treat them like the monsters she considers them to be, would be plain wrong. In fact, wasn’t that what Danny said Pariah had done? And look how well that turned out.

But what did this mean for them? For them as a family? Because she was effectively a person belonging to an outside ‘kingdom’ and species. Who was an aggressor towards his ‘kingdom’. So where did that leave them? Or really, what’s more important to her? Her family or her career. Which was a stupid question with an obvious answer. But still, they were dangerous, they were monsters. Regardless of Danny being their king. Even if he didn’t agree on them being monsters. And maybe she actually genuinely can refrain from judging the ‘new ghosts’ or maybe Danny being ‘part of’ all the ghosts now would make them less dangerous. Maybe even give them a bit of humanity. Danny was human after all. So maybe.., maybe this was actually for the best. For both sides in the war on ghosts. She already knows what he’ll say if she’s brings that up though. He already thought ghosts were just like humans.

Maddie looks back to Danny, who’s just sitting there watching her quietly. Waiting for her to think and decide what to say. Obviously family mattered to him. He wouldn’t even be trying or doing this otherwise. But his ‘career’. He ultimately had to do it. He couldn’t drop it. Her and Jack arguably could. Danny couldn’t put them first. He had to put his ‘people’ first. That’s the job of a king. Even if it hurt or he hated it. Swallowing, “I’m sorry”.

Danny quirks an eyebrow and gives one of his charming lopsided smiles, “for what? You’ve got nothing to be sorry for”.

Maddie blinks at him, a bit dumbfounded, “we, me and your father,  are hunters, Danny. We’re attacking and studying what’s effectively your subjects. And that’s not even mentioning that we never noticed all this till now”.

Danny cuts in, keeping her from saying anything else, “I’m going to stop you there”, leaning forward across the table and patting her hands, “mom, that’s fine. I hid it. If you’d noticed right away that would have been embarrassing. Even more so if you figured everything I just told you out on your own. And as for the hunting”, sighing and giving her hand another pat, “you guys are only going after ghosts that come here and are practically always aggressors. Why would that be a problem? Why would you need to apologise for that?”, Danny leans back while Maddie just blinks and gapes at him, “when you go to another country, you have to follow their laws or the cops will chase you down. It’s no different. If a ghost comes here, they expect to be hunted. Heck, coming to the human world and attacking humans is against Zone law. The Box Ghost is pretty much the only ghost that doesn’t get chucked in jail very frequently. And that’s because he’s viewed as pathetically pathetic there as he is here. And-”, Danny runs a hand through his hair, “-one of my decrees actively allows and supports ghost hunters. So long as it’s after aggressors in the human world anyway”, obviously making a point to give her a serious look, “now if you went into the Zone and started attacking, yeah we’d have ourselves an issue”.

Maddie feels ridiculously touched. He made laws, or just one, that supported her career? “Sweetie I, that- thank you. Are you... sure? That what we do is okay? Okay with you?”.

Danny chuckles and nods, “it’s fine. I might not agree with your opinions, or what you claim as fact, and you know I have sabotaged things before, but it is objectively fine. And personally, of course I support you guys doing what you love”.

Maddie reaches over and grabs his hands, smiling at him, “that means a lot, sweetie. I imagine the G.I.W. are different?”, that was a government organisation after all. Not general hunters.

Danny scowls, and feels a bit intimidating again, “considering they attempted to blow up the Zone, no. And the Anti-ecto acts are a host of issues”, and grumbles off to the side incoherently. Maddie doesn’t doubt that if she checked the scanner that the ecto-energy in the air would be lashing around again. At least it wasn’t being directed at her, reducing the effect.

Maddie blinks at him, leaning back and shaking her head, “wait, would that? Be trying to destroy you?”.

Danny tilts his head and chuckles, “yes and no. The Zone’s part of me, yes, again it’s like an extension of me”, putting a hand to his chest, “my body is more my body than the Zone is”. Maddie nods, glad to hear that. Watching him pat at the blob of ectoplasm that she honestly completely forgot about in lue of Danny being a king amongst other things. Humming at it before looking to her, “and thinking of the ghosts I create, would you like to met a Whisp one?”.

Maddie blinks, what? Well... Whisp weren’t exactly dangerous and sometimes they cropped up naturally even in Amity. But where? Could he just locate one and pull It here? Or more so would he even be willing to do that with the whole bodily autonomy thing? “From where?”, shaking her head a little, “I mean yes, but wouldn’t you have to make one come here?”.

“Ah, hmmm no. I was just going to make one. It doesn’t take much and it happens on accident a lot actually”, and pats the blob of ectoplasm again. Maddie eyeing it, so he could just make a ghost out of chuck of ectoplasm? Just like that? Wait... squinting at him a little, “is that why our samples seem to disappear so often? It’s not Jack?”.

Danny looks a little sheepish and rubs his neck, “yeah, well for the most part at least. Dad does just misplace it sometimes. But it has to do with me always expelling ecto-energy. If enough of that gets absorbed by ectoplasm it can become sentient. Blobs and Whisps generally. SignalShines once. Proper ghosts are a totally different matter though”.

Maddie shakes her head, absolutely a bit stunned. It did make sense though, if he really expelled so much; which he clearly must if he’s ‘the Zone’s heart’ in a way. All of it had to pass through him. Which was still a bit much to know. “Okay. What are SignalShines though?”. Danny chuckles a bit and pats the blob of ectoplasm again, her watching it start misting and leaning a bit over as it, It, twitches and uncurls from the ball into a more proper Whisp shape. Just like that. Watching It promptly wind around his hand and arm. Him lifting that hand up and letting It start nipping at his hair.

“SignalShines can’t survive out of water. There’s not exactly ecto-water in the human world”, chuckling, “I forgot a thing of Gatorade under my bed for a while. It wasn’t Gatorade anymore after a month or so, I can tell you that. There was around forty odd SignalShines in there. They’re very tiny”, moving his hand over to her, the ghost very clearly not willing to let go of him. Was It still feeding off the energy he was shedding? She can’t help chuckling a little at his story though, that did sound like a very Danny thing to do.

Poking the Whisp, It poking her with Its tail tip right back. “You know, this doesn’t really say much”.

Danny shrugs, both of them watching It push his fingers around to wind through them some, “I know. Whisps are practically just vaguely sentient air after all. But well, I figured you’d appreciate some proof. And don’t worry about them biting, little guy won’t with me here”.

Maddie nods and mumbles, “yeah”, while watching Danny’s face a little. She can easily read the soft fondness there. She knew he was ghost tolerant, had known that pretty much since ghosts were proven to the whole town as being real. She just never realised that it went so far beyond just tolerance or ‘getting along’. It was probably different with fully sentient ghosts, what with their pseudo-consciousness and pseudo-personality after all. Not that Danny considered it to be ‘pseudo’ anything. Deciding to do something of a leap of faith and pet the thing with a finger a little. Danny obviously appreciated the effort and Whisps were practically harmless. The most they’d do is nibble on your clothes or fingers.

Though thinking of It being ‘obedient’ and Danny maybe, possibly, giving ghosts a level of humanity. How and why were ghosts even willing to tolerate him being their king? ‘Bowing down’ and being controlled, being sustained/fed, by a human. Ghosts clearly thought they were better or ‘above’ humanity. So why? “Hey Danny?”. He hums at her so she continues, “you’re human, so why are ghosts, this one, willing to be so... submissive to you”. Heck, even with pointing weapons at the things her and Jack have never gotten even a Whisp to be this submissive and cooperative. It hadn’t even attempted to nibble her or screech or anything. Watching It squirm Its way under Danny’s wrist and just stay there.

Danny deadpans, “king”, but immediately chuckles, obviously knowing that’s not what she meant really. “For Whisps like this it comes down to a simple matter of being able to sense all the energy running through me, and how, exactly, it’s running through me. Ghosts can sense my status. They just know. Whisps, and blobs really, will be like this to anyone strong enough in ecto-energy. You two don’t have any due to your suits protecting you, so there’s no reason to be submissive to you. And me, well, I could destroy a Whisp like this as easily as I can make one. And they can tell”, shrugging, “so in a way, it’s a survival instinct. All ghosts are that way. Get something strong enough around them and they’ll bend the knee... or run away. The more sentient though, the less you’ll be able to tell”.

Maddie nods, huffing a little, “pride”. Which Danny does nod over. “That still doesn’t answer my question though. Having the whole Zones worth of ecto-energy or not, you’re still human”. Immediately finding herself on the receiving end of that feeling that Danny knew stuff that she didn’t.

Danny shakes his head a little, “I had a feeling that would be a hangup you’d have. I’ll admit there’s plenty who don’t exactly like me. And there’s some that don’t like or respect me in the slightest. They’re still not dumb enough to go against me though or ignore me if I actually demanded something. Okay, and there’s the Box Ghost, who’s is, well, him. But for the most part, my humanness doesn’t matter. Most don’t care”, chuckling faintly, “I’ve ran into one or two that find it novel actually. Though there are also some who think I should be forced to become a ghost”.

Maddie has to cut in at that, “you’re not and don’t, right?”. She absolutely would not tolerate him being forced to die or some ghost even attempting to kill him. Period.

Danny immediately shakes his head, obviously well aware how much of an issue she’d have with that; the Whisp winding up his arm as he talks, “no. Don’t worry. A couple, ah, older ones tried to push for it but my head knight, called a Dread Knight by the way, didn’t take to kindly to that”, chuckling, “basically swore to obliterate them if they even attempted to attempt it. So no, no ghost’s trying to get me offed, mom. Also-”, smirking slightly, “-trying to is illegal under the Kings Decrees anyway”.

Maddie nods strongly, “good”, she guesses she shouldn’t be to surprised he went and made it illegal to kill him. She’d do that herself in a heartbeat. “And your... Knight’s that loyal to you? Or obedient?”.

Danny purses his lips slightly, “he’s loyal to the crown, not me. He’ll obey whoever’s the ruler with absolute loyalty. It’s his Obsession”. Hearing that did actually make her feel better. A ghost wouldn’t go against their own Obsession. Often even at the risk of destruction. So this ghost being ‘loyal’ and thus ‘protective’ of her son was effectively a guarantee.

Eyeing the Whisp as It seems to be attempting to curl up over his heart, “well I'm glad you’re protected then. I still don’t get how so many could not care that you’re human though”.

Danny sighs, “they just don’t. It’s really not that important to them. Strength matters far more, as well as capability and fearsomeness. And that I have proper claim of course”. Maddie blinks a bit disbelievingly at that. She’s not sure how Danny had any of those first three. Particularly before he got this title. How could a teenager without any experience or training be capable as a king? People raised their whole lives to be royals were frequently terrible at it. And human strength just didn’t compare to ghosts; raw human strength anyway. And fearsomeness? Maddie’s pretty sure the only thing ‘fearsome’ about him is the intimidation thing he can pull, which is thanks to this connection to the ecto-energy that he has.

“No offence sweetie, but I think you’re rather lacking in those departments. Especially compared to ghosts. Also”, looking at the Whisp still snuggling his chest, “what’s that doing?”.

Danny glances down and chuckles, “oh they’re just curious over the heartbeat. No surprise really”, looking back to her, “and mom, I’ve been involved in more than a fair few ghost fights. Even before the king situation, in fact, I get in less now. I’ve never truly lost. Ever. Amity’s kinda crazy like that”.

Maddie shakes her head, “I didn’t realise the school hotspot was that bad”.

Danny shrugs, “I just have bad luck half the time. Wind up with a haunted locker or accidentally dating a ghost without realising it. Her boyfriend was pretty pissed about that. Other situations. And-”, looking her in the eyes, “-you’ve never actually seen scary Danny before. Or really angry Danny for that matter. Mad? Sure. But completely pissed off? No”. That’s honestly enough to make Maddie decide that maybe she’d rather not see that at all.

But still... “I don’t know, Danny. Ghosts following and respecting a human still seems so wrong. Like it shouldn’t be possible”.

Danny just shrugs at her, “well it is what it is. You can take it or leave it really”. Which was a clear sign she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him on the subject. Watching him move to scoop the Whisp off his chest, “you should go now. You’re getting greedy”. So that was a ‘yes’ on It feeding off his shedded energy. Gaping slightly when a small portal just swirls into existence and he sticks his hand through; depositing the ghost directly into the Ghost Zone.

Speaking up as he pulls his -now empty- hand back out and the portal swirls away, “just how many things can you do???”, it was actually a bit unnerving. He had powers. Like a ghosts. Though with all the ecto-energy in him/running through him should she really be surprised.

“Its just manipulating my ectoplasm. Nothing more. Just like when I moved your arm or made the Whisp. All ectoplasm is part of me, so I can do with it what I want”, and shrugs like this is no big deal.

“Could you cover the town in little ghosts like that?”.

“I could yes, but it would be pretty tiring and pointless”.

“What about turn the sky green?”.

“I’ve done that on accident”.

“Telekinetically move things by wrapping ecto-energy around them?”.

“How do you think I clean the lab so fast”.

“Clean things by ecto-radiating the surface? Ectoplasm does destroy pretty well everything after all”.

“I’ve... never actually tried that, but probably”.

“Could you-”, Maddie bites her lip a little, “-transport the town into the Zone like Pariah did?”.

“Yeah. With a little bit of concentration at least. Not that I would”.

Maddie shakes her head a bit to herself. So much power, and all from a title. She decides to be honest, “I’m not sure how I feel about all that”.

Danny shrugs, “that’s fine. I surprise myself sometimes”.

Maddie furrows her brows a little, “but it doesn’t scare you? All of it? The... abilities. Or filtering the Zone. Or the king thing. Or having to deal with ghosts a lot”.

Danny shakes his head and smiles fondly almost instantly, “hardly. I’m content. I’m okay. Don’t worry”. She’s not sure if she should smile back or sigh. Sure he said he was happy, okay, and it looks like he means it. But at the same time, this wasn’t really okay. He could never hope to have a normal human life. Of course it was never going to be normal normal, he was a Fenton after all, but it was never going to be Fenton normal either. And even though he didn’t really touch on it, had downplayed it, he had responsibilities. Probably lots of them. He wasn’t even out of school yet. A summer job was one thing, but what he was doing might be better comparable to the president. Just for ghosts. Which were a different species than him and existed in a different dimension. She’s not even sure how he manages that. And he probably can’t really get any help with it either. She hadn’t known this kind of position even existed before today. And it would be risky at best for him to talk about details, combined with him being on the paranoid side; he wouldn’t seek people out for advice either. Or at least probably not. Could he even have a regular human job really? Heck, being a hunter was absolutely out the window. Maybe she could find some way for him to be in the family business, but it was obvious this king thing came first. And not just because it was ‘more important’.

Danny wanted this. On some level or another.

Which is where the positives come in. He was arguably a better person now, and stronger too. He could clearly stand on his own two legs and was at the point where he probably didn’t need her and Jack as a child would. Which yes, was something to be proud of. And what he’s achieved was arguably impressive, grand, unprecedented. Was, when it came down to it, good. Especially if this made ghosts less violent and dangerous. He himself was clearly proud. In the end, wasn’t that the point? What any parent should want for their child? For them to be proud, successful, and respected? He had all three. Just in an explicitly non-human way.

Looking at him, he was looking off to the side silently. She’d normally guess he was just giving her time to think, which he probably was, but maybe he was feeling? something somewhere. In the Zone or Amity, Amity was pretty horribly contaminated. She couldn’t even blame him for that, there was probably ghosts here as often as some more scarce places in the Zone. Him and his cycling the Zone’s ectoplasm thing almost definitely made it worse though. Maybe she should scan his bedroom sometime? Shaking her head, she definitely wasn’t doing that right now. But eyeing him, she honestly can’t really find anything else to say. Just relaxing and not thinking for a bit might be a good idea.

After a while she glances to the doorway, speaking a bit absently, “sure is taking Jack a while”.

Danny hums and nods, “he’s asleep actually”. Maddie sighs fondly at that, because of course he was. Shouldn’t have let him have that second helping of fudge peanut brittle. Danny looks to her, “so, we’re good?”. Oh god, she’s glad he’s the one to broach that topic again.

Maddie looks him over, eyeing the ring on the table, and nods at him. Fairly easily deciding at this point that it was fine. It was okay. And he was absolutely family. Not that that had ever been genuinely up for debate. “Yes sweetie, of course. I still honestly don’t understand this and I can’t say I really like it. But it’s you, this can’t really be changed and it’s not really right for me to even want you to change this. So yes, we’re good”.

Danny grins and nods, “good”, and moves to grab up the ring off the table. Maddie tries not to feel a little bothered and weird over him slipping it back over his finger. Especially seeing the muscles in his arm and face tense up. Does... does this hurt him?

Danny looking to her as she speaks, “Danny... does that hurt you?”.

Danny chuckles, and it sounds a bit stiff, “I’m honestly surprised you didn’t ask that already”, shaking his head with a slight smile, “mom, an entire dimension follows through my body, that’s unpleasant to adjust to. But I am adjusted, it’s just slightly unpleasant to reconnect properly“.

Maddie blinks, “wait, so you need your two items? Was taking that off bad for you?”. And how did she not think of that sooner? Cluing in that that only made sense. He used the items, as a pair, to filter ecto-energy. It was logical he might actually need both of them on him to do part of his job. But still, she’s pretty sure that was a pained tensing.

Danny wiggles his hand in the air, “‘bad’? No. Just not pleasant and they’re pretty much part of me. More so than other ectoplasmic objects”, Danny tilts his head and smiles at her, “and at this point I think it’s probably obvious the other item is a crown”. Maddie nods, yeah that felt honestly obvious now. Danny gestures to his head, “do you want to see it? Not much point in not showing you”, and chuckles.

Maddie glances at his head, she knows this is a distraction tactic. But she thinks she’s okay taking the bait. She couldn’t change this or do anything about it. And thinking of the footage of Pariah, “is it the flaming green thing Pariah had?”. Danny chuckles more at that and nods. So Maddie makes a point to ruffle his hair, realising she’s probably going through it. Intangible and invisible. That was probably for the best. He couldn’t very well walk around town with a bright green crown on his head. The ring was less... conspicuous.

“Yeah I want to see it”.

Danny smirks a little, a green glowing flaming crown appearing with a bit a fire show. Which Maddie has a feeling he did intentionally, so she rolls her eyes a little at him while eyeing the crown. It was much more in your face and even a bit intimidating compared to the ring. Even if it seemed rather plain and simple if you ignored the fact that it was floating, glowing, and on fire. Green fire. Though squinting a bit, it looked like there might be crystals? or frost? coating it. “Is it... safe to touch?”. Danny nods and leans his head down towards her. Her poking it tentatively and feeling more than a bit surprised that it was ridiculously cold. Frost it was. Which seems as illogical as cold fire. “It’s... cold”.

Danny chuckles and stands up right, and again with the charming smile, “yup. It’s default name is the Crown Of Kings, surprising I know, but under me it’s the Crown Of Cold Fire”. Maddie thinks that’s a little on the nose. Danny lifting up his ring hand, “and the ring’s the Ring Of Suffering”. She’s not sure what to think about that, it was fairly concerning actually; especially considering how literal the crowns name is. Danny runs a hand through his hair, passing under the crown easily, “don’t worry about the names. Anyway, can I go to bed now? It’s a bit past midnight”.

Maddie has to laugh at that a bit, not that she wasn’t tired too, “I don’t think you need my permission, sweetie. And I’ll probably have more questions in the morning, if you want to answer them anyway”.

Danny shrugs, “maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Do try to get some sleep though”. Maddie just nods at that as she watches him head up the stairs, the crown blinking out of visibility as he enters his room and taking away that bright waving glow of its that had been lighting up everywhere around him. It really did change the way he looked, it made him feel almost like he was out of reach. Like she couldn’t really exist in the same space as him. In the metaphorical sense anyway. Which she guesses, is true.

Her looking back to the kitchen, it’s going to take a while to really understand this. And maybe saying something was up with Danny had been an understatement. Her son was a king and effectively a dimension... sorta. He took being weird and unique to a whole different level. A path that she couldn’t follow him down or guide him with. At least his personality made much more sense now. Especially how he seemed as if above people and like people were children to him. Or ghosts more specifically. Because in a way, that actually was the case for him. Though she feels both less and more worried about him now, in more than a few ways. But worrying about him was pointless, and maybe, just maybe, unneeded. It was a bit hard not to though, she was a mother and all; and Danny had gotten himself mixed up in something equal parts important and dangerous. Though she’s really glad to have gotten some honesty from him. Gotten to know him more genuinely. He was clearly still himself, just a different him than the little space crazed little boy he used to be. Which was okay, kids grew up; it was a fact of life. Hers just grew up running full tilt in a direction that should have logically been utterly impossible. He faced life and made himself the king of death. Which... honestly was rather funny and ironic now that she thinks about it. And knowing Danny... he absolutely got a kick out of it. Which makes her smile a little before shaking her head and heading up to be herself.

One thing’s for sure though, she’s so going to have to have a talk with Danny about telling Jack all that at some point.

End.

[rebellect-writes]

[b]Name:[/b] Jess. [b]Age:[/b] 20. [b]How did you find us?:[/b] Ummm...

[b]Name:[/b] Alexander-James White. [b]Nicknames:[/b] [LIST] [*] AJ White. [*] Alex. [*] Prat Prince. [/LIST][b]Age:[/b] 28. [b]Date of Birth:[/b] August 31st, 1984. [b]Gender:[/b] Male. [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Bisexual.   [b]Occupation:[/b] Bar tender at Club Hell and food for vampires that call the underground complex home.

[b]Animal:[/b] Wolf. [b]Animal Description: [/b] [IMG]http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyc8izHx2B1r6bovho1_500.jpg[/IMG][LIST]In wolf form, he’s powerfully built there’s no denying that.  With a dense fluffy mottled grey, white and black coat, he looks nothing like your average dog in this form, but from a distance, he can pull off looking like a husky, especially if he wears a collar. He doesn’t wear a collar though, and his amber eyes give away a human intelligence that no normal mutt could. He weighs in at 180lbs in this form, a large 6’5 inches in length from nose to tail tip and stands 31 inches tall at the shoulder. [/LIST][b]Do you have a hybrid/Alpha form?:[/b] [URL=http://static.open.salon.com/files/werewolf_21252782517.jpg]ALPHA FORM[/URL][LIST]His alpha form is what he calls his ace in the hole. Standing tall at 6’9 feet tall and weighing 400lbs, this shaggy beast can be a little intimidating, but only just a little when he’s up close and personal. The dense grey and black coat covers him from head to toe, with the lighter white patches spanning across his chest and belly. He’s not one of those Hollywood werewolves either, even if there are claws, and paws where hands and feet should be, a bushy tail and a muzzle packed full of fangs. A.J’s perfectly capable of talking in this form and not a mindless monster. Capable of talking, that is, if you can understand what he’s saying under the growling tone. [/LIST][b]Rank:[/b] Suttung. [b]How long have you been a lycanthrope?:[/b] 12 years. (Infected at age 14) [b]Mindset:[/b] Dominant enough. [b]Power level:[/b] Alpha.

[b]Face Claim:[/b] Bradley James. [b]Description:[/b] [IMG]http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfsx48zc121qgozudo1_r1_500.jpg[/IMG][LIST][i]Height:[/i] 6’1 [i]Weight:[/i] 165lbs [i]Eyes:[/i] Icy blue. [i]Hair:[/i] Blonde.   [i]Build:[/i] Lean but toned, oh yes. [i]Visible marks:[/i] Alexander has a nasty looking bite scar in the crook of his elbow from where the werewolf that infected him, managed to get a good hold and tear into his arm. He’s thinking about getting a tattoo, but he isn’t sure what one he wants yet. He has a small birthmark on his left hip and that’s about it. [i]Style:[/i] Well, if it’s comfortable he’ll wear it. It doesn’t matter to him really, but he does try to make whatever he pulls on in the mornings, look good be it raggedy jeans and a t-shirt or something else all together. [/LIST][b]Special Skills:[/b][LIST] [*] He’s a good listener; it comes with the job of being a bar tender. [*] Got a way with the local wolf callers, he’ll come to them willingly as long as don’t force him to shift. [*] Good with blades, oh yes he is. His father made sure of this from an early age. [/LIST][b]Personality:[/b][LIST]AJ is just your typical lad, from a typical snobby family maybe, but typical nonetheless. Sure he may come off a little distant at times, but that’s only because he has no idea of what to say or do at times. It doesn't mean that he doesn't try and muddle on, even when moments like that crop up. It's just what he does, moves on with things, really. He’s a bit loud of course, likes to do things his own way when and if he can, and if he has to, he’ll follow other peoples lead as long as they’re decent at leading.

There is the odd chance that he won’t actually follow someone’s lead and that’s when he thinks or knows that whoever’s trying to get him to follow is a complete and utter idiot. People with an ounce of sense rattling around in their heads, he’ll give them a chance, those that don’t have two brain cells to rub together can wander off and get themselves hurt. That would probably explain his trust issues, he’s never had a father or anyone really stable in his life so he’s not likely to go out and open up his heart or put a noose around his neck for just anyone.

Despite the odd occasional trust issue, he’s a natural born leader. He says and does what he wants, and isn’t easily put into a spot that forces him to do the complete opposite. You could say that he was loyal to what he believes in, loyal to the few real friends that he does have and if his father ever decided to welcome him back and accepted his werewolf side, AJ would be a loyal and loving son to him too. Even with his few issues, he’s a pretty easy kind of guy. Good to have at your back in a fight, polite and if he pushes himself, could charm the birds out of the trees.  

AJ likes to have a laugh, even if his actions get him into trouble, it doesn’t mean that life has to be such a drag that he has to be so serious all the damned time. Let’s not forget that when he isn’t being a good mate, or a listener to some drunk at work, he can be – at times – idiotic, bull headed, brash, annoyingly whiny and a multitude of other things that I’m sure Danny will tell you all about. [/LIST][b]Likes:[/b][LIST] [*] Hanging out with friends after work. [*] Horse riding! He does actually spend time at the local stables. [*] Having someone he can trust at his back. [*] Orange juice in the mornings. [*] Not getting caught up in local gossip. [*] Werecats, when they aren't being annoying. [*] Helping the pack whenever he can. [*] Relaxing in the tub once in a while. [*] Vanilla ice cream. [*] Running in the morning. [/LIST][b]Dislikes:[/b][LIST] [*] People that can’t take a joke in any form. [*] Needless fighting. [*] Having to sit things out. He has to find ways around things quickly. [*] Late nights, followed by early mornings. [*] Werewolf flicks. It’s good to see how people have messed up. [*] The ideas of being a submissive to anyone. [*] Idiots in the pack. They make him growl. And then snarl... [*] Clingy women. [*] Getting ignored or talked over. It really makes him…whine. [*] People bringing up his parents or his family. [/LIST][b]Weaknesses:[/b][LIST] [*] Bull-headed at times. Totally charges into things without thinking. [*] Doesn't trust people unless they prove themselves. [*] Wounds from other alpha weres heal slowly, almost human slow. [*] A pretty face can kill him every time. [*] Using his alpha form repeatedly uses up too much energy. [*] He doesn’t know how to show his appreciation properly. Or much emotion for that matter. [/LIST][b]Strengths:[/b][LIST] [*] Listens to people before making his mind up. [*] Defiantly stubborn at times. [*] Loyal. No mutt jokes thank you very much. [*] Potential leadership qualities.   [*] A good tracker in both wolf form and human form. [*] He knows when to ‘retreat’ when there’s a need for it. [/LIST][b]Family:[/b] [LIST] [*] Father: Colin White: 57 yo: Alive. [*] Mother: Angela White: 49yo: Deceased. [*] Stepmother: Bridget White: 55yo: Alive. [*] Half Sister: Lenora White:  18yo: Alive. [*] Step Brother: Jeffery White: 13yo: Alive. [*] Grandmother: Janet Ashton: 67yo: Alive. [/LIST][b]History:[/b][LIST]He’s a London born brat that’s had no real purpose in his life until he was infected with werewolf lycanthropy and managed to pull himself away from his ‘family life’, but if you insist, I guess I have to tell you his life story. In that Readers Digested, condescended version, anyway. What? I don’t want to bore you to death after all.

Born in the Autumn of ’84 to Colin and Angela White, what was supposed to be a happy day for the White’s was short lived as mere hours after Alexander James was born into the world, Angela suffered from an unforeseen side effect of the drugs she’d been given during labour. It was a joyous day, and a devastating one all at the same time. Alexander was left without a mother and Colin without a wife, and for the babe, while it didn’t impact him then it certainly shifted the way Colin viewed his boy subconsciously. If AJ hadn’t been born, he’d still have had a loving wife, but that was just the way the cookie crumbled. It wasn’t like his father would abandon him though, much, even if he had been born into a one man’d blue blood family.

Growing up without a mum wasn’t that bad, at least that’s what Alexander thought all the time, as he did the things that normal kids did. Went to school, made friends, had silly little one hour crushes that lasted through the lunch time break only to die when he went back to class. At the end of each day though, when he walked to the gates of the primary school he attended, watching the kids get collected by beaming mothers with buggies and dogs, Alexander always felt a bit jealous and he threw temper tantrums in the Lexus on the way home with only the chuffer or maid that picked him up to try and talk him down from it before they got home. Most of the time, it worked, and some times it didn’t, and Colin caught wind of it.

Bless Colin’s heart, he did try to be a good dad – and yeah, he failed epically – to see what A.J wanted so those anger issues took root and became steadily worse as he got older. There was that typical rebellion stage when he hit his early teens. The thing that really stuck in the youngster’s craw was that around the time of his fourteenth birthday, his father brought along some woman, Bridgit, that he’d been seeing and with her, these two younger kids and his future siblings, Lenora and Jeffery. A.J didn’t like it, didn’t like them and he certainly didn’t like the fact that his father had ‘ruined’ his fourteenth birthday. After all, it was just supposed to be them camping in the Lake District and he took off from the rented cabin without so much as a ‘may I be excused?’.

Probably shouldn’t have done that, in retrospect. The lad didn’t answer his phone when his father blew it up with voicemail, nor did he turn back when it started to get cold and then rain, nor did he stop when it got dark. He just kept going. Now, when you grew up watching horror movies with the staff that his father employed on the family estate, the moment the werewolf howl cut through the early night, the first thing that came to his mind was the older and uber scary movie, [i]An American wolf in London[/i]. And then he did something even more stupid then not calling his father and asking to be picked up, he ran out of the woods he’d been walking in and out into an open field with a freshly bitten werewolf following on his heels. [i]Beware of the moon, and stick to the path.[/i] You don't say...

Well, like you’d expect from any wild animal, the attack was very messy. There was no nip on the leg like some would expect. The newly turned lycanthrope tore into the boy leaving him at deaths door, the pack that came out of the woodwork did all they could do to help him, even had the resident witch and her apprentice step in and try and help A.J while the Ulfric got the other wolves under control and somewhere else very far away from the two witches and the teenager knowing that if A.J survived, then the kid would be changed for life.

It was touch and go for a few days, but when A.J finally came around; he found his father sat beside his hospital bed, crying his eyes out over the idea of losing his boy. There was no sight of Bridget or her kids, and in a twisted round about way it was nice. Shocking, but nice. And Alexander had no idea what to do next expect heal up and work from there, hell, he didn’t trust his fathers new found emotions and to top it off, the moment he could move without being helped by a nurse, Bridget was back and he was shocked to find out that while he’d been in hospital, his father had grown smitten for this woman and had proposed. It was enough to knock down Alexander; he didn’t have the strength to fight his father and some woman with her own baggage. Less than a month later, Bridget Banks became his step mother and legal guardian should something happen to his father. It was so lame!

What was even worse, with his new mother - he flat out refused to call her mum like she insisted - he started to feel different. Like there was something under his skin, waiting for the right moment to come out of hiding and take on the world. His shrink put it down to the emotional trauma of a wild animal attack and the new addition to the family, but he wasn't convinced. So the typical teenager angst hid what was really going on until one night, he excused himself from dinner intending to go to bed early...And he passed out...Only to wake up naked in the forest not far from the house, with a stranger stood over him. That did not go down too well, considering the guy was naked too and looked like he’d been dragged through a hedgerow backwards.

Before Alexander could freak out, the other werewolf told him about what had happened. How he'd been sent to watch out for him since his release from the hospital. AJ was also told that werewolves were real, and so were vampires and everything else that came straight from the fairy tales. The coolest thing – in retrospect, he knew that he should have been shocked – that he learnt was that he was a werewolf too. The only snag in that train of thought was that he had to tell his father, but Quincy, the other werewolf, said that he didn’t have to if he didn’t want. The pack would help him out behind the scenes until AJ was ready to tell his dad. That made A.J’s day, and he accepted the deal.

However, he didn’t tell his family until he was eighteen and thinking about moving out of the family house. By that time, he had a pretty good handle on his wolf too, thanks to help from the local pack. At first his dad thought it was a joke, some elaborate prank for attention, and even went as far as demanding proof and AJ just couldn’t do it to him. He apologized for taking up his father’s time and went back to hunting for a place to live. He found it in the unlikeliest place, some city in the North called Jackford, it sounded vaguely familiar. After tossing the name out casually one evening during dinner, and was surprised to learn that his birthmother had come from there, and that his grandmother still lived there. He didn't even think that his father had known what he'd been saying until Alexander didn't speak up again after that little revelation.

Well, not until seven months later when he was packing up his jeep and on the way to Jackford, already having been in contact with the local Ulfric, Joel, and his grandmother.   At nineteen years old, the world outside of something that he’d known most of his life was a big place but he managed to get a room at the Kiss’s compound under the promise that he’d give blood and work for his keep. He agreed, and to make things better, his gran didn’t seem to mind much either. She was cool with him being a werewolf; he’d told her that the first time he’d talked to her over the phone. Things really were starting to look up for him. They’ve been pretty good times ever since he rolled into town. AJ’s been a long standing member of the pack, met some pretty good mates and keeps his head down unless there’s trouble and just gets on with his life.

His father still hasn’t accepted that he’s a werewolf to this day; denial is a strong emotion after all. However, it isn’t like he can change what he is. He still expects his dad to sit him down and try and turn a conversation around, as if he’s got some kind of curable disease and if he stops being a werewolf, he can just be normal. Yeah, and pigs will fly. [/LIST]

[royalbloodedbastards]

chatzy // party of two

DATE: Thursday, May 7, 2020 CHARACTERS: Ben and Danny ABOUT: A birthday dinner date. Ben's sappy, Danny’s happy.

Danny sat on the front steps of the farmhouse. Under the warm glow of the porch light, his pink shirt looked orange. Danny nodded along to the gentle Bossa nova music playing from the living room. "Benny!" He smiled, seeing his friend come down the road. Danny stood and stepped off the porch to greet him. "Can I hug you now? Is it safe?"

Ben smiled at Danny once his friend came into view. He looked past Danny's shoulder and took in the facade of the farmhouse, then turned his attention back when he was spoken to. "Yeah," he laughed, lifting his arms to welcome the embrace, "it's safe. Just don't squeeze me too hard."

"No promises," Danny chirped before stepping in to hug Ben. He didn't squeeze too hard, but Danny pressed close, letting his head rest on Ben's shoulder for a while. "Happy not-birthday."

Ben did the same, lingering in Danny's arms. "Happy not-birthday," he said. "Thanks for arranging this."

"Of course," Danny replied. He gave Ben's cheek a peck then pulled away to head back toward the porch. "Have you been in the farmhouse before?"

"Uh, no, I haven't," he said, following Danny up the steps. He glanced around again. "It looks nice."

"Thank you! It used to be so dusty and gross, I've actually been cleaning and redecorating it for this idea I have." Danny stepped inside and waited by the door for Ben to come in. 

The house was old and small, but had a quaint charm. The floor was a mix of carpeting and old wooden floors that creaked underfoot. The floors and ceiling weren't perfectly level in every spot, but it gave the house a cozy, lived-in feel. The walls were adorned with carved detailing, but they were painted white in an old-fashioned kind of tacky way. Each room had a big archway opening up into the next. Danny and Ben stood in an empty space, where a living room or parlor might have been. One room away stood a dark wooden table decorated with candles and two place settings. In the corner of the room, an old record player crackled with Bossa Nova. 

"Sorry, it's a little empty right now. I haven't finished putting everything up yet," Danny explained sheepishly.

Ben walked through the doorway and blinked at the sight before him. "You cleaned this whole place up? By yourself?" He moved further inside, gravitating toward the wall to look at the detailing, the floor creaking under his shoes. "It looks great in here so far. What's the idea?"

"Yeah, but I've been doing it for weeks," Danny explained as he shut the front door. "This used to be an office space, but my idea is to turn it into a dining space. We'll have a chef design a menu based on the farm's produce that's in season and then people can buy seats for a nice prix-fixe dinner. They can meet the chef, meet me and Elaine, learn about what they're eating. It'll be like a farm-to-table experience. With wine," Danny added with a laugh. "Of course."

Ben had no idea what a prix-fixe dinner meant, but he didn't bother with asking right now. He turned back to face Danny during the explanation, a warm smile spreading across his face. "That sounds amazing, Danny," he said, walking over to him once again. "It's... really cool. I'm sure it's going to be incredible."

"Well, I really hope so," Danny started, a sly smile on his face. He skipped into the dining room for a moment to grab something off the table, then hopped back into the living room and continued, "Because you're my first guest." Danny held out a menu, handwritten on a flower-pressed piece of paper.

Ben's mouth fell open, and he breathed out a laugh. "Seriously?" He held the menu carefully, reading it over, and then looked back up at his friend. His smile was still there despite a slight pressure in his chest. "I'm honored." He looked back at the menu. "This is the uh, best not-birthday gift I've ever gotten."

Danny clasped his hands over his heart. "You haven't even tasted the food yet! This could still end up being mediocre," Danny laughed. He gestured toward the dining table. "If you wouldn't mind taking a seat. I'm kind of on double duty as both your server and your date tonight. Or triple, if you count the chef too."

Ben walked over to the table and slid into his chair. He shook his head, following Danny around the room with his gaze. "I feel like this shouldn't be a joint birthday if you're doing all the work."

Danny laughed as he went to go pick a big serving plate off the kitchen counter. "Don't think of it like that. I really love to do this. This is me spending time with you doing what I love," Danny explained. He set the plate down on the dining table and took his seat opposite Ben. "Okay, this is the goat cheese crostini with rhubarb chutney. I made the bread and chutney, and the cheese is from our goats!"

He still thought he should be doing something besides show up, but he didn't want to argue the issue. If Danny was happy, so was Ben. Once the food was presented, he waited for a moment before he realized Danny wanted to get his reaction first. Ben picked up one of the slices of bread and took a bite. It tasted unlike anything he'd tried before. Ben pressed a finger to the corner of his mouth to catch any crumbs. "That's so good."

Danny beamed, pressing his hands to his cheeks. "Thank you!" He shook his shoulders a bit before digging into one himself. Danny smiled as he tasted his creation. Ben was right—it was so good. When he finished chewing, Danny remembered, "Oh! How did the other night go with you and Caine?"

Ben took another bite before answering. He put the crostini down onto his plate as he swallowed. "Uh, I think it went pretty well. We talked about the band. He said that he was going to get everyone together to play some songs. See if I fit the vibe." He shrugged, smiling a bit. "So I guess we'll see what happens there."

"That's great!" Danny cheered. "Oh man. There's no way you're not just gonna blow them all away. I'm so excited." Danny shoved the other half of his crostini in his mouth in one big bite then dusted his fingers off on the napkin beside his plate. Once Danny had swallowed down some of his food, he added, "Caine said he had a really good time too. He thinks you're 'pleasant and sensitive,'" Danny snorted. "His words."

Under Danny's encouragement, Ben's smile grew some, and he glanced back down at his plate and picked up his food again. He was mid bite as he listened to Caine's version of events; he felt his stomach clench for just a moment but didn't otherwise indicate that he was surprised. Ben nodded as he swallowed. "That's nice of him," he said, chuckling. "Caine is... really cool. I like him a lot."

"Oh my gods, that makes me so happy," Danny admitted. "I love you both so much, that's just..." Danny shook his shoulders in excitement. Danny picked up another crostini and nudged the last remaining one towards Ben. "That one's yours."

His first crostini wasn't finished yet but Ben took the last one anyway and put it down on his plate. "Thanks." He picked up the first again but didn't take a bite yet. "But, yeah, I'm sorry I didn't try to befriend him sooner. Hopefully things with the band work out and we can get to know each other better."

"I'm sure everything will work out," Danny assured him. "He took a huge bite of the crostini before dusting his hands on his napkin again and getting up. "Mm!" Danny strolled back into the kitchen. "Let me get the entrée ready," he said, still chewing. "Sorry, am I rushing you? Am I moving too fast? Tell me if I am."

Ben finished the first crostini as Danny replied. He watched his friend get up, and shook his head. "Nah," he answered, raising his voice slightly so Danny could hear him from his place in the kitchen. "You're moving at a normal pace, I just eat really slow."

Danny pulled the oven open and the smell of roasted vegetables and fish wafted out. "Oh my gods, not to ring my own bell here but do you smell that?" Danny glanced back at Ben, beaming. "Ah! It smells so good." He grabbed a mitt to pull the dish out of the oven and set it down on the stovetop. While Danny started plating two large dishes he had prepared on the counter, he called out to Ben, "So, no pressure if you've already told this story a million times, but I'd love to hear more about what happened in Canada." He glanced back. "Once I'm sitting down."

"Yeah, we can," he said. After a moment, he tentatively stood, keeping a hand on the back of his chair. "Can I help at all?"

"If you could move the plates aside! I'm gonna put these dishes down in just a sec." Danny laid the vegetables and fish down gently on the dishes, trying to create some sort of interesting form. Once he was satisfied, he returned to the table holding one in each hand. "This one is for you," he said, setting Ben's down. "It's a slow-cooked salmon with turnips and swiss chard. Everything is from this farm except for the salmon because..." Danny shrugged as he took his seat. "Because salmon don't live here," he laughed.

Right away, he did as he was asked, moving the plates for their crostini's to the side of the table. He bit into his appetizer while he did this so it wouldn't go to waste as Danny brought the main course in. Ben slid into the seat again and admired the plate. "Understandable," he said with a small smile. "You're right, it smells amazing." Ben picked up his fork. "Um, what have I told you about Canada already?"

"Um..." Danny tried to recount everything he remembered. "That there was a hag messing with your dreams in a place called Bonavista. There was a lighthouse. And Nemesis cursed a man through you." Danny furrowed his brows. "I think that's all you told me."

"Okay." Ben nodded. "That's... basically the gist of it." He cut a piece of salmon off as he talked. "There was a man who summoned the hag to terrorize this town, and then he swooped in like he was their savior. Bought up a bunch of their land and businesses so he could profit off of it. So, we had to stop him, and kill the hag." He ran his tongue along his teeth. "He kinda figured out we were there, which is why I came back looking, uh, like that." He tried to smile sheepishly, even though he knew Danny wouldn't find it funny at all. "I dunno, the people were nice, but their accent is impossible to understand."

Danny nodded as Ben recounted the tale. He felt the urge to frown thinking of Ben being in any kind of danger, but instead, Danny chose to smile. He leaned forward to clasp a hand on Ben's shoulder. "That's... Insane and terrifying and wild, and I am so, so happy you saved all those people and came back to tell me about it. Even looking the way you did," he joked.(edited)

Ben laughed sheepishly. He hadn't really thought about what happened as especially heroic, so it was weird to hear Danny say that he'd saved people. He made himself look Danny in the eye. "I'm glad, too." He needed to look down so he focused on the food in front of him. "Like... very glad." He lifted a piece of the salmon to his mouth.

Hearing Ben confess that he was glad to be back, Danny found that he didn't have to try as hard to wear a smile. He relaxed and sat back as Ben took a bite of the salmon, then picked up his fork to do the same. "Bon appétit," he chirped before digging in.

For a long time, Ben found it difficult to fully relax around Danny. No matter how hard he tried, or what they were doing, there was always a knot of tension in Ben's stomach, a constant pressure of guilt. It made him hold Danny at a distance, keep their conversation surface-level most of the time. Even now he felt it, like a habit that he couldn't shake, but he thought he sensed something shift in the air around them. His shoulders released just a touch. Ben swallowed his first bite of food and took a deep breath. "Um, I want to thank you," he said, bringing his gaze back up to meet Danny's. "I was... Having a really hard time, the first few days we were traveling. I thought what we were doing was impossible and... Um, I was just struggling a lot. And after we talked it just," he swallowed, "it reminded me I had, a lot to come back to."

Danny glanced up at Ben as he broke the silence of their eating. His words sent a rush of warmth through Danny's chest and a smile started to blossom on his face. "Benny..." Danny stood and walked behind Ben's chair so he could lean down to give him another hug. Danny leaned his head against Ben's, arms wrapped tight around Ben's shoulders. "I know I say that I Iove you a lot but I mean it every time."

Ben pressed back against the chair, lifting his hands to grasp Danny's arms as they wrapped around him. "I know you do," he said. "And I feel really lucky every time."

Danny savored Ben's embrace for a few more moments before turning his head to lay a kiss on Ben's cheek. "Love you, Benny." Then, Danny returned to his seat, still smiling all the while.

A weight slid off of his chest, and it was easier to match Danny's smile, though it felt as though Ben's heart was rising up into his throat. "I love you, too. And uh," he shifted in his seat, "while we're doing this, I also want to properly apologize for not... For keeping you in the dark. I swear I won't keep bringing it up every time we're together, I just feel like I haven't actually said yet that I was, um, I was wrong to not tell you for so long. And I’m sorry.”

Danny's smile fell a bit as he realized what Ben meant. For a moment, he stayed silent. The smile on his face was tense, not quite reaching his eyes. Then after a moment, Danny sighed and clasped a hand over Ben's. "Thank you."

Ben watched his friend's face carefully, his brow furrowing. "Am I upsetting you? We can change the subject. Your cooking is incredible."

Danny laughed softly. "No, you're not upsetting me. It's just... You know. Bitter subject. But I really do appreciate your apology. And I'm really glad you like my cooking," Danny appended with a smile.

Ben squeezed the hand Danny had placed over his. "I always like your cooking," he said. "I kept tasting your food when I was taking ambrosia last week."

Danny gasped. "Ben, stop! Oh my gods, my heart." Danny's smile grew from ear to ear. He looked like he might cry. "That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

His smile wasn't as huge, but Ben matched Danny's expression again. "I mean it. You're... great. Just, overall amazing." Ben ran his other hand down his face, laughing a bit. "Um, and I guess I'm very sappy tonight."

"I love it," Danny assured him. "I feel like I never get to see sappy Ben. In fact, you could tell me that this was my birthday present, just you feeling all this love, and I'd take it." Danny was bouncing with joy. "Ah, okay—" He sprang up from his seat to hug Ben once again, squeezing him for just a moment, then sat back down. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

There seemed to be another shift between them, or maybe just inside Ben, and he felt himself relax a little more. Ben chuckled as Danny slipped back into his chair again. "Don't apologize. I love it, too." He sighed. "I love you." Ben finally remembered there was food in front of him and picked up his fork. "Let's eat before your cooking gets cold."

"Yes! But before we do that—" Danny stood up once again to run into the kitchen. He returned with a bottle of oak-aged Chardonnay and a bottle opener. Danny set the bottle down and made a bit of a show popping out the cork. Then, with one hand behind his back, Danny poured a bit of the wine into Ben's glass. "If you wouldn't mind, sir."

Ben laughed, holding his glass out for Danny to pour. He swallowed the little bit of wine and paused for dramatic effect. "Excellent choice..." He trailed off, smirking. "Is that what you say? I'll take it."

"Perfect!" Danny gave Ben a more generous pour then matched his own glass. As he sat down, Danny explained, "I'm actually not gonna do that for the patrons because we don't have other wines for them to drink if they send it back. But I just wanted to be able to do it at least once, so thank you for humoring me."

"You can do it for me whenever we eat together, I promise I'll never send it back," Ben said, holding his glass out to clink against Danny's.

Danny tapped his glass against Ben's. "To our birthdays."

"To our birthdays," Ben echoed. Once they'd gotten through dinner, Ben helped clear the dishes from the table and brought them into the kitchen. Danny instructed him to sit back down so he could present dessert. Ben did as he was told and went back to his seat, finishing off the last of his wine while he waited.

Once everything was cleaned away from the main course, Danny got to plating their desserts—two perfectly round scoops of pink ice cream in small, handcrafted dishes. "Okay," Danny announced as he came back into the dining room. "I have to be honest, I didn't make this one entirely myself. I got some help from the ice cream shop downtown." Danny set down a dish in front of each of them. "This is strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper ice cream. And I promise it tastes better than it sounds!"

Ben's brow furrowed when Danny announced the flavor of the ice cream sitting in front of him. "Okay," he said as he picked up his spoon. "I trust you." He scooped up a small spoonful and placed it in his mouth. His brow furrowed again as he assessed the flavor. "Interesting. Definitely tastes better than it sounds."

Danny took a bite and hummed in approval. He wiped his mouth with a napkin then muttered, "Can I tell you a secret?"

Ben scooped up another spoonful and leaned a little further over the table. "Of course."

"I actually just got these recipes online," Danny admitted sheepishly. "I guess I've been so caught up in the logistics that I haven't actually thought about the food." He laughed as he stuck the spoon back into the ice cream for another big bite.

Ben didn't understand what the issue was right away, but once it clicked he shook his head. "Oh, well that ruins everything." Ben laughed. "You've done a lot all by yourself, you're allowed to not have it all figured out yet."

Danny shrugged. "I guess so yeah." He took a bite of his ice cream and swallowed it all down in one go. "I think I might hire a chef, though. I like to cook, but I'm not a chef. There's gotta be someone in New Athens who has better ideas than me. Someone who can really look at all the produce we have on any given day and just... Create something magical."

While Danny spoke, Ben let another scoop of ice cream melt in his mouth. His brow furrowed, and he gave a small shrug. "You could do that," he said. He remembered how casually certain Danny had been of him, and he wanted to try to extend the same feeling to his friend. It helped that he didn't think he knew a better cook. "I don't know, you already know you're good, but I think you're even better than you give yourself credit for."

Danny smiled. "That's really sweet. Thanks, Benny." He took another bite of the ice cream, letting himself appreciate all the different flavors in his mouth.

Ben chuckled. "I try. But no, really, I mean it. I can even be a taste tester for dishes you come up with."

Danny laughed. "I think I need to focus on finishing this house before I start coming up with dishes."

"Well, do you want any help?" Ben broke the ice cream into smaller sections with his spoon. "With the house. I have no job right now, so I can. I mean, hopefully this won't be true for long but, yeah, I have plenty of time."

"Maybe!" Danny perked up at the thought of finishing the project with Ben. "Technically, I can't let you help me because then we'd have to pay you as a laborer, but—" Danny paused. "Oh... Maybe we can pay you as a laborer!"

Ben's eyebrows rose. "Oh, I mean, I don't know, would that be weird?"

"Why would that be weird?" Danny asked, smiling. He took another big bite of ice cream.

"Um," Ben shook his head. "It wouldn't be, I don't know why I said that." He paused, then laughed a little to himself. "I am definitely doing weirder things. Um, that would be nice, if it worked out."

Danny swallowed down the ice cream. "This has been my plan all along. First, I get you to join Caine's band, then I get you to come work with me. Soon we'll be living together," Danny teased.

Ben laughed. "I'm not complaining. Though I might have to split my nights between you and Jacob, if only for our cat."

"Oh my gods, you guys adopted a cat? That's so cute! Was it from the fair? You guys are like two dads!" Danny squealed in delight. "Sorry—platonic dads."

Danny was correct with platonic dads but still Ben found his face flushing and a smile pulling at his mouth. "Um, yeah, we— from the fair. His name is Frank and he's blind and he beeps when he approaches you. It's very cute." He took another bite of ice cream.

"Oh my gods!" Danny clapped both hands to his cheeks. "That's so precious! And—is he both of yours? Like, I guess you guys are gonna be living together for a while if you have joint custody?"

"That's the plan, yeah." Ben felt his stomach flip and he looked away. "Um, I actually wanted to tell you something else, too." Ben wrinkled his nose, then turned his face back to Danny. "I... really like Jacob."

"Aw, that's great!" Danny held a hand over his heart. "I'm so happy that you're finding people that you care about. Especially since you guys are living together." He took another big bite of ice cream.

Ben laughed again. "Yeah, but, I mean... Uh." He shifted in his chair and leaned forward, failing at eye contact and staring at Danny's bowl of ice cream instead. Ben took a deep breath. "I think I kind of, have a... crush... on him."

"Oh!" Danny felt the ice cream make a sudden swerve into the wrong pipe and he started coughing. He banged his chest with his fist, coughing into his other arm. "Sorry—" Danny stood up and walked over to the kitchen to grab a paper towel to cough into. "Oh my—my—" Cough. "My gods!" Danny took a sip of water from the faucet and finally got his breath back. He turned to Ben, out of breath and jaw dropped. "Ben! What!" Danny squealed.

The enormity of Danny's reaction made Ben go fully red in the face. He sat back in his seat and pressed his hands to his face, pulling them back to interlock behind his neck. "Um," he turned toward Danny, giving him a sheepish smile, "yeah. I don't know. We—" He ducked his head again. "Um. Yeah."

Danny clasped his hands over his mouth. He tried not to show how excited he was, but the corners of his smile poked out from behind his hands anyway. "Ben! How? Tell me more!" Danny jogged back over to his seat so he could listen more intently.

"I don't know, I—" He put his face in his hands again, then lowered them so he could focus on Danny as he spoke. "I think? I have for a while." His chest tightened with this confession, but he kept going. "But I didn't realize until I got back when we," Ben breathed out a laugh, "hooked up?"

Danny tried and failed not to gasp audibly. He covered his enormous smile with both hands. "Benny. Benny!"

"Danny." Ben laughed again. It actually felt really good to say all of this. "I pulled away in the middle of a kiss and said I think I'm straight? It was mortifying."

Danny laughed and dropped his hands on the table. "Ben! Oh my gods!" He couldn't help squealing again. "I mean—what did he say? How did he take it? I assume it must have gone well based on the smile on your face right now!"

"He laughed at me and said I could think about it later, and," Ben shrugged, "I agreed. So... yeah. Uh. That... happened."

Danny leaned forward, completely overcome with glee. "Ben. That is... I am... Ah! I have no words. That is so cute and I'm so happy that you've found somebody you feel that way about!"

Ben couldn't help but be infected by Danny's happiness. He looked to the side, grinning. "I don't think anything is gonna happen, honestly. But that's... It's fine, because I'm..." He inhaled and exhaled slowly, collecting himself. "I don't know, Danny, I was so shocked when it happened. But now I'm looking back on some old friends of mine and feeling... really stupid for not realizing? Ugh."

"No, don't feel stupid!" Danny reached out to place a hand on Ben's shoulder. "We all figure things out at different paces! It's just so wonderful that you're letting yourself feel all the things now. And I'm so, so happy that you're sharing this with me." Danny gave Ben's shoulder a squeeze.

Ben lifted his hand and reached across his chest to place his palm over Danny's grip on his shoulder. "Of course. I couldn't not tell you."

Danny sighed and shook his head. "Okay. Sorry. It's happening again." Danny stood up and gestured for Ben to do the same. He held his arms out wide, ready to receive Ben in an embrace.

"I saw that coming," Ben teased as he got up from the table. He closed the space between him and Danny and wrapped his arms around his friend.

Danny smiled at Ben's retort as he took him in a tight embrace. Danny rested his head against Ben's as they swayed gently side to side. "I am so, so happy for you Benny. Seriously. Not just about this, but about everything."

A month ago, the landscape of his world was so different it almost felt unreal. It was not the first time that life seemed to show him all at once many reasons why it was worth holding on to, but it was probably the first time Ben believed it so easily. Maybe it was naive of him, too soon to say, but he didn't care. Ben sank into the embrace, holding Danny as close as possible. "I'm happy, too," he mumbled.

Danny pressed his lips together. "Okay... I have to tell you something and you might hate me a little bit for it," he confessed.

"Oh gods," Ben said into Danny's shirt. He wasn't ready to leave the hug just yet. "What is it?"

Still holding onto Ben and swaying, Danny bit into his smile. "I... Got you a present."

"Danny..." Ben groaned. "You made me dinner!"

"I know, I know! But I actually got this before I even had this idea, so..." Danny trailed off. "Think of it like a coming-back-home present!"(edited)

Ben sighed, pressing his forehead against Danny's shoulder. "Alright. Fine."

Danny gave Ben another squeeze, singing out, "I love you!" After a moment, he let go and waddled out of the dining room to get something from the living. "Okay," he called out from the other room. "Close your eyes!"

Ben heaved a loud sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets as he closed his eyes. He then pulled his hands back out of his pockets in case Danny wanted to put something in them. "Okay."

"I thought about wrapping them, but I didn't wanna create unnecessary waste," Danny explained as he came back into the dining room. He laid out Ben's present—an embossed leather guitar strap—on his hands. "Okay, open your eyes.”

He did as he was instructed and blinked down at the gift. The leather was pressed with a design of leaves and flowers, and on one end was a small square featuring his initials. Ben ran his thumb over the grooves. "Wow," he said quietly, at a bit of a loss for words. "Wow, I— thank you, Danny."

"Don't mention it. I, uh... I thought it'd be a nice reminder that you've always got someone who believes in you, even if you don't. That will always be yours." He gestured at the initials embossed onto the leather. "Music will always be yours. And now nobody can deny it." Danny smiled. "Not even you."

Ben pressed his lips together as he smiled down at the guitar strap. "Um, jeez, okay, I— thank you, Danny. You always know how to pick these." He held the strap to his chest and pulled Danny in for another hug with one arm. "I love it, I'm putting this on my guitar as soon as I get home."

Danny smiled and stepped in to hug Ben. "Love you, Benny." He turned to plant a kiss on Ben's cheek.

Instead of replying, Ben turned his head to kiss Danny on the cheek as well. "I had a present planned, too," Ben said as he pulled back slightly, his hand still resting on Danny's shoulder. "But it was live music. And I don't have my guitar right now so, rain check."

Danny's expression perked up. "Oh my gods, were you gonna play me a song? I might cry."

Ben laughed. "Not that I planned for it, but that doesn't completely surprise me." He smiled and squeezed Danny's shoulder.

Danny laughed. "Oh my gods, wait—" He brought a hand up to his eyes and felt a tear roll off onto his finger. "Oh my gods, I'm already crying." Danny laughed again and wiped his eyes dry. "Ben! What are you doing to me!"

"I'm not doing anything, I swear," Ben said. "I'm just," he shrugged, "feeling good. And, sappy, still. Maybe that's it."

Danny gave Ben's shoulder one more squeeze before sitting down. "I love it. I love you!" He sat down and took a big sip of his wine before turning his attention back to his ice cream. "Oh my gods, this is melted already," he laughed.

[purpleillusn]

Chatting in the Green Night

Phic Phight attack 2

Prompt: “Danny gets a large head injury that knocks him unconscious for a few days. In this state he ends up meeting his other half, Phantom.” - @thecommrade

Genre: Friendship

Words: 1190

A swerve, a crash. Oops, Danny sure hoped the homeowners whose house he’d just barrelled through had insurance. Cracks appeared on the wall behind him where he’d crashed and white rings split from his waist.

“Now, whelp, you are mine.” Skulker pointed his blaster right between the now human ghost boy’s eyes, robotic finger pulling down on the trigger. Only to be knocked off his aim, quite literally, by Jazz Fenton, who brandished her own smoking blaster. Skulker’s shot went up, far from his target, taking out a support beam on its way.

The chunk of ceiling above Danny caved in burying him in rubble. The flash of blue light from the Fenton thermos was the last thing he recognised before Danny’s vision was obscured by the avalanche of brick and tiles pounding against his skull.

•     •     •

He wasn’t quite sure where he had ended up, stars were splattered across the navy blue ceiling, occasional green swirls interjecting themselves between the constellations, but other than the odd sky, the room was rather plain. Danny pushed himself up off the soft carpeted floor, glancing around at the turquoise walls and most notably, the white haired figure sat cross legged opposite him.

“Um…” Danny wasn’t quite sure how to approach this situation, but before he could actually say anything, neon green eyes, shining like headlights, opened up, calmly surveying him.

“Hello there,” said Phantom, a soft smile spreading across his uncannily inhuman face, small fangs becoming visible as his lips stretched.

“Uh, hi?” Danny responded, dumbstruck - this was him, yet at the same time it wasn’t.

Phantom got to his feet and outstretched a white gloved hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said, a humorous glimmer in his eyes.

Fenton took the offered hand, shaking it slightly, the cold energy from the ghost against his warm skin feeling both alien and comforting at the same time.

“Am I dead?” The question slipped out of Danny’s mouth, just for Phantom to bark out a laugh.

“Nah, not fully at least - just unconscious. Remember the whole being hit on the head thing?”

Oh, yeah. Memories of his grueling fight with Skulker flooded back and Danny winced. Skulker had been trying out some brute force weapons, all of which had probably given him several bruises each.

“So, where is this?” he asked at last, gesturing around them to the spacious room.

Phantom shrugged. “Not sure to be honest. Probably some manifestation of the unconscious mind or some sort of other psychology mumbo-jumbo.”

Danny needed to sit down. This was getting mentally exhausting very quickly. As if the room could sense his feelings, a plush couch, identical to the one in his home, materialised behind him, catching him as he fell backwards into it.

“And if this is all in my head, who are you?” Danny enquired, crossing his legs on the seat.

Phantom sat back down on the floor, sitting cross legged like a mirror. “I guess I’m you, or part of you? A mental manifestation of your ghost half? Or maybe because the core can act like a brain, I’m an embodiment of your core? Hell if I know. I just know that I need to stop listening to Jazz so much.”

“Maybe we’re parts that fuse together to create a whole?” Danny suggested.

Phantom picked at his lip. “Maybe? But that sounds like something from a cartoon.”

“Remind me to never talk to Jazz about this,” Danny muttered, and Phantom chuckled “same”.

Seconds of silence followed, in which Danny felt an eerie sense that he shouldn’t be able to talk to himself like this. It was far different from his experience with the ghost catcher, with each half seeming almost like a whole in their own right as opposed to the exaggerated fragments of personality the ghost catcher had created.

“Why do you look different to how I, we look as a ghost?” Danny asked.

Phantom glanced at him confused, before shrugging for the second time in their conversation. “Maybe our human half balances it out. Why? How do I look?”

Danny hesitated, then said, “ghostly.”

“Wow, how profound,” deadpanned Phantom. “Do I have all our brain cells?”

“Hey! Let's be honest, there's hardly any brain cells between us.”

“Harsh, but okay.”

“You kinda have fangs, and you're really pale, like green pale,” Fenton finally explained.

Phantom paled even further, going from greenish to sheet white. “I don't have pointed ears, do I?” He turned his head.

Fenton's breath hitched. He did. Phantom noticed this reaction almost instantly. “Crud! I do, don't I?”

Danny nodded. “But that might just be normal for ghosts?” he tried to reassure himself. “We should probably talk to Jazz about that.”

That was something that Danny would sooner eat Dash's underpants again than talk about, but the lingering fear even after the largely useless reassurance convinced both halves that it would be for the best.

Fenton scrambled to change the topic from him. “Y’know, you look like an elf.”

Phantom accepted the change in tone gratefully. “Oh God, not like Vlad and…”

Great, they were back on him. “Wait, he's an elf?” Phantom snorted.

Well, this was certainly an improvement, maybe they wouldn't have to talk to Jazz after all. The image of Dan Phantom in a bright red and green Christmas elf costume, complete with bells, passed through both their minds and they quickly dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“Hey, maybe pointy ears aren't that bad after all? You can be a...uh, what else has pointy ears?” Fenton asked.

Phantom gave shrug number three. “It'll probably come to us in the shower or the middle of an exam.”

They both snorted.

Fenton suddenly became quiet. “Hey, do I look different to my usual human form?”

Phantom hummed, his eyes sweeping up and down Fenton. “A bit, I guess. Your eyes are more of a pure blue, and you feel different - too warm. It’s weird, y’know.”

“Yeah,” Fenton leaned back, eyes unfocused, staring at the sky as he thought. “I kinda thought you’d be some kind of eldritch monster or something, y’know, like if I ever met Phantom as a separate person. This is a relief - knowing that Phantom’s just me, as a ghost.”

Phantom didn’t even bother responding - he was Danny as a ghost.

The two sat and watched the sky, stars travelling across the sky as the hours went by. Portals and wisps of ectoplasm, the exact same colour as Phantom’s, and that of the portal and the zone itself, glowed, stronger and brighter, just as much a part of Danny’s internal world as anything else.

And as time continued, the sky seemed to brighten, almost insignificantly at first, gaining an orange hue to it, the stars somehow remaining despite this. The views of the duo became closer, until virtually indistinguishable from each other as the sun breached the edge of the ceiling. The sun became a lamplight as Danny came to his senses, blinking the shining spots out of his eyes.

“Danny! You’re awake!” Jazz cried, hurling herself at him in a hug before yelling for her parents to come.

He was home.

[tracies-tales]

Needless to Say

Dan parked his car, pausing the 80′s playlist on his Spotify so that he and Arin could get a move on. They both looked up at the sign above the door of the tattoo parlor: Pretty in Ink. One of the best spots in the area for a tattoo, hands down. And also the one Dan had picked for his first piece of body art.

“Thanks for coming, again,” Dan said as he led the way towards the door. “I’m kind of a chicken shit when it comes to needles,” he added with a chuckle that turned out more nervous than dismissive.

Arin clapped his hand to Dan’s back, “No problem, man. You know I’m always gonna be there when you need me to be.”

Dan grinned, “I know.” The simple expression melted Arin’s heart. Seeing Dan in a good mood never failed to lift his spirits. He was always doing his best to keep Dan happy, because everyone deserved to bask in the sunshine Dan brought with him wherever he went. Although, sometimes Arin wished he was the main cause of Dan’s happiness. He so desperately wanted to tell Dan how he felt, he had for years, but he knew Dan’s playful banter they shared over sex jokes were just that--playful. Meant in jest. But even if Dan could never love Arin the way Arin loved him, Arin would be damned if he wasn’t going to make every day the best of Dan’s life.

And so now he was here, accompanying Dan to get a tattoo of he didn’t even know what. 

The door rang a small bell when they walked in. They were two of a small handful of other clients in the building who had their appointments that day. The woman at the desk looked up and smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear with a tattoo sleeved arm. “Come on in, guys,” she smiled, the streak of blonde highlighting the side of her head a stark contrast to the rest of her hair. “What can I do for ya?”

“I’ve got an appointment, actually,” Dan approached the desk. “We talked a little over your website’s chat room. Dan Avidan?”

“Oh, so you’re Danny,” she perked up. “I’m Suzy. I’ll actually be the one taking care of you today.”

“Great,” Dan smiled. “I brought my friend here for emotional support,” he gestured behind himself to Arin, who waved a little awkwardly.

Suzy chuckled, “I get that. This is your first, right?”

“Virgin skin, baby,” Dan clapped his hands together. “But I’m excited.”

“Glad to hear it.” Dan paid half up front before Suzy said, “Let’s get you back to a chair,” with a grin and led them off to a curtained off section of the room. Arin was curious as to why they needed a curtained section, sitting himself down as Dan took his spot nestled in the larger cushioned reclining seat. 

As Suzy prepared her colors and needles, Dan said, “Arin, I don’t want you looking at this while it’s getting done. I want it to be a surprise.”

Arin’s brow furrowed, “Okay, dude.”

Suzy said, “You can move that chair to the other side there,” and pointed to Dan’s opposite side. “And I’m gonna need you,” she looked at Dan, “to shift those pants down for me so I can get at your hip.”

Oh. So that’s why they needed a semi-private area. Arin was almost glad Dan didn’t want him watching, because Arin didn’t think he could handle watching Dan get a hip tattoo. He picked up his chair and set it down where Suzy had suggested, pointedly not watching Dan shimmy his pants down. He rolled to lay on his right side, facing Arin. 

“You comfy?” Suzy asked as she got out a home-made stencil.

“Yep,” Dan chirped.

“Alrighty, let me know if you need to take a break. We’ll be here for a couple hours.”

“Will do,” he grinned at her and looked back to Arin. “So, what brings you here?” he asked with a shit-eating smile.

Arin rolled his eyes and gently smacked Dan in the head. Dan giggled as Suzy got to work sketching an outline. She said, “This is going to be amazing on you.”

“You think so?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, I love the concept. I’m looking forward to executing it.”

“I should hope so,” Dan said, glad she seemed confident and not uncertain about whether she could. “My hip is in your hands,” he added seriously.

Suzy snorted, “I’ll take good care of it.”

Arin tried not to feel jealous of the comment; he knew Dan was kidding, but it was taking a lot to convince himself it wasn’t real flirting. Not to mention he was seriously beginning to wish Dan’s hip was in his hands at that particular moment in time. 

As soon as Arin heard the buzz of the tattoo gun, he felt a sudden grasp on his arm. He looked down to see a hand, eyes trailing up the arm to confirm it was Dan who’d almost instantly chosen to use him as a stress ball. Arin didn’t mind; to help keep Dan’s mind off things, he started asking him simple questions, stuff about new NSP videos and their upcoming gaming schedule for Grumps. Nothing that was out of the ordinary for them, but it did seem to help keep Dan occupied just well enough not to think about the permanent ink getting embedded into his side. 

At some point, Arin heard Suzy casually ask, “So, you guys must be pretty close, huh?” He had to pause and think about the connotations of her question. He had no idea how much time had passed; he’d been invested in making sure Dan was comfortable. He briefly began to wonder why she’d even asked in the first place. It sounded like she thought they were dating. That’s when Arin’s muscles constricted in horror when he noticed he’d been stroking Dan’s arm with his free hand for God knows how long. Dan still had a hold on his wrist, but in turn, Arin had almost mechanically started soothingly rubbing Dan’s forearm as though he were trying to calm a spastic puppy.

Before he could even get a word in edgewise, Dan said, “Yeah,” with his usual chipper tone, “of course. That’s why I asked him to come along.”

Damnit Daniel. That didn’t help. Suzy looked happy, anyway, saying, “That’s cool. Good for you guys.”

“Yeah, we’ve been friends for ages,” Dan continued, completely and utterly oblivious to Suzy’s subtext. Arin, however, was right in the thick of it, blushing to himself because Suzy was probably now convinced they were dating. If only that were true. 

Arin tried to force out a chuckle, debating whether he should clarify but stopping himself at the last second; he rather liked the thought that Suzy believed they were a couple. And it might even stop her from flirting again, if indeed that’s what she’d been doing. He tried not to be so possessive, but it was only one person. What harm would it do if she thought they were together? He ended up nodding and saying, “It’s been going well so far.”

“Glad to hear it,” Suzy grinned pleasantly as she continued her work.

Dan remained in the dark with regards to the conversation they’d just had. He asked, “Actually, can we take a quick break so I can get some water?”

“Sure thing, I’m at a good stopping point,” Suzy said, finishing up one last detail and setting the gun aside. “I’ll grab you a bottle.”

“Thank you,” Dan smiled. Suzy left and returned a few minutes later with a bottle, holding it out to him. Dan nodded in appreciation and took a few swigs before handing it to Arin. “Drink up, bud.”

Arin and Dan had shared drinks before, it was a nonissue. What made Arin pause was the fact that they were sharing drinks in front of a tattoo artist who definitely thought they were dating now if she hadn’t already. Regardless, Arin had been thirsty, so he took a couple gulps as well as Suzy got back to work.

Suzy asked, “So, Arin, you ever consider getting a tattoo?”

“Yeah, but I’m way too indecisive. I have no idea where I’d put it,” Arin replied.

Dan chuckled and said, “Whenever he makes up his mind, I’ll be going with him to hold his hand.”

Suzy chuckled, and Arin almost spit out his water when she said, “Yeah, I should hope so.”

That settled it. She thought they were boyfriends.

Arin tried not to let it bother him, but of course it did anyway. He wallowed in his own small world where he was there being the emotional support for his boyfriend. For Dan. The man he’d never be able to repay for how much joy he’d brought into his life. 

He was shaken out of his thoughts when Suzy said, “Alright, just about done.” All at once, Arin was dying to know what the tattoo was. The curiosity had been dampened by his mood during the process thus far. 

It took a few more minutes of work before Suzy nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, I think that does it. You’ll have to come back for another session to do the color.”

Dan smiled and looked down at his side, “Wow.”

She grinned, “You like it?”

“I love it,” Dan said, beginning to wiggle in the chair with excitement. Arin knew that if Dan had been standing, he’d be hopping in place. “Arin, time for the big reveal. Come take a look.”

Arin stood, trying his best not to look at it until he was standing beside Suzy to view it right side up. When he finally allowed himself to gaze upon it, he felt his jaw drop. It was the stylized unicorn from one of Dan’s favorite movies: The Last Unicorn. She was rearing up, her back hooves further down Dan’s hip while the front hooves stretched just around Dan’s side to the front of his torso, her horn reaching almost up to his ribcage as her tail swept along his side to his back. 

“Holy shit,” Arin said, still marveling at it. “She was right; you do rock this tattoo.”

“Aw, thanks, Arin,” Dan smiled and stood so he could go look at it in a full-length mirror. 

“I can’t wait to see it in color,” Arin said as he followed.

Dan nodded, hair bouncing, “About that...I want to get it in shades of blue and pink. Y’know, like...our favorite colors.”

Arin felt his throat constrict. He had so much he wanted to say to that, but he made himself refrain in exchange for a normal joke, “Sounds pretty gay, man.”

To Arin’s surprise, Dan said, “Yeah,” his tone much more serious than expected. He was giving Arin a small, knowing smile, “I know.”

Arin felt his stomach knot at the look. He opened his mouth, but all that came out was, “Oh.”

Dan giggled and reached over, lacing his fingers with Arin’s and side-stepping until their shoulders touched. He leaned his head into Arin’s as the pair gazed at the tattoo in the mirror together. Their eyes met in the reflection, and Arin’s face broke into a smile.

He said, “I think I’m really gonna like that.”

oh my god there’s 200 of you where did you all come from?? thank you all so much for joining me on this stupid self indulgent egobang blog, i’m glad you’ve enjoyed your time here!!

for the record, i’ve never gotten a tattoo so i hope to god this is at least sort’ve how it works XD i got the idea for this fic from this post here

[freshwater--mermaid]

Ersatz Ch 30: The Draw

Jazz concealed her nerves behind a confident smile as she stood beside Casper High's principal. She held a stack of papers to her chest, careful not to bend or wrinkle a single page.

The double doors to the school opened, and Jazz's head whipped up, only to be surprised by the sight of her brother stepping into the hall. He also looked confused as he walked toward the pair.

"Jazz? What are you doing here so early?" he asked.

"We're here to greet the new counselor." Jazz answered. "And what are you doing here? School won't start for another forty minutes."

"I like the quiet." Danny shrugged, as though that answer made all the sense in the world.

With that, the shorter teen walked past them, disappearing around a corner. Jazz stared after him, before the sound of the doors opening a second time called her attention.

A tall woman came into view, a pair of small oval glasses perched on the end of her nose. Bright eyes landed on the two immediately, and a smile broke out across her pale face.

She strode forward with sure steps, holding a hand out for the principal to shake.

"Ms Ishiyama, is it? So wonderful to meet you." she said.

And then her sharp gaze settled upon Jazz, and the girl tried not be intimidated.

"And you are?" she asked, inclining her head toward Jazz.

"Jasmine Fenton." the girl replied. "I was the volunteer counselor. I have some notes I'd like to give you, if that's alright. They're on all the students I was seeing, and I thought it might be helpful if I gave you them. You know, since I don't really need them anymore."

Jazz inhaled a deep breath, and mentally berated herself. She'd just met the woman and already she was running off at the mouth.

Lips sealed tight, Jazz watched Ms Spectra as she gave a small polite laugh.

"Yes, I was told about you. I'm impressed that a girl of your age took such initiative and managed to reach out to so many fellow students."

Jazz beamed at the compliment, trailing after the adults as Principal Ishiyama talked about the school. They soon arrived at the counselor's office, and the principal opened the door, gesturing inside.

"And this will be your new office." she said. "I hope you don't feel too overwhelmed by the number of students that you'll be seeing. With the recent tragedy, well…"

"I completely understand." Spectra assured with a sympathetic look. "And don't worry, I'm sure I won't have a single problem."

Her confident expression and cheery tone were infectious, and it had Jazz feeling equal parts happy and envious.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Your first appointment won't be for another hour, so feel free to walk about the school or re-arrange your office as you see fit." Ishiyama said, giving one last smile before leaving the two alone.

Spectra entered her office, and Jazz stood awkwardly in the doorway, watching as she stood before her desk, looking down at the various objects resting upon it. She tapped a sharp nail against the tiny egg timer with a smile.

"Um, Ms Spectra?" Jazz spoke up, stepping fully into the room.

"Oh, Jasmine, I apologise." the woman turned toward her. "I forgot you were there. You can leave the papers on my desk and I'll see to them."

She pointed a long finger at the desk, turning away and standing in the centre of the room, gazing out the small window.

Jazz set the stack down, but didn't leave. Instead, she slowly walked over to Spectra, gaining her attention once more.

"Actually, I also wanted to talk to you about something." Jazz began.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Spectra held up a hand. "But I'm afraid you'll have to wait for your scheduled meeting with me like everyone else."

"Wha-no! I'm not talking about that!" Jazz protested, feeling her face warm. "I wanted to talk to you about my brother, Danny. He's the one you'll be seeing later today."

"I see." was all she got from Spectra.

"He's probably going to be your most difficult student. And I'm not just saying that as his sister. He's got a lot of issues going on right now that he just won't open up about. He's been extremely anxious lately, and I'm afraid he might be suffering from depression. There's also a lot of animosity from him toward our parents, and well, really anyone. Do you…know of any way I can get him to open up? I've tried just about everything I can think of and nothing seems to work."

If Jazz was hoping for sage advice from an expert, she was to be disappointed.

Spectra merely smiled at her, fingers lacing together as she spoke in a placating tone.

"Jasmine, I want you to not worry so much over your brother. Know that I plan on doing my utmost best to help him through whatever trials he is enduring. I think it'd be much healthier for you if you were to take a step back and focus on your own anxieties."

Jazz started, mouth snapping shut. She didn't know how to react to that statement, and Spectra took the silence as an end to the conversation. With a skip in her step, she left the office and began touring down the hall.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Danny stood leaning against a wall, mind adrift as he enjoyed the silence. He'd walked up to the second floor and down several halls until the annoying echoes of everyone talking could no longer be heard. He really wasn't looking forward to his appointment with the new shrink, and wondered just how much trouble he'd land himself in if he skipped out on it.

A sudden, familiar sensation overcame the teen, and he opened his eyes to look up and down the long hall. He felt his mood sour as the realisation came upon him slowly. A ghost was nearby, and it was getting closer.

Remembering the two octo-ghosts, Danny stood in the middle of the hall, trying to prepare himself for another chase. What he got instead was a body colliding into his own.

Danny groaned as he slowly sat up, his vision clearing. He realised that he'd ended up in an unused classroom, upturned chairs scattered around him.

A low chuckle caused him to look up, and he could see a glowing green blob smiling down at him. It was much larger than the misshapen ghosts Danny normally saw, and he swallowed back a lump of fear that tried to catch in his throat.

"Well, look what we have here." the ghost jeered. "Some little nerd haunting a school. How original."

He laughed, giving Danny a good view of his razor-edged teeth.

'Yep. This is going to be a bad day.'

With a gleefully cruel expression, the ghost dove right for him. Danny rolled out of the way, rising onto his knees. He channeled energy into his hands, but the other ghost was faster. He grabbed hold of Danny, lifting him up with ease and throwing him across the room. He slammed hard into a wall before landing in a heap. Dazed, Danny struggled to rise.

No chance. His attacker was upon him at once, catching him by a leg and dragging him across the floor. He felt his body collide with several objects, his hands scrabbling against the floor for anything he could take hold of.

'This is it.' a voice within him said. 'You're about to get eaten by a giant green blob.'

Unable to tell what was happening anymore, Danny squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for sharp, piercing teeth. But they never came.

In fact, as seconds ticked by, Danny slowly realised that he wasn't being thrown around anymore. He opened his eyes and looked about, but saw only the dark room surrounding him. He was alone.

"What…" he choked out, shakily rising to his feet.

His body throbbed all over, and he ran a hand down his torn shirt, looking for signs of injury. He was relieved to note no bite marks, but this only furthered his confusion. Just what exactly had that ghost been after?

The door bursting open caused him to jump. Lancer and two other teachers stood outside the doorway, peering in at him with faces that held varying degrees of worry and anger.

"Mr Fenton!" Lancer strode into the room, looking ready to spit fire. "What is the meaning of this!"

He looked around at the broken objects strewn across the floor. Danny tried to come up with something to say. He was spared the effort as Lancer settled a seething glare upon him, pointing a finger in his face.

"My office. Right now."

He turned and marched from the room, and Danny reluctantly followed.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

"-that you can always come talk with me, any time." Jazz said over the growing din of the crowd.

The teen glanced her way before continuing past with his friends. Jazz walked in the opposite direction, searching for more of the students she counseled. Used to counsel, she reminded herself.

Well, that didn't need to be the case, she mentally argued. Lancer had been right; if Jazz made it clear that she was still willing to be there for the students of Casper High, then surely some would prefer her familiar presence over that of a stranger, right?

Jazz's thoughts were perforated by the sounds of yelling from Lancer's office. She wondered who exactly had caught the ire of the vice principal so early in the morning. A second voice joined the man's, and though it was brief, Jazz found it too familiar to ignore.

She moved closer, peeking around the half-closed door. A head of raven hair, disheveled more than usual, caught her eye immediately. Before Jazz could think she was walking fully into the room.

Lancer stopped mid-tirade, looking toward the girl. Danny noticed the sudden silence and glanced around, quickly spotting his sister. He didn't seem relieved by her appearance, frowning and looking away.

Jazz took in the sight of him. Dust layered thickly across his clothing and skin, and bruises could be seen forming across every visible part of him.

"Danny!" Jazz exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Your brother was found trashing a classroom." Mr Lancer heatedly informed.

"What?" Jazz's voice rose several octaves.

Being hostile toward everyone and skipping class was worrying, but wrecking school property was something Jazz never expected of her brother. It was indeed alarming.

"Danny, what-" she began.

"Save the lecture." Danny sent a quick glare in her direction. "I'm really not in the mood for it, Jazz."

"I'll tell you what I'm not in the mood for," Lancer interjected. "I'm not in the mood to deal with a wrecked classroom before school even begins! And yet here we are. Now, Mr Fenton, for the third time, tell me what exactly came over you."

The veins in Lancer's forehead throbbed as he spoke, and Danny chose to stare at them rather than the man's seething eyes. He didn't know what to say to answer the question, and a faint prickling sensation in the back of Danny's mind occupied most of his thoughts.

That ghost was still nearby.

Lancer gazed down upon the boy, watching his blank expression, awaiting a reply. When none came, he sighed, rubbing at his tired eyes. It really was too early for this. He just couldn't understand what had possessed the teen to lash out so violently. By the looks of it, everything in that room was completely ruined.

Grim frown in place, Lancer reached across his desk toward the black telephone.

"Daniel, I'm going to give your parents a call, and then we can-"

"Wait!"

It wasn't Danny, but Jazz who spoke up, a hand outstretched. Danny's wide eyes flitted between her and the teacher, panic fluttering visibly across his face.

Lancer paused, phone resting in his grasp, and raised a questioning eyebrow at the red-head before him.

"Mr Lancer, I know that what Danny did was wrong, but can you please not call our parents?" she pleaded, to everyone's surprise. "Danny's going through a really tough time right now, and as much as Mom and Dad mean well, they're only going to escalate this already bad situation."

Lancer opened his mouth, but Jazz continued.

"If they really have to know, then Danny and I will tell them at home. But I really think it would do more harm than good."

"I'm right here, you know." the boy in question groused. "I'm not three years old; I can speak for myself."

"What a relief to know." Lancer said, lowering the phone back to its cradle. "Then pray, use those vocal abilities of yours to explain to me why you trashed a classroom."

"It wasn't even being used." Danny defended, crossing his arms.

"That's not the point!" Lancer's voice rose, and he sat back in his seat, visibly attempting to calm himself down once more.

Internally, Jazz felt sorry for him. He looked like a wreck, and it was clear he was having trouble sleeping. She shook herself back into the current situation, however. No need to start analysing the vice principal.

With a groan, the man hunched forward, elbows on the desk as he let his head rest in one hand.

"Mr Fenton, go see the school nurse." he said. "And then I want you in my class as soon as you are done. And after that, not a single toe out of line, am I clear? This is your final warning, Daniel. I am trying to be patient, but I cannot and will not tolerate destruction of school property."

With that, Lancer stood up, exiting the office without another word. The room remained tense in his absence, with Jazz staring at her brother and him glaring at the floor.

Danny glanced her way before he too was on his feet and out the door. Jazz stood in the doorway, watching the back of Danny's torn shirt as he disappeared quickly into the crowd. She thought about following, but decided that she could question him later. For now, Danny looked like he needed some space.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Danny sat in a chair just inside the nurse's office, silently waiting to be called into a back room. He couldn't help but hunch his shoulders defensively, fingers gripping the sides of the chair, his eyes moving along the ceiling and walls. That ghost was still out there. It was still roaming through the school. He could feel it draw near every so often, only to flit away, beyond his senses. He wasn't sure how, but he got the distinct impression that the thing was toying with him.

"Danny." a voice called, and the teen jumped a little before standing.

"Right back here, honey." the kind voice directed, and Danny moved to join the nurse behind a white curtain.

The smiling woman gestured toward the bed, and Danny reluctantly sat on its edge, unwilling to lay back. He felt as if he would have to run at any moment, his tense muscles twitching as the nurse laid a hand on his arm.

She inhaled through her teeth, her fingers running along his icy skin. Danny's gaze fell from the walls to her worried expression, and quickly moved out of her reach.

Her eyebrows drawn together, the nurse adjusted the stethoscope draped over her shoulders, putting the buds into her ears and holding out the diaphragm toward Danny.

The teen's eyes went from her to the stethoscope to her again, and then moved over the walls before his brain finally registered what was happening. The diaphragm was pressed against his chest and the nurse was staring to the side as she tired to find a telltale beat.

With a jolt, Danny shot off the bed and moved beyond the curtain. The startled nurse watched him, confused wide eyes staring at him as he stepped back into the centre of the bright room.

"Danny?" she called, but the boy didn't answer.

His head jolted up, and he watched the far wall, hands clenching at his sides.

There. It was right there. Right behind the wall.

Danny had to get out. Had to get far away from this ghost and the nurse with her prodding eyes and hands.

With a hurried "sorry!" thrown over his shoulder, Danny turned and sped out of the office, leaving the door hanging open as his footfalls echoed in the empty hallway.

Bursting into the nearest restroom, Danny was relieved to find it empty. He walked to the mirror, taking in his disheveled appearance. He quickly went about cleaning the dust from himself. While he very much wanted to stay here in the quiet solitude, he feared being alone with that murderous spectre on the loose.

And so Danny turned off the rushing water, drying himself with paper towels. He closed his eyes, rubbing at them with the heel his hands. He wasn't sure just how much more of this marathon he could run without snapping.

Exiting the restroom, Danny walked at a slow pace down the hall, toward homeroom. His eyes drifted along the tiled floor as he went.

His gaze remained downcast as he silently entered the classroom, walking to his desk, where to his surprise he found his discarded backpack sitting in his chair. He briefly wondered who had retrieved it for him, before the dreaded sensation was back. That ghost was haunting him; it wouldn't leave him be! Danny moved his bag and sat heavily down at his desk, hands clenched together in his lap as he stared ahead. He didn't even hear the words Mr Lancer spoke, all of his attention turned toward the source of his latest grievance as it floated slowly around the school, always careful to keep just near enough for Danny to know it was there.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

"Sam, really? Come on." Tucker said.

"What?" Sam asked.

A single look from the boy told her all she needed, and she glanced back down, eyes running along the cracks that spiderwebbed across the phone's surface.

"I can still use it." she defended.

Tucker shook his head at her. Sam's sleek, expensive phone now wore a marred screen, which it got when Sam had angrily thrown it across her house in what seemed like another life.

"It's not like they can't afford a new one." Tucker argued further.

Sam elected to ignore him, her eyes moving up and settling on the friend sitting across from her.

Danny sat hunched down, elbows digging into the wooden table, his gaze held off to the side. His expression was one caught between fear and annoyance.

"Danny?" Sam called. "Hey, Danny. Danny!"

Finally, he turned toward her, as if just noticing her presence.

"Huh? What?"

"What's up with you?" she asked. "First we hear that you trashed a classroom, then you don't say a word in Biology, and now you're still completely ignoring us. What gives?"

Danny only met her eyes for a moment, before his were drawn away, scanning the high walls of the school.

"There's a weird ghost roaming around." he remarked plainly.

"What!" Tucker immediately became alarmed, looking around himself.

"Is it attacking anybody?" Sam asked.

"I…I don't think so." Danny said slowly, his focus on the conversation waning as he felt the spectre draw near. "I think it's messing with me."

"How do you know?" Sam asked, and then a realisation hit her. "Is this why you wrecked that room?"

Danny didn't respond. Instead, he stood up from the table suddenly, backing away toward the wide grassy field.

If he didn't know any better, he'd say there were two ghosts now. They were so near to each other that it made it difficult to be sure. And they were moving dangerously close. Danny stared wide-eyed at the cafeteria doors, expecting twin monstrosities to come bursting from them any moment. He startled when he felt a hesitant touch on his shoulder.

Tucker lowered his hand, concern set in his features as he looked from Danny back toward the school.

"Should we just ditch?" Sam suggested. She hated the thought of going back into the building with a malicious spirit haunting it.

"I can't." Danny groaned, his expression darkening. "If I slip up, even once, Lancer threatened to call my parents. I'm barely out of the deep end with my mom as it is."

"But dude! What if it attacks you during a class or something?" Tucker wondered aloud.

Once more the two were met with silence. Danny glared ahead at the far brick wall, mouth set in a firm line.

Distantly, the bell rang, and Danny was the first to take a step forward. He grabbed his bag, slinging it over a shoulder and led the way back into the building. His frown remained as he walked resolutely toward the main hall, the flood of teens still dispersing from the large room.

Though his head stayed rigid upon his shoulders, pointed straight ahead, his blue eyes darted this way and that, looking for any sign of the elusive phantoms. They had fled just before lunch ended, and he now wished they would draw in closer. Sensing their every movement was better than not knowing where they were.

And indeed, as the day progressed, Danny no longer felt the oppressive presence of the ghost dogging him. But that alone did not keep him from staring off into empty space, trying to find a hint. He just couldn't believe that a ghost would go through the trouble of attacking him, pestering him for hours, and then suddenly go on its way.

No, this was definitely not over. And Danny found himself unable to relax even as the school day ended and he found himself walking down the front steps. His shoulders remained tense, hands digging into the straps of his backpack. He nearly walked out in front of traffic a few times, eyes unseeing as he cast out around him. He dreaded the idea of the ghost following him, though the mental image of siccing his parents on it if it followed him home thoroughly amused Danny.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

It was indeed a bad day for young Daniel Fenton.

Though he was no longer pursued by a violent ghost, he was now being followed by a rather persistent older sister.

He was resolutely ignoring her every word as he stomped up the stairs and into his bedroom. Flinging his bag onto his bed, Danny swung his (thankfully brand new) door closed. Or, he would have. Instead, Jazz stopped it and held it open. She frowned at him, leaning against her hand as she looked into the room at him.

"Just tell me why, Danny." Jazz insisted. "Wrecking a classroom is completely unlike you, I just-"

"Jazz." Danny glared at her. "I'm only going to say this one more time; leave me alone."

Gripping the door, the angry teen shoved it closed. He locked it in one swift motion before turning away. Out in the hall, Jazz stumbled back from the unexpected force. She stared at the door in silence, cradling her stinging wrist, which had borne the brunt of Danny's surprising strength.

Several responses turned about in Jazz's head. From shouting through the door at her brother, to going downstairs to tell her parents about the trashed classroom. After several minutes of contemplation, Jazz settled for walking to the bathroom, where she assessed her wrist. It didn't appear injured, but was certainly sore. When she'd leaned all her weight against his door, she really hadn't expected Danny to try and close it, much less be successful. Her brother had never been known for his physical strength.

Jazz's face held a thoughtful frown for the rest of the day. From when she took an early shower, to when she went downstairs for dinner, to when Danny refused to join them, to when she lay in bed, listening to the sounds of her brother pacing quietly around in his room, well into the night.

[artificialqueens]

Mend my soul Biadore Chapter 1 - AbbiNeedless and LilBro

Sooooo my little brother and I had this idea and we wrote this down, this is our first work together and I’m really proud of what we accomplished. English is not our first language so be nice plz.

This is based on “Rosie”; a song by Danny, his video “High school talk” and All Stars 2.

Roy took his suitcases from the back of his Uber and thanked the driver, he had a one month vacation and he was determined to finally have a proper rest. He entered his building elevator and pressed his floor button; he was really into jump to his bed and have good night of sleep. The elevator’s door opened and Roy saw the door of his apartment opened.

“What the fuck?”

He ran to his apartment and looked inside, nothing, he let his suitcases on his living room floor.

“Who’s there?!?” No response. “I’m gonna call the police!”

No response. He started to walk through his house without finding a soul in it, he took his cellphone out and dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?” “Hello.” Roy said. “I think someone might have broken into my house.” “Can you describe why you think that happened?” “Yeah…” He entered his room and found more suitcases sprawled all over the floor and a green wig next to his bed. “Actually I just remember I gave my keys to one of friends, he must have come over before. Thanks for answering me, anyways.”

He hung up and left his room.

“Danny, are you in here?”

Roy walked through his house without finding him.

“Dan, where are you?”

Roy heard a sniff coming from the bathroom.

“Dan? Dan, are you there?” No response. “I’m coming in.”

He found Danny curled up in the floor, hiding his face from him behind his knees.

“Oh my God, Danny, are you ok?”

Roy was about to ask him again when he heard a sob escape from Danny’s lips, it wasn’t a soft sniff like before, it was a tearing sob that made Roy’s heart break. He didn’t think it twice, he took the younger boy in his arms and gave him a strong embrace, he was surprised to see that Danny didn’t push him away, in fact he hugged him back. Danny pressed his face on Roy’s chest and let himself cry, Roy rubbed circles on his back in a try to calm him. He didn’t say a word, Roy knew that sometimes remain silent was better than saying a thousand words. Slowly, Danny’s sobs stopped, Roy didn’t stop rubbing his back until he made sure Danny was not crying anymore.

“Hey, sit here, I’ll remove your make-up.”

Danny sat on the tub and saw how Roy took his make-up wipes from the cabinet.

“I’m sorry…” “You don’t have to be sorry.” Roy said while he removed the eyelashes from Danny. “Yes, I do. I broke into your house without telling you.” “You have my spare key so technically you didn’t break into my house, you know?”

Roy finished removing all the make-up and saw how Adore vanished and Danny came back to the world.

“Here you have, welcome back, Danny.” The younger boy looked at the floor. “Come on, you need to drink something to warm your soul.”

Danny followed Roy to the kitchen and sat on one of Roy’s chair while he prepared a cup of coffee for him and a hot chocolate for Danny. While he prepared their drink Roy couldn’t help to ask himself what the fuck had happened to Danny. He thought Danny was filming All Stars, he was not supposed to know but Danny tells him everything. If Danny was here there were only two options, the filming was really quickly or he had been eliminated… Danny couldn’t have been eliminated, no, he was one of the best queens to come from the show, he couldn’t have been eliminated in the first weeks.

“Here you have, Dan.” “Thanks, Roy.” He took a sip from his cup. “Dan… What happened to you?”

He put his cup on the table and covered his face with his hands.

“No…” “Danny?” He didn’t seem to answer him. “Daniel.” “You’ll get angry.” “I don’t care.” “I do.” “Danny.” Roy took Danny’s hands from his face and looked into his eyes. “I want to help you and to do that I need to know what happened to you so I can know what to do.”

Roy kept looking into his eyes, Danny’s eyes were swollen and red from crying, it was a heartbreaking view.

“Ok, I’ll tell you.”

—-

“Alright, you can sleep in my bed tonight and tomorrow we’ll have brunch, how about that?” “I like the idea.” “Good, have a good night.” He took a pillow and a blanket from his bed. “Roy.” Danny took him by his wrist. “Yes?” “Thank you.” “You don’t have to thank me, love.” Roy smiled to him, kissed his cheek and closed the door behind him. He threw his things on the couch and gave a tired sigh. He wasn’t angry, he was beyond that, Danny was supposed to enjoy his time on All Stars, he was supposed to win a take home the crown, he wasn’t supposed be attacked on his aesthetic, he wasn’t supposed to be pushed to tap out. He went to his back yard and for the first time in months he lit up a cigarette, the feeling of smoke in his lungs again just made everything worse, he couldn’t calm down, he was pissed off.

Without thinking he dialed a telephone number on his cellphone.

“Michelle Visage speaking.” “Hi, Michelle, is Roy.” “Roy, hi!” Happiness was heard on her voice. “How are you, my dear? Is everything ok?” “I don’t know, Michelle, you tell me.” “… What do you mean?” “Explain to me why I found a heart-broken Danny in my house. From what he told me you should know what happened.” “Roy, I…” “Why the fuck did you say those things to him?” Roy was screaming now. “You broke his heart!” “I didn’t mean to do that!” “Sure.” “This is my job and-“ “No, Michelle, your job is to help these queens to be better entertainers and what you did to Danny is the total opposite, you broke his heart!… You tore his spirit apart…” Roy said in a whisper. “…” “You owe him an apologize.” “I’ll apologize to him.” “Good…”

The only thing that was heard was Roy’s breath.

“Roy, I’m sorry I did that to Dan, I didn’t mean to hurt him.” Roy heard real regret on Michelle’s voice. “The things that I told him didn’t go in the right way and I’m sorry that I hurt him in that way, I swear I didn’t mean to.” “I believe you, Michelle.” He threw the rest of his cigarette away. “I just… God, if you’d see the way I found Danny you’d have lost it, it wasn’t cute.” “I can imagine… I think we… We’ll talk later, give Danny a hug for me, would you?” “I will… See you, Michelle.”

He put his cellphone back on his pocket and run his hand on his hair, he hadn’t been this angry in a very long time, not even when Jason abandoned him; this was a whole new level of anger.

“Roy?”

Danny’s voice took him out of his thoughts; he looked up and found a tired Danny, he was wearing a t-shirt with Bianca’s face on it.

“Yes, baby?” “What are you doing outside?” “Nothing.” He got up. “What about you? Why aren’t you sleeping?” “I…” “Yes?” “I couldn’t sleep.” He said and his face turned a little bit red.

Roy gave him a little smile and took his hands.

“You want me to sleep with you?” Danny nodded. “Well then, come on, baby.”

They went to Roy’s bedroom, Danny got up in the bed while Roy put on his pajamas and joined him in, the younger boy crawled to him and rested his head on his chest, Roy put his arm around Danny’s waist and played with his hair with his free hand, he knew Danny loved it; it made him sleepy most of the times.

“Roy?” “Yes?” “Thank you.” “You don’t have to thank me, I’ll always be here for you, baby.” Roy placed a soft kiss on Danny’s temple, he left his lips on his skin more time than what felt normal but he didn’t mind, he wanted the younger man to feel safe and loved. When looked over Danny’s face he saw that he was fast asleep, he let himself join Danny in his sleep.

[phantomphangphucker]

The Bindings Of Time - Chapter 2. The Sands Of Time Embodied - PhannieMay - Day 11 Redesign and Day 22 Memories

Summary: Danny’s got some changes to make

(Multi-chapter fic, each chapter falls under the Memories prompt as well as another day’s prompt)

-return to the present-

Maddie’s returned home while Danny’s been lost in thought, she can tell too as he rubs at the little purple pinky ring he’s started wearing. Danny jerks his head up as he picks up on her presence and quickly chases down his melancholic expression. “You’re home early”.

“Sweetie, it’s five p.m.”, Danny turns his head to clock muttering, “Oh”. As Maddie walks over and ruffles up his hair, “you’re not ok, why? Can I help?”. Danny’s still not really up for explaining to anyone really. But his parents especially, they might have accepted Phantom and him being Phantom but they know nothing about ClockWork or that he was even close with any ghosts. He knows they don’t see him the same as other ghosts and that they view him as more of a hunter, like them, instead of socialising and protecting what’s his, like ghosts do. He still appreciates her concern though, “not really”, pausing for a bit with a little smirk, “it’s more of a time thing”. He knows Jazz would lecture him about using jokes as a coping mechanism but Danny thinks he’s damn well deserved it. Plus jokes are really a knee jerk reaction for him. “If you’re sure”, she continues talking after sitting down next to Danny, “you can talk to us, you know. I know your life is different and you deal with things I could have never imagined, but still. You’ve got us in your corner no matter what it is or what you need”. Danny can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed as she kisses his hair before going to make supper. Danny can hear her come back out but she stops walking, waiting a beat before asking, “is there a reason you have a beat up thermos sitting on the table? You don’t usually leave them lying around”. Glaring at the thermos a bit before tilting his head backwards to her, “figuring out what to do with it. And before you ask, it’s not why I’m bummed out”. Pulling his head back forwards, he pokes the thermos cautiously, “in its confines is a powerful and very dangerous ghost. One whom I have full responsibility over now”. Maddie hands him a plate of crackers and a bowl of soup before glancing at the thermos warily, “well first, maybe put them in a thermos that doesn’t look partly destroyed. Second, why would you be responsible for a specific ghost? I know you view the ghost problem as your responsibility but this seems different”. Danny’s glad both his parents have stopped calling ghosts “it”, he was a bit surprised to find that it’s both because he’s part ghost and because their views have actually changed. Sighing, “he was another ghosts responsibility before, but he can’t do it anymore. And it’s my job now to do it”, continuing after shaking his head a little, “and transferring him into another thermos is too risky. He cannot be let out for any reason, ever”. Danny can’t know for sure but his gut says he’s right and he’s got a damn good gut. “So you have to make sure he stays in there? That’s this “job”? That seems a little extreme for any ghost and who are even giving you a “job”?”, Maddie frowns worriedly, “and why can’t this other person do it anymore? Is this dangerous?”. Danny can’t blame her for being worried, pretty much everything he does is dangerous and she wants him safe. “Keep him sealed away yeah, but also to deal with him if he escapes. The rest is complicated”, turning to his mom, “but trust me when I say this isn’t extreme, not for him. If any ghost is deserving of the titles “monster” and “evil”, it’s this one”. Pointing a soup-soaked cracker aggressively at the thermos, “jerk”. Maddie’s words don’t really match the mild humour previously in Danny’s voice, “sounds like you’ve dealt with him before and I really don’t like the sounds of that”. Danny eyes his mom before sighing, “yes and I guess he’s someone I really should tell you about. But it’s all tied to why I’m “not ok” as you put it. Because of who used to be responsible for him and why he’s mine now”. Danny’s sure his mom has jumped to some conclusion, normally he’d guess it was likely the right one, but he knows it’s not. As Danny rubs at the gear tattoo on his left collar bone getting lost in thought again.

—two days ago—

Danny can’t say he’s surprised when his ghost sense goes off and he can tell it’s an Observant, sighing and sitting up as the ghost floats up through his floor, “I’m surprised you didn’t come sooner. Maybe you understand human mourning more than you seem”. Danny’s not about to give them too much credit, he knows it wasn’t out of care for him; rather they just wanted to time things effectively. Clearly the Observant can tell Danny knows that, “the time wasn’t previously favourable, as you likely know. You are being summoned to the clock tower, we do not doubt that you know why”. The Observant is of course right, that’s likely the whole reason one gave him the new time medallion. Apprentice becomes the master sort of thing. Though he hadn’t really expected ClockWork to ever fade, being outside of time and all. “Of course”, smirking a bit before he continues, “you’ve said your peace, now care to observe the door”. Like always he can feel the Observant glaring at him before leaving, ClockWork nearly always dismissed them like that, as did Danny; no way he was ever going to stop either. Even if the words felt bittersweet now and it hurt knowing no one else was going to say them anymore. Getting up with a groan before walking downstairs, “Danny, it’s almost midnight. If there’s a ghost issue then just tell me and go back to bed”. Danny curses himself a bit for not being ok enough to have the for-thought for invisibility. Rubbing his neck awkwardly, “I’ve got to make a Zone trip, and no you can’t really help. Sorry?”. Danny knows his mom’s not really comfortable with him going into the Zone and he’s sure she’d probably try to stop him, if that were actually possible to do. Maddie’s frowning gives away that displeasure, “And it can’t wait? At least take the Speeder then”. Danny shakes his head and stops walking just in front of the lab door, turning his head to her, “this doesn’t call for that. The opposite actually, I’ll be back”. Danny’s not sure if she hears him mutter as he walks down, “eventually”. It doesn’t take him long to get to the clock tower, he knows the route exceptionally well. Really he knows the whole Zone well, though his parents don’t really understand that yet. Putting his hand mournfully on the door and rubbing it before pushing it open. Walking inside he’s a bit startled as the floor and everything else starts changing colours, in a manner similar to rippling waves as soon as his feet touch the floor. Walking forwards and spinning around a little, taking in the blacks, whites, blues and greens. The place is still heavily dark and atmospheric, with an old dusty book feel and smell. But it also somehow feels more lively, sliding his foot across the white with black veining floor, “should have seen that coming. I’m surprised it still feels like the same clock tower”. Danny promptly schools his expression as he knows at least two Observants just showed up. Fastening his cloak on as they approach, instantly cluing in that they’re the two highest ranking, “things must be actualised of course and it should be no surprise that we believe you to already be too powerful. However”, one of the Observants floats over to Danny and hands him a core fusion crystal, a time one to be specific, “this is not something he would choose unwisely nor to spite us”. Danny takes the crystal gingerly, knowing full well it’s a time one. Rolling it over as the other Observant floats over to where Dan’s thermos is, “as his powers are yours so too are his responsibilities”. Danny wants to glare but he knows full well that’s likely not a good idea, he knows they’re right. Both of them float in front of him now and he can feel their power in the air, “so do you, Danny Phantom, bind yourself to all the confines of time. To be bound to it though free from it. Will you keep guard over the time stream and all those with it. And stand guard against those outside of it, your future evil self and any others who may appear. Do you swear to know the gravity of this roll and that you can ensure, you take this knowing full well you can never relinquish it nor pass it on, due to the nature of your existence”. Thinking back, at first Danny had watched with childish amusement and wonder at all of ClockWork’s viewing screens, portals and all the things he had rein over. But it hadn’t taken long to see the burden of it, especially when it came to seeing and knowing all of the past, present and future constantly. It made it impossible to really be close to anyone and it made it so you knew everyone intimately well, to degrees others would find disturbing. It was a lonely and solitary thing but in a sense, Danny stood separate and alone already. It’s not like Vlad was a true halfa and the chances of there ever being another was pretty well none. He could be close with people, have friends and family, but no one could truly relate and everyone was inherently different. That’s why him and ClockWork got along so well, and that made losing him all the worse. And it’s not like Danny wasn’t already burdened, what’s another burden? Besides, he’s certain even the Observants know, no one else can do this. There is no ghost nor human, or hybrid for that matter, who viewed the two species on equal footing and placed his duties above his own self and desires. Like the role of hero and protector, keeper of time was a self-sacrificial role. Not just in body and mind, but social life as well. Nodding firmly at the two before him, “with absolute resolution I know, accept and bind. Core bared, I will stand objective and solitary in and out of all aspects of time. To keep time above all others and self. Time eternally to hold me and I it. Time eternally to exclude me but I never it”. The two Observants put a hand on either side of Danny’s head, “then with that we bless you keep and forever know all of time, for all of time”. One Observant leaves quickly but the other turns back to Danny, “you have your place here now. Time favours none and neither do you. We will be watching”. Danny smirks lazily, “it’s not like you could stop me, we all know that”, smirking even wider, “time favours plenty, else we’d all die or fade at the same age with the same life experiences. I may have cheated time and death itself, but everyone else is victim to its whim or mine”. Danny hears that Observant mutter as he leaves, “he’s already just as insufferable as ClockWork, if not more so. And he isn’t even omniscient, yet”. Danny knows full well he has to absorb the crystal himself and no way is he going through this around his family. From what he’s heard core fusion was one part pain and one part getting bombarded by new fully fleshed out abilities. Considering how much of an issue his ice core was, this was going to be a trip. Walking to the room he had here, though all of this was his room now. Sticking his head inside and raising his eyebrow at the long object wrapped in purple cloth. Unwrapping it gentility and if this had been in less gloomy times he’d have laughed heartily. Instead only smirking faintly as the head of the staff comes fully into view. Shaking his head as he places it on the pillow, the rest still wrapped. Knowing full well that he really shouldn’t touch it without having an actualised time core. Rolling the core fusion crystal a little as he sits on the bed, pushing the tip into his chest directly where his core is; before promptly bending over and squeezing his arms around his chest from sharp pain. He’s quite glad for his high pain tolerance and the seclusion of the clock tower. Gritting his teeth and whining, far less painful than his half death but definitely the second most painful thing he’s experienced. Involuntarily shaking as little pinpricks of something that feels like how cinnamon tastes but on fire, ripples around his chest. His breath coming out cold and ice forming thinly on his skin from his overactive core as new energy is introduced. Pushing his head into the bedsheets as a waving pulse of blueish purple energy shoots out from him and out across the entirety of the Ghost Zone. In an instant he can see everything, some feel his energies pulse and become confused, others like the Observants nod as they know they’re being watched. Wheezing and putting his hands on his head at the bombardment of sensory input. Promptly passing out as his mind gets halfway through cataloging how every ghost died, in detail.

It’s a full day before Danny wakes up, pitching forwards off the bed and onto the floor. Groaning as he rolls over blinking away the images of the eight other ways he could have reacted upon waking up. “Fuck ClockWork, better warning needed”, patting at his aching chest as he rights himself. Turning his head to the staff still lying innocently and temptingly on the pillows. Staring at it and wondering whether he should do that now or wait, the future doesn’t really seem to care on that one. So with a shrug he elects to unwrap it, chuckling as he normally would have been caught off guard by the little electrical shock of the staff bonding with his energy. Of course, he already knew that would happen, spinning the staff around lightly, “it is incredibly odd instantly knowing how to use literally every single new power, when it took over a year to get my ghost and ice core shit down”. Looking down at his chest and raising an eyebrow, “ice time core? Cold time core? Naw”, snickering, “time freeze core”. Sure it was ice first but the new time powers and “job” took precedence over everything. Plus his ice powers were just another ghostly power to him, but these time powers were a whole nother beast, a completely new aspect of himself. Tapping the staff on the ground and electing to test this out, pushing the button on the top, “time out”. Shaking his head as everything with exactly 28 feet of him just stops, “damn that is so accurate and it’s rather weird this power needs a vessel to channel it out of me, I get it but still”. Chuckling because of course he gets it, he’ll probably “get” everything now. Chuckling more, “it’s going to be impossible not to basically cheat at school, there’s literally nothing they could teach me that I wouldn’t automatically know. I’d just have to conjure up the knowledge”. Tilting his head as he says, “time in”, Danny’s not sure about how he feels more ok and comfortable with ClockWork being gone now. It simultaneously feels like it happen ages ago, today and years from now. Fully able to view his old mentor at any point in time. “Man, if I wanted his advice I could literally just view it”, Danny squints his eyes before facepalming as one of the scenes of past ClockWork, before Danny was even born, is clearly giving him advice, “welcome home, Daniel. I may be a phantom of times past but you’re the phantom of its future. Let your staff aid you well, we both know it will. I’d say not to worry about Dan, but you will. To protect is to worry. But now too must you guide and that spares little room for worry”. Shaking his head, “sneaky bastard, but thanks and I know. Still going to be a general mess of a halfa though”. Turning his head to one of the screens and making it show a reflection of himself, technically it’s not really a reflection just an angled view of the present but still. He already knows his eyes turn purple when using time powers but he literally has to see it now for his just recently past self to know it, “man this is somehow both messed up and seems utterly normal”. It’s easy to be used to something when it feels like you’ve had it forever because you can literally see and know those powers for eons past the current time. Calling another “time out” in front of the mirror just to make the point of seeing his eyes change to purple. He’ll admit it feels like a reminder of ClockWork and he knows the only reason ClockWork’s eyes didn’t change is cause he is, was, a full ghost. Giving himself a better look, the staff's body/neck is vertically pinstriped black and dark grey, with a white sphere at the bottom; easily taller than ClockWork’s. Which only makes sense as he’s quite a bit taller than him. Crowning the top of the staff is a black sideways capital D, making a dome shape. With an upright white capital P the spine of which is stabbing through the D, to connect with the body of the staff. The inside of the P holds a clock with the button resting on top. His outfit itself has changed only a little, there are hourglasses on the backs of his hands filled with black sand with purple sparkle. “Sam’s so gonna bug me about that”, but he’s going to say her exact words as she does just to bug her right back. Plus, as he tilts his hand to move around the sand, purple is ClockWork’s colour; so he’s got a little reminder even if he forgoes the cloak and staff. Next tracing his fingers over the little clocks lining his belt, all showing different times of course. Smirking as he summons a DP time medallion out of one, “convenient and stylish”. There’s no real humour in his words though as he sighs and rubs the gear clasp on his cloak, which is a little bigger, and he knows the cloak is truly part of him now. Though he could technically take it off, just like his jumpsuit. The only other difference in the cloak is that the hood comes to a long point and zig-zags like a lightning bolt. “Well it is a little odd having an actual tell on me of how I died, but I really should have had one already”, talking also makes him notice how his fangs are a bit longer, no doubt due to being more powerful. Checking his ears and yup, the points jut out further. “More ghostly but hey, no fire hair or blue skin”, Danny really means no offence to ClockWork but blue skin is something he’d prefer to avoid ever having. Calling “time in” and sighing as he can see his mom, clearly upset and sitting on his bed, “well it has been a full day”. Floating back into the main area while easily switching to his ghostly tail which wiggles about energetically, sighing a bit at the release of energy, “and no wonder why ClockWork sticks to his tail, it’s like the little release of built-up energy I get from my ghost sense”. At least the time part of his core he uses pretty well automatically just by thinking, so build ups not really a concern. But there’s a lot more of time than ice. Floating to be in front of Dan’s thermos and crossing his arms, knowing full well he can’t leave it here unguarded but otherwise he’s not sure what to do. Dan, and his thermos really, exists outside of time, he literally can’t see his/it’s future. Which is genuinely disturbing and feels so very wrong. “Dear Phantom, I really do feel like I’ve been this way for eternity”, he’s pretty well sure it’ll take longer to get used to this coming naturally to him rather than getting used to what is actually new but doesn’t feel like it is. Picking up the thermos cautiously he elects to go home.

Once home, he knows full well it’ll be a while before either of his parents are back. Having a ghost research meeting to go to in another state. Glaring down at the thermos, not really liking how it and Dan’s energy taints his room. Putting it down on his bed before changing back human, only to be promptly cut off from the complete awareness of well, all of time. “Figures, that'll keep me from coming off as completely weird and the break is nice”, this makes him sigh and feel a bit bad for ClockWork. But he can’t help but smile at his reflection, easily seeing the top of the new little gear tattoo; a mark of time. Pulling his collar down to get a proper look before patting at it gently. He knows he needs to see his chest too, his scar has changed some after all. Danny always found it amusing that his scar is more because of a forming core, a core that’s always there regardless of form, rather than the actual shock of the portal. Lifting the bottom of his shirt up and smirking at the fuzzy and glitchy looking circular white scar. Like a soft reflection of the moon over tightly rippling water. He does find it sad that he’s really the only one who will think of this scar fondly. Tucker and Sam just find it an unpleasant reminder of the accident, which was rather traumatising for everyone really. His parents had only caught glimpses off it but he knows they think it’s smaller then it is and won’t be happy about it when they do finally get a good look at it. Shaking his head and sighing at the thermos, it’s a lot easier to not be bothered by not being able to see its future when his heads not being constantly filled with all of time. Tilting his head as he checks up on time, he’s going to have to make a point to do this frequently while human; because therein lies the downside to this “break”. Time guarding wasn’t really something you can or should take a break from, so much can happen in seconds. Glancing at his phone before heading down to the living room, thermos in tow. He knows his friends are freaking out a bit, he’s been kind of hard to contact since ClockWork’s fading but they know what happened, so they’re giving him space and everything is giving him time. He’ll have a lot to tell them but for now, he’d really rather not. Especially because his human friends don’t really get his affection for ClockWork. End.