#i literally thought of vlad all weekend

[letoasai]

dp x dc

I’m usually more of a lurker in this fandom, you know? But this happened and it just needed to be written down. If someone wants to take the idea or continue it, go for it! Prompt - Consort

~~~ ~~~

Danny is told that while he is officially the Ghost King, there are a few last minute things to check off the list to keep the Observants from being able to mess with Danny's business. Clockwork even subtly confirms that this is something Danny should consider carefully. Being able to keep them in check is important.

��While not keen on a to-do list, Danny sighs and trusts that Clockwork is ultimately giving him less work.

He spends a few years doing odds and ends. Whatever task Clockwork mentions and it honestly suits Danny fine. It’s giving him time to grow into his position. It’s going well, that is until he learns that in his last task he has to consummate his newly acquired position in a very traditional way. With someone else...

That's bad enough, but it's thrown out to him that he must do this with one of his own kind. It's never been an issue before since The Ghost King is usually... a ghost and can pick whoever they want in the Zone.

Danny however is a halfa and because he's only one of three halfa's he's forced to pick between Vlad and Dani. A fruit loop and his clone/sister. The first is horrifying on many levels and the second is just plain unappealing. It's not happening, nope. 

It's practically a miracle that before Danny can completely fall into panic, Clockwork mentions the existence of a forth halfa. 

It doesn't matter who they are, it HAS to be better then his current options. That's how Danny ends up in Gotham.

~

"I can't believe you went without us." Sam complained. "We could have gone with you. What if you need help?" 

"I don't think Gotham is ready for ghost powers, Sam." Tucker commented. "Any trouble he runs into won't know what hit them." 

"Could you both stop wishing trouble on me?" Danny asked, he should have known he'd get ganged up on when he had them both on the phone at once. He was looking around and had noticed how he wasn't headed to the...best of neighborhoods. Had he not had ghost powers he might have turned right around. 

He'd gotten a fairly nice hotel room for the long weekend in a somewhat nice area. All of Gotham looked pretty damn bleak to him but at least he could easily survive in a place like this. There was so much ambient ectoplasm in the air that he was, frankly, surprised he hadn't spotted more ghosts. It was all to his benefit though. 

"Wishing?" Tucker chuckled, the sound of his keyboard clicking on the other side of the call. "It'll find you whether we wish it or not." 

"And then you'll be able to say you got to fight in Gotham." Sam lamented. 

"So this isn't about me not bringing you along to help me find this halfa, but because you just wanted to see this city in particular?" 

"Little bit." 

Tucker started laughing. "Damn, Sam. Nothing's stopping you from visiting." 

"There absolutely is." Sam grumbled. "Their names are Jeremy and Pam." "We're graduating soon, Sam." Danny commented. "After both your eighteen birthday and graduation you'll find your freedom." 

"And possibly your way out of their living will." Tucker commented, but Sam only snickered at the thought.

"That doesn't help me today. Danny's out in one of the coolest cities ever on a quest to get laid, and we’re stuck having a boring weekend." "Sam." Danny hissed as if someone else could have possibly over heard their conversation. This entire situation was beyond awkward. He didn't even know how to start. Hi, you're a halfa too? Wild? Wanna sleep with me so i can make sure my position isn't puppeteered?   "What? That's literally why you're there." Sam was back to being amused, conveniently forgetting for a second that she wasn't with him in Gotham. "You're not gonna seduce anyone with that attitude." "I'm not trying-!" "Aren't you supposed to be though?" She hummed. "Gotta put that charm to work, Phantom." "Oh shut up..." Danny grumbled. If this halfa immediately pegged him as king, would they feel obligated to sleep with him? Ugh, this was the worst. If the ghost he was tracking lived in this neighborhood then it was no wonder he was half dead... "I mean, the wording of this could mean anything." Tucker commented right as the clicking stopped. He'd shown his to-do list to Sam and Tucker ages ago, and this hurdle had always seemed so daunting. "Go forth and find what's just. A night of bliss and trust. A match for your soul in desire. A second coming to conspire." Tucker repeated the lines. "Man, someone did not take a poetry class." Danny just made a face, so sick of the instructions that even making fun of it didn't help anymore. "And you think that can mean anything?" Sam hummed quietly. "I guess you were told it was a basic innuendo so that's what you hear. It’s what we all heard." "Yeah, it doesn't say go fuck." Tucker said. "Could just mean you could hang out for a night and vibe. Video games. Take out." Danny made a face. "I can't see me doing that with Vlad either." "I should fucking hope not." He could practically see Sam's disgusted face. "Okay but that still doesn't make sense. I gotta hang out with another halfa? Why? Why would that block the Observants and their never ending input?" Danny wondered. "No idea." Tucker relented, "But it's worth a shot. right? You can always hang out first and see if it works. If it doesn't... well then you know what you gotta do." "Flirt. Bend over and show your butt. It's eye catching." "Sam..." Danny sighed, this was exhausting. She clucked her tongue. "It's good advice. Even Paulina did a double take last week." Danny just made an irritated sound in his throat, nearly tripping over a destroyed section of the side walk. All the businesses nearby had bars across their windows as extra security and more and more people seemed to loiter. "So glad that ship has sailed." Young crushes were painful. "It could also mean cuddling?" Tucker offered. "How'd you make that leap?" Sam asked. "Guys." Danny interrupted suddenly, his ghost sense chilling him. "I'll call you guys back. I might have tracked them down." "Don't forget!" Tucker said, tone only slightly accusatory. Sam just made a noise of agreement. "We'll want the whole play by play." "Well... maybe not the whole play by play." Tucker added, but Danny just hung up on them. His support system was filled with bullies. See if they got their Gotham tee-shirts now! Danny turned down an alleyway, not sure just yet what he was following but it felt fairly powerful. So far he'd seen mostly shades and remnants of what was. He was left to try to find this halfa the same way he had to track down Dani when looking for her, and that usually meant looking for a big source. When he took a turn and nearly walked right into an obvious drug deal, he inhaled sharply and turned invisible. The dealer had looked up at the sound but brushed it off a moment later when he didn't see anyone rounding the corner. Gotham was nuts but at least they weren't clowns. Deciding it really was within his best interest, Danny transformed completely, staying invisible for the time being as he followed his ghost sense through the scary part of town. Minutes felt like hours but he spotted a dude coming closer on a motorcycle and Danny's skin felt like it was vibrating. The halfa was a guy, okay. Danny could work with that, he really could. Even sitting on the bike, the guy looked a head taller than Danny. All the ghost powers in the world couldn't take away him inheriting his mothers build. For fucks sake, did he have to become evil to bulk up?! Danny flew closer, wanting to get a good look, only to have his vision impeded by a red helmet. When the bike swerved and the rider looked around around, likely sensing him, Danny backed off. His jaw was already hanging open in disbelief. Red Hood. That was Red Hood. Red Hood was a halfa?! Okay, he was the freaking Ghost King. When was that memo gonna land on his desk. Holy crap. Was he actually going to ask Red Hood to have sex ...er... platonically hang out with him? Danny's face was going to explode with heat. He flew away, watching him from the sky. Red Hood slowly brushed off whatever he had felt from Danny and rode on, making only a few more turns before stopping at an apartment building that Danny wouldn't have thought was still in use. This had secret lair written all over it. Danny followed, waited, watched. Of course he knew all about the vigilantes of Gotham but he hadn't really expected to run into any of them. Honestly, what were the odds? What did he do? Red Hood was technically a killer but he'd met more then one ghost who'd been avenged. It caused mixed feelings really. After two hours of nothing, a guy walked out of the same apartment. This time in street clothes. Same build, same height, same half energy. Crap. There goes that secret identity. Danny didn't know his name but he knew what he looked like. Dark hair, that curl of white in the front. Light eyes. Permanent looking frown and... Well now, Danny was frowning too. Something about his energy was off putting. Twisted. Wrong. Well... that would need to be looked into. From afar, Danny watched him go about his evening which involved stopping into those little stores and checking on people. Those people seemed to greet him with a friendly smile and know him somewhat well. Danny also got the impression that none of these people knew he was Red Hood, though he wasn't sure it would have mattered if they had. Red Hood was a crime lord but this was his territory... his haunt. Danny wasn't quite sure how this was both incredibly confusing while making all the sense in the world. He'd have an attitude too if his ectoplasm was all jacked up. What was he supposed to do? Suddenly if felt so presumptuous to show up at this guys doorstep to ask for such a favor from a stranger. He could leave and figure something else out, but the guy clearly needed help too. Maybe they could work out a trade or something. Danny felt torn about the whole damn thing and only decided to suck it up and act like an adult when his alternative was to call Jazz and ask for advice and he was not asking his sister about this. He flew ahead of the guy, making it back to his apartment first. He turned human again and sat on the stoop to wait for him. Internally he went over his lines in his head, what he would say, what parts he could leave out but all of that stopped when a shadow towered over him. The guy somehow seemed so much bigger in person. "You alright, kid?" he asked, there was the strange mix of concern and suspicion on his face. "There's housing up the street if you need someplace to go. They take anyone." "Oh uh..." His haunt had a place like that? Cool. So much for all those lines he’d been rehearsing. "I wanted to talk to you, actually. If you have a second?" He raised a brow but gestured to Danny with a nod to continue. Guess they were doing this out here then. "Okay, this is going to sound strange as hell but i've been looking for another halfa to help me with something. It's like.. a stupid huge favor and, fuck i hate even calling it a favor because that sounds weird. I also wanted to say up front that you can totally turn me down too, this isn't like, a demand or anything." Danny started talking, and couldn't seem to stop. His nerves were getting the better of him along side this guys emotions which were confused and itching with something aggravating. "It's not like i wrote this particular law either. I'm not even sure why i agreed to this shit but i've seen bad alternatives before a-" "What the fuck are you talking about, kid?" he interrupted. "Rude. I am actually eighteen." Danny grumbled. His eyes narrowed. Did he think he was lying about his age? "You sure about that?" "Yeah, my birthday is the same day every year." Danny deadpanned, almost getting a smile. "Let me start over, um, my name is Danny." he stood but didn't offer his hand because this guy didn't look like he'd take it. "And i've been looking for you." "Right i sorta got that, but why?" Danny could already feel his ears turning red. "Okay, hear me out because this sound fucking awful. I need to sleep with a halfa." Just rip that baid-aid off right?

Red Hood's frown was back full force. Guess he was still Red Hood since he didn't offer a name. "What the fuck is a halfa?" Danny short circuited. Was it possible this guy didn't know? "Okay." Danny said slowly. "Backing up and starting over again. Did you... You... You know you died once, right?" He scowled. "Yeah, i was there. How the fuck do you know that?" "Oh good, we don't gotta go back that far. Okay. Okay, so a halfa is someone that died. Like me." He gestured to himself. "Who came back. Someone who is half dead and half alive. There's only four of us. I have to sleep with one because of some political bullshit and i know how desperate that has to sound to you but i absolutely can not sleep with my sister or a fruit loop that wants to marry my mom." Red Hood stepped closer, a large hand wrapping around Danny’s bicep and pulling him along with him towards his door. It was opened long enough for the two of them to slip through and then shut and locked again. "Alright, lets unpack everything that just left your mouth and start to pick out the sane verses insane pieces." He said, somewhat exasperated. He was unhappy. Very unhappy. Danny had to hide a wince, guess Hood wasn’t ready to talk about his death. Jazz would be pissed, he needed to learn to be more sensitive about these things. "You're half dead?" "And so are you." Danny said. "Haven't you noticed any ghost abilities?" "Any what...?"  Distress. That was an odd reaction. Danny looked around, there wasn't much furniture but there was a couch and Danny made a show of going intangible and walking right through it. "Anything like that?" Red Hood was frowning. "No. Look. Half dead and half alive sounds more like a zombie to me. Where are you getting this ghost shit? How did you find me at all?" "Ghost sense." He scowled. "Of course." Danny sighed a little, biting his lip and brushing a piece of hair from his face. "Okay, this is my fault. I'm bad at explaining and i'm sorta having too many conversations at once. Lets start with you. You ever seen like.. glowy green sludge?" His scowl deepened, for a second there was true hatred etched into his face but it wasn't directed at Danny. The suspicion and distrust however were. "What do you have to do with the Lazarus Pit?" Danny blinked, it was evidently his turned to be confused. "The what?" "The green shit, kid. The Lazarus Pit. It's what did this shit to me. What drives me insane." Danny frowned. "The green sludge is ectoplasm, which we need. It shouldn't hurt you, but if it did...could explain why you feel so twisted up inside." He scoffed. "Twisted up, that's the kindest way anyone has ever put it. I don’t need someone elses insane ramblings on top of what i already got in my head. So if you're looking for a fuck, go somewhere else." "Okay." Danny muttered, he'd known that could be an option. "But would you let me see if i could straighten out to ectoplasm anyway? I think i can help at least a little and uh, i think your's is trying to eat away at your soul which is...bad?" Hood actually dropped onto the couch, looking beyond done with this day. "Do you think you there's anything i haven't tried?" "I bet you have." Danny said, stepping closer. "But my ectoplasm is healthy and isn't trying to eat me. You don't really have anything to lose, do you?" Trustme. Trustme.  His expression was nearly murderous and Danny could taste the rage. It seemed like he was having a hard time controlling it, and the more Danny looked, the more he was blaming the tainted ectoplasm. It even seemed to block some of the calm Danny was pushing towards him. "Kid, you have no idea what you're -" Danny stepped closer, hands on Red Hood's chest. He could feel the faint humming of a drowning core, trying to breath through the toxicity that had been forced into his body. Danny added his own ectoplasm to the mix, a sort of ghost transfusion. Ghost King privileges came with a wide aura and a lot of energy. There was a shudder, and the difference was almost instantaneous. The tainted ectoplasm had tried to rear up, tried to roll into rage and snowball but Danny just had more to work with. Danny didn't remember kneeling in front of his new acquaintance, or shutting his eyes, or shifting into his ghost form. He was however, aware of his core tuning into Red Hood's, trying to coax it to life...so to speak. He didn't know what it would have been like, a half ghost but confined only to his human side. Maybe if he'd never known any better it wouldn't have mattered to him but the thought of it now was suffocating,

There was a moment when Danny suddenly felt Hood’s confusion. It seems like he was finally picking up on Danny’s silent messages. 

"What did you do?" Red Hood asked, sounding tired, but far less hostile. "You made it quiet. You're also..glowing." Danny looked up at him with a nervous laugh. "Well, i did say i could fix it. This fix is kinda temporary but I know Frostbite can fix it for you permanently. I'll talk to him." He reached up and rubbed at his eyes, "...Thanks...." "No problem Hood." His eyes jerked up and Danny just smiled. "I won't tell anyone..." He hissed in soft irritation but it didn’t match his emotions. He was still riding the high of being in control of that rage. "So i did feel you following me earlier? I swear there was something around." Danny nodded once. "Had to be sure you were who i thought you were... and all..." Excuse. Excuse... Red Hood shook his head. "My name's Jason. I have a hundred questions minimum about this half ghost thing." "I could probably answer most of them?" Danny offered, realizing he was still on his knees in front of Jason and quickly getting up, a cold blush coloring his face as he shifted back into his human form.  Jason watched him, brow quirking again but he seemed so much more relaxed now that the tension was drained out of him and the taint to his ectoplasm was quiet. It almost made him seem a little younger too, not that Danny would have pegged him any older than early twenties, if that. Maybe he was still a teenager too. "Halfa's... You said there were four of us?" Jason asked cautiously. "Yeah." Danny sat on the other end of the couch. "My sister who is also my clone, and Vlad. Billionaire asshole who's a major creep." "Clone. You have an interesting life."   "That's a lot coming from Red Hood." Jason snorted. "Fair." he paused, proving he'd been listening to all the jumbled up words Danny had been spurting. "Why do you have to sleep with a halfa?" "Aah..." Danny's face went hot again. "So...i..." he paused. "Okay this all sounds bad. I defeated the Ghost King in combat, making me the new Ghost King." Jason brow arched again, "Kudos." "Thank you? Anyway... there's a lot of stupid... add on rules. I didn't make them. Hell i don't even know them all. Some ancient jerk just tells me one at a time. Usually with bad timing which is stupid because he basically is time." "And one of them is fucking?" "Ugh." Danny actually groaned, head falling into his hands. "Someone of my own kind and there's only us four..." he spoke into his hands. "Sucks." "Little bit, yeah." Danny looked up at him, hoping Jason wasn’t actually feeling any of Danny’s nerves or embarrassment. "My friend has a theory that it might not mean sex exactly and might be more of a proximity thing." Jason didn't look overly convinced. "And you decided to try that with some guy you don't know over your clone?" Danny blinked, brain crashing. If he could have just had a sleep over with Dani and avoided all of this... certain ghosts were going to get banished from the Infinite Realm. "Didn't think of that did you?" Jason snickered suddenly and Danny just groaned again. "No.... She's like my sister, i just completely wrote it off." He was going to die... again. This time of embarrassment. Jason laughed softly, the sound not used very often these days. "I mean, i guess i get that. Some times things are easier when you're family isn't involved." "You can say that again..." Danny muttered. Jason leaned back on his spot on the couch, watching Danny with something like amusement in his eyes. He was...so different without the tainted ectoplasm gnawing on his soul. He was finally relaxing. "Well, your Majesty. Would this get me a favor with the king?" Danny's blush stretched down his neck. "Don't call me that. It's too weird." "Nope." Jason was grinning now. "Too much fun. You are way too easy to fluster for a guy that just popped up to ask for sex." "That's not-...!..." Danny winced. "I mean you said no, so that's that." "Changing my mind." Jason said instead, attuned to Danny's look of surprise. Ah, fuck he was definitely able to read Danny now. "Besides. "I have a hundred questions, remember? I'm sure we can mange between rounds." "Rounds?" Danny mouthed the word but no sound came out. Okay, it wasn't a big deal if his heart stopped beating but he was pretty sure it just did. Yeah, it stopped. "O..okay." He attempted, but it just seemed to endear him more as Jason moved again, his time leaning closer. Okay, hot guy in his personal space, he could handle this. It was why he was here.   Jason tugged on Danny’s hair. “It changes. Black to white. That’s cool. Kinda wanna see it more.”

Okay, hot guy in his personal space, he could not handle this. “It uh..yeah. Does that. Alive verses dead i guess. I’ll show you once your ectoplasm is worked out. I don’t see why you wouldn’t gain abilities too once your core is sorted out.”  “You really love to say words without context, don’t you?” Jason said and his amusement was loud.  “I guess... i get ahead of myself.” Danny muttered, unable to make eye contact as Jason slid closer. This was not his first kiss. What was going on with him?  "It’s alright, i’m a quick learner. Besides, i really want to say thank you for you clearing my mind, even if it is temporary." Jason muttered. He’d been screaming for help but no one had ever heard him before.  "We will get that fixed." Danny promised, voice just as quiet. "First thing tomorrow, if you want." "Second thing." Jason said, reaching out to cup Danny's cheek this time before drawing him closer to kiss. Danny didn't think you could see stars in Gotham but he was sure seeing them now. ~~~~  ~~~~

I kinda wonder who’s going to tell Danny he just found a consort. My money’s on Frostbite....  ...As for who tell’s Jason?....That’s Dani barging in to meet her new brother in law  Hope you enjoyed this, feel free to add whatever you want.

Master List 

[raventao]

DCxDP idea

What if ...

Reveal gone wrong, Danny and Dani are discovered by Jack and Maddie who react badly, to say the least. They expirament on them for a weekend (Jazz was gone and they wanted to be done before she got home. Obviously they wouldn't want to upset their daughter with confronting her with the knowledge that Danny was dead, had veen for a wbile now, and that Phantom had killed him and was wearing his body like a meat puppet.) Before they literally sell them off to the GIW. Vlad and Team Phantom don't find out about this until it's too late and aren't able to break them out. They try anyway, of course, but Vlad isn't even able to get on the premises due to a ghost shield, and Team Phantom is just liminal enough to ping the alarm despite being human enough to get past the shield. They all get captured as well. No one knew where they were, and the GIW denies Mayor Master's claims that the kids were being held by them.

Out of options, Vlad makes a call. He's going to fix this properly his way. It takes a week of back and forth and several bribes all over the east coast, but Vlad has finally found what he's looking for. It takes considerably less effort to set up a meeting with Deathstroke than it took to seek him out, but now that he has his attention, he places two folders in front of him. "I have two jobs for you. One is more time sensitive than the other, but both do need to be taken care of immediately should you accept." He states seriously. Inside one folder are two pictures and a small dossier on both Drs Fenton. Inside the other is everything he and Technus had been able to dig up on the GIW, the facility they were keeping the kids in, and the Anti-Ecto acts as background for why the government thought they could commit the atrocities Vlad knew they were deep inside the compound. There is also a small list in the back of the folder: Daniel Fenton, Jasmine Fenton, Samantha Manson, Tucker Foley, Danielle Masters, and Valerie Gray.

"I want the Doctors Fenton dead. I don't care how. Preferably slowly and painfully, but I am aware that could take time away from the other job." Vlad says, tapping the second folder. "This is a government facility, one that has stolen my daughter, my godchildren, and their friends. I want it, the ground it stands on, and all of the agents inside it razed to bedrock. Not even ash or bones left." He seeths.

"Rescue missions seem more like a professional hero's scene." Slade muses flatly. "Have you considered the Juatice League?"

"Heros won't kill these bastards, and prison is too good for them. My daughter, Danielle, is likely already dead by their hands. She was already only tentitvly stable before the Fenton's expiramented on her, and I doubt the GIW have been treating her any better. I will be damned to the burning lake of fire before I let Daniel and Jasmine meet the same fate. I will pay whatever I must to ensure my children be returned to me alive. Their friends too, I suppose. I would never hear the end of it if I left them. Daniel might even try to go back in for them, even at the risk of his own life. Just name your price, money is no object." Vlad argues back.

[simslegacy5083]

Today's (1/30/2025) Episode: A Matter of Trust

After an Elyse free weekend to “find xemself” Skye was surprised to find xemself missing xir girlfriend the next day at school.

"…Elyse quit the newspaper staff with no warning!" Skye fumed, settling with Gretchen after lunch. "Mr. Haas told me before class this morning. I don't know who’s going to write our creative arts column on such short notice. She still owed me her article for tomorrow." 

"Tough break kid" she sympathized "let me ask around, I have a few friends who might be able to whip something up for you. If not, I can grab a quick "staff spotlight" interview to fill the spot if you get me a nice headshot. I'll let you know at the meeting this afternoon.“

"Thanks Gretchen, you're a lifesaver…" Skye trailed off, xir mouth falling open in surprise as Elyse walked in and locked eyes with xem.

"Skye! I've been looking all over for you!" she exclaimed "Hey Gretchen" she continued, glancing quickly at the other girl "Come to the quad with me so we can talk?" she asked, but Skye shook xir head "I'm comfortable here, thanks." 

Elyse frowned before turning back to xir friend "Do you mind giving us a minute?" Gretchen glanced over at Skye, who nodded. I guess I have to deal with my feelings sooner or later xe thought, sighing and frantically trying to decide what to say as the two sims traded places. 

Once Gretchen was out of earshot Elyse began: “Skye, I’m sorry. I never intended for you to get hurt, and it made me re-evaluate some things. I see you also decided to give up goth fashion; I guess we’re on the same page. Can we put this whole thing aside, forget it ever happened and start fresh?”

Skye could hardly believe what xe was hearing. “re-evaluate some things…?” xe whispered “just forget…?”

“ARE YOU CRAZY!?” xe screamed, making Elyse jump. “You’re *“*done” with “all that” so you just decide to quit the school newspaper, leaving a huge hole in the layout that I'M responsible for filling!? You want me to “just forget” that my grandfather used me as his own personal midnight snack!?”

“I don’t think I can do this anymore Elyse.” xe ground out “I keep opening myself up to you and I keep getting burned.”

“I’m in physical therapy because of YOU… I have two giant puncture wounds in my neck because of YOU…” “What makes you think I can “just forget”!? I don’t know how I can EVER trust you again after everything that’s happened.”

“Please, stop yelling at me.” Elyse whimpered. She hid her face, but not before Skye saw the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen when you told me visiting Vlad was a bad idea,” she said in a quiet voice. “I’m listening now though, and I get you can’t just forget what happened. It’s just that I care about you so much… and everything was going so well between us… I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

“That night I realized that I don’t want to be a “queen of darkness” anymore” she said, turning back towards xem. “All my poetry seems awful to me now, and I had no idea what to say in my column… so I quit the paper. I thought for sure Mr. Haas would find someone to replace me.”

She looked at her worried friend. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out for the newspaper… I won’t let you down again, I swear.”

Elyse’s obvious distress and caring promises washed Skye’s anger with her away. Maybe everything xe’d said hadn’t literally been true, even if it had FELT true before xe yelled it. Either way, Skye couldn’t bear to see xir girl sad and hurting.

Xe scooted closer to her and took her hands. “I’m sorry I yelled at you” xe began, “but thank you for listening. You’re still my best friend and I couldn’t bear to lose you either. I can’t forget, but I can forgive. Just promise me that the next time I warn you something is dangerous, you’ll listen?”

Elyse nodded “You have my word. I meant what I said about the column, too. I’ll figure something out, I promise!”

“Don’t worry about the column” Skye said, “Gretchen and I have a plan to cover it. Believe it or not, they have whole classes that teach writing here, and lots of students to choose from. I’m more worried about you; I know how important poetry and your voice on the newspaper was to you.”

“Its fine” she smiled “I’ve decided to express myself through painting instead. Come on, let me show you what I’ve been working on!” Skye dutifully followed her to the art studio, hoping as xe admired her current “masterpiece” that this latest fresh start would work out for them in the end.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[giggly-squiggily]

Bruuh when I saw that you read/re-read Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, I was like 'yaaaas'. I started re-reading it again (literally bought all 5 books), and I am literally dying for a ticklish!Vlad and tickler!Otis fic!

It has been 89 years...but finally, on this day...I have done it! I have written this fic! :D @nutzgunray-lvt I believe this was you? If not well- here you are anyway! :D I haven't read Vladmir Tod in so long, so this was a blast to write. I hope you like it!

“Vladimir.”

“What-hey!” The mentioned boy yelped when Otis’ hand came around him, snagging a cookie off his plate. “What the hell, that was mine!”

“Uncle Tax.” Otis grinned around a mouthful of chocolate goodness, shooting a wink as his nephew pouted. 

This was a running gag for them- the notorious “Uncle Tax.” Well- it wasn’t THAT notorious. All of Otis’ antics were fairly minor, ranging from stealing a sip of Vlad’s drink (“It’s O-negative!”O) or borrowing one of his many t-shirts (“Were the same size, Vladimir, and besides- how often do you see a vampire walking around with a ‘I went to Slayer School’ T-shirt?”). Really- Vlad didn’t mind them all that much.

But when it came to Aunt Nelly’s famous cookies though…

That’s where the line is drawn.

Watching his uncle with the grand stink eye of all the Tod bloodline, Vlad turned back to his plate and carried on his way, one cookie unburdened. He’d get his revenge in time. For now- let it seem he’s just being a bratty teenager over sweets.

It was as Uncle Otis taught him; diversion is the best sneak attack.

~~~3 weeks later~~~

“Oo, are those what I think they are?” Otis’ breathed in the warm smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, all but floating into the kitchen. Nelly had already gone to work, it seemed, a note on the counter letting the boys know she’s doing a double shift and how to heat up the dinner she left.

Also, on the back of the note- a clear instruction: “No cookies before dinner, Vladimir.”

“Good thing I’m not Vladimir, then.” Otis snickered in delight, carefully picking at the plastic wrap around the plate of sugary treats. He was pretty sure his mentioned nephew was over at Henry’s tonight, meaning he’d have the house- and these delectable treats- all to himself. For a brief moment, he considered leaving a few for Vladmir to find in the morning.

And then he thought about the sass the younger vampire had been giving him the past couple of days and decided against it. Can’t award bad behavior afterall. Giddy in mischief, he brought the cookie to his lips, taking a bite.

And immediately spit it out into the sink.

“Pfft- Oh god! Oh my word!” Otis grabbed the sink hose, rinsing his mouth out in a desperate attempt to rid the salty catacomb he bit into. What happened? Nelly’s baked treats were never this salty! It was as if she went mad and forgot sugar exists! How could-

“Well well, look what we have here.” Otis froze, eyes widening at the sound. Turning slowly, he found Vlad leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and brow raised. Something smug was in his eyes despite his expression being flat. “Uncle Otis- to spit out Aunt Nelly’s hard work like that- and into the sink. How shameful.”

“V-Vladmir! I thought- it’s not- why aren’t you-” The blonde sputtered, looking at the front door and back to the young man watching him.

“Henry’s out visiting his cousin this weekend.” Vlad jerked his chin towards the plate. “And I lied. Aunt Nelly didn’t make those cookies. I did.”

“What?” Otis reeled back in shock, betrayal cutting into him like a stake.

“Yep. I used her recipe, but I accidentally mixed up the sugar and salt.” There was nothing accidental in that tone. “Maybe I dropped an additional cup in there too for good measure- I’ve never been much of a baker.”

“You poisoned me!” Otis declared in horror, backing away into the stove. “Why, Vladimir?”

“It’s like you’ve taught us in class, Uncle Otis. If you unfairly tax the people of a country, they’re gonna fight back.” Vlad let his lips quirk up in a small victorious smirk. “Your Uncle Tax has reached a high point it shouldn’t have crossed.”

“Oh…so this is how I die…” Otis sank to the floor, a hand grasping his chest. “Betrayed by my own blood, at the mercy of my greed.” He closed his eyes, letting his head fall forward. “Eu tu, Brute?”

“Liberty, freedom. Tyranny is dead.” Vlad replied, fighting down a grin as he watched his uncle fake-twitch in death. “You weren’t even gonna share, either. I could hear your thoughts without even having to read your mind!”

“So it seems…I’ve been bested.” Otis peeked up at him through blonde locks, a smirk of his own starting to form on his lips. “But alas, I am no mere mortal Vladmir. For I…am a god!” He was across the room in seconds-

The space Vlad once held was empty. Looking up, Otis turned to the living room, finding the younger boy on the defense.

“What kind of death scene was that?” He cried, yelping when Otis sped towards him again, just evading an outstretched hand. “What are you, a zombie?”

“No, but I am a vampire! A vampire who feeds off the betrayal of his own!” Otis darted again and again, each time just missing Vlad but getting closer. “And you’ve proven to be quite the feast I’m looking for, Vladimir!”

“You’re so freaking- AH!” Vlad yelped when the back of his hoodie was snatched, stopping him from bolting around the couch a third time. There was a tussle, limbs flailing and the world spinning. Finally, Vlad found himself pinned to the couch, eyes wide as Otis loomed over with long, wiggling fingers. “U-Uncle Otis! You don’t need to dohohoho this!” He giggled out, trying to squirm away.

“What’s so funny? I never thought you’d be the type to laugh in the face of death, Vladimir.” Otis smirked, all teeth before he attacked, hands flying over his Nephew’s torso. Vlad arched before letting out an honest to god scream, the sound dissolving into relentless laughter as he flailed and kicked beneath his uncle’s cruel clutches.

“GEhahahahahahhahahha! Whahahhahit! Whahahhaait Uncle Ohoohohohotis I’m shahahhhahahrry!” He cried out, cheeks already flushing a pretty shade of pink as he laughed. “Coohohoohohme on, quuhuhuhuhuhuit ihihihiihihihiht!”

“What? You’re sorry? After all that planning? My you give up too easily, Vladimir!” Otis chuckled alongside him, his fingers finding that awful spot along his lower ribs just to hear those adorable bird chirps. “Then again, this could just be your way of sneaking away for your next line of attack!”

“Maahahahhahybe it is, mahahahhaybe it ihihihihihisn’t!” Vlad wheezed around a snort, his hands shooting down when Otis prodded at his belly. “Nahhahahaha doohohoohohon’t!”

“Ah, so a non-answer eh? I know how to handle these!” Otis shot his hands up and under Vlad’s hoodie, further driving his nephew into hysterics as his fingers danced across his belly. “Now, are you ready to give up, Vladimir?”

“GHEHAHHAHAHAHAHA! OHOOHOHOHOHOHTIS PLEHEHEHEHAHAHHASE!” Vlad squealed, his laugh going near silent from just how ticklish everything was.

“I’m waiting, Vladimir.”

“FIHIHIHIIHNE FIHIIHIHIHINE YOU WIHIHIHIIHN! I GIHIHIHIIHVE UP!” Vlad cried out, gasping for air when Otis retracted his hands, ending his tickling. The smaller vampire curled into himself, rolling onto his side and falling off the cushions. “Gahhaha…ahahaha…mehehehean!”

“So is tampering with goldy relics.” Otis reminded, making his nephew giggle. “Did you really do that because of the Uncle Tax thing?”

“Hehe…heh…y-yeah?” Vlad rolled onto his back, pushing his bangs back with a tired hand. “And I’d do it again too.”

“Pfft- a true rebel in the making.” Otis laughed, poking Vlad in the belly before standing up, offering a hand. “Really though, I am sorry if I pushed it too far, Vladimir.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for eh…poisoning you.” Vlad snorted sheepishly, smoothing out his clothes. “Though it was kinda funny watching you rinse your mouth out with the sink hose.”

“It’s quite- hey!” Otis mock glared as Vlad cackled, shaking his head. “Fine fine, all is forgiven. Now, come help me put in dinner. We’ll make a proper batch of cookies after all our hard work.”

“Sounds good! I’ll add the sugar!” Vlad grinned, doubling over in mirth when Otis gave him a stink eye. “I’m kidding!”

The second batch turned out much sweeter.

Thanks for reading!

[ladyredmoon13]

I would just like to add that even if Danny was Bruce's child I don't see him outright trying to take him/her away from Vlad. They have an obvious bond, he will not separate them.

I can totally see Bruce actually sitting down with Vlad and Danny (maybe with lawyers, maybe without) to try and find some common ground. Maybe they decide on a co-parenting situation. (They just found out that Danny has more family after losing what they thought was all her family. Vlad is not going to deprive her of such.)

They could move to Gotham ( Vlad has been meaning to spruce up the Gotham DalvCo branch anyways) Tim would more than likely offer to let them live in Drake Manner because it is literally next door.

Danny goes over there whenever to spend time with his/her new siblings and get to know her birth father. Danny eventually starts staying over for movie nights. Then over a weekend or two. After awhile Vlad would go on business trips and leave Danny with the Waynes.

Things are good. Danny is happier than he/she has ever been since the NB accident. He/she is in therapy, has made some new friends(both living and dead), and has a wonderfully large( and chaotic) family. Everything was great.

That is, until tripped and opened a secret door hidden behind a grandfather clock. Oh hell...

DCxDP promt

The Baby Bank

- I think I'm watching to much paternity court. Can be written as a female Danny fic.

A world-renowned fertility clinic and sperm bank have made headlines worldwide for all of the wrong reasons. Apparently, they had been stealing samples from men for almost two decades, and it wasn’t just any men they were collecting from. Wealthy men of power such as actors, senators, and billionaires were all targeted specifically by the facility.

Billionaires like Bruce Wayne, who's name had been leaked to the media just after the story went global. His kids were on the verge of having an emergency family meeting about Bruce's lack of proper protection before the clinics 'methods' of 'sample gathering' came to light.

So they decided to just leave it be after that. Still, they decide to help B find any possible Waynes out there. After all if they were family, then they were family.

To start, Tim hacked into the clinic's systems and tracks down Bruce's files. It takes longer than expected, as it turned out the unwilling/unknowing donors were all hidden in amongst the fertility files.

With a bit of reading they find out that Bruce's sample was only used a handful of times. But due to outside circumstances out of the clinic's control only one child was alive and well at that time.

The only problem was that B was not the only unknowing donor for that child. Reading the patient file showed that the samples were experimentally mixed before fertilizing the patients egg. Who the hell would think that was a good idea was still up in the air but it still didn't change the fact that it was still a 50/50 chance of them being Lex Luthors child.

Cue Danny Fenton just a couple of months after losing his/her friends and family finding out that she was one of those donor babies everyone was talking about. Vlad is shocked but reassured that everything was going to be ok.

They send Danny’s DNA for testing but insisted that it be done by one of his labs to prevent tampering. (and to keep Danny’s halfa status under the table.) Of course Vlad being Vlad gets the courts involved because even though he was appointed Danny’s legal guardian.

If either man can prove that Danny is, in fact, their child. Then Vlad will have no power to stop them from taking him/her away from him.

So the court day comes and Danny is just a mess. He/She feels that everything is just stacking up higher and higher to just fall right on top of him/her.

The results were in and confirmed Danny’s fears. Jack Fenton, the man who raised him/her; was not the father. Danny is devastated and Vlad comforts Danny the best he can, but knows that it was going to get worse before it ever got better.

The judge handling the proceedings was nice enough to pause the hearing to let Danny cry. Bruce wants nothing more than to comfort the teen and his maybe child. One glance over in Luthors direction confirmed the same.

No matter the outcome of today's ruling Danny's life will be forever charged. Danny just wants to wake up from this horrible dream but knows that's not an option.

So with a heavy heart, he/she composes themselves and chooses to continue with the proceedings. With a nod, the judge continues." The envelopes in my hands contain the result of the paternity tests done by DALV Co. and they read as follows..."

- I'm just going to leave the ending to you guys. However you want it to end is how it will end. But personally, I'm all for Bruce. Even though Danny being a Luthor would be interesting to say the least.

[echo-of-sounds]

So, I’m really trying to finish Quick Comfort ch.13 but I keep thinking about a threesome with Hound Dog and Vlad King. I don’t want to write it right now because, oh my god, I need to finish this damn chapter even if it kills me.

I don’t even know if people ship them together or want them at once (since they are minor characters) but I do so badly all of a sudden. I saw one fanart of Vlad that really got me going and now I want them. I hate it.

I do know that when I write it, it’ll be longer than just a small drabble. I promise to all seven of you who will read it.

[daydream-cement]

Hiii! I know you’re not taking requests right now so this is for whenever you have the time ! (Or even if you want to:) ) but I absolutely loved the Weems x student reader platonic fluff so much! Would you consider writing one surrounding a student who came out to their parents during parent weekend, it didn’t go well and their parents caused a scene? And then just some protective/mama bear Larissa would be so cute ! Have a great day/night!

Momma Bear

Characters: Larissa Weems x student!reader

Authors Note: This fic may be triggering for LGBTQ readers. I wanted to filter out some of the more painful elements, so everyone feels safe reading.

Your parents voices rung around in your head as you stared at the floor. You mother specifically had begun yelling, causing the whole quad to go quiet, listening in on her harsh words. Parent's Weekend had been going so well, you thought it would have been the perfect time to come out to them. Your time at Nevermore had brought you so many new supportive friendships that you felt like you could finally be yourself.

Your parents has caused you so much embarrassment in that moment with their behavior, but you were astonished when Principal Weems stepped in. Literally, she stepped between you and your parents, shielding you with her tall form.

"Mr. and Mrs. L/n, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Principal Weems offered a diplomatic smile, but like with most people, your parents found it hard to argue with her, "I prefer not to have people making a scene in my courtyard. Your child has been a wonderful student here and I'd rather not have their progress backtracked due to your unscrupulousness."

Your mothers mouth gaped and your fathers look soured. They were absolutely furious that your Principal was speaking to them like this with such a bright smile on her face.

"Once again, I believe your Parent's Weekend is over. I'm sure Coach Vlad can see you out." Larissa held up a hand, inviting Coach Vlad to come stand next to her. His serious demeanor the exact opposite of Larissa.

Principal Weems turned around to face you, her smile was softer when she looked down at you, "Let's go for a walk, y/n."

You nod, eyes staring down at Weems' high heels.

-----

Principal Weems and you sat side by side in the gardens on a bench. You carefully glanced up at your principal, she was looking around the gardens, allowing a silence to grow between the two of you. Probably waiting for you to talk to her first.

"I tried coming out to them." You explain the reason for your parents yelling, "They... They didn't take it well."

"Mhmm..."

Your principal wasn't all that comforting you thought to yourself. Principal Weems seems nice enough, but she always seemed so serious.

"You know... My mother wasn't too happy when I came out to her either..." Principal Weems drew your attention in, making you feel better knowing she had experienced something similar, "I ended up finding a different 'mom' of sorts..."

Principal Weems looked down at you, her head tilted, "Sometimes the people we are born to aren't our real family. Nevermore... This is my family. You are apart of our Nevermore family too."

You felt tears began to pool in your eyes, but you really didn't want to cry in front of Principal Weems. Gently you lean your head into her arm, hiding your face in her sleeve.

Principal Weems pulled you into a hug. Your head rested against her shoulder and Weems' arms hugged you tight. She continued to speak to you, "As your mom, I'm telling you that I'm so very proud of you for sharing all of yourself with us. You are so incredible. You have come so far since coming to Nevermore."

She placed her hands on your shoulders, drawing you away so she could look into your eyes, "Now I want you to go back to the festivities. I've been told they will be serving dessert soon and I don't want you to miss that."

With that final statement, you went back in for another hug, squeezing Principal Weems a little tighter this time. You even felt Principal Weems press a kiss to your temple.

"Thank you, Principal Weems..." You murmur against her jacket.

"Anything for one of my babies..."

[jerryboo]

DLS characters as parents! (pt 4 Noe)

Noe:

- honestly never thought he would ever be a father

- fakes an air of ease around laia

- he’s actually shit scared-

- misses his parents a lot and wishes they could have seen him as a father

- but he knows internally that they’re both extremely proud of him :’)

- will hold his child in the strangest ways just to see them giggle

- this nearly gives laia a heart attack when she sees them

- but they both know that noe will never compromise his child’s safety

- loves calling his child offspring for some reason

- “LAIA OUR OFFSPRING IS CRYING” - noe

- will get into daily diaper changing fights with laia

- they both look to shove the baby into each other hands as soon as they get a whiff of a smelly diaper

- when that fails - they both get into elaborate rock, paper, scissors games that usually ends with noe losing

- laia claims she beat him using ‘psychology’ but it’s really just him purposely losing - he loves his wife

- when the baby cries at night it’s always noe, he never wakes up laia and lets her sleep

- somehow some sort of baby whisperer

- makes vlad come over every weekend because the baby needs ‘peaceful vibes’

- vlad agrees, it’s a noe + laia child, chaos reigns in that house

- as the child grows up, noe is more of a friend to them than a father

- imagine gilmore girls but with noe

- makes them cool tools and lets them tinker around his workspace

- teaches them to never be prejudiced to any group of beings - laia snorts at this remembering noe’s hate for humans

- that child is attached to noe by the hip literally will not let him go, follows him everywhere

- raises an extremely snarky and curious child

- noe himself is worse than a teenager so his child just skips that whole stage

- tells his kid to beat up any bully and to stand up for himself and his friends

- laia hates that and teaches them conflict resolution instead

- noe’s behind laia’s back rolling his eyes and yawning at her speech, thus effectively distracting the child and drawing laia’s ire

- very surprisingly the stricter parent if they do something really wrong

- will remind them how privileged they are to have the life they have and that they shouldn’t do anything wrong to throw it away

- always makes sure to organise monthly trips for his child with all his aunts and uncles ( aka leo, sandra and vlad)

- does not trust babysitters at all and will drag them everywhere

- loves giving them dating tips but freaks out when they get a partner

- usually ends with him silently sobbing about how they’re growing up too fast

- laia is torn between consoling him and laughing at him.

Thank you so so much for enjoying and liking my work!! I am so incredibly happy to be able to bring all of you some joy through these! I will do more domestic bliss scenarios but if any of ya’ll have any specific requests do tell me! I’d love to try my best! Thank you again! <3

[mischiefandspirits]

Twaumatized

Based on this

Includes: Implied/Referenced Torture (its all offscreen and barely hinted at, but I'm mentioning it anyway), Worldbuilding, Dissection (again, offscreen), No character death, No Angst because I can't write angst even in a dissection fic, Morbid humor, and Mute Danny Fenton

While the news had reached some of Casper High before it, the anguished scream on Monday morning was really what signaled everyone knowing.

Almost everyone in the hall spun to Paulina as she collapsed to the ground in a wailing fit.

“What’s wrong with her?” Dash asked Star, who was standing over her friend looking horrified.

“Mi-mi amor!” Paulina sobbed, waving Star’s phone around. “My Phantom! He’s dead!”

“Well, he is a ghost. Wasn’t that a given?” Kwan chuckled and Paulina threw the phone at his head.

“What’s going on?” Dash asked Star again.

“The-the Fentons. They released a report last night. It’s all over the news. They… They teamed up with that huntress chick with the flying board and caught Phantom on Friday afternoon. He-he-”

“They killed him!” Paulina hissed. “They destroyed my love! My Phantom!”

More horrified shrieks rang out and people dug through their pockets and bags for their phones.

Dash snatched up Star’s and started looking over the article that was pulled up. Kwan wrapped his arm around Star and his girlfriend buried her face in his chest. Valerie hid her smirk in her locker. Mikey ran off, his hand over his mouth. Sam and Tucker stared at the A-listers for a solid minute before turning to their friend.

Danny, having been the only one who hadn’t turned to Paulina, was putting his English book into his bag and closing his locker.

“Danny?” his friends said.

The words echoed through the near-silent hall and Dash’s head snapped up.

“Fentoni!” he growled, marching up to the trio. “What the hell is this? This better be your parents making crap up again!”

Danny ignored him as he turned to leave.

The jock grabbed for him, but Valerie pulled him back. “Leave him alone, Baxter. It’s not on him that your crush got vaporized.”

“Of course you’re protecting him,” Star snapped. “You’ve hated Phantom since day one. I bet you’re happy he’s gone!”

“Yeah, I am. Good riddance! That ghoul will never bother us again.”

“Phantom is a hero!” Paulina spat.

“He was a monster,” Valerie shot back.

Dash spun on Danny, only to find Manson and Foley alone. “Where’d Fenton go?”

The two were shocked to see their friend had disappeared so Dash pushed past them and ran for Lancer’s classroom, the rest of the class following on his heels.

When they reached the door, Lancer was passing Danny a paper with a sigh. “This better be real.”

He nodded with a smile and tucked the paper into his backpack. He tried to go to his desk, but Dash intercepted him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

“Mr. Baxter!” Lancer snapped, jumping to his feet.

“We’ve got questions so you better start talking.” When Danny just stared blankly at him, he gave the smaller boy a shake. “Talk.”

“He can’t,” Lancer said, grabbing Dash’s arm. “Mr. Fenton suffered an injury to his lungs over the weekend and is currently unable to talk. Now set him down.”

Dash huffed and set him down roughly as the bell rang. “This isn’t over, Fenton.”

“What is this all about?” Lancer asked.

“His parents killed Phantom,” Nathan said, pointing at the boy as he took his seat.

Danny rolled his eyes and took out his phone.

“You think murder’s funny, freak?” Star spat.

“That’s enough. This is neither the time nor place,” Lancer said shakily, but he was ignored as everyone started yelling.

“Who’s going to protect Amity now?

“It’s not murder, he’s a ghost!”

“How can you even sleep? Isn’t your parents' lab in your house?”

“I bet you helped them, didn’t you!”

It went on for a few minutes before an air horn sounded. The class ducked their heads and clapped their hands over their ears. They turned to see Danny smiling smugly at them. As soon as he released the trigger, he held up his phone.

“You’re all complete and utter morons. Can we start class now?” a robotic voice stated.

Lancer cleared his throat. “Yes, while the insult was hardly necessary, Mr. Fenton is right. All of you, to your seats.”

They followed orders, but most of the students continued to glare at Danny throughout both the class and the days to come. Valerie tried to stick by him, but Sam and Tucker both glared her off while Danny ignored her at every turn.

Sam and Tucker tried to talk to him, but all he would tell them was that he was fine. That Frostbite had looked him over and gave him the all-clear and he’d already talked everything out with Jazz.

He didn’t tell them that she was heading back to Amity, having easily convinced her teachers to let her finish the semester online since she was already so far ahead in class. That she and Vlad -- of all people -- had teamed up to get Jazz custody of Danny. That his parents hadn’t even noticed the papers Vlad had slipped them to sign, too excited about their latest victory.

Probably for the best. Jazz had plenty of reasons lined up for why she was taking custody, but the longer it took for their parents to notice, the harder it would be for them to fight it.

He didn’t find any of that nearly as important as the fact that his friends kept saying his parents nearly killed him while his classmates kept saying they had done it.

Nor as morbidly hilarious.

His parents had done a lot to him, but killing had never been on the examination table.

Ha, dissection pun. See, morbidly hilarious.

As it were, everything came to a head at lunch on Wednesday when a white-black-green blur shot through the ceiling and smashed a cafeteria table.

The students stared at the table, half-tempted to run in fear and half-tempted to get closer in hope.

That had been a very familiar blur.

Then the ghost popped it’s head up and both fear and hope were replaced by confusion. The ghost girl’s hair was white like Phantom’s, but her bangs hung even more into her face by virtue of being chin length and the rest was pulled into a braid that nearly reached her waist. She had Phantom’s face, but her figure was distinctly feminine and she looked like she would have been a head shorter than the ghost boy. Instead of a suit, she wore a white hoodie dress with green melting letters spelling Boo! on the front and a black Phantom logo patch on the shoulder. Underneath she wore black leggings and white boots.

She gave them all an awkward smile and rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh, sorry about that. I can’t always control my flight when I’m sleepy.”

“Phantom?” Paulina asked.

“Uh, kinda,” the ghost chuckled. “I’m Dani, er, Danielle that is. Danielle Phantom. Danny’s my cousin.”

“Ghosts can have cousins?” someone said as the popular girl ran over to hug Dani, tears in her eyes.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for your loss!”

“Loss?” Dani asked, phasing through the other girl’s grip and floating up so she couldn’t get grabbed again.

“You haven’t heard?” Dash asked. “The Fenton’s they, uh…”

“Oh, yeah, I heard about that. It’s why I’m here. I wanted to see how Danny’s doing after all that.”

There was silence. No one knew how to tell her.

Finally, Valerie took a step forward. “Dani -”

“Nope,” the ghost girl cut over her as she slowly spun around, eyes taking in the cafeteria. She smiled and said, “Well, if you guys see my cousin, let him know I’m looking for him.”

“You’re not going to find him,” Star said. “He… He’s dead.”

Dani frowned and turned to her. “Uh, duh, has been for two years or so. What’s your point?”

“No, I meant he’s gone. The Fenton’s destroyed him.”

The ghost girl stared blankly at her, then looked around at the others. “What?”

“It’s true,” Kwan said.

“You… You all think the Fenton’s killed Danny?”

There were nods from all around, barring one table.

Dani laughed. “Wow, you’re all complete and utter morons.” She dug into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a phone. “I’ve got to text Youngblood about this. Man, humans are wild.”

“I think she’s in denial,” Mikey said and a few of the other nerds nodded.

“I’m not in denial. You're all just stupid.” She put her phone away and looked them over again. “Right, I guess I’ll have to do this since someone in this room clearly has decided to keep his mouth shut. Probably because the situation is hilarious. Normally I’d go along with it, but I’m guessing if you’re all convinced, then the Fenton’s are too and I’m not about to give them that satisfaction.

“Alright, do any of you even know what a ghost is?” she pointed at Valerie when she tried to answer. “And I’m not talking to you because you’ve proven you’re a bigger idiot than most.”

“They’re creatures made of ectoplasm?” a jock offered.

“Well yeah, but that goes for anyone from the ghost zone. I’m saying a ghost specifically.”

“Wait, not everything in the ghost zone is a ghost?” Valerie asked.

“I thought I already told you not to talk,” Dani said. “Come on, no one knows what a ghost is?”

“Manifestations of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness,” Sam said sarcastically.

“In simpler terms,” Dani snorted. “Come on, basic dictionary definition people.”

“Ghost, noun, the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness,” Nathan said.

“Yes, thank you, a ghost is a dead person, obviously,” Dani said, clapping.

“Everyone knows that. What’s your point?” a cheerleader asked.

Dani rolled her eyes. “My point is: how on earth do you people expect to kill someone twice? Danny died two years ago. He literally can’t get any deader.”

“But you can destroy a ghost,” Valerie said.

“Uh, no, you can’t. Like I said, stupid.”

“The Fenton’s have destroyed plenty of ghosts before,” the secret ghost hunter growled.

“Correction, they’ve destroyed entities. Very different. Entities are living creatures, just ones made of ectoplasm. They’re basically the ghost zone’s version of humans and animals. And since they’re living, they can die. Unless they have a stable tie to a ghost, like myself. Then it gets weird with technicalities and can be entirely different for every entity. I really don’t have the time or patience to explain exactly how killable I am. Just know that I’m a living creature, but ghosts like my cousin are dead, and therefore immune to death via having already been there and done that.”

“The Fenton’s report said they vaporized Phantom,” Mikey said.

“Well, yeah, I’m sure the Fentons destroyed all his ectoplasm, the fu-uh-udging jerks, but that’s not going to destroy a ghost. They might manifest within the zone or human world through the use of ectoplasm, but their consciousness exists in a plane of existence within the zone that can’t be touched. If a ghost’s ectoplasm is destroyed, they’ll simply reform within their lair. Might take a day or two depending on how strong they are, but they’ll be back to full power soon enough.”

“So mi armor is alright,” Paulina gasped, clutching her chest and Dani mouthed mi amor. “Why has he not shown himself? Is he so strong that he’s taking longer?”

“Actually, the stronger a ghost is, the faster they reform. Danny probably didn’t take a day. No, if he knows what’s going on -- and I’m sure he does -- then he’s probably sitting back enjoying the show. He’s probably got plenty of Quit telling everyone I’m dead jokes lined up for the next time he’s spotted. I know I would and the two of us are crazy similar. Also, it’s common courtesy to leave a ghost’s haunt alone for a few days if they have to reform, so he likely hasn’t had a reason to show up.”

“How could none of the ghost hunters know you can’t kill a ghost?” someone asked.

Dani raised an eyebrow. “Have you met the Fentons? They're some of the best hunters in the world and they don’t know the difference between an entity and a ghost. The parents at least. Their kids are smart enough to have actually asked a ghost how any of this works.”

Many turned to look at Danny, only to see the boy resting his chin in his hand and looking entirely too pleased with the proceedings.

Mr. Lancer’s first-period class suddenly remembered a similarly smug Danny calling them all idiots the same way Dani had and knew he’d be laughing at them if he could make a sound.

“If entities are living creatures, then the hunters really have been murdering people?” Star asked.

“Eh, not as far as I’m aware. Sapient entities don’t really like being in this world any more than you like being in the zone. Everything just feels off, unsettling, unnatural. Entities tied to ghosts don’t have that problem since ghosts bridge the gap, but again, we tend to be unkillable in our own rights. So really the entities that hunters usually end up with are the non-sapient kind that accidentally stumbled through a portal and couldn’t find their way back. So it’s less murder and more animal abuse.”

“Is the ghost you’re tied to Phantom?” Paulina asked.

“Yeah. I’m also tied to my dad, but I’ve been working at cutting that tie.”

“Why would you want to cut ties with your dad?” Kwan asked.

“Because he tried to kill me.”

The bell rang before anyone could react.

“Well, that’s my cue to leave. Tell Phantom I’m here if you see him. Also, tell him to stop hiding like a jerk and just get the jokes over with.” Dani waved goodbye then flew back up through the roof.

Dash turned on Danny as soon as she was gone. “You could have told us Phantom wasn’t dead, Fentina!”

Danny blinked innocently and made an X over his throat.

“You know what I mean!”

He smirked and typed into his text to speech app.

“And lose Phantom his chance to make a Quit telling everyone I’m dead joke? Never.”

With that, he stood up and left the room, his friends chasing after him.

“Danny Fenton, you jerk, get back here and explain all that!” Sam shouted as they slipped through the doors.

The news spread quickly from the school. While the Fentons waved it off as nonsense, other haters were less sure and the rest watched the skies with hope.

It wasn’t until Friday that Phantom finally showed his face.

At first, people weren’t even sure the ghost that had shown up alongside Dani to fight Technus was even Phantom.

The ghost was covered in short white fur and had curling horns that seemed to be made of ice. His face was blank except for a single pure green eye on the right side of his face, which had black markings trailing from it like he’d been crying tar. His chest was caved in, like his ribs were smashed in.

Or removed.

Then people noticed the way the silver hair on his head was in Phantom’s style, though his bangs fell to his chin like Dani’s. They noticed that the ragged black pants he wore were the torn remains of his suit. They noticed the Phantom logo on the gear-shaped pendant necklace hanging from his neck.

He was completely silent, which fueled the idea he wasn’t Phantom, though he often made gestures that ticked off Technus while making Dani laugh.

Several people called out to the Phantoms when the fight was over.

Dani glanced at Danny, who shrugged, then they came down near the ground.

Lance Thunder was the first to reach them alongside his cameraman and asked the obvious question, “Are you really Phantom?”

Danny’s eye squinted with amusement and Dani smirked.

“Yes,” she said. “I am Phantom. Dani Phantom. With an I.”

Danny nudged her, shoulders shaking and she gestured towards him.

“And this is my brother. Also Danny Phantom, but with a y. Clearly the inferior spelling.”

He wrapped his arm around her neck and dug his knuckles into the top of her head.

“I, uh,” Lance glanced between them. “We had heard that you were cousins.”

“Nah, we changed our minds,” she said, squirming away. “We’re siblings now.”

“If he’s Phantom why does he look like that?” someone from the crowd shouted.

Danny made a few gestures and Dani shushed him.

“That reference isn't as funny if I say it for you.”

“What’d he say?” Lance asked.

Danny gestured her forward and she sighed.

She threw her hands up and announced, “He’s been twaumatized!”

He doubled over with silent laughter and she rolled her eyes.

“It’s not that funny, you dork,” she huffed and shoved him hard enough to send him spinning. “Also, Sissy is going to have another conversation with us about using humor as a coping mechanism if you keep it up.”

“Can you explain?” Lance said.

“We can, the question is should we?” Dani asked Danny, who shrugged and made a few signals. “Yeah, alright. So a ghost’s form is modeled after their mental state. Trauma alters a person’s mental state. Therefore, trauma alters a ghost’s form. Danny went through some trauma a week ago, hence he now looks like our yeti friends with some Clockwork thrown in for good measure.”

He nodded and thumbed one of the watches lining his left forearm.

“It’s not that unusual. Ghosts change all the time. Technus did it awhile back. It’s usually not this drastic, but hey, it’s not every day a ghost wakes up to find themself on an examination table with their chest carved out like a pumpkin.”

Rubbing his chest, Danny shrugged. He made a few gestures.

“Is that sign language?” Lance asked.

“Eh, kind of,” she said, making a so-so motion. “The Ghost Zone has a universal language. Not all ectoplasmic beings can speak it, but all of them can understand it. Since he already knew it and can no longer speak, his body is naturally translating it into sign language. I still hear it as if he were speaking English though. Which is nice because it means I don’t actually have to see him to get what he’s saying, but I have absolutely no idea how it even works. He is learning ASL though.”

“Why can he not speak? Does it have to do with not believing he has a voice after the trauma he went through?” a woman shouted from the crowd.

The Phantom’s blinked at her, then turned to each other.

“Sissy would like this one,” Dani said before facing the crowd and setting her hand on his chest. “Lady, he’s got no lungs. No lungs mean no breathing. No breathing means no talking. It ain’t that deep.”

The song “Spooky Scary Skeletons” started playing and Dani pulled a phone out of her pocket. She answered the call with, “The better Phantom speaking… Oh, hey, Sissy.” After a second she pulled the phone away slightly and gave Danny a look. “Sissy’s watching the broadcast and I was right, she’s not happy about the traumatized joke.”

Danny made a few gestures.

“I’m not telling her that. You can tell her when we get home.” She put the phone back to her ear. “Yeah… Okay, we’ll be right there. Bye, love you.”

As she put the phone away, someone asked, “Was that your sister? How many family members do you have?”

“Yeah, she’s our older sister. It’s just the three of us since we kicked our parents out for filicidal reasons. Clockwork’s kind of Danny’s weird legal guardian/grandfather/guardian angel/court-appointed babysitter/thing, but he refuses to be called grandpa and won’t freeze time for Sissy and I so we can take naps like he does for Danny so I don’t know if he counts. Anyways, we’ve got to go now. Bye!”

Danny waved and the two flew off.

“Freeze time?” someone said.

“Their parents tried to kill them? That’s what filicidal means right? What the heck?” someone else added.

“Did she insinuate yeti are real?” a third muttered.

With that, the crowd began to disperse, groups discussing the events as a city-hired work crew pulled up in trucks to clean up after the fight.

Just another day in Amity Park, a nice place to live.

[cynicaldesire]

So what are your thoughts on season 4? Lay them on me!

My husband and I binged the entire Season 4 over the course of the weekend. We watched 6 episodes, then the last 4. We had a lot of feelings on it for a lot of reasons, mostly because I’m a writer, my husband is an artist, and we’re both critics because we have created work in the past.

My husband’s final rating was 6/10, wouldn’t watch it again but he wanted to give credit to the animators and staff that worked on it. I said I would give it a 4/10. It was so... disappointing. I’m gonna go on a bunch of rants about why I was displeased, so if you want to maintain your positive experience, you don’t have to continue.

So, before I get into the writing, I just want to point out that the sound design, music, and voice acting were all either poorly mixed because of COVID in-home booths or just shitty. The music didn’t pop off with any homages to actual game music and I couldn’t hear it most of the time. The voice acting of most of the cast was pretty great, but I hate Alucard’s voice. The murmuring breathy whispers of most of the cast is just annoying to me, but that’s a personal preference, I know. But a lot of other things didn’t have proper weight or punch to match what was happening.

The animation was also wildly inconsistent. My husband pointed out, again, COVID, so the animators were all probably working from home on deadlines and the Art Director, the guy meant to keep all the art on-model and consistent, probably wasn’t available to check work and send it back to the animators for changes. Or, there wasn’t sufficient time between when the animators sent there work in for changes to be requested. Don’t get me wrong, like with the voice cast, some of the animation was fucking sick, but it was just weighed down by all the poorly masked 3D shortcuts or off-model art.

(One of the things I kept thinking of when gore would happen was the Mortal Kombat devs that got PTSD from having to look at images of gore for the Fatalities. And I was like this isn’t worth all that. Fuck.)

Greta was fine, but she seemed flat. I’ve made her character before and been disappointed in how cool and nonchalant she is. She seems to be too good and relaxed at everything going on. That might’ve been the voice actor, but honestly? She fell flat for me. I didn’t not like her, she just didn’t feel very... well written? Like I said, she reminded me very much of a character I would make at first pass. And while I don’t mind or disagree with the choice to make her a love interest or even a close friend of Alucard, there was not enough buildup for it. Probably because she felt so flat to me.

Overall, on the writing front, I will say that it felt very... first draft. Like no one had an opportunity to look it over and say “Maybe don’t give Saint Germain’s whole motivation and backstory in episode 3?” Or not telegraphing the Death inclusion, or like... There’s so much that was just so poorly handled to me. There’s so many ways I personally would have done it differently or how it could’ve been handled better. There were so many characters that just stated their motivations and repeated them over and over again.

Isaac: ends last season hating humanity and having no reason to challenge that belief. Hates Hector for betraying Dracula. Full of hate and rage. This season: Opens with all his Night Creatures repairing a city, earing berries, and completely at peace with his past and his life. Flyseyes is there for ONE scene and never heard from again. And Isaac literally goes from that to invading Carmilla’s castle to DISAPPEARING. WHY?

The sequence with Isaac invading Carmilla’s castle was hilarious, too. Who the fuck is the hot demon? Some demon from the Wiki. Whomst were the fuckin human blokes with crossbows? Literally just human blokes with crossbows that they hired from a town somewhere else because apparently they didn’t have enough forces??????? The ring Hector ends up cutting off is never actually shown to force him to do something against his will? The fucking slave ring is also openly displayed in a bunch of other places and never utilized. It’s a useless McGuffin.

Carmilla descended into madness, or progressed through her logical steps violently due to solitude? And then when Lenore asks her what her motivations are, Carmilla tries to be coy and not answer the question so they end up having the same dialogue like 4 times? Lenore is somehow SURPRISED? Like, all of these people were human at some point, and that shit is never addressed, or if it is, it’s not remembered.

Hector was also here. He made a night creature, helped Isaac kill Carmilla - why did she explode so violently? - and then chilled in the castle the rest of the time. Like, nothing bad happened to him other than his finger. Which, show his hand every time he’s on screen, remind the audience of his injury. Isn’t it cool and edgy and shocking?

Saint Germain being just a shitty carnal entity was boring. He had a girlfriend he wanted to save so he could get laid, SNORE. When they showed her, she looked like Maria from Symphony of the Night, which has an ending that heavily implies her and Alucard hook up, so I was irritated that they coopted her appearance for this woman with no speaking lines that led Saint Germain to the Infinite Corridor.

Like, everything around Saint Germain’s story was pretty cool. If they hadn’t shown up literally in episode 3 through a sudden flashback his story and his motivations and also he’s the villain, the mystery of what he was doing was interesting. And for it to all just be told to us upfront? And then he just fucking died?

I had no fucks to give for Varney/Death. Death is not mentioned at any point before this season, he shows up seemingly randomly at the end as the Big Bad, and he’s just a big skeleton asshole. Ratko was at least a little interesting, but also wtf was he there for?

I also didn’t much care for Zamfir. I felt like there should’ve been two characters in her place. If one of them was crazy and the other was following their orders without knowing they were crazy? Cool. If she was crazy and didn’t ACKNOWLEDGE she was crazy? Better than what we got. The knights and the Underground Court and all the shit with Targoviste? Boring. Because, specifically, it demands a lot of suspension of disbelief that I didn’t have at that point.

Who the fuck was Dragan? What were all the monsters attacking the castle? Awful convenient for Alucard to have a shield now. He also had a bunch of skill from the SotN game, like the wolf form and the winged cape. Why did that one vampire have big bat wings and never again? Why did Varney call like literally everybody on the mirror phones? Why did he know to do that? Why did Saint Germain know him? WHERE DID TREVOR GET THE OTHER WHIP?

Trevor and Sypha were honestly probably the best handled. Sypha was herself but bigger and stressed. Trevor was also very tired and still a monster hunter. My husband was very happy with the “We’re just two sides of the same coin” philosophy Trevor had with Death, like Geralt feeling like a monster because he’s a Witcher. The idea that they aren’t exactly human and cause so much death but to the monsters. He wanted that explored. I was too busy being frustrated at the huge flashy animation fight to even remember that Trevor had said anything like that.

The magical weapons in Targoviste were cool plot devices. Much like with Varney and the mirrors and so many other things, it felt like they were there because the plot demanded it, not because there was some natural story for it outside of when Trevor and Sypha showed up.

But the single most disappointing thing was Vlad and Lisa living at the end. They didn’t want to see Alucard, absolute shit move regardless of their reasoning. The fact that they still went by Vlad and Lisa Tepes was bound to get back to Alucard somehow. And I... Being in Japan and engaging with a lot of Japanese media, I understand the way they use God is similar to the way they use Spirits, or Kami or something. God being used by a Western author makes it so wildly different. But I’m also... pretty against the idea of God in general, so the whole idea that “God” said Dracula and Lisa deserved a second chance is boring. Like, there’s so much wrong with this ending. It was only there for the shippers, probably.

Anyway. 4/10, wouldn’t watch again.

[deadanddeactivated]

Jocks and Goths

Fandom: Sanders Sides, Highschool au Pairing: Intruality Characters: Thomas, Logan, Remus, Deceit, Roman, Virgil, Patton Notes: Day 17 for @tsshipmonth2020 - intruality.  No this was not written before Dukceit day, I’ve literally written this since posting that.  Sometimes fics take three weeks and sometimes they take two hours.  This took two hours. Summary:   One's a Goth, one's a Jock. They never really meant to become friends.

AO3

--

Even since moving to Sides High, Patton has successfully managed to avoid Remus Duke.  It wasn’t that he didn’t like the guy, although he did find a lot of what Remus said to be… unnerving.  And the other did have really large, very toned, mildly terrifying muscles.  Plus everything he did was loud enough Patton sometimes flinched.

But!  It wasn’t that Patton thought he was bad or anything!!  It’s not bad that Remus is healthy, and it’s not Remus’ fault that Patton overhears things, and maybe Remus’ doesn’t mean to be so loud.  Patton has nothing against the man himself.

Virgil, however, does. 

Patton’s not sure what happened between Virgil and Remus, because it happened before Patton transferred to the school.  He’s pretty sure it had something to do with a romantic relationship?  Whatever it was, it left the two with a horrible, terrible relationship.  They don’t get on, at all.  And since Patton is Virgil’s friend (since Virgil is Patton’s first and only friend) doesn’t that mean Patton has to share that grudge?  Virgil’s never said Patton can’t be friends with Remus, they’ve never even talked about Remus, but Patton’s pretty sure that’s like… a Friend Rule, or something.  

The point is, Patton has managed never to say a word to Remus one way or the other.  A carefully held record that’s ruined when they’re paired up for a history assignment.

Okay, Patton tells himself, this’ll be fine.  It’s just an assignment, surely Virgil won’t mind.  Right?

“Patton Heart, right?”  Remus says his name and it takes everything in Patton not to flinch.

“That’s um, that’s me.”  He mumbles, letting his pastel blue hair fall in his eyes as he avoids looking at Remus.

“Great.”  Remus grins, dragging a seat to Patton’s desk and sitting in it the wrong way round.  “You got your heart set on anything for this because I think we should do Bloody Mary, or maybe Genghis Khan, oh!  Or Vlad the Impaler!” 

“That sounds a bit… graphic.”  Patton says.  For their project they have to represent a historical figure and the impact they had on the world from a ‘unique’ angle (Virgil would probably complain about how vague the word ‘unique’ was, or maybe he’d complain that Patton has to work with Remus for the project.  Should Patton even tell him?)

“Yeah!”  Remus grins, like that’s a positive thing. 

“Can we do someone that didn’t cause so much bloodshed?”  Patton asks. 

“I mean, I guess.  If you can think of anyone more interesting.”  Remus says, sighing like it’s some big request.  

“I, um, I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.”  Patton admits, wincing.  Remus lets out an exaggerated hum.

“Okay, meet me in the library after school.  We can try and find someone.”  He suggests.

“Okay.”  Patton agrees meekly.  Satisfied, Remus gets up from the chair and moves to a different group.  A group that has popular people with tone muscles and busy lives.

God, Patton thinks with a sigh, this is going to be a long project.  Any project with a jock was doomed to be long.

--

“You want to get ice-cream or something?”  Virgil asks Patton after school that day.  Rare is the day Virgil doesn’t have some show rehearsal to get to - lights to set up, props to organize, actors to chase down.  The life of a theatre geek is never boring, he often tells Patton, especially a theatre techie.

Which just makes Patton feel all the worse for having to say no.

“I’m sorry.”  He says.  “I have to work on a group project for history.”

“Who’d you get stuck with?”  Virgil asks.  Patton hesitates but he can’t exactly lie to Virgil, can he?  Just hope that Virgil doesn’t get annoyed.

“...Remus.”  He admits.

“Ouch.”  Virgil says with a wince.  “Good luck keeping him on track for long enough to finish a project.”

“We have to pick a historical figure and everyone he’s suggesting is really gory and brutal.”  Patton says, feeling physical relief that Virgil doesn't seem to care.

“Sounds like Remus.”  Virgil huffs, rolling with his eyes.  “Maybe pick a doctor, that should have enough blood and gore to keep him interested.”

“Oh!”  Patton lights up as an idea comes to him.  “Mary Seacole!  Virgil, you’re the best.”

“I try.”  Virgil grins.

--

Remus likes the idea of doing the unrated nurse from the crimean war and so they quickly get to work.

And they quickly get distracted from work, too, because it seems impossible for Remus to keep his mind on any one thing.  At first it’s… well, Patton doesn’t like it.  He just wants to get this project done and over with.

But then Remus wears him down.

“I’m just saying, names influence who we are in like.  I mean, just look at Ms Maricolt!  She looks like a horse!”  Remus says at some point near the end of the second day and Patton really, really doesn’t mean to laugh because it’s Remus and the joke is a little mean.  But it’s also a pun, and Patton has a soft spot for puns.

“That’s mean.”  He says once he’s collected himself, if only out of principle.

“But it got you to laugh!”  Remus grins.  “And to look at me.”  He adds.  

Oh, Patton realizes as he quickly looks away again.  He hadn’t noticed he hadn’t looked at Remus.

“Aw, no, don’t look away again I like your eyes!  They’re really eye-inspiring.”  The pun is bad, really bad, but Patton still chuckles.

“That was terrible.”  He complains.

“Are you remus-manding.”  Remus continues, grinning.

“Oh my gosh.”  Patton laughs.  “They’re getting worse!”

“Aw, don’t be like that.  I think I’m Patt-on the right direction.”  Remus says.

“I Seacole what you’re doing here, it’s bad.”  Patton returns, laughing at Remus’ gasp.

“Oh it is on goth-boy.”  He decides.  They don’t do any more studying that day, distracted by their pun-off.

--

“So are we meeting up again tomorrow?”  Patton asks the next day as they back up.

“Can’t do tomorrow, I’ve got training.”  Remus shakes his head.  

“Oh, right.”  Patton says.  

“You could come if you want.”  Remus suggests. 

“I don’t think that’s really my crowd.”  Patton mumbles.  He can just picture it now, Patton sitting in his black attire, the only colour his blue hair, while the popular kids are right there.  Definitely within name calling distance.  

Nevermind what Virgil would think.  God, Patton doesn’t even want to imagine how bad his best friend would be.

“You’ll fit in just fine!”  Remus claims.  “Or, maybe not.  But I’ll make sure everyone leaves you alone.”  

“I think Virgil and I were heading out anyway.”  Patton says and then immediately regrets it as a frown takes over Remus’ face.  Like he’s tasted a lemon or something else unpleasant.  Oh no, now Remus was going to hate him.  Maybe he’ll tell Virgil he and Patton were almost-friends and then Virgil will hate him too and Patton will go back to being the friendless loser all over again. 

“Sorry.”  Remus’ voice cuts through his panic, making Patton look up.

“Huh?”  Patton frowns, confused.

“You looked like you were freaking out a bit.”  Remus says.  “I didn’t mean to stress you out.  Virgil and I just don’t get on.  Bad breakup and all that, but that’s on us not you.”

“Oh.”  Patton says, though he can’t say anything Remus just said commuted just now.

“Hey!  Pass me your phone, I’ll put my number in so we can study on the weekend.”  Remus decides, changing the subject before Patton can catch up.  Patton does what he’s told and soon he has a new number in his phone labeled ‘Hot Jock’.  “Alright, I’ll see you then.”

“Okay.”  Patton says.  “Um, bye.”

--

The project lasts two weeks and in those two weeks Patton and Remus chat.  A lot.  They talk during their study sessions, they text each other all the time, Remus even gives him a wave when they pass each other in the hall.

It’s official, they aren’t ‘almost friends’ they’re friends.  In fact Patton… Patton will admit that he might want to be more than that.

Which means Virgil’s definitely going to hate him.

The thought bubbles in his stomach the day after they hand in the assignment.  When Patton has no more excuse for messaging Remus, and yet he doesn’t stop.  How is he meant to explain that to Virgil?

Worse yet are the messages he gets that night, when they should both be asleep.

Want to go out this weekend?

On a date

A romantic date

Patton’s half way through answering ‘yes’ when he stops.

He can’t say yes.  Isn’t there some kind of code against dating exes?  Patton can’t say yes.

Except he super wants to.  Very, very wants to.

Maybe, he thinks, maybe he should ask Virgil first.  Then there���ll be no bad blood, right?  

Patton hopes so.

As for the message to Remus, he doesn’t answer.

--

Virgil and Patton always walk to school together.  They’ve just hit their school’s street when Virgil sighs and stops.

“Okay.”  He says.  “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?”  Patton squeaks.  “Nothings wrong!”

“Patton, I know you better than that.”  Virgil rolls his eyes, crossing his arms.  “Just tell me what’s up.”

“Well…” Patton starts slowly then, with a deep breath, he tries to say it all at once.  “You know how Remus and I were doing that project?  Well we sort of maybe got along and we’re kind of maybe friends, and he asked me out last night.  Like out, out.  And I want to say yes but I know you don’t like him and I don’t want to lose you as a friend, so can I say yes?”

For a moment Virgil just blinks at him, brain trying to commute the word vomit Patton just unleashed.

“Okay,” he finally starts, “let me get this right.  You and Remus are friends, and he asked you out on a date, and you want to say yes but only if I’m okay with it because you don’t want me to be mad you’re dating him?”  He rephrases.  Patton nods.  “Patton, of course you can say yes.”

“You don’t mind?”  Patton checks.

“Not at all.  If you like him, go for it.  We’ll still be friends, I promise.”  Virgil says and Patton feels his shoulders slump a little.

“But didn’t you two date?  Won’t it be weird?”  He asks.

“What?!”  Virgil frowns.  “Remus and I never dated!”

“What?”  Patton frowns right back.  Hadn’t Remus said something about a ‘bad breakup’ the other day?

“We used to be friends, us and Dante.  I dated Dante, and when we broke up the friend joke kind of fell apart.”  Virgil explains.

“Dante?”  Patton repeats.  “The school captain?  I didn’t think he was your type.”  

“He’s not.”  Virgil confirms.  “I just found that out the hard way.”

“Oh, so you haven’t dated Remus and you really don’t mind if I do?”  Patton repeats, just to clarify.

“Patton, even if you dated Dante I’d still be your friend.”  Virgil assures.  “The important thing is that you're happy.”  Patton doesn’t mean to start crying but well, it’s just so nice to hear that.  Especially after the stress of the past couple weeks.  “There, there.  You’ll wreck your make-up.”  Virgil says, even as he pulls Patton in for a hug.

As soon as Patton’s reapplied, he tells Remus he’d love to go on a date.

--

They go ice-skating.  Patton’s a little nervous, because he’s never gone before, but Remus goes all the time so he’s happy to teach.

“Patton, I’m wearing knife shoes.  This is literally my favourite thing.  Except you.”  Remus says, grinning when Patton’s face goes bright red.  They exhaust themselves over the next few hours, skating together and just… enjoying their time.  It’s the most fun Patton’s had in a while.

And when it’s over, and Remus has walked him home, he gets a soft kiss (that quickly turns heavy) to remember it by.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 198: A Pair of Chuunis

Previously on BnHA: Shinsou, Tsuyu, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Kouda (henceforth known as Team A) faced off against Shiozaki, Tsuburaba, Shishida, and Rin (Team B). Kiri, Kouda, and Tsubu were captured, making it 3 VS 3. Tsuyu covered Shinsou and Kami with her disgusting frog mucus in order to mask their scent so class B wouldn’t be able to track their movements. They then purposely allowed Kaminari to get captured as a distraction to let Shinsou get close enough to Shiozaki to ensnare here with his quirk. Realizing what had happened, Shishida stopped talking so as not to fall under Shinsou’s control himself. However this also left him unable to communicate with his remaining teammate, and Rin was shortly thereafter taken out by Tsuyu. Shishida was knocked out shortly after that, and so Team A ended up winning the match, giving class 1-A the lead as we enter the second round.

Today on BnHA: Aizawa and Vlad provide their respective students with constructive criticism following the match. Meanwhile the remaining 8 teams begin to plan out their strategies, including Monoma who is excited to have the chance to work together with Shinsou, particularly after witnessing the first match. It turns out he’s not the only one interested in what Shinsou can do, as Aizawa and Vlad reveal to All Might and Midnight that today’s exercise is doubling as Shinsou’s exam determining whether or not he should be admitted into the hero course. The second round of battles begins, with Team MomoYamaTokoKure facing off against Team KendouKuroMangaToadette. Kendou is excited to be battling Momo, as she considers the two of them to be rivals, and feels that up until now Momo has been outshining her. Meanwhile Kuroiro from class B bonds with Tokoyami over their mutual goth aesthetic before the two teams split off to get things started. Toko sends out Dark Shadow to do recon, only to have Kuroiro -- whose quirk allows him to move freely within the color black -- hitch a ride back to Team A’s location. The two prepare to clash, and Toko gets ready to show off a new technique he’s apparently learned from Hawks.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 222, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

my man Aizawa out here making sure I continue to stan him

this is school after all!

and oh my god this title

you know it’s the Momo chapter when...

goddammit Kirishima’s self-esteem issues are acting up again

does anyone know if that “staring at yourself in the mirror and psyching yourself up by reminding yourself that you’re cool and awesome” thing actually works? maybe he should try that. he’s so good at complimenting other people but he’s so damn hard on himself. why are all shounen characters like this

Kouda says he needs to get better at issuing detailed orders to insects

good god Kouda, if you improve on your quirk you’re going to be fucking terrifying aren’t you

and I know I just said all shounen characters are too hard on themselves, but then along comes Kaminari to prove me wrong!

you were great, buddy. 10/10 I stan one adaptable and clever electric boy. I would pit you and Mina up against Rat Principal all over again because I bet you two would crush it now

(ETA: not to mention that as Jirou will shortly point out, he’s skirting on the edge of falling into his usual derp mode here -- but he’s managing to retain his senses for the most part, which is extremely impressive given how much electricity he put out in that fight, first against Shishida and then later against Shiozaki. Kaminari!! you’ve become stronger!)

Tsuyu says she wanted to win without any casualties and she regrets losing two of her teammates

Shinsou, who did amazing for his first time, says it was “incredibly frustrating” and that he wasn’t able to apply even ten percent of what he’s learned

kid, take that frustration and channel it into becoming even more determined to fulfill your dreams! that’s the upside of being a shounen character who’s too harsh on himself! you learn and you keep getting stronger, okay?

see, and Aizawa’s telling him the same thing

wow so he didn’t master it until he was out of school, then? or did he start on that before he entered U.A.?

say, aren’t we due some Aizawa flashbacks soon? this is the arc the manga was on when I first started reading, so it seems to be about that time I’d say

(ETA: so what is it exactly that made people have all these headcanons about him knowing the Iida family as a kid? I know he and Tensei are both in Vigilantes, so I’m guessing now it has something to do with that. lol and here I thought we were going to get a whole backstory. instead we’ve had all of one panel’s worth of flashbacks, and that was very recent and we apparently don’t know what the deal is with that yet except that he had some sort of cloudy friend that he doesn’t want to talk about. not that I’m not loving that, mind you; it’s just not what I was expecting. I really gotta start Vigilantes don’t I. maybe this weekend)

oh my god

I’m a simple girl, I see Jirou losing her damn shit over Kaminari and I hit like and subscribe for more great content

and yes, Aoyama, they do seem to be taking this much more seriously than the others. thinking about what would have happened in a real life situation. and I mean, that’s not a bad thing per se, but it’s just... they’re still kids. and already thinking about death and other worst-case scenarios because they’ve experienced it firsthand now. and man but that’s rough

now Aizawa is giving them his own pointers

he’s such a good teacher I love him so much

meanwhile Vlad is chewing out his own students

didn’t Horikoshi describe his teaching approach as being gentler than Aizawa’s? was that just because he doesn’t expel entire classes at the drop of a hat? sure not seeming real gentle right now lol

(ETA: strut strut)

excuse me Monoma who is the teacher here

but he says that despite the loss, he’s satisfied because they showed the rest of them “something marvelous”

(ETA: strut strut)

yeah, I’ve been wondering about that. he probably can’t wait to try that quirk out for himself

man if Monoma bonds with Shinsou and then Shinsou ends up joining 1-A I am going to laaaaaaugh

(ETA: lol except for the fact that I sorta kinda ship it now oh shit)

and they have an advantage over the class A Shinsou team since they actually have some time to prepare

wow they’re all strategizing now

friendly reminder that I love all of these kids and would die for them

and yes you, Todoroki. humility is all well and good but let’s not kid ourselves. you’re a powerhouse and you need to own it

I have no doubt that Team BakuJirouSeroSatou is going to crush this and I can’t waiiiit

(ETA: THEY SO CRUSHED IT)

and who fucking asked you, C-3PO. maybe they can’t have spare parts installed, but human bodies literally heal themselves given just a bit of time and rest. we don’t need to sit here and be dragged by someone who can’t even pass a damn turing test okay

All Might is reflecting on how much everyone has grown. he sure does that a lot

I guess. and also a way to finally introduce the other 20 U.A. first years after 200 fucking chapters lol

hey what

what is it. what’s with those faces. y’all wanna throw down or what?? bring it

oh they just want to know what they thought about Shinsou

All Might is so good I love you All Might

!!

oh shit. so spoiler alert I guess he passes lol

is he aware that it’s a test? is this another one of your Logical Ruses you deceitful hobo

yessssssssss!

I honestly can’t fathom how a team with both Momo and Tokoyami could possibly lose. they’ve even got Aoyama “saving the day in the clutch” Yuuga and Hagakure “I’m the friggin’ traitor” Tooru for fuck’s sake

by the way, Hagakure’s right fist is facing out but isn’t that weird? wouldn’t it make more sense to have your fist facing toward you for this kind of “pumped and ready to go” gesture? idk why it bothers me. maybe because she’s literally only hands so you could at least get that one detail right lmao

and have I mentioned how much I love Momo’s cape. now if only they’d get her a fucking zipper good grief

that kid from class B who speaks in literal dialogue bubbles is freaking named Manga and I can’t you guys

I have no problem with calling Kuroiro by his name, but I’m pretty sure that legally I have to continue referring to Komori as Toadette. I don’t make the rules you guys

Kendou is asking Momo why she didn’t enter the beauty contest during the cultural festival

have I mentioned lately that Aizawa is the best dad? I have? well it never hurts to say it yet again. Momo had more important things to worry about than participating in the least rational annual event this school puts on

oh right, somehow I forgot that these two did their workplace experience together. actually can I just call it a fucking internship even if it wasn’t an internship internship? y’all still know what I mean anyway so come on

this is an odd thing to bring up now and I can’t help but think Kendou’s trying to get into Momo’s head somehow

(ETA: nope. just bein’ rivals)

oh, Hagakure’s bringing up that one guy at the festival who kept cheering for Momo. I had been wondering about that. so he was a fan of theirs from the commercial they did then? who the hell stans someone from just a single commercial

yes

ooh, hidden dark side from Kendou all of a sudden!

I mean, on the one hand I don’t like Kendou getting jealous because these badass ladies should be supporting one another, not harboring jealous thoughts and insecurities

but on the other hand she’s not wrong about Momo though trufax

okay good, this seems healthy enough

A WHOLESOME LADY RIVALRY, EH? BRING IT

oh my god

imagine going from drawing Shiozaki to drawing this guy. Horikoshi must be filled with relief right now

oh my god Kuroiro’s quirk is apparently amazing!?

holy shit?? WHIP OUT THAT DARK SHADOW AND TEST IT OUT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR

lmao

if these two don’t watch it they are gonna cut themselves to ribbons on ALL THAT EDGE

so then is Hagakure gonna clash with Toadette. or Manga

so now round two is officially starting, and Sero is asking his friendly neighborhood Tetsutetsu about Kendou, Tetsu’s crush

I ship these two kids so hard. he adores her

lol he says that if she wasn’t around the whole class would have been “indoctrinated” by Monoma

he says she’s the big sister of class B

yeah, so basically the Momo

and now Todoroki is thoughtfully chiming in

you know, operation? as in scheme? as in whatever plan Momo’s thought up using the intellect that’s put her on at the very top of what is probably the most brilliant class in U.A. history?

so now we’re cutting to Team B, and Kendou is saying that they should wait and see what Team A has in store first, since even though they know their basic quirks, they don’t know what improvements they’ve made and what special moves they’ve come up with

go fuck him up Kuroiro! I know I shouldn’t be rooting for you, but I’m so fucking curious to see if you can use Tokoyami’s quirk against him omg

meanwhile we’re cutting back to Team A, and Tokoyami is reporting to the others that Dark Shadow has located Team B

oh shit

TOKOYAMI THEY GOT YO BOY

Dark Shadow’s zooming toward them now and Tokoyami’s shouting at everyone to disperse

HE LOOKS SO SAD OH NO

KUROIRO YOU ASSHOLE WHY ARE YOU MY NEW CLASS B FAVE

Hagakure is all “Kuroiro popped out from inside Dark Shadow!” as though everyone else didn’t just watch that happen right along with her

Momo’s flinging some ninja nets at Kuro but he’s dodging!

I LOVE IT

HOLY SHIT TOKOYAMI IS RIPPED. WHEN DID THAT FUCKING HAPPEN. WHERE WERE THOSE ARM MUSCLES DURING THE POOL EPISODE, JESUS

(ETA: and I’ll have you know Horikoshi even specifically described his arms as “fairly thin” when he did his little bio in chapter 101! so this is a recent fucking development. bird boy been hittin the gym)

also he sure does have a lot of natural enemies doesn’t he. his quirk is so powerful but it has a lot of weaknesses

and lmaoooooo at “a pair of chuunis” holy fucking christ

how is this chapter over already?? oh well, we’re almost at 200, let’s keep going and check out Toko’s new technique

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 57 - NYR - Burn the Tape

We came into this seven-game homestand with some needs: capitalize on your home-ice advantage and get into this playoff race in a more consistent manor. That mission didn’t start well for sure but whether it felt like it or not the Sabres win percentage went up. It was the ugly win-loss pattern that is torture to endure during a playoff race this tight but it was better than the losing stretches that prevailed before the bye-week. As this homestand went on it became clearer some switch had been flipped even if not always to successful ends. From the end of the Carolina game onward, maybe even the end of the Minnesota game in places, the Sabres defense has stepped up and fought tough matchups. If the Sabres were going to end this homestand on a high note it would take all cylinders firing properly. That Winnipeg game was closer than that final score would indicate and one bounce different against the Hurricanes and the standings look quite a bit different right now. The past is the past though and so is the Rangers Cup window. Yes, let’s do some Playoff Trash talk: Rangers, during your supposed Cup window you never looked close. In fact, having watched most of those years during the Sabres tank years I could see the truly dominant performances were rare. That’s how the Rangers win in the playoffs: barely. This season its very unlikely you make it and a matchup like this seems to take on a different flavor when its locked in together for 4-7 games. Sabres in 5. So, remember those positive things I said about Buffalo before the trash talk? The Sabres did not do those things. This was probably the most disheartening loss of the season, if not its damn close to the Home Opener shutout. This game made me not want to do these for the rest of the season. Nonetheless, I am your Sabre Soldier and won’t ever give up. This mess ended 6-2 Rangers. You know how we all thought the Rangers would be the easier New York team to beat? Yeah, fuck us, right?

This game was so bad its in a category of games that don’t even earn a full goal-by-goal recap. Spoiler Alert: Jeff Skinner scored all the Sabres goals this game. To be specific, he scored two goals. That was all we got this game. Yes, there were other opportunities. Jack Eichel rang one off the bar. Sam Reinhart was stopped by this young Bulgarian sensation in Rangers goaltender Alexsandar Georgiev. Tage Thompson missed two wide open nets right in front when the score was 3-2. Apart from a section of the second period and the last ten or so minutes of the third period this game looked like no one knew how to play hockey. Everyone was watching the puck, everyone seemed to bump into each other like they were all playing their own game. The Sabres had opportunities on a night New York was not playing a sound defensive game. Remember how we’ve been talking about the Sabres cleaning up play in their own zone the past three or four games? They took that and threw it out the window. I feel so bad for Linus Ullmark who you kind of feel was in the wrong place at the wrong time starting in this game. What goals are we blaming on him? Right, I said I wasn’t doing a goal-by-goal recap. Well fuck it with this game. For Ullmark’s sake let’s dissect this train crash.

4:09 into the first a grown man named Boo Nieves scored the first goal. This was a scrambled play no matter which way you cut it and Ullmark was screened maybe two different ways. The second goal came about ten minutes later when Vlad Namestnikov launched a shot from the blue line that got redirected in front of Ullmark by Jesper Fast. Ignoring the fact that he was screened the Sabres were playing basketball-style zone defense this period and it was not working. The Linus Ullmark fault counter is still at 0 now as the Sabres find themselves down 2-0 going into the second period. The Rangers are getting penalized frequently now, once for putting the puck over the glass in a delay of game. This Rangers team is bad. THEY’RE BAD! Luckily in the middle period the Sabres did respond a little. Jeff Skinner got the puck out alone in front and put it far side around Georgiev. The visitors responded because good things can never last with this Sabres team and Jimmy Vesey of all the hated little Eminem-looking motherfuckers tucks one in like a blot of lightning on a blown coverage. Ullmark had locked down the post. I am not blaming this one on him. Jeff Skinner got another goal, this time on the powerplay later in the period. This got me feeling maybe the Sabres could salvage something from this horror show. I mean if they can score a powerplay goal then why not? Why not, because we must be tortured with no frigging back-to-back wins for eternity! The Sabres poured it on late in the third and could’ve tied it on several shots. None beat the Prince of New York and Buffalo blew a d-zone coverage in their own zone to allow Pavel Buchnevich to tap it in. That goal is the only one you can sort of blame on Ullmark. The air left the building and I turned the radio off full of disappointment and hopelessness. Okay, so the first of the two remaining goals could also be blamed on Ullmark if you feel the need. The net was wide open for Namestnikov, but the 6-2 goal is literally an empty net. 6-2 Sabres but 2-2 if we’re only counting the goals Ullmark gave up. That thing stung.

There was other stuff that happened in this game on top of defensive breakdown, horrible play in their own end and generally unacceptable performance. Uhh… Kyle Okposo fought. He probably shouldn’t be fighting, and it looks like he got hurt doing it. No updates on his condition as of the posting of this but a cursory look over his history tells you exactly why its so scary that this fight happened. You know what, there really isn’t anything redeemable about this game. Burn the tape! Burn the tape and well you’re at it Fire Housley. There is no way this team not being able to beat lesser opponents consistently, except for Detroit, is not a problem of coaching. Housley said they played soft after the game: You think, Phil? Something has got to change. I said I’m on this crazy rollercoaster until the end but boy did I want to get off after this game. After New Jersey tomorrow night, you have the Leafs, Caps, both Florida teams, and the Penguins in the following six games. There was no help on the out-of-town scoreboard last night and the Sabres now sit five points out of the last playoff spot and five points back of the first team out in Carolina. This was hot trash last night and I don’t know if I have any confidence this team won’t continue to be hot trash and fall out of the playoff race in the coming weeks. I guess we’ll have to find out! Like, share and comment: I feel bad asking after this mess. Enjoy your weekend maybe not thinking about the Sabres.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Imagine if Jeff Skinner isn’t on this team. Yeah, its like last season all over again.

[hergrandplan]

Just be my date?

[A/N: a while ago (a few days really) an anon sent me writing prompts but the message seems to have gotten lost, so this is for you, anon! Also, Tumblr won’t let me post the whole thing (it’s slightly longer than this) so be sure to also check it out on ao3!

Also feel free to ask more prompts, you can check them out here (or of course come up with your own)!

Prompts: “Just be my date” / “You fainted. Straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to go to such extremes”

Word count: 1308 words (the whole thing is 3120 words long)]

“It can’t be, that of all the women in St. Petersburg, not one of them want to go out with this pretty face,” Dmitry complained to Vlad. He was sat across a table from the older man, and they were sitting outside a café, enjoying the warm, sunny day.

“Maybe you’re just not as handsome as you think you are,” Vlad replied, chuckling in his drink.

“That’s a lie and we both know it.”

Dmitry took another sip of his coffee and looked out into the street, partially hoping for one of the women to throw themselves at his feet, begging him to be his date.

“I might have an idea,” Vlad started. “But I don’t know if you will like it.”

At this point, Dmitry was desperate enough that he would probably take anyone who as much as resembled a female and could walk; as long as he didn’t have to go alone, he would be fine.

“You could always consider taking Anya,” his friend opted.

Dmitry almost spit out his drink. Okay, maybe not anyone.

“No,” he said. “No way. And besides, even if I did want to take her, she’d probably say no anyways. I haven’t talked to her in months. I’ve tried to, but she hasn’t responded to any of my messages.”

“Which is exactly why you should ask her; I can tell you’ve been missing having her around.”

Dmitry shook his head at the ridiculous idea; Anya was just off-limits. “I can’t really ask her if she won’t talk to me, can I now?”

“Look, she’s right there,” Vlad said, and pointed down the street. Dmitry turned around in his seat to see what Vlad was pointing at. “You can always try, just ask her. And there’s no time like the present.” And sure, there was the strawberry blonde named Anya, casually making her way through a crowd of thousands.

Dmitry let out a disgruntled sigh, but also knew he didn’t really have much of a choice if he didn’t want to go alone, and got up out of his seat. The minute he stood straight, he knew that that single, pathetic little toast he had eaten for breakfast had been a bad idea. And it had been an even worse idea to not eat anything else all day, especially with the heat scouring the city. Despite his spinning head, he somehow made his way through the huge crowd. Mixed together with the already hot day, the warmth of a thousand bodies made it unbearable to get through. He had almost made it to Anya when black spots started to appear at the edge of his vision. Next thing he knew, he was lying on the pavement, a concerned (but also slightly annoyed) Anya looking down on him. He managed to push himself up so he was sitting, and waved away any concerned bystanders.

“I’m fine,” he told them. “Truly.”

The fact that he recovered from his fall so quickly only seemed to annoy Anya more; or she was just generally annoyed at the sight of him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her confused.

“You fainted,” she explained, glaring at him. “Straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”

“Believe me,” the young man replied, getting up on both of his feet again, still not feeling extremely steady. “It wasn’t my intention to faint. But now that I do have your attention,” he continued before she could turn around and leave, “There is something I wanted to ask you. I need a favour.”

“No,” Anya said immediately. “I told you before; I am not partaking in one of your idiotic plans ever again.”

She went to walk away, but Dmitry grabbed her by her shirt to stop her (and maybe to balance himself; he should really eat something).

“Just hear me out, please?” Anya turned around to face him. “I need you to be my date.” Anya laughed; an expected reaction (and a sound Dmitry still believed to be one of the best sounds in the world, even if it was at his expense), but at least she didn’t try to walk away again.

“There’s this thing, this weekend. A friend of mine, Vlad, is getting married and I may have told him I would bring a date,” Dmitry explained sheepishly.

“And let me guess,” Anya said. “You don’t have a date.”

Dmitry shook his head no. “And that’s why I need you.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“I am not going to beg,” Dmitry said, even though he was about ready to. Not that he would give Anya that satisfaction. “But Vlad told me Natalya would be there and that she is bringing a date. And if she has someone and I don’t, I’ll come out as the loser. And I can’t have that. Can you just.. just be my date?” He looked up at her with big puppy eyes. “Come on, Anya. How can you say no to someone who literally just passed out for you?”

Anya pondered on it for a little, and then sighed. “Fine. I’ll go with you. But,” she said, before Dmitry could rejoice in happiness. “There will be some ground rules.”

“Fine with me!” Dmitry was so rejoiced in the fact that he wouldn’t have to go alone, he could kiss her; he wouldn’t, but he could.

 -

“You’re clear on the rules, right?” Anya called out to him from her bedroom. She had told Dmitry to come pick her up at 3, but when he showed up she wasn’t even halfway ready.

“No intimate touching, no kissing, handholding is allowed if Natalya is watching, and one dance at the reception,” Dmitry cited from the list he had memorized by heart. The one she had asked him to memorize so she could be sure he wouldn’t try and break any of the rules.

“And?”

“And,” he continued. “No falling in love with you.” That was a stupid rule; as if he could ever actually fall in love with her. Had there been times when he had thought about the possibility of them back when they were still close? Yes, of course. But it had ended up being nothing more than a close friendship, and whatever little feelings he might have had for Anya were far, far in the past now.

“Okay, I’m ready.” The door to the bedroom opened and Anya revealed herself; she was wearing a beautiful red cocktail dress, fanning out at her waist and reaching just below her knees.

“What do you think?” she asked, and did a little spin for him.

Dmitry was too stunned for actual words. She looked gorgeous. “Wow” was all he managed to get out of his mouth.

“Thank you,” she said. And then she smiled; the kind of smile that’s usually meant to be hidden; small, soft, not meant to be seen by anyone. It was the most beautiful thing ever, that smile; it was genuine, and lit up her whole face. It made him realize how much he had missed seeing that smile (often when he had seen it she didn’t know he was looking).

Any and Dmitry had been close up until a few months back; very close. He confided everything in her, from his troublesome past to his even more troubling love life. She had been his best friend, but when he asked her to be part of a scheme doomed to fail, and she had said yes, they had a major fall-out when it inevitably failed and they never truly mended things afterwards.

“You ready to go?” he asked her, calmly and collecting himself again as to not to reveal his thoughts and forcing his mind back to the present.

“Yes, I am.” She opened the door of her apartment, and he watched her go.

[anongoingsoliloquy]

I’m calling this a summer haul because I don’t remember exactly when I bought each of these books. There’s a fair few books on this list, so let’s just get straight into it!

1.       Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King 

Mr. Mercedes is my latest purchase and the book I’m currently reading. I really like it so far! It’s about retired cop, Bill Hodges and his obsession with the Mercedes Killer case. The Mercedes Killer taunts him back into the middle of the case through letters and (i believe) a back and forth dialogue. I thought this book would be a lot more suspenseful, but since it’s the first book by Stephen King that I’ve read, maybe all of them start like this and build the suspense as the book goes on? If you’ve read his books before, let me know!  

2.       The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman 

I’ve heard wonderful things about this book! it’s about a boy who is raised in a graveyard and who is hunted by the person who killed his parents. I’ve read a few of Neil Gaiman’s children’s books and really enjoyed them, so hopefully this one will be no different!

3.       The Long Halloween

This is a fairly old standalone Batman series, but oh my does it sound good! In the comic, Batman has to solve the mystery of a serial killer who only murders on holidays. I believe the entire series is set over the few days before Halloween, where Batman must stop the murder of another victim.

4.       Harley’s Little Black Book

This is a special edition connected to the New 52 Harley Quinn series. In these issues, Harley teams up with DC’s finest, including Wonder Woman, Super Man, and even the Bombshell version of herself!  

5.       Dividing Eden - Joelle Charbonneau

In Dividing Eden, twins are pitting against each other when their father, the king, and older brother, the crowned prince, are murdered. Now the twins are destined to become rivals in the fight for the throne.

6.       Caraval - Stephanie Garber

This is the only book anyone ever talked about at the beginning of the summer! It’s about this magical carnival that comes to an island, and takes our main character’s sister. Now, our protagonist must find her sister before the end of the carnival or she will lose her forever. There seems to be a lot of mystery and intrigue in the novel, and I’m super excited to read it!  

7.       The Bone Queen - Alison Croggon

This book is a prequel to the Pellinor series. I haven’t read the original series, but since it’s a prequel I don’t really care. In the novel, a powerful bard unleashes the Bone Queen. And that’s pretty much all I know about it, but I’m pretty excited to jump into this world.

8.       Royal Bastards - Andrew Shvarts

This book is about exactly what the title suggests, royal bastards. The bastard siblings of the king must all band together to protect the legitimate heir to the throne from the forces that would see them dead.

9.       And I Darken - Kiersten White 

This book it about the daughter of Vlad the Impaler and her quest to escape the Ottoman Empire. I hope it touches on the vampire mythos surrounding Vlad and his descendants.  

10.   Closed Casket - Agatha Christie/Sophie Hannah 

Closed Casket is the newest installment in the New Poirot Series. I’ve already finished it and it was amazing! It was a wonderful homage to Agatha Christie’s original series and perfectly captured the essence of her novels! Plus, you can never have too many Poirot novels; he’s the best!

11.   Alex and Eliza - Melissa De La Cruz 

I’ve also already finished this book. It was a light historical fiction, but was a very enjoyable read! it was a sweet love story; perfect if you, like me, are obsessed with Hamilton!

12.   Jughead vol. 2

This comic collection is a continuation of the story from vol. 1, following the antics of Jughead and the other members of the Riverdale squad.  

13.   The Crimes of Jack the Ripper - Paul Roland 

My mom bought me this book because I’ve always been really interested in the Ripper murders. Mostly because he was never caught. This non-fiction book has H Division files, autopsy reports, and autopsy photos, which is kinda gross but super interesting! I’ve read some of it and look forward to finishing this book soon!  

14.   Joker Loves Harley

This comic collection is a continuation of the first volume of the DC Harley Quinn rebirth. I haven’t started this series yet, but hopefully I will get to them soon!

15.   Josie and the Pussycats vol. 1

This is a brand-new series in the Riverdale rebirth. I believe it’s an origin story of how the pussycats first got started as a band.

16.   Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman 

This is another book by Neil Gaiman. It’s about a man who literally falls through the cracks of London, into a dark world under the city. Funny story, this book was donated to my mom’s work place, and since she works at a daycare, the books that were donated were much to advanced for the children. Because of this, the staff where told to take which ever books they wanted for themselves. So, my mom brought this book home for me, but little did she know was that this book was the sold-out book I was looking for the previous weekend. Talk about destiny and chicken!

17.   The Woods - Harlan Coben

This book was also part of the ‘too advanced for daycare students’ donations box. My mom brought me this one because it reminded her of Mr. Mercedes. It’s about a cop who is pulled back into the case of missing girls, one of whom was his sister, when one of the girls mysteriously returns to their sleepy little town.

And that’s it! Oh my, that was a lot of books! Let me know if you’ve read any of these books and what you thought of them!

Thanks for reading

[notbemoved-blog]

Leave It to the Women

If there was any hope to be found this past weekend as the Trump circus rolled into town, it was provided by the women of the world. Nearly 3 million women  (and the men and children who love them) took to the streets all over America and all over the globe to let the Trumpsters know that we are not going back to their 1950s world. The Women's March, which started as a Facebook cry of frustration the day after the devastating Trump win over the first woman with a serious shot at the White House, quickly morphed into an intercontinental movement of resistance to the avowed policies of a retro-authoritarian Twitter-shamer who, it had been revealed during the bruising presidential campaign, had boasted to an Access Hollywood reporter that his celebrity status gave him carte blanche to grope at will any woman he wanted.

Although the reporter subsequently lost his job for going along with the "joke,” Trump was rewarded for his braggadocio by winning the most powerful position in the land. How ironic. The news media Trump rails about has standards that  quickly deal with misogyny while the mostly white male electorate promoted the privileged prince of their race to Groper-in-Chief.  Although most men were willing to look away from the Trump victimization (perhaps realizing, as Jimmy Carter once famously confessed publicly, that they had also "sinned in their hearts"), millions of women were having none of it. It was outrageous, and they would find a time and place of their choosing to provide their response.

 Sadly, that moment did not occur at the ballot box. On Election Day, more than 50 percent of white women voted for Trump, perhaps the most shocking example of a group of humans voting against their own best interests in the history of democracy. The implications of that hard-to-fathom fact will work against women for generations, and that's only if we're lucky and there are no atomic international incidents that cause the elimination of huge segments of the human race. As Trump pokes a stick in the eye of China while cozying up to Vlad-the-Cad Putin, as he actively works to destabilize NATO and the alliances that have kept Europe and North America in sync for seven decades, as he opens up his heart to crazy, bomb-wielding dictators like Kim Jong-un of North Korea--another coddled scion like himself--our Lecherous Leader puts at risk every living being on the planet and activates every woman's nightmare: the destruction of their children, their families, their communities, their bodies, their very selves. 

  So the off-the-cuff suggestion that a few women get together and go to Washington  and protest in front of the White House activated something in the collective consciousness of women and turned into a world-wide movement of resistance and solidarity. My wife and her sister immediately decided they would join the march when they first heard about it. Both were despondent after Hillary’s defeat and, terrified, began searching for a way to effectively give testament to the primal scream they were feeling. The march seemed like the perfect antidote to the descending darkness. So my sister-in-law Mandy immediately jumped into action, ordering “Nasty Woman” ball caps for herself, Ally, and the three other women friends from Vermont who were planning to come to Washington to be part of what was swiftly becoming an historic moment in the long Women’s Movement—not the one we had hoped for, but consequential nonetheless.

 Margie, Amy, Mandy, Beth & Ally head off to the Women’s March DC.

At the time, I was still in my funk over the election’s outcome and was planning to sit this one out, just as I was also going to boycott the Inauguration until my friend Terri reminded me that I was a journalist and needed to be there. It wasn’t until last week that I finally kicked myself and realized that all of these events (Inauguration of DJT, Women’s March) were history in the making and that I needed to be there to witness them first hand. My wife Allyson, Mandy, and the Vermont contingent left early for the event. They wanted to be there at the start. I went later, just wanting witness the march and avoid the preliminary speechifying, which I could catch on the radio.

A vast sea of people congregated from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.

When I arrived at about 1:30 p.m. at my perch at 7th & Independence, SW, I was speechless. Literally. All I could do was think, “Wow! Wow!” over and over again. The crowds were unprecedented, the bright pink “pussy hats” were on proud display—a refreshing comeback to the Donald’s transgressions—and the vibe was one of unbelievable calm but firm resistance to the desecration that had just occurred to American democracy. I was awed by the women of America. Awed by their strength. Awed by their commitment. Awed by their resolve. Awed by their power. Never have I witnessed such a peaceful expression of fierce opposition on such a vast scale. It was breathtaking. 

Independence Avenue was jammed with people for as far as the eye could see—from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument. And the formal program, which had started at 10 a.m., was still going on. (More on that in a later blog.) But it was the crowd that was the real show. The vastness!  The diversity.  The friendliness! The humaneness! The coming together of so many different strands of American life! It was, in a word, BEAUTIFUL. It makes me choke up even now to think about it. It is just possible that we will be alright. 

I asked my wife and life partner to put in words why she marched. I thought it was high time that my stunned self shut up and listened. I wanted to understand better this amazing power that had seemingly come out of nowhere to grab the spotlight. Here is her testament. . . .

 Why Did I March?

When this past election season was at its height, and I was appalled by the lies and attitude of Donald Trump, it didn’t seem possible that he would win the presidency. But he did, and in what still feels surreal, on January 20th he was inaugurated as America’s 45th president.  

On that day, I wore black and despaired. On January 21st, I wore my Mt. Nasty T-shirt, my #notmypresident button, and my Nasty Woman baseball hat and felt hope. What made the difference? Being part of 500,000+ people in DC who came out to express our deep and abiding concerns about human and global rights in all of their many forms, and our fears about the new administration’s promise to set us back decades.

I marched with my sister while wearing the earrings our mother wore to my wedding. I also carried a photo of my beloved professor, mentor, and friend, Mary Burgan, who passed away on January 12th, leaving a legacy that will inspire many of us not to give up. Other inspirations? Well, how about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton for starters.

Later came feminists from my own generation, women whose presence loomed over my growing up: Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, Maya Angelou. Additionally, my entire political life was first inspired by my six-year-old self watching my parents campaigning for John F. Kennedy; our apartment was filled with JFK posters, and I was the proud possessor of a “Kennedy for President” pencil.

I grew up in a time when peace and civil rights protest marches were common, and I have marched for peace, women’s rights, and civil rights. But this event was clearly the biggest march I have ever attended, and in today’s political climate, its message is vitally important.

Will Trump listen? He’s already made his comment. Instead of a unifying message, such as maybe even—dare we hope?—listen?? Trump once again chose to demean and throw aspersions on the millions of people who marched: 

 Well, Donald, we did vote, and, in fact, the popular vote chose Hillary Clinton. This is not the first time that people who voted and elected a Democratic candidate have been cheated by an outdated electoral system. But here is the point: We will continue to protest and to fight for all of the rights that you threaten to take away. That is why I marched. It is also why I have been looking online for ways to become more active, as I am sure are many of the people who marched yesterday. We are part of something incredibly significant, and we must—and will—continue to keep this momentum going strong.

Amen and Amen. Take it away, ladies. We have your backs. It will take more than just a feel-good day of millions in the streets to overcome the forces we face. But we have made a start. You have shown us the way and you have uplifted a nation—and the world—with your grace and your determination. In the words of Michelle Obama, “Let’s Move!”