#i saw someone once mention that danielle is likely more ghost than human

[monotype-on-phantom]

Sooooo…let’s get to one of the meatier posts I’ve been wanting to do! I was considering waiting for My Brother’s Keeper to do this one, but establishing it from the beginning seems like a better idea. Plus, I’ve been on a roll today.

I wanna talk about Danny’s powers.

Or, more specifically, how I see them.

Looong post so it’s going under a cut.

One of the questions that was never really addressed in the show completely is “what exactly is Danny?” They call him half ghost, but that term was invented by a bunch of 14-year-olds. Jack and Maddie had never seen a ghost, and in Doctor’s Disorders, they clearly say that “humans can’t have ghost powers.” Danny’s pretty much unique. The only other half ghost is Vlad.

There are a lot of theories and rewrites and things speculating about what Danny really is. Half dead? What does that mean? Died between worlds, so a corpse possessed by his own spirit? A ghost with the ability to disguise himself as a human? Can he just switch back and forth between being dead and alive?

Personally, I don’t think any of those are right, because by those definitions, Danny’s human half and ghost half shouldn’t be able to exist without each other.

But they can.

Danny’s ghost form can be expunged with the Fenton Ghost Catcher. It’s not a clean break, since neither of these two have the original Danny’s personality, but it shows that the ghost part can be separated from the human part safely, leaving both halves intact aside from, y’know…a bit of identity crisis.

In What You Want and later in Identity Crisis, the Ghost Catcher is used to remove Tucker’s ghost powers and Technus from the house, respectively. In both those instances, there were no traces left. The original was undamaged. Even in the case of Tucker. The ghost powers given by Desiree were removed cleanly and Tucker went right back to normal, none the worse for wear.

If Danny was a corpse possessed by a ghost, using the ghost catcher would’ve left behind just that. A corpse and a ghost who was Danny. If he was a ghost that could disguise himself as human, it likely wouldn’t work at all. He’d still be completely ghost, just with powers that masked him so well that the ghost shield couldn’t stop him. There wouldn’t be anything to remove or leave behind, because he’d just be a ghost. I think switching between dead and alive would have the same result. Danny in ghost form would be completely a ghost, and Danny in human form would be completely human. There wouldn’t be anything to separate there, either.

So, I started thinking about it another way. In what other instances have humans been able to have ghost powers?

There’s when a ghost comes in contact with them and shares their powers (specifically intangibility, invisibility, and possibly flight). This seems to be even more thorough in the case of overshadowing, where humans can fly around quite easily, but can’t pass through ghost shields anymore.

Other instances include Desiree’s wish granting (not just including Tucker, since all of her wishes result in some sort of ghostly entity being left behind), Spectra’s ghost mosquitoes that spread a ghostly disease (one that’ll burn them out and leave them as nothing but withered husks), and, of course, Vlad.

Particularly in the last two cases, gaining ghost powers is related to a ghostly illness. Vlad was blasted with a contaminated ghost portal, and he spent years in the hospital recovering. What’s more, the ecto-acne even returns later in life and almost kills him.

Based on all that, I’d say that ectoplasm is likely very infectious. It can spread quickly and easily, and there are plenty of ghosts that have powers specifically related to infecting things and people with ectoplasm, such as Desiree’s spells.

However, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information about ghosts and ectoplasm. Jack and Maddie are the world’s leading ghost experts, and even they’d never actually seen a ghost before the start of the show. Clearly, ectoplasm is dangerous, and it probably doesn’t mix well with human DNA. That would explain why Danny’s clones are unstable without the mid-morph sample, and why, apparently, Sam and Tucker would have died in the ghost portal. (Elmer Fudd’s words, but still sensible enough to go with.)

Danny and Jazz were probably exposed to ectoplasm when they were in the womb. Jack and Maddie have messed around with the stuff for at least 20 years. The Fentons have likely built up some resistance to ectoplasm, or already have some of it in their DNA to begin with. As such, Danny was able to survive being blasted with the entirety of the ghost zone at once. Probably barely, but he did, and as such he is now a ghost/human hybrid. A human with a ghost formed around his entire being. Which is why the ectoplasm can’t be harmlessly removed by the Ghost Catcher or something. It’s perfectly formed around his entire being, and if you try to remove it, some of Danny’s consciousness/identity is going to go with it. Ghosts are defined by Maddie as being ectoplasm and post-human consciousness. So, a ghost that is Danny, while Danny is also still human, would take some of his consciousness with it if it was removed.

This also really does make Danny one of a kind. He’s the only one who wasn’t overtaken by or almost killed by his “ecto-infection” in a sense. Ecto-acne is ultimately fatal if untreated. Spectra’s illness would “burn out” the humans, and the human body she made for herself would also burn out in time, which is why she needed Danny’s DNA. The clones eventually melt into ectoplasm, because the combination of ghost DNA and human DNA is unstable, and the mid-morph sample is needed to fix that. Even Desiree’s spells overwrite a person’s personality, similar to being overshadowed, and people who are overshadowed have their will taken over by the ghost possessing them.

This also explains Danny’s seemingly limitless potential. Vlad was blasted by a corrupted portal the size of his face, and his powers developed over time. Danny was blasted by the entire ghost zone at once. He likely will keep discovering more and more new powers as he grows, and at some point he’ll be the most overpowered ghost anywhere. At least, that’s my guess. I mean, look at Evil Danno in TUE. He’s able to take on any opponent with ease, and Danny learns the ghostly wail early and even gains some abilities Evil Danno never did (such as the ice powers.)

Buuuut that’s just my interpretation of things. And I’m fully aware that a lot of this isn’t original. I’ve read Phantom of Truth and Shadow of a Doubt by @haikujitsu, and they describe Danny’s ghost half in a pretty similar way. The stuff about the clones I’ve gleaned from different interpretations across the net, and my sister was the one who pointed out that Danny basically had his DNA infused with ectoplasm from the entirety of the ghost zone and how that would probably make him ridiculously OP.

I just wanted to write down all my thoughts on this, because the debate of what exactly Danny is seems to be a big topic of discussion, even years later.

Plus, on the very, very slim chance “ecto-infection” hasn’t already been coined (or another word doesn’t exist for it), I wanted to use it. It’s what I’ve been using for awhile, so might as well throw that out there. But again, I won’t be surprised if I’m too late to the party on that one.

So there you go. That’s MonoType on Danny’s powers.

And with that, one of my biggest posts is done. Whoop whoop!

[sorcerersofnyc]

The Last Thing Left (Zemo x F!Reader) 2/9

If it wasn’t so painfully ironic (and hilarious to watch,) Helmut would find the relationship between Sam and James a little sad.

Ghosts weren’t enough to hold two people together.

Chapter 2: While they wait for Torres to locate Donya Madani, Zemo brings Sam and Bucky to the home you shared.

Slow burn, previous relationships, angst, various mentions of death & mourning. You both lost your spouse. You're a regular civilian person. Zemo's wife's name is Heike because of comics. The reader likes waffles (this is a non-negotiable fact)

Did I set this whole story in Spain because of Daniel Brühl? Yes, I did. The most impactful dialog has been translated.

Note: Main Character is neutral in most regards but the story was written with my own cultural background in mind. (In other words, I won't say what she looks like but I envision her as being black.)

First Chapter | Previous

***

The plane lands mid-morning near the Bay of Biscay.

Thin clouds give form to the blue sky above them, gathering to shield the world from the worst of the heat. It’s a lovely day , Helmut thinks, even as the smell of jet fuel lingers pungently in the air.

As he drapes his coat across his forearm and Sam and James stretch their limbs. But as a middle-aged woman struts. across the airfield to greet them, they’re attentive, alert.

“¡Hola señor. Es bueno verte otra vez.” She gives Helmut’s hand a gentle squeeze, her voice heavy with relief.

“Hola vieja amiga. ¿Recibiste los artículos que pedí?”

“Sí Sí. Las flores y los gofe se enviaban antes de su llegada.” She nods and sends a knowing glance his way before adding, “Y tu coche te está esperando.”

“Muchas gracias,” Helmut replies.

The woman takes a step back to acknowledge his company. Sam gives the woman a polite smile and James acknowledges her presence with a nod.

“There’s a car waiting for us,” Helmut tells them. “Come with me.”

“Man, how many people work for you anyway?” Sam asks, looking back at the plane, watching as Oeznik descends the stairwell and the woman waves over the maintenance crew.

“Very few really,” Helmut says. James scoffs at his reply.

But true to his word, a car waits on the street; a dark classic model, freshly polished with wide leather seats.

“Gentleman,” Helmut gestures toward the car you sent, “our carriage awaits.”

It was hardly discreet, but that was the point.

You did exactly as he asked.

***

When he promised to take care of you, you rejected out of a sense of humility. Humility, however, could not ensure your survival, let alone your well-being.

Simply put, you had nowhere else to go. The long shadows cast by the sunset cast over your face, highlighting all of your tired, tear-streaked features. But when you looked at him, there was recognition in your gaze, an acknowledgment of the grief that sat between you like a weight.

“I… I appreciate it, thank you.” You sniffed, “And I… I’ll be there for you too.”

He guided you away from your husband’s grave a moment later, vowing he would find you a better tomorrow.

*

There was no helping Sokovia; war and dissension plagued its streets long before Ultron. So Helmut gathered what he could from the rubble of his father’s home and made arrangements for a jet to be ready at the nearest functioning airport.

The airport was a dome of steel. Its once white titles were scuffed and crowded with people taking shelter and vying for seats on commercial flights.

You were quiet, your eyes glued to the broadcast showing on nearly every TV. There was a video playing, some newly uncovered camera footage of Novi Grad being lifted in the air.

“Come on,” he told you, leading you away with his hand upon your shoulder. You didn’t have much, not physically, just a duffle of what you salvaged from your home and the letter Dominik carried.

Oeznik was waiting in front of the plane, and it relieved Helmut to see him. His faithful butler had been on vacation in Belgium with his family, but once he saw what became of Novi Grad, he came back early.

“It’s glad to see you in good health, Sir.” He said.

“Thank you, Old Friend.”

They kissed cheeks and Helmut escorted you inside the plane, which carried the distinctive smell of cleaning supplies though neither said a word about it.

It wasn’t until you reached the cloudless blue sky that you spoke of what you saw.

“I was in the city that day,” you told him. “I was saved but… I don’t remember how I reached the boat to the helicarrier.” Confusion colored your expression, entangled with sorrow and relief.

Your eyes met his and flickered away just as quickly as guilt—survivors’ guilt—overtook you. He’s seen that look on far too many times on the faces of the soldiers he commanded not to know what that look was. “It happened so suddenly,” You continued, “I was on the ground and then… I was there. It was like someone picked me up and… I was just...there, on the boat with the others.”

“You were rescued by one of the Avengers?” Helmut leaned forward in his seat. “Thor maybe?”

“It must have been, but I don’t recall him being capable of such a thing.” You looked down at your feet.

“We didn’t think them capable of many things.” If there was an edge to his voice, you didn’t seem to notice or care. He continued. “The very idea of the Avengers has always been troubling; they’ve become idols, icons, something more than human. We are meant to forget their flaws and the destruction left in their wake. Remember New York? London? Washington D.C? Did we not watch the Hulk rampage through Johannesburg mere days before Sokovia was destroyed? It was always a mistake, allowing them to act freely.”

You looked at him then, your head tilted to the side in contemplation, taking in all he had to say.

“Has anyone said where Ultron came from yet? No one seems to know if he is an alien or some sort of rogue government experiment.”

“No. But one thing is clear; so long as the Avengers exist, someone will rise to challenge them; They will fight, and Sokovia will not be the last place they bring to ruin.”

You nodded, consciously or not he didn’t know, but on some level, you agreed.

***

Helmut’s thoughts are interrupted when the car turns onto a street lined with elegant townhomes with low-pitched roofs.

James breaks the silence that settled between the three.

“Where are we going?”

“My home.” He announces as the car stops before a large house made of grand arched windows and a sand-colored stone.

“Is this where you lived when you were plotting against us?” Sam sends him an incredulous look, as though the idea of stepping into his home offended him somehow.

“My home in Sokovia was destroyed, Sam. I needed to live somewhere—but yes,” Helmut shrugs, “you’re exactly right.”

“Oh great,” James mutters, but Helmut pays him little mind.

Two columns embrace the grand archway that sits above the ornately carved wooden door.

Upon it he knocks loudly, ignoring the questioning looks he gains.

He waits.

The air is dry and his attention drifts toward a fallen leaf on the pavement; it’s deep green and browning at the edges, its middle eaten through by an insect. The leaf skitters away when the door flies open and he’s forced to confront his worry.

He looks at you. You stare at him in disbelief. The world falls away into nothing.

“Helmut,” you finally say, breathing his name out in relief. “Estás de vuelta.” You’re back.

Your hands are trembling as they reach for him, as your thumbs brush across the curve of his cheek.

For so long your face was but a fragmented memory, your voice the chorus of a song. Only now, as you stand before him, are you complete. You smile.

“Sí, estoy en casa ahora mi amiga.” Yes, I’m home now my friend.

He touches his hand to your own, basking in the simple joy of your touch.

But then you glance behind him, your eyes narrow and the moment ends.

“Helmut! “You hiss. “¿Has traído a los Avengers a mi casa? ¡Por qué!”

Sam and James exchange glances. Whether either spoke Spanish is a matter of speculation, but they surely recognized the name of their allies.

“I’ll explain everything once we settle in.” He raises his palms in surrender to you, looking for all the world like a man abdicating his control.

You don’t move.

“I would like to see the paintings you mentioned in your letters.”

Your scowl deepens, your stare sharpening to a knifes-edge.

“I promise to have a good explanation.”

Finally, you step aside, ‘come in’ you say, and Helmut leads Sam and James further inside. The two have been quiet so far, observant of their new surroundings. He can’t be sure what they assume is happening, but Sam thanks you as he passes. James nods but says nothing.

The house is just as lovely as he remembers it to be; tall white walls, polished tile, an overabundance of lamps, and a painting on every wall. He never agreed with your sense of design but the home was undoubtedly welcoming.

“Make yourself at home,” you lead them inside, into the parlor where a fresh bouquet of thick-stemmed roses sits in a vase beside the entryway.

The rest of the room is familiar to him; red cushioned seats and glass-top tables, and rugs that sit just so beside the bookcase.

He briefly wonders where Anežka, your young housekeeper, is. The paper cranes she’s so fond of sit artfully on the shelves but there’s no evidence of her presence there.

You must have given her leave in anticipation of your meeting, he reasons.

You wanted to be alone with him.

His heart swells at the thought of what you might have done together.

Unfortunately, he sighs, Helmut isn’t alone with you. So instead of the immeasurable amount of fun his mind conjured, he watches you look between your guests��Sam, then James, then Sam again.

“I believe introductions are in order,” He finally announces, draping his coat across the back of his favorite chair.

“Yeah. That would be nice,” Sam retorts. He lingers near the entryway, unsure of the space. “Is this really your house?”

“It is. Well, it was. It now belongs to my lovely associate, gifted to her before I left on my mission.”

“Your mission,” James scoffs. He leans back against the wall near the bookcase, fixing him with a heavy stare.

You skirt the moving to stand at Helmut’s side as you wait for his promised explanation.

“Sam, James,” He calls for their attention, “This is my partner,” he tells them, introducing you by name.

***

Thanks for Reading!

I debated the ending for quite a while. It changes the initial trajectory of the story but it provides for a dramatic ending. Next time, we'll see how your relationship with Zemo changed from persons with mutual friends to 'partners.'

There's a deleted scene that I'll post as a special chapter soon!

Taglist:

@actuallyanita

@fillechatoyante!

Previous | Next

[flutteringdreams-matw]

Out of Time (5)

First/Last

Read on AO3

Word Count: 4347

Previously: Danny and Dan clashed above Amity.

Now: "When you faced Dan in the alternate future, he fused a time medallion within you and then took your place within your time. That created the first paradox. What he didn't realize is the ramifications of that action." Clockwork's expression softened slightly, observing Danny carefully. "Time Medallions are exempt from my powers of controlling time, but not time itself."

As always - please let me know what you think!

---

"I want a damage report on the attack from earlier, any footage from that attack and for goodness sake… will someone deal with the media!"

"Yes Mayor Masters!" a chorus of aides and officials replied, scurrying out of the room.

Vlad sighed, rubbing his temples as he leaned back in his office. Dealing with Daniel's heroic exploits were one thing… but this was taking it to a whole different level! The blasted dome had been up for days and now a ghost that even he felt the presence of from inside his office shows up with the same power as the boy?

Vlad frowned as he looked up at the dome overhead, remembering the events from previous summer. Daniel had certainly grown since then, but to keep a shield this powerful up for this long? Could he truly be this powerful?

A ring brought him out of his musing, feeling the vibrations of his phone from his left breast pocket. With a slight scowl, he absently grabbed the phone and glanced at the number. His eyes widened in recognition before answering. "I was wondering when you would call," he said into his cell phone, annoyed and exasperated.

"It's Maddie," the voice answered curtly. Vlad's eyes furrowed as he scrambled more upright into his seat.

"M-Maddie!" he exclaimed nervously, flattening out his hair to make it look more presentable. He briefly berated his silliness as he settled his nerves. "What a pleasant surprise!" He stiffened slightly, confused. "Wait… why are you calling from Daniel's phone?"

"Why were you expecting him to call you?" she rebutted dangerously. Before Vlad could even think of a reply, he heard her sigh on the other line. "What do you know about heat cores?"

Vlad frowned, slightly surprised at the question. "It's one of the types of cores for ghosts. There are a few different ones – ice, fire, electricity. Surely Daniel must have mentioned them?"

"Not about heat cores specifically," she replied. Vlad still noticed the tartness in her voice; she really didn't want to talk to him.

Vlad got up from the chair, pacing as he thought of how to continue the conversation. This was Maddie! She barely spoke to him anymore; he needed to keep her talking. "Heat cores are fire based," he explained. "Depending on the ghost, it could have direct correlations to their powers like warm ectoblasts, from their appearances etc."

"What would happen if a heat core came in contact with an ice core?"

Vlad stopped pacing, looking at the phone curiously. "That would only happen if two ghosts merged somehow or if someone striped a ghost down to their core levels and combined them forcefully."

"But what would happen?" she pressed.

Vlad stayed silent for a moment, pondering her question as he searched for an answer. "I would assume… that it would behave quite like ice when exposed to heat. It'd melt – either absorbing the ice core or drying up anything the core left behind." Maddie went quiet, making an uneasy feeling creep up within the man. "Maddie," he said quietly. "Daniel has an ice core."

"He's fine," she replied quickly, but he caught the small worry in her voice. "He's resting in the infirmary." Vlad's frown deepened, waiting for the woman to explain some more. "That fight took a lot out of him."

Vlad scoffed. "Of course it did!" he replied, annoyed. "He's held a powerful shield that reflects attacks over the entire town for days. Even if he was Phantom all the time this would take a lot out of him. He's still half human! It's reckless and I can't believe you are entertaining this idiocy."

Maddie was quiet for a long time, the weight of Vlad's words hanging in the air. "This is more complicated that you even know," she said finally, the tartness coming back in full force.

"Then tell me!" Vlad exclaimed angrily. "Believe me to be the bad guy all you want Maddie, but I know Daniel! We're the same!"

"You are not the same!" Maddie exclaimed, cutting across the man's tirade. "Do you think I like seeing him do this? He's fifteen years old Vlad, and I can't do anything to protect him!" The line was quiet for a few moments before she sighed tiredly. "Look, I trust Danny's judgement. Whatever that ghost is will be a force to be reckoned with, and while I hate to say this, we may need all hands on deck. Keep the media off our backs and I'll be in contact."

"Maddie wait-" Vlad started, but it was too late. Maddie was gone, the beeping of the disconnected line entertaining his ear. Vlad brought his phone down slowly, staring at Daniel's number with a concerned frown. "What on earth is going on," he murmured, confused.

:-=-:

Maddie frowned as she hung up the phone, staring at the device in her hand like it was a foreign object. With a sigh, she opened her son's phone again, scrolling through the call log until she saw the most recent one. She stared at the four letter name, slightly surprised that her son didn't label it "Plasmius" or "Fruitloop," before finally pressing the delete button.

She didn't want to admit it, but the man was right; Danny wasn't acting logically. Danny was acting on instinct and fear, with no regard for his own safety. And here she was, powerless and unable to stop him. Her hand curled around the phone determinedly, before setting it back on Danny's nightstand and walked out of his room. As she went down the stairs, her mind wandered back to her conversation with Vlad.

If Vlad thinks that mixing Ghost cores is a bad idea, then it might have truly been an accident. She mused. But if this alternate future has a heat core… how did it change? Which core absorbed which? Our Danny has an ice core… but what if the alternate Danny didn't start with one?

"Maddie?"

The sound of her husband's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Maddie looked to meet Jack's worried gaze, confused at her current state. He and the two ghosts were at the kitchen table, apparently in conversation while she walked into the room in a daze.

Maddie shook her head and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, just thinking through something." Her smile quickly disappeared, guilt creeping up in her chest. "How's Danny?"

"Still out," Jack told her with a frown. He turned towards the large wolf ghost sitting across from him. "Ethelwulf was just filling me in."

"It's more exhaustion than anything else," Ethelwulf continued sombrely. "Most of the bruises and burns he acquired from that fight have all but healed; the only reason why he's still unconscious is because he fixed that shield."

Clockwork said nothing, regarding the humans and ghosts expressionlessly before moving away from the table. Maddie was a little unnerved by the purple clad ghost, but Danny had once said he was a friend, and Ethelwulf seemed to trust him. Maddie sighed sadly, taking a seat at the table.

"He hasn't been sleeping well," she told the healing ghost. "Not since he put up the shield."

Ethelwulf frowned, glancing back toward the time master before regarding the mother. "Let's let him rest then," he said, changing the subject slightly. "Best fill everyone in together."

"Maybe you can help us out then," Jack said, scratching his chin in thought. "Most of our inventions have a failsafe for Danny's ecto-signature, but if Dan's ecto-signature is similar…"

Clockwork moved slightly from the corner of the kitchen. His red eyes found Maddie's, staring straight at her as Jack and Ethelwulf discussed possible ecto-signatures. Maddie held his gaze, awestruck at the power this ghost seemed to hold in that stare. The world disappeared around her, the faint sound of clocks in the distance drowning out the world.

As suddenly as it happened, the gaze disappeared and Clockwork floated slowly toward the entrance to the lab. Maddie watched as he made his way away from Jack and Ethelwulf, down the stairs; Maddie followed quickly.

"Clockwork?" she called, making the ghost stop in the middle of the lab. "Danny told us you took Dan in the Fenton Thermos the first time he faced him. Is there some way-"

"You cannot stop him," Clockwork cut across bluntly.

Flustered, Maddie stopped, looking at the back of the ghost with wide eyes. "What?"

"Any parent wants to shelter their children from harm," Clockwork told her sagely. "You mean well Maddie Fenton, but you cannot stop Daniel from growing up; from facing his fears. There are only so many things you can still protect him from."

Maddie frowned. "I don't understand."

Clockwork sighed, glancing back at the woman over his shoulder. "I know what you're planning – but we're running out of time. If you cannot figure how to separate their ecto-signatures, even with Plasmius' help, then you must be prepared to accept what Danny decides to do. Along with the consequences that come with it."

Maddie's mind reeled with the weight of Clockwork's words. She swallowed nervously, her response coming out in a whisper. "He's my son; how can I just watch as he throws himself into danger?"

Clockwork turned back, continuing towards the infirmary. "You don't," he replied sadly. The ghost turned invisible then, leaving the stricken mother in the middle of the lab.

:-=-:

... "Vlad?" His voice felt hoarse to his own ears.

"Daniel, there's no time!" the man yelled frantically as he freed the boy from the operating table. He heard the screams from further away. "It went wrong. You need to run, get out of here. I'll hold them – it – off to buy you time." The smell of ectoplasm and blood made him sick. "Quickly before –"

Vlad was tackled from behind from a white and black blur. Not wasting a second, he ran toward the exit of the lab. Suddenly, he felt something hit him from behind. With a shout, he crashed into the wall hard.

"Did you think you could run away from me?"

He looked up at the voice. It was his voice – except it was distorted somehow, more evil. His ghost half was different, hair on fire and skin blue. Phantom looked like those ghosts he fought over the last year – before everything. His body was shaking.

"Did you think you could throw me away Danny? After everything?" Phantom said, in the same strange voice. "Let me show you which half is disposable."

He met the blood red eyes of Phantom before he saw green.

Danny gasped as he awoke, startled from his most recent dream. Eyes shooting open, he immediately groaned at the too bright lights bombarded his senses. He brought a hand to his face, blocking out the light briefly, hissing slightly at his soreness as he did so. Danny stayed like that for a few minutes, taking in the smell of antiseptic and ectoplasm as he tried to shake the dream from his thoughts.

"What's wrong with me?" Danny asked, distraught. "Why now?"

"Both excellent questions."

Danny shot upright, wincing heavily, at the voice. "Clockwork?!" he exclaimed, confused. He looked around widely before he saw him, sitting in the chair beside the bed. The Time Master's face was hidden beneath his long silvery beard. His hands were folded neatly under his chin, eyes sparkling in small amusement as he watched Danny's slacked jawed response.

"Hello Danny," he said. Clockwork shifted the chair closer, letting it rise above the ground slightly as he did so. "Good to see you awake."

Danny blinked at the words before his brow furrowed in anger. "Where have you been?" he asked angrily, gesturing wildly. "Dan escaped days ago and you show up here now to do what? We could have-" Danny broke off, grimacing as a set of sparks went through his frame. He doubled over with a groan and closed his eyes as he breathed through the pain. The sparks subsided after a few minutes, but Danny sat hunched, breathing deeply.

"Easy now," Clockwork soothed, his tranquil voice made Danny's body relax slightly. "There's a lot to explain and best to do it all at once with your team present." Danny nodded, pushing himself back into a sitting position. Clockwork sighed, rising from the chair and drifted over to Danny's bedside. Once he was in front of the teen, he placed one of his hands on Danny's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Danny scoffed. "Like I was run over by a truck while I relived my worst nightmare over and over again."

Clockwork rolled his eyes at the response. "Fifteen year olds and sarcasm; I meant your energy levels. Apart from battling a powerful enemy, you also put more energy back into the shield. You've been out for a few hours."

Finally opening his eyes, Danny looked around the room. Mildly surprised, he realized that he was in the lab – more specifically the infirmary. Stark white walls lined with shelves full of first aid supplies surrounded them in the large room. There were tons of medical equipment all adorned with the Fenton logo. "What happened?" he asked in response. "I remember the shield being cracked, but everything else is a little hazy."

Clockwork sighed again, crossing his arms. "You insisted on fixing the shield and managed to do so by putting more of yourself into it. Unfortunately, you were also low on energy and passed out. Which brings us full circle to: How are you feeling? I know it's a question you tend to deflect, but humour me this once."

Danny cringed slightly, frowning in thought as he assessed himself. "I… don't feel as drained," he said after a moment, confused. Danny looked up at the Time Ghost. "If I put more energy into the shield, shouldn't I be feeling worse?"

"That's a question for Ethelwulf I'm afraid," Clockwork replied with a sly smile. "However, that probably means you can chance the stairs. Your friends will be here shortly and it's best to get everything out in the open." Clockwork picked up his staff, which Danny only noticed was at the foot of his bed, and gestured toward the door. "Shall we?"

Danny watched as Clockwork floated to the door, turning the knob. He sat up slowly, carefully standing before staring back to the Time Master. "Clockwork?" Clockwork hummed as he turned back to Danny expectantly. "You haven't shifted forms."

Clockwork raised his eyebrows slightly, smiling. "Perhaps you aren't as clueless as you seem." Danny ignored the jab and stared at his friend. Sighing, Clockwork gestured again towards the door. "Everything is as it should be – for now at least. I'll explain more upstairs."

:-=-:

"Danny! You're okay!"

Danny managed to turn from his spot on the couch before he was tackled by his friends and sister. He waved them off with a smile. "I'm fine." All three teens stood back and gave Danny an exasperated look. "Really!"

Sam let out a small breath. "Good," she said with a small smile. Before Danny could react, she hit him hard on the arm repeatedly. "What. Were. You. Thinking!"

"Ow!" Danny exclaimed, scowling as he rubbed his arm. He looked at Jazz and Tucker for any assistance, but neither seemed to want to get in the middle of whatever tirade Sam had planned. "Seriously?"

"Danny you passed out," she gritted out, violet eyes blazing. "In the middle of class, then decided to go off and face an evil version of yourself when he attacked." She crossed her arms and sent the boy a withering glare.

"I think Sam's trying to say you scared us," Jazz said, frowning disapprovingly. "Thankfully Tucker managed to get to me in time to sign you out of school before we went into lockdown. It took ages to get through to Mom and Dad."

Danny sighed guiltily. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Ethelwulf and Clockwork, I don't think I would have gotten out of there."

As if on cue, Ethelwulf walked in the Fenton's living room, quickly followed by his parents and Clockwork.

"Hi kids!" Jack boomed as he sat down across from the teens. "Perfect timing."

"I thought you couldn't find Ethelwulf?" Tucker asked, confused. "Or Clockwork for that matter."

"Apparently, it's a long story," Danny said, eying both ghosts warily. "Now that we're all here, can you just tell us what's going on?"

Ethelwulf chuckled, sitting on the couch and faced Clockwork with amused eyes. "I told you he'd be all business."

Clockwork said nothing, waiting until the humans settled before he floated toward them. He inspected his staff, frowning slightly, then at the wall clock across from him. His old frame hunched further, floating down toward the ground and put his staff out in front of him, using it as a cane. "What would you like to know?"

Danny frowned, realizing now how frail Clockwork looked. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Clockwork smiled sadly. "Have you ever heard of a paradox?" he retorted. Danny shook his head, while Sam, Tucker and Jazz all nodded. "A paradox, in regards to time, is when a situation contradicts the natural order of time. It can be an event, a person or thing that doesn't belong. I see time like a parade, from above; whenever I sense a paradox – I intervene to move time away."

"Why?" Maddie asked.

"I control time," Clockwork said simply, turning towards her. "Except time is not a simple concept for any being, especially humans. It moves in all directions. When a paradox occurs, it stops the parade; time gets backed into fewer and fewer pathways until it's forced to go in one direction." Clockwork turned toward Danny, looking at the boy's face to see if he understood yet. "Paradoxes, unfortunately, are my weakness. As the timelines dwindle, so does my grip on time and my powers. My form stops shifting, I lose the ability to see all the possible pathways; It is increasingly harder for me to start, stop and manipulate the timeline."

Danny's eyes widened, finally connecting the dots. "You're not shifting because of me," he said, guilt and regret in his voice. "You're losing your powers because of my future self and the alternate timeline."

Clockwork chuckled. "I wish it was so simple." When Danny shot him a confused look, he continued. "When I saved you and your family, I created another paradox by removing Dan Phantom from the time stream."

"Wait – another paradox?" Jazz asked incredulously. "What was the first paradox?"

Sam gasped. "We created the first one," she exclaimed, looking at Tucker with wide eyes. "Remember? We jumped straight into a future where we didn't belong."

"No," Clockwork answered. "Dan Phantom created the first one by interacting with you, Danny. Unfortunately, this many paradoxes have limited my view on time as it unfolds. One paradox I can deal with – two have sadly created more dead ends. Which reminds me; The dreams you've been having."

"Frostbite told us," Ethelwulf explained, when all humans looked at him confused. "Though, Clockwork suspected as much after you faced Nocturn."

"Nocturn?" Danny asked, confused. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"I asked Nocturn to investigate a hunch," Clockwork told the wide eyed teen. "When you faced Dan in the alternate future, he fused a time medallion within you and then took your place within your time. That created the first paradox. What he didn't realize is the ramifications of that action." His expression softened slightly, observing Danny carefully. "Time Medallions are exempt from my powers of controlling time, but not time itself. By fusing one with your core and leaving you ten years in the future, it started to solidify your place within a new time stream. Those dreams you've been having? Glimpses of the future you erased as well as possible outcomes of what's to come. Nocturn confirmed it when you two clashed earlier this year.

"However, while that timeline has been erased from the main time stream, a piece of it still exists within Dan. I removed him from time, meaning that my powers no longer affect him -just like they no long affect you since a part of your core assimilated to a different timeline. One that no longer exists."

"What…" Danny said breathlessly. He put his head in hands; it was too much to take in.

"Since that battle, how many times have you moved through time without one of my medallions?" Clockwork asked sympathetically. "How many times did I have to forcibly manipulate time around you?"

Danny stayed silent; mind reeling as he went through the questions Clockwork was asking. He didn't dare look at his friends or family.

"The time medallion, even though it's now out, is a relic of time Danny," Clockwork continued. "It doesn't follow a linear path. Its power shows itself unpredictably. It's why I was able to stop time around you on Fear Island, transport you to and from the past into multiple timelines without needing to use the medallion, and yet still was able to stop time during your fight with Dan last year. It's also why you did not see any of these glimpses until the paradox was upon us. You can see parts of it in random orders, sense wounds before they happen. You and your future self are the centre of this paradox Danny – time cannot move forward until you face each other."

"Hold on," Maddie said slowly. "You said you couldn't see past this paradox – how do you know Danny has to face the evil Phantom?"

Clockwork regarded her for a moment, red eyes scanning her before turning back to Danny, head still in his hands. "The last thing I'm able to see clearly is Danny and Dan facing off – but I'm not the only one who can see possible outcomes right now. In fact, I don't believe that my account for the future is as far we can see."

All eyes turned to the teen with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Finally looking up at the Master of Time, Danny sighed. "I've seen it too," he confessed reluctantly. "Multiple different times where we fight – Actually, I think we just lived through one." Danny shuddered slightly in remembrance. "I saw his creation. I've seen him escape multiple times…" Danny swallowed, silent again.

"Which prompted you to put up that shield," Ethelwulf said pointedly. Danny nodded. "Danny, you're powerful enough to keep that shield up without using your core energy. If what Clockwork said about the Time Medallion is true, your core might be feeling the effects of these dreams or these phantom injuries."

Danny hummed, agreeing with his mentor. "Wait – Clockwork said I put more energy into the shield. How come I feel okay?"

Ethelwulf frowned disapprovingly. "The fight between you and your future self drained quite a lot of your base powers, which helped balance your extensive use of your core powers from the past few days. Now that you've regained some energy, your base powers unconsciously switched with your core powers in that shield as a way to help you recover your energy. It's probably wise to continue to use your base powers with the shield unless there's a larger threat upon us." The wolf ghost turned to Clockwork before back to Danny. "You said you've seen multiple visions of Dan escaping?"

"Had another one this morning," Tucker supplied worriedly. "In the middle of class."

Danny felt his parents' eyes move to him in concern and possibly exasperation. "Yeah," he said softly.

Ethelwulf moved to the boy, trained yellow eyes scanning carefully for any injuries he could have missed. "When did he actually escape Clockwork?"

"This morning," the time master replied with a frown.

"And how many times have you seen him escape?"

Danny sighed. "About six or seven. I lost count."

Ethelwulf frowned in thought, looking between Clockwork and Danny expectantly. "Were there any indications that last vision was the one from this future?"

The boy in question frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought back. "I was awake with this one?" he supplied.

"There weren't any sparks this morning," Sam said, frowning slightly. "He just … fell over."

Danny hummed in agreement. "That's true; most of the other visions I had affected my core powers. That one just… happened."

Ethelwulf stared at the halfa in front of him, before looking toward Clockwork. Clockwork gave a slight nod, indicating his acceptance and Ethelwulf continued. "Danny, you need to take it easy for a bit; you're going to need your powers at full strength before you can face Dan again."

Danny nodded, not trusting his own voice. The world felt like it was taunting him, showing him these glimpses of time. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, he stood, feeling all eyes move toward him. "I'm going upstairs," he said quietly.

"Danny –" Jazz called out to him, but he shook his head, cutting her off.

"Just a little tired," he said with a small smile. It didn't reach his eyes. "Let me know if there's any trouble." He walked out of the living room, still feeling the concerned gazes of his friends and family as he made his way up the stairs. Finally reaching his room, Danny entered it hastily, leaning against the back of the door as he closed it with a soft click. He let out a shuttering breath, as the conversation that just happened washed over him again. Clockwork losing his powers? Seeing the future? Timelines? Dan?

Dan.

Danny frowned at the memory of his evil future came to mind once more. Going into that fight this morning was stupid, sure, but it made him realize something- Dan wasn't holding back. When Danny faced him after he returned from the future, Dan was reserved, calculating to make his plan move forward. Now? It was like the evil spectre was playing with him. Danny sighed, staring out into his room.

"What are you after?"

:-=-:

Power flooded his veins as he ripped through another Ectopus, absorbing their energy with fervour. As the poor ghost disappeared, lost to the mass of the ghost zone, Dan's aura shone brighter, relishing in the excitement.

He floated toward the edge of the floating rock nearest to him, hearing in the distance the vague screams of terror from a distance. He smiled cruelly – it truly was great to be out of that thermos. Brow furrowing, he turned quickly, ecto-blast at the ready before he dropped the attack. A mirror image of himself floated above him – a little worse for wear- echoing the power hungry demeanour. He smiled, feeling the duplicate rejoin him and giving him the memories it carried with it.

"Well now," he said quietly, chuckling darkly. "Seems like the old me has some new tricks – and allies." He paced up and down, thinking about his next move. "If he's able to keep that shield while fighting, then his power levels must have improved somewhat…" he stopped, staring out to the Zone in thought. "Perhaps I should divide his attention." He smiled again as a plan formulated in his mind. "I can't wait to watch as his world falls apart."

:-=-:

Valerie slipped the blaster's core back into her main bazooka with a grin. Flipping the switch, her smile widened as it hummed in response. Switching it back off, she threw it over to her already large pile of weapons on the table as she grabbed another smaller ecto-gun from the pile beside her. She needed everything in tip-top shape to face off against whatever attacked Amity today.

With a frown, she turned back to the TV as it ran a repeat of the ghost attack from earlier. Phantom 'saved' the town from a ghost attack by putting a giant shield around the city. That he put up. "Probably more of his dirty tricks," she muttered, cleaning some ectoplasmic build up from the gun she was working on. An image of the Ghost Boy falling and hitting the shield graced the screen as Lance Thunder speculated some sort of hair-brained theory.

She winced as it was shown again; that was probably fifteen feet, twenty tops. For the Ghost kid to drop out of the air like that – his opponent certainly packed a punch. Usually he was flying off with some stupid smile or quip on his lips after battles. This? This was different.

Valerie inspected the gun, making sure there was nothing out of the ordinary before she hunched forward and studied the footage. Everything about this fight was opposite from what she's seen from the spook. Even from afar, she can tell there was no banter – every move he made was calculated. He never fought with a team unless he needed to and whoever those two ghosts were, well, it was testament to their strength to see them just disappear like that. Valerie had only seen Phantom fight like that on two occasions: The Ghost King and last month… when they faced the mayor.

The dark skinned sighed as that thought crossed her mind. When she said knowledge was power, she didn't mean the knowledge that the mayor was a ghost. And possibly a criminal mastermind who almost murdered a young girl. Definitely a manipulative son of a –

Ding Dong

Startled, Valerie looked up from her spot on the sofa to the piles of weapons across the small apartment. She cringed, scrambling upright and grabbed the blanket on the armrest, throwing it over the couch. "Just a second!" she called, looking around frantically for something to cover the table as the doorbell rang again.

Seeing the pile of lab clothes at the foot of her father's room, Valerie tossed it onto the table, jumped over one of the table chairs and stood in front of her door. She took a deep breath to centre herself before opening the door slowly.

Valerie gasped; in front of her stood a girl, no more than 12 in a baggy sweatshirt, red shorts looked up at her through giant blue eyes. Her long jet black hair was covered by the red beanie, poking out a bit in the front.

"Dani?" Valerie asked, dumbfounded at the young half ghost girl in front of her. "When – how?"

Dani smiled shyly. "Hey Valerie," she said with a wave. "Mind if I stay with you for a while?"

Link to Ecto-Storm Series

[five-rivers]

Interview with a Ghost (part 4: Strange)

Sort of a tenuous connection to the prompt.  Oh, well.  

(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3)

.

.

.

They had asked the Fenton parents for an interview with Daniel Fenton to ask him about things he might have seen at school. They had agreed, heartily, but had insisted on staying because 'the kids are a little biased towards Phantom, teens, you know,' and they wanted to keep the record straight.

The other two children had, with extreme reluctance, gone home. His sister, however, had refused to leave, saying that she knew just as much about things at the school as Danny, and they might as well question her at the same time. Collins couldn't really argue with that, and he had elbowed Paterson when she tried.

Daniel looked very small and meek against the large armchair he was perched on. Nothing at all like Phantom, who projected personality and confidence even when nervous.

Collins could see how he had gotten away with... whatever he had gotten away with... for so long. He still wasn't entirely convinced that Fenton was Phantom. It seemed pretty incredible, and there wasn't any physical evidence. Especially with the body gone.

Paterson took out a pad of paper and a recorder. "Do you mind if I record this?" she asked. "For record keeping purposes."

"Not at all!" said Jack, grinning. "We're glad to be of help!"

Daniel looked at the recorder as if he thought he'd be ill. He looked pale. Almost green. Was that because he was a ghost, or was he really just that nervous?

"Alright," said Collins. "Do you see Phantom around Casper High?"

"Not really," said Daniel.

"Everyone does," said Jasmine.

The siblings glanced at each other.

"I try to stay away from the ghost fights," said Daniel, shrugging.

"Yes. Your classmates seem to think that you have some kind of sixth sense, as you always leave class right before an attack."

Daniel's eyebrows pinched together in genuine confusion. "They think what?" He shook his head. "I just leave when I need to go," he said.

Paterson looked up from her notepad. "Go as in...?"

"You know, go," said Daniel, a blush dusting his features with pink.

"I see," said Paterson. Daniel blushed harder.

"Have you ever spoken to Phantom?" asked Collins.

"Yes," said Jasmine, crisply, to murmurs of disapproval from her parents. "He saved me from from Spectra. The ghost who masqueraded as a psychologist."

"I remember that," said Paterson. "Old Elroy had that case." It was from before the existence of ghosts had been widely accepted, even in Amity Park. "You were one of her victims?"

"I'm the one she tried to blow up."

"Ah," said Collins. "And what did you talk about?"

"With Spectra?"

"With Phantom."

"Nothing much," said Jasmine. "Not that I remember, anyway. It was over a year ago."

"Try to remember," said Collins.

Jasmine shrugged. "I think it was basically just agreeing that Spectra was terrible."

"Have you had any other interactions with Phantom?"

"None worth mentioning," said Jasmine.

What a strange way to phrase that. Collins decided not to call her on it, yet. Even with Paterson pointedly poking his ankle with her toe.

"Daniel, what about you?"

"It's Danny," the boy corrected. "I've never really talked to him. Unless you want to count things like 'look out!'"

"Nothing about his origins, then?"

"No?" said Danny.

"Have you heard anything about his origins from anywhere else?"

"We already told you about that," interrupted Maddie, frowning. "His origins are unknown, but he's existed for hundreds of years, at a minimum."

"Yes, but we'd like to hear from Danny and Jasmine," said Collins, giving Maddie his best professional smile. He turned back to Danny, expectantly.

"Someone once told me they thought he was a plague doctor, but, like, updated. I don't remember who, though."

"Right," said Collins. "Now, we'd like you to think back to about two years ago. Call it late summer, early fall. Did anything strange happen around that time?"

"Yeah," said Danny. "The Lunch Lady attacked the school for the first time. I don't remember the exact date, but it was right before the meat-vegetable protests."

"It was that early?" asked Collins, surprised. "That's months before the first recorded attack! Are you sure there was a ghost?"

"Pretty sure, yeah," said Danny, crossing his arms.

"Hey! That's about when we saw Phantom for the first time!" exclaimed Jack.

"Is it?" asked Collins.

"Yeah! He stole our prototype Fenton thermos! I still don't understand how he got it working." The last was a grumble.

"Interesting. And did anything strange happen other than that? Anything out of the norm?"

"Well," said Maddie, thoughtful, "we got our portal working about a month before that. Danny did, anyway."

"Did he? How?"

"Knocked a loose wire back into place!" boomed Jack, laughing. "That's my boy."

Danny's face was whey-colored again. Interesting.

Oh, hell. The portal definitely had something to do with all of this, didn't it.

"How does your portal work, exactly, anyway?"

"Excellent question!"

Fifteen minutes later, Collins had no better idea of how their portal worked except that it involved a great deal of ectoplasm and electricity, both of which they had found on the corpse. He couldn't help but think that he had finally discovered how Phantom had died.

And hearing Jack and Maddie, the boy's parents talk about the portal with such obvious pride while Danny squirmed in the armchair, looking for an escape...

"Thank you," said Collins, quickly, while Jack drew a breath. "I think that's all we need for today."

"But-" started Paterson.

"It's really all we need," repeated Collins. He saw Danny relax, marginally. "Just one more thing. Do you know anything about the break in at the city morgue last night?"

Various expressions flicked over the Fentons' faces. Jack's and Maddie's were blank. Danny's was was angry. Jasmine's was, surprisingly, guilty.

Did she steal the body? Collins would have never guessed it. The image she presented was too neat and mannered.

"Was it a ghost?" asked Maddie. "I'm afraid we can't do anything about it, otherwise."

"Right," said Collins. "We'll contact you if that evolves to be the case. And-"

"Oh, I can't take it anymore!" exclaimed Paterson. She pointed at Danny. "Are you Phantom?"

Danny jumped about a foot. "Wh-What? Nooooooooo. No, I'm not Phantom. I'm alive, aren't I?"

Damn. If that wasn't all but a confession.

The other Fentons started to laugh. The adults heartily. Jasmine uneasily.

"You've been listening to what's-his-name, haven't you? The West boy?"

"Weston," corrected Maddie. "No matter how many times we explained things to him..." She sighed. "I think there's something wrong with him, to be honest. But just to assuage your doubts..." She stood up and walked over to Danny. "Danny, do you mind."

"Nope," said Danny, standing up and holding out his wrist.

Maddie beckoned the detectives forward. "Here," she said, "feel this." She tapped her fingers on Danny's wrist.

"Go ahead," said Danny, staring up at him with a mix of apprehension and determination.

Collins put his fingers on Danny's wrist, on his pulse point. Danny's skin was smooth and cool, but not at all corpselike, or what Collins imagined a ghost would feel like.

"I have a pulse," said Danny. "Ghosts don't." Sure enough, Collins' fingers detected a slow but steady thump thump thump.

Maddie nodded. "Their closest equivalent is more of a constant rush. I could explain the science... but you were just leaving."

"Yes. Sorry about that. My partner can be a bit susceptible to conspiracy theories. I had to talk her out of hiring a psychic, once."

"Thank goodness you did," said Maddie, smiling. "Almost all psychics are fake."

.

"They don't believe it," said Danny, watching the detectives pull away from the curb below from the window of his room.

"Mom and dad? Of course not," said Jazz. "They won't believe you're Phantom unless you show them outright."

"No, the detectives. They don't believe I'm human. They still think I'm Phantom."

"Danny," said Jazz, cautiously. "Don't do anything rash."

"It isn't like I can make this any worse," said Danny. "I'm going to talk to them."

.

"What was that?" complained Paterson. "I never tried to hire a psychic!"

"Yeah, but you did agree that we wouldn't out Phantom in front of his parents. He said he doesn't want his family to know about him, and I don't want an angry ghost trying to throttle me! He can bench press a bus! I don't want his hands anywhere near my throat." He inhaled deeply and sighed. "At least we know what did him in."

"Do you?" asked a very cold voice.

It was a testament to Collins' steely nerves and rigorous police training that he didn't immediately crash the car upon finding a ghost in the back seat. Paterson nearly threw herself out of the car.

"Hi, Phantom," he said, instead, looking at the young ghost in the rear view mirror. "I don't suppose you know what happened to your body."

The ghost scowled. "It wasn't me. I told you to stop messing with stuff."

"Who, then? Your sister?"

Phantom's scowl deepened to something like rage. "Leave her out of this."

"Oh, god, you really are Fenton," said Paterson.

In her defense, Collins hadn't completely believed it, either.

Varied emotions passed over the ghost's face. "Come on, you don't believe Wes, do you?"

"There's other evidence," said Collins, voice wavering just a little. "I don't know how you're keeping up a pulse, or the rest of your human disguise, but you died in that portal, didn't you?"

Phantom was silent for a moment, then he reached through Paterson's chair and neatly plucked her recorder from her jacket, along with her phone. He tossed the phone into the seat next to him and crushed the recorder. Then he started riffling through Collins' pockets.

"Is that really necessary?" asked Collins. He guided the car to the side of the road and put it into park.

"You made it necessary," said Phantom. He pulled out Collins' phone as well and gave it a once over. "Look," he said. "I'm sort of," he paused, "upset that you guys dug up my body and then freaking lost it."

"Lost it-"

"Fine. Got it stolen from you by one of my enemies. One of my most dangerous enemies. Okay? Happy? Are you starting to understand why I wanted this left alone?"

"Are you trying to say that this isn't about your family not knowing you're dead?" asked Collins.

"Of course it's about that!" exclaimed Phantom. "It's just about half a dozen other things at the same time! You knowing about me could get me killed. Knowing about me could get you killed. The only reason Wes isn't dead is because he's completely ridiculous and no one believes him! You're credible!"

"By that enemy you mentioned?" asked Paterson, having regained some composure.

"Yeah," said Phantom. "He's got an interest in it not getting out."

"Why?" asked Paterson.

"Reasons," said Phantom, stubbornly.

"Does he have the same thing going on as you?"

Phantom crossed his arms and shrugged.

"One second," said Collins, "what do you mean, kill you? You're already dead."

"It's a figure of speech," mumbled Phantom. "Either way, the GIW would be more than happy to cut me open. Do you have any idea what they do to ghosts?"

"You- you're not actually dead, are you?" asked Collins. "Holy-"

"Yes, I am," said Phantom, quickly.

"How did you manage the pulse trick, then?"

"Lots of ghosts can do that. My parents don't know everything."

"You're a terrible liar. How the hell does that work? This- Ghost powers while alive?"

"I am dead," repeated Phantom. "How do you explain the body?"

"Half of it was missing," said Paterson.

Silence.

"I'm begging you to let this go," said Phantom. "People are going to get hurt. I'm going to get hurt."

"You don't think we'd let the GIW have you?" asked Paterson.

"I don't think it's a matter of 'let.' I-" he sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Ugh, I can't believe I made this even worse. What are you going to do?"

"We-" said Collins. Honestly, he had no idea. He looked at Paterson, who shrugged. "It isn't up to us, it's up to the captain."

"You can't tell more people!"

"Then you tell him. Come with us," said Paterson. "It's just one more, and he knows all of our suspicions, anyway." That wasn't completely true.

"If you really wanted to convince us not to, you could tell us more about your terrible enemy who may or may not be like you."

Phantom shook his head. "It's not worth it," he said, floating halfway out of his seat. "I'm going home."

"Wait," said Collins. "Your accident- It really was an accident, wasn't it? Your parents didn't-"

Phantom's face scrunched up. "Of course it was an accident. I was messing around someplace I shouldn't have been because of a dare. Are we done, now? Right up until you decide to ruin what's left of my life, anyway."

"Do you have a cell phone?" asked Paterson. "So we can call you, instead of your parents, if necessary." She offered up her notepad.

Phantom jerked it out of her hands and scrawled something on the paper. "Goodbye," he said, shortly, before flying out of the car.

Paterson swore, loudly.

"Yeah," agreed Collins. "Yeah."

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

She-who-fights-and-writes Coronacation Book Rec List

I know that a lot of people are stuck at home right now in dire need of entertainment, so I decided I’d put out a book recommendations list of all the books I’m currently reading and all of my must-reads!

(Just a note that a lot of these are Fantasy because I’m a fantasy nerd haha)

Books/Series I am currently reading

1. The Folk of the Air Trilogy by Holly Black (Currently on #2, The Wicked King)

Genre: High Fantasy

Setting: The land of Faerie which is kind of historical, but in the human world it is modern day

Main cast :

Jude Duarte (white, human, cutthroat, if I saw her in a Denny’s Parking Lot at 3am I would RUN)

Cardan Greenbriar (white, faerie, the true embodiment of Bastard)

Vivienne (Jude’s half-sister, lesbian with canon gf, half-human half-faerie, I would totally try to be her friend)

Taryn Duarte (Jude’s twin sister, queen doormat, still, I would take a bullet for her she’s jUST TRYING TO FIT IN)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

These books have been on my “To Read” list for so long now and for some reason I just never got around to reading them! Hands-down, these are some of the best high fantasy books that I’ve read in a long, long while.

I finished the first book, The Cruel Prince, in just two days and rated it 5/5 stars! Even though these books are high fantasy and focus on the traditions and ways of life of faeries, somehow all of the characters seem like I could meet them in real life!

The main character actually has genuine flaws and not just “””“flaws”””” and is a Bad Bitch down with murder, and the plot had me on the edge of my seat from page one!

The summary makes it sound like it’s going to be about their romance, but it’s really mostly about a power struggle and Jude being a badass.

Goodreads summary for The Cruel Prince:

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

2. The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater (Currently on #1, The Raven Boys)

Genre: Present-Day/Realistic Fantasy (?)

Setting: The fictional town of Henrietta, Virginia

I haven’t gotten around to much of the book, so there’s not much I can tell you about the characters and I can’t properly give it a rating yet.

These books were also on my “To Read” list for a while; I was a huge fan of her book The Scorpio Races and have also been looking for something to quench my thirst for “private school/ghosts/magic” that I’ve been dealing with ever since I read The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

I’ve only JUST started The Raven Cycle yesterday, but so far I am hooked! I’m super worried because I’m TERRIBLE at juggling two series at a time but both of these are just so interesting! 

Goodreads Summary for The Raven Boys:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.” It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

MY MUST-READ BOOK LIST

1. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: 1700s Europe (England, Paris, Barcelona, Marseilles, Venice)

Main cast (I’ll try my best not to spoil anything because you find out a LOT of different stuff about these characters throughout the book):

Henry “Monty” Montague (white, bi/pansexual, attitude problem)

Percy Newton (mixed race, gay, very sweet boy, definitely got “most likely to bring home to mom” in the yearbook)

Felicity Montague (white, Monty’s little sister, headcanoned as asexual, I love her to death)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Daring adventure, gay representation, historical setting, hilarious characters!

This book literally has it all! I would consider it one of my favorite books of all time, yet for some reason I’ve never gotten around to reading any of the sequel books! The ending is very satisfying and ties everything together, which I feel is part of the reason why I haven’t gotten around to them yet. 

Therefore, it can serve as a one-shot read or a full series if you want to dive into something good!

The humor made me laugh out loud at points and all of the characters are very real and very, very relatable, not to mention the vivid settings of 1700s Europe!

Goodreads summary:

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

2. The Ninth House By Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Horror, Fantasy 

Setting: Yale University and the town of New Haven, Present Day

Main cast:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern (Hispanic, sees dead people, very scary)

Daniel Arlington “Darlington” (white, rich, an angel who can sometimes be a dick)

Pamela Dawes (tbh I honestly don’t remember what she looks like, only that she’s a tired grad student with big nerd energy)

Detective Alan Turner (Black, takes shit from nobody, husband material)

Rating: 4/5 Stars

(NOTE: THIS IS VERY DARK ADULT FICTION AND CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME PEOPLE, WOULD NOT RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE UNDER 16)

This book is a great read for someone who’s looking for a disturbing, gritty book with layers upon layers of secrets that you have to peel away as the mystery unfolds. I love the secret societies and the intricate magic systems that the book introduces, and it actually made me hungry for more books like it!

 Alex is a three-dimensional, very real character who also serves as an unreliable narrator who witholds or warps the information that she’s telling you, making the narrative all the more riveting.

The only issues that I have with it are the fact that Leigh Bardugo kind of just dumps you in the middle of it without explaining stuff first, to the point where it kind of feels like you’re reading the second installment of a series rather than the first one, so things can get a bit confusing at first.

The book also can drag and draw things out for a bit too long, but once the plot fully kicks into gear, you will not be able to put it down!

Goodreads summary:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Setting: Earth, Space, The Moon

Main cast :

Linh Cinder (Chinese, based on Cinderella, cyborg, certified badass)

Scarlet Benoit (French, based on Little Red Riding Hood, farmer who is not afraid to shoot you)

Cress Darnel (White, based on Rapunzel, nerd, I will protect her with my life if I have to)

Kaito “Kai” (Chinese, based on Prince Charming, kind of has to run a whole country, a very kind soul, deserves a nap)

Carswell Thorne (White, based off of Rapunzel’s Prince, bastard)

Winter Hayle (Black, based off of Snow White, royalty, has super special powers)

Wolf (Race unspecified, based off of the Big Bad Wolf, charming killing machine, furry????) 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Do you like fairy tales?

Have you ever wanted to know what fairy tales would be like if they took place in the FUTURE instead of the PAST? 

Do you like an amazing, hilarious cast paired with a super interesting plot? 

These are the books for you!

I haven’t read them in so long, but I remember how much joy I felt while devouring these pages. Definitely something you will not able to put down!

Goodreads Summary for Book #1: Cinder: 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Ancient Greece

Main cast:

Patroclus (Greek, Gay, quiet pining) 

Achilles (Greek, gay, very strong, student athlete energy)

Brisies (Anatolian, clever, literally the only one in this story who has a brain cell)

Rating: 100000/5 stars

This is basically the Iliad but if historians hadn’t completely erased Patroclus and Achilles’ relationship. “Haha yeah these guys were totally bros” they say, even though I have read the Iliad and their relationship isn’t even subtle.

This book made me cry at least ten times. It’s just so beautifully written and has such a distinct vibe to it that whenever I crack it open for another time, it takes me straight back to the vacation that I read it on. (Needless to say, sobbing your eyes out can be less than helpful when you’re on the beach)

If you can only read one book on this list, it should be this one. I could talk all day about it and write novels on just how much of an incredible writer Madeline Miller is, but I feel like you’d get my drift a bit better if you actually read the book.

Goodreads Summary:

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

Hope this list helps you through your coronacation, and please don’t be afraid to reblog or message me to tell me if you’ve read/will read any of these!

[thenightling]

What the Hell IS Daniel Hall?

There seem to be some people on Tumblr very confused about what Daniel Hall is.   I guess someone is going to have to try to explain him.  Please note: I do not have the annotated Sandman.   This is purely from my own observation while reading Sandman.

Okay, very simple answer.   Daniel is Dream of The Endless.   

He is not still “only twee-years-old.”  He is not Morpheus’ “son.”  He is not Morpheus’ heir. He IS Dream.  We are literally told this in every single comic he has appeared in.

Let me try to explain...   

If you’ve read American Gods you know there are multiple versions of Odin based on the different ideas of him.  And how the Icelandic Odin is not Mr. Wednesday even though both are Odin, that’s sort of what this is like. 

To begin we need to discuss Daniel’s conception.  Daniel is the son of Hector Hall and Lyta Hall.  Hector is the son of Carter Hall, whom many of you may know as Hawkman.   Hector gets reincarnated and so does his wife.  And every time they reincarnate, at some point (usually in adulthood) they regain the memories of their previous life . Keep that in mind.

Hector was tricked by Brute and Glob into believing he was The Sandman.  Gifted with some of the Sandman powers Hector.  There’s just one problem.  Hector was dead.  Hector is a ghost.  

And Lyta, though originally from a defunct (now AU) timeline had at one point been Wonder Woman’s daughter (again, now defunct continuity / AU continuity) which gave her a direct link with The Furies (The Kindly Ones).  

Lyta lived with Hector in a false version of The Dreaming inside a boy’s head, in a hazy dream-state.  This went on for years.  Still pregnant.   Any normal child would have been born already but two years had passed and she was still very much with child. 

Eventually Morpheus unwraveled the great scam and forced Hector’s spirit to move on. 

So the baby conceived in dreams, possibly by a ghost, (as in Sandman lore it’s unclear if Hector was alive when he impregnated Lyta) was born.  From the very start Morpheus could sense the child was of The Dreaming and it was clear this was no normal child.

He was gestating in dreams for over two years. That child is more dream than flesh.  

When Daniel is finally named, he names himself.  This isn’t some cute “Morpheus speaks baby” moment.  This is a psychic communication between him and Daniel.   

Notice how Morpheus puts his fingertips to Daniel’s forehead there.   This is how they psychically communicate.  In the Kindly ones he mentions how he and Daniel have “spoken” and this is later confirmed by Daniel, himself in his more mature / True form.

Morpheus did not name Daniel.   Daniel named Daniel.  

Daniel isn’t a name chosen at random.  Daniel picked it for himself because Daniel is the Biblical Oneiromancer.  Daniel is the Dream prophet  or Dream Scryer of the Bible.  He was the prophet who had visions and prophetic dreams foretelling the future and communicating with God.  Daniel in Sandman chose this name for himself because he knew who and what he truly was.

Even Lyta (despite her resentment toward Morpheus) knew the name was right for her son and smiled when she repeated it.

Later (though still appearing very human) Daniel is revealed to be what some might call a dreamwalker.  A dreamwalker is someone who can lucid dream and enter the dreams of others at will- what is supposed to be a very rare ability.  Daniel lucid dreams his way to The House of Secrets and stays for story time.

The striped pyjamas are no accident.  This is a nod to Toby in the fantasy film Labyrinth.  In Labyrinth Jareth, The Goblin King, does choose Toby as his heir and does plan to turn him into what he is.  There is a similarity in that Morpheus knows Daniel will take his rightful place in his realm but he did not pick a human child at random as an heir.  Daniel was born into Dream Magick.  He literally gestated in it.  This is no normal baby.  

 Now we come to the explanation of what Daniel is.  

Morpheus attempts to explain being Dream of The Endless to Matthew, and how all anthropomorphized incarnations of Dream of The Endless are just “aspects” of a greater whole, he uses the metaphor of facets of a giant jewel.

During Sandman: The Kindly Ones, Puck and Loki burn away all that was human from Daniel.  Daniel (as a being) survives this transformitive fire because he is clutching a phoenix feather.  But he is now transformed.  The human part (what human there was) is gone now.

Puck and Loki did not give him that feather.   They didn’t even know what he had in his hand at first.  

Now here’s where things get weird... er.    Before even this, Cluracan has a brief vision of Daniel in his true adult Dream of The Endless form.  It’s similar to the illustration of Daniel’s Dream of The Endless form previously shown in Destiny’s book.  

Notice here when Morpheus shakes hands with Daniel, we see Daniel in a pose that is most assuredly not a normal pose for a toddler.  He is posed like a noble greeting another noble.  One hand cupped behind his back as he stands up straight and shakes Morpheus’ hand.   

  When Morpheus “Dies” Daniel comes into his own.  He physically becomes Dream of The Endless corporealized- with all the powers and memories that go with it.   

This scene can be interpreted as Daniel finally taking his true and proper form as Dream.  Also notice the dreamstone is shrinking.   Each dreamstone is made from a piece of Dream’s very soul.  Daniel is absorbing that soul fragment into himself and becoming wholly who and what he is supposed to be.   He IS Dream of The Endless.   That is not a title.  That is who and what he truly is. 

This is further solidified when in Sandman: The Wake Daniel tells Matthew that HE was the one who stopped The Corinthian from killing him.  And that was while Daniel was still in the form of Toddler-Daniel, making it clear that even at that point he wasn’t truly a normal toddler.  

Daniel, himself, tries to tell the reader that he IS Dream of The Endless. He’s not Morpheus but he IS Dream.  Dream of The Endless isn’t a mere title.  It’s WHAT he is.  It’s who he is.  He’s a facet of this great crystalline entity.  

This is made more clear in Sandman: Overture when we see Morpheus meeting the other aspects of Dream.  He acknowledges that they are all “him” yet they are autonomous to each other.   Self-aware and self-contained yet linked.  

Daniel isn’t some human baby that Morpheus randomly chose as his heir. Daniel IS him.   Both are shards of the same being.  But here’s the thing.  Facets of Dream of The Endless CAN exist autonomously from each other.  This is how Morpheus was tricked into thinking the cat (Desire) was another aspect of Dream (another shard) in Sandman: Overture.

So you see, when I “Ship” Morpheus with Daniel I speak of two pieces of a greater whole finding a balance, kinship, and understanding with one and other.  I speak of two adult aspects of a greater whole. Not a man and child.   Not a man and his heir.  Not a child who was groomed by a supernatural being.  But two supernatural beings with the same knowledge, power, and (for the most part) memory as each other- pieces of the same soul corporealized.  Both connected by being facets of the great jewel that is Dream of The Endless yet autonomous to each other.

Even if Daniel had been human he would be pushing thirty-years-old right now.  Characters in Vertigo Comics were aging at real-world speed (until they switched over to DC Black label, which was only a few months ago).  This is no three-year-old, folks.   

Now for a hypothetical.

Morpheus would be the younger of the two as in my “shipping” of the duo requires Daniel to have resurrected Morpheus as a dream entity.  As a dream entity Morpheus would no longer quite be Dream of the Endless anymore but free from that role in his own “death” as Dream of The Endless.  

I feel this is what happened- that he became a dream entity posthumously.  Notice his appearance in Hob’s dream in Sandman: The Wake.  He was there with Destruction.  Hob did not know who Destruction was other than a random street artist he saw once. he did not know Destruction’s connection to Morpheus.  There is only one explanation for that dream he had of them.  The only explanation is that it truly was Morpheus in his dream, brought back as a dream entity but dead as “Dream of The Endless.”     

If Morpheus exists as a dream entity now, that’s Daniel-Dream’s doing.  And therefor Daniel is technically the older of the two now, as Morpheus had to be recreated to become this dream entity. (Sort of like how Matthew became Dream’s raven.)  

Morpheus may have his ancient memories and knowledge (as Daniel does as well) but in his current state (as a dream entity) Morpheus would technically be the younger, at least in that form.

There. That’s the best way I can explain it.   

I hope I have that right.     

[darks-ink]

Unveiled

Prompt: Jack was just trying to plan a surprise for his good ol' friend Vladdy. He...did not expect to discover a secret lab in Vlad's mansion--or a second portal or weaponry to rival theirs or-- Was that a hologram of his wife? Prompt by: @ladylynse Word count: 3,836

[AO3][FFnet][more Phic Phight fics]

The door creaked as Jack opened it, arms full with birthday decorations. He kicked it closed behind him, the key already put into a pocket in his jumpsuit. Sure, Vlad might not have handed it to him, but the man hadn’t changed in the years since they had met. He still hid it exactly where Jack would’ve expected him to.

Which was useful, because now Jack could decorate the mansion for the surprise birthday party he was going to throw for his best friend! He knew for a fact that Vlad would be out for several hours – mayoral duties and all that. And while he normally did his best to attend… This was a golden opportunity. He was sure that Vlad would forgive his absence once he saw the party.

He dumped his armful of decorations (carefully) in the entry hall. It would be the most convenient place to access it – he could return to this spot and decorate the separate wings of the mansion. Pleased with this plan, Jack picked up some of his goods and set off.

A few hours of decorating later, Jack had reached a cozy-looking study. He was just hanging up some flags when he accidentally knocked over a small statue. Worried that he had broken one of Vlad’s precious items, he approached to inspect it.

And then, with a grinding noise, the wall behind the statue started to open. Jack paused, watching how the wall opened into… a staircase?

Curiosity peaked, Jack crept closer. Why would Vlad have a hidden staircase like this? But just imagine what kind of cool things could be hidden down there?

He eagerly bustled down the stairs, and ended up in an enormous lab. It was much more neatly organized than theirs – a clear sign that Vlad was in control of this one.

Jack had to admit that he was a little confused by the fact that it was hidden. As exciting as this discovery was – his best friend was still into (ghost) science! – he didn’t understand why Vlad had kept it a secret. Why hadn’t he mentioned it to his friends? To him or Maddie?

Were mayors not allowed to have interests like these? Or was it something to do with his image, as mayor or as billionaire? Jack knew that the town tended to look askew to him and his wife because of their interest. Did Vlad hide it because of that? Was he afraid of being scorned like that?

He walked further into the lab, curious to see what Vlad worked on. What kind of inventions had he stowed down here? Could they work together, perhaps? Secretly, so he didn’t have to worry about his reputation?

Now that Jack was away from the staircase, he could see the entire lab. It was far larger than the one underneath FentonWorks. Not entirely surprising, that was.

What was surprising was the invention set in the back wall. It was a familiar sight. A giant metal arch, the insides filled with swirling green; a Ghost Portal. Set in the steel beside it was an Ecto-Filtrator. It… was the exact same as their Ecto-Filtrator.

And, sure. Maybe Vlad had based it on the old design for the Proto-Portal they had made back in college. But the one he and his wife had built for the new Portal was entirely different in design. And somehow, Vlad had made his exactly like theirs. How? He shouldn’t have had access to the blueprints. Right?

All along the walls, carefully stored and labeled, was ecto-weaponry. Jack would’ve been excited about that, except that these seemed to be very much like the FentonWorks weaponry as well. The designs seemed eerily similar. Most guns could’ve been theirs, except that they were detailed with red instead of green. Seemed to be powered by pink ectoplasm instead of the green they used.

Was this why Vlad had hidden his lab? Because he borrowed their designs – Jack didn’t want to think of it as stealing, because surely his best friend didn’t so such things – and didn’t want them to know? Didn’t Vlad realize that they would’ve forgiven him for such a thing? If he had asked, Jack would’ve gladly shared the blueprints, even!

Everything in the lab seemed to be directly inspired from the FentonWorks lab, except bigger and more expensive. Everything, except for the giant machines in the back.

They resembled enormous pods – and Jack had no idea what they could’ve been for. They weren’t connected to anything, and were littered with shattered glass and broken machinery and snapped cables. They were clearly salvaged from somewhere, but from where and why, he didn’t know. Was Vlad researching the machines for something? And if so, for what?

In his curiosity, his feet had been carrying him ever closer without him noticing. Apparently he passed too close by the main computer, because it turned on. Startled by the sudden activation, Jack backed away a step or two.

And in the empty space he had just cleared, a hologram appeared. See-through and glitchy along the edges, but still clearly recognizable. The auburn hair and violet eyes were a clear giveaway – as was the teal jumpsuit.

Vlad had a hologram made to resemble Maddie. Jack’s wife. What the hell?

“Hello darling,” the fake Maddie said, her voice so staticky that it was barely recognizable as Maddie’s. “How can I help you today?”

“Go away,” he commanded, disgusted and confused and so many other emotions that he couldn’t discern. “Leave me alone.”

“Of course sweetcheeks,” the hologram replied, before flickering out of sight. Jack sighed, relieved, and sank down into the chair sitting in front of the computer. Maybe… maybe he should take a look. Something was going on here.

The cool hidden underground lab suddenly wasn’t as exciting anymore.

On the computer, the files were neatly organized. Another sign that good old Vladdie hadn’t changed as much as one might think. Unfortunately, this didn’t make the information presented to Jack make any more sense.

A bunch of files were dedicated to Maddie. And another few specifically to the AI version of Maddie he had seen just now – which implied that most of the files were about the real Maddie. Jack briefly wondered what on Earth his friend could’ve hidden in these – but he skipped past them, nonetheless.

Disgust curled in his stomach. Maybe Vlad wasn’t the friend Jack thought he was. To him, or to Maddie.

There are also a lot of files about Phantom. These, at least, should be safe for Jack to explore. The ghost was an interesting one, after all. And had no link to him or his family, besides the fact that they hunted it.

Initially, the files make perfect sense. They were studies – far more in-depth than anything Jack and his wife had ever managed. Phantom was notoriously elusive, and he wondered how Vlad might’ve acquired the more advanced data.

Phantom’s power levels, its abilities and skills, weaknesses and strengths. These were all perfectly normal – they kept the same things logged. The ghost was a powerful one, and knowing one’s prey was important for hunters. And while Vlad wasn’t a hunter, he might’ve been compiling the information for other hunters to use.

More curious were the anatomical pointers. Some of the notes were fine – location and strength of the core, ectoplasm density, such things – but others… were not. Skeletal structure, which ghosts shouldn’t have, and even organs? Was Vlad somehow ahead of them in research?

Jack did seriously wonder how Vlad had acquired all this information, then. He wasn’t a hunter – and he certainly couldn’t have caught Phantom. Right?

More curiously, however, was that he kept referring to the ghost as ‘Daniel’ instead of Phantom. This, Jack definitely didn’t get.

Until he reached the part of the file dedicated to Phantom’s origin.

From the start, it was a confusing mess of data. It listed all kinds of information about Phantom which Jack couldn’t fathom Vlad accessing – and which he highly doubted were true. Additionally, it was all presented in a way which made it seem all the more sketchy.

Even the first note, cause of death, was highly dubious. “Electrocution via Ghost Portal,” it stated, which was clear enough – if a little worrying, because it meant that not only was someone trying to mimic their grand invention, they had gotten a kid killed in the process. More confusingly, however, the sentence didn’t end there. No, instead, “much like myself” was tacked on. Like Vlad himself had died – or like the files had come from a ghost.

Jack wasn’t sure which was better. He ignored it in favor of reading on, hoping to find less confusing information.

Apparently Phantom had only become a ghost a year or two ago. By the time they first encountered him, he would’ve been barely formed. Supposedly, he had formed immediately upon death – he had died early August that year.

Instead of getting hung up on this, Jack’s eye caught on the details on the ghost’s identity. Because there, in plain text, it read, “Daniel Fenton”. Like his son had died two years ago, and had somehow become Phantom. As if he wouldn’t have noticed if his own son had died!

But the file provided picture proof as well. A lot of picture proof. Comparative photos between Danny and Phantom, taken at regular intervals. They did look like perfect mirror images – identical copies, if one ignored the difference in hair and eye color. In the pictures, one could even see them growing up in perfect sync.

And the file continued on. It listed Phantom (Danny?) as a halfa – a half-ghost. A special type of ghost caught in the split between life and death. Not entirely a ghost, but not quite human either.

It was… It was all too much. None of this could be true. Jack refused to believe it.

Something… Something must be wrong with Vlad – clearly had been for a while. He was sorry that he hadn’t noticed it before, but for now the best would be to help. He didn’t know what had caused it, or how to fix it, but he owed it to his friend. All these files were a clear sign of some mental problem – Jazz’s constant rants about psychology had taught him that much, at least.

Because, as convincing as all this was… As much as all of it held up to Vlad’s old standards, rigorously collected and sorted information…

Danny could not be Phantom. It was impossible. No matter how similar their appearances were, it simply wasn’t physically possible for one to be both ghost and human at the same time.

Still, morbid curiosity drove him to scroll just that little bit further down.

Logs. So many logs. Detailed breakdowns of Danny’s DNA – or parts of it, at least. Some clearly human. Other bits seemed otherworldly – tainted by ectoplasm, or so the file said.

More concerning, however, were the carefully kept notes on the various clones that Vlad had made. Of Danny – or Phantom, that wasn’t entirely clear. Maybe a mixture of both, which would’ve explained his faulty belief that the two were one and the same.

Jack would’ve considered that the reason why they were all listed as destabilized. All had broken down over their contrary existence – an existence not physically possible.

Except that, apparently, a single clone had survived. Slightly younger than Danny, and female. There was no name listed for her – just like there had been no names for the others. And somehow, she had survived.

Jack would’ve scoffed, laughed it off… but there were, once again, photos. Of a girl who looked so much like Danny that it was scary. And of a girl who looked just like Phantom, but younger. Different in the same way she was different from Danny.

And a video, which showed her shifting from one into the other in a sharp burst of light. Bright rings which swept away one girl and replaced her with the other.

So maybe there was some sort of truth to Danny being Phantom. Or Vlad had become incredibly competent with video editing – which Jack highly doubted. If he had gone this crazy, surely he couldn’t fake such convincing footage?

More concerning, however, was what Vlad apparently thought of this clone. She was the only survivor of an act he shouldn’t have tried – creating new life was morally wrong, and he highly doubted that either his son or Phantom (or were they one and the same?) had consented to it.

But Vlad seemed intent on figuring out why this one clone had survived. And to do so, he wanted to catch her.

He wanted to kill her, just to find out why she hadn’t died sooner.

It was… It was disgusting. No matter what had gone wrong with Vlad, no matter how much of this was real or fake or imagined – the intent was still there. Even if the girl– ghost– halfa wasn’t real, Vlad still wanted to kill her. Wanted to kill a living being he had created, because of what? Because she wasn’t a perfect copy of Danny? Because she had somehow survived when his ‘good’ clones hadn’t?

Why did he even want to clone Danny? Phantom or not, what could Vlad possibly achieve from having a clone of Jack’s son?

He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what the truth was – behind Phantom, behind Vlad, behind the lab and all its contents and–

Pushing himself away from the desk, Jack stood up. He wanted to get away from it all. Wanted to deny it – but at the same time, he wanted to help. Wanted to figure it out.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, intending to leave, trying to decide what to do–

A sound like shattering glass snapped him out of his reverie. He whipped around to see Phantom – the ghost was hovering next to one of the tables in the lab. Its – his – eyes were wide with shock. At his feet laid broken glass, like he had accidentally knocked a beaker over.

“D– Jack,” he said. Now that Jack was listening for it, he could clearly hear the hesitation, the correction. Phantom had been about to call him Dad.

God, this really was his son. Or derived from him somehow, but… that didn’t seem right. His gut said that the first was correct – and Vlad’s files seemed to imply the same.

“Danny,” he greeted back. Phantom – Danny – seemed confused by the words. And, perhaps, also by his non-violent approach. And how sad was that, that his own son looked at him with genuine fear?

He took his eyes off of the ghost of his son. Or half-ghost, if Vlad’s notes were to be believed. He doesn’t know anymore. Some of them seemed to be right, but others… they were too disgusting and scary to imagine.

“What are you doing here?” Danny asked him, cautiously. Jack continued to look around the lab, eyes roving over the entire room. Scanning it for any signs of the horrible things Vlad might’ve done. The ways he might’ve hurt Jack’s son.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he countered, shooting Danny a glance over his shoulder. The half-ghost fidgeted, unsure.

Then Jack’s eyes land on the broken down pods. Knowing what he did now, he could figure out what they were for. Cloning pods. One used to grow the clones – there had surely been more, but only one had been brought here by Vlad.

The other had been used to torture Danny, to somehow obtain the missing DNA samples.

And now that he had started thinking about it, he couldn’t help but worry… What had happened to the female clone? Because if Vlad was right about Danny being Phantom, and the pods were real enough… did that mean that the girl was also real?

Did Jack have a daughter out there, illegally cloned from his son? A baby girl, who had grown up in a lab without a name, watching her siblings melt and die?

“Is she safe?” he burst out, startling Danny – and himself, a little.

The sudden question seemed to confuse the half-ghost, since he frowned at Jack. “Who?”

“The female clone.” He turned to face his son properly. “The notes said that Vlad tried to hurt her, melt her down. What happened to her? Is she safe?”

“Oh, uh. I stabilized her fully, and then she left to travel the world.” Then the ghost fidgeted even more, slowly approaching him. “What, um. What else did the notes say?”

“A lot.” Jack scratched his cheek, offering a hopefully soothing smile. “Most of them bad things. Terrible things that Vlad has done, or wanted to do. He has a hologram of Maddie, can you believe that? Your mother!”

Danny stiffened, eyes widening even further. The glow from his green eyes cast flickering lights on the shiny surfaces of the lab. For once, Phantom’s eyes seemed kind and lively – Jack wondered how he had never noticed it before.

“You know?” he stuttered, looking at Jack. “And you… don’t mind?”

“Of course not,” he soothed, stepping closer to his son. He went slow, careful not to startle the boy. “You’re my son, Danny. Ghost, boy, or something in-between.”

Then suddenly Danny launched himself at Jack. Chilly cold arms wrapped around him, and in turn his big arms folded around his son. His son, who fit into his arms like he had always done.

A scoff interrupted the moment before they could truly cherish it. They broke apart to see the villainous Wisconsin Ghost hovering in the lab, in front of the Portal. Its arms were crossed, red eyes empty yet somehow still conveying a glare.

“Vlad,” Danny snapped at the ghost, and suddenly all the dots connected for Jack. This was his best friend?

But it made perfect sense. If Vlad’s files were to be believed, Danny had become a halfa thanks to his accident with the Ghost Portal. Vlad, too, had had an accident with a Portal – even if his had been the Proto-Portal. The larger amount of ectoplasm must account for the sickness, for the more… ghostly appearance.

And it explained Vlad’s behavior. The ectoplasm made him more volatile, more ghostly. It must’ve brought down hell upon his mind – and that was without the outside influence of people hating ghosts. It didn’t excuse his behavior, but, well. If they knew the problem, they could help Vlad. Could fix this – could fix him.

He realized that he had missed part of the conversation between Vlad and Danny. But it was impossible to miss the impending fight between the two, so he stepped forward to break it up.

“Wait,” Jack said, holding up his hands. And miraculously, both half-ghosts halted. He turned to face Vlad – his best friend, whom he had hurt beyond words.

“Vlad. I’m… I’m so sorry for what I’ve done to you.” He saw Vlad’s eyes widen, but he wasn’t sure with what emotion. His face was surprisingly hard to read like this. “I’m sorry for the accident with the Portal, and I’m sorry for unintentionally threatening you with my hatred of ghosts. I’m sorry for all the time we – I – made you feel unsafe, or unwelcome, or hated because of something you can’t control.”

Then his eyes hardened, and he made sure to keep his eyes locked with his best friend – or the man that once was his best friend. “But that doesn’t excuse anything you have done. It doesn’t excuse what you’ve done to me, or to my family. It doesn’t excuse what you continue to do.”

Vlad snarled in response, baring his pointed fangs. “What makes you think that I care at all about what you think of me!” Pink ectoplasm sparked around his hands, forming into coiling clouds of active ectoplasm. “What makes you think that I care about your opinion?!”

The ghost shot off, launching himself at Jack with startling speeds. He flinched back a step, throwing up his arms in a feeble attempt to defend himself–

But Danny collided with Vlad before the man reached him, and he was thrown into a wall instead. A fight broke out between the two half-ghosts, Vlad immediately ignoring Jack in favor of the bigger threat.

It made feel Jack feel sick, but he didn’t focus on it. He might not have brought any weaponry, but he didn't need to – the lab was well-stocked with ecto-weaponry. And as much as he hated their similarity with the FentonWorks weapons, it was a boon for the moment. They all seemed to work exactly like the guns he was used to.

His eye caught on Vlad as he charged another ball of volatile ectoplasm. Below him, Danny was picking himself off of the floor. He was unable to defend himself.

Jack blindly reached for a weapon, aimed, and shot.

The explosion blew Vlad back, and his attack dissipated. He hit the wall with a dull thud, head banging against it. Then he collapsed on the floor, his head bent down. A black ring formed around his waist, then split in two and swept over him.

Vlad Masters remained where the Wisconsin Ghost had sat, moments before. A perfect mimicry of the transformation Jack had seen on the screen, an eternity ago.

He stepped closer, bending down over his former best friend. Danny, who had finally picked himself off of the ground, hovered close to him.

“Don’t hurt my son,” he hissed, inches away from Vlad’s face.

“Stay away from my family,” he warned. “From me, from my wife. From my beautiful daughter Jazz and my wonderful son Danny. And from my newest daughter,” he paused, scrambling for a name.

Quietly, Danny added, “Danielle.” Jack didn’t question the name – he trusted his son’s judgment.

“And from my newest daughter, Danielle, whom I haven’t met yet but who I will protect anyway.”

His enormous hands curled around Vlad’s shoulders as he shook the man, driving the point home. “And if you even dare to hurt any of them, I will make the remainder of your life hell. Remember that, Vlad Masters.”

Then he straightened up, nodding once at Danny. The boys eyes flitted between him and Vlad, uncertain.

Jack strode towards the staircase. After a short moment of hesitation, Danny followed him.

“So,” Jack said as they climbed the stairs. Or as he climbed the stairs while Danny floated over them. “Do you have any way of contacting this Danielle?”

Danny remained silent for a moment longer. Then, quietly, he asked, “Why?”

Shooting him a grin, Jack offered, “Well, she’s a Fenton. And us Fentons, we stick together. No matter what.”

[dragonfairy1231]

Reversed Quartet

This was partially made for and very much so inspired by queenofhearts7378. Please check them out, they and thier Secret Quartet side blog are amazing!

Chapter 1. Heroines in New York?

“Ugh!” A teenage girl with bright violet eyes, pitch black hair and a fair complexion groaned into her phone, on which was a three way call to her best friends.

“It-It’s not that bad Sam.” Danny Fenton, son of local town (formerly thought to be mad) scientists and known as the boy with his head in the stars around the small town, tried to placate his irate friend.

“Not that bad?!” The girl shot back, springing back up from the bed she’d just laid down on.

“Danny, I’ll be going to New-freaking-York. Just so that my mother can go see the newest fashions revealed. And I’ll be gone for a week! What if something major happens?” She frantically questioned him. Should someone have been listening in, they may have thought she was referring to the Ghost Attacks the small town of Amity Park suffered from nigh daily. However, you would have then been very confused, considering any ordinarily rational person would want to be as far away from those attacks as possible. Yet, Samantha Manson, who’d tell you yes, is usually quite rational, wasn’t a particularly ordinary person. This is thanks to an accident involving the Fenton’s portal into the Ghost Realm a little less than a year ago; the purple eyed girl was, quite literally, only half alive.

Or, more accurately, a Halfa. Half ghost, half human. Her ghostly self was known as Sam Wraith*, Amity’s own superheroine against the other ghosts that came through the Fenton’s portal in order to start and stir up trouble. Sam has made it her job to make sure Amity Park was safe from the more ill-intended ghosts, while calming and even befriending those who were merely sprites born of being wronged in their own life or afterlife.

Thanks to her mother’s plans of going to New York, and dragging her husband and daughter with her though, Sam would not be able to do her job for an entire week, more than long enough for the town to be destroyed. The other voice on the phone call snapped Sam from her thoughts with a scoff.

“Well geez, thanks for the faith, Sam.” Tucker Foley shot back, the Techno Goth of the Trio, who knew how to solve most of the team’s problems either by technology or the dark mythology he so enjoyed. Sam rolled her eyes as she let out a puff of exasperation.

“It’s not like I don’t trust you guys, I just don’t trust karma, fate, chance and all those other universal forces to not send the biggest baddie here the minute after I’m out of state.” She refuted. She heard Danny giggle softly over the phone and resisted the urge to clutch at her heart at the sound, despite neither boy nor anyone else being able to see her. ‘Stupid crush!’ She cursed as Danny began to speak up again.

“Sam, we can deal with a little bit of trouble. If it gets that bad than we have Jazz, Marth*, my parents and even Valerie helping out. The town will survive, promise. Besides, even superheroines deserve a week off every once in a while. And yeah, I know that a fashion week isn’t really your scene, but it’s New York. There has to be plenty of things to do. Not to mention all the different cultures.” Sam bit back a groan and gritted her teeth. He was tempting and daring her now.    

Yet, Danny has always been able to do that, he knew just what to say, always. Whether her and Tucker were fighting about Veggies VS Meat, or she was riled up because of Skulker’s bragging of his ‘accomplishments’ in hunting down others. It was probably bad he had so much power with just a few words, but he never abused it against anyone. That was just part of who he was. As always, Sam let out a sigh.

“Yeah… okay…” Sam relented, “but only because Marth is around.” Danny and Tucker laughed.

“Of course.” She could hear Tucker’s smirk over the phone and solidly decided she’d pinch his ear next time she saw her goth friend.

“Well, I’ve got the last bit of Lancer’s essay to power through, so I need to let you lovebirds go.” Tucker told them.

“WE’RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!” Came the automatic angry yell from Sam and the embarrassed one from Danny. Tucker just laughed as he hung up as he said goodnight, leaving his two friends alone on the line.

“I have to go too,  Jazz and I need to make sure all the ghost gear is turned off so none of it finds Marth in the night or morning.” Danny told her, the shyness he never quite could be rid of evident in his voice, and Sam smiled.

“Okay, night Danny. And, thanks again.” She told him.

“You all are always welcome here Sam, goodnight.” Danny responded as he hung up. Sam sighed again as she stared at her ceiling. She shook her head as she got changed into her PJs and headed off to sleep.

‘Who knows. Maybe a week off could do me some good.’ Sam thought before the halfa drifted off to sleep.

*I choose Wraith to be Sam’s transformed last name because of the switched from M to W is easier to correlate and similar to the F to P of Fenton to Phantom.

*Marth is this AU’s version of Danielle (Trust me, I’m sobbing that’s she’s gone too). His full name is Samarth Manson/Wraith, but he prefers going by Marth to make himself feel more different from his ‘original.’ And, unlike Danielle who could definitely be just Danny’s clone and a girl because of XY genes for male and XX genes for female, Marth got his Y gene from Danny, which is why he stays at Danny’s house instead of with Sam when visiting Amity. That and the fact that he’d have two people looking out for him and if he is sighted or his signature found it can be more easily played off by being in a ghost hot spot. And, yes, Vlad is around in this AU, and his goals still include the death of Jack and Maddie for his wife, as well as Danny as his son because of the boy’s intelligence and skills with ghost weapons. He wants Sam as his protege, the one to which he will teach all of his skills to. However, Danny and Sam both vehemently refused. So it’s actually a bit ambiguous if Marth got Danny’s DNA in him on purpose or accident.

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“Marinette! Are you ready?” Sabine Cheng called out to her daughter, her and her husband’s suitcases besides her.

“Almost, Maman!” Her daughter called back. Said girl already had her suitcase packed, and was now looking for her portable charger that she knew was somewhere for the plane ride.

“Ugh! Plagg, could you please help me?” The blue eyed girl begged the small black kwami that floated above her desk, currently eating his apple and camembert cake.

“I could, but… I could also keep eating this.” The black cat countered,cackling as he took another bite of his cheesy cake. Marinette sighed and shook her head, but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. As troublesome as her kwami could be, she couldn’t help but love the mischievous cat-like being.

You see, most people would peg Marinette as a normal girl, with a normal life. Marinette herself would be the first to say as much. But, she had a secret. She was one of Paris’ two main heroes, Chat Noir! With her Kwami Plagg’s help, she was able to transform into the superheroine with the power of destruction at her fingertips with only a word needed to give the command. Her partner, the ever handsome Ladybug, and her had saved the city more times than one could count on both hands from Hawkmoth and his Akumatized victims.

Right now, however, Marinette was going to visit her mother’s cousins along with her parents, the Longs. The Longs lived all the way in New York City, New York, America. Which brought Marinette to her current problem. The aspiring fashion designer could’ve sworn she placed her portable charger on her desk just last night, but it was now misplaced. Which seemed just her luck.

Speaking of… her phone began to ring, and a quick check revealed it to be one of her best friends, Adrien Agreste. Adrien was usually extraordinarily busy, being a model for his father’s fashion line, taking fencing, piano and Chinese lessons, on top of school and basketball. However, all of this had not stopped the green eyed blonde and the clumsy dark haired girl from becoming equally extraordinarily fast friends, almost to the same level as her and her nearly life long friend Alya Césaire. Marinette put the phone to her ear and smiled as she continued to search for her charger.

“Hey Adrien!” She answered happily.

“Morning, Bluebell!” He responded, calling her the same nickname he’d had for her since the sweet valentine he’d shyly given her. “How’re you doing today?” The blonde asked her. Marinette gave a half-hearted groan as she began to check the floor by her closest.

“Well, we need to leave in half an hour, I still haven’t eaten breakfast and the infamous Marinette luck has struck again, this time against my charger.” She jokingly complained. Adrien laughed and Mari had to smile at the noise, he didn’t laugh enough. And honestly, no one could deny the sound was practically sunshine. ‘Just like a certain spot of pure sunshine.’ She thought dreamily before shaking out of her fantasies and back into the present.

“Where have you checked so far?” Adrien asked her. Marinette hummed as she thought.

“Computer desk, where I thought I left it, floor around said desk, corners, fashion desk and floor around there, and now closet.” She listed.

“How about under your bed?” He suggested. Marinette blinked and shrugged.

“Okay, but I don’t see how it’d end u-what the heck?!” She exclaimed as she put her hand under her bed and almost immediately found her charger. Adrien laughed again and Marinette shook her head.

“Adrien Agreste, the everworking lucky charm.” She giggled.

“Aww, you flatter me Bluebell.” Adrien flirted back jokingly.

“So, what were you up to beforehand?” Marinette wondered as she placed the charger (after checking to make sure it was charged) into her travel bag, along with her drawing pad.

“Three guesses.” He responded dryly.

“Model shoot?”

“And she gets it in one!” Marinette laughed at her friend’s dramatic announcer voice.

“Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the shoots, but sometimes I wish I could just sleep in for a little bit. Once I’m up, I’m up until night.” He told her.

“Yeah, I’ve seen and marveled at that.” Marinette replied.

“Marinette? You ready to go?” Sabine’s voice called again.

“Oui maman!” Marinette called down as she grabbed her suitcase and bag.

“You’re going to visit your cousins, right?” Adrien questioned.

“Yep. Oh, hold on a second, Alya is calling. I’ll just make a four way call between us and our favorite couple.” She giggled as Adrien chuckled. Marinette saw it was now time for her family to leave, lest they be late to the airport. As the phone was still ringing Marinette spoke to her Kwami.

“Come on Plagg! We’re going to be late!” The black cat sighed before zipping to Marinette’s inner jacket pocket that she made for him, making a pleasantly surprised purr at finding it newly lined, and with some of the decorative yarn hanging from the edges. Marinette giggled at the vibrations against her heart, and began to make her way down the stairs as Adrien and Alya answered again, Nino joining the call a few seconds later.

“Hey girl! Hey Nino, Adrien!” Alya’s voice called out.

“Sup Alya, dude and dudette!” Nino greeted.

“Hi you guys.” Adrien responded.

“Morning Alya, Nino. And I was already talking to you, Agreste.” The four laughed, calling each other by last names had long since been a running joke. “My parents and I are  about to be heading out to catch our flight.” Marinette told them.

“Well, you seem to be going to New York at a wonderful time for you, Mari.” Marinette could practically hear her friend’s smirk over the phone.

“And why is that?” She questioned her friend suspiciously.

“Yeah, I’m confused too.” Nino told his girlfriend.

“Oh! I remember now. My dad had gotten an invite but he turned it down in order to prepare for Paris’ next month.” Adrien added. Marinette raised an eyebrow and waved at her parents, accepting a cream cheese and berry danish from her father with a smile and mouthed “thank you.”

“Well don’t keep us in the dark, dude! Spill!” Nino implored. Marinette hummed her agreement with her friend through her mouthful of danish. Adrien and Alya laughed and Adrien said Alya could tell.

“You’ll be arriving at the same time New York’s fashion week starts girl!” Alya told her. Marinette was very glad she had just finished swallowing because her mouth had flew open and, if not for her willpower to avoid awakening her napping Kwami, she would’ve bounced in place.

“You’re kidding?!” Marinette nearly squealed, using her napkin to set her danish down. Her parents gave her questioning looks and she mouthed “NY Fashion Week!” with a large grin. Sabine gave a start and a giggle as she checked her phone, seeing that her cousin Susan had just texted a certain question. Tom gave his own deep laugh as he rubbed his enthusiastic daughter’s head.

“I can’t believe I’m actually going to be in New York during it’s fashion week! Maman, Papa, I know we’re going to see family but can we please, please pretty please just take a little peak?” Marinette begged her parents. Sabine giggled as she showed her daughter her phone, which showed her Aunt Susan asking

Susan: Hey Sabine, your daughter wants to be a fashion designer, right? Would she be interested in helping me out with some catering things for NY’s fashion week? It comes with free tickets.

Marinette couldn’t control it now, and did bounce in place, rushing to give her mother a hug and rambling to explain to her friends. It seemed as though her trip to America wouldn’t be able to get any better!

*  Okay so… Adrien likes Marinette as way more than “just a friend” (I’m calling you out Agreste!!!), and I put this in through the nickname of Bluebell, the same way canon Chat calls canon Ladybug My Lady. AU Ladybug (Since male Ladybugs are still called Ladybugs, and with his general reaction to the stereotypically feminine things, I feel like Adrien wouldn’t really mind being called Ladybug. Plus it still allows for a lot of puns.) will playfully call AU Chat Purrincess (because this is still Adrien being a superhero. Just because he’s not Chat Noir doesn’t mean he won’t crack puns every five seconds.) and Chaton, but he likes his partner in a one hundred percent ‘platonic’ way. Or, at least as platonically as Canon!Mari likes Canon!Chat. This Marinette, on the other hand, likes her hero partner a lot, even if he does crack silly puns all the time at her expense as well as his own. And she’s completely oblivious to Adrien’s feelings for her, and will always deny Alya’s claims that the blonde does like her romantically despite his flirting that she always takes as joking. So… the Love Square. It’s still here. Yay! And! Mari likes to pamper her Kwami when he behaves himself. Plagg is anything but complaining when he finds all the little surprises Mari will leave for him, such as small balls of yarn, small knitted blanket piles, camembert treats and cubes, and little softly lined pocket in her purse and jacket so that he can be close by but take all the catnaps he wants.

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Theresa Fowler groaned as she popped her back. The flight from her hometown of Norrisville, Oklahoma to New York City, New York, was a tiring one.

“You alright, kiddo?” Her dad questioned her. Theresa smiled back.

“I’m okay dad. My back just hurts from those chairs. They were totally wonk.” She told him. He chuckled and shook his head.

“I will never get your generation’s slang, ‘resa.” He told her. Theresa just grinned back as she blew violet and indigo strands out of her eyes.

“Alright, your mom should be picking us up soon. Why don’t you use the ladies’ room while I call her and get us some food to go. I’ll send you a picture of the menu. After that, we can go to baggage.” He told her.

“Alright, thanks daddy. See you in a bit.” Theresa then jogged off to find the bathroom, the red glow coming from her bag brightening, causing Theresa to almost curse. Grabbing her cell, she put it up to her ear as she talked to the centuries old book.

“Okay, yes I know, just another minute. I’m trying to find the bathroom Nomi, would you calm down?” She told it. The glow died down and she rolled her eyes.

‘So dramatic!’ She thought. Finally, she found the bathroom. And by some miracle, a stall was empty.  After putting a paper down so she could sit (do you know how dirty airport bathrooms are???)

“Okay, what’ve you got for me Nomicon?” She questioned as she shloomped into Nomicom’s lesson world.

Shadowy figures filled her view. One was very familiar, being herself. Well, herself in costume, at least. The Norrisville Ninja’s figure was with two other feminine ones, and one that was a frickin DRAGON, so that was cool. One of the female figures didn't have legs, rather a wispy sort of tail. The other was just a cat girl as far as Theresa could tell. A catgirl with a staff, but still, catgirl. The neon words then filled her view, as the four figure faced off against another figure, this one with a much meaner aura.

“Four heroes, with Power from times ancient, shall face a darkness reawakened. A bond between the Shadow Walker, Fire Breather, Nature Specter, and Sable Destroyer alone can withstand the restless Myth.” Theresa read. She blinked furiously as she looked at the five figures, trying to make out the Nomicon’s strange prophecy.

“Nomi, wha-” She felt herself starting to be tossed out and bit back a curse.

“Oh come on! At least explain it better than that! Nomi!” She yelled before being thrown back into the real world.

Theresa sighed, disgruntled. Sure, she loved being a heroine and all, but why did prophecies have to be so convoluted?

*Yep. Rather than Randy, the Messenger choose Theresa in this AU. I’m not actually sure if the Ninja has ever been female, as the only past ones we see were male, but it has now happened.

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Rose sighed as she stared at her ceiling. This Saturday was so far kind of boring. Sun said that there didn’t seem to be any trouble so far, and that Rose should take today to catch up on her homework. Her sister had even agreed, saying she could take care of any problem that came up in the community. Rose was grateful for that, but it was seven o’clock when that happened (curse her internal alarm!), and it was now two p.m.. Safe to say, Rose Penson was very bored. Trixie was visiting a hospital that was allowing high schoolers a chance to see how some surgical procedures were done, and Spud was… well he hadn’t picked up his phone so she assumed he was busy. Which only left…

“Hey Rose.” A very familiar voice greeted softly from her window. Rose’s face lit up as she saw her boyfriend sitting on her open window sill.

“Jake!” She grinned, bouncing off her bed to hug the green haired boy. Jake chuckled as Rose pulled him into her room, as Jake would often come in this way. After all, if anyone from the Huntsclan saw him just walk through the door, Rose and Raquel’s  parents and identities would be in quite a bit of danger.

“Sorry I haven’t been able to come in a while.” Jake grinned sheepishly. Rose shook her head as she pecked him on the cheek.

“It’s fine, I understand. I’m just glad you were able to come over. I was kinda bored.” The blonde giggled.

“Aww, my dragoness was left all by herself? How cruel.” Jake teased. Rose laughed again.

“Dork.” She told him. Jake dramatically put a hand over his heart.

“Oh! How the lady wounds me!” He whisper-exclaimed as he fell onto his girlfriend’s bed. Rose couldn’t help laughing again, and Jake mentally clapped himself on the back. He knew it was cheesy, but man, did he love that sound. Rose sat down next to him, and ran her hands through his surprising soft hair.

“No gel? I thought your hair looked a bit deflated.” She whispered. Jake took her other hand and kissed the back of it.

“Just finished attempting to train 88 and 89 again. It was either hair gel, or you. I think I made the right choice.” Rose hummed, unable to keep her own smile off her face.

“I think so too…” she kissed the top of Jake’s forehead, and the couple just smiled at each other. Both inwardly sighed, content to just relax with the other close by. Jake and Rose may have had more rough patches than most couples, because of what they were. The fire that rested in Rose’s lungs, and the magic in her veins, being the first of her kind to be born with such in America, her role was clear. Being the American Dragon was her fate.

The mark that the swirled around Jake’s hand, visible only when he didn’t gloves or hide it with powder, pronounced that he was to be a slayer of dragons. To kill even the one he knew he loved. Even though Jake had refused, sometimes, he wondered just what Fate and Destiny had in store for them. He just hoped they would be on their side.

It was moments like this, that he remembered why he wanted that so badly. To go against everything he was taught and raised to believe. When he could see the flaxen haired, blue eyed beauty above him. Even when she had turned into a dragon, with sky colored eyes and slit pupils, with glinting scales and hair spun of gold, he couldn’t help but to be awed by her. Likewise, Rose adored him, this was her hunter. With hair dyed green by gel, and eyes so dark a brown they looked like two black holes that would just suck her in. She didn’t care that she was taller than him, it just made it easier to tease him and kiss his forehead and cheeks.  They were each other’s first love, after all. And with how much they had been through, they believed that, just maybe, they were in love.

The sound of a phone ringing cut off their moment, and Jake groaned when he saw the number.

“Hello?” He questioned as he picked it up, gesturing for Rose to keep quiet.

“Yes. … No. … Yes sir. … I’ll be there shortly.” He said emotionlessly, hanging up his cell. Rose looked at her boyfriend, who had assumed a rigid upright position since he answered the phone. She watched him deflate and she put her hand gently on his shoulder.

“Do you have to go?” She asked him. He gave a half smile half frown.

“Sorry lovely, but we can’t have them getting suspicious. I much prefer your head where it is to be frank.” He stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead. She walked him to the still open window, and as he climbed out, she grabbed the front of his shirt, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“Come back soon, Hunter Boy.” He grinned.

“As you wish, Dragon Girl.” And he was off. Rose sighed before shaking her head. Geez, sometimes she really did feel like a silly, love struck teenager. Of course, at least her boyfriend was no better. She walked over to her laptop and pulled up a site of what was going on this week.

“Huh. There’s a fair in downtown Manhattan? Sounds interesting enough.” The blonde shrugged. A knock on her door, which Rose answered with a “come in!”

“Hey Rosie, do you have any plans for today?” Her mother poked her head into her elder daughter’s room. Rose has just closed her laptop and was heading to her closet to pick out a hoodie to ward off the spring chill, even if her inner fire usually worked plenty enough to provide her with enough heat.

“There’s a fair going on in Downtown Manhattan. Figured I’d let ‘quel, Trix and Spud know than start heading down there myself.” Rose told her. Amaryllis Penson hummed.

“Well, tomorrow is the beginning of New York’s fashion week. I know you’re not super into the latest fashions, but I figured some mother-daughter bonding wouldn’t hurt.” The elder blonde offered. Rose narrowed her eyes, a small smile playing on her face.

“Raquel said no already, didn’t she?” She folded her arms as her mother groaned.

“Really sweetie? Just have to call me out like that?” Rose laughed as she nodded.

“Yeah mom, I don’t have any plans for tomorrow anyway. It sounds fun.” Rose told her. Amaryllis grinned as she hugged her elder daughter.

“Oh, here. For the fair. You know they’re really expensive, and working at Mr.Long’s* shop only gets you so much.” Amaryllis said as she pressed five twenties in her daughter’s hand.

“That’s for your sister too by the way.” She told Rose. After putting the money in her wallet, and her wallet in her handbag, she gave her mother a quick “thanks” and a hug before rushing down the stairs with her helmet and grabbing her skateboard.

“Later mom!” She called.

So far, today seemed like it’d be a pretty good day.

*so the Longs (and by extension, the Changs) still have Dragon Blood, but they haven’t had the actual transformation in many generations. Lao Shi decided that unless his grandchildren were dragons, the secret wouldn’t be passed on, hence why he still knows of the magical world and has Fu Dog, but isn’t the Chinese Dragon. He just accidentally found out Rose is the American Dragon, and offered her a cover job. She does help out in the store and work there, and Jake has been over a few times and met the man. Lao Shi thinks that his employee’s boyfriend looks an awful lot like what his grandson could’ve, but doesn’t act on any suspicions incase they’re wrong, and he would only cause more harm to his daughter.

[prettywordsyouleft]

Dreaming [M]

Summary: it hadn’t initially been in your plans to sleep with Seongwoo whilst he was dreaming, but you didn’t hesitate much in meeting his desires either.

Characters: Ong Seongwoo x female reader

Genre: ghost au 

Warnings: smut 

A/N: Okay, I know this idea is really out there. I said it as a joke to a friend who dared me to go ahead with it, and well, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I tried to make it really tasteful and put Seongwoo in charge of more than the reader is to compensate the undertone to this idea. There is obviously sexual content – not too descriptive like last week in Culmination, but I want to warn you all the same that reading is up to your discretion.

Word count: 1898

Seongwoo had had an exhausting day, you could tell. As he lay in his hotel bed, he longed for sleep to take him quickly to a restful state so he could prepare for the next day. You hovered patiently in the corner of the room, waiting until he appeared to have fallen asleep, his breathing as steady as the man’s in the adjacent bed was now. Taking a deep breath that you didn’t really need, you then approached his bed, climbing onto it hesitantly.

“Daniel?” he called out without opening his eyes, tilting his head in the direction of the other bed in the hotel room.

You froze then, wondering if this was really such a great idea. You were new to this type of assignment, and it made you stop like a deer in headlights. If you got caught and didn’t complete what was asked of you, the Madam of this hotel would be extremely displeased. That idea was so unfathomable that you took a steadying breath and continued up the bed to his side. He seemed calm again from what you could tell, and once you gently placed yourself down beside him, he sighed in content.

You felt like that was a sign of acceptance, laying there staring at the handsome man for some time. You had succeeded. The Madam wouldn’t get mad now.

Being a spirit wasn’t an easy existence. Sure you didn’t have matters like hunger, exhaustion or toileting to concern yourself over. Sometimes you humoured yourself in doing the tasks all the same, just to feel more alive than the nothingness that usually consumed you. But like the world of humans, there was a hierarchy within the spirit realm. Someone always held power higher than yours, and for a wandering spirit like yourself, you definitely belonged to someone. Madam took you in when you needed her help in the confusing days after your murder, and she made you feel special and cherished. You hadn’t known at the time it was her initiation into making you complete sinful acts such as this.

“All you have to do is sleep with him; it’s not a hard task Y/N.”

Your eyes had gone wide with the room number she had slipped across the table to you. “Sleep as in h-how?”

“I’ll leave that up to his imagination,” she had mentioned with a small smile playing on her lips. You knew that look never meant something easy. All the same you couldn’t not do it. You feared the unknown realm of what happened if you didn’t answer her requests. Whilst you disliked the feeling of your existence meaning nothing, you still had one. And that was why you were precariously nestled next to the brunette, his arm somehow shifting towards you. Your eyes widened as you remained still, feeling his arm slide under your body, his hand soon resting on your back.

He was touching you.

How on Earth was he able to do such a thing? You were stunned, this was your first time feeling the weight of a living person upon your body since your demise, and you had to admit it was an experience. Unlike when you were alive, there was a tingling sensation on the small of your back where his fingers pressed in and soon you were instinctively moving closer, Seongwoo’s body turning to yours.

He hummed lightly with your body up against his, and you cursed quietly before closing your eyes and nestling in further. It felt good to be in his arms. Moving in his slumber, he buried into your neck, his lips brushing over your bare skin there. You gasped, why was he kissing you?

I’ll leave that up to his imagination. Madam’s sentence was now making sense as Seongwoo’s body moved on its own desire within his slumbered state. You hadn’t done anything but lay down beside him, and yet you knew this wouldn’t be where he ended things either. You might have felt naïve when you walked in here earlier, but the confidence in his touches and the small hums he was breathing out made you fully aware just how far this could go.

Normally you’d be disgusted to do such a thing with a stranger. In fact, the idea of being something of a succubus scared you, and since death you hadn’t ever thought about sidling up near a human any longer than to pass on a message from other dead people, let alone for things to get this intimate.

But there was something in the way his hands moved to the hem of your singlet and started lifting it up, or how his lips were now moving up your jaw line that held you accountable for the fact that you climbed into his bed. And his body warmth was so addictive that you wanted to feel all of it. Reaching out to cup his face in your hand, you smiled when he nuzzled in, your face moving closer to his. Your lips were almost on his now but you hesitated, wondering if it would be right to steal a kiss from such luscious lips. Whilst he was uninhibited with his movements, you were for the sake of an argument far more alert than he was. And you didn’t want to do anything to ruin what he was doing on his own accord.

Pressing softly into him, you captured his moan in your mouth as soon as he kissed you back. It didn’t stay gentle for long, his arms were gripping at you and there was a passionate need now rolling out over you, clouding your mind from any further worries as your hands went to his hair. He was breathing heavily, and he spun you both so you were now on top of him, your lips falling from his to taste more of his skin, trailing down his chin and onto his neck. He moaned again and his hips bucked up into where you sat across him. You could feel his arousal and his need for this to continue further and so you wasted no time in shifting down his body, kissing your way down. His pyjama pants were growing restricted with his hardened length and you moved them down enough to free all of him, Seongwoo gasping and throwing his head back onto his pillows. You licked at your lips and then glanced up at him.

If you hadn’t known he was asleep right now, you would have been certain he had clamped his eyes shut with the pleasure he was feeling from your hand on him. You pumped him slowly and a guttural groan left him, your eyes snapping to his roommate. You had honestly forgotten about the other man until then, but he was completely out to it, flung sideways on his bed and grinding his teeth. Another moan left Seongwoo that brought your attention back to him.

“Do you really want this?” you asked him quietly and he was nodding, a pant leaving him as you readjusted your hand on him.

“Please,” he breathed and your eyes widened, you hadn’t expected him to talk to you. It wasn’t long before he was panting again under the pressure of your hand and how it was moving up and down his erection, his hips moving up into you every so often. You wondered how far you should take this with him being this turned on, should you use your mouth, or something else? Your deliberation showed in your lapse in movement and he groaned, reaching out for you. His eyes were open now and you froze. Whilst they were taking you in, you could tell there was something unnerving about them, as if he was only seeing this world of arousal you were giving him, and not anything else around you both. He smiled as his hands made their way to hoist you back up from where you were, his lips crashing down on yours when your bodies were level again. He moved you under him suddenly and you could feel him grinding into your thigh, his hands fumbling around with the shorts you were wearing. He grunted when he got them down. “You’re beautiful.”

“Y-you can see me?” you asked and he nodded.

“Where did you come from? You must be too good to be true,” he stated and you bit at your lip. Should you tell him what you were? You didn’t really have time to answer as he soon entered you with a swiftness that made your response an elongated moan. Your entire existence felt as if it was on fire and the colours of the moonlit room brightened with every thrust Seongwoo made into you. You were both moaning together now, his staggering breath and the power increase of his rhythm were telltale signs he was close to climaxing. Your body was just as ready, which seemed so surreal to you to feel all of this. It made you heart soar, as if you were as close to being alive again. You weren’t aware of the tears in your eyes until he was done with his final thrust, your bodies collapsing together with the exertion of the session.

“That was something else,” he murmured into you and you smiled, brushing the hair out of his face. He stilled soon after, and you sighed when you realised your lover had left this dream behind and moved on to another. It was almost cruel how connected you had both been and then to lose all that. But you couldn’t help but smile at his peaceful state either, being helpful in easing some of his stresses. You felt like tonight you held a purpose. Yet you weren’t about to go around sleeping with all humans to continue this feeling. In fact if you had it your way, you’d only be with him, the man who had enraptured you in such a short space of time.

You stayed with Seongwoo all night, the sun barely rising before an alarm signalled around the room. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw Seongwoo’s phone flashing with the wakeup call and he groaned heavily beside you. His arms were still around you, and you became desperate to keep them there, but as soon as his eyes opened, the magic was gone. The tingles on your side ceased and you shifted before he moved through you to end the incessant sound in the room. Sitting up in his bedding, he rubbed at his face and then glanced under his blankets.

“How the…” he started, and a grin slowly spread over his face then. “That was some dream.”

You couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. He remembered you.

When you returned to Madam’s office she seemed very pleased. “You did exceptionally well. Your assignment is complete.”

“Can I ask why you knew to send me there?” you asked and Madam smirked, shifting her glasses on the bridge of her nose, the chain attached to them dangling beside her face.

“My dear, how else do you think people have wet dreams that stay with them for some time? You can’t tell me the human mind is that clever to make up something so real.”

You blushed, nodding your head once. To Seongwoo you were the woman of his dreams. As for you, well you hoped to be able to star in them again some day soon.

_________________

Welcome to Frightful October, a collab between myself and @this-song-thats-only-for-you … this week’s theme is Haunted! To follow more of the stories check out the links below:

Other stories in Haunted: Spirited / Dreaming / Muse / Dare

Frightful October Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Request Guidelines

[fear-god-shun-evil]

Here I forward a post:

Brothers and sisters:

Peace to you in the Lord! My name is Guoer. I post this massage mainly for your help to solve my confusion. I began to believe in the Lord with my parents since I was little. I often hear the pastors preach, “The Bible says, ‘And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, see, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on him: And see a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:16-17). The Father called the Lord Jesus His beloved Son, and both the Father and the Holy Spirit bore testimony for the Son. So our God is the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the one true God. All of them are of equal honor and glory, and are equally worshiped….” Thus, I think that God is the Trinity and has three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But recently, when I studied the Bible, I found the Lord Jesus said, “he that has seen me has seen the Father; … Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works” (John 14:9–10). “I and my Father are one” (Jhn 10:30). I felt confused about it. According to what the pastors say, since God is the Trinity, then the Father is the Father and the Son is the Son. But why did the Lord Jesus say that He and the Father are one? Is the Lord Jesus the Father or the Son? I just couldn’t figure it out. So I asked the pastors and elders in our church, but they didn’t give me a satisfactory answer. They just told me that the Trinity was a very profound mystery. Now, I hope you could help me to dispel my confusion. Looking forward to your response.

Poster: Guoer

Response:

Alison:

Hello, Guoer. I also began to believe in Jesus with my grandpa when I was little. My grandpa has believed in the Lord for forty years. He said the whole religious world has all along held fast to the concept of the Trinity, and that pastors and elders certainly can’t be wrong. And moreover, the Bible records, “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Mat 28:19). “And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:35–36). Guoer, have you read it yet? The Lord Jesus called God in heaven the Father, and taught us to spread the gospel in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Doesn’t it show that God is the Trinity? Is there anything to doubt about it?

Andrew:

Yeah, Alison is right. The pastors and elders indeed teach us like this. Don’t worry, Guoer. This concept can’t be wrong.

Mo Yan:

I don’t agree with your opinion. I think the concept of the Trinity may not be right. For Genesis 1 said that in the beginning the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters rather than that the Triune Spirit moved on the face of the waters. Moses directly heard the voice of Jehovah and was many times given revelations by Jehovah. But He had never told the Israelites that Jehovah was the Trinity, nor had He ever said that it was the Trinity leading them to cross the Red Sea. Besides, those ancient saints and prophets such as Job, Daniel, David and Samuel had never said that God was composed of three distinct persons.

Isaiah 43:10–13 records, “You are my witnesses, said the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore you are my witnesses, said the LORD, that I am God. Yes, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” From these verses, we can clearly see that Jehovah personally taught Israelites that He is the only true God and that there is no other God beside Himself. People in the age of the Old Testament even knew God is the unique true God. Why did the concept of the Trinity come into being afterward? I think this concept can’t be right.

Alison:

Mo Yan, how can you be so confused? My grandpa said the concept of the Trinity stemmed from when the Lord Jesus worked. According to related records, at the Council of Nicaea in 300 A.D., the concept of the Trinity was finally established after many religious scholars argued about God’s unicity and multiplicity. From then on, this concept was passed down: The Father is Jehovah, the Son is the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is only the Holy Spirit. Do you understand now?

Mo Yan:

This concept didn’t exist in the beginning but was concluded based on the saying of “Father and Son” and on the records of some verses. It comes from our notions and imagination. But is this imagination in accordance with the Lord’s will? Is there any basis of the Lord’s word? I’m afraid that none of us can clearly explain it.

Guoer:

What you are talking about is well grounded. They all seem to make sense. But which one is more accurate?

Ouyang Baihe:

Excuse me, brothers and sisters. In the past, I also didn’t figure out this question. But later, through reading a book and hearing brothers and sisters’ fellowship, this question was resolved.

Guoer:

Baihe, please share it with us quickly.

Mo Yan:

Really? Tell us, please.

Ouyang Baihe:

Just now, Mo Yan fellowships that the people in the age of the Old Testament all knew God is unique. This communication conforms to the Bible. The concept of the Trinity didn’t exist indeed at that time. The saying of the “Triune God,” as Alison said, was established through reasoning by many religious scholars at a conference after the Lord Jesus completed His work. But many people still have such confusion: Since the Lord Jesus called God in heaven by the name of the Father, and also said “I and my Father are one,” then is the Lord Jesus the Son or the Father? If He is the Son, how can He be one with the Father?

On this issue, let’s first take a look at some verses, “Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffises us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works” (Jhn 14:8–10). Here we see that Philip didn’t know the Lord Jesus, so he treated the Lord Jesus and heavenly God as two Gods, thinking that the Lord Jesus had a Father in heaven. That is why he asked the Lord to show them the Father. But the Lord Jesus corrected his mistake, and told him that “I am in the Father, and the Father in me,” that “I and my Father are one,” and that “he that has seen me has seen the Father.” That is to say, the Lord Jesus is the Father and the Father is the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the incarnate God Himself, not the Son of God.

Let’s turn to Mark: Someone asked the Lord Jesus which is the first commandment of all? The Lord answered, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mak 12:29). Why did the Lord Jesus put special stress on this commandment? Isn’t it because He meant us to understand that God is the unique God Himself? In the time of creation, there is only one Spirit of God. Jehovah said He is the only true God. The Lord Jesus also said God is the only One. It shows that God never mentioned the saying of the Trinity. The concept of “Triune God” is totally groundless.

Guoer:

Yeah, either Jehovah or the Lord Jesus told us that God is unique. And the Lord taught us more than once, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (Jhn 14:10). “I and my Father are one” (Jhn 10:30). How did I not understand?

Ouyang Baihe:

I also came to know that God is originally the only one after hearing brothers and sisters’ communication. If God is the Trinity and has three distinct persons, then which one of them created the heavens and earth and all things? Who of them rules over the heavens and earth and all things? And how can the Spirit in separate persons be made one? Isn’t this contradictory? I will share with you a passage of word. I believe you will understand more clearly after reading it.

“God is a Spirit, but He is able to become flesh and live among men, as well as to be above all things. His Spirit is all-inclusive and omnipresent. He can simultaneously be in the flesh and throughout the universe. Since all people say that God is the only one true God, then there is a single God, divisible at will by none! God is only one Spirit, and only one person; and that is the Spirit of God. … When Jesus called God in heaven by the name of Father as He prayed, this was done only from the perspective of a created man, only because the Spirit of God had clothed Himself as an ordinary and normal man and had the exterior cover of a created being. Even if within Him was the Spirit of God, His exterior appearance was still that of an ordinary man; in other words, He had become the ‘Son of man’ of which all men, including Jesus Himself, spoke. Given that He is called the Son of man, He is a person (whether man or woman, in any case one with the exterior shell of a human being) born into a normal family of ordinary people. Therefore, Jesus calling God in heaven by the name of Father was the same as how you at first called Him Father; He did so from the perspective of a man of creation. Do you still remember the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught you to memorize? ‘Our Father in heaven….’ He asked all man to call God in heaven by the name of Father. And since He too called Him Father, He did so from the perspective of one who stands on an equal footing with you all. …After Jesus went away, this idea of the Father and the Son was no longer. This idea was only appropriate for the years when Jesus became flesh; under all other circumstances, the relationship is one between the Lord of creation and a created being when you call God Father. There is no time at which this idea of the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can stand; it is a fallacy rarely seen through the ages and does not exist!” (“Does the Trinity Exist?”).

From this passage, we can see that God is originally the only one Spirit, who can direct the entire universe and can become flesh to live among man. When God is incarnated, the incarnate God can still carry out His own work. Because the incarnate God is God Himself and He is a flesh in which the Spirit of God is realized. He can express what God has and is and God’s disposition. Just like the Lord Jesus, His exterior is an ordinary flesh, but His substance is Christ. His word carries authority and power, and once spoken, things are done. When the Lord Jesus just said, “Lazarus, come forth” (Jhn 11:43), Lazarus was raised from the dead and walked out from his tomb; when the Lord Jesus rebuked the wind and sea, then the sea became calm.

The reason that “Father and Son” is spoken of in the Bible is because God would do redemptive work in the age of the New Testament. But the Spirit couldn’t directly accomplish the work of crucifixion, and it could only be done through God’s Spirit assuming the flesh. Therefore, God came to earth from heaven, and His Spirit was realized in the flesh, that is, God’s Spirit lived in the flesh to accomplish all His work of divinity. In this way, the Father (the Spirit) lived in the flesh and the flesh expressed the will of the Father (the Spirit). When the Spirit in heaven called the Lord Jesus the beloved Son, it was God testifying His incarnate flesh in the position of the Spirit and giving testimony about Himself. When the Lord Jesus in the flesh called God in heaven the Father, He did it in the position of the flesh. That doesn’t prove that He is the Son of God’s Spirit in heaven. How can God have descendants like man? So, the saying of the “Father” and of the “Son” only existed in the period when God became flesh. In truth, the God in the flesh and the Spirit are one God, and it is just because of the incarnation that They separated Themselves between heaven and earth. After God fulfilled His work in the flesh and the flesh left, there was no longer the saying of the “Father” and of the “Son.” All in all, God is absolutely not the Trinity, God is forever the only one, and He is forever the only true God.

Guoer:

Your communication brightened my heart. It turns out that the Lord Jesus is the embodiment of God’s Spirit. When the Lord Jesus called God in heaven by the name of the Father, He did it from the perspective of the flesh, and it is not that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God. After the Lord Jesus was crucified and completed His work in the flesh, the concept of the “Father” and of the “Son” did not exist. Either in the Age of Law when God worked in the spiritual body or in the Age of Grace when God became flesh to work, it is all work done by one God. The concept of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist at all. God is the only one true God. Baihe, is that right?

Ouyang Baihe:

Yes! God can carry out His work in the spiritual body or in the flesh. There is only one God and one Spirit, after all.

Mo Yan:

Now I also understand that God can be named both Jehovah and Jesus; He can create the world as well as save all mankind; they are all works performed in different ages by the same God; the Lord Jesus is God Himself, He can be called God in heaven or the Father on an equal footing with a created being. From this I can see how humble and hidden God is and how amiable and lovely He is. Thank the Lord! I really have gained so much today.

Alison:

The Trinity is the concept widely known throughout the whole religious world. How can it hold no ground? Like three glasses of water, my grandpa said, when they were mixed together, couldn’t they be made one?

Guoer:

Water can be mixed together, but how can a material object be compared with the Creator? I think this interpretation doesn’t quite fit.

Ouyang Baihe:

Yeah, that’s just our groundless imagination. How can we divide God at will? On this question, I will share another passage of word: “Still some may say: The Father is the Father; the Son is the Son; the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and in the end, They will be made one. Then how should you make Them one? How can the Father and the Holy Spirit be made one? If They were inherently two, then no matter how They are joined together, would They not remain two parts? When you say making Them one, isn’t that simply joining two separate parts to make one whole? But were They not two parts before being made whole? Each Spirit has a distinct substance, and two Spirits cannot be made into a single one. The Spirit is not a material object and is unlike anything else in the material world. As men see it, the Father is one Spirit, the Son another, and the Holy Spirit yet another, then the three Spirits mix like three glasses of water into one whole. Is not that then the three made one? This is an erroneous explanation! Is this not splitting up God? How can the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all be made one? Are They not three parts each of different natures?” (“Does the Trinity Exist?”).

Only one God exists in the universe and all things. Jehovah (the Father) is God’s Spirit; the Lord Jesus (the Son) is Jehovah God’s Spirit incarnate, whose substance is still God’s Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is even more so God’s Spirit. Their substance is one Spirit. God’s Spirit has been one all along. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of creation, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit in the Lord Jesus, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, the Spirit ruling over all things in the universe, they are all one Spirit. The Spirit differs from any kind of object in the material world. Two or three Spirit can never be made one Spirit. That’s impossible. As we thought about it, the Father is one, the Son another, and the Holy Spirit even the other. Don’t we divide God into three? God is the only One, and God’s Spirit has only one person. He is the only Ruler of the heavens and earth, and is the only true God in the universe. This is the unchanging fact since time immemorial. Therefore, the Trinity has never existed from the beginning to the end. The so-called biblical basis of which we’ve spoken can’t justify that God has three persons. It can only be said that God works and speaks from different perspectives, in different ways, and in different realms. This is the truth.

Alison:

Your fellowship is indeed well-grounded and fit with the truth. But I must ask my grandpa, so you go on …

Mo Yan:

I got it. The concept of the Trinity we’ve been clinging to turns out a fallacy. Thank the Lord. I’ve gained a great deal today.

Waiting:

Today’s fellowship really edifies me. I’ve believed in the Lord my whole life, but have divided God for a whole life. Alas, I truly let the Lord down.

Guoer:

Thanks for God’s guidance. I realized that the concept of the Trinity doesn’t hold water. It comes from our notions and imagination. I’ll share what I’ve gained today with my parents right away. Good-bye, everyone!

Maybe you also like to read: Who Is the Lord Jesus Christ?

[flightyrock]

Ectober Day 3: Spirits

Summary: Vlad snatches Danny from his bed at an unreasonable time with an unconventional invitation.  It’s not at all what you’d expect.

Warnings: I can’t really think of anything?  This one is more melancholy than anything

Relationships: Platonic Danny and Vlad

Word Count: ~2500

Notes are at the end. Enjoy!

Danny was roused from slumber by a cool hand enclosing around his ankle, and pulling him unceremoniously through the floor into the basement of Tucker’s house before he could so much as yelp.

He reflexively glanced down, registering a black glove releasing its grip, before triggering his transformation, trading pajamas for his signature hazmat, and charging an ectoblast.

“Daniel, wait!” Vlad exclaimed, quietly, sparing a quick glance at the ceiling before releasing his ghost form.

“I simply wish to speak with you.”

Danny was understandably suspicious, not to mention incredibly confused.  But since Vlad was here, in human form, he supposed it couldn’t hurt to hear him out.  Appearing so late at night while Danny was at a friend’s house was incredibly unusual behavior for him.  And, now that Danny took the time to look a bit closer, he could feel that something was a bit different about Vlad tonight.

He was fidgeting; just his fingers, drumming impatiently against his leg, waiting for Danny to join him on the ground.  Vlad was always so carefully controlled, every action planned and deliberate, impossible to read, poker face firmly in place without fail. But now, he was getting a strange, nervous energy from Vlad, a level of vulnerability he had never witnessed before.  It was…weird.

Before he knew it, Danny found himself releasing the transformation and standing next to a musty pile of opaque plastic bins in place of the traditional cardboard boxes. Tucker’s parents obviously paid attention to the ghost prevention bulletins that had been issued to minimize ghost activity in the area, bringing Danny an odd rush of satisfaction.  It was nice to have his suggestions taken seriously.  It made him feel like a productive member of society and less like—

“—a child?  Daniel, are you listening to me?”

Jeez, he supposed he was still waking up.  Not that Vlad should blame him for that; it was very late and he had been awoken pretty rudely.  He did idly register Vlad speaking a bit too fast, but truthfully had no idea what he had been saying.

“Huh?” Danny replied intelligently, only to be met with an eye roll.

“Honestly Daniel, did you get any of that?”

Danny’s expression must have been answer enough, because Vlad just sighed and massaged his temples briefly with index and middle fingers.

“Fine, let’s try this again. Daniel, as I’m sure you are aware, we are the only two half-ghosts in existence–”

Danny groaned.  Not this again.  At least once a month, Vlad would give him his usual spiel about renouncing his father, and becoming his evil apprentice, or something.

“Would you please just hear me out?” Vlad snapped.  

Danny snorted in disbelief, but made a show of sitting down on one of the bins, before sarcastically gesturing for Vlad to continue with a careless wave of a hand.

Vlad visibility gathered himself, before bracing himself and starting his spiel over again.

“As I was saying, we are the only two half ghosts in existence.  That means that it is my duty as the eldest to educate you in the ways of our culture—“

“Whoa, whoa!”

Vlad’s glare was cutting, but strangely enough, wasn’t threatening.  Super weird.

“You can’t be serious! Our culture?  You said it yourself, there are literally two of us!  Any ‘culture’ we have you totally made up!” Danny snarked, emphasizing his point with air quotes.

Vlad crossed his arms, with a huff.

“I realize that the educational system in this country has done you no favors, Daniel, but I didn’t take you for a fool.  Like our unique physiology, our culture consists of both human and ghostly elements.  Since you have been a human for most of your life, you’ll forgive me if I skip over that part.

“I was referring to ghost culture, as we are ectoplasmic in addition to flesh and blood.  In this, I have had over twenty years to struggle through the research process, alone, and though I am aware that we do not exactly see eye to eye, this does not change who we are, nor minimize my duty to you.”

Danny was just as confused as when they started this bizarre meeting.  Vlad was saying quite a bit, but communicating almost nothing.  Add his erratic mannerisms into the mix, and it was vaguely alarming at least, utterly bizarre, and almost inexplicably out of character.  Unless…

Vlad was nervous.  

Danny was surprised he didn’t pick up on this sooner.  He was usually great at reading people.

On second thought, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising.  Danny didn’t exactly think of Vlad as another person, he realized, with an idle stab of guilt.  To him, Vlad was less than a person, just an evil obstacle that Danny was forced to overcome.

Right now, Danny didn’t see an obstacle.  He saw another person, a person that was still making no sense whatsoever.

“Oh-kay…” Danny drawled. “But why now?  Why risk talking to me at” he glanced at his wrist out of habit, only to flush in vague humiliation, idly recalling that he had removed his watch before going to bed, “whatever time of night it is, in hostile territory?”

“Well,” Vlad began rubbing his upper arm, “tonight the ghost zone is hosting a display that only occurs on this scale once every seven to ten years or so, and I didn’t want you to miss it. I have only caught it once before.”

Danny blinked in surprise. This was…not even close to what he expected.  Not that he had any idea what he had been expecting when Vlad yanked him through the floor.

“Why? No,” he said, cutting Vlad off as he opened his mouth, presumably to launch into that awkward torrent of word vomit again. “I did figure out that whatever this is is pretty special.  Why would you care if I miss it?”

A strange look flitted across Vlad’s face, before being smoothed over by his usual façade.

“I am not so petty that I would allow our rivalry to prevent you from bearing witness.  But, as you are clearly not interested, I’ve said my piece and fulfilled my duty, so you are free to go back to your little sleepover,” he sniffed, before turning sharply on his heel and transforming.

“Wait!” cried Danny.  “I never said I wasn’t interested.  I’m just…” he paused, trying to gather all his vague disjointed impressions of the evening into a coherent explanation, “it’s just, well, I’ve been dying to learn more about ghost culture for so long, but with the way things are between you and me, I never dreamed that you’d want to share this with me.  Not that you’ve told me what this is,” he said, staring pointedly into glowing red eyes.

Vlad blinked, taken aback.

“So, are you saying you’ll come with me?”

“Wait, what?”  Daniel asked, confused again.  “You are not making any sense tonight.  Maybe you should give it to me straight.  Are you asking me come with you?  Because I can’t even tell.”

Vlad chuckled, relaxing slightly.

“Yes, well, I didn’t really…plan this out.  I was just up, and my calculations indicated that it would peak in about,” Vlad glanced at his phone, “thirty minutes.”

Danny was beginning to lose patience.

“What is ‘it’?!”

Vlad smiled, not smirked, but smiled.  Gah, did he cross over to some weird parallel universe?

“It’s…hard to explain, in words.  It would be much better to show you.  You’ll understand then.  But we should leave now; we need to get to a very specific corner of the ghost zone.”

Danny was admittedly torn. Normally, he’d question his sanity for even considering following Vlad, his arch-enemy, anywhere with virtually no information.  Vlad had outsmarted him, tricked him, more times than he could count, displaying smug delight every step along the way.

But perhaps that was what was so different tonight, and what was putting him strangely at ease.  Absent were said smug undertones, only to be replaced by what only could be described as authenticity.  There was an inexplicable air of sincerity about everything Vlad had said and did tonight.  Nothing sounded rehearsed, heck, Vlad had even sounded sloppy, stumbling through disjointed thoughts like a nervous teenager.

So Danny found himself transforming, and following Vlad out into the night.

Vlad was pleasantly surprised by Daniel’s easy agreement to accompany him tonight.  He wasn’t entirely certain what he was expecting, or what had compelled him to ask Daniel at the last minute like this.

No, he supposed he wasn’t being completely honest with himself.  He knew why he had asked Daniel to come with him.

But he didn’t wish to dwell on that at the moment, so he didn’t, leading Daniel through the Fenton Portal and through the surreal green environment of the ghost zone.

Vlad sighed, taking a moment to enjoy the temporary physical relief granted by the rejuvenating ecto energy that permeated this reality.  It was a strain on his ghost form to exist solely on the human plane for too long.  He could see the boy relax as well, out of the corner of his eye, no doubt enjoying the sensation as much as he.

He led them through a series of doors, one ornate and wooden, one made of a shiny volcanic glass, and one no bigger than a window, into a unique area of the ghost zone split by a dark chasm below and above, infinite in depth and too vast to see across. Vlad wasn’t eager to test his theory about the extent of this anomaly.

The boy stiffened, clearly reevaluating his decision to follow someone less than friendly into a dark, isolated corner of the ghost zone without leaving so much as a note behind.

He really is naïve.  Not that he’s wrong; I could easily take advantage of this, if I was so inclined.

“Relax, Daniel,” Vlad rolled his eyes.  “If I truly wished to dispose of you, there would be no warning.  I would not bother to ask you to accompany me.”

“Oh, is that what you were trying to do?”  Daniel had the gall to laugh, but oddly, the sound put him at ease, rather than on edge as it normally would.  Not mocking, but dare he say, friendly?

“Vlad, most people don’t sneak into rooms and talk circles around someone.  They just ask.”

“How?” Vlad said plainly, curious despite himself, though he hadn’t exactly meant to vocalize that particular thought.

Danny did a double take.

“You mean…you’ve never…”

Vlad chuckled bitterly.

“Do I strike you as someone to indulge in idle companionship?  Most of the time I have a secretary write up paper invitations if the situation truly demands it.”

“Vlad,” Danny looked him in the eye, “seriously, just say, ‘hey, I’m going to do this thing, would you like to come along?’ It’s not hard, though,” he conceded, “I guess it does take some getting used to.  At least that way, as the other party, I’d have some idea of what I’m being invited to…do? Watch?  Could you, maybe, explain now, because I’m still pretty confused.”

Vlad felt his face flush a bit, flustered despite himself.

“Yes, well,” he coughed, awkwardly.  “It’s…quite the experience.  I’m honestly not sure how to explain it.  You’ll know it when it starts, though.”

And know “it” he did. Danny could only watch in awe at the spectacle that unfolded before his wide eyes.

Vlad was right.  The event, for lack of a better word, overwhelmed all senses, known and unknown.  

Visually, the closest frame of reference he had was a scene from that popular movie with the girl and the hair, when they were on the boat on a lake, surrounded by thousands of paper lanterns.

These were not paper lanterns.  But, rising from the lower darkness by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, he could claim the effect was similar, much in the way a trickle from the faucet in is bathroom was similar to Niagara Falls.

There was no way to describe the scale of the majesty.  He was powerless before its might, the only possible course of action to bear witness. Somehow, he knew he was in for the duration, but this neither good nor bad.  It simply was.

His heartstrings twinged painfully at the sheer beauty of the lights, shimmering up from the depths with an ethereal quality that he simply couldn’t convey with an adequate degree of coherence.  The toxic ectoplasmic green of the ghost zone fell away, powerless before the gold, silver, and white lights that shone forth radiantly.  They were roughly spherical in shape.  He thought?  Honestly, they morphed and shifted so rapidly, it was much too difficult to follow.

The light.  He felt that light, it pierced him to his very core, and it was everything.  He was almost unbearably happy, devastated, freezing to death, boiling in acid, awash in a dream, painfully lucid, completely numb, and awash in a near infinity of other sensations, blurring together and filling him to a point that pushed him to the brink of sanity.

And the sound.  He would never be able to do it justice, but it cut deep.  He wouldn’t revert to stereotypes and crass comparisons, but it rose and fell endlessly. He was soaring, immersed in the light. He was the light, and it was him, inside and everywhere and nowhere, heartbreakingly beautiful, singing of the essence of existence and void, unceasing in its melodious call.

Tears swelled and overflowed, running unbidden and unacknowledged down his cheeks and from his nose, gathering and dripping off his chin, authentic and unapologetic.

There was no telling how long this short eternity continued, and Danny lost all track of self during that time.  It ended slowly, a few straggles climbing upward, only to disappear into the mysterious darkness above, leaving a tenuous peace to settle over the observing parties.

Only to be broken by a sharp, wet inhalation.

Danny jolted as the heavy silence was broken by Vlad sniffing and wiping at his face with a silk handkerchief.  He had completely forgotten that Vlad was here, was the one who had brought him here in the first place.  To “bear witness,” he vaguely recalled.  Indeed.

Vlad seemed to jolt in a similar realization as he glanced over at Danny, sniffing messily, and wordlessly procured a fresh cloth and handed it to him.

Danny accepted gratefully, taking the time to clean himself up a bit, strangely unaffected by his unconventional companion grossly sobbing alongside him.

They floated in companionable silence for awhile, the spectacle having temporarily erased all barriers between them.  No words were necessary, and it felt wrong to pierce this comfortable atmosphere, but Danny had to know.

“What,” he choked off, voice cracking from disuse, “what was that?”

Vlad seemed to get the idea, though.  He stared straight ahead into the void.

“Spirits,” he stated, content, for once, to leave it at that.

And Danny understood.

A/N:  Sorry, I know it just kind of cuts off there with no real explanation, but at that time, it was more important to maintain the mood.  Danny understood inately what these beings were, but he wanted confirmation from Vlad.  These were spirits of various beings throughout time and space.  I drew inspiration from La Dia de Los Muertos and lantern festivals.

At first, these Ectober one-shots weren’t meant to be connected, but I think they all will read equally well separately or as part of a larger narrative.  I’m mainly using these to practice writing on a daily basis and to push past perfectionism, so I don’t spend as much time editing as I should.  But I love feedback, so feel free if the mood strikes.  Thanks for reading!

[zlukaka]

Dishonored 2 - LC - Impressions

My first impression of the game was very mixed (great gameplay and visuals / cringy dialogues and poor writing, good actors’ talents wasted), but further along the good outweighed the bad. So, yes, it was an enjoyable game, all in all not worse than the original - totally worth playing.

So far I did a Low Chaos Corvo. Later I’ll also share the impressions on High Chaos Emily.

Lots of spoilers (and some screenshots) below cut.

Let’s start with the weak points of the game:

Non-mute Corvo. Having a silent protagonist in the first part left Corvo very open for interpretation. The Corvo I heard in D2 was not Corvo to me. As much as I like Stephen Russell as Garrett, his Corvo felt like a week-old piece of bologna that someone microwaved out of sheer desperation. It’s not his fault, though. I think it’s the writing and whoever directed the voice acting. I blame the same party on my next issue.

Jessamine / The Heart. In D1 I would go out of my way to poke everyone and every location with the Heart to hear what it had to say. Its lines were fun, inspiring, eerie. In D2 I would accidentally click the Heart and shudder in disgust at Jessamine’s lines. 90% of the time they were clumsy, unimpressive, banal and spoken in almost the same tone regardless of the graveness of an NPC’s crimes. Speaking of which a ridiculous number of the NPCs turns out to be psychopaths or assholes with no redeeming features. The fact everyone except the main characters only gets one line makes it even worse. I understand why they did it technically, but the end result was awful. I never played High Chaos in D1, I couldn’t bear to kill any of those people because each of them had a bit of good and a bit of bad in them, just like real people. It was an integral part of Dishonored for me, the message that most people will do horrible things during a crisis, but that there’s still hope for them and killing them is bad. But D2 seems to go out of its way telling me “you know what, they’re all assholes, annoying unlikable assholes, kill them all”. A weird message to send when you want people to get a good ending. As a result I can’t wait for the HC playthrough where I’ll slaughter every living person in the Empire. It will feel so good.

Generally, the weakest link in the game for me was the writing. Interestingly, the more important the character, the weaker their lines, with Corvo’s early game lines being some of the worst, while some banter between ordinary citizens was fun, witty and refreshing. Also I get the impression the message the game tried to deliver kept getting lost in the clumsy storytelling. The Outsider and Sokolov would tell us how Delilah has such potential to change the world for the better, and then we return to Dunwall, and it’s a post-apocalyptic mess, and her plan for ‘improving the world’ is filling it with statues of herself. The Outsider would preach that being a witch is so much better than being in a loveless marriage, then we meet the witches, and they’re a bunch of murderous psychos. For a game about how oppressive institutions are bad Dishonored 2 sure keeps flopping on the show-not-tell part. At the end of the day, despite all the in-game finger shaking, I feel fully justified siding with the Overseers. According to Jess, most of the people on Karnaca are some flavor of violent criminal. Might as well let the zealots have their way, the only way from here is up.

Ghost Jessamine is another complaint of mine. Her being more than a piece of meat stuffed with clockwork takes away from the mystique surrounding her state. Her in-person ghostly conversations with Corvo make her feel alive rather than an echo of her former self, taking away from the strong impression the Heart created on its own in the original game.

The Voguing in the Void. Bad writing makes it hard to take characters seriously. Having them teleport and take a different pose every time they utter a sentence only makes things worse. Maybe the intention here was to make me want to kill the Outsider in the new game? If so, good job.

Continuing the Dishonored tradition of introducing a female character and killing her off in the first three minutes of the game. And then telling us post-factum how noble, good and interesting she was. Only this time after one more mention she is completely forgotten, which is even worse than last time. I’m talking about Captain Mayhew. Cool design, ok story, but feels extremely like a token character. Maybe her part in the story was meant to be bigger, but got cut? I don’t know, but she felt completely unnecessary, so did her death. At least Jessamine and her death were integral to the plot of the first game.

The atmosphere of the game wasn’t as strong as in the original. I blame the Heart for it. The Heart and the weak storytelling (not the weak story, the story was actually alright).

The bloodflies were less of a threat than the rats in the first game. Most of the time you could sprint to their nest and wack it to pieces without even getting hurt. They should be harder to get rid of to live up to their intimidating reputation.

Oh, and this:

(whoever decided to use this number of fonts needs to go back to design school)

Now, you might think after all those complaints that I hate the game. I thought I might, but I didn’t. After I got used to the bad, the good eventually shone through and dominated my impression. Here we go:

Music. The music is just as good. Such a pity Daniel Licht is no longer with us. May he rest in peace.

Gameplay. No complaints here. The levels seem bigger and more fun than in the original game, sneaking is a little tougher. No more killing people by throwing them on beds. Being able to use the Heart on unconscious people, the unconscious indicator is a great addition in its own right.

Meagan Foster and Sokolov. Ok, the writing on these two was actually pretty cute and solid. I wonder if different people worked on these two compared to Corvo and Emily, or if it was the same writer, but having a bad/good day, etc. For once, I love how Meagan was written.

Kirin Jindosh. I didn’t get too much of him because he never knew I was there, but from what little I saw of him - best baddie in the game. 11/10, would reduce to below average intelligence again.

Good Guy Overseers. Yes, they will drown the occasional kiddo because witchcraft, but come on, their preaching is pretty reasonable. Notice how the Abbey actually comes last. Sounds better than many real world religions to me.

The Overseers were the turning point in the game’s writing for me. I realized the NPCs actually say fun stuff, it’s just the main cast that’s being boring.

The visuals. Often with a new game in a series I fear the HD-photorealism takeover, but Dishonored 2 stayed loyal to its artistic direction while making things more high-res. It’s beautiful.

The second half of the game. I thought the Clockwork mansion would be the best part of the game, but then I was very surprised to discover things actually truly picked up in the Dust District, or more precisely in the mansion. The time-shifting was a great addition to the gameplay! Moreover...

The plot was decent. The storytelling was kinda mediocre, but the story they were trying to tell was actually quite fun. Breaking Jindosh, saving Stilton and replacing Abele were some of the highlights of the game. There was a number of rather fun twists, like Delilah and Luca actually being truly in love?? Who saw that coming? I didn’t. I thought she was just using him, like she was using Breanna, but then in the end she calls him ‘my love’ right after expressing nothing but cold disappointment that Breanna is no longer a useful tool. That makes Delilah a little less of a calculating cold monster and a bit more human. For once, I actually sort of like her after hating her guts since forever. So that’s pretty good.

Giving Billie her arm and eye back. Holy shit, that felt amazing.

Keeping with the good tradition of not-in-your-face gay characters. The occasional Overseer who dates millers behind said millers’ wives’ backs. The emphasis on how close the old Duke and Stilton were. Good stuff.

The Oracular Order and its role within the Abbey were expanded upon. 

Killing Paolo in slow-mo and gobbling up all the white rats.

The non-lethal takedowns were all satisfying.

The very freaky nest keepers and their delusions.

The Ultra Low Chaos Happy Ending:

(look, Mom, both hands!)

My conclusion from all of this is that when I play High Chaos I will try not to use the Heart almost at all not to spoil the fun with Jess’ banalities. And I will let Jindosh know I’m there so he can comment his heart out about my escapades around his home. 

I am so pumped for the Death of the Outsider now, because if Dishonored finally manages to address its theme properly, that would be nice. Also, finally playing as Billie is amazing, and killing the Outsider sounds like fun to me (please, remember I enjoyed low chaos Jindosh take down). I won’t be watching any more trailers, gameplay videos and such, I prefer to go into a game with minimal knowledge. Thankfully the game will be out soon enough. I will doodle some silliness meanwhile. Also, D2 left me wondering about what would happen to Heathen-Go-Lucky folks under Delilah. Pretty sure someone would end up turned to stone. XD

[gearsforyears]

I always loved the relationship between Danny and Dani, and I love the fics where she was much younger than the show portrayed her to be. The Dad!Danny fics make me so happy ;w; In turn, when watching Young Justice, I was so angry towards Superman and most of the League for acting so aloof around Conner Kent? He was in an impossible situation he couldn’t control, so I had a bit of a more angry Danny chewing out the team about it.

It was well known that Danny Phantom was one of the strongest members of the Justice League, as his powers rivalled that of Superman’s. He was a ghost, the first ghost superhero on Earth, and the Human Zone was glad to have him fighting for them. Phantom was reclusive towards the public, not liking press for fear of misinformation, as has happened to him before. Phantom was, however, very open to his team, and although he didn’t outright tell his life (afterlife?) story, but he answered questions honestly and openly.

One thing that the team didn’t know, was that Phantom had any family members on Earth.

Of course, they knew he had a strange relation with some adults on the living realm (all coming from his home town, Amity Park). Phantom’s strange, almost sibling-like, relationship with Gotham’s lead psychiatrist had always made the young adult happier. His friendships with Samantha Manson, a leading botanist, and Tucker Foley, a technology millionaire, had constantly had the few housing their ghost hero. Other than those three, the Justice League had just assumed that Danny had died a long time ago with no family to speak of.

That was, until they were interrupted during a conference.

Phantom was acting a bit disinterested as Batman was talking about resolving some sort of conflict with the press (Danny didn’t see what the big deal was. It was one construction site. It could’ve been so much worse). His form was hovering slightly above the chair as he sat next to Superman, who was offering different ways to soothe the PR problem. Phantom curled a lip and sneered a bit, “Why are people getting so butthurt about this? We’ve done worse damage before.”

“Yes, but this was to the construction site of a hospital, Danny,” Superman sighed, trying to make the ghost see the reason for this. He wondered how long ago Danny must’ve died to not see the point in an infirmary, “Phantom, the city needs a hospital because-”

A light hiss passed through the ghost’s lips, “Supes, I know what a hospital is, I’m just wondering why the city is angry. I mean, it was still in construction. It’s not like they couldn’t just start over; and besides, the city has three hospitals already.” Phantom sighed. He kicked a foot on his chair, taking advantage of the lack of gravity he seemed to possess, and flipped himself upside down, “Can’t we just help the city build it?”

Flash’s eyebrows raised slightly at the ghost’s position, but nodded, “I mean, if we helped with the construction, we could do the work in half the time.”

“That’s a nice proposition,” Batman nodded gruffly, his voice low, “When should I tell the-” A whirling sound cut him off, and all the Leaguers looked around warily, many slipping into battle stances. Phantom, in particular, had the oddest reaction. His head tilted to the side, his ears perked up a bit, as if he was trying to pinpoint the location.

And then the mist came from his mouth. Everyone knew that that sign meant a ghost attack was about to occur, and even Danny flipped himself back to his normal attack position, his hands glowing green. The sound grew louder and louder, before a radioactive green spark , the same color as Phantom’s glowing eyes, appeared above the large table. A portal was opening-!

And then a black and white blur charged towards Phantom, barreling him over onto the floor. The team all held their weapons respectively, some just holding their fists, at the sight of the flustered ghost, who’s hair was flying in every direction possible. The most surprising addition to the ghost, however, was the…. Smaller ghost hugging him?

“Daddy! You wouldn’t believe how much me and Wulf have been learning from Frostbite!” A small girl smiled widely, showing small canines and two dimples on her cheeks, similar to Danny’s, “I learned how to make portals just like you!”

A hushed silence fell over the Leaguers as they heard the child shout ‘daddy’. She looked to be barely seven, white hair in a loose ponytail and glowing green eyes. Their shock at the child seemed palpable, as if Phantom could touch the suspense and tension filling the air. But Danny knew that Danielle would feel worried if he did not give her a proper response, “That’s great, sweetheart! Does that mean Wulf is nearby?”

“Nope!” She grinned again, and on closer observation, a few of her teeth were missing, “I wanted to see you and Aunt Jazz and Sam and Tuck by myself.” A cheek puffed out, almost like she was offended that he thought otherwise.

“That’s very dangerous, Ellie. What if a stray ghost saw you? You know how most feel about me and you, pumpkin.” He kissed her lightly on the forehead, his mood lifted from seeing his ‘daughter’, “But I am always happy to see my little girl.”

She giggled before looking away from her ‘father’, seeing all of the heroes. Her face instantly lit up a bright green in embarrassment, seemingly ashamed for interrupting… whatever they were doing beforehand. Superman opened his mouth to ask something, but Flash beat everyone, and spoke first, “So… ghosts can have kids. Who knew?”

The League was then greeted by two blushing ghosts. Phantom buried his face in Danielle’s hair, not wanting to look at his team, “It’s… not that simple, Barry.”

Phantom took a few seconds simply to collect his thoughts by murmuring to his daughter small terms of endearment, and it seemed to calm him down before he looked up and spoke, “I’d uh, like you all to meet someone very close to me.”

A clearing of his throat later, and he smiled shakily up at the superheroes, “This is Danielle, or Ellie, as we all call her. She’s my child.” Ellie smiled up at everyone as her father spoke, “I can explain the whole thing later, but for now, I’m, uh, going to show her to Jazz.” He seemed to be using the excuse as a cop-out, and was met with small glares from everyone.

Superman wasn’t impressed with his answer, “Danny, I thought you didn’t have any family relations anymore.”

“Technically, you never asked.” Danny blushed again, “Of course I have living family. Ellie’s just very much more closely related to me than others…” He cleared his throat once more, “Ellie dear, these are some of my teammates. You know some, remember? They were on the news a while back.”

Her eyes lit up and she smiled shyly, “Yeah! I remember the rope-lady with my name!”

“Her name is Diana, not Danielle, but yeah, Wonder Woman’s here.” He gestured to the woman, who tentatively waved at the small, beaming girl who seemed to love the attention from her way too much.

Flash held his hands up, “Woah, so are we not going to address that Casper here lied about his family? And that apparently he has a daughter he never thought to tell us about?”

“It is a bit suspicious, Danny,” Superman mused, a hand rubbing his chin.

Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow, “Where is the mother?” “Is she a ghost like you?”

“How can something dead make life?”

“Why haven’t you told us?!”

“Stop it!” Danielle shouted, holding herself closely to the chest of her father to block out all the noises from others, “I’m not daddy’s real daughter anyway… “

Danny rolled his eyes as everyone became completely confused at the small, quiet statement from the child, but went to comfort his daughter, “Now, baby girl, you know that you’re my little ice flower, no matter how we are related, yes?”

“Yeah, I know, dad.” She murmured as Phantom reached over and brushed her white locks from off her shoulders. Danielle looked over at the heroes before whispering over to her father, “Daddy, I think you should tell them about what Uncle Vlad did.”

Batman’s interest piqued, “Vlad, as in your archnemesis-turned-ally Vlad?”

Danny seemed to flinch, remembering that the heroes were in the room watching them, “Y-yeah, that Vlad.” He was silent for a moment, not wanting to continue with the conversation. Danny knew it would come up eventually, but figured he’d have more time to prepare himself for this day, “Maybe you should leave as I tell them, Ellie. Aunt Jazz is seven streets north and two buildings left, alright?”

Most of the team seemed appalled at the thought of him leaving her alone to try and find the psychiatrist, but realized she had flight just as Phantom did. She nodded before giving him a big kiss on the cheek and floating away as she waved goodbye to everyone.

Phantom smiled wistfully at the small girl before turning his gaze to the league members. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. He repeated this process a few times to no avail before finally sitting down in his chair with his snowy hair being the only part of him visible. Wonder Woman tilted her, questioning him, “Phantom, why have you wanted to keep your daughter a secret from us? We are a team.”

A glowing green eye met her before it lazily circled the room, landing on Superman, “Clark. Do you remember CADMUS? And Project Kr?”

Superman’s eyes widened, and he seemed to be uncomfortable with him mentioning it, “Yes, I remember. Are you saying that… Danielle is…”

“Yeah,” Phantom murmured, tugging on a piece of his hair, “You guys all look so uncomfortable when you speak of clones, and I understand. But you all, with the exceptions of Black Canary, Red Tornado, and occasionally Batman, had treated Connor as if he was… beneath you. Like because he was a clone, he wasn’t worth as much as a human or kryptonian because he wasn’t the original.”

He looked up, watching the shocked expressions on his team’s faces, but looked away to watch his much more interested boots instead, “You could imagine my surprise as a fourteen-year-old that my enemy had tried to clone me,  but couldn’t get the chromosomes right, or the aging right. Vlad had created a baby girl out of my DNA.”

Silence stayed in the air as they waited patiently for Phantom to continue. He took another shaky breath before trying to speak again, “It… It was so hard trying to raise a child while trying to save the city everyday, you know?” He gave a light chuckle, but it didn’t do anything to lighten the mood. He gave a deep sigh and continued with the same unnatural calmness he seemed to always possess, “She acts… nothing like me. I wasn’t as loud as her as a child, I was definitely more scared of everything around me. She’s so brave, and different, and unique. Danielle is her own person, and she’s amazing.”

He looked up, fierce determination in his eyes, as if daring anyone to question him, “After seeing the indifference from everyone toward Connor, I knew I would never wish to tell you about Danielle. You would do only the same to her, and no one gets to hurt my baby girl.”

Wonder Woman leaned over a bit, resting a hand on the younger one’s arm, “You know if we knew the situation, we wouldn’t have-”

“But you would!” He shouted, actually practically roared. His eyes glowed even brighter, and his canines a bit more pronounced. It was a frightening yet small display of power that kept everyone uneasy, “You’ve seen how Connor acts. Defensive, unsure of himself, scared. And yet, you treat him as if that should happen to him, as if it was his fault to even exist. Of course I wouldn’t tell any of you! After seeing it, I was so disgusted that I contemplated leaving this team for good!”

Superman swallowed, suddenly not wanting to have the conversation about his clone. It was strangely invasive, and personal to have this sudden attack on the league from their ally, their friend. Suddenly, Phantom’s attachment to Superboy made much more sense. “If I had told you about Ellie, you would’ve thought I was crazy for raising her. And in turn, if she were to ever visit her father, you would’ve treated her the exact same way as you treat Connor. Think of the effects that would have on a small six-year-old? She would’ve been so hurt that her so-called heroes would never like her because of how she was born, something that she had no control over!”

The other hero who was actually cloned successfully frowned and opened his mouth, ready to speak, but Phantom held up a hand, “Nah, I’m out. Going to hang out with my kid until I can calm down enough to talk to you guys again.” He floated upwards, his eyes not really focusing on anyone, before pausing, “Black Canary, Red Tornado, Bats? If you want to join, I’ll be at Jazz’s.” And he was gone.

The team had a lot to talk about.

[stuffjanesays]

Visit Number 27 (or my clumsiest visit yet...)

It seems, historically, that whenever I buy a last minute solo ticket to Sleep No More, my parents have this extra-terrestrial 6th sense that I’ve just spent money on a big ticket item. Without fail, if I’m going to the show alone and unplanned, my mom calls me just as I’m getting off the subway to see how I’m doing. My mom and I are very close, but usually, when I’m buying a last minute ticket, it’s because I want to lose my life and identity for a while, so every time this has happened, I’ve told her that I’m meeting my friend, Emily, downtown for Italian food. Mind you, when I tell her this, I’m never really meeting anybody, and I’d say that running around in a 6 story warehouse for 3 hours is about as far away from eating a plate full of pasta as you can get. And yet... On Monday night, as I milled about the Manderley, blissfully watching the exchange between Shane’s man in bar (whose name is escaping me) and Ben’s Freddy Valentine, I wandered over to the bar to grab some water and walked smack dab into... my friend... Emily... I hadn’t seen her in quite some time! She’s been involved in some of the shorts my good friends from college have been making over the past few years, but for some reason, we haven’t crossed paths in a while. It was very funny to catch up with her before the show, and nice to be able to gush about how much I loved it to someone before and after... The McKittrick always has its own plans for us... doesn’t it? To preface this recap, I had gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before, and the only things I had consumed all day were a very large cup of coffee and a protein shake. What resulted was my clumsiest night at the hotel to date, both in mentally processing my surroundings and in physicality. Strap in guys, this is a long one.

The moment I stepped off the elevator, I raced down to the ballroom, as always, to see who was on. I immediately got excited, because Tyler was on as boy witch, but when Tim Heck entered the ballroom as Malcom, my heart stopped. I always have a hard time answering the question of who my favorite performer is because I have had so many amazing moments following so many of the actors over the three years I’ve been frequenting the show, but Tim never fails to surprise me. For some reason, I always have more luck uncovering connections in the show and understanding the characters when I follow him for a loop (not to mention, he is just an incredibly talented dancer and actor.) By the end of the party scene, I was so enveloped in Malcom’s character that my feet developed a mind of their own and carried me away into his world. [[Sidenote about the party scene-- Although I’ve done a lot of thinking about virility, fertility, and succession in terms of Malcom’s storyline, I had never really thought critically about the curse that boy witch puts on him, or why he is coupled with boy witch in particular instead of sexy or bald during the party scene. However, last night I saw Malcom’s wandering eye and BW’s forceful repositioning of his gaze in a new light. He is paired with a male during a sensual dance in which the other two witches arguably seduce two of the other most virile characters in the play. Malcom looks away from BW longingly at the other couples in the room, who are all viable pairings for reproduction, as he dances with someone that can never sire him an heir. The witches are moving him along in his unsuccessful quest to sire an heir so that his destiny can align with the prophecy, taking away any opportunity that he might have for succession. This also got me thinking about Grace, and some parallels between the Porter/Malcom. I need to flush these ideas out with more observation.]] The kiss scene between Agnes and Malcom was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I always admire when the actors are able to line up a passionate kiss with the fans turning on perfectly. Tim has amazing timing in general, but he always seems to nail this scene in particular. After, he picked me for the 1:1. I’ve had his Malcom before, and have noted in this same 1:1 with others that there was a certain level of discomfort and desperation brought about by the aspect of Malcom’s failed fertility (the eggs being filled with ash, the small graves leading up to the back room that seem to be symbolic of all of the children he ~could have~ sired) and being a female audience member... However, Tim played more with the suspicion aspect of the monologue, and in his physicality, I felt more of a desperation for love and genuine human connection rather than the need to use a woman as a means to grow an heir. Perhaps, though, I was projecting from his Banquo 1:1, which to this date may be my favorite 1:1 experience I’ve had in the hotel. I tried to chase him out of the room, but I had been standing all day and my back suddenly started screaming. Instead, I ducked out and followed Colin’s Fulton for a while (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite loops). The work he does with his eyes as he slowly comes to realize the ghosts around him establishes a connection between him and the audience members like no other. Paranoia mixed with the need to protect lost souls... The way he becomes undone throughout the evening, wildly searching for a way to help and be helped... He also chose me for the 1:1, which begot my first clumsy moment of the night. After he shut me out of the back room of the morgue, Speaks (Daniel), came through the door. He regarded me furtively and produced the box containing the locket seemingly from nowhere. He began to tie the red ribbon around it as I stood, holding my ground, thinking that I wanted to be one of the good guys and that I didn’t want to engage with any servants of Hecate’s. He slowly slid the untied box at me, and I continued to maintain eye contact. I didn’t know what he was asking me to do, so I just hardened my gaze. We were locked in this stare down for probably a good 90 seconds before I realized he was asking me to put my finger on the ribbon so he could tie a bow. This was one of my favorite things to do as a child and one of my fondest memories of Christmas time with my mother, and I was suddenly filled with a childlike glee as I went from 0 mph to 150 and jumped across the room to lend him my index finger. He laughed at my seemingly instantaneous transformation from reluctance to enthusiasm. Temptation had won. Frailty, thy name is woman. After this moment, I realized I was having a strange show- I was wandering a lot between characters and wanted to find a focus. I went down to the hotel lobby to see if I could catch the Cabaret and start the next ballroom following Tyler as BW. However, when it came time for the Cabaret, the Porter took the stage, and Tyler had disappeared into the shadows of the hotel. I ran down to the ballroom to see if he had skipped the cabaret and found myself being whisked into the arms of Parker’s BW. We shared a lovely dance (which honestly, would have been all the attention I needed for the evening it was so lovely), and decided to follow him for [most of] the second loop. [Clumsy moment #2 came when I somehow stumbled into the Taxi 1:1, in which I accidentally ate the candy too quickly. Taxi tried to cheers his with me and I just opened my mouth, gumdrop in teeth, and smiled at him like a child who had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.] During the shower scene, I decided to hang back and let another audience member who was following BW to do the dressing. Parker looked at me and asked for the towel, so I obliged, but I receded as he stepped out of the stall to give him some room. He handed his pants to another audience member, who stood there and didn’t untangle his suspenders or straighten the legs of the pants out. A solid minute passed as BW put his boxers and knee brace on, and he lifted his legs for the audience member to dress him. Only then did the guy start fumbling with the pants, realizing what he should have been doing all along. After another 30 seconds, Parker flopped his limbs onto the ground and shot me a look that said, “is this guy for real?” with all of the air of a sassy 5-year old that still has me laughing, and ripped his pants out of the guy's hands. He pointed to his shirt, obliging me with his eyes, and I grabbed it for him. He slipped into it and took my hand to take me down to the ballroom, but two other audience members stepped in his wake and I got stuck. He looked back and shot daggers out of his eyes at the audience members who dared obstruct the path between him and his chosen bff, and pulled me close to him. The temper tantrum and wonderfully sweet kiss on the cheek I received in the ballroom after such an emotional shower scene were so real that I couldn’t help but feel that I had just seen the full range of the “boy” side of the boy witch character. The rest of the loop passed similarly, and when he chose me for the 1:1 the relief in his eyes when he saw my face felt like he really had met me once upon a dream. I kept expecting him to break my heart as the loop went on, but he kept me present and engaged in his story (if not almost personally involved). I slunk away from BW for the third loop in a far better mindset than I had started the show in, ready to dive into another character’s story.  Clumsy moment number 3 came when I stumbled into the cardgame with Speaks. He made it very clear to all three of us that we shouldn’t look at our cards before he told them to, but I was hopped up on that potent mixture of only 2 hours of sleep the night before and a very large cup of coffee (okay, it was 3 cups) that I drank just before the show and I automatically just straight up looked at the card when I took it from him. Speaks took my shot and threw it at the wall to punish me for cheating, and I ducked beneath the bar to hide from his glare. At the end of the loop, he escorted me down to the ballroom and brought me up to the front of the crowd. Speaks left me in favor of another audience member, and I walked toward the staircase alone only to feel a strong hand on my back. Tim smiled at me in a gentlemanly manner and took my hand as we slowly ascended the stairs as if we were a regal couple. I was so entranced by his smile and his stare that I maintained eye contact as he led me up the long staircase, side by side. However, as I gazed deeply into his eyes, MY FOOT GOT CAUGHT ON THE STAIRS AND I COMPLETELY LOST MY BALANCE. My legs automatically flung into a prancing, clumsy gallop as I jumped onto the landing in the middle of the staircase. Tim’s eyes went wide in horror as he watched what can only be described as a human car-crash of a movement that went on for 10 seconds as he tried to steady me. I looked at him, wide-eyed, once my feet were finally planted firmly on the ground, and started laughing so hard that he couldn’t keep it together. He pulled me so close to his body that I could tell he didn’t trust me to make it the rest of the way out of the hotel alive. My free hand flung up to the hand he was already holding as we shook with laughter and gave each other the funniest looks I have ever shared with someone that I’ve never actually spoken to. We laughed for literally the entire rest of the way out. When he lifted up my mask, I was already making an embarrassingly hilarious face at him. “Ya okay?” he laughed. “Yeah. I just wanted to maintain eye contact until I died,” I joked. He continued to chuckle as he thanked me, kissed me on the cheek, and went backstage. I don’t think I’ve ever stumbled so hardcore through a show. I emerged feeling like I had just played the part of “5-year-old audience member in a 24-year-old’s body”, but all in all, it was a pretty magical, hilarious, and awe-inspiring night. It was really just what I needed... Until next time... ;)

[meaningfulnegativity]

Michael wasn’t sure how to explain it exactly, especially when he knew Daniel doubted everything he was saying to him. At least Daniel wasn’t laughing. As long as Daniel wasn’t laughing at him, he’d do his best to answer his questions honestly. “I was conceived by a human woman and a ghost. But it was my father, Satan, who created me to represent him here on earth, to bring the end of days and build a new world. I’m meant to rule the new world, make sure everything is as he wants it to be which is why I need to be immortal so that I stick around a long time to carry out my father’s will.”

He knew he wasn’t doing a good enough job explaining it so he tried to clarify more. “The house where I was conceived and born has a gateway to Hell. Satan can manipulate the spirits there, he found the perfect dark spirit to help create his spawn. And so I’m not human, I’m not a ghost, I’m something more than that. But I am not mortal. My powers have grown. Now I can heal from anything, even death. I’ll never die. I’ll never age.” Armand had once mentioned something about a vampire doctor who studied them. He wondered if he would meet him and if he would want to study him too.

He was glad that Daniel seemed to be understanding about the warlocks trying to kill him. Though it was surprising to hear that someone had tried to harm Daniel. Why would anyone want to harm him?

“I don’t think animals like me,” Michael said. Except maybe that goat he saw in the woods. “I’ve never had a pet though so I wouldn’t really know.”

“Not laughing.” Daniel shook his head as he listened carefully to the other male. He frowned a bit when the other male stated that he’d been born nine years ago. Well, that was certainly… something. He decided not to react, instead picking the blade back up and gently carving out the next window. He glanced over at Michael at that point. “How are you immortal? You’re not a vampire…” he stated, watching him. “Is that just… something that comes with the territory of… you?” He his tone was obvious that he was attempting to make his question a little less awkward.

“They tried to kill you? Fuckers.” He wrinkled his nose. “I had someone like that once… he’s one of Armand’s former playthings… I’m still uneasy around him, even though I’m stronger than he is now.” He shook his head a bit at the thought of Louis. “It’s good they didn’t succeed though.” He nodded, glancing to Michael. “No animals, hm? Guess that means I can’t bring one to this… bunker or whatever, eh?” He was a bit bummed about that. If he had to be locked underground, it would be good to have someone he could talk to that wasn’t going to get pissed at him or frustrated or annoyed.