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faeriekit · 25 days ago

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Writing the Occult: quick notes for non-practicing hobby authors and other nerds🕯️

Hey. Real talk. If you're writing about occult rituals, magic, the works, whatever, there are some great ways to clean up your act and get some better, more aware accuracy in there. A lot of stuff in the wider consciousness of pop culture is kind of...not correct, or, uh. Should be something you're aware of. For instance:

G*psy is still a slur! No, Romani people aren't more likely to be fortune tellers than anyone else. Quit it with the weird stereotypes. The "g*psy fortune teller" thing hasnt even been on trend since the early 1900s. Move on.

"Voodoo" dolls are a racist perspective of an African-derived traditional religious practice. Vodun is a religion. It's not even a gone or far away religion either; Vodun and Santería have followers and priests all over the US, as do other ATRs. Since. You know. Slavery. The word you're probably looking for is "poppet", which is the term for the tool itself (tiny cloth doll for magical use) as opposed to, like, a whole religion.

A wendigo isn't a catch-all cannibalistic creature; it's part of a wider religious worldview of the Algonquian peoples. Native people have requested that you Stop Talking Abou That— yes, even asking that one YouTuber to Stop That, not that he seems to care. White people seem to cannibalize other people all the time anyway, so I don't see why there's a huge need for a Native scapegoat... There are other supernatural creatures and shapeshifters that eat humans. Pick anything else.

A lot of higher-level occult rituals as writ are just. Straight up antisemitic! If you're writing rituals and your magical language of choice is in Hebrew...hey. Stop that. Same thing goes for "elites who eat babies/drink blood." A some of it is a clumsily handled metaphor for the cannibalistic nature of having an upper class in a society, but a lot of it really is just dressed-up antisemitism in a trench coat. If you're looking up real rituals for worldbuilding...FYI, you may want to glance again before adding it to your work.

Just because ten dudes are standing next to each other in order to do a weird ritual doesn't make them a cult. That's just a ritual. Cults have more specific requirements; ie, whether or not there's religious abuse going on. You can make your weird spooky org have religious abuse, but if they're just, like, high schoolers, they're probably just novice occultists who occasionally hang out together.

I haven't seen anyone use "spirit animal" in a couple years, so that's great! Native people have also requested that we Stop That. Spirit Animal is a specific religious concept we don't have to tread on. Think of a synonym for the concept you're trying to convey; don't steal a word that's already in use for a religious practice. (Same thing goes for totem FYI.)

Hallucinogens often make you throw up. Like. A lot. People do certainly attribute religious visions to them, but also like drink a lot of water and keep a bucket nearby, because the whole scenario is just super disorienting. Most spiritual circles who utilize similar substances will have a trip sitter (someone sober to call 911 if there's an emergency) if they've got the resources.

Making up rituals for your story is totally cool. People invent new rituals all the time. There isn't a standard to be held to on that front unless you outright name a real life religious or occult group they're meant to be part of; THEN people will want standards. Until then, though, you're probably good.

Most TYPES of rituals have, like, a label, though. A ward prevents something from entering a protected space, an invocation brings something forth from within you, a banishment pushes something away from you, a consecration makes something sacred...A lot of these may be obvious to you from pop culture, but if you're going to try and make a character an expert on magic, adding the vocabulary to their lexicon makes their expertise more believable.

There are a ton of ways to exorcise ghosts! Basically every religion has, like, ten of them. If you want to add a little extra flavor on banishing/preventing evil spirits, google [character's religion/culture] [ghosts/spirits] to see what sort of flavor you can add to their specific person.

Occultists and witches and wizards and priests who do magic argue all the time. ALL the time. Interpersonal drama is real and it can Get You.

It's traditional to do certain specific rituals naked. Just FYI. It's not required. Just traditional. Utilize this knowledge for narrative potential... or don't. I'm not your boss.

Yeah, sometimes there's blood; your mileage may vary narratively. Most people don't go for the whole knife thing —you can get lancets at any drug store—but maybe your character is especially dumb or otherwise desperate. Palms and fingers hurt the most knife-wise; if your character knows what they're doing, it won't be their hands.

The keeping skulls around thing is real too, if legally and financially difficult to arrange in many cases. It's usually animal though. Human remains have a lot of laws in the states and, obviously, relatives want to keep their family close to their family — still, narratively, your mileage may vary.

The "White magic" and "Black magic" dichotomy is racialized. No, seriously. The things people demonize about dark magic— soul magic, necromancy, zombies, love/control spells, etc— are all really warped versions of Ancestor worship and other spiritual practices from African Traditional Religious beliefs. Well, the whole Zombie thing is actually a holdover from slavery and it's more about forcing ex-slaved peoples into performing more labor even after their death while White people are afraid of traditional Black spiritual resistance against colonial religious oppression— I'm going too deep into this, just trust me that if a dichotomy says that White is good and Black is bad, there's probably something hinky going on.

And, finally:

Ouija boards are sold at Barnes and Noble by Hasbro for $25, and a tarot deck can retail for as little as $20 from Spirit Halloween or Spencer's. No, they can't summon demons from the astral into your house. Can they talk to ghosts? Up to you; it's your story. Are cheap paper board and plastic planchette powerful enough to murder people, though...? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ My magic 8 ball says that the odds are unlikely.

Obviously, you can do whatever you want with your work— I'm not your dad and I can't stop you, but if you're the kind of person who's like, hey, maybe I do want to prune out accidental racial slurs from my vocabulary...hey! This list is for you! Halloween is a time to get spooky! Get scary! Get booped, even; still, if you want to have an underlying thread of what the occult looks like in practice, you might want to dust off a couple of mid Magic/Witchcraft/Spiritual/Occult books from your local library and flip through 'em for ideas. There's some fun stuff in there.

Like the sacred blowtorch ;)

Happy Halloween, everyone! 👻

#I wrote this for the DP x DC and other ao3 authors crowds so if this post goes out beyond that it ain't my fault okay.#don't come for me for expertise on the occult I'm out of practice and don't do that on this blog #find a nice witchblr blog and be polite :)#tw drugs #tw blood #tw cults #tw self harm #faer winds

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flightyquinn · 5 months ago

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So, I was reading about the Streets Oracle mystery for Pathfinder (shoutout to @dailycharacteroption), and I had this idea.

What happens when playground rumor and organized religion converge?

In a certain city, there was a group of children. Orphans and outcasts, they lived on the streets, with no one to watch over them. No one but each other. The older kids did what they could to take care of the younger, and when they found new children that had been abandoned they took them in. They were a family, not a cult. It all changed with an innocent question, "Where did you get that?" Of course, the older children did what they must. Whether it was food, medicine, or clothing, if their family needed it, they would steal if they had to...but they didn't want the little ones to know that. So when a girl told her little siblings that "Mother Magpie" had given her coin and food, the others were quick to play along. Going out to steal became "asking Mother Magpie for gifts." When the time came to teach some of the young ones to steal, they were told that they must always give all the credit to Mother Magpie, and no one else, or She would stop providing them with things to take. One boy even had the idea to teach the young children to pray aloud to Mother Magpie for what they wanted, so that the older members of the group would know things to be looking for. Another in the group started making charm necklaces for everyone when one of the little ones pointed out that real gods had holy symbols. Of course, it was just a way to keep the little ones quiet. A fun game, but not much more. At least...until one of the children started having visions. At first it was just a flash here and there. An idea of where to find some desperately needed item. Insight into when shop storerooms and mansions' kitchens might be unwatched. Then it was bigger things, like warning the group the night before their hiding place was to be raided by the guards. However, it was the first time their gifted friend cast a cure spell that the whisper spread like wildfire among the older children...Mother Magpie was real.

Mother Magpie is a Chaotic Good deity whose true identity is unknown.

She is a goddess of thieving and trickery, but also of providence, compassion, and protecting children.

Her associated domains are Chaos, Community, Good, Luck, Protection, and Trickery.

Her subdomains are Whimsy, Family, Friendship, Imagination, and Thievery.

Although her most sacred animal is the magpie, she also favors any animals which scavenge from the leavings of society, such as crows, pigeons, racoons, and opossums.

Her holy symbol is a crude rendition of a black and white bird, which is sometimes depicted clutching a rolling pin, or other symbol of maternal status.

#ttrpg #tabletop roleplaying #deities #worldbuilding #homebrew #pathfinder #pathfinder 1e

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sfehvn · 1 year ago

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new religion part 2

Description: AU- Things have gone too far between you and Astarion and he's not sure he'd ever be able to give you what you truly want. Rating: M (18+ minors DNI) Word count: 1,804 Characters: soft!ascended!Astarion x fem!au!Tav

━─━────༺༻────━─━

Luxurious fur blessed your fingertips, stroking absently at the feline across your lap. You hummed a sweet tune as you continued your project. Astarion had the finest oil paints in Faerûn imported to nourish your new hobby. Looking at the canvas, well, it was very much a mess of colors. So much so that he would not have been able to make out what the picture was intended to be if he had not known. He would praise you all the same regardless. As a token of thanks, you had requested he sit for you in the garden while you paint him.

“You will be the first to have an original Tav piece. You can show it off when I’m a famous painter.” You joked as he assisted with setting up the easel.

The kitten that purred against your touch was also a gift. One comment was made about how you had always wanted a cat but never had the room for one; it was just another opportunity to shower you with all of the gifts you had so deserved. The joy on your face when he presented you with the tiny feline made his heart swoon. Astarion would admit he had yet to think that offering through, though. When you were not present, which was most of the time, he had to care for the wretched little thing. His feigned attitude towards the kitten, which you had so ominously named Georgie, was a facade. He had grown to find comfort in the furball curling up to him in bed in your absence. He even caught himself cooing to the blasted little creature on occasion.

Astarion sat in the wrought iron chair across from you, a forgotten book propped open on his forearm as he admired the tenacity on your face, tongue jutting ever-so-slightly from between succulent lips as you struggled to work with the paints. How could you be so blissfully oblivious to the beauty you are? He wondered, his head resting in the palm of his unoccupied hand. He had a burning fire in his chest, demanding he show you not only your beauty but that you deserved much more than the small cottage you shared with seven other occupants. Your rightful position was right next to him in his palace. You deserved to have everybody else waiting at your beck and call, not the other way around. You insisted you could not leave your family, nevertheless.

“Stay here with me. I promise I’ll make it worth your while, my pet.” The two of you lay bare, entangled in silk sheets and each other’s arms. Astarion stroked the delicate pink skin of your cheek with the careful tips of his fingers, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. His words caused you to let out an amused giggle at his bequest. His eyebrows knitted together, and a slight frown played at the edges of his lips. He was serious.

Your smile dropped, and an apologetic look graced your features. “Oh, Astarion.” You sighed wistfully. “I just can’t. Not right now. Papa’s not doing well; I can’t just abandon him. Lillian needs a lot of guidance at this time, and with Alan having just moved into his own home now that he’s married, there’s no one to take care of our younger sisters.” You sputtered out. Astarion noted the stress that marred your face and decided to drop the matter for now.

“Sh, my treasure.” He coaxed, pulling your head into his chest. “We can address it later.”

Astarion pondered on when he had gone so soft, for lack of better words. Before you, there was no hesitation to steal what he wanted. Much easier it would have been to just bite you, keeping you to himself for all of eternity. He had thought about it when the disdain of being apart grew too great. This was after you, though. You had brought a bright light into his world of darkness, and he knew you would never be the same if he made such a decision on your behalf.

Guilt regularly gnawed at a conscious he wasn’t even aware he’d had. He still hadn’t found the courage to tell you of his true nature. You often called the raised tissue on his neck his vampire bite, and he’d always panic at the joke, wondering if he’d been found out. Inwardly, of course, he ensured he remained calm and collected on appearance. Soon, he told himself. He’d let you enjoy the normalcy of your current relationship for just a while longer.

Your groan fractured him from his thoughts. “Okay, it’s actually terrible. Please don’t laugh at me.” You pouted.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, darling.” Astarion assured, setting his book down on the table before him, pushing back his chair, and standing up. He bent down to get a better look at the canvas. “My, that’s a beautifully eclectic rendition of yours truly.” He hums, resting his hands on your shoulders, squeezing in encouragement. He meant it. It was something you had created; of course he would love it.

“Okay, you are officially the biggest liar I know.” You grinned, patting his hand softly as he shifted away. Georgie stretched in your lap. You placed him down, smiling as he hurried away into the open door of the manor.

“Your words wound me.” He holds his hands to his chest dramatically. “I’ll display it in the foyer.” His finger reaches to tap the tip of your nose playfully.

“I guess it must truly be Astarion approved then.” You hummed, recalling how tumultuous he had acted when replacing the art in his foyer. It must be perfect, he had said; first impressions are everything, my dear. “I don’t think your guests would be in agreeance with you.” At this point, you had stood on your tip-toes, planting a sweet kiss on his lips.

He dismissed your presumption with a wave of his hand. “Nonsense, my love. You question my tastes? When I’ve got you on my arm? I’ve already won.” His index finger taps the underside of your chin, encouraging your mouth to his. You oblige, and Astarion lets out a delighted laugh against your lips. He would never grow tired of how easily you unraveled for him and him only. Without breaking contact, he reaches down to grip the backs of your thighs, lifting you from the ground and setting you on the garden table.

Your breathing hitched as his hands wrought at the bottom of your dress, pushing the hem up until it pooled around your waist. His fingers brushed your mound over already-soaked underwear. He clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. “So ready for me already, pet? I’ve barely touched you.” Spoken like a purr, causing goosebumps to bloom over your skin. He buried his nose into your neck and breathed your scent in deeply. Chamomile and lavender had become distinctively you. His eyes close as your fingers tread over his scalp, hooking into his hair. “Keep touching me like that, treasure. I’ll fuck you right here.”

“Please. It’s been too long.” You murmur. It had indeed, he thought. This was your first day together after being apart for ten long, agonizing days. His fingers push your underwear to the side, the tips hardly swiping over your drenched core. The contact motivated your body further against him. Your breasts pressed to his firm chest, and he brought his unoccupied hand to sit atop them, thumb stroking delicious skin.

Greedy hands moved to the front of his trousers and at the feeling of his bulge, you ached to feel him inside of you. He pressed a kiss to your forehead and tenderly pushed your hands away. Your expression was one of rejection that panged Astarion’s undead heart, but his demeanor was one of significance. He took your hands in his as he stared deeply into your eyes. “Stay with me, Tav. The manor has never been this airy without you. I mean- I understand you have responsibilities you believe are your own, but I could give you everything.”

With a furrowed brow, you sluggishly pull away from him. “These responsibilities are my own. This is my family, Astarion.” You pursed your lips, looking everywhere but at the man before you.

“Pet, don’t be silly. They are holding you back. I recognize you love them, but you cannot put your needs on hold to protect them forever.” He reaches out to brush the hair from your face, but you quickly dodge the touch, pressing him aside so you can stand from your position on the table. His jaw clenches in annoyance, but he allows you your space.

“So, what? My father will be buried beside my mother soon, and you are so selfish that you can’t even give me the grace to spend his last days with him.” He had never seen the fire on your face; your usual demeanor dissolved.

Astarion’s jaw slackens, and he shakes his head in response. “I’m just thinking big picture. Where will your sisters go when the time comes, Tav? Are you to give your entire life to them? How is it fair to you?”

“If that is what must be done, then so be it.” Astarion noted how heavy your chest heaved, your body shaking from anger. You were angry with him.

“And what of me?” He was mindful of how needy and, as you said, selfish he sounded but couldn’t hold back. “What do you want with me if not forever?” Indeed, you couldn’t expect him to house the entire cavalry that was your family.

You froze and gulped in a large breath to calm your nerves. Maybe you have been negligent of his feelings as things grew more serious between you two. “I want you, Astarion. I want everything with you. I want to take your last name. I want to bear your children. I want to care for you until we’re both old and gray.” There’s a crack in your voice as you stifle back tears. Astarion’s stare softens, his stomach plunging at the knowledge of only ever being able to gift you one of those things. “I’ve always dreamt of creating a family of my own. Of being a mother to children created with the man I love.” You pause to swipe at your eyes with the back of your hand. “But I can’t leave my sisters to fend for themselves. I won’t.”

Astarion observes you as you collect your shawl, exiting the garden without another word. He’d let things go too far. He’d led you to believe this future you dreamed of could be achieved with him and even encouraged the delusions in his own way. Perhaps you would be better off if this relationship came to a close.

#astarion x reader #astarion x tav #ascended astarion #ascended!astarion x reader #ascended!astarion x tav #astarion #bg3 #x reader #tav #reader

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sclerites · 3 months ago

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one of my main gripes with the DC cinematic adaptations is that they don’t capture how absolutely FUCKING INSANE the world is. In the background of superman and lex beating each other up and/ or kissing or whatever, Constantine rolled a blunt made from swamp thing plant stuff to spite the swamp thing who had grown in his flat out of Constantine’s ash tray, only to get possessed by the swamp thing so that he could fuck his wife so they could have a kid or something, while etrigan, a centuries old man possessed by a demon (I think) and the phantom stranger, who is apparently the reincarnation (I think) of fucking Judas from The Bible, watch them. Meanwhile in the 25th century a man who named himself Booster steals some superhero shit from a museum, travels back in time and becomes famous by saving fucking president Ronald Reagan from dying. It is at least heavily implied that magaret thatcher (or at least conservatives, generally) are Actual demons from Actual hell. Actually, scratch that. Fucking Margaret thatcher canonically exists in the same universe as the flash, period. Also, on that topic: the flash, a man who possesses the superhuman ability of speed, as gifted to him by the speed force, one of the seven cosmic forces of the universe which also includes: the emotional electromagnetic spectrum, life force, the sphere of gods, dimensional superstructure, collective unconscious, and faithfulness. And that’s not even starting on the seven hidden forces. Also I might have skipped past it but also fucking god and satan exist, and so does probably every other god from every pantheon and religion but that’s all kinda brushed over except when it isn’t. And that isn’t even scratching the fucking surface, good god.

Big shoutout to DC for being just absolutely goddamn bizarre please never change 💛

#feel free to correct me on anything idk I really just needed to get this off my chest #lol #john constantine #hellblazer #DC #detective comics #dc universe #etrigan #the phantom stranger #booster gold #swamp thing

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selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs · 2 months ago

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Hi! Could you answer a question regarding your SAGAU world? How do Teyvatians, the Souverigns, and Celestia view the Creator? What are their stances when the real Creator hasn't left? Why do the Tsaritsa and Souverigns hate Celestia? I appreciate your work and effort in writing them, take your time.

Take care!

Hi!

Thanks for your kind words. And, of course, I can answer questions about SAGAU world.

Things to note! I have no intention to offend any real world religions. I didn't try to slander anyone or paint someone in a bad light.

One more thing. That "lore" are only relevant to Self-Aware BSD AU x SAGAU Crossover. Creator lore from Tired Creator AU is different. If the question was about Tired Creator AU, please, send that question in that blog.

__________

To the question.

__________

All groups worship Creator. However, all groups worship different aspects of a Creator.

Teyvatians and Sovereigns worship Creator themselves. They pray and make offerings to make Creator happy. And they will burn Teyvat, if they think, it will make Creator happy.

Celestia worship Creator's laws and rules. They want everyone to follow that rules. No exceptions, to breaking the rules. Creator gave them to Teyvat. People must respect them.

In a nutshell, Teyvatians and Sovereigns will shave a person’s head in order to present a wig from their hair to the Creator.

Celestia will put both a Treasure Hoarder (for stealing) and their victim (for hurting them), into a jail. Because Original Creator were kind, didn't like thieves and when people hit each other.

________

"You have begun to matter more

Then the things you say"

_________

That's why Tsaritsa and Sovereigns hate Celestia, and, in return, Celestia despise them.

To be fair, both sides have a point.

Celestia likes to get their noses into other's business and can be quite brutal, if they think someone is breaking Creator's laws. And their punishment will end in disproportion retribution (in Teyvatians' eyes).

Tsaritsa and Sovereigns are going overboard with their worshiping of Creator. Crucabena will offer House of Hearth children to be sacrificed to Creator. Sovereigns will enslave humans to train them into obedient servants of Creator.

When Fake Creator destroyed Celestia, Tsaritsa saw it as a sign of Creator's approval of their way of worship.

________

And, if Original Creator stayed in Teyvat... It won't end well.

Original Creator aren't a human. And I mean in a bad way. While non-human races from Teyvat (youkais, aranaras, melusines), vishaps, dragons, Sovereigns, abyssal monsters and even common monsters can understand human emotions and reasons. Original Creator can't do that.

They can't understand, why people wanted to do something, or why they will try to reach some goals.

But they still love their creations.

They are like a parent, who love their kid, who want them to have dreams, for them to follow that dreams. And who would hide all toy musical instruments, will edit music from any media and will make sure their child will never want to be a musician, because the parent can't see a purpose in being a musician, and are afraid for their child to end up as an addict and alcoholic.

Original Creator didn't want to rule over Teyvat. They wanted people to be free.

However, they would still look after them. They won't let Akasha be created, because they don't see a point in them.

Creator would change humans, taking away their ability to grief, because they won't understand, why people wanted to be sad.

One by one, Original Creator would take something important from humans. They would stall progress, emotionally cripple people.

All because they love their creations. In a very twisted, for a human, sort of way.

_______

Tag list: @myluckymoon @cocodrilofeliz @c4xcocoa @vvyeislazzy @whisperingwinters @nervousinfluencertidalwave @ayameshu @izzieg3987

#self-awareau #genshin impact sagau

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nynyhaha · 5 months ago

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Thinking about the way Chrollo represents apathy and passion.

When I first saw him,he gave the impression of someone who is both very serious about his occupation and on some kind of mission,and someone who just lets things happen.

The reason he seemed so enigmatic compared to other troupe members is because we couldn’t grasp what he actually values, besides obviously the spider.This whole line of his about not caring for money,glory or fame.The fact that he sells the loot soon after stealing it.

It doesn’t make sense for a thief to be this indifferent towards the treasures he steals.And while the troupe risked their lives trying to steal from the auction,when things went wrong the loot was the last thing they considered.I always wondered what happened to all the boxes at their hideout.I hope they didn’t just leave it there??But it was never the main focus,

I think he occasionally finds something that fascinates him,just to discard it afterwards.It’s almost like he tries very hard to,excuse me, “fill the emptiness inside him”,with material possessions but is painfully aware that it’s not possible.The troupe are primarily known as thieves but it seems obtaining stuff can’t be that satisfying,at least not to Chrollo. Even if he tells everyone to “just steal” in his character song.

The scarlet eyes might’ve caught his attention at some point but again,he’s very dismissive of the whole kurta theme even when Kurapika demands some response.

So I don’t believe it’s greed that drives him.In fact,he doesn’t know what drives him.

And the reason he’s able to commit all those horrible deeds is because of his disconnection with PEOPLE. Being the leader,he’s somewhat set apart from the rest of the spiders.And there are rules that put the good of the organisation before the well-being of the members.That’s supposed to prevent members from caring as much for one another.Which is tragic.

It all only started because they all cared.

How are characters humanised in hunter x hunter? Trough forming bonds with other characters.

Killua and meruem are excellent examples.Both of them grew to care more about humans in general trough meeting a particular person.

Chrollo lost someone important and that very personal grief lead him to stop caring about human lives.Not just his own,but the ones of his fellow troupe members.

Obviously it didn’t work and they still feel very strongly for each other.The whole yorknew arc focuses on those repressed feelings of camaraderie that aren’t allowed to be experienced fully as that would interfere with the Spider.Pakunoda has to break the rules if she wants to save the life of her friend.

Chrollo can’t do that because the Spider with its rules is all he has.He’s very good at “severing ties” with things like living a save life,the authorities,possibly religion,connections with other people,seeing dead bodies as something to be respected and not as objects.He’s willing to give up everything that made him who he was,but what does he have in turn? Nothing.

The Spider needs to have a purpose but it seems that purpose is lost.Chrollo is lost,all his sacrifices lead to nothing.

He doesn’t even feel hate or anger at the world.He rarely takes things personally.

I think there was some revenge based reason for murdering the kurta clan.The troupe seem like they’d have some reason,even tho it could never be good enough.

But my thesis is that Chrollo’s biggest sin isn’t greed,pride,anger or whatever.It’s apathy.

Nothing prevents him from hurting people who have nothing to do with him,therefore he does.

He’s afraid that things will start mattering again,but at the same time we see him constantly searching for that something.He is scared of it,but he really strives to strive for something so that he can break out of this indifference he feels for everything.

So maybe Hisoka will awake some of this rage buried inside and with it make Chrollo once again seem like a very distressed human.

#chrollo lucilfer #phantom troupe #hxh #yorknew city #hisoka morow #hunter x hunter

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traegorn · 1 year ago

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Hey-o! Tis the season for people to talk about how the holidays were "actually pagan" and I'm on the hunt for sources about how that's really not the case, if you have any you'd recommend!

Okay, so the problem is there are so many weird "Christmas is stolen!" bullshit memes going around, it's so hard to just give you a comprehensive list of sources. Christmas celebrations have evolved as the religion has spread, and different things come from different times...

The key here is to go for academic sources. This is a question of history, and a well supported historical research is going to tell you whether they're operating from primary, secondary or tertiary sources.

So while I can't give you a simple list, let me give you a couple of examples off the top of my head and give you tips on how to investigate any the dumb claims that get passed around.

Christmas being in December: So a lot of people go for the "Christmas is in December so it can steal from [INSERT SOLSTICE CELBRATION]" is ahistorical... because we know exactly why Christmas is in December. Because the guys who made the decision argued with each other and left behind written documentation. The two big names you need to look up are Clement of Alexandria (who pitched January 6th) and Hippolytus of Rome (who proposed December 25th). This is around the turn of the third century, and you can find both of their writings. Some folks have questioned the authenticity of some of Hippolytus of Rome's writings, but Clement of Alexandria's seem well supported. These were internal arguments about when the birth of Christ took place within the early church, and when they settled on late December. There are reasons for this, and you can read their arguments (it largely has to do with the importance of when Jesus was conceived -- they wanted that to be an important date and then added nine months to it). Importantly though, because linear time is a thing, this means Christmas was set in December before the Christianization of the Germanic and Norse tribes... so anyone who says Christmas was set to December to correspond with Yule doesn't understand the concept of "coincidences."

The Christmas Tree: The Christmas tree was invented in 16th century Germany. That's... that's just written down all over the place. Now, there are legends about Martin Luther being the first who did it -- but I'm pretty certain that's just an embellishment that got added on. There are preceding traditions where part of an evergreen was brought into the home as a part of solstice traditions (though some will claim the Egyptians did this? Which is wild -- likely misinterpreting their use of palm fronds as the same thing), but the act of taking a whole ass tree, cutting it down, putting it in your house, and decorating it? That's 16th century Germany all the way. You can rabbit hole so many sources on that one, but honestly just pick apart the citations on the Wikipedia page. Putting a branch in your house and dragging a whole tree in are very different acts.

Jesus's story is copied from [INSERT RANDOM GOD]: There are so many of these, and some are just downright disrespectful to major world religions (the Krishna version of the meme especially). The answer is... just see if what the meme is saying about the god is supported by the mythology. Like I've seen ones that says Dionysus was "born of a virgin." If you know anything about the Greek gods, you're probably already laughing on the floor. Horus gets dragged into this too, because Gerald Massey was trying to pull a "White Goddess but with Dudes." But any serious research on Horus will tell you the supposed parallels aren't supported by the mythology.

So sorry, this wasn't so much sources you can use as it is how to look for them to begin with. Because there's just so, so much. This isn't even covering cases of syncretism, where pre-existing cultural traditions got continued post-Christianization. Because it's almost always the case that if a pre-Christian practice endured post Christianization, it's because people decided to keep doing it -- not because the church was trying to "steal" it. The latter means there was some mustache twirling plan behind it, when the former means (usually) the church went "Well, they're paying their tithes and saying it's for Jesus, so who gives a shit?"

I'm just going to finish this off with linking to my podcast episode on this, along with Ocean Keltoi's great Yule video on the topic. Hopefully that helps.

youtube

#witch #witchcraft #witchblr #yule #christmas #christmas tree #pagan

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cooking-with-hailstones · 7 months ago

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A post shared by Bisan Owda (@wizard_bisan1)

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In case you were wondering: are the campus protests even important? Do they matter? Are they making a difference?

Yes, yes. They are making a difference.

Video description: Bisan, a young Palestinian woman, is speaking directly to the camera. She is wearing a black shirt and a keffiyeh.

Video transcript (I did my best but missed a few words)

I’m 25 years old. I’ve lived my whole life in Gaza Strip. I’ve never felt hope like now. Never. I mean it’s magical feelings running in my veins right now. In my head, I’m in Gaza city, in the north of Gaza Strip rebuilding my city after this genocide has ended. Even started to dream that my friends from Yafa, Haifa (unsure), majdal, are returning to their cities after being displaced for 75 years. These young heroes in universities at America and around the world are stronger than the last occupation in history. And for the first time in our lives as Palestinians, we hear a voice louder than their voices and the sound of their bombs and even stronger than their control in all aspects of our lives.

In the 70s, the occupation, Prime Minister said, after decades of killing Palestinians, stealing the lands, establishing the state of Israel over the lands that “the adults will die, and children will definitely forget.”

Wait. Is that the greatest (unsure) in history? Because it’s children and youth who are leading the movement for a free Palestine. everything they have on the line to demand justice and end of the genocide, and a new era of the world, not based on oppression, exploitation or colonialism.

Do you know what the best part is? demonstrations and calls for boycott in the academic institutions are not limited to a certain people from certain religion, culture, color, religion, race, or maybe economic level. We are all different so we can no longer be accused of anti-Semitism, serving some agendas from outside, we are just different people calling for the same thing. People to people and people to justice.

200 days I’ve spent escaping death every single minute were not in vain. And those 40,000 innocent souls were killed during these days were not also in vain. And this is the first time to feel and tell you this.

Keep going because you are our only hope and we promise we will hold our ground and tell you the truth always. And please, don’t let their violence scare you. In Arabic, we say (Arabic phrase). In English, that means “they don’t have other options, but trying to terrify and silence you” because you are demolishing decades of brainwashing. You are making the change. The real change. Their violence means that we’ve begun to affect them deeply. Believe me, we are in the bottom of this bottle and we’re very very close to the end of this genocide. Maybe even closer than anytime before. Thank you. Thank you for each one of you, because you made us, me and my people feel that we are free. We are heard. We’re going back to our homes, and land.

(Through tears) I have spent the whole night thinking about every video I see, you shouting for Palestine, you protesting for Palestine, you are dancing, singing for Palestine I feel it here in my head that I am going back. And I am free, and one day, we will celebrate it in, in Gaza together. Keep going and we will too. Salaam.

(if anyone can help with my transcript, it would be much appreciated!)

#Palestine #free palestine #wizard bisan #bisan owda #Gaza #columbia university #columbia protest #campus protests #yale university #emory university #video #described video #Instagram

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wifelinkmtg · 8 months ago

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There's "spaghetti western" and then there's whatever the hell this Chef Boyardee shit is

Hello! and welcome back to Wifelink. We're talking about Outlaws of Thunder Junction today, Magic's second product in a row set in a version of Nevada, and let me tell you something: I am not impressed. The mechanics are uninspired, the setting is undercooked, the story is overstuffed, and to top it all off the whole thing smacks of settler-colonialism. AND they yassified Vraska, the monsters!

WE WILL GET TO THE HOT WOMEN, BELIEVE YOU ME, BUT FIRST I AM GOING TO COMPLAIN SOMEWHAT, AS IS MY RIGHT AS AN AMERICAN, AS A HUMAN BEING, AND AS A GAMER

The mechanics we've discussed elsewhere, and I will skim over the main storyline except to say that very few of this Big Villain Heist Team-Up gets enough spotlight to justify their inclusion here beyond getting recognizable names on cards, and that Rakdos' presence on the plane alone ought to be an apocalyptic calamity. I appreciate Jace & Vraska going full blackpilled accelerationist, stealing a baby, and aiming to destroy the multiverse & start over (a novel hybrid of Raising Arizona and Doctor Strangelove,) but I also know, sure as the sun rises, that whatever happens with their villain arc will be a underwhelming let-down.

What I actually want to complain about, though, is the setting. Thunder Junction ain't real, and I don't mean it's fictional, I mean it's plywood facades on a backlot. It's the set for a cowboy film. You feel me? This ain't a plane, it's a god damned sound stage.

Lemme go over the facts: we know Thunder Junction has been settled for a bit over a year. A year! - and yet there's multiple towns, multiple railways, and an honest-to-god metropolis. Less than two years and we already have ghost towns! This is not the product of a bunch of people on various planes all individually deciding to seek a new life in the off-world colonies. All of this represents a staggering quantity of people, material, wealth, and labor, being moved between planes, directed and organized - but by whom? For what reason? How, even? The story is totally uninterested in these questions.

One of the few silver linings to the way the Phyrexian invasion storyline ended was that the Omenpaths had a lot of interesting potential! Different planes would come into direct contact with each other for the first time ever! Different technologies, different philosophies and religions, different kinds of magic colliding, coming into conflict, adapting and adjusting to each other. And after a couple of sets where the interplanar contact was limited to one or two particularly adventurous individuals, we finally get to see what interplanar contact at scale looks like here in Thunder Junction... and it just looks like a John Wayne flick. Did people not bring their culture with them? Is there a big rack of hats and boots and dusters right where people step off the Omenpath? Shuck off those old Ravnican rags, kid, get changed. You'll spoil the aesthetic. I mean, it's baffling.

Luxurious Locomotive (art by Leon Tukker). This is one of the few man-made parts of this plane that I can look at and know where it came from: this is a Kaladeshi design. More of this sort of thing would have made Thunder Junction feel more like a real place and less like a Sergio Leone joint.

There's a side story, No Tells, by Isaac Fellman, which I quite like actually: it's about guilt and betrayal and the inevitable regrets of having moved into a queer housing co-op, and one of the things that makes it great is that we know where Yuma came from (New Capenna), we know why he left (the limitations of "be gay do crimes" as praxis under capitalism), and we know what he brought to Thunder Junction with him (cocktails, pool tables, and his co-op's emergency funds). Fellman has written nothing else for Wizards and doesn't play Magic, and even so he's done more to make Thunder Junction feel like a real place situated in a real history than the rest of the story team combined - which goes to show, one, that we should only let trans people write magic story for the next decade or so, and two, that what I'm asking for in terms of worldbuilding is not unattainable, or even that difficult.

And all of this ties into the colonialism, right? Thunder Junction is being colonized, and asking questions about who benefits, who's sponsoring this breakneck settlement of the plane, what they're after and so forth would require the story to take a good hard look at the process of colonization itself, and Wizards is flatly unwilling to engage with anything that thorny in their products. So, just as Ixalan involved a limp-wristed slant reenactment of the Spanish conquest of the Americas - but it's fine because they're the bad guys and they're technically not even trying to colonize Ixalan and they don't win anyway so no one gets hurt! - Thunder Junction is attempting to present a Disneyland version of Western colonialism. Untamed wilderness! Bringing civilization to uninhabited deserts! How cool and heroic these hard frontiersmen and -women are! I'm told they brought in Navajo cultural consultants for the Atiin, a fantasy equivalent, and I hope those folks were well compensated! The Atiin seem cool, and the one Atiin character we spend any time with is well-written, but the Atiin are not indigenous to Thunder Junction. They're not being colonized. And if there weren't anybody being colonized, I'd probably still dislike the colonial vision of a wild land inhabited only by animals, just waiting for us to shape it to our will with railways and violence, but there is in fact a native race of sapients on Thunder Junction, and these cactus folk get no voice in the story, so if they have some kind of opinion on the rapid colonization of their home and the clear-cutting of their cactus forests, we don't get to hear about it.

Prickly Pair (art by Brian Valeza) Too much of the extremely-limited presence Thunder Junction's only indigenous sapients have on the cards is devoted to cactus-based puns like this one, which is pretty distasteful given, you know, the colonialism.

I'm talking about colonialism not because I think that replicating colonial myths in fantasy fiction is an unethical thing to do - although it is - but because you can see, right, that Thunder Junction's lack of verisimilitude is intertwined with the colonial vision of the world at play here, yeah? The story wants to have cool cowboy shootouts and train robberies and it does not want its cowboy fantasy to be complicated by uncomfortable realities, so it has to avoid all of the basic worldbuilding questions that would tell us who the colonization benefits and how they're profiting off the plane, and in the end we're left with nothing but an empty aesthetic, like a duster hanging off a scarecrow, blowing in the wind.

ANYWAY SO WOMEN

To be honest, under the circumstances I'm not really feeling like giving the fine women of Thunder Junction my usual more elaborate treatment, so we're going to lightning-round this shit, which is at least thematic.

Blood Hustler (art by Anna Pavleeva)

Vampire MILF.

Rattleback Apothecary (art by Loïc Canavaggia)

Snake MILF.

Wrangler of the Damned (art by Michal Ivan)

Cis lesbian haircut, good with a rope.

Obeka, Splitter of Seconds (art by Ryan Pancoast)

BIG

#outlaws of thunder junction

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girls--complex · 5 months ago

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I just came upon your blog and it's given me Lots of Thoughts, even though I don't particularly believe in any God (that is to say, I think there might be something more out there, though I don't think it's God as it's portrayed by any religion and I need some sort of tangible evidence before I can confirm or deny that something like that exists. All that to say I'm agnostic lol), but I do think you have some very good points about a lot of things.

I find it kinda hard to understand some of the things you write since you use a lot of long and complicated words that aren't in my vocabulary since English isn't my first language and I've never left my home country, but I'm doing my best! (With the help of an online dictionary)

Either way, I really love your art and I'm taking some inspiration from your style to practice, if that's okay with you! I just really like how flowy, creative and loose it is and I really need to loosen up a bit about making things instead of constantly adding more detail and perfecting it until I lose interest because it becomes stressful instead of enjoyable to create something.

I also wanted to ask, since according to your comics you've done shrooms before, how would you recommend going about shrooms to someone who's not used to doing much of any substance? (I barely drink alcohol and I smoke weed so rarely every time I do it I end up extremely disoriented until I manage to calm down no matter how little I smoke).

I'm asking cause a friend of mine whom I've known for years recently told me they have some, and that he'd be willing to share them with me, and I'm curious about trying them out and seeing if I can learn something from that experience, but I wanna stay safe while making the most of it :3

Hi thank you for a long & thoughtful message

YOU ARE ALWAYS ALLOWED TO COPY OR "STEAL" OR WHAT EVER FROM MY DRAWINGS seriously this is so normal and allowed. I do this with other cartoonists and all the cartoonists I know also do this. We do it to each other. "I like how she draws eyes" or whatever and we absorb it into our own style. Or just copying drawings/ paintings/pages. This is good. Do it.

Thank you for taking the time to decipher my words. I know I use lots of large/obscure words N trying to get better at making me language accessible (& maybe use my beloved obscure words in enough context that a reader can figure out the meaning).

I think using psychedelics is something better to talk about with people who know U in person and can respond to your needs and goals. Maybe your friend can give some guidance or knows someone who has a shamanic streak that can. Or you can always go on erowid or reddit whatever kids are using now to do a lil research.

I don't really feel comfortable giving specific advice or even general advice that might color the experience in a certain way, hope u understand...

Thank u for saying Hi

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panlight · 6 months ago

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Hi,

Just a question I wanted to ask about. How do you head-cannon the familial(or perhaps lack thereof) dynamics of the other major covens in twilight? eg. Egyptians, Denali, Irish etc

I was thinking about this the other day like with the Denali - Carmen and Eleazar are physically older and perhaps frozen at a more mature age but physically younger members like Kate have been around for longer and I was just intrigued by how these factors might affect their dynamic. Also with the Egyptian coven and how with them ‘generation gap’ literally takes on a whole new definition that makes one wonder if they genuinely do have a unique rapport with each other after being in close proximity for so long.

Feel free to ignore - just my little brain dump lmao. Love reading your posts and hope you keep writing!

Have a great day!

I conceptualize Eleazar and Carmen as the 'Alice and Jasper' of the Denali coven. They are a couple who join an established, venom-linked couple sometime later. The Denali sisters had their 'mother' for presumably centuries, and then existed as a trio for a long time before Eleazar and Carmen show up, so while I'm certain they did shift the dynamics somewhat, I don't see them as 'parental' in any real way. They are similar to Esme and Carlisle in personality, but that's where it ends for me. The sisters are very loyal to the memory of their mother, and they've been around too long to let anyone 'parent' them. To be fair, I feel similarly about Jasper; I don't think Esme and Carlisle 'parent' him; he's old enough to be Esme's grandfather, for one thing, but I also think he doesn't need or want the parental stuff. Affection, friendship, companionship, mentorship (re: vegetarianism), sure! "Jasper honey wash your face and put on your boots it's time for school! Did you finish all your homework?" I can't see it.

I think Eleazar is also like 'the Jasper' in the sense that he has some useful skills and knowledge from his time with the Volturi. He's not the leader -- Tanya is -- but she may rely on him for certain things, just like Carlisle can turn to Jasper for his knowledge of newborns and vampire warfare.

Beyond that I see them as adopted siblings of the original sisters and probably each have unique relationships within that framework. Maybe Irina was closer to Carmen while Tanya is closer to Eleazar or whatever.

With the Egyptians I think there is a more parental role for Amun and to a lesser extent, Kebi. Amun is Benjamin's creator and while that bond doesn't always become parental, given how young Benjamin was (15) it seems like it most naturally would in this case. I don't think Kebi necessarily sees him as a 'son' in quite the same way . . . maybe more like a step-son. He's Amun's son and she loves Amun so okay, this kid is here to stay, but I think she resents on some level that she has to 'share' Amun's affection with him. Tia is definitely IMO a daughter-in-law rather than a daughter. Amun puts up with it because it makes Benjamin happy and he wants to keep Benjamin around. But with Amun there's always that overlay of what he REALLY cares about is the power. I think he does have a lot of affection for Benjamin but it's hard to separate that from his pride at having this amazingly powerful vampiric offspring.

There is a huge generation gap though! Amun and Kebi are literally from Ancient Egypt and Benjamin and Tia are from like, early 1800s Egypt. Completely different religion, culture, language, etc. I remember finding it a little strange in that short film that they were talking about Benjamin stealing fire from Ra; it's the 1800s, Egypt had been a Muslim-majority country for several hundred years by that point. (Also 'Ra' was probably some dude Amun knew back in the day!) Interestingly, 'Tia' was a name used in Ancient Egypt. Not sure how common it was in the late 1700s/early 1800s though.

#asks #denali coven #egyptian coven

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the-creative-lounge-blog · 9 months ago

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The video features custom community emojis by @azuzeldraws

We're ready for you to join The Creative Lounge Discord Community!

Community rules & guidelines are below the cut for anyone who'd like to preview them before joining.

Members must be at least 18 years old.

The Creative Lounge Community Invite

The Creative Lounge is a Discord community of creators and lovers of different genres, crafts, and talents that, together, foster a positive creative environment.

A good portion of this community is dedicated to content creators who work with different mediums. That's by design. We inspire one another and often collaborate. I hope The Lounge makes it easier to do both!

There's also room in here to play. I'm arranging the ability to stream art and video games in here, as well as host virtual tabletop games (these adventures are fantastic fodder for art, animation, stories, and audio works)!

Art and storytelling have been part of the human experience since our beginnings. They withstand disease, war, natural and unnatural catastrophes, and most impressively, time. Be proud of what you contribute.

Community Rules & Guidelines:

Rule #1: Be Aware. This is a shared space. You must be at least 18 years old to join this server. Individuals from all places and all walks of life congregate here. The sharing of personal information (name, location, etc.) is discouraged. Don't share personal images of anyone under the age of 18.

Rule #2: Be Respectful. Any disputes between members ought to be resolved privately. Disruptive behavior is not tolerated! No racism, sexism, hate speech, trolling, abuse, spam, picking fights, harassment, etc. Direct and indirect threats towards any other person are strictly prohibited and will incur an instant ban. Avoid discussing sensitive topics (examples: religion, politics). Try to keep the conversation relevant to the channel you are in. This is a multi-fandom, multi-shipping community. Hate directed at fandoms, characters, or ships is not allowed. While age gap ships are welcome, teacher/student ships are not (if characters are portrayed as teacher and student in canon material, do not share fanworks of those ships here). Don't steal content or ideas. Do not repost or share anything found here without the permission of that content's creator. When sharing content by others, they must be credited in your post. When sharing links to your content, ensure that it is thoroughly tagged in your post. Any NSFW content should be shared in the gated channels. No underage (less than 18 years old) or incestuous NSFW content (in ANY form, regardless of how brief it may be) is allowed in this server. Use tags and spoilers (if applicable) for “trigger warning” kind of content. Examples of warning tags: -Graphic depictions of violence -Character death -Rape/non-con/dub-con (A/B/O works are considered dub-con) Other things such as phobias, body horror, blood, etc, should also be tagged. If you would tag it on AO3 or a social media post, tag it here. If unsure, ask a mod for help!

Rule #3: Be Creative. This space was made so that content creators may meet and interact with each other and with fans of transformative works. It is encouraged (but not mandatory) to participate in Lounge events and challenges. Use this space to discuss your content and ideas, share tips, ask questions, etc.

Rule #4: Be Kind. This is meant to be a community. Remember to encourage and support one another. Visible support such as reblogging/retweeting, commenting, giving kudos, etc., ought to be considered part of being a Lounger. Do not simply use this server (or myself) as your marketing platform. Self-promotion is not only encouraged, but expected. However, when you promote your work, stick around to throw some support and encouragement at others.

#the creative lounge #discord server #artists #writers #animators #podficcers #podcasters #gamers #ttrpg #multifandom

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starswhisperwritershear · 2 months ago

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Of All The Stories In The Stars, Ours Has Yet To Be Told (62761 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 7/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them, Suicidal Thoughts, This is heavily inspired by marichat, stealing lots of headcanons from tumblr, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, not entirely canon compliant, I stole the pieces I like and combined them with fanon to get what I wanted, this was supposed to be a slow burn, Dialogue Heavy, some spooky shit will be snuck in here, Mutual Pining, Dissection, Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, lots of astrology references, Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), horror aspects will be in here, but also cute fluff, Asexual Character, Mentions or pevious eating disorders Summary: It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

Danny lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, feet idly kicking the air as they dangled off the side. He listened to his phone ring, anxiety settling in his stomach. He'd already tried twice that day to get a hold of Jazz with no luck. He knew she was busy, but he couldn't help the little voice telling him his parents had gotten to her first. The phone was two rings away from going to voicemail again when she picked up.

"Hey, bro! What's popping?"

Danny snorted, laughing at her choice of slang words. Ever since getting to college, she'd been trying her best to sound cool and he was beginning to suspect Mr. Lancer had given her one of his 'how to be hip' dictionaries. "The only thing that should be popping, is you popping open a real dictionary."

Jazz sighed comically. "There's that younger brother sarcasm I've missed."

Danny rolled his eyes, a faint smile on his face. "How are you, Jazz?"

"Oh, I'm fine. The summer semester is kicking my ass. I've got seven essays, two research projects, and a group presentation all due by the end of the week, but, yeah, I'm fine."

"Jesus, Jazz, do you even have time to breathe?"

"I do right now. I'm sorry for missing your other calls. Is there something going on?"

"I understand you're busy. Nothing crazy, I just, uh, have Mom and Dad talked to you at all?" Danny chewed his bottom lip so hard he tasted blood.

"No," Jazz snorted. "The last I heard from either of them was a few days ago and all Dad sent me was a cat meme on Facebook. I figured they've just been too busy with ghost hunting to check up on me." The frustration in her voice was tense like she couldn't decide if she wanted to be sad or mad. She cared about her parents, but she harbored a lot of resentment about how the two of them were raised. "Why?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, cause I wanted to be the one to tell you that I've decided to go to college."

Jazz screamed. Danny ripped the phone away from his ear, only daring to bring it back when he couldn't hear her anymore. "Danny! That's amazing! Where are you going? What program are you doing? What convinced you?"

"Well, I had a talk with Mr. Lancer-"

"I knew he'd come through for me," Jazz whispered under her breath.

"And," Danny chuckled, "he was talking about this program here at Amity Community that I kind of liked. After some thinking, and admittedly a little pushing from Dash, I-"

"Dash? Dash Baxter? Since when are you two hanging out?"

"Uh, I haven't told you about that? Never mind, not important right now. I, well, I decided to be an astronomy teacher. A professor if I can swing it."

Jazz screamed again. "That's such a good choice! It's so you! Oh my gosh, my brother, a professor!" She gasped. "We can share our theories about classroom behavior now! This is going to be so great!"

Danny felt a huge wave of relief hit him, shaking a lot of his parents' disapproval off. He sighed, "Thanks, Jazz. I'm glad you think so."

"Mom and Dad didn't take it so well, huh?" Jazz's voice lost a lot of its excitement, a hint of bitterness glazing over it.

Danny glared up at the glowing stars on his ceiling. "No, not really. They're mad at Mr. Lancer for even putting the idea in my head. But, Mom said it was a start and I'll for sure want to change my major to biochemistry by the end of the semester when I've realized what it is I've gotten myself into."

Jazz hesitated, her voice careful. "And Dad?"

Danny's heart constricted. "He's just glad they have at least one genius kid."

"I'm going to lose my shit." Jazz hissed, knocking something over. "This is why I don't come home for Christmas. Don't listen to him, Danny. He should be proud of you. If he knew of half the shit you did in his lab, he would be proud. I'm proud of you."

"I miss you, Jazz." He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. "They were a lot kinder when you were around."

"Only cause I had to kick their asses anytime they said some bullshit about you." Her voice softened. "I miss you too. But, hey, look at how great you're doing without me."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, but how much better could I be doing with you?"

"Oh! Speaking of old inside jokes, how are your, um, extracurricular activities going? Wink."

"You don't have to say wink." Danny jokingly rolled his eyes.

"Then how will you know I'm winking?"

"You're such a dork."

"I know you are but what am I?" Jazz laughed. "But, seriously, how are things going on the spooky side?"

Danny took a deep breath, flashes of the night before entering his mind. He stood up to pace his room, hoping to shake them off. "Uh, good, good. Just the usual. The ghosts might be on vacation, there have been fewer attacks lately. So, that's nice."

"You hesitated. Danny, you know you can tell me, right? I wouldn't ask if I thought I couldn't handle it."

Danny exhaled, long and low. "Okay, they were," he swallowed, his breath shaking, "They were dissecting a ghost in the lab last night. She was in real bad shape when I found her."

Jazz gasped. "Was it someone you knew?"

Danny shook his head, briefly forgetting she couldn't see him. "No, but, God, Jazz, she, she couldn't have been older than sixteen. She wasn't even a threat and they had her- she was completely, her arms were covered in-" Danny paused to take a deep steadying breath. "It was bad. She was in a lot of pain and the house reeked like they'd been at it for hours."

Jazz's voice carefully held no emotion. "What happened? Did they say anything about it?"

"Not to me. I got her out without them noticing. When they got back to the lab and found out they argued for a minute before I interrupted them." He stubbed his toe, hissing at the contact.

"That's- I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Do you, maybe, wanna talk about how you're feeling?"

Danny sat back down, twisting the sheets in his fingers. "Not really. I kind of want to forget it ever happened."

"Okay, that's fine." Jazz took a breath, then forced a teasing tone to creep back into her voice. "Then maybe you can explain this photo of you and Dash Baxter that both Tucker and Sam sent me."

"What?" Danny sat up straight, panic settling into his veins. "What photo?"

"It seems like a movie night at Sam's. You're asleep on his shoulder and you two look pretty cozy."

"That was an accident! I didn't mean to fall asleep. Okay, but, listen, I have to tell you about Dash." He proceeded to tell her everything from the beginning, how he had stopped messing with them a few years back, how he patched Phantom up, how Danny invited him to hang out, the whole story up til yesterday.

"So, what I'm getting out of this is that a pretty jock boy said thank you and you fell in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him! Why does everyone keep saying that?" Danny huffed, face warm.

"Uh, 'cause you're acting like it."

"I just, think he's cool. You know, I've mixed these feelings up before with Sam. This is probably just the same thing. I don't like him, I just think he's cool."

Jazz giggled. "Danny, please, I never heard you talk about Sam the way you just talked about Dash. You totally like him."

"I don't think I do. I mean, I do like being around him, a lot. As both Fenton and Phantom. He doesn't really act different between the two of them which is… nice. But if I liked him, I'd have to tell him I'm the same person, and then what if freaks out and starts acting differently again? I like this Dash. I like the way things are. I don't want them to change." Danny knew he was whining, but Jazz started it.

"Of course change is scary. And I'm not gonna say that you should tell him 'because of what could be' or anything. It's your relationship with the guy, you get to decide what you tell him. What I am saying is that you should be honest with yourself and you should have told me! You have a crush on a boy and you didn't tell your sister! I'm hurt."

"Uh, maybe!" Danny protested. "Maybe I have a crush on a boy."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Jazz sang.

"Don't you have like twenty essays to do or something?" Danny quipped.

Jazz bellowed a hearty laugh. "Yeah, I do. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah. Thanks for talking to me, Jazz."

"Anytime, bro. Love ya."

"Love you too." Danny hung up. He sighed and collapsed back on his bed, feeling better than he had before. He should make it a point to call his sister more often.

Danny: Hey, if I wanted 2 wear eyeliner, where would I start?

Paulina: Aaaaaaa!!! U liked it that much?! this is perfect. I haven't taught any1 make-up in a minute! R U busy? I could B there in ten minutes.

Danny: Would it B ok if i came 2 yours instead? parents have a bunch of dangerous experiments lying around this morning

Paulina: Oh, yeah that should B fine. I'll have everything set up by the time U get here. I'm so excited!

Danny: :D

Paulina has created a group chat.

Paulina has added Kwan, Dash, Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie.

Paulina has sent a photo.

[The photo shows Paulina standing next to Danny in her huge vanity bathroom. They're holding their hands up in the peace sign gesture, winking, and sticking their tongues out. They wear matching eyeliner.]

Paulina: I am a goddess at make-up

Danny: Can confirm. I've learned from a master

Sam: Since the goddess can get you to do something I've been trying to convince you to do for years, I'll gladly bow

Tucker: Smthng U want 2 tell us, Sam?

Sam: Only that I can recognize talent when I see it

Valerie: But can Danny do it on his own?

Danny: I did Paulina's!!! She's been teaching me all day. This shit is hard

Dash: I didn't think you'd get to Paulina's level in one day

Danny: Oh, I'm nowhere near her level. She's a master. However, I can tell U the difference between liquid and felt tip eyeliner.

Sam: Prove it

Tucker: How's he supposed to prove it?

Valerie: He could do your eyeliner

Tucker: No thank U. That shit takes forever to get off. Never again. Why aren't we volunteering Dash for this?

Dash: Because I'm not back for another two weeks. And by then he'll be better at it so you won't be able to make fun of him

Danny: :(

Paulina: I can't believe ur all doubting my teaching skills

Sam: We're doubting Danny's art skills

Danny: >: (

Kwan: Yo!! Looking good, bro!

Danny: :) Thanks, bro. I knew I could count on U. The only 1 that has my back 4 real

Dash: I thought it looked cool

Danny: :D

Valerie: Anyone want to meet at Nasty Burger? I've got a craving for fries

Tucker: Say less, I'm omw

Sam: I'm down

Dash: :(

Danny: You'll be there in spirit :)

Kwan: Woooo! Party!!!! Dash, we can Skype you

Dash: That's okay, we're going on a hike here in a second

Paulina: That's what you get for abandoning us for a month

Dash: :(

Sam: I can't believe our resident nurse friend is gone right now

Dash: ?

Tucker: Danny needs stitches and Sam doesn't want to do it

Valerie: What'd he do this time?

Dash: This time?! How often does he need stitches? Is he okay?

Sam: More often than you'd think. He's a magnet for trouble

Tucker: He's fine. Just jumped in front of a car crash to save a kid. A piece of shrapnel gouged his leg.

Dash: Why isn't he in the hospital?! Is the kid okay?

Valerie deleted a chat

Valerie: Danny doesn't like hospitals. Why didn't he let Phantom handle it?

Sam: There weren't any ghosts involved. He wouldn't have shown.

Dash: Is everyone okay though? What's happening with Danny?

Tucker: The kid is worshiping Danny as we speak

Danny: Aw, worried about me Dash? ;)

Danny: Every1 is ok though. I got stitches. The kid is a little shaken, but otherwise unharmed and he's not worshiping me. He was just scared. It doesn't look like a serious crash either.

Dash: My friend jumped in front of a car, of fucking course I'm worried.

Tucker: Eh, he does this often. You'll get used to it.

Dash: Often!? Why?

Valerie: Acknowledging it only encourages him

Danny: Who else was going to save that kid? I think I prefer him over U guys

Dash: What did I do?

Danny: Ur exempt

Tucker: Simp

Danny: I will haunt ur ass Tuck

Tucker: No U won't. Ur too nice

Sam: It's true, that's a hollow threat and you know it

Danny: I can be threatening >=(

Paulina: Glad ur ok Danny! Hate to disagree with U guys, but Danny can be scary when he wants to be

Dash: Yeah, have U ever seen him mad? He's a wall of terror and rage

Valerie: How do you two know that?

Paulina: We used to be bad people.

Dash: U pick on the wrong kid once and suddenly Danny Fenton turns into ur worst nightmare

Danny: :D See?

Sam: Ur still not haunting Tucker

Tucker: I have bestie privileges

Danny: True. But I do too and I will not hesitate to send the blackmail photos I have saved.

Tucker: What photos?

Danny: ^u^

Tucker: Danny, what photos?!?!

"Go long!" Danny launched the frisbee through the air, watching Youngblood and Cujo race after it. Youngblood caught it and threw it back. Cujo spun around and came charging back toward him.

He caught it, narrowly dodging Cujo as he jumped after it. This time when he threw it, he used a little bit of ecto energy to throw it further. Cujo took the lead on this chase, Youngblood protesting.

"Hey! Cujo! Let me get it! You can't even throw it!"

"You'll never tire them out, you know." Ember huffed, scribbling music notes in her notebook.

"I know." Danny collapsed on the ground next to her, sinking into the soft grass of one of the ghost zone's islands. "I'm not trying to. Just making sure they don't get bored and try to cause chaos in the living world."

Ember huffed and picked up her guitar. "I've been doing just fine keeping them in check." She played a few chords, shook her head, and adjusted the strings.

"Yeah, you have. Thanks for that. I'm sorry I haven't been visiting as much lately."

She picked her notebook up and changed something she had written. "Yeah, what gives? That new boyfriend of yours better company than us or something?"

Danny tensed. "You know about Dash?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "The whole zone knows about Dash. Well, anyone who cares about Phantom, knows about Dash. Johnny has been itching to tease you about it."

"Great, well he's not even my boyfriend. So Johnny can lay off." Danny watched Youngblood and Cujo fight over the frisbee.

Ember hummed. "You know he won't. I think Skulker already has a plan to use him as bait too. You'd better keep an eye on him."

Danny groaned flopping over to stare up at the swirling green void. His vision filled with a giant green dog, dropping slobber over him like rain as it deposited the Frisbee next to him.

"Gross, Cujo!" Danny sat up, turning intangible so the dog spit would slide off of him.

"You're supposed to throw it back!" Youngblood huffed, sitting next to Ember. "This isn't fun anymore. I want to play pirates."

Danny raised an eyebrow at him, turning tangible again. "Do you remember what happened last time you played pirates? You sent three people to the hospital and leveled a whole city block."

Youngblood rolled his eyes. "It's not that big of a deal. They're all fine."

"People got hurt. That's not fine." Ember said gently.

"Ugh, big kids are no fun. It's fine because they'll just show up here if they get hurt. It's not like they disappear."

"It isn't fine," Danny soothed. "People aren't supposed to be here until they're ready. If you bring them here too early, it makes them really sad." Danny could tell Youngblood wasn't listening to the conversation anymore. Cujo butted his arm to get Danny to pet him.

"And you aren't supposed to be able to see me anymore. Rules are just dumb words that don't mean anything."

Danny tried to contain his frustration as he petted Cujo. He sighed. "Okay, why don't we play astronauts? We can use your slingshot for a spaceship again."

Youngblood brightened. "Okay! I'll go get it. C'mon Cujo! Help me carry it." Cujo barked and the two of them sped off toward Youngblood's door.

"Aren't you glad you're missing time with your boyfriend for this?" Ember sneered.

Danny frowned. "He's not my boyfriend. And I haven't just been spending all my time with him. I've been trying to apply for college and turn the antibiotics for the Fenton Venom into a vaccine. That way Pandora doesn't have to worry about distributing antibiotics to ghosts who are scared of her. You know, important things."

Ember huffed, ripping a page out of her notebook and throwing it at him. "Whatever. Just bring him to my next concert so I can make fun of you."

"No promises. Giving up on your song?" Danny threw the paper back at her, laughing.

"Not giving up, starting over. You giving up on getting over your crush?" She scribbles more in her notebook.

"You're not gonna drop this are you?" Danny wound his fingers around the ghost grass, ripping some chunks out and watching them blow away on the breeze.

"Nope." She popped the 'p', readjusting her guitar on her lap. "It's kind of the most interesting thing going on right now. Since I've given up on taking over the world, I have to entertain myself with your whole 'will I, won't I' thing."

Danny pouted. "Kitty and Johnny's 'will they won't they' isn't more interesting? What about your boyfriend? Is he not entertaining enough?"

"Uh, no. For one, Kitty and Johnny are annoying and they always get back together so it's boring at this point. And no, he's too busy trying to come up with a way to hunt you and the boy you want to kiss so bad it makes you look stupid." She struck a few chords on her guitar, nodding and writing it down.

Danny gasped, shoving her playfully. "I do not look stupid."

"Yes, you do. You fell in a goddamn lake." She grinned and motioned to her guitar. "You know, I could always help out with a well-timed love spell."

Danny frowned at her, eyes flashing in annoyance. "Not a chance. I'm not letting you put a spell on Dash."

"Aw, you care about him." She mocked. "Why don't you just fucking tell him?"

Danny huffed. "I don't know. Maybe I don't want him to freak out when he finds out I'm dead. Or not completely dead if he prefers Phantom. Oh god, what if he does prefer Phantom? What would I do then?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Jesus, you're a mess. Look, I can't give you the best advice as someone who literally died because she got stood up. But, just ask yourself if you're willing to be lonely for the rest of your life because you're too scared to let someone take your feelings seriously. Don't be an idiot."

"I've got it!" Youngblood called, returning with Cujo who was balancing the slingshot on his back. "I call going first!"

"Coming!" Danny called. He smiled at Ember. "For someone who doesn't have a lot of advice, that was pretty good stuff. I like you better when you're not trying to take over the world."

"I know, you tell me all the time." Ember played more chords on her guitar. "Go play with the kid before he loses his mind."

Danny chuckled as he got up and flew over to Youngblood. "Alright, Commander, are you ready for launch?"

Danny: Hey, how's Cali?

Dash: It's fun. My aunt Cassie is teaching me the secret family recipes

Danny: :o any chance I can blackmail U into making those for me?

Dash: Yeah, you can ask nicely

Danny: Can U make them for me?

Dash: What's the magic word?

Danny: Ambivalent

Dash: I can withhold my cooking

Danny: This is cruel and unusual punishment

Dash: Weird, I don't think your texts are coming through

Danny: I refuse to beg

Dash: Then I refuse to share my secret family recipes

Danny: :(

Danny : Please?

Dash: Ok, you win. Hope you like chicken kebabs

Danny: <3 U have issues with Reggie yet?

Dash: Ugh, of course. My mom has put him in his place a couple of times though. It's been cool.

Danny: Let's go, Mrs. Baxter!

Dash: She says you can call her Jessica btw

Danny: Is ur mom reading ur texts?

Dash: No, she just asked who I was texting

Danny: Aw, she loves me <3

Dash: Don't encourage her. How are your stitches?

Danny: Still worried about that? I'm fine. It's no big deal.

Dash: It's kind of a big deal. I'm just glad you're okay. I seem to remember you promising a game night when I got back. Wouldn't be able to do that if you fucking died on me

Danny: Did I? I just remember saying we needed to hang out

Dash: No, I distinctly remember you saying that you'd help me get revenge on Tucker

Danny: Ur going after Tucker and not Sam?

Dash: Sam kicks ass. I don't think anyone can beat her. Tucker threw a blue shell at me. That's unforgivable.

Danny: Ok, u have convinced me. I'll help u with ur revenge scheme.

Dash: How upset is he going to be when he finds out I've turned you against him?

Danny: Immensely. He'll never let me live it down. U had better make it worth it

Dash: I'll get some practice in. Wouldn't want to let you down

Danny: Hope ur cousins are good practice then

Dash: Nathan might be, he hasn't left the game room since we got here.

Dash: I need to help with dinner, text you later?

Danny: Yeah, tell ur mom I said hi!

Danny, on his stomach, lay on his bed, one elbow supporting his head, red pen spinning in his other hand. An astronomy textbook lay open in front of him, a page already underlined with significant notes in the margins. He'd ordered the basic books for the classes he'd be taking ahead of time so he could use the second half of summer to get a jump start on his studies. He'd need the extra time if ghost attacks ramped up again in the fall.

Granted he was working off the textbooks the teachers had used the previous year so it might all be for naught. But he figured any information was good information, plus he liked seeing the pictures from the telescope.

He was underlining another sentence when his phone rang. He reached over, stretching to grab it from his nightstand, not even bothering to hide the smile on his face when he saw the contact picture. He dropped his pen and answered the call.

"Hey, Dash, what's-"

"Do you have to have your boyfriend fight all your battles, dweeb?" A voice he'd never heard before shouted a small distance from the mic.

"Shut the fuck up, Reggie!" Dash's voice was loud and pissed. "You're the one insisting you know everything when you're just sitting here talking out of your ass."

"Like some kid from Amity Park would know than me. I'm in-"

"Your seventh year of college, yeah, I think that's too many for an associate's degree, making you more of an idiot than a genius!" Dash snorted. "Danny, have you seen Mission to Mars?"

Danny resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah. Are you calling me to settle a debate about a space movie?"

Dash sounded like he was ready to commit murder. "Yes. Reggie over here thinks that the movie is completely scientifically accurate."

"It's not." Danny closed his textbook and pushed it out of the way. He rolled onto his back to give his elbows a break.

"I fucking told you," Dash shouted, presumably at Reggie.

"What does some fresh high school graduate even know?" Reggie bit back.

"More than you asshole! He's going to get an astronomy degree and I don't think you even know what campus you stumbled onto."

Danny bit his lip to keep from laughing, a warm feeling bubbling up in his stomach.

"Boys, please," an elderly voice called, "the kids are in the next room."

"What part specifically are you arguing about?" Danny asked.

"The part where he takes his helmet off and instantly freezes. You were just talking about it the other day."

"You were actually listening to me rant about the effects of space on the human body?" Danny couldn't help the fluttery tone creeping into his voice. He wrapped his free arm around his stomach trying to contain the small butterflies forming there.

"I'm gonna be sick," Reggie hissed.

"Am I on speaker?" Danny picked at the loose threads on his jeans.

"Yeah, sorry, uh, can you explain to him what happens when an astronaut takes off their helmet in space?"

"Space is freezing, obviously they'd freeze," Reggie shouted disgruntled.

"Okay, first off," Danny started, understanding exactly why Dash hated this guy, "It doesn't matter what would happen because an astronaut would not be able to remove their own helmet. It has to be sealed and pressurized from the back, meaning they would need a partner to put it on and take it off properly. So, there's your first inaccuracy."

"What are your fucking sources for that?" Reggie spat.

"Fucking NASA." Danny snorted. "Fucking google it if you don't believe me. Although, I assume Dash already tried that."

Dash coughed, trying to cover his laugh.

"Whatever," Reggie huffed. "They'd still freeze if they could."

"Not immediately. The first thing that would happen is their skin would develop extreme sunburns from exposure to unfiltered ultraviolet light. If they didn't immediately exhale, their lungs would expand like a balloon from the unbalanced pressure. Parallel air expansion within their ears and sinuses will cause the tissues to rupture. Any moisture in the eyes, mouth, and throat will boil and vaporize. The rest of the liquids in the body will also start to boil and trigger extreme swelling in the muscles. Then the vaporization will cause localized temperatures to drop and then they'll begin to freeze. But that's not the end. Any body fluids that are left can and will escape the body however they can; crying, vomiting, urinating, defecating, all of it boiling on emission. And then they'll run out of oxygen causing hypoxia to take place. Within twelve seconds, they will have lost consciousness so at least they won't have to feel most of this. And if they're not re-pressurized within two minutes, they're certainly dead. And you can imagine the consequences of surviving."

The line on the other end was silent for a few moments. Danny thought he'd gone a bit too far and maybe ruined his reputation with Dash's family. The butterflies in his stomach were turning to stone. He stared at the stars on his ceiling, nerves eating away at him.

Dash, finally, broke the silence, his voice bold and full of pride. "Anything to say to that Reggie? Or did you not understand half the words he said? I thought you knew everything?"

Danny felt warm and gooey inside with the tone of Dash's voice. He was proud of him. Danny may as well be melting. He rolled on his side, curling up in an attempt to contain himself. He fidgeted with the edge of his blankets.

"Whatever," Reggie muttered. "Your boyfriend is creepy as hell. I'm going for a smoke." He heard a door close.

"Yeah, whatever, Reggie, you sore fucking loser," Dash muttered. Danny tried to keep his heart from jumping when Dash didn't correct Reggie on their relationship for a second time.

"Good job, Danny!" Dash's mom whispered nearby. "I owe you one."

"Thanks, Jessica." Danny giggled.

There was some shuffling and muttering on the other end before he heard another door. "You're off speaker now. Thanks for that. I've never seen Reggie so uncomfortable."

Danny's laugh was bubbly and he was embarrassed at how uncontrolled it was. "Anytime. It's nice to know you actually listened to my little space rant."

"Of course, I was listening. And look, it came in handy. Anytime you want to rant, I'm ready to listen."

Danny's face burned, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. His cheeks ached from how long his smile had been there. "Cool," he wheezed. "I'm always here to listen to you too. If there was anything you wanted to talk about."

"Really? Cause my grandma has been trying to teach me how to knit. I could tell you all about different types of yarn and needles."

Danny laughed, every nerve in his body alight with sparking nervous energy. One conversation with Dash was putting him through a lot of emotions in a very short time span. He would be lying if he said he hated it. "Then please, go on, knitting master. I'm all ears."

"Dash!" Dash's mom called faintly from the other room. "We're about to start the next movie! Danny can wait a few more days to have you all to himself!"

Dash sighed. "Well, I guess you'll have to wait to hear all about three-sided yarn until I get back. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah, later." Danny breathed, closing his phone as Dash hung up. He breathed out shakily, cradling his phone to his chest. His heart was racing under his fingers.

Dash had called him to prove a point about astronomy. And he was proud of him for his answer. And that made Danny feel very weak in the knees.

Oh boy, he might be in trouble.

Dash adjusted the temperature of the water at the kitchen sink. He was washing the apples they had, making sure to scrub all the pesticides off. He handed each one to his niece Janice who was peeling them at the kitchen table. His grandma sat next to her, mixing pie crust and humming a song.

"Dash, can I ask you something?" Janice asked, setting a freshly peeled apple in the wooden bowl on the table.

"Yeah, what's up, nerd?" He grabbed the last apple, pulling its sticker off and running it under the water.

"That boy that you keep texting, do you like him?"

Dash froze, the old yellow wallpaper with its red birds suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. "Maybe," he drawled. "Why do you want to know?"

Janice shrugged. "Reggie keeps saying mean things about it and I told him if he hurt your feelings about it I'd kick his ass. So, if you did like him, I was going to have to go to war." She struggled to pull a stem out of one of the apples. Their grandma passed her a small knife.

Dash grinned at the thought of his twelve-year-old niece fighting his twenty-five-year-old cousin. She would win. "You don't have to go to war for me, Janice. Just ignore Reggie. He's just a mean person."

"That's not an answer to my question, though." She stood up and got a glass down from the cabinet, filling it with the homemade juice from the fridge.

"I'm curious too." His grandma spoke. "With the way you called him the other day, I'd have thought you two were already dating." She winked at him.

Dash laughed to shake the nerves off. Calling Danny had been impulsive, he just wanted to put Reggie in his place. But he'd been thinking about how happy Danny had sounded since it happened. He turned off the sink and grabbed a cutting board and a fresh knife to start cutting the apples. "Well, if you two gossips need some to satisfy you, then maybe I'll admit to liking two boys."

Janice gasped, plopping back down in her seat. "Drama. Is one of them Danny?"

Dash nodded. "Yes, one of them is Danny. Don't you dare tell him."

"Who's the other one?" His grandma asked, adding more water to her mixing bowl.

Dash didn't really know how to explain Phantom to people who lived outside Amity Park. Ghosts weren't as common beyond their strange little town so they didn't really need ghost superheroes anywhere else. "Uh, just this other guy from school that I've been hanging out with."

His grandma sighed. "I wish I was still young enough to play the field like that."

"Grandma!" Janice gasped, scandalized. Their grandma just laughed. Janice grimaced. "Which one do you like better then? It's Danny, right?"

"You just want me to like Danny because he likes space." Dash slid the apple chunks off the board into a small bowl on the very end of the old wooden table.

"Uh, duh." Janice huffed. "Would it even work with this other guy?"

Dash sighed, remembering how disappointed Phantom had been in him the last time they talked. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" His grandma asked, waddling over to the oak cabinets in search of the dough roller.

"I don't know, gram. I haven't seen him in a while and we just have… different lifestyles. It might be a nice experience, but I don't think it would work long-term."

"There's nothing wrong with experiences." His grandma mused. "They're a part of life."

Dash gave her a small smile. "When did you get old enough to be so wise?"

She cackled, setting the roller down next to her bowl and moving her chair out of the way. "When did you get old enough to be worrying about boys?"

"Touche."

"So," Janice took a long sip of her juice, maintaining eye contact the whole time, "when are you gonna tell Danny?"

Dash frowned. He finished slicing the last apple and walked over to the sink to wash the cutting board. "I don't think I will. He's trying to figure out what he wants from life and I think I'd just get in his way."

"Why can't he figure it out with you?" Janice said with all the sting of honesty that children provided.

Dash didn't even know how to begin low self-esteem to her. His mind raced, trying to come up with a good excuse. "Uh, well, I just think he deserves the best and I think there's better than me."

"I think he's the one who gets to decide what he deserves." His grandma smiled. "You put yourself down too much Dash. We all have darkness in our past, but it doesn't make our present light less deserving."

Dash didn't get a chance to reply as his mom came bustling into the kitchen. "How's it going in here?"

His heart dropped when his grandma smirked at him. "Good. Jessica, dear, did you know your son has a crush on not one, but two boys?"

His mom turned a curious, twinkling eye to him. "I did not."

Janice was practically falling out of her seat. "Aunt Jes, you have to convince Dash to marry Danny so he can bring him to the next reunion so I can have a space buddy!"

His mom gasped, clapping her hands together. "You have a crush on Danny? That's wonderful! You already have my approval."

"Gram, you're a traitor," Dash grumbled. She playfully shrugged, as if she did nothing wrong.

His mom was never going to let him live this down.

#just a little guy #ao3 #writing #fanfiction #danny fenton #danny phantom #danny/dash #swagger bishie #teddy ghost #whatever other ship names they have #of all the stories in the stars ours has yet to be told

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