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dcxdpdabbles · 9 months ago

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DCxDP: Professional Protector of Love

Danny Fenton moves to Gotham to start a second branch of Fenton Works. At least on paper, in reality, he is there to try and fulfill his obsession now that Amity Park has become too peaceful once he was officially crowned king.

His parents had been overjoyed he wanted to help the family business grow. They had been super supportive the day Danny revealed he was a halfa to them.

His dad even sat him down to apologize for all the hateful things he said about Danny through the years. His mom had been a little less vocal emotionally but she had also given him a deeply severe apology.

When they learned that Danny had been the one to save the town over and over again from invading ghosts, Jack jumped for joy that his son was a ghost hunter and a darn good one at that. They joined Team Phantom, keeping the world safe, and helped Danny hide his hero activities.

It really felt like Danny was part of the family business. It was a blast, even though they remained the town quacks for the first time Danny didn't mind. His parents knew he was a Halfa and they loved him anyway. That's all he needed.

When Clockwork came knocking when he was sixteen to explain that ghosts had chosen to follow the rules of conquest thus Danny was next in line for the throne, to be crowned at twenty, the Fenton's celebrated like Danny had been selected to the best Ivy schools. It meant a lot since realistically Danny didn't think he was getting anywhere with his grades.

His grades were terrible but Jazz helped him get his high school diploma by the skin of his teeth, and he was content with it. Once he graduated high school Danny felt adrift.

Amity Park hadn't been attacked in years due to him being announced as heir of the throne and no ghost would disrespect him by attacking his haunt. It was poor manners to attack the King. Ghost cared a lot about etiquette. Many of them existed because of etiquette.

The thing is Danny's ghost's existence depends on his obsession with Protection so when the ghost stops giving him something to protect Danny falls into his sub-obsession: love.

Sub-obsessions were like a secondary focus for ghosts. It was something that could grab their attention and even help them keep form but not as strongly as their main. It had its cons and pros like most things in life.

For one it wasn't as straightforward as the main obsessions. Protecting someone weaker in any situation was easier to physically do than trying to explain love and get it to appear in life. There are multiple versions of love, which makes things a little better, but Danny still has to depend on others for that to fuel him.

Danny likes to think of main and secondary obsessions in terms of running and jogging. Both got you to where you needed to go. One was just faster, and much more draining to do in the long run. The other took patience and tenacity but was rewarding over time.

The other notable characteristic of sub-obsessions was that they only appeared to ghosts who had an elemental core. Most had their common core- a core portraying to how a ghost came to be, either by death or being born in the Zone.

Danny was a rare few that had an ice core form around his common core. Most elemental ghosts were considered nobility in the zone and their rare appearance granted them special privileges.

One such privilege was attending high-class galas in the zone where he dined with the most important of beings. This was before he even knew he was going to be Ghost King.

It was at one of these Galas that he met Cupid- yes that Cupid- the ghost of love happily explained his Sub-Obession after his own core recognized a kinder spirit. Cupid said that if Danny could not be part of the love he could help others find the different ways love worked and that would help hold him over.

It was a challenge but Danny figured he could use the Greek words of love to help him satisfy his obsession.

He found that if he let his core guide him, the answer to any form of love issue would appear to him. Like his ghost breath activating, it was his sight of people who glow in different colors, telling him what type of love they were currently feeling.

Eros: romantic, passionate love colored red.

Philia: intimate, authentic friendship colored yellow

Storge: unconditional, familial love colored green

Philautia: compassionate self-love colored blue

Agápe: empathetic, universal love colored white.

Danny wanted to keep his secret identity as Phantom under wraps openly told being he could see "auras" that explain what to do.

Some called him crazy like his parents, but that changed the day after Danny spotted the soft red mixed with a chipper yellow glow around Dash and Kwan. He had pulled both individually to the side to talk about it- Kwan had been less hostile than Dash on his meddling- and only after successfully making them confess and start dating did people notice.

He became known around Casper High as the go-to person whenever they needed advice in any relationship. He even helped Sam finally connect with her parents.

Danny had a gift for it- and whenever he made them feel more love of any kind the more powerful did he feel. It was the same rush as rescuing someone but darn if it didn't have a kick to it. And everyone in Amity Park starts tripping over themselves to talk to him and hear his opinion on the issue.

Sam jokingly told him to start charging people. Tucker took the joke as gospel and created him an email and an online store. He had linked Danny's store to Fenton Works- since the business license was so open-ended- and Danny Fenton, Professional Protector of Love worked under Fenton Works before they finished their junior year.

Danny adored working as a protector of love, but his main obsession needed fulfillment so Jazz suggested a move. Take his love work to the most dangerous city in the county. Protect people by night as Phantom and by day give the downdraught citizens some help in bettering their relationships.

His parents helped him pick out a store with an apartment on the top floor, Tucker as both tech support and a clerk for his small store section of Love Charms, while Sam joined up as a receptionist.

His two best friends were going to be his roommates while they studied at Gothum U for their degrees. He would pay them but until he had a solid client base it wouldn't be a lot.

Both seemed fine with the arrangement since Danny was letting them live rent-free with their own rooms.

Jazz and his parents remained in Amity Park but they swore to visit whenever they could.

It took seven months of work but the store was ready- he styled it to look like ancient Greek Cupid-inspired decore. He also had to get all the legal work out of the way and get familiar with the city before he tried to depute as Phantom.

He figured that for now he could stick to protecting humans from ghosts, vengeful spirits, and the busload of curses that cluttered Gotham. Danny would leave human crime to the Bats while he settled. He would step in if he happened upon a situation but he wouldn't go out of his way to find it.

"Danny, do you need anything for the aura reading?" Sam asks typing away at her desk computer. She took her job seriously. Tucker was typing away on his personal laptop, likely working on some homework. "The first customer is already in the consultation room."

Danny adjusted his pure white suit with small colored lines. He had it specially made to have all the colors he saw in love as his uniform. He wanted to give off the Prince vibe of his ghost status.

"I'm good!" He calls back to her, walking down the soundproof room- to give his clients the privacy they deserve- and giving his best professional smile at the boy sitting on the plush couches inside. He designed the room to look like a Greek palace and he hopes the others appreciate.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne. I hear you need professional help with protecting the various types loves in your life?"

"Tsk." Damian Wayne, in all his twelve-year-old glory, raises his chin. "I am capable of protecting them just fine. I merely... need further information on how to show my fondness is all."

Damian glowed green- which meant he needed help connecting to his family or at the very least learning how to talk to them. Danny's smile widens. "You came to the right place for that. Let's start the ready yeah?"

#dcxdpdabbles #dc x dp crossover #Professional Protector of Love #happy valentine's day #Danny is a love guru #In a way #Took some liberties with Ghost cores #Damian found out about someone who can explain love and went Sign me up #None of the bats know Danny is here #Danny out here to fix relationships and and kick ass #Tucker and Sam just want to live rent free

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mermaidchan05 · 2 months ago

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Vesuvia Weekly: Date with Disaster

This... got away from me lol.

Julian is all set to go on a date with Damian. But something is making him decidedly more anxious than he should be...

Featuring Julian, my apprentice Damian, Damian's familiar Oswald the bat, and some brief appearances by Asra and Faust.

Almost 3000 words, content warning for anxiety and claustrophobia, just in case. Don't worry, everything turns out just fine! :)

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It was really a rather simple date, considering how long it had taken Julian and Damian to plan. But that didn’t stop Julian from being nearly beside himself with nerves.

He should have been excited. It was finally time for Julian to prepare for that romantic picnic that he had promised Damian over a month ago. And then they would be off, spending a glorious night out on the town. Julian had plans. Secret plans. Plans that he couldn’t wait to surprise Damian with.

But for now, Julian was rushing around the little room above the shop, tripping over trinkets as he snatched up the last few things he needed.

Asra, who had promised to take care of things at the shop while he and Damian were out, watched with a raised eyebrow.

“Trying to wear a hole in the floor, Ilya?” Asra teased.

“Asra, as much as I enjoy our banter, this isn’t the time,” Julian called frantically over his shoulder. “Where is it, where is it, I told Damian I would pack a lantern, and I can’t do that if I can’t—?

“Did you mean the lantern on the shelf?” said Asra.

Julian ignored Asra’s playful smirk and looked at the shelf. Which was a very obvious place for a lantern to be. Of course, it was right there. In plain sight. Julian sighed and grabbed the lantern, carefully shoving it amongst his ever-growing pile of picnic supplies.

Asra’s smile slipped away. “Ilya? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Julian burst out. “Everything is fine. Tonight is going to be perfect.”

Asra hummed thoughtfully. “Of course. Then I’m sure you have a reason for packing one of Damian’s old Masquerade masks.”

Julian froze. He stared at the mask in his hand. He hadn’t even noticed what he had been grabbing. He felt his face heat up.

“It’s, uh… that’s not for the picnic,” he said. “It’s for later. Tonight. We’ll be going dancing, you know.”

Asra raised an eyebrow. It was clear that even Faust, hiding in Asra’s outfit as usual, completely doubted every word Julian said.

Julian gave up. He put the mask down with a sigh.

“I… sorry,” he said. “I’m nervous. I admit.”

“I noticed,” Asra quipped. “But this seems a bit… more nervous than usual.”

“Yes, Asra, thank you for your observation.” Julian sighed again. “I can’t help it. I must be going mad from the stress of work.”

Asra’s eyebrows crept higher. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s the lack of sleep, I’m sure of it,” said Julian. “Usual Devorak nonsense, isn’t it? Or just… doctor nonsense. Always excellent at providing care, but the worst patient… hard, though, to get a good eight hours—or even a halfway decent five—when the past three nights came up with nothing but nightmares. And they only get worse, of course. Just my… luck…”

He winced. He hadn’t meant to say any of that out loud.

“Nightmares?” Asra repeated. “And the time frame seems… specific. It’s not… has anything happened recently?”

It took Julian a second to realize what Asra meant. “What? No. No, no, no, it’s nothing like that. Nothing’s happened. Everyone’s perfectly fine. Thriving, even. And we’re nowhere near any, ah, anniversaries.”

Asra nodded. It was good to know—and to admit—that no part of Julian’s sordid past was coming back to haunt him. Not at the moment, anyway.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Julian went on. “Stress. That’s all.”

He thought he had managed to successfully brush it off. Then Asra’s eyes flashed.

“Damian’s been giving you magic lessons, hasn’t he?”

Julian stopped short. “He… well, yes, but what does that have to do with—?”

“Have these nightmares been about anything specific?” Asra asked.

“Nnnoooot particularly,” said Julian, frowning in thought. “Just general foreboding. You know me. Once a thespian, always a… wait.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Wait, you can’t be serious. You don’t really think this all means something, do you?”

“The veil between the mortal and magical realms grow even thinner in dreams,” said Asra. “You’ve seen it yourself, Ilya. You may not have been able to reach the Hanged Man otherwise.”

Julian ran a hand through his hair. “That’s… uh, well, that’s true, but… I don’t know… mystic dream veils sound a bit…”

Asra didn’t let him finish his awkward attempt at waving that thought aside. “Ilya. Dreams like that—particularly repeated dreams—can be considered warnings. And you’ve been opening yourself up to magic lately.”

“You can thank Damian for that,” said Julian with another awkward chuckle.

Asra was far from distracted. “Ilya, please. This could be serious.”

Julian shut up.

“If the dreams have been getting worse the past few days, and came to a head last night… it might mean some kind of danger is approaching. And approaching quickly.” Asra frowned in thought again. Then: “Ilya. Tell me. What is the worst possible thing you can imagine happening during your date tonight?”

For a split second, Julian wanted to argue. A bunch of nightmares couldn’t possibly mean all that. It didn’t make sense.

But if anyone knew the ins and outs of weird magic visions, it was Asra. And if something bad really was on its way, Julian didn’t want to put anyone at risk.

He had to take this seriously. Just in case.

Julian thought about it for a moment. Of course, he had already considered the hundreds of things that could go wrong on a date like this. But those were all small issues. Forgetting one of the ingredients, tripping over something on the way to their picnic spot and spilling everything, not getting to see absolutely everything they wanted to see, Damian falling into another barrel… those were fixable. Minor. Things they would laugh about later. None of it warranted a sense of impending doom.

Except, perhaps, for one thing…

“The worst thing I can imagine…” Julian said slowly. “Well, I suppose the worst thing I can picture is something bad happening to…”

He trailed off. Asra’s eyes had widened again. Julian shot to his feet.

“Damian,” he gasped.

Julian didn’t waste any more time. If something bad was going to happen to Damian—or maybe already had happened—then he needed to find him. Fast.

He knew Damian was in the forest, stocking up on some ingredients to help restock the shop. So that was exactly where Julian headed.

His fears were only confirmed when Damian’s familiar, trust little Oswald the bat, collided with Julian before he even set foot in the wood.

Damian never traveled anywhere without his familiar. Oswald was his constant companion. If they had been separated, then something was very, very wrong.

Oswald bounced off of Julian’s chest, landing in his waiting hands. Julian hastily checked him over. The little bat looked distinctly ruffled.

“Oswald, what happened?” Julian asked frantically. “Where’s Damian?”

Of course, Julian couldn’t understand Oswald. Not the way Damian could. But the sound the bat made was unmistakably one of alarm. Oswald hastily took to the air again. He flapped a circle around Julian’s head. Then he zipped off, flying deeper into the forest.

Julian immediately followed.

------------------

Damian tried to keep his breathing steady. It didn’t work. Gods, he never should have gone back here. He knew the caves in the forest could be dangerous. And of course the recent heavy rain would have caused problems.

He’d been so foolish. He’d thought he knew the paths well enough. He thought he could handle any magical trouble that might come his way. He’d thought that the rare and highly useful nettles that grew in this particular little cavern would have worth whatever risk there might have been.

Not this. It wasn’t worth this.

Damian couldn’t stop his mind from reeling. From berating himself over and over as the panic took over. He should have paid attention. He knew the signs of a landslide—or dirt-slide in this case. He knew that any rocks and rubble perched on top of the caves were a bad omen.

But he’d notice too late. It wasn’t until he heard the rumble. Until he saw the cavern grow dark.

Oswald had just managed to slip out before the cavern entrance was completely sealed off. Now Damian was stuck. In a space that was far too small. And felt smaller and smaller every second. He couldn’t see. He was too panicked to breathe. Any thought of using magic had completely left his mind. All he could do was scrabble against the rocks that kept him trapped. He cried out desperately, hoping someone, anyone would hear him.

At last, someone did.

“Damian? Damian, love, where are you?!”

Hope rushed through him. Damian pressed himself even closer to the rocks. He privately thanked all the gods that Julian could be very loud when he needed to.

“Julian!” he shouted. “Julian, I’m here!”

For a brief moment, he was terrified that Julian hadn’t heard. But at last, a response. Julian called his name again.

“I’m here!” Damian called again, hopefully for the last time. “I was an idiot, there was a landslide, and—”

“It’s alright!” Julian shouted. “It’s going to be alright. Are you hurt?”

“N-no,” said Damian. “I’m fine. Just… just get me out of here, please.”

It wasn’t fully the truth. He was a little scraped up, thanks to making sure Oswald got out. But he wasn’t worried about that. Not when he was stuck here, with no light, with stone all around him…

“Alright.” Julian’s voice, though still loud, was still wonderfully reassuring. “Just try to stay calm, love. We’ll get you out of this, not to worry. Just need to find the right…”

His voice faded into incomprehensible mumbles. Damian started to hyperventilate again. He could almost feel the cave walls pressing in on him. And the sound of Julian trying to find a good way to dig him out did not help. Not when Damian had spent so long trying to dig himself out, just for it to end in vain…

Then Julian cried out in triumph. “Found it! Damian, darling, step back a bit, if you can. And keep your face covered.”

Step back? In this impossibly small space? There was no back to go to, he could reach out and hit the wall.

On sheer nervous instinct, his arm flailed out at that exact thought. The walls next to him were certainly close. Enough for him to bang his upper arm. But there was nothing behind him. Not that he could touch, anyway.

It had to be enough space.

He stepped backwards. Once. Twice. Then, on the third step, his back hit the rock wall. Damian’s breath caught in his throat.

“Damian?” Julian called. “Are you ready? Is everything alright?”

Absolutely no part of this was alright. But he had to get out.

“Ready!” Damian called, trying to keep his voice steady.

If Julian gave a verbal reply, Damian didn’t hear it. But he did hear the shifting of rock. Loud enough to make Damian wince. If something went wrong, if the lost even more space…

The world rumbled. The debris covering the entrance to the little cavern shifted. Damian’s arms flew upwards, covering his face of their own accord. He heard a horrible sound: all the rocks crumbling to the ground. A burst of fresh air rippled through his hair.

“Damian!”

Julian’s voice. Gods, Damian had never been so glad to hear it.

He immediately opened his eyes… and blinked against the sudden light. That didn’t stop him from dashing out of the cavern as fast as his legs could carry him. He collided with Julian, his feet nearly flying out from under him as he stumbled over the rubble. Julian scooped him up. He pulled Damian as far away from the cavern as he could in the split second before Damian’s legs gave out completely.

Damian was breathing heavily. He buried his face against Julian’s shoulder. Julian held him gently, rubbing calming circles on his back.

It took a long moment for Damian to catch his breath. To stop shaking. And even then, he didn’t lift his head from Julian’s shoulder just yet.

“Gods,” he mumbled. “I hate it when I get like that…”

“Get like what, love?” said Julian, his tone still soothing.

“I… I completely lost it,” Damian admitted. “I didn’t even think about using magic…”

Julian stopped patting Damian’s back. He froze in total surprise. Damian smiled sarcastically, even though he knew Julian couldn’t see it.

“Claustrophobia sucks,” he said. “I don’t recommend it.”

Julian stayed frozen for another heartbeat. Then he laughed. Gods, what a glorious sound.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Julian gently kissed the top of Damian’s head. “But you know it’s nothing to be ashamed of, don’t you?”

Damian mumbled into Julian’s shoulder again, a noncommittal noise. Then he finally lifted his head.

“How did you find me?” he asked. “Oswald?”

Oswald made a soft noise at them from his upside-down perch on the nearest tree.

Julian went slightly pink. “Ah… well, yes, sort of. Oswald found me, really. But there’s a bit more to it than that.”

Damian gave him an expectant sort of look. So Julian told him everything. About the nightmares that he had refused to talk about for the past three days. About Asra figuring out that it might have been some kind of prediction. Talking about it made Julian look just as nervous and shaky as Damian had felt only moments ago. Now Damian was the one holding Julian steady.

“Hey, Julian, it’s alright,” Damian said gently. “I’m sorry for worrying you so much.”

“I’m sorry you were caught up in all that,” said Julian. “If I had been there with you—”

“You still wouldn’t have been able to talk me out of going into that cavern,” Damian said with a little smile. “I had my heart set on those nettles.”

Julian’s eyes widened. “Nettles? That’s what all this was about?”

“Yes,” said Damian, unashamed. “Rare nettles with very valuable magical properties. You understand. I know you’ve done some dangerous things to acquire some of your medical supplies.”

“I… can’t argue with that,” said Julian, sounding very much like he wanted to argue with that. “But Damian, my love… we need to be careful. Especially around magic.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “Is that what’s bothering you? The magic part of it?”

“I, uh… no?” said Julian. “Maybe? I don’t mind that you’re looking for supplies for your shop, love, of course I don’t, I only—”

Then, finally, Damian understood. “Julian… are you upset at yourself for not listening to your dream? For not trusting your magical instincts?”

“I didn’t even know they were magical instincts,” Julian said guiltily. “I never even thought to question them. Or, uh, to tell anyone about them, really. And thanks to that, I completely ruined our date.”

Damian couldn’t help it. He laughed.

“Julian, you did not ruin our date. You did the opposite, really.”

Julian stared at him, dumbfounded. “I… but, darling, that’s… uh…”

“You just heroically dashed to my rescue,” said Damian. “I can’t imagine anything more romantic than that. What better way to start a picnic? It’s like something out of those plays you’re so fond of.”

Julian looked taken aback for a moment. Then he started laughing, too.

“You’re just as fond of them as I am, love,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s physically possible for anyone to love theater as much as you do,” Damian said playfully.

“Touché,” Julian chuckled. “And speaking of theater… I have a surprise for you later.”

“Sounds wonderful,” said Damian. He wasn’t particularly surprised. But he would let Julian have his moment. He earned it. “Why don’t we start on that picnic first?”

Julian flushed. “Well, ah… there is a reason for that…”

“You left the basket in the shop, didn’t you?”

“I was worried about you!” Julian protested. “I didn’t have time to think about something like—”

He was quickly silenced when Damian caught his lips in a kiss. Damian smiled playfully at him as he pulled away. Julian was too stunned to respond.

“Come on,” said Damian. “Let’s go back together and pick everything up. We should tell Asra what happened, too. I’m sure he’s worried by now.”

“Probably,” Julian admitted.

They went back to the shop hand in hand… and quite possibly sticking a little more closely together than they normally did. Anything to make each other feel better.

Oswald, for his part, seemed very happy to be dropped off under Asra’s care after everything was said and done. He didn’t want to get involved with all the mushiness that was bound to happen during their date.

And it was quite mushy. But that was exactly what Julian and Damian had been looking forward to all this time.

#vesuvia weekly #date with disaster #the arcana game #the arcana fanfic #my stuff #my writing #julian devorak #julian devorak x mc #julian devorak x apprentice #julian devorak x oc #apprentice damian #oswald the bat #the vague idea for this plot has lived in my head rent free ever since reading something similar in a different otome game spinoff story lo #glad for the chance to actually write it!

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