#the rivals of Casper road

[franticvampirereads]

Hi, so…..I totally forgot to post my December TBR 😅. I’m already deep into some of my books and loving them. And I kind of maybe already threw part of this TBR out the window…🤦‍♀️. But that’s okay! Here’s what I planned and some of the other books that have snuck onto the TBR:

The Circle Of Magic book 1 -finished

The Circle Of Magic book 2 -currently reading

The Rivals of Casper Road -currently reading (almost done, still counting this as a November read)

Shelter In Garnet Run (snuck up on me)

Let Your Hearts Be Light

Victor & Nora A Gotham Love Story

Santa’s Favorite

The Circle of Magic book 3 (snuck up on me)

The Circle of Magic book 4 (snuck up on me)

A Reluctant Santa

Captive Prince

Us

I think my TBR might be a bit out of hand? But whatever, I’m just gonna roll with it. Wish me luck?

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[aurorawest]

Reading update

Once again Cat Sebastian took characters I actively disliked/didn't care about from a previous novel and made me love them. This one was lovely and the twist totally took me by surprise, even though it shouldn't have. A+ Cat Sebastian please write more books (I have totally already preordered her next book).

Who would think a book about living through the AIDS epidemic in NYC in the 80s would be as funny as this book is? It will also tear your heart out and stomp on it. Highly recommended. This was a 5 star read. Also takes place partly in Minneapolis (and is by a Minnesotan author) so it gets bonus stars for that.

Another delightful entry into Roan Parrish's Garnet Run series. This one was the most lighthearted. My only problem with this series is that I kind of don't want the old characters showing up as much as they do. I never like them as much when they're just side characters.

Neal Stephenson...you might want to consider taking a break from writing. Parts 1 and 2 were pretty good - typical Stephenson, though I wouldn't say he's at his best in this one. The science is super interesting (I have no idea if it's realistic) and it's an interesting doomsday scenario. Part 3, on the other hand, was unnecessary and simplistic (Cold War in space! Noble Savage! White Savior!). It was such poor payoff for the first 2/3 of the book that I repeatedly wished he hadn't bothered at all—and that I hadn't bothered reading the book.

Also it was almost 900 pages long.

I didn't LOVE love the first book in this series, but you know, it was good enough for me to pick up the sequel. I was actually enjoying this one more, but it fell apart for me during The Break Up. One of the main characters is basically allowed to get away with his bullshit because...I don't know, he's just Like That. It irritated me.

Despite the printing error, I was able to read this book. I love this series and am sad it's over. If you want a good space opera with a friends to lovers to enemies to lovers again, I highly recommend this one. It's also Very Gay! Plus great female characters.

This is a queer military series so if that's not your thing, you won't like this book haha. So far it's followed two guys serving on a submarine. It's pretty typical Annabeth Albert, and tbh the military stuff is pretty secondary (and in this one there is 0 time spent on a sub). This one has a single dad as the love interest, and while I'm always pretty eh about romances involving children, Albert does it pretty well.

Man was this one heavier than I thought it was going to be. Milo and Marcus both come from very conservative families and meet at Bible camp, where they room together and fall for each other, though neither of them acts on it. Milo decides he's going to tell Marcus how he feels, only for Marcus to disappear from camp. Three years later...Marcus moves to Daytona Beach and starts at Milo's high school! There is a lot of internalized homophobia in this one and a lot of Milo struggling with what he's been taught in church and by his parents, and at times it got hard to read. It was really good, though.

This is one that I kept almost buying because it's pretty, but then I'd read the summary (again) and think, eh. I ended up picking up a used copy at my local indie bookstore, and...eh. Definitely not a bad book. I loved the world, and I really like Lexos. Rhea was...not great. I realized after reading this that I really don't care for the current popular trope of the Unhinged Woman Who Doesn't Know What She Stands For. Like, she's got this thing that's ostensibly driving her, but that thing gets taken away, and now she's empty. I don't know that I've ever seen it pulled off in a way where I didn't go at the end, "Oh, so she actually was just a super flat character all along?" I was trying to think of examples of male characters who fit this trope. I'm sure they're out there but I couldn't think of any. Anyway, I'll probably read the sequel, because the world really was cool, and Lexos is poor little meow meow material (spent his whole life trying to earn his father's love and respect, never could).

Oh man this book was great. The first one had some horror elements, but this one was straight up horror for large portions of the book. Like, action-horror—think Army of Darkness. I love all the characters so much. The bond between Rune and Brand is *chef's kiss*. Male friendship done beautifully.

KJ Charles is like Cat Sebastian in that no one does historical romance like she does. I confirmed once more that I love the interwar period, especially when one of the mains is a Wounded Veteran of WWI. This book actually reminded me of Cat Sebastian's Hither, Page (which is post WWII) which I love, so I was pretty primed to also love this. I'd love to see the further adventures of Archie and Daniel, but considering it was written in 2015, I'm not sure that's going to happen.

I liked this book, but also the dialogue got very annoying at times. Is this how The Kids talk these days? Also rolled my eyes hard at the section devoted to the author getting up on his soapbox to share how he feels Call Me By Your Name is really problematic. But overall I enjoyed it, and the bi rep was top tier, as was the yearning.

Okay so while I enjoyed this book well enough, it would have been half the length if Pons had cut out all of the 'I've never felt so connected to another person in my life' paragraphs. I swear, the main character was constantly connecting with his boyfriend in a way he never had with anyone else ever. The book was very much about Will, but there was some heavy stuff introduced about Graham that I didn't think was really given the due it deserved. But it was a sweet love story, and a story about healing. Also I didn't see the twist coming.

So coincidentally, Call Me By Your Name was right there in my TBR pile as I was reading This is Why They Hate Us. I liked it a lot, though the weird racist interlude really threw me and I can't figure out what the metaphor was or what Acimen was trying to say.

Fam, I am finally reading Dark Rise. It is not gay yet, but I'm only up to page 100. I really didn't know what it was about and only picked it up because Pacat wrote it, so the plot has surprised me so far. Very different from Captive Prince.

[writinglittlebeasts]

i've seen other people do these recently and didn't realize this was something people did here, so i'm sort of excited to introduce myself!

i'm casper rhys, i'm 27, and my pronouns are he/him! i'm a writer and artist who reserves all of my brain power for original stories, and everything else is a godless stream-of-consciousness landscape of text-lingo word vomit. i refuse to stop.

the genres that i most like to work in are contemporary fantasy and horror, trying to balance plot and a character focus. more often than not my stories involve themes of mental illness, personhood and morality, gender and sexuality, family (close interpersonal relationships of all sorts, really), romance, and horrible violence. almost all of my work includes explicit sexual content, so this blog will be 18+. sorry.

wips include (stars for which ones are the most active atm lol):

a wolf's tooth for revenge, a revenge quest novel about a pod of werewolves (a sub-group of a larger pack) on a cross-country road trip to kill the alpha of a rival pack ⭐

devil dogs, a book about a werewolf biker gang + a father-son werewolf-hunting duo with a freak christian lean ⭐ [WIP INTRO]

fixed, a book about an underground werewolf fight ring. as in the werewolves are fighting of their own volition, but the betting is illegal and also they're werewolves so it's not like they can register to do this legally.

the daring fiasco and the safety of the realm, about magical scientists who happen to be cat people, feat. secrecy and betrayal

what wolves can't eat, about the world's first werewolves, or wolves given human form by the moon herself, who go on to become menaces to society and need to be celestially punished

the hopeful, about a vampire hunter going undercover as a turn-ee hopeful to see what the FUCK is going on in this fucking city lately, and needing to commit hardcore to the bit

i'll be posting wip excerpts for that sweet validation with their individual wip tags, which are most often an abbreviation of their title. #awtfr for wolf's tooth and #tdfsr for fiasco, for instance

writinglittlebeasts is a side blog! my primary blog is @werewolfhooligan, so if that url crops up in any replies, it's me, lol

i am super down to answer asks at any time or be tagged in tag games, it might just take me a while to respond (sorry)

current fixation: devil dogs, a story wherein a werewolf and the fledgeling werewolf hunter who let him live sixteen years ago reunite and blood gets Everywhere.

side quests: resident evil or one piece fanfiction lmao

[clinchcoverenthusiast]

I read a lot of things from my TBR in May, especially comics. Favorites this month were Hearts on Fire, The Rivals of Casper Run, and Don’t Fear the Reaper.  I own Way Down Deep and A Very Beery New Year, KU titles were In a Jam, The Orc from the Office, Funny Guy, Hearts on Fire, Wishing Upon a Star, and Gouda Friends, and everything else was from either Hoopla or Libby.  

How the Wallflower was Won (Last Chance Scoundrels #2) - Eva Leigh

Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog Vol. 1: The Fire Next Time (#1-6) - Rodney Barnes* **

Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog Vol. 2: Murder by Another Name (#7-12) - Rodney Barnes* **

In a Jam - Kate Canterbury

Saga #64 - Fiona Staples, Brian K. Vaughan

His at Night (The London Trilogy #3) - Sherry Thomas

Don’t Fear the Reaper (The Lake Witch Trilogy #2) - Stephen Graham Jones* **

The Orc from the Office (Claws & Cubicles #2) - Kate Prior

Funny Guy - Emma Barry

Hearts on Fire - Christina Berry*

Wishing Upon a Star (The Silver Linings Series #3) - Christina Berry*

The Sucker - Elle Shivers* **

The Rivals of Casper Road (Garnet Run #4) - Roan Parrish

Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell and Gone #0  - Joe Hill

Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell and Gone #1 - Joe Hill

Victor LaValle’s Destroyer #1-6 - Dietrich Smith, Victor LaValle* **

Basketful of Heads (Hill House Comics #1) - Dave Stewart, Deron Bennett, Leomacs, Joe Hill, Riccardo La Bella

Way Down Deep - Charlotte Stein, Cara McKenna

A Very Beery New Year (Cider Bar Sisters #3.5) - Jackie Lau* **

Gouda Friends (Ponto Beach Reunion #2) - Cathy Yardley* **

* = author(s) of color

** = main character(s) of color

[the-book-queen]

Hide your wallets, it’s that time again! #TBQsBookDeals

Your Saturday thread of #romancedeals is ready, FREE to $1.99. Happy shopping! 📚❤

    FREE ✦ Scandals Meets Its Match by Merry Farmer

American heiress who wants to become a part of society + impoverished baronet.

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3kYt0v8 

FREE ✦ Weekend Wife by Erin McCarthy

1st POV. Billionaire businessman in need of a fake fiancee makes a deal with an out-of-work actress.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/40rg9SB 

$1.99 ✦ The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish

Bram just moved to town, Zachary is his architect neighbor. The two become rivals during a decorating contest.

Contemporary Romance (MM) | https://amzn.to/3RziSpa 

$1.99 ✦ No Offense by Meg Cabot

Children's librarian + town sheriff.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/40r9Eza 

$1.99 ✦ Playing to Win by Jaci Burton

Football star + image makeover consultant.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3HWghSY 

 Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq 

[cynicaloptimism2]

February had a lot of books!

Romance:

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna: I liked it, though I have many questions about the world building, some of which may be answered if there's a sequel.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall: Hall is great once again. Also, all his couples give me TodoDeku vibes and I love it.

The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish: this one jumped my queue when I realized it was out. Parrish is another must read author for me.

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade: this might be my favorite of the series.

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane: real damn good, fantasy barbarian romance.

Manga:

Deadpool Samurai 2

My Hero Academia #27, 28 & 29

My Hero Academia Vigilantes # 4: I don't know why I read this so slow. I like it when I read it but never feel like going back to it

Other books;

The Woman in the Library: I loved this one, especially the frame story told through letters to the author!

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy: really hard to listen to but worth it.

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Corey: really good mystery, queer rep (though 2 gay men's murder is what kicks off the story), lots of discussion of racism. Spectacular

[kinziethings]

REVIEW: The Rivals of Casper Road (Garnet Run #3) by Roan Parrish

REVIEW: The Rivals of Casper Road (Garnet Run #3) by Roan Parrish #books #review #GarnetRun #TheRivalsofCasperRoad

Bram Larkspur’s rugged, sexy looks belie his fear of all things horrifying. But as Casper Road’s newest resident, he’s excited to join the annual Halloween decorating contest. The competition is keen, especially from six-time champion, architect Zachary Glass. But when enigmatic Zachary sparks a prank war, it’s game on – until one sizzling kiss turns these rivals into allies. Now only one thing…

[apinklion01]

Ghostly Phic Phight

Next ->

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38151202

[[ For @hauntedchilis ; @phicphight ]]

[[ Prompt: Wes and Danny are assigned to work on a school project together ]]

Nobody likes group projects.

Teachers seemed to assume that by the power of friendship or mutual understanding you could put two people together and everything would go along and end on a high note.

But from his days on Casper High’s basketball team, Wes knew this was in fact far from the truth.

And yet here he was, right near the steps of Fentonworks, waiting for Danny and Sam to show up so they could head to his home to do the group project.

“Didn’t they say they’d be out by now,” Wes asked Valerie, the other fourth member of the team. Tucker lucked out and got stuck with Dash, Kwan, and a new student named Jamie.

“Yeah, but then again, not everyone has their home undergoing OSHA compliant lab renovations. Just give them some time,” She answered, the distant sounds of drills and pounds coming from underneath the house.

Wes and Valerie knew each other from back in middle school, often playing basketball and seeing who’s team would end up winning in PE. 

Now things were a bit different with her being the Red Huntress. Besides the Fentons, the beginner ghost hunters, and Phantom himself, they were the only ones keeping Amity Park safe from ghost attacks.

Ironic that the most infamous ghost hunter rivals are working together on a science project with me, He mused before the door opened and Sam and Danny showed up.

“About time, I thought we would’ve gone by sundown,” Valerie said.

“Sorry about the wait and the last minute changes,” Danny apologized, rubbing his ears from the noise. “I didn’t think they were serious about the renovations until I walked in.”

“Good luck getting sleep tonight,” Sam muttered.

“You know as well as Tucker I barely get any sleep with my job.”

“And all of us won’t get any sleep if we have to do an all-nighter with this assignment,” Wes reminded them before grabbing his keys and unlocking his car. “Let’s go.”

The three other teens chattered amongst themselves while Wes focused on the road. Two years before, Danny and Valerie would’ve been at each other’s throats if they were assigned to the same group. 

That all changed after the events of the Ghost Apocalypse and the two of them dating for a while. Of course Danny and Valerie knew each other’s identities since winter break, but they kept pretending for the public’s entertainment.

‘Wonder if they banter to practice insults against other ghosts,’ He thought to himself as he parked the car in front of his house. It was pretty modest in spite of his dad being more than capable of getting a more expensive home, the only indication being another car in the driveway.

“-And I think Mr. Lancer turned right before Dash was about to hit me with another paper plane,” Danny told Sam, his face filled with glee. “You should’ve seen his face, it was priceless!”

The goth’s laughter stopped right when she noticed they arrived. She seemed to stare up at the building with suspicion, but the other two teens didn’t react the same.

'Maybe she expected a bigger house cause of where my dad works,' He thought to himself.

“Still in the same place?” Valerie asked.

“Yeah, but then again I don’t really know what I’d do in a bigger one,” Wes answered before knocking on the door. He heard the sound of the door unlocking and his bigger brother Easton appearing on the other side. He was in his Nasty Burger employee outfit, which meant he must be preparing to go on shift.

“Hi Wes, didn’t know you were bringing your friends over,” He said. 

Danny gave a small awkward wave to Easton, but seemed to be okay after coming here a week before. Valerie gave him a high five, and Sam sort of walked inside like a cat in a new home, sticking close to Danny.

“It’s not for hanging around, it’s just a science project,” Wes said. 

“Isn’t that what you said last week when-”

“Not important, we’ll just be in my room, nowhere else.”

“Alright, make sure not to catch or start a house fire, shortstop,” Easton told before rubbing his little brother’s hair.

“Oh my gosh, nope, we’re heading upstairs before you start saying any of your terrible baseball puns,” Wes said, pulling away with a grin. 

Danny and Valerie snickered while Sam was still quiet, more interested in the furniture than anything the brothers said. He found that a bit odd for the usually talkative goth, but didn’t say anything.

“I’ll call you back when I’m in the home stretch at work.”

“Stooooop!”

 After the four of them went upstairs, Wes immediately remembered a problem: he forgot to clean up his room in the morning.

“Do you mind waiting a bit, I-I need to make my room not look like it was struck by a tornado,” He asked them.

Sam shook her head, glancing with suspicion and crossing her arms.

“I mean it’s probably not as bad as mine, but sure, go for it,” Danny joked, earning a shoulder nudge from Valerie.

“Oh my gosh, do not get me started on how bad his room can look some days,” She added, causing Sam to roll her eyes and smile.

Wes took that as his cue to clean his room. Books? All placed on a shelf, no time for them to be placed in alphabetical order. Bed? Fixed. Desk? Cleaned, with the unfinished assignments he needed to catch up on in colored folders. Window curtains? Opened, though Wes hissed from the light. He forgot that the sun was usually right overhead at this time of day.

Finally he pulled up a few extra chairs for the others to sit on and opened the door.

“Phew, took a bit longer than I thought, but come on in!” He said.

Valerie and Danny took two seats, though Sam stayed standing, placing her laptop on Wes’ desk. Afterwards, the four of them went to business.

“So… we agreed on talking about the Aves class, since Dash and his group decided to talk about reptiles,” Sam said, her eyes narrowing at the mention of the jock. “We just have to do the research, create the Google slide, then the script, and then torment’s over.”

“I call writing the script, I already help write things out for the school’s newspaper,” Wes stated.

Sam nodded, giving a small annoyed hum.

“I call making the slides,” Danny replied afterwards.

"You got it," Sam answered, her voice noticeably higher and more cheerful.

“Guess I’ll help with the research,” Valerie said.

“Better two sets of eyes than one,” Sam agreed.

While Wes waited for the link to the shared document and slides, he couldn't help feel that something was off with Sam. 'I don't think I did said anything wrong to her in any of our shared classes or outside of school... Definitely am trying to be a good host... So what's her problem?'

A blast from outside sounded off, several car alarms going off in the neighborhood. “Ancients, what is it this time,” Danny muttered as Wes went to his window to find out the source of the noise.

Up high, Wes made out the figure of a flying ship, another set of ecto-charged cannonballs firing down.

“Think it’s Youngblood,” He replied to the raven-haired teen.

“I thought Pandora was going to keep an eye on him for a while,” Sam said, also coming nearby to check out the destruction.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if his crew busted him from timeout,” Danny retorted.

For a minute all four teens just watched, the pauses between the cannon shots big enough for them to make out the distant laugh of the ghost pirate.

“Do you think we could just let your parents handle this?” Sam asked.

“With the amount of noise in the basement? They wouldn’t even be able to hear the alarm go off in the first place,” the raven-haired teen responded.

“I can’t see Youngblood very well, but I can still make out the ship. I can help draw away their fire,” Valerie suggested, opening the window and flying out on her Red Huntress hoverboard.

Both Wes and Sam looked at Danny expectantly. “...I forgot my thermos at school,” Danny added quietly. Sam immediately stared straight at him.

He quickly went to his backpack and came back with the thermos in hand. “You left it in English, again,” He muttered.

“Thanks.”

Wes immediately shielded his eyes at that moment, and after he opened them, he heard the distant insults of Phantom.

“Should we get started on the project while they do that,” He asked.

Sam in the meanwhile was staring at him a bit in shock, her brows in a perplexed position. “...Yeah… probably,” she agreed.

 The cannonballs were still going off, but Wes didn’t mind the noise. Three years living in the ghostly normal of Amity Park had that effect on the local residents. Some people got a laugh out of seeing newer residents experience their first ghost attack.

He did feel like he was being watched, and upon glancing up, Sam was still giving him an odd look.

“What?”

“You didn’t stick on some sort of tracking device or something like that, right?” She asked.

“No?”

“Took a fingerprint sample?”

“No.”

“Plant a go-pro camera?”

“No! Sam, I swear I didn’t do anything to the thermos,” Wes said, putting down his laptop. “What’s up with you today? I don’t think I’ve heard you say a word to me since we met up at Fenton Works.”

“That’s the problem!” Sam yelled. “You haven’t rushed out to chase Danny around at all this month, or the two before that. You gotta have something up your sleeve, some sort of plan to capture evidence, otherwise Danny wouldn’t be outside with the thermos in the first place.”

“I gave it up.”

“Bullshit! 

“No, seriously, I gave it up!” Wes felt stress building up, pressing a hand against his forehead. He paused to hold his breath and let it out. 

“Sam, I’m going to level with you. It was getting bad, like a ghost obsession kind of bad. My sleep schedule was ruined, my grades were slipping towards Cs and Ds. Hell, my room looked like that fucking meme of the guy with the conspiracy board.”

“It got to the point where Easton had a talk with me a while back right during Thanksgiving break. A very long, very heavy talk.” Wes paused and looked away for a moment. Even bringing up the memory made him shiver. 

He looked back up. “Did you even wonder why I wasn’t around at all during the last week of school? It wasn’t because I was thinking of a plan for evidence or spying on you guys in secret… I needed a longer time away to get back to being myself… Really and truthfully…”

Sam had gone quiet, her arms crossed tensely. The more he talked the more she grew nervous.

“Shit… You are serious…”

“Yeah…”

Both teens were silent. Wes didn’t hear anymore cannon fire, and knew the ghost hunting duo would be wrapping up any moment now.

“It’s odd… being on better terms with Danny…”

Sam blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I told him about this about a month ago after.. A-after I felt more comfortable being around him as just like another teen. I asked him if he wouldn’t tell anyone else about it cause it… I-I’m still getting used to the change, you know? I get the urge to go back, to restart a-another blog to talk about Phantom’s true identity. But… It's hard dealing with it myself, aside from Easton and Kyle.”

“Where’s Kyle?”

Wes sighed. “Staying with a friend… He feels guilty about pushing the joke too far a-and wants me to have some space away from him.”

“...I’m sorry, Wes,” Sam muttered, glancing at the floor. “It’s… I don’t know. There’s just a lot of things I want to say, but… think it can wait until after the science project?”

Wes nodded, not even noticing until now the teardrops on his shorts. “Yeah, t-that’s fine.”

Right about then, Danny and Valerie popped out from the window. Both had a few paint splatters on their heads, Danny already shifted back into his human form.

“Youngblood discovered paint wars,” Danny said, glancing at his messy clothes. “Hope this is machine washable.”

“We got most of his crew, but he and Skully slipped away,” Valerie added, pressing a button and shifting her hoverboard back into its digital watch disguise. “What about you- wait, Wes, why are you crying?”

Wes did his best to wipe away any tears. “Oh, nothing, j-just my allergies acting up, nothin’ else.”

He looked away from everyone’s gaze, but felt the bed shift as someone sat down next to him. “Wes, what’s wrong?” Danny asked gently.

The red head suppressed a shiver. “Sam knows now… a-about what I’ve been doing.”

“Did she force you to talk about it?”

“A bit…”

“Wes, again, I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I just was-”

“Looking out for a friend, right?”

A pause. Wes took it as his turn to speak.

“Y-You have all the right reasons to be mad or upset with me, a-and what I’ve done… I-I still feel that way about myself…”

He bit his lip, any other words on his tongue drying up.

“But you’re getting better,” Valerie assured him. “You haven’t spent any time chasing Danny down, or getting in the way when he needs to fight other ghosts. And even today, you brought this guy’s thermos when he forgot it in English again. You are improving.”

Wes still didn’t feel ready to respond, much less make eye contact.

“Wes, you really are improving,” Danny said. “I remember that day you told me about what was going on right during lunch. Sam had gone home early because she felt sick, so it was just me and Tucker. You… didn’t look like you were having a good day…”

‘I remember it too,’ He thought to himself. 'Everyone was happy and going around, talking to their friends. But nearly everyone I talked to before didn’t want to be around me after getting deep into the conspiracy…’

“You asked if you could hang around us for lunch, even if you didn’t know if I would trust you,” Danny continued. “And... I’ll admit, I didn’t know if it was a trick, or another plan you made. You were pretty quiet for a few months.”

‘It was too loud inside… I just wanted to shut myself somewhere far away and not spoil their happiness. Don't remember seeing Danny or Tucker’s faces, it was just a blur.’

“Tucker was the one who suggested letting you eat with us somewhere away from everyone. I think it was the right call.”

‘The moment we were alone outside, I tried eating my lunch. Then my tears spilled out, along with everything else I kept to myself…’

Wes felt himself crying again from the memory.

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened?” Sam quietly asked.

“It wasn’t my story to tell,” Danny answered. “I had thoughts about telling you before, but Wes insisted he would try. Tucker was also worried about how you’d react too.”

“Wes told me about a month ago too,” Valerie added. “I’ve started eating lunch with him, and also try to make sure I’m with him in a group project.”

“So that’s why the groups were changed last minute?”

“Yeah,” Wes muttered. “Sorry Sam.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t know… Want me to get you a tissue?”

“The… T-There’s a box right on my dresser. I think it still has some.”

He heard her footsteps as she walked over to bring the box to him. Danny still stayed by his side.

“You need some water or something else?”

“...Water would be nice.”

 The three other teens were busy with the assignment. Valerie and Sam sat right beside Wes while he held onto his pillow with his arms, the water bottle Danny brought earlier gripped in his hands. The pillow felt a bit damp from the tears that ran down his face. He felt smaller than usual, stuck between hiding away or staying with the other’s company.

Wes still had a thought on his mind. “...Should I work on the script for the project, or…”

“It’s okay, it can wait,” Valerie replied.

“Just take it easy, Wes,” Danny added.

“...Can I get a hug from someone?”

“Yeah, come here,” Valerie said, putting down her laptop and giving him a hug. It was comforting coming from her, especially after knowing each other for so long.

“You smell like one of those scented markers,” He pointed out.

“Yeah, I know. I think Youngblood threw a packet of those at me,” Valerie answered.

“Was it one of the good scents?” Danny asked.

“Yeah, blueberry.”

“Oh, thank the ancients. If it were the green one, then that would be horrible.” The four of them laughed a bit at the thought.

“Where did he get the scented markers?” Sam asked.

“The fight went down to an art store,” Danny said. “We got out quick, but Youngblood still got a few hits. Quick tip: never let a ghost kid anywhere near sharpies.”

“I hope that is machine washable,” Valerie added with a laugh.

The four of them were silent again. Wes finally felt okay glancing up. The sky was starting to turn orange, the sun lower in the sky.

“My… My brother probably won’t be home for another hour,” He said. “Do you guys mind staying a little longer?”

“Not really, my folks might be working a bit longer on the lab renovations,” Danny answered.

“My parents don’t mind either way,” Sam said quietly.

“I should be fine, my dad trusts you,” Valerie said, giving him a reassuring pat on his head.

“Thanks,” Wes muttered, finally able to look up at everyone’s face. “I-I mean it. You didn’t have to.”

“We… We could try watching a movie, or like play a game on the switch I have,” Sam offered. “Whatever you’re up for.”

“...You guys up to watch Space Jam?”

 An hour later, the four of them were laughing up a storm as they watched Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck sneak into Michael Jackson’s house. Despite the movie being somewhat of a meme, Wes still liked it, as it inspired him to learn basketball.

The door rang and Wes knew who it was. “I’ll get it,” He told the others before rushing over. Easton entered the house, looking a bit worn out and having a small ectoplasmic stain on his shirt, but Wes didn’t mind as he hugged his older brother, smiling with relief.

“Whoa, what’s up with you?”

“Just glad you’re home,” He muttered before letting go. “Blob ghosts got in the pantry again?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I took them outside before the manager showed up. What about you? Pretty sure that’s not science homework,” Easton added as he looked at the movie playing.

“Just a change of plans,” Wes assured him, holding his hands up. “I... Had a bit of a breakdown earlier, but t-they understood a-and calmed me down... We did get some stuff done before t-that happened though.”

His smile dipped and he began walking away, but felt his brother’s hand on his shoulder and stopped.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re okay.”

Wes looked up and nodded. “Yeah… Me too.”

Easton rubbed his head. “I’ll go warm up some pizza for all of us, okay shortstop?”

“Oh my gosh, not again!”

“Looks like the movie is in the final inning too.”

“Stooop!”

[heartxshaped-bruises]

✧･ﾟ 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

I’ve decided to put together a tiny collection of threads / plots / dynamics I would love to write. So, if anything catches your interest don’t hesitate to hit me up for a little bit of plotting. Alternatively, you’re always welcome to tag me in a starter, but that happens once in a blue moon so until then -- thanks for reading at all :3

★ A ride or die best friend for Saffron. Both of them aimlessly strolling through the streets at night, trashing bottles, shoplifting, youth having no idea what to do with themselves and being stuck in a haunting smalltown-melancholia that tastes like cigarettes and tears.

★ Give my little ghostboy Davey puppy love. No matter if it’s one-sided or mutual. I love High School threads in general with him while he’s still alive, making friends and such. But also, I have never had a darker thread with him although I really need to write that side of him more often -- I would love if he could haunt someone else, maybe something like being the “invisible friend type”. Corrupting a peer with his negative energy and they slowly grow on each other in the process. Could also be an adult who used to know him during school or even bullied him and is coming back to their old hometown, having to deal with his ghost now.

★ I crave a thread with Benji and that child he never knew he had with one of his former girlfriends. Like, imagine the possibilities! Small kid, moody teen... could be so intersting. I have so little family tropes, this would be so nice.

★ FOUND FAMILY. Penelope would adopt any wayward kids to teach them cool hunter stuff. Benji would finally open his heart up again to care for others who need his help and who also help him in return to get better with all of his shit going on. And My angsty teens Casper and Saffron would love to get adopted, too.

★ Joe would be so down for a thread inspired by Angels Of Death // Satsuriku No Tenshi. Two muses stuck in a predicament, a bad place, making a deadly pact in order to get what they want - to keep it more vague and open to possibilities, but don’t get me wrong. Him having a deadly pact with someone else who wants to die and with him being the only one who’s allowed to take them out in return for their help would be perfect, too! Who wants to be the Rachel to his Zach ??

★ Honestly, I would die to write a thread with Emry in his earlier teen years when he’s still on the road with his dad / parents and gets attached to someone at school. I would love to explore that part of his life bc it’s such an important one that formed him into the guy he is today. I would love to have some heartbreak over him having to leave again, teenage shenanigans, him running away to come back to see his friends or a love interest bc he hates moving around and misses them so fucking much. Fun, angst, gimme all of it.

★ Felix is so competitive and needs a proper rival. Or boyfriend. Or BOTH xD

★ Anything dystopian. A thread inspired by THERE IS from Box Car Racer would be amazing. Maybe two penpals who grew super close over the years, but then catastrophe strikes. They don’t have anything left but each other and manage to find the other in all of that madness. But I love all kinds of dystopian storylines.

★ Speaking of dystopian storylines, how about two muses go batshit crazy and terrorize people during the apocalypse ?? They’re nightmares everyone is afraid of :D

★ I mean... I’m never declining a Bonnie & Clyde thread for BROTPs and couples. Or just super duper idiot criminals who are forced to work with each other and it works out surprisingly well bc they are more lucky than having actual the brains to pull it off xD

[franticvampirereads]

This was so much fun to read! I wish I had finished it up in time for Halloween. But better late than never, right? I really loved getting to see Garnet Run again. Especially with Bram and Zachary! I loved their Halloween themed prank war, I loved that they worked together on their Halloween decorations, and I just loved that they found something in each other. Also? I loved that Bram was able to bring Zachary out of his shell and actually interact with people. And I loved that Bram was able to find a group of really supportive friends.

Honestly, if you love the vibe of Hallmark movies but have wanted something queer and a little bit steamy, this is the book for you! This is getting four stars. And I can’t wait to get my hands on River’s book!!

*still counting this as a November read for reading journal purposes*

[nealiios]

The Supernatural 70s: Part I - Corruption of An Innocent

"We're mutants. There's something wrong with us, something very, very wrong with us. Something seriously wrong with us - we're soldiers writers."

-- with apologies to the screenwriter of "Stripes"

Dear reader, I have the darkest of revelations to make to you, a truth when fully and wholly disclosed shall most assuredly chill you to the bone, a tale that shall make you question all that you hold to be true and good and holy about my personal history. While you may have come in search of that narrative designer best known for his works of interactive high fantasy, you should know that he is also a crafter of a darker art, a scribbler of twisted tales filled with ghosts, and ghouls, and gargoyles. I am, dear innocent, a devotee of horrors! Mwahahahaha!

[cue thunderclap, lightning, pipe organ music]

Given the genre of writing for which most of you know me, I forgive you if you think of me principally as a fantasy writer. I don't object to that classification because I do enjoy mucking about with magic and dark woods and mysterious ancient civilizations. But if you are to truly know who I am as a writer, you must realize that the image I hold of myself is principally as a creator of weird tales.

To understand how and why I came to be drawn to this sub-genre of fantastic fiction, you first must understand that I come from peculiar folks. Maybe I don't have the Ipswich look, or I didn't grow up in a castle, but my pedigree for oddity has been there from the start. My mother was declared dead at birth by her doctor, and often heard voices calling to her in the dead of night that no one else could hear. Her mother would periodically ring us up to discuss events in our lives about which she couldn't possibly have known. My father's people still share ghost stories about a family homestead that burned down mysteriously in the 1960s. Even my older brother has outré memories about events he says cannot possibly be true, and as a kid was kicked off the Tulsa city bookmobile for attempting to check out books about UFOs, bigfoot, and ESP. It's fair to say I was doomed - or destined - for weirdness from the start.

If the above listed circumstances had not been enough, I grew up in an area where neighbors whispered stories about a horrifically deformed Bulldog Man who stalked kids who "parked" on the Old North Road near my house. The state in which I was raised was rife with legends of bigfoots, deer women, and devil men. Even in my childhood household there existed a pantheon of mythological entities invented explicitly to keep me in line. If I was a good boy, The Repairman would leave me little gifts of Hot Wheels cars or candy. If I was being terrible, however, my father would dress in a skeleton costume, rise from the basement and threaten to drag me down into everlasting hellfire (evidently there was a secret portal in our basement.) There were monsters, monsters EVERYWHERE I looked in my childhood world. Given that I was told as a fledgling writer to write what I knew, how could anyone have been surprised that the first stories I wrote were filled with the supernatural?

"The Nightmare" by John Henry Fuseli (1781)

My formative years during the late sixties and early seventies took place at a strange juncture in our American cultural history. At the same time that we were loudly proclaiming the supremacy of scientific thought because we'd landed men on the moon, we were also in the midst of a counter cultural explosion of interest in astrology, witchcraft, ghosts, extra sensory perception, and flying saucers. Occult-related books were flying off the shelves as sales surged by more than 100% between 1966 and 1969. Cultural historians would come to refer to this is as the "occult boom," and its aftershocks would impact popular cultural for decades to come.

My first contact with tales of the supernatural were innocuous, largely sanitized for consumption by children. I vividly remember watching Casper the Friendly Ghost and the Disney version of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I read to shreds numerous copies of both Where the Wild Things Are and Gus the Ghost. Likely the most important exposure for me was to the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You? cartoon which attempted to inoculate us from our fears of ghosts and aliens by convincing us that ultimately the monster was always just a bad man in a mask. (It's fascinating to me that modern incarnations of Scooby Doo seem to have completely lost this point and instead make all the monsters real.)

ABOVE: Although the original cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You? ran only for one season from 1969 to 1970, it remained in heavy reruns and syndication for decades. It is notable for having been a program that perfectly embodied the conflict between reason and superstition in popular culture, and was originally intended to provide children with critical thinking skills so they would reject the idea of monsters, ghosts, and the like. Ironically, modern takes on Scooby Doo have almost entirely subverted this idea and usually present the culprits of their mysteries as real monsters.

During that same time, television also introduced me to my first onscreen crush in the form of the beautiful and charming Samantha Stevens, a witch who struggles to not to use her powers while married to a frequently intolerant mortal advertising executive in Bewitched. The Munsters and The Addams Family gave me my first taste for "goth" living even before it would become all the rage in the dance clubs of the 1980s. Late night movies on TV would bring all the important horror classics of the past in my living room as Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Godzilla all became childhood friends. Over time the darkened castles, creaking doors, foggy graveyards, howling wolves, and ever present witches and vampires became so engrained in my psyche that today they remain the "comfort viewing" to which I retreat when I'm sick or in need of other distractions from modern life.

ABOVE: Elizabeth Montgomery starred in Bewitched (1964 - 1972) as Samantha Stephens, a witch who married "mortal" advertising executive Darren Stephens (played for the first five seasons by actor Dick York). Inspired by movies like I Married a Witch (1942) and Bell, Book and Candle (1958), it was a long running series that explored the complex relationship dynamics between those who possess magic and those who don't. Social commentators have referred to it as an allegory both for mixed marriages and also about the challenges faced by minorities, homosexuals, cultural deviants, or generally creative folks in a non heterogeneous community. It was also one of the first American television programs to portray witches not as worshippers of Satan, but simply as a group of people ostracized for their culture and their supernatural skills.

Even before I began elementary school, there was one piece of must-see gothic horror programming that I went out of my way to catch every day. Dark Shadows aired at 3:30 p.m. on our local ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma which usually allowed me to catch most of it if I ran home from school (or even more if my mom or brother picked me up.) In theory it was a soap opera, but the show featured a regular parade of supernatural characters and themes. The lead was a 175 year old vampire named Barnabas Collins (played by Johnathan Frid), and the show revolved around his timeless pursuit of his lost love, Josette. It was also a program that regularly dealt with reincarnation, precognition, werewolves, time travel, witchcraft, and other occult themes. Though it regularly provoked criticism from religious groups about its content, it ran from June of 1966 until it's final cancellation in April of 1971. (I would discover it in the early 1970s as it ran in syndication.) Dark Shadows would spin off two feature-length movies based on the original, a series of tie-in novels, an excellent reboot series in 1991 (starring Ben Cross as Barnabas), and a positively embarrassingly awful movie directed by Tim Burton in 1991.

ABOVE: Johnathan Frid starred as Barnabas Collins, one of the leading characters of the original Dark Shadows television series. The influence of the series cannot be understated. In many ways Dark Shadows paved the way for the inclusion of supernatural elements in other soap operas of the 1970s and the 1980s, and was largely responsible for the explosion of romance novels featuring supernatural themes over the same time period.

While Dark Shadows was a favorite early television program for me, another show would prove not only to be a borderline obsession, but also a major influence on my career as a storyteller. Night Gallery (1969-1973) was a weekly anthology television show from Rod Serling, better known as the creator and host of the original Twilight Zone. Like Twilight Zone before it, Night Gallery was a deep and complex commentary on the human condition, but unlike its predecessor the outcomes for the characters almost always skewed towards the horrific and the truly outré. In "The Painted Mirror," an antiques dealer uses a magic painting to trap an enemy in the prehistoric past. Jack Cassidy plots to use astral projection to kill his romantic rival in "The Last Laurel" but accidentally ends up killing himself. In "Eyes" a young Stephen Spielberg directs Joan Crawford in a story about an entitled rich woman who plots to take the sight of a poor man. Week after week it delivered some of the best-written horror television of the early 1970s.

In retrospect I find it surprising that I was allowed to watch Night Gallery at all. I was very young while it was airing, and some of the content was dark and often quite shocking for its time. Nevertheless, I was so attached to the show that I'd throw a literal temper tantrum if I missed a single, solitary episode. If our family needed to go somewhere on an evening that Night Gallery was scheduled, either my parents would either have to wait until after it had aired before we left, or they'd make arrangements in advance with whomever we were visiting to make sure it was okay that I could watch Night Gallery there. I was, in a word, a fanatic.

ABOVE: Every segment of Night Gallery was introduced by series creator Rod Serling standing before a painting created explicitly for the series. Director Guillermo del Toro credits Serling's series as being the most important and influential show on his own work, even more so than the more famous Twilight Zone.

[whatisgoingonpaul]

Ghost au: First concepts!

I thought I should make this all a text post first, as my art seriously seams to disappear from the tags theres at least 2 recent ones that aren’t there. So anyway take the core beginnings of the au.

Star, ‘19’ -

She seamingly has it all this smoking hot young woman who seams to have no responsiblity in the slightest this total free spirit. Only problem is she’s a bit odd. She talks to herself a lot... except the issue is. She sees and talks to ghosts. About three years ago maybe longer she can’t remember it started happening, she walked so far down the beach she reached this sort of opening to the cave. (Completely now without the graffiti.) it wasn’t a cave ... not completely but the hollowed out remains of a hotel. The hotel, she read about this every spoke on the place how grand it used to be. More importantly the money it brought the place back in the day.

That was when she met them. The boys. This group of the dead, ghosts. She at first was welcoming, though frightened but it soon became clear that they had attached to her. Ghosts aren’t typically one to leave where they died or a place of real emotional importance unless they attach. And they did, they went practically insane seeing the Modern world(... well 1987) she meets Micheal and passes the attachment to him without knowing at first.

- quick note that in this au the Lobby would look completely different, there wouldn’t be the graffiti or the posters and art and items scattered about we all know it for. It would be extremely bare bones; just the remains of the hotel and some barley intact furniture. The candles were added by star.

Micheal -

Himself. A adverage teen with the same story that he had moved with his family here. He was drawn to star unexplainably. He had the same ability at first, completely unknowing that her friends were ghosts until he started to see them more clearly. The blood, the sunken faces- the transparency. He was F R E A K E D until he got to know them. Sam- basically himself and the frog brothers are just paranormal little conspiracy theorists who want to get the lost boys on tape. They desperately just want to know everything about ghosts.

Sam and the frogs-

They themselves don’t change much as charecters, except the frog brothers are more into ghosts. Into the studies and the need for proof, they need to know if the boys are good and if they can’t make them pass on or leave people alone.

David , 18-

His story is about the same. Orphaned at a young age, stealing from pockets as a kid using his charm. He found the boys and they started doing it all together, it went pretty well... though they never did have much street credit. See, adult gangs never had much of a like or respect to these kids messing around - threats were often cast, insults thrown but it never got serious. They never liked calling attention to the police. Though one night a fight went down, the boys were never heavy on weapons- they didn’t have guns like the adult gangs. David had one, but he was a terrible shot and it had proven fatal, he was shot in the gut and ended up dying from his wound.

Particularly pissy more often then not. Wildly protective and territorial. Though out the years it’s not uncommon for jackass teens to stumble across the hotel, some place to party. He scares them off. Poessesion rumored.

Marko, 18-

First of them all to die. He could never control himself, not really. He didn’t have manners, he didn’t want to - he didn’t want to look ‘proper’ or say his graces to the pretty people. Best of them at stealing, small , quick and cute it was easy- though that didn’t always translate. He would get to cocky for himself mess up deals at times. Some people didn’t like that, his attitude, the snarky way in which he spoke. Rival gangs, angry bar patron- he’s not sure. None of them partially good people. He was cornered in a ally and stabbed- a lot.

Particularly clingy, HATES being alone or any sort of seperation.

Paul, 19-

Escaping. From what? From everything. Unpaid tabs , mistakes, botched robbery and his cheating at cards. Cornered. Beach? Water? Somewhere with water. Drowned.

Cannot sit still, cannot leave things be. Fear of water, understandably.

Dwayne , 19-

The big one, 1906. He was in the hotel when it had happened. Unfortunately he was one of those to get stuck in it. Crushed , impaled or worse. He’s not really sure, he doesn’t really remember it or want to.

The one to find and help laddie. He was the one to bring him with them.

Laddie, 11-

Some kid who went missing in the 1970s and wasnt found. No one knows how he died, he does not much either. He doesn’t know a lot. He ‘woke up’ on the side of the road one day and no one quite has the heart to explain to him. He was found by Dwayne, one of the few that didn’t scare the boy- laddie was just estatic that someone isn’t ignoring him. Someone can see him! Before Dwayne found him bye Would wander the boardwalk tugging at women’s sleeves trying to get their attention, they would turn around and scream or turn pale. Terrifed. They couldn’t see him.

Star also felt bad for him; so when she visits she’ll occasionally bring something for him to mess around with; play with. Sometimes ghosts can just barely move objects, one can hear a ball move - it echos around the cave.

Ghosts-

Breif rundown. I’m basing this more off the real (if you believe in such.) sort. So basically no one can really see or hear them except in certain cases or if they manipulate enough. This isn’t Casper they can’t just walk around town or go wherever they want. It’s where they died; a place of emotional importance or if they made a attachment to someone. In cases like laddie where you either don’t remember your death and carry on like normal or just- wander aimlessly.

Also since their ghost the boys haven’t really seen the world since 1906 and are sort of rocked by the modern world of the 1980’s and just. Star and Micheal answer a lot of questions.

*May do art for this, May write something. Depends on what y’all wanna see 👀

[the-book-queen]

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[usaikopath]

Timeline

December 24th 1996:  Sunhee Jung welcomes her only child Reina Jung in Koreatown, New York. August 4th 2001: Sunhee introduces Reina to the Montgomery family where she meets Stella and plays with her a couple of times while the family visited the Sugar Rush candy shop. December 24th 2002: Sunhee and Reina go to the Boston flea market to shop for birthday supplies to celebrate Reina’s birthday and this is when her father Kenichi Shinoda abducts her. Feburary 14th 2002: Reina starts becoming an escort with the yakuza for the Yamaguchi clan. June 2010: Reina meets Jade Michaelson and releases the older teen was in an abusive relationship with a drug dealer. September 2010: Reina meets Hana, an escort assigned to her father and reveals herself to be an escort from the rivaling Sumiyoshikai clan. She also meets Willow who is a teenage escort assigned to her father. -Comes across Trent Foster from various parties with clients in Sloane. October 2010: Reina first meets Juniper Soleil as an escort/client transaction. March 2011: Trent Foster approaches her to bargain her freedom in exchange for telling him where the yakuza leader reside. Reina keeps her end of the bargain and legally changes her name from Reina Jung to Aisha Hoshi. April 2011: While Trent Foster was framed and sentenced to prison Aisha was in New York, entering into rehab to try and clean herself of drugs and reunite with her mother. May 2011: Aisha gets released from the rehab clinic and starts to earn money in order to find out the whereabouts of her mother to reunite.  April 2012: Aisha founds out that her mother Sunhee Jung had passed away with the help of an underground detective and her burial grounds are located in Koreatown. The same day Aisha trashes her apartment out of anger and gets arrested. June 2012: Aisha’s court hearing begins for her felony of trashing her apartment and is sentenced to three years in rehab at the Boston’s psychiatric facility. 2014: Aisha meets Maxwell Casper at the psychiatric facility after he tries to commit suicide. November 2015: Eventually gets released from the psychiatric facility and heads back to Koreatown. 2016: Aisha works various jobs to afford a caravan so that she can travel around the area.This is where she meets Reina Quinn as the two worked on crafting costume outfits together. She reunites with Hana and the two decide to go on a road trip. 2018: She meets Esther, a former escaped escort who she allows to tag along on the caravan as the three girls travel around the States. June 2019: Aisha decides to head to Sloane and ask Trent Foster if she could find a job and have a more stable life. She then ends up in the basement of Ring of Fire after her best friend Hana gets tricked into a scam, thus becoming an escort all over again while living in Sloane.

[wastefulreverie]

AHHHHHHHHHH oh my god thank all of you guys so much. I saw this yesterday and I just want to thank you all for all of this overwhelming support. To celebrate 300 followers today I wrote a story idea I’ve had since like August and have been procrastinating on forever. It’s crossposted on FFN too so...

Trapped

Words: 3896

The school bus pathetically scooted down the highway, having to brake every few moments due to the massive traffic-jam plaguing the next few miles of road. It was late August, and even though fall was just around the corner, the feverish summer temperatures still hadn't subsided. Unfortunately, for the occupants of the bus, the weathered yellow vehicle had a pressing lack of a functional air conditioning system. When the bus was in motion, the air from the windows was enough to distract the passengers from the heat, but now that they were essentially trapped in someone's warped idea of a demonic, mobile oven the students were noticeably growing irritable.

The Casper High students were returning from their first field trip that year, which was thankfully uneventful. Since Danny's secret had been revealed six months previously, no one was oblivious to the fact that ghosts practically followed their class around, whether they were on campus or not. Hell, hadn't their last field trip to Axion Labs result in some kind of possession of the Red Huntress and a satellite? Today they had visited Amity Park Community College to watch the student theater guild's production of The Scarlet Letter, which they had just finished reading in class. Given the potential disaster, they were lucky that nothing had happened. Consequently, nobody was stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth, not even the A-Listers who had flipped a one-eighty attitude towards Danny after they found out who he really was. (It had been an awkward change, but people were finally starting to get used to it.)

Though with this unrelenting heat, even the most tolerant teenagers were starting to wear thin. And since they were enclosed in the middle of the highway, there wasn't much anyone could do to relieve the situation. A few people had water-bottles they had brought on the bus with them, but even those had grown hot after a while. Some of the more crafty students had made paper fans out of their homework sheets, but the air was much too hot to effectively cool anyone down. Everyone was drowning in the severe temperatures, everyone except one blessed half-ghost with the benefit of otherworldly internal temperature regulation from his other half.

Danny was sitting three-quarters toward the back of the bus, next to Sam and in front of Tucker and Valerie. To his left was Dash and Kwan, and in front of him were Paulina and Star. Unlike his other classmates, he was wearing clothing more suitable for early winter rather than late summer, which was a stark contrast to his peers who were all dressed in short-sleeved shirts and shorts. He also wasn't exhibiting any signs of discomfort, primarily because his ice core prevented him from ever worrying about getting hot. Sam was leaning against him religiously, and he didn't have to ask why; he knew that his low body temperature was probably the only thing keeping her from complaining like all of his other classmates.

“Is it possible to have a seizure because of heat?” Paulina wondered from the seat in front of him.

And somewhere from in front of her, Lester answered, “Not if you're in normal health. And it'd take more extreme conditions than this for heat-stroke.”

“Well, that's not a relief,” she sighed dramatically. She pushed her hands beneath her hair, which had adopted a lackluster frizziness. “I want to pass out. That way they can airlift me out of here on one of those hospital helicopters.”

“I'm sure if you hold your arms up like a football goal post, Dash might throw something at your face hard enough to knock you out for a while,” Sam remarked dryly.

Paulina turned around to glare at her rival, bitterly ignoring how the goth girl's face was snuggled into Danny's shoulder. Paulina clearly had something nasty in mind to say to Sam, but given that Danny was right next to her, she refrained from insulting his girlfriend in front of him. After all, Paulina was still trying to get back on Danny's good side.... So without any sort of offensive comment, Paulina whirled back around in her seat and continued complaining to Star about the heat.

“She's getting tamer every day,” Valerie muttered from behind Danny.

“So is someone else,” Danny whispered back at her, referring to the Red Huntress's recent alliance.

She scoffed. “I'm not tame, ghost boy.”

“Says the girl who hasn't shot at me in a month,” he replied, jokingly.

She narrowed her eyes, matching his light tone, “I can still beat your ass if I wanted to. Especially right now, without your powers.”

In order to attend school and comply with the school board's 'no weapon' policy, Danny was required to wear a power-dampening bracelet during school hours, which was extended to off-campus excursions such as field trips. It was easily removable, that way he could still fight ghosts when they posed a threat during school hours, but he was officially restricted from taking it off without permission otherwise he faced receiving a temporary suspension.

Danny laughed, glancing at the cuff wrapped around his wrist. “Even with this on I think I can dodge a few punches.”

“We're stuck in a literal toaster oven right now, I doubt you'd have any space to dodge me with all these people around,” she whispered slyly.

“Please, don't underestimate him,” Sam rolled her eyes, continuing to lean on Danny. “I've seen him fight his way out of a literal three-foot wide container.”

“Yeah. And, as you said, there's another weakness I don't have,” he pointed out. “I'm not weakened by the heat. Meaning that if we fought right now I'd probably have a stronger endurance....”

“Uhh,” Tucker said, “I know you guys are on good terms and stuff now but isn't this sort of a bad place to be talking about this right now?” He vaguely gestured to the students around them, some of which who were watching them curiously. Tucker lowered his voice, “Since one of you still has a secret identity to keep?”

Valerie sighed, “I guess you do have a point.” Danny and Sam shared the same realization.

One of the more irritating changes after the reveal was that people generally tended to eavesdrop on them. It made it difficult for Danny to keep particular fights under the radar, but it was another story for Valerie. If people found out she was the Red Huntress, she could be facing extreme social ostracism; even though Phantom had allied himself with her, many of his 'phans' were willing to burn her at the stake for her past crimes against him. Not to mention, if the school board found out she could be permanently expelled. Her circumstances were different than Danny's because she was choosing to be a ghost hunter, whereas his ghost half was a part of him.

“Why can't this stupid bus just have air conditioning?” Tucker grumbled, changing the subject. “Modern technology exists for a reason, but whoever designed these old buses didn't get the memo.”

“My Mom works for the school board,” Nathan commented from behind him. He and Valerie pretended to not be unnerved this interruption, given what they had been talking about moments previously. “I asked her once and I think these buses are at least twenty years old.”

Tucker nodded, “Case in point. Man, I mean, sure this bus has a portable ghost shield installed on it, but nobody thought that keeping the air cool would be important? They just want to torture us....”

“Wait,” Mikey, who was sitting next to Nathan, tilted his head in confusion. “There's a ghost shield on the bus? Why?”

“Oh yeah...” Tucker realized. “I forgot that wasn't common knowledge. I uh – helped Danny's parents install the shields on the buses last spring.”

“But why put ghost shields on the buses?” Nathan wondered.

“Vehicles tend to be common collateral,” Danny answered. “I know a few ghosts have targeted buses specifically, but mainly it's to make sure the bus doesn't get knocked over if I or any other ghosts get thrown into it. It's pretty much a smaller version of the shield at school, but different. The one at school is only turned on during emergencies since it requires a lot of energy, but the smaller one uses a device called the ecto-converter which collects ambient ectoplasmic energy and re-purposes it so it can be used instead of electricity. Amity is full of ambient energy so it charges itself by driving around town, allowing it to be turned on all the time.”

“Wait, but... if it's on right now, how are you in the shield? I thought you couldn't be inside of those....” Mikey asked.

“Well, I can be inside of them in either form, I just can't pass through them,” Danny explained. “And unlike the big shield at the school, this shield isn't strong enough to affect my human form, anyway so I can pass through it fine right now,” he paused. “Though, if I changed I wouldn't be able to leave the bus.”

“Wait,” a new voice interrupted. Dash, who'd been sitting beside Danny and Sam, had clearly been listening silently. “Pha-enton...” he corrected himself. “When you uh – well, change? Don't you make the air like, really cold?”

“Dash,” Valerie warned, seeing where he was going with this. The thought had already crossed her mind but she knew better than to ask.

“Yeah,” Nathan added. “And don't you have ice powers, too?”

“Uhh,” Danny fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt, ignoring how his fingers also grazed the cuff on his wrist. “I can, but you know I can't.”

“That's not fair though,” Dash complained. “We're not even in school right now. You don't have to-”

“Yeah, but I'm on a school trip. Rules are rules, Dash, and even I can't violate them because I'm supposed to be responsible. If I can't abide by the one rule allowing me to stay in school then what gives me the right to even be here?”

“You're Phantom though, dude,” Kwan chimed in. “Not to mention we're all melting. What if we get that heat-stroke thing?” To prove his point he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

Star, who had stopped listening to Paulina a while ago joined the conversation. “Yeah, like we could be at a health risk, and you didn't do anything to help us out. Come on, Danny. It's just this once, I'm sure the school would turn a blind eye.”

“Or he could get his field trip privileges suspended, and a week of OSS,” Sam said darkly. “None of you truly understand what it means when Danny risks getting in trouble.”

“But – but we're all burning up!” Mikey reasoned. “It's not like he's doing party tricks or anything-”

“I can't,” he repeated. Even if he could transform for them he didn't feel comfortable being some sort of half-ghost air conditioning. After all, just because everyone already knew his secret, it didn't mean that he liked being in Phantom form around his classmates. “I signed a legal contract, so unless I have a reason to believe that there's a ghost attack or direct permission I can't do anything.”

“Don't you think that's unfair though? You should be allowed to use your powers, cause they're part of you,” Star reasoned.

“Sometimes, yeah, it's a pain,” he admitted. “But I know better than anyone why these rules are in place.”

Dash scoffed, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you should listen to him,” Tucker backed him up.

“That's a load of bull,” Dash hissed.

“Wait a minute,” Mikey devised, turning to Danny, “didn't you say that you just need direct permission to change?”

“Uh, yeah?” he asked, not seeing how that mattered.

Mikey grinned. “Mr. Lancer!” he called out. The English teacher was sitting in the column across from Paulina and Star and was ignoring the typical teenage commotion behind him, using his book as a distraction from the persistent heat.

“Of Mice and Men,” he cursed. He turned behind him to find ten ambitious children staring at him expectantly. He rubbed his temples therapeutically and met Mikey's gaze, “What is it that you require, Mr.  Stanworth?”

“We're all frying in here,” he stated simply.

“Yes, well, it's late August and we're in traffic. There's not much I can do,” he explained, wondering exactly what his students expected him to do about circumstances out of his control.

“Give Danny permission to change into Phantom,” Mikey blurted.

Lancer blinked dumbly. “Pardon me?”

“His ghost form makes the air cold,” Kwan explained. “But he doesn't want to break the rules.”

Danny looked at his teacher, “Mr. Lancer they don't understand that-”

“Wait,” Lancer pronounced slowly, “so him just being Phantom will make bus colder? I mean, I've noticed that the temperature usually goes down, but I never imagined how that asset of your, uh...” he looked at Danny, “ghostliness could be used in a situation like this.”

Danny gaped at him, flabbergasted. Even Mr. Lancer of all people wanted to use him as an air conditioner. He understood that they were suffering from the heat but he couldn't help but feel like it was a little demeaning on his part.

“So you're giving him permission?” Dash asked greedily.

Lancer nodded, “Daniel I give you permission to transform into Phantom.”

He groaned, gaining him some odd glares, but he figured that he had no real reason to decline since he couldn't just admit that he didn't want to do it because it was awkward. Not to mention, if he refused there was a chance that Dash would forget the past sixth months and punch him out of habit.

So, Danny rolled up his sleeve and opened the clasp on his power-dampening bracelet before stuffing it into his pocket. He made sure to take his phone out of his other pocket since everything in his human clothes would vanish after the change. At this action, Sam moved a few inches away, knowing that being too close to Danny's transformation tickled your insides in a weird sort of way.

He called upon his core and allowed the cold energy to chill the blood in his veins, triggering the white halos around his waist. They moved around his body and left behind his monochrome jumpsuit, eccentric white hair, and ghostly aura.

Once the ring had passed over his head and faded to nothing, he saw looks of relief cross across the faces of everyone around him as they reveled in the temperature drop. Some students cheered, which usually happened when he transformed, but that didn't mean that it wasn't uncomfortable.

“You're a lifesaver, dude,” Dash said.

“Yeah,” Danny laughed nervously, habitually rubbing the back of his neck. “It's not like I hear that a lot or anything....”

It took another thirty minutes before they were finally free of the horrendous traffic-jam, and even then they would have an extra ten-minute drive to get back to the school. In that time, the students had resumed their normal teenage shenanigans and besides being grateful for his deed of cooling the bus, nobody made a big deal that it was Danny Phantom sitting with them instead of Fenton.

By the time they pulled into the school, all of the other classes had let out already, so when they arrived, the parking lot was practically vacated. When the brown brick building came into the students' line of sight, everyone stood up in their seats and clamored to exit the bus. Under normal circumstances, it would have been an overreaction but their hour trapped on the highway had felt like an eternity. Therefore, everyone was understandably antsy to push their way through the aisle to the front of the bus.

“Don't forget your homework!” Lancer was saying. “Two paragraphs about the differences between the book and the play production!” He was ironically unaware that many students had left their homework sheets discarded on the bus's floor, folded up into redundant paper fans.

When the doors to the bus finally opened, Danny trailed behind Sam, following her to the bus's exit without a second thought. She passed through the bus's threshold, but when he moved to do the same, he met a painful grew wall. Literally. A translucent grid of energy materialized in front of him, sending him crashing into Tucker, who was carrying out the gravity of his last step. The sudden stop in the line's movement caused a few people behind him to crash into each other as well, like human dominoes. Danny immediately tried to apologize for falling into Tucker, but his friend was laughing.

“Dude,” Tucker chortled. “You – forgot – to change – back.”

Oh, right. He'd forgotten that he was still Phantom, which meant that he had just tried to walk through the bus's ghost shield... as a ghost. In retrospect, that was a pretty stupid move.

He floated up for a moment and pulled Tucker to his feet too. Sam was outside the bus now and was grinning stupidly at them both. Since she'd been facing the opposite direction she hadn't seen what had happened but had gotten the gist of it from Tucker's fit of laughter.

Before he could permanently die of embarrassment, Danny forced himself back into human form (ignoring the gasps of some of his unprepared classmates, who never failed to be mystified by him), and went to step through the door again.

Only to be pushed back again by the ghost shield again, which thoroughly refused to let him step through it.

Wait, what?

He was human now, so why couldn't he get through the bus's ghost shield?

“Uh, Danny?” Sam looked at him questioningly. The kids behind him were also looking at him for answers, confused why they couldn't get off of the bus yet. “What's going on?”

“The shield won't let me through,” he muttered. “Even though I changed back. This weak shield isn't supposed to do that, only the stronger ones can repel me in human form.”

Mr. Lancer was outside of the bus and looked between Danny and the shield worriedly. Danny was trying to force his hand through the barrier, but to no avail. “Mr. Fenton,” he said carefully, “perhaps you could step aside for a moment and let your classmates leave the bus, then we can sort this little problem out?”

Danny looked at him with a panic-stricken expression but nodded solemnly and allowed the line of students to exit the vehicle. Once the last student had stepped off of the bus, minus Danny, Mr. Lancer suggested that Mr. Falluca (who had been driving the bus) take them inside to collect their belongings from their lockers for the weekend. There had been a general air of protest since everyone was generally curious about Danny's situation, but Mr. Falluca eventually managed to corral everyone except Sam and Tucker inside the school building.

So Mr. Lancer, Sam, and Tucker set to work to figure out why Danny couldn't pass through the ghost shield in his human form.

“This is just my luck,” Danny muttered, sitting on the steps down to the bus's door. “I don't even know why I'm surprised at this point.”

“We'll fix this, man,” Tucker reassured. “We just have to figure out why the shield let you in and out this morning, and won't let you out now.”

“Like I said,” Danny explained, “it's a weak shield! It shouldn't even have the power to contain my human form at all! This is all just so frustrating.”

“It's not the first time something like this has happened,” Sam pointed out. “Remember the time you were trapped in the thermos for a few hours?”

“Don't remind me,” he said darkly.

“Mr. Fenton you were trapped in that ghost thermos for hours?” Lancer asked, aghast.

“On multiple occasions,” he replied, casually kicking the ghost shield. It sparked against his shoe and left a green smudge.

“Okay,” Tucker summed up. “Somehow the ghost shield has gotten strong enough to trap you in your human form. This happened between the time you got on the bus and before you tried to get off. What would cause a shield to increase in power, though?”

“Hold up a second,” Sam intervened. “Didn't you say that it's powered by the ecto-converter?”

“Yeah,” Danny said, before freezing. “Oh. Ohh. Yeah, that would make sense.”

“What makes sense?” Lancer questioned, falling behind his students for a change.

“When Danny transformed on the bus,” Tucker caught on. “The ectoplasmic energy from his ghost form basically supercharged the ghost shield, making it stronger. It's calibrated to absorb as much energy as possible, and Phantom's pretty much an infinite buffet of ambient energy.”

“And now it's so strong that it won't let him pass through it in his human form,” Sam concluded.

“Sooo, how are we gonna get me out of here?” Danny asked. “Are we just going to destroy the ghost shield, because my parents took a long time putting the last batch together.”

“Is there a way to turn it off?” Lancer suggested.

“Not really. It can be dismantled from the inside and put back together, though,” Danny said. “But destroying it might just be easier, to be honest. It'd take a lot less time.”

“How would we destroy it though?” Tucker asked. “We plated it with metal that was impenetrable to outside forces. Almost bulletproof, remember? Your Dad bragged about it for three days.”

“Can't I just shoot it with an ectoblast? With enough focused charge, that can be stronger than a bullet,” Danny suggested.

“Uh, Danny?” Sam said. She pointed at the bus's roof, in the vague direction of a subtle, protruding panel. “The shield's on the outside of the bus. And you're inside remember?”

He froze for a moment before his expression slid into a scowl, “Right.”

“Shall I call Mr. and Mrs. Fenton to dismantle it?” Lancer offered.

“They're probably our best bet,” Tucker agreed.

“And how exactly did this happen again?” Maddie asked, trying to figure out how her son had managed to trap himself inside a ghost shield.

“I got peer pressured into going ghost on the bus because we were stuck in hot traffic. Mr. Lancer gave me permission and then when I stayed in ghost form the excess energy supercharged the ghost shield and now it's strong enough to repel my human form,” Danny groaned.

Jack laughed, “Kinda ironic, right?”

“S'not funny, Dad,” Danny crossed his arms, leaning back in the driver's chair. It was the most comfortable seat on the bus and he wasn't going to settle for a passenger bench.

“Danny's right, dear,” Maddie forced herself to agree with her son. “It's not funny.”

“You guys can dismantle it, right?” he asked.

“Hmm, give or take two to three hours,” Jack estimated.

Danny's eyes were the size of saucers. “Two or three hours? But my phone's almost dead, I can't be trapped on this bus for three more hours!”

“These things take time, sweetie,” Maddie said slowly. “Patience is our only option.”

Danny took a deep breath and sighed, “A – alright. I'll try to not lose my mind.”

After all, three hours trapped on a bus with his parents outside shouldn't be that hard, right? (Who was he kidding, of course it was.)