#this ghostwriting has gotten me out of my comfort zone

[pransesdp]

*sips tea* -Soooo, dunno if the ship-circle-meme thing is still popular or not/has been done lately in the DP fandom... buuut couldn't resist giving it a try after I went back and updated a ship template I made awhile back lol Here's the blank template below for anyone who wishes to fill it out too (just be sure to give credit when you're done! ^^):

My current ship opinions shouuuuld be self-explanatory for the most part, but for anyone curious of my specific thoughts & such, feel free to read below! 👍

~DP OTPs~

-Danny x Sam

Yeah yeah, call me cliche/basic all you want with this being in the OTP rank… but dangit, I just can’t help it after all the fond nostalgia for them I’ve had over the years~💜. A dorky ghostly hero w/ a spunky goth girl, encouraging eachother’s strengths & working through whichever hardships come their way, and by staying so supportive through thick & thin… it allowed for feelings to steadily blossom by the end~ 💚. Was it "perfectly" handled, development-wise? Well, maybe not. Do I wish they could've gotten together sooner so we'd actually see how they'd work as a couple? Absolutely. But all-in-all… writing flaws aside, I can't help but enjoy them anyway~ x3

-Dash x Jazz

Most def one of my more… "controversial" picks for an OTP these days, but hear me out lol. As much of an obnoxious jerk Dash was for most of the show… it always intrigued me alot for how he had that brief crush on Jazz early-on 🤔. Like, the girl wasn't even a popular kid herself from what we've seen in the show (often preferring books to people, half the time)… yet Dash of all people caught a bit of feels for her enough-to invite her to his party? Interesting 👀 Do I think they would've worked as an actual canon ship? …Weeell, most likely no lol. BUT, can't say I'm not a sucker for a good ol' "confident nerd x smug jock" dynamic, esp for the potential of Jazz helping to humble Dash in his place + Dash encouraging Jazz to loosen up more & have fun (away from just being the "responsible" smart one all the time). Hehee~ ;p

-Ghostwriter x Ember

One of my "newer" OTPs as of late, I just love the potential of two artsy-inclined ghosts (Ember w/ her music + Ghostwriter w/ his writing) forging a special bond together~ 💜Whether it's Ember nudging GW out of his comfort zone like the kickass babe she is, GW encouraging more "downtime" moments for Ember at home (whenever the rockstar fame gets too much), and then occasionally annoying everyone with their poetic displays of lovin' when they're out & about together~ -w-

-Jack x Maddie

I mean, this one's a no-brainer to put here lol =P Two happily-married, proud ghost-researchers who work perfectly as a "brains & brawn" duo. Even if there's occasional moments of marital spats (-often from Jack's excitable mishaps 😅 lol), the way they're ultimately always able to find their way back to eachother (even in an AU-timeline where Maddie married Vlad) is just… d'awwww~ ❤️

-Johnny 13 x Kitty

The OG ghost sweethearts whom I'm so sad never seems to feel fully-appreciated by the fandom… even though there's SO much to love about them imho~ The way Johnny was so devoted to bring Kitty into the human world with him (even if it had to involve using Jazz along the way), Kitty's protective rage upon seeing Danny hurt Johnny (despite being mad at him earlier), and the behind-the-scenes element of their VAs being a married couple irl just adds another layer of sweetness to them ngl~ 💚

-Nocturn x Desiree

Two ancient, powerful ghostly spirits keen for chaos and grandeur for themselves… they'd be quite a power couple match the more I've thought of them (+working with their son, Reve). Reminding me alot of Xibalba & La Muerte from "The Book of Life", in a way~ lol ;p

-Walker x Spectra

The stern, crooked ghost warden w/ the cunning shadow lady, if thats not already a recipe for some "steamy" chemistry there~ 👀💚

-Fright Knight x Dorathea

The fiercest ghostly knight with the growing-badass dragon princess spells SO much for beautiful ship chemistry~ :love: With the Fright Knight clearly being a man who values strength & confidence, to have Dorathea around for him to admire and protect (& vice-versa with her own dragon-shifting skills)… just hhhhhhh I NEED it in my life ToT ❤️

-Danielle x Valerie

These two definitely caught my heart ALOT more than I expected these last couple years; from the way Danielle was the key to helping Valerie realize not all ghosts are bad, their moment of teamwork once Danny & Val helped to save her from Vlad, and even that bit of them sneakily scaring Danny at the end was pretty amusing to see~ lol Whether as a strong duo of friends, or something "more" down the line, either way these girls def deserve all the love in the world~ ❤️

-Paulina x Star I will never not be a sucker for a classic "girlboss gfs" ship, and even if Paulina & Star didn't get too much development/focus (outside of being mean girls)… well, they just give me all the feels with how well they click together~ ❤️With Star being one of the few characters Paulina was shown to genuinely care about (to the point of legit crying when Star went missing in "Claw of the Wild"), and the way they're always so doting & sweet when hanging out on the sidelines, how could you not see them potentially getting together~? :3

~DP Loved Ships~

-Desiree x Dorathea

The sneaky chaotic genie with the dutifully kind princess, a pair I think could have loads of potential after all both ladies have been through~ :aww: If it weren't for my attachment to other ships (+Arthur & Reve's characters in my NG), I'd def be down to give 'em more love ngl~ ❤️

-Freakshow x Lydia

While we never really got to know more of the context behind their relationship (if they're just a pair of allies, friends, or something "more"), I enjoyed seeing their chemistry of working together stealthily even after Freakshow lost everything/got further lost-in power. If there ever was a chance to see more of them together, I'd be down for that! ^^

-Kwan x Sam

My overall second-fave Sam ship from the series and one I seem to grow more & more fond of as of late 💜While only really interacting a handful of times, I just love how Sam was able to reach out to Kwan in offering him a chance to hangout (seeming to know that deep down he truly means well, despite all his clumsiness/loyalty to Dash). And Kwan being so dorky and keen to get into Sam's interests was pretty adorb too, so I can just imagine all their fun potential as a "golden retriever x black cat" duo :3 . Sam encouraging him to stand his ground, Kwan helping Sam tone down her temper/stubborn habits, all that jazz~ ;P

-Tucker x Valerie

Ngl, I'm still bummed the show abruptly ended this one before it could fully-flourish… 'cause man they seemed to have such a sweet setup going by "Shades of Gray" 💛. Tucker reaching out to Valerie to cheer her up (even after she lost her popularity/wealth), Valerie (albeit at first using him to get more info on the Fentons) seeming to lowkey enjoy his company the more she hung out with him, and seeing Tuck even going that extra mile to take the fall for Valerie's dad during that ghost accident at the end (which could've really gotten him in trouble)… just, c'mon how could you not find see the ship-potential in that~? :3 While I'm ultimately fine with these two just staying as friends from then-on, I can't help thinking of the "What Ifs?" with them now & then~ ^^

-Valerie x Sam

Again, yet another pair that I feel the fandom's sadly sleeping on… 'cause c'moooon, these girls would be SO fitting as a gf duo together!~ :D Their whole conflict regarding Danny aside, they've got quite a bit in-common in terms of their strong-willed spirits, loyalty to their loved ones, and even while stubborn at times, they've got the drives to try & do the right thing when it all comes down to it~ 👍 As well as having their own lil differences that could help give each girl a better perspective on things (not all popular/preppy kids are bad, not every outcast kid is a “loser", etc.). Ups & downs they may have at times, Val x Sam could def use some more love all-in-all! 💜🧡

~DP Liked Ships~

-Danny x Valerie

Probably the most popualr Valerie ship in terms of the general fandom, and rewatching the show its not hard to see why! Both having gone from two bickering kids unable to stand eachother, to a ghost & hunter duo having to learn how to work together, and even their brief dating phase/further-truce down the line allowed for some solid development to form imo :3 I may not be too invested in this one compared to other ships I have for them both, but kudos to the fans who try to give them that proper attention the showed failed on (even if just closure-wise) anyway! ^^

-Danielle x Sam

While their interactions all-in-all were a lil brief, I couldn't help getting the cute image out of my head of Dani lowkey getting a puppy crush on Sam at some point~ ;p Nothing too serious or anything, just a nice lil bit of amusing fluff imo.

-Jazz x Sam

They may have had their differences when Jazz first joined the team, but I did find it sweet how well the girls learned to work together by the end of "Girls Night Out" (gave me a bit of Starfire & Raven vibes ngl lol) :3 I may lowkey be a bit more invested in them friendship-wise, but they're still a fun pair either way ^^

-Pandora x Dorathea

Hehe, the Double-Dora ship lmao =P Silly pun-theming aside, I think it'd be cute seeing Doratea be so in awe of Pandora's wisdom, strength & protective heart for her realm. Even if nothing serious forms from there, I think it'd still be sweet~ ^^

-Kwan x Paulina

Set as I am with the Paulina x Star ship, if I had to envision what kind of guy I'd potentially put with her instead… hmmmm, I think her & Kwan could be cute? .3. With his laidback sweetheart nature balancing well against her sassier tendencies, it'd be fun to see how they'd click imo :3

-Kwan x Tucker

Hehe, ngl… it will never not crack me up how Tuck's first instinct of "YOU'LL NEVER REPLACE DANNY, NEVER!" is almost-immediately followed up to these two frolicking through a meadow lol Guess even Tucker couldn't resist the big sweetheart after awhile, d'aww~ ;P

~DP Ok Ships~

-Jazz x Tucker

A semi-common ship I’ve seen floating around in DP fanfics (mainly as a side ship to DxS), and I’ll admit I can see why it’d appeal. Both are generally smart kids, having helped eachother out here & there on Team Phantom (like the “Frightmare” ep), and the idea of Danny’s bff becoming his future brother-in-law has some cute & funny potential to it lol. On the other hand, though… ehh, part of me feels like it may be a bit too convenient to ship off Tuck w/ Jazz as the only other singles in Team Phantom (lowkey almost akin to Sokka x Toph being commonly shipped alongside Kataang in ATLA-). Not to say its a “bad” ship idea in the grand scheme of things… buuuut idk, I feel like it’d kinda depend on how its written imo .3.

-Wes x Jazz As generally “in-the-middle” I’ve always been to Wes Weston on his own (since he basically just kinda exists to be the “Derpy Hooves” in the DP fandom lol), I’ll admit the fan-content between him & Jazz looked rather cute ^^. Can’t quiiiite put them much higher given Wes’ overall background character-status (so his personality could basically be anything you want… for better or worse lol), but yee .3.

-Technus x Desiree

I seem to semi-regularly spot this around here & there whenever I look up ghost-focused DP ships… which seems like they’d have an interesting “Opposites Attract” angle together, the more I think about it 🤔 Can’t say I’ve ever been that big of a Technus fan tho, hence why this one’s a bit lower-ranked ngl.

-Kwan x Star

One of the other “mainstream” human ships I’ve seen in the DP fandom, mainly shipped through some side ship/NG-related roles. And… I mean, I guess it is a fairly harmless pair for the most part, given they both seemed to genuinely connect well after getting ditched in “Lucky in Love”. But I just… idk, something about them never really intrigued me much to ship them in the longterm :P Not really sure why tbh…

-Sam x Star Saw a couple pieces of them floating around that I'll admit looked cute (esp with their contrasting aesthetics & what-not). Though again, with Star, well… not having a whole lot to her when not with Paulina/the other A-Listers, its kiiinda hard to rank it much higher imo

-Paulina x Tucker

A concept I've only ever seen pop up rarely in the fandom… though, I could potentially see something work here if written right? .3. With Tuck being alot more confident than most "geeks" around him, I'm sure he'd be able to handle Paulina's attitude (which I'm sure in her position, I'm sure she'd probably find a lil refreshing lol), if they ever got the chance to one-on-one bond. Idk, there's still some other ships I tend to prefer more for the both of 'em… but hey, more power to those who wish to explore them anyway! ^^

-Gregor (aka: “Elliot”) x Sam

While I’ll admit seeing Sam’s initial crush on the guy was kinda cute… the fact that he diiiiid turn out to be lying about his goth Hungarian identity by the end (+his sudden jerkiness to Tucker) sadly killed the ship’s chances from there, I’m afraid ^^;. Kudos to some of the rare bits of fan-content I’ve seen exploring their (+Gregor’s) potential a bit more tho… it looks interesting .3.

~DP Neutral Ships~

-Skulker x Ember

One of the more "common" ghost ships ever since the early fandom days… and, not really one that's caught my eye in recent memory 🤷‍♀️ Like, yeah I know they're both fiery punks & became an actual canon thing by the "Girls Night Out" ep… buuuut eh, it just felt a bit too randomly-placed for me to get that many "feels" from them imo. Not to say I'd mind seeing them as a side ship in other DP fanfics or however… just kinda depends on how they're written imo.

-Danny x Star

As much as I'll admit there's some rare bits of fanart that looked a lil cute with them both… ehhhh, again Star's just never seemed to click enough with Danny for me to get more into it (with the most being when she did all his homework to win a beauty pageant… and thats it lol). But thats just me .3.

-Danny x Wes

With how popular Wes is on his own, its not too surprising this one would lowkey become a crackship after awhile. Though… idk, for me it almost feels like a copypaste of Danny x Val's dynamic for most fan-portrayals I've seen of 'em, so I didn't quiiiite stay that interested, I'm afraid .w.;

-Dash x Paulina

Similar case to Kwan x Star in essentially being one of the more “common” human side cast ships (mainly for both of 'em being jerkish popular kids lol). Not a bad idea per-say for a ship concept… buuuut at the same time, just a tad too predictable for me to fully-pair 'em imo.

-Tucker x Danielle Only once or twice I've seen this one shipped, and… I guess I can see some ship potential, kinda? Idk, for some reason its been hard for me to fully-see Danielle with guys lately… dunno why lol

-Tucker x Star

Star may not have been the nicest to him when they briefly hooked up in "Lucky in Love" (on account of Tuck mainly going after her as the "satellite" popular girl lol). I guess I could maaaybe give this one a pass if Star got some more development… tho again, it just depends .3.

-Vlad x Spectra

A fairly common Vlad-focused ship from what I've seen (generally based on their similar aesthetics, in a way?). Seems… alright as a potential pair, but for some reason I just… can't seem to get into it one way or another. Eh… .w.;

~DP Disliked Ships~

-Danny x Dash

“He bullies you ‘cause he liiiiikes you~” has long since grown stale as a shipping trope imo, so I really don’t get why this ship’s semi-popularity lasted as long as it did :/. Like, sure I don't mind the potential of Dash getting redeemed/developed more beyond just a bully… but outside of him hero-worshipping Danny's Phantom half, what else really "is" there to count much for a ship? For me… I just don't see it :/

-Danny x Ember

A pretty popular ship whenever I try to look up Ember content… aaaaand again, not one I've ever been down for much :P. Seems to really mostly appeal to those who think Ember's hot & thus feel like Danny has to have her (+other ghost girls) by-default… which idk, just kept giving me squicky vibes after awhile tbh >>. Not to mention some of the more… "vocal" fans seemingly to also be particularly strong Sam-haters for most of the D/E circles I've stumbled across, aaaaand then it just became even less appealing from there tbh -x-

-Danny x Paulina

A surprising ship I've seen getting steadily popular in recent memory, and… ehhhh as much as I've tried, I just can't bring myself to get into it myself ^^; Again, I'm not at all opposed to Paulina changing her ways & developing better beyond a popular girl role… buuuut with Danny basically doing nothing but awkwardly ogling her looks (+her using him whenever she wants something) for most of the show, like… again, is there anything else to truly "tie" them together, longterm-wise? ^^; Idk, personally if I wanted to pair Danny with a "mean girl-turned-ally" character, I'd rather just stick with Valerie imo.

-Dash x Sam

With how little tolerance Sam has for obnoxious dumbassery, and Dash… well, basically being that in a nutshell lol, I can't say there'd be much of a chance for this one to work imo. Even in a potential one-sided crush situation on Dash's end (and/or Sam's parents maybe pushing for it as an "image"-boost in their rich circles), it just ain't meant to be :P.

-Vlad x Desiree

This dude's basically the embodiment of everything Desiree hates in guys (self-absorbed, greedy, and a creep)… need I say more? lmao

-Paulina x Sam

Again, I've gone over this a few times in the past… buuut as much as I've always yearned to end the "Not like OTHER girls" mantra from way back when, it doesn't automatically make me keen to ship EVERY combo of a girly-girl & alt. tomboy together :/. Not helped by Sam's hurt from Paulina toying with Danny (aka: her best friend) due to one of their petty arguments, aaaaand I can't say I'd ever see this one working outside of maybe a (distant) friendship, once they've grown up a bit better. Otherwise, ehhhh… 🤷‍♀️

~DP NOTPs~

-Danny x Kitty If it weren't bad enough that Kitty was ONLY ever dating Danny to make Johnny jealous… the fact that there's the added ick of Paulina being used as a "host body" by Kitty this whole time (-when the poor girl can't even consent/never wanted to date Danny to begin with) just adds a whoooole new layer of "nope" to this pair, if you ask me >>;;

-Danny x Vlad

…well, do I need to go into detail why this ship's here? 🤢Hella-huge age gap, Vlad being a pervy creep to Danny's mom, constantly going out of his way to breakup the Fenton family/cause other villainous mayhem overtime… just eughhhhh, keep this shit far away from me, thanks =_=;;

-Johnny x Jazz

Similar reasons to Danny x Kitty, this one was basically dead-on-arrival if Johnny's only real "interest" in Jazz was to use her body to bring Kitty into the world with him :no:

-Vlad x Maddie

How many times do we have to say it, Vlad? MADDIE. DOESN'T. LOVE. YOU. 😑

-Tucker x Sam

Ughhh… while I know there's arguably worse ships out there in the grand scheme of things, this ship just always rubbed me the wrong way with how cheaply they've been shipped about in this fandom..😒Mostly ever done as a way to keep Sam away from Danny (and… I guess to just give Tucker something to do when he's not really focused on fanon-wise, either 🤷‍♀️), it fails to take into account just how much Tucker & Sam's differences/attitudes are too fundamentally different to work. From their whole "meats vs. veggies" conflict in the first ep having been the cause of a ghostly mess at their school, to them having to practically always need Danny around to balance their friendship… it just ultimately proves to me that not ALL opposites are meant to attract, I'm afraid >>

~DP BrOTPs~

-Danny/Tucker/Sam

The OG Phantom trio from the very beginning, what more can I say about 'em that the show haven't showed enough of? ^^ Even if Tucker x Sam still rubs me the wrong way ship-wise, I still enjoy their overall friendship & teamwork when it comes to supporting Danny & vice-versa. And heck, even if there's a scenario that Danny & Sam don't end up together, I like to think they'd always be the best of friends no matter what~ :3

-Danny/Clockwork

I enjoyed seeing their mentor & student-like dynamic the more they interacted in "The Ultimate Enemy" & "Masters of All Time". While rather trollish to Danny at first, its clear Clockwork means well in wanting to teach Danny a lesson that actions have consequences (no matter how big or small) ^^

-Danny/Danielle/Jazz

A bundle of Fenton siblings that I can't help but find wholesome the more I've rewatched the series~ :) From Danny & Jazz's growing support for one another upon Jazz realizing her lil bro's secret, to Danny learning to lookout for Danielle beyond her being his clone (akin to how a big brother would, in a way ^^), and even though we sadly didn't get the chance for Danielle to meet Jazz (or the other Fentons) before the show ended, I like to think the two girls would get along great either way as (technical) sisters~ :3

-Dark Danny/Danielle/Jazz Even though you could argue Dark Danny (or "Dan" if you prefer) should prob be more considered his "own" character at this point, I just can't help enjoy certain fan-depictions of him maintaining a strong sibling bond with both Jazz and/or Danielle ^^ Guess that brotherly instinct inside Danny would never "fully" go away even while evil… awww ^^

-Danielle/Youngblood

With them both being the youngest ghosts in the series, I love the idea of them having a grand ol' time messing with the older ghosts & pulling pranks around the place lol

-Desiree/Spectra

Two matured, devious ladies with alot of experience on their plate, they'd be quite a fun villain duo if you ask me ;P

-Ember/Kitty

The rebellious bad babes of the Ghost Zone who'd be down to wreck up the place & go vibe on the town, what more can you ask for in a pair of villain besties? lol ;p

-Jazz/Sam/Valerie

I'm always a sucker for a good trio of heroic besties, and what more can you ask for with a kickass mix of brains, brawn & heart from these three? ^w^ Whether they're kicking ghost butt, hanging out at the mall, or training up for future adventures, I'd SO be down to see it! :>

-Dash/Kwan

While Dash may not always be the nicest/most considerate to Kwan at times, I like to imagine at the core they're still generally a tight pair of "bros", when it all comes down to it :3

-Skulker/Technus

As much as I may not be the biggest Technus fan around, I did lowkey enjoy seeing his teamup with Skulker here & there (like in TUE's timeline where they're fused in-one). It was cool ^^

-Dorathea/Sam

While they had their differences with Sam being caught up in Dorathea's plan to give her brother a "bride" (via-the beauty pageant), I found it quite touching of how much Sam inspired the princess to stand up for herself by the end 🥺👏Would've loved to have seen more of that potential friendship throughout the show ngl.

-Star/Valerie Even if Valerie's not part of the popular squad anymore, its kinda sweet ngl to see Star still hanging out with her here & there. Guess the lil sassy blonde's got more of a heart deep down after all, aww~ ^^

~Paired with an OC/Non-Listed Character~

-Dark Danny x AU!Sam

With all the colorful AUs & fanfics out there with Dark Danny, its always intrigued me of how much people play around of how DxS could still work in a "corrupted" TUE timeline .3. Whether its with Sam being an equally-evil Plant Queen, or Sam actually surviving the Nasty Burger explosion somehow (+potentially working alongside Valerie as a huntress), just imagine the tension to form with her & Dark Danny~ 👀

-Vlad x Harriet

I may not be suuuuper huge on Vlad on his own accord, but ngl… seeing the rare bits of art/fics with him & Harriet Chin (Maddie's old college friend) got me lowkey intrigued o3o. Reminding me a bit of a "darker" version of Superman/Clark x Lois' dynamic, I can imagine Harriet getting more intrigued to find out more about the "mystery" of Vlad's Plasmius half (perhaps as a way to restore her own reputation post-"Bitter Reunions")… coming across eachother enough for some potential "sparks" to form. Idk, I'd have to look into it more if I could see it working endgame-wise… buuuuut either way, I be curious~ .3.

~Stay Single~

-Clockwork With his duties of looking after time itself, I feel like Clockwork would consider romance too "distracting" to his work.

-Pandora

Similar reasons to Clockwork, I feel like she's too stuck by her role of keeping the "box of evil" closed to venture much into a dating life.

-Poindexter

…weeeeell, I just never cared for this dude to think of anything ship-wise for him, romantic or platonic tbh lol 🤷‍♀️

-Youngblood

Seems pretty content atm to be a carefree kid to wanna give much focus to "grownup" things like romance… less it gross him out like w/ most kids his age lmao.

~Crossover Ships~

-Tucker x Wendy Corduroy ("Gravity Falls") Was a reaaaally random old crossover I had that I didn't get to work with much, but I couldn't help finding it cute back when I was more into "Gravity Falls" :> The idea formed of it being Tucker essentially getting sent down to Gravity Falls via-family vacation (as a lowkey break from him being so "tech-obsessed" lol), coming across Wendy & getting mixed into her own misadventures at the Mystery Shack. Can't quite remember if I thought more to their ship setup further, but its still a cute concept imo~ ^^

-Sam x Tom Lucitor ("Star VS. The Forces of Evil")

Ok, now this one I'll admit I just always had this in the back of my mind but never got the chance to talk more about it… buuuuut this is what happens when you have two comfort faves & want all the best for 'em lol ^^. Essentially I see this happening on account of Tom (having already gone through enough bs by the end of "Star VS."), somehow coming across Sam and forming a connection along the way. Both coming from affluent families but struggling to get involved socially in such roles (Sam being the "perfect" prim daughter + Tom being a prince), having an affinity for alternative/rebellious interests, and both having a stubborn but strong loyalty for those they deeply care about. With the potential of Sam even further helping Tom ease up on his temper/encourage him to be himself more often, who knows what other antics they can get up to together!~ :3

[sometimesrosy]

Top 5 strangest or most interesting things you had to research for your ghost written books? Your books your working on under your own name?

OOh fun.

The thing that immediately comes to mind for the ghostwriting is when I researched how to safely crash land an ultralight airplane that's been caught in a crazy storm and is about to slam into a mountainside.

Then I researched what it's like to be floating in the ocean after a crash and how you would go about rescuing someone who was floating in an ocean.

I do a LOT of researching of high end things, like food, clothes, resorts, locations, because my clients like billionaires. SO much research on appetizers and fancy meals but I kind of like that. Also for high fashion outfits. I write big galas into my stories so I can dress them in things I'd love to wear. I'm a bit of a fashion geek so it's like stuff I'd never be able to wear. or have a reason to wear. I also am a semi-gourmet cook and now I live a life where my kids won't eat foods that touch each other, you know? living vicariously through ghostwriting.

I've done a bit of researching on private eyes and all the things they use to investigate. But my ex husband was actually a literal private eye, so I use what he told me as my basis of knowledge. He was also a literal covert operative and before that a special forces dude. It went special forces->covert operative->ny detective->private detective. And he was a super dick, but I use my pain in my art, and I steal his stories for my ghostwriting. LOL.

I've done some research on historical houses and mansions and the such, as well as super modern architecture. I don't know if that's real interesting but I love that kind of stuff. The sports and adventure stuff is from a life I have no desire to live, so I have to research. I don't even know how to surf and I've never been out of sight of the shore although I do know a very little about sailing. There's so much I need to research on being a billionaire because baby I am not one. But I did go to a college with a lot of rich people, and I was a nanny to rich people, and I was a waitress in a world class city in a very rich neighborhood, so I use my knowledge of rich people adjacent life and rich people servant life to write about billionaires. And I pretend that real billionaires aren't actually like Elon Musk or the Walton "Walmart Employees Should Be On Welfare Rather Than Get A Living Wage" Family. We think of them as fairy tale princes, not soulless corporate villains. Yay romance!

As for my OWN books that I write.

I am fascinated by cephalopods. Fascinated. I have a cyborg alien that ends up being inspired by cephalopods. Octopi. Squid. It doesn't matter.

I've learned a little about the Solar System, including all the moons and asteroid fields and orbits and such, along with that, manners of space travel that might go faster than chug a chug chug. Like, we really have no way of getting to any other planet. They are thousands of light years away and we can't even travel at light speed.

Spaceships! I've researched possible spaceships and I love looking at floor plans or whatever those are called for ships. Shoot that's fun. It helps me see space.

I have to admit that I use today's political systems to build the political systems in the future worlds I create. Right now, the sf book I'm writing has two empires. They're both jackasses in different ways. One is fascist the other is barbaric. And I based them on the democrats and republicans. I used to think that villains should always be morally gray and complex and you should be able to consider them the hero of their own story. And the we elected president Trump and I was like, well hell! He's a freaking cartoon villain. We might as well just go with the dastardly mustache twirling.

I use a LOT of psychology in my books. I feel like, is that research? Because I'm already interested, but like I cast my mental net wide and learn about psychological things and put it into my 'to write characters' board on pinterest. Actually all my pinterest boards for my personal work are public (the ghostwriting is private but I do a lot of research there.) I've got writing tips, things about characters and villains and story as well as boards for my individual books. There are so many of them. I'm really behind on writing them tbh.

All my writing boards start with "to write..." because I found that was the best way to organize the subject. The end up being alphabetized and easier to find. The art boards start with 'art' the food boards with 'food,' etc. 'home,' 'style,' 'health,' https://www.pinterest.com/rowenamurillo/

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

Your Words On My Skin - Chapter 7

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Summary: Danny Fenton was born with writing on his arms that proved he had a soulmate out there for him that was much, much older than his parents were comfortable with. The result was his skin being covered as much as possible and Danny warned that he shouldn’t look at the words or write any back. Danny has always been a little bit curious as to who his soulmate was, but he never thought on how curious his soulmate was about him.

<<First Chapter>><<Last Chapter>><<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Seven

::

“So. You guys were saying something about a Christmas Truce?” Danny looked around the ridiculously large library he was in and wasn’t sure whether his Christmas was getting better or worse. On the one hand, he had been rescued from being torn to shreds by a pissed off robot. On the other hand, he was now trapped inside a crazy freaking library by ghosts. This… probably hadn’t been his best idea, really, to hide in the Ghost Zone. And what the heck was a Christmas Truce, anyways?

“Oh- Oh, yes!” Then there was this Ghostwriter guy. First glance and he looked like a nerd and Danny was so much more comfortable taking on a nerd in a fight than an angry Skulker, but then Danny was remembering the other ghost that had Skulker near running scared and he was a bit more cautious about all of this. “The Truce is one of the older traditions of the Ghost Zone. It comes from back when Christmas was still considered Yule and the changing of the seasons. Sources vary, of course, but it used to be that the truce lasted for twelve days as the old celebration did. It seems to have changed and adapted alongside the human world - which makes sense, really.”

Yeah, wow, okay. This one was a definite nerd. He wasn’t shutting up at all and just kept yapping about some stupid Christmas history. Ugh. They weren’t even walking, anymore. They were just in the middle of the stupid library with Ghostwriter talking- What kind of a name was Ghostwriter, anyways?  That was weird even by Ghost Zone standards. Probably. “-chasing you?”

“What?” Ghostwriter looked like he was ready to burst into giggles at any moment, which, yeah, that wasn’t creepy- Oh, chasing. Right. “Skulker was on the orders of Vlad Plasmius. I take it you know who that is?”

“Unfortunately.” Ah, now the ghost was acting more normal. Nice to know some other ghosts hated Vlad, too. “I didn’t take him for the type to go after teenagers with extreme force.”

“I’m special.” Then again, Danny had pissed him off more than usual, this time. How was he supposed to know those were business servers and not ghost servers! “Fruitloop will probably drop it after a few more days.” Hopefully.

“Yes, well-” Ghostwriter suddenly paused before smirking more than smiling as he looked just past Danny’s shoulder. “Have fun?”

“Mm. Technus will probably yell at me for destroying that suit, but it’s nice to be able to rip it to pieces.” Oh, jeez, that was harsh. Then again, Danny was sure Skulker was fine. Little roach could survive anything. “I don’t think he’ll be going after you anytime soon.”

“I could have handled it.” He didn’t need some crazy ghosts swooping in at the last minute to save him- Randy. Ghostwriter had called this guy Randy earlier and… That was Andrew’s brother’s name- Ah! No daydreaming. He needed to focus. “Right. If it’s safe then I can go home now, right?”

“Dunno. Can you even fly right now?” That… Hmph. At least Danny wasn’t looking between the two with narrowed eyes like this guy was doing. Maybe he was worried about Ghostwriter and that insane, giddy grin he kept getting. “How bad are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I dodged the worst of it before you guys stepped in.” The look got worse and Danny tried to gather together just a scrap of power. “What.”

“I didn’t ask if you were hurt, I asked how bad you were hurt.” Huh. Danny wasn’t sure if he liked this dude or hated him. Ugh, reminded him of Jazz, though.

“We have first aid supplies that work well for wounds that come from a ghost fight.” Looking to Ghostwriter, Danny crossed his arms and yeah, right. Like he was ever going to buy that one. “They’re not poisonous.”

“Although we can find some that are, if you’d like,” Randy smirked, meeting Danny’s glare without a flinch. “Am I supposed to be scared of a teenager?”

“Dude, I wrecked Skulker’s shit even before you stepped in. He was barely together after my Wail.”

“That ‘wail’ left you unable to fight. Take it from me, petit mec, if you’re going to use some grand last resort power, then make sure it finishes the job.”

“Yeah, well…” Danny looked the guy over again before giving a bit of a laugh. Jeez, these ghosts were sane. This Randy or whatever really did remind him of Jazz - or maybe a combination of Jazz and Sam. Ugh, terrifying. “First aid kit?”

“It’ll look a bit weird compared to what you’re used to, but I made it all to treat the aftereffects of ectoplasmic energy. It won’t be dangerous to you. Plasmius has gotten after me to get some of it.”

“You work with Vlad.” What the hell? Just when Danny thought this one might have been cool!

“Correction, I sometimes work for him.”

“Yeah?” Danny barked out a laugh. “What’s the difference?”

“Working for him means I can betray him whenever I get sick of his shit - which is often, these days. Besides, I have to get to the human world somehow, and that ghost portal that your family has wasn’t always there.”

Hmph. Right. So cautious for now, but at least Danny wouldn’t have to worry about either of these two stabbing him in the back. Looking to Ghostwriter, who seemed to be nervously shooting looks between the two of them, Danny shook his head. Less sane than Randy, then. “First aid?”

“What? Oh- Oh! Right, yes.” Ghostwriter flapped his hands about for a moment before setting off down the hall, Danny shooting a confused look to Randy who rolled his eyes.

“I’ll be in the kitchen.” Ghosts had kitchens? Since when? “Don’t worry, Phantom. He’s not good around people, but he’ll make sure that you’re okay.”

“Right.” Danny lingered for a moment before quickly catching up to Ghostwriter, wincing as he shifted his shirt around and ah- Ah. Okay, then. He usually didn’t have scars and open wounds transfer over when he changed between Fenton and Phantom. God, what had Skulker even used this time? “So, uh, this weird first aid kit of yours any good?”

“Randy’s concoctions are made from flora that he finds around the Ghost Zone. Have you ever heard of blood blossoms?”

“Oh, um… Maybe? I think my parents mentioned it once or twice.” Some weird flower that was supposed to hurt ghosts, maybe? “Why?”

“Because that flower is one of the most well-known and, like other ghostly flowers, grows around high concentrations of ectoplasmic energy.” Oh, great. Ghostwriter was now ranting about ghost flowers just like he had been ranting about that Yule Truce or whatever it had been called.

At least the rambling wasn’t bad. His voice definitely wasn’t as annoying as some of the ghosts he had run into, and he looked to be genuinely happy rambling around the ‘living structure of a plant that thrives off the deceased-’ Wait, was he talking about graveyard flowers, now? Gross. Cool, though.

Alright, crash landing among a couple of ghosts and being unable to transform back wasn’t the best start to Christmas Eve, really, but at least these ghosts didn’t want a fight and were even helping him. Already better than the last fourteen Christmases. Shit, wait, was Ghostwriter still- Alright. Still talking. Made it easy to zone out, at least.

Shit, he should probably contact Jazz or his friends or something and let them know where he was, but… Jazz had been doing a massive study binge in her room and his friends were all with their families and he didn’t want to ruin their Christmas.

Maybe he could just stick around and check out what was up with these two ghosts and their giant library. Besides, Ghostwriter, at least, didn’t seem so bad. “-ah, we passed the room. Alright, that’s no problem, just, uh- Mm. Alright, yes, this way.”

Snorting, Danny followed Ghostwriter back the way they had come from, and, okay, the dude was weird, but he… He wasn’t bad.

::

“Jesus Christ.” Not even flinching at the startled shout, Andrew only kept a tight hold on Danny’s wrist when he tried to jerk his arm away. “What the fuck is that?!”

“A rather potent concoction of healing herbs.” Cutting off Danny’s next words with another dose of it, Andrew allowed himself a small wince at Danny’s pained expression. “Sorry. It’s… Well, put simply it’s meant to speed up the healing process by stimulating the growth-”

“Dude, English.” Oh, honestly, Andrew had been explaining it simply! How this teen could act like such a teenager and still rant about astrophysics Andrew would never know.

“You know the itching feeling you get when a cut is healing?” Waiting for the teen to nod, Andrew smirked. “This speeds up the healing factor enough that the itching feeling isn’t quite an itch anymore.”

“Is that safe? That sounds really unsafe. Maybe we should stick with the antibiotic cream and a needle, dude. Seriously, I don’t think this is the best- Ow.”

“There we go. Your arm is all taken care of!” Andrew wrapped a clean set of bandages around the arm before tying it off. “Now, I believe you still have a rather nasty wound on your back.”

“Oh, uh, not really, I mean, you’ve done enough, I’m sure that one will probably heal on its own-”

“It wasn’t a question.” Ah, the fear of a teenager caught in a lie. It really was a shame Andrew hadn’t had a chance to teach. “Come on, then. Shirt off.”

“I’d really, really, really rather not, if it’s all the same.” Dropping his hand and staring at the teen for a long few moments, Andrew finally darted out and phased the shirt off him, enjoying the indignant yelp a little too much. “What’s your problem!”

“As stated before, I’d rather not have you bleed out over my lair. Now, would you like to turn around or will I have to force you to do that, as well?”

“Jeez, and you call yourself a sane ghost.” Danny turned around on the couch they had tucked themselves away on, medical supplies currently scattered about because Randy had no idea of what organization meant. “It’s probably not that bad.”

“A wise lesson to know is when pushing yourself causes more harm than good.” Ignoring the muttered complaints from the other, Andrew’s eyes widened as he saw Danny’s back. “Well, would you like the good news or bad news first?”

“Bad news. Definitely bad news.” Resting his finger tips on some of the skin that didn’t look like it was torn to shreds, Andrew frowned at Danny’s flinch. “Well?”

“The bad news is that you were very much wrong about being ‘fine.’ It seems whatever he used to hit you is… Well, I would best describe it as skin being dragged across hot pavement for two or so blocks.”

“That’s… I mean, you could just take a picture and show me? Because that description probably makes it sound worse than it is, right?” Mm. If anything, that was Andrew being kind. “Okay. What’s the good news, then?”

“I was right.” Easily dodging the attempt to hit him, Andrew nudged Danny back into place and reached for some of the more potent of Randy’s poultices. “This… This is going to hurt.”

“Hurt? How badly hurt?” Well… “I don’t like the way you just went quiet.”

“Just… Try to stay still.” Mentally apologizing already and making plans to spoil Danny as much as possible later, Andrew began spreading the poultice on. It barely touched the teen’s skin before he went absolutely ridged, breath becoming ragged and loud.

Trying to keep his hand steady as he spread it across the torn and burned skin, Andrew started to speak softly about anything and everything he could. As much as he wanted to hug Danny close to him to soothe him, right now Danny saw him as nothing but a strange ghost he had just met. So, Andrew would soothe him in another away.

Danny had always loved the glimpses of his stories, so Andrew rambled and talked and slowly drew Danny out of his pained battle high - Lord knew that Andrew had enough practice with doing the same to Randy and with Randy doing the same to him.

It took longer than he would have liked, but Andrew was soon wrapping Danny’s back in bandages, careful to not make them too tight or too loose. Even with Randy’s excellent poultices, it would still take a while for this one to heal over. Poor thing.

“There we are. You should be back to rights in no time at all.” Pushing everything back into the first aid kit, Andrew paused as he saw Danny was looking down at his arms with a scrunched-up expression. “Are you alright? Does it hurt elsewhere?”

“What? Oh, uh, no.” Danny curled his fingers in, eyes darting to where written words were peeking out from under the bandages and oh- Oh! His sweet little mate. “It’s nothing.”

“Mm.” Andrew looked away for a moment before looking back and smiling. “I’m certain you can explain to your soulmate later what happened if you miss any messages.”

“That obvious?” Danny was blushing sweetly and hiding a smile, Andrew near overwhelmed with the affection he felt for his mate in that moment. “We just, uh… We haven’t really met, yet, so we rely on the writing more than anything, you know?”

“I understand that rather well, I suppose,” Andrew chuckled, feeling a touch of guilt that he hadn’t written back to Danny sooner, but… He could make up for it now. He could easily make up for it now.

“Yeah, and he- I mean, he says he doesn’t believe in technology!” Oh, dear, he was still sore about that, then. “Who doesn’t believe in technology- I mean, you’re a ghost and I bet you have a phone!”

“I- No?” At the horrified look, Andrew couldn’t stop his laugh. “It’s the Ghost Zone, mon cher.” Danny wrinkled his nose at the French, but luckily it seemed he didn’t know what it meant. Good. Andrew could have fun with that. “Cell phones don’t work in here, something I believe Technus is working on fixing, but for the moment, I’m afraid we’re rather without connection.”

“That’s why I never get any messages when I’m in the Ghost Zone! I thought my friends were just ignoring me.” Oh, goodness. This teen was utterly precious. “Actually, that explains why Sam was so mad at me that one day I got lost in here for a few hours. Damn.”

“A shame, but the Ghost Zone doesn’t have cell towers,” Andrew grinned, watching Danny huff and pout and get distracted by his bandages.

Andrew swallowed and… Danny was safe and smiling and tracing the words with his fingertips and this was- This was good, wasn’t it? This was the best. Danny was- His Danny was Danny Phantom. The teen was half-ghost and…

He would understand everything. Andrew’s age, the reason his words had shown up when he was so young, and why Andrew had been so afraid to try and connect with him. This… This was the best outcome Andrew could have asked for.

“D… Danny?” The teen looked over to him curiously, a frown tugging at his lips and curiosity almost drowning out the wariness in his eyes.

“What’s up?” All he had to say was his real name and Andrew was certain that everything would click into place and Danny would know in an instant who he was- Or at least, it wouldn’t take much more than his name and he would know. “You alright?”

“I…” This was the best he could have asked for and now, after so many years, his mate was in front of him and all he had to do was- “Would you like something to eat? Randy’s a rather good cook.”

“Oh, uh… Is it safe for humans to eat ghost food?” Danny gave a wary smile, Andrew standing up with a quick nod.

“Of course. Much of what he makes comes from supplies he gets in the human world. I’ll go see what he has made, so far.”

“Alright?” Danny watched him with an odd little look before his smile became a bit more real. “Thanks. For… you know.”

“Of course.” This was the best he could have hoped for, so then why was Andrew still so scared?

::

“Are you really gonna be alright with me staying here for a few hours? I mean, don’t you and that one guy have Christmas plans or something already?” Danny had finally managed to get his shirt back on and was now sitting on Ghostwriter’s stupidly comfortable couch as the ghost flew back and forth in dizzying little circles. Jesus, this guy was more hyped up than he was on a bad day.

“My brother and I are fine, Danny.” Brother, huh? Weird to think Ghostwriter had a brother named Randy, too, but Danny guessed that was a pretty common name. It was actually more weird to think ghosts had siblings. “Besides, you make a great excuse for me avoiding that horrid Christmas Truce party that the ghosts throw every year.”

“Ghosts throw parties?” That… Actually, after meeting Kitty and Ember, Danny could kind of believe that easily enough. “Cool. So, it’s fine, then?”

“Yes, Danny, it’s fine.” Ghostwriter paused before disappearing and reappearing a second later, Danny startling as a blanket was thrown over him. “There we are.”

“Uh huh.” Jesus. This guy was treating Danny like he was an abandoned puppy off the streets. “I guess staying here works pretty well for me, too. A place to hide out from Skulker is nice.”

“Will any of your friends or family worry about your absence?” Ghostwriter had hardly finished the question before Danny was laughing.

“Are you kidding? No one’s gonna notice I’m gone until the twenty-seventh at least. Christmas… isn’t such a great time of the year for me.”

“I suppose I understand how that feels.” Really? Yeah, right, yeah, of course. A few too little presents was probably the worst thing to ever happen in the history of the world.

“Nothing that’s happened to you on Christmas can be as bad as being peed on by a dog.” Seeing the other open his mouth, Danny narrowed his eyes. “As a baby.”

“Alright.” Ghostwriter crossed his arms and smirked and oh, no. “I was once shot in my shoulder on Christmas.”

“Like… Like with a paintball gun, or-”

“My brother had to dig the bullet out of my shoulder before we could wrap it.” Jesus Christ, this dude wasn’t messing around, was he?

“Okay. That’s a pretty good one. But have you ever had mad scientist parents bring the Christmas turkey to life?” The odd, disbelieving look he was given had Danny convinced he was going to win.

“I’m afraid not.” Ha! “Although I did spend one Christmas in an eight-hour church service. No food, no water, and no singing.”

“Fuck, okay, you win, Jesus, it’s not a competition, man.” Maybe it was the whole scientists as parents thing that had made him shy away from religion, but the idea of spending eight hours in a church service like that? Ugh.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to hear about some of my other Christmases?” Ghostwriter was grinning in obvious victory, Danny doing his best to not laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, no need to be a sore winner.” Maybe having another ghost as a friend wouldn’t be that bad. The two obviously were pretty okay if they jumped in to help out some random guy they didn’t even know in a fight. “How’s that cooking of your brother’s coming along, then?”

Ghostwriter sighed, looking exhausted. “There are times where he’ll scrap everything halfway through if he feels like he’s not doing a good enough job. I should probably go to try prevent that now, honestly.”

“Jeez, have fun with that.” Waiting until Ghostwriter laughed, Danny wiggled around in the blanket that had been thrown on him before managing to grab the first aid kit left behind, quickly opening it before finding some disinfectant wipes.

Tearing a few open, Danny took the chance to properly wash off all of the ink on his skin - or at least, wipe it all off as well as he could. He still needed to apologize, but… It didn’t seem like Andrew had written him back, yet. Not even a heart or frowny face or anything.

Jeez… Andrew was probably still angry at him for how hard Danny had pushed to try and find out his age. Maybe… Maybe it would be better to wait until Andrew wrote to him first? Let him set the terms and all that? After all, they had gone through fifteen years of silence before - Andrew even longer. Andrew would be okay ignoring Danny for a while.

Playing with the pen that had survived Skulker’s attacks, Danny finally uncapped it and drew a cluster of stars on the inside of his wrist before putting a heart around each one. That… That was something, right?

Dropping his arm and just staring at nothing for a few moments, Danny finally nodded, and, right. “I’m going to die alone.” Sighing, Danny capped his pen and drew the blanket over his head. “I’ll die alone with my friends arguing at my deathbed.”

“I believe the fact your friends will be there arguing will negate the possibility of you dying alone.” Damn Danny’s poor timing and his stupid habit of speaking out loud. “The actual food will be ready in another hour or so, but would you like some cookies?”

“Oh, uh, no thanks. I’m not that hungry, really.” Letting the cover fall back to rest on his neck, Danny looked to see that Ghostwriter had set a tray of chocolate chip cookies on the small end table next to the couch. He was pretty sure he saw steam, which meant they were fresh. “Thanks, though.”

“It really is no problem. Randy’s taking over the kitchen with his baking and I’m afraid that leaves little room for my things in there,” Ghostwriter laughed, finally sitting down on the couch. He still looked wound up and nervous, but he also seemed a little better. “How are you doing?”

“I mean, my back still kind of burns, but I figure that’s better than whatever the other outcome would have been. Thanks for that, by the way.” Because most people shied away at the sight of stuff like that and Ghostwriter hadn’t even seemed to notice some of the scars Danny had. It… It had actually been pretty nice.

“The sooner you deal with the pain now, then the sooner you can forget about it later.” Ghostwriter made an odd flicking motion, Danny’s eyes widening as he saw a cookie float over to him. “That’s a rather unique look on your face-”

“Dude, ghosts can levitate shit?” Danny looked between Ghostwriter and the tray and holy shit. “That’s so cool!”

“You… You didn’t know that?” Ghostwriter looked honestly surprised, Danny thinking about it and finally just shrugging.

“I mean- I’ve seen Box Ghost and his stupid boxes, but I figured that was because it was his power, you know? Moving boxes around?”

“I- In a way. Some ghosts find levitation rather easy and others rather difficult. I suppose it depends on the ghost, their power, and their obsession.” Obsession?

“Why do you say obsession like it’s a thing?” At the pained look, Danny snorted. “Hey, I didn’t exactly get a ghost education to go along with the powers.”

“Well… If you plan on staying here a few more hours, then I can answer some questions you have, if you’d like. I can give you a quick crash course in all things ghostly.”

“R… Really?” He had been trying to discover all of this out on his own and it was that easy to get someone to finally tell him some of this stuff? Like, yeah, okay, Clockwork had that whole wise mentor thing going on, but he was more for world ending stuff, but this? Finding someone to teach him the little stuff? That was…

“I… Yeah. Sure. That- That’s fine.” Danny quickly grabbed a cookie to try and hide the grin that was taking over, taking a large bite before pausing and staring at the cookie with wide eyes and holy shit. Holy shit. “Dude. How do you even make cookies like this?”

As Ghostwriter laughed loud and bright, Danny looked up to him and… A friend, huh? Danny could see it. He could easily see it- Really. If the guy made cookies like these, rambled like Jazz, and was willing to teach Danny a few things about the Ghost Zone, then how bad could he be?

Looking back down, Danny paused at seeing a few quickly scribbled hearts next to his own and oh- Oh. That… Hiding his beaming grin with another cookie, Danny had a feeling that this Christmas was starting to look up.

::

“And that’s why you should never ever go to the circus ever.” Laughing at that, Andrew decided that this was easily his most delightful Christmas, yet. Not only was he able to avoid that stupid Christmas party, but he had his mate happy and safe in his lair and laughing as he told story after story to try and match the ones Andrew told him. “I mean, seriously, that staff of his controlled ghosts. Dude was crazy.”

“At least you no longer have to worry about dealing with him,” Andrew chuckled, levitating another cookie over and hiding a grin as Danny watched with wide eyes. Even after explaining how levitation was done, Danny was still utterly delighted and fascinated by the concept. It was, in his words, ‘like something out of Harry Potter.’

“Yeah, no, dude’s probably locked up tight in a padded cell somewhere.” Danny grabbed another cookie himself, Andrew hiding a laugh when the teen near squirmed with how happy he now seemed. It was precious. “He better be, at least. I mean, dude was crazy.”

“Most likely it was where no one ever believed him about the power he could use,” Andrew mused. That would certainly make a great story idea. A man with power that no one believed in, but oh, he could make them believe- Dammit, of all the times he needed to write something down and he couldn’t- Actually, perhaps he could.

“I mean I guess. Ghosts kind of don’t really exist outside of Amity Park, I think. It has to do with the energy of the Ghost Zone and all of that.” Absently nodding along to his mate, Andrew tried to remember exactly where Danny’s bandages on his arm were placed as he pushed his sleeve up and quickly wrote down the idea before it vanished. “Uh, dude?”

“Hm?” Seeing Danny’s unamused look, Andrew gave a weak smile. “Sorry. I have a bad memory and if I don’t write things down when I can, I tend to forget them.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, that’s fine.” That… Odd. It almost seemed like Danny had been jealous for a moment or two. “My soulmate’s like that. He’s always writing down these ideas for stories he has.”

Finishing with a flourish, Andrew let his sleeve fall back into place as he capped his pen. Hopefully Danny hadn’t seen enough of his handwriting to find it familiar. “You were telling me about this… Freakshow?”

“Ugh, yeah, just his name is bad,” Danny grumbled, sticking his tongue out and causing Andrew to fight against a laugh. “I don’t know. After the last couple of fights I’ve had he just… doesn’t seem like much of a threat, anymore.”

“I can understand that. Once we face the worse, then everything before it seems like child’s play.” While Andrew was thankful that Danny could still act like a teenager, he… His smile wasn’t that of a fifteen-year-old’s. At least, not a normal one. It was a smile full of battle and stories he would take to his final grave and oh, his sweet mate. His past was one that was all too familiar to Andrew. “At least some of the ghosts you’ve managed to reason with, it sounds like.”

“Ugh.” Danny groaned as he reached for a few more cookies and oh, dear, Randy would complain that he was spoiling Danny’s appetite, but, well. He deserved a bit of spoiling. “I keep getting used for relationship advice when it comes to Johnny and Kitty and it’s like dude! What do I know about relationships!”

Smiling as he listened to Danny’s rambling, Andrew felt that smile slowly fall and he should… He should tell Danny who he was. It wasn’t right that Andrew knew his soulmate was sitting right in front of him and Danny… Goodness. Danny probably felt that he would never get to meet his mate. It wasn’t right that Andrew kept this secret to himself, but what if Danny didn’t want a ghost as a mate?

The teen’s life was already filled with ghosts day after day and he probably wanted nothing more than to have one aspect of his life be normal. Besides, they- They were getting along. They were becoming friends and that- That was good. Andrew could become Danny’s friend first and they could start something without having to worry or rely on the fact that they were soulmates. That would make it all the better, wouldn’t it?

Danny… Danny had kept his silence for fifteen years, so Andrew could keep his own silence for a while, couldn’t he? Just until he could figure this out and find a sensible way to approach it-

“Alright, lunch or dinner or whatever you wanna call it is almost done. Hey, Ghostwriter, can I see you for a second in the kitchen.” It wasn’t a question and the fact Randy had called him by that name meant that he was certainly going to get yelled at.

“Of course. Otherwise we might be here for another hour more.” Standing up, Andrew gave Danny a smile. “Feel free to have the rest of the cookies if you can manage it. They are rather rich.”

“Dude. You made that a challenge on purpose.” Laughing as Danny dragged the plate closer to reach the cookies, Andrew smiled and this… This was how he always wanted to remember his soulmate. Happy and safe and wrapped in a blanket as he grinned at being allowed to have as many cookies as he wanted.

Sighing to himself and following Randy, Andrew had a very bad feeling over what Randy would want to talk about. In private, no less! No doubt it was- “So, baby brother.” Ooh, it was bad. It was very bad and now Randy’s hand was on the back of his neck and dragging him down and oh, he did not look pleased. “Let’s talk, shall we?”

“Shouldn’t we be focusing on ‘lunch or dinner or whatever you want to call it?’” At the dark look, Andrew gave a weak grin. “You’re my favorite?”

“Really?” Randy let him go and crossed his arms and shifted in just the right way to let Andrew know that if he tried to leave he would be chased down mercilessly. “Explain. Now.”

Instead of explaining his perfectly sound reasoning and logic, Andrew stared at Randy and tried to figure out the best way to escape. “What would you like me to explain?”

“Why you seem to believe I’m an idiot who’s both deaf and blind.” Ah, well- Randy grabbed Andrew’s wrist and flipped it around, so the scribbled hearts and stars were in plain view. “You haven’t told him.”

“And who says I’m not working up to it?” Which he was. Slowly. Very, very, very slowly, but he was working up to it! In a way. “This- I never expected this to happen.” He had never even thought to give hope to the ridiculous idea that his mate - that Danny was half-ghost.

“You mean a miracle which you seem to be pretending isn’t there? You already know and he already seems to like you, so why haven’t you told him?”

“I… I feel like maybe it would be better if I didn’t. We can start by being friends. Wouldn’t that be better?” Oh, dear, Randy did not look pleased with him. “I’m going to tell him, just not… quite yet-”

“Andrew. Your mate is sitting out there on that couch with no knowledge of who you are. You can’t explain-”

“Mate?” Andrew saw Randy stiffen at the exact moment he did and oh, they had let themselves get far too emotional if they hadn’t even noticed the sweet little thing lurking in the doorway with narrowed and distrustful eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“I-” Andrew quickly looked to Randy and read a million different things in his eyes before he sighed and looked back to Danny. “The name Ghostwriter isn’t my real name.”

“Uh, yeah, I figured. I mean, unless your parents really hated you, I doubt they’d give you a name like that.” Oh, Danny. Always making jokes to help the tension. None of them laughed. “Why were you talking about mates.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, it’s because… My name isn’t Ghostwriter.” There was no other way around it. Andrew was terrified, but… His mate would know who he was. Wasn’t that a good thing? “It’s-”

“Andrew?” Oh, Danny.

“Hi.”

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

Your Words On My Skin - Chapter 6

Bonjour, mes chers! I just wanted to clear up a few questions I've received about the time placement of this story. One person (on anon so I couldn't PM back) asked why I didn't just have Danny use the Infi-map. Well, that is for two reasons. One, most of season three is dead to me and the infi-map is the stupidest plot device I have ever seen. And two, when this story starts it's taking place after the events of The Ultimate Enemy, hence why he's never met Ghostwriter before. The Fright Before Christmas was canonically the first episode after TUE. With that out of the way, enjoy!

AO3 FFN

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Summary: Danny Fenton was born with writing on his arms that proved he had a soulmate out there for him that was much, much older than his parents were comfortable with. The result was his skin being covered as much as possible and Danny warned that he shouldn’t look at the words or write any back. Danny has always been a little bit curious as to who his soulmate was, but he never thought on how curious his soulmate was about him.

<<First Chapter>><<Last Chapter>><<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Six

::

“You know, maybe he’s just searching for the right words.” Seeing Tucker ready to open his mouth, Danny quickly shook his head. “No, you’re right, he should have found the right words by now. Okay, then maybe he’s just trying to figure out how to let me down gently?” This time Sam gave a quiet sigh, Danny nodding. “Yeah, no, you’re right, Sammy, I need to have more faith in myself. Maybe-”

Blinking at the hands now covering his mouth, Danny looked to Sam and tried to look as annoyed as possible. Sam didn’t even flinch, the traitor. “You were rambling to yourself, again. It had to stop.” He hadn’t been- Danny really wouldn’t have called it- Ugh, god, he had been rambling to himself. “How long has it been since he last wrote to you?”

“Four days.” And again with his traitor best friends sharing looks that he wasn’t a part of. Seriously, why hadn’t they confessed they were each other’s soulmates, yet? He was absolutely certain Tucker knew, at this point. “He should have given me an answer by now, right? But, I mean- I haven’t even seen a ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’”

“How would you know if you saw one?” That… Good point. Danny may have gone a little overboard in trying to get Andrew to answer. He was pretty sure he was more ink than skin at this point. “Maybe he just needs more time, Danny. Time without his soulmate hounding after him for the answer.”

“I…” Yeah, okay, time- Danny could understand needing time, especially after meeting Clockwork and everything, but they had been writing back and forth for months, now. It- Danny didn’t like looking down at his arm and seeing nothing but his own writing. Jeez, was that how Andrew always felt? “I’m worried.”

“Hey, it’d be weird if you weren’t worried about this.” Tucker lightly nudged him under the lunch table, giving a bit of a smile. “It’ll work out. I mean, soulmates are soulmates for a reason, right?”

“Yeah- Yeah. I mean, something good has to come out of all of this, right?” Otherwise what would have been the point? “I’m sure he just needs a bit more time to think it all out.”

“That’s the spirit!” Wait. Staring at Sam and her grin, Danny slowly narrowed his eyes and she didn’t. She did. “Someone has to pick up the slack, here.”

“Alright, alright, you two are adorable. You know what we should be focusing on, though.” Watching as Tucker picked up his lunch meat with bare hands, Danny made a face as he heard Sam gag beside him. “This is our last lunch before Christmas break tomorrow.”

“And that means you’re trying to gross us out?” Danny shook his head as Tucker rolled the meat into a little ball and oh- Oh, no. “Tucker- Tucker, remember our last detention-”

Tucker, brave and stupid soul that he was, stood up, pulled back his arm, and launched the ball of meat right at the back of Dash’s head. Danny wasn’t sure whether to cheer or be horrified as silence fell over the room in that awkward way it did when spreading out from the epicenter of a disaster.

“You know,” Sam whispered quietly, “I’m kind of impressed by how much better his aim is.” Dash slowly stood up and Danny and Sam ducked under the table at once just as the cafeteria exploded into chaos. “Think I can get some of that lunch meat down Paulina’s shirt?”

“I think we won’t know until you try.” Danny watched as Sam beamed at him before scrambling into the fight, Danny content to stay under the table and sit this one out. He couldn’t believe it was already almost Christmas, though. It seemed like just the other day he had been starting high school and now he had been half-ghost for over a year and was turning sixteen in a few months.

The thoughts of just how much had changed were on his mind for the rest of the day and all his way home, Danny finally washing all the ink off his skin and writing the question a single time where it would be seen easily. He then may have gotten a bit impatient after a few hours because he asked the question again on the other arm - just to be sure.

That’s how he spent the next few days, filling up his skin with question after question and all of it was the same and why wouldn’t Andrew just tell him? It wasn’t- It wasn’t like he would turn Andrew away if he found out the truth. Did Andrew think that? Did Andrew think Danny would turn him away?

Like- Like yeah, okay, things might be a little awkward and complicated for a while, but they could figure it out, couldn’t they? Every one of their conversations and stories and exchanges had shown them both that they- That there was something there. They could work this out and still get along and figure it out, they just… They just needed somewhere to work from before it could be figured out.

Silence had damned them both and Danny was sick of it, now, and, come on. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to distance them like this and make them ill-suited together, right? Andrew was decades older than him and in France, but they… They had to be able to make it work to overcome stuff like that… Right?

Groaning and collapsing onto his bed, Danny had the overwhelming urge to scream into his pillow before he pushed himself back up. “Alright, Fenton. Just- Start small.” Right. Small steps. He could… He could wipe all these questions off and write an apology. That would get Andrew to at least say something to him, right?

Because it was Christmas and this… He didn’t want them to spend their Christmas angry and ignoring each other. Danny’s Christmases were shitty enough and he didn’t want to add a fight with his soulmate onto the list. So, he could go take a shower, wipe all these questions off, and explain to Andrew why he was so upset before apologizing. Even if Andrew was still upset, at least Danny would know that the other was okay.

Depending on the answer, this Christmas could actually be a good one! So, he would just- Thoughts halting as a shudder wracked his body and a wisp of cold slipped past his lips, Danny paused, blinked, and then groaned.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Of all the times for this to happen it was right as he was about to apologize to his soulmate? That was just… That was mean. Okay. Okay. He could be blowing this out of proportion. Maybe it was just Box Ghost or something and he could get rid of him quickly. “Alright, come on out! I don’t have time for this, today!”

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.��� Startling at seeing Skulker in his room, Danny snorted and let the change take over him, already feeling better. At least he could get out some aggression. “Let’s end this now, whelp.”

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Ghost Zone’s lamest hunter. Haven’t you learned your lesson, yet-” An overheated blast of energy was shot at him and Danny just barely dodged, hissing as the blast clipped his shoulder and both burned his shoulder and his suit and that… What had that been? “Okay, guess you got an upgrade.”

“I’m not here for your pelt, whelp.” Oh? Something else, then. Okay. Danny was game. He could do with some plea for help or threat on his life. “Plasmius didn’t appreciate that stunt of yours a few months ago.”

“Stunt- Oh.” The password. The password that had ended up leading him to Andrew and that he had stolen to get into Vlad’s server and then he and Tucker had deleted just about everything they could. “Let me guess, he lost a few plans to kill my dad and marry my mom?”

“According to him he lost millions in business deals.” Oh- Oh, jeez. Danny wasn’t dealing with a pissed off Plasmius. He was dealing with a pissed off Masters. “It seems he wants to talk to you.”

“Ha- Aha! Right! Great! Why don’t we schedule an appointment for never going to happen and I’ll show up in his dreams. Sound good?” Danny was moving the second he heard the whining noise of guns charging up and ooh, his bed was pretty thoroughly destroyed, wasn’t it? Okay, okay, not important, he had an angry Skulker working for Masters after him and Jesus, Vlad’s revenge was always worse than any of Skulker’s hunts could ever be.

Wincing as he pulled on his shoulder, Danny phased down to the basement and started up the portal. He could at least hide in the Ghost Zone for a while, and, right. So much for having a decent Christmas.

::

“There has to be a right answer to this. Everything has a right answer.”  For once, Vidya was silent in his head and that was very much not helping matters. That was doing the opposite of helping matters! “If you’d like to chime in with some advice, now would be a brilliant moment to do so.”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. “See if I get you anything for Christmas.” A book narrowly missed his head from where it had been thrown and Andrew glared in the direction it had come from. “You had best put that back where you got it!” This time, the book did hit his head.

“Well excuse me for panicking!” Was he panicking? He felt like he might have been slightly panicking- Okay. It was okay. He could work through this. He just needed to think about this problem logically. He could tell Danny he was twenty-two, which he was, but that had the problem of not explaining why his writing had been so advanced when Danny was first born.

He could… What else could he do? He could always tell Danny his chronological age. Of course, that had the very severe backlash of making Danny run away from him all while calling the police- God, he didn’t even know how old he was some days. Perhaps in his late forties- Nope, no, thinking about it tended to make it worse. Okay.

Calmly and rationally. He needed to think this through calmly and rationally. Danny hadn’t pushed him away yet and he was already aware that Andrew’s age was… advanced. He wasn’t going to run if Andrew told him his actual age. That was good.

There was also the option, however, that he could tell Danny he was a ghost. Danny seemed rather open minded, so if Andrew gave proof then perhaps Danny wouldn’t think he was lying or just plain crazy. Great. Two choices, then.

Would he rather have Danny think he was certifiably insane or would he rather have Danny think that he was his parent’s age?

Groaning, Andrew collapsed on the nearest soft surface and contemplated using a book to render himself unconscious. “None of my books prepared me for this.” Because there hadn’t- There- Yes, alright, there had been a few cases of romantic soulmates with an age gap, but nothing with one of them being dead and having an age gap.

There was just… There had to be some way to fix this without hurting either of them. There had to be something out there to fix this mess, right? Nn… Maybe Randy would have some good advice.

It was a sad day when Andrew went to Randy for life advice, but, well. Randy screwed his life up daily, but he was careful to never screw up Andrew’s. At least, not too badly, which was about the best Andrew could ask for.

“Is he in the kitchen?” Vidya gave a little affirmative and the very strong feeling that he should just tell the truth, but Andrew easily brushed that last part off. “Randy! I need you to resist whatever foolish urges my next few words are about to instill in you!”

“Is this an urge in where I get my guns or one in where I resist the urge to tuck you away in your room and keep you from getting your heart broken?” Randy was stress baking again. Great. Andrew’s stress was so great it was getting to Randy.

“Neither. I need your advice.” Insultingly enough, Randy only raised an eyebrow at him. “Advice I plan on taking.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Randy ‘scolded,’ sticking something chocolate in Andrew’s mouth and honestly, how dare- Oh, this was good. “Yes, you should tell your mate the truth.”

“I didn’t even ask my question yet.” Andrew avoided Randy’s judgmental looks and instead moved to collapse into one of the kitchen chairs. “I just… There has to be a right answer to all of this.”

“Oh, Andy.” Randy gave him such a sad smile as he shook his head. “Love never has a right answer, frérot.” It certainly seemed- Wait.

“Did you just quote Heart’s Desire at me?” At the suspicious silence, Andrew scoffed and looked around for the nearest heavy object to throw at him. “You did. I can’t believe you just quoted my own book to me!”

“Okay, okay, there’s no need to throw things! I’m trying to make a soufflé, right now, and I need a calm environment.”

“I thought you couldn’t make-”

“Well I can, so shut the fuck up.” Ah, still a touchy subject. “Want some crème brûlée?”

“Are you just making every French desert you know of?” Andrew was already grabbing a spoon and squirming his way between Randy and the counter, happily digging into the desert. The sugar was perfectly crystalized to where it didn’t taste burnt, either.

“Right. You want some life advice?” Yes- No. Maybe. Quite possibly a maybe, on that one. “Start small.”

“Start small?” That… Hadn’t he already been doing that the whole time he had been writing to Danny?

“Start small,” Randy laughed, stealing Andrew’s spoon and next bite. “Explain that you’re too scared to explain. He’ll understand if you’re scared to tell the truth, Andy. He’s been understanding of everything else, hasn’t he?”

“I… I suppose.” Taking the spoon back, Andrew chewed on the next bites slowly before swallowing and sighing. “Do you really think he’ll understand?”

“Andy, the kid didn’t even try to push you when you said that you didn’t believe in technology. If that’s not true love, then I don’t know what it is.” Hiding a laugh, Andrew bumped his shoulder against Randy’s, Randy bumping right back. “You just… You need to admit you’re scared. Do you think you can do that?”

“For him I can.” Andrew had always been the type to hide his fear, but for Danny? He… He could admit that he was scared. If just to him, then Andrew could admit that he was afraid. “Right, then. What’s with today’s baking spree?”

“It’s a nice way to distract you from your fears and stress.” Well… That was true. “I also wanted to try and make a Christmas soufflé right for once.”

“You really need to-” Wait. “Christmas?” It wasn’t already Christmas, was it? He still had another week at least.

“Mhm. Happy Christmas Eve.” Shit. “Soo, what’d you get me for Christmas, then?” Aha, right, Christmas presents. Andrew could so do something. Maybe.

“It’s a surprise for a reason, Randall.” Andrew stole a few more snacks, easily dodging Randy’s swipes.

“You really are going to get fat if you keep this up!” Andrew only ducked back in to give Randy a quick, one-armed hug before fleeing with his treats. “I’m still upset with you!”

“I love you, too!” Right, right. Christmas presents. He could find Randy something in the library to give him, most likely, but Danny… Maybe for Danny he could finally explain why he had been avoiding him.

A Christmas spent talking with his mate sounded like the best Christmas he could think of, honestly. He just hoped he had the courage to start the conversation.

::

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Danny had thought going into the Ghost Zone would buy him some time to at least give Skulker the run around, but the ghost hadn’t even paused before following him in and now Danny was pushing himself to go as fast as he could because Jesus. He knew Skulker was powerful and all with that suit of his, but he had never- He had never really been afraid of Skulker.

He was- He was Skulker! He was like a step up from the Box Ghost, but Danny had never seen him this serious. The only time he had ever been scared of Skulker before this was the last time he had captured him for Vlad. It- Skulker was all about the hunt, yeah, but was he really this powerful when he was being serious about it?

Danny was already scratched up to hell and back from the blasts he had just barely been dodging - no doubt he’d need to find a new suit because no amount of sewing was going to fix this - and no matter how fast he went he could only just keep himself out of range of the more dangerous attacks.

Fuck- Fuck. He was going to be fucking skinned alive at this rate if he didn’t manage to find somewhere to hide- “The hunt is over, whelp.” For a moment it felt like he had been toppled over by something ramming into his back, and then Danny screamed as the pain in his back set in. It was like- Jesus, fuck, Jesus it was like his entire back was on fire.

He felt himself roughly land on something - rock? - before he was scrambling to his feet and bad- Bad idea, bad idea, that had been a very bad idea to move. Seeing Skulker come back into view, Danny tried to keep calm as he took a few steps back and okay. Breathe. It was Skulker. He could deal with Skulker.

“Get away from me, Skulker. We both know I would win no matter what you do.” Even Danny could tell that was his weakest lie yet. Skulker seemed to know it, too.

“I always wondered what you’d be like backed into a corner. Shame I have to drag you to Plasmius, first.” Aha, right, shame- Except no. Good. That meant Skulker would keep him alive- Jesus, what would an angry Vlad Masters do to him, though? This was so frustrating. He felt ready to just scream and charge and- Scream. He could-

“One last time, Skulker. Get back.” Could he still do that attack? That Ghostly Wail? He had managed twice when running around time to stop everything, but he hadn’t managed to pull it off since he got back. If there was ever a time to find out, then it was looking like now was it- Except that power took up all of his energy and Danny would be left defenseless if Skulker managed to survive it.

His best bet would be to push himself as fast as he could and find a place to hide until Vlad calmed down and called Skulker off, but that didn’t give him any ideas as to what he could do right now. Fuck. At least he knew that his Christmases were still cursed, he guessed. Fuck, okay, focus- Just focus. Focus, focus, focus-

Dodging the attack that came for him, Danny scrambled to hide behind- A library? Since when was there a library in the Ghost Zone- Ah, no time to think, didn’t care, hiding behind one of the pillars. “Get out here before I drag you out here, whelp! I’m sure Plasmius won’t mind a bit of you missing here and there!”

“Yeah, no thanks!” Ducking down to avoid the next hit, Danny swore under his breath and okay, think. “C’mon, Fenton, focus.” Library. He was hiding near a library- Could he get into the library and hide? He assumed a ghost lived here, but he didn’t know any ghosts that would live in a library- Well, Poindexter, maybe, if he had the choice. “Welp. Guess it’s the best I got.”

Making a break for the door, Danny dodged a rocket rather impressively, if he did say so himself, but he didn’t manage to dodge the fucking net. Hitting the ground and at least thankful it wasn’t one of those damn ones that shocked him, Danny squirmed and- Bad. That was bad movement. Everything hurt.

“It looks like I’ve finally caught you, whelp.” This… This couldn’t be it. He couldn’t have really lost to Skulker, right? That- That was insane. That- “I suggest you close those doors. This is none of your business.” ...What?

Twisting himself as gently as he could, Danny caught a glimpse of two new ghosts standing in the doorway of the weird library and oh, great. More ghosts that probably didn’t like him. One of them laughed- Ghosts had guns? Since when did ghosts besides Skulker have guns?

“Considering this is our territory, I think it is our business. I thought you didn’t like to break the Warden’s rules, Skulker.” Dangerous. That one was definitely dangerous. Kind of reminded Danny of Wulf when he was overly upset over something. “Hunting down children now, Skulker?”

“Hey! I’ll be sixteen soon!” As usual, he seemed to be completely ignored, the other ghost sighing and bending down with a knife and oh, great, he really was about to be skinned.

“Try not to move. I’m going to cut you free, now.” The voice was stupidly deep, but something about the tone told Danny that he wasn’t about to be hurt with the knife. Forcing himself to stay still, Danny looked back to where Skulker was arguing with the other ghost.

“I’m on a job for Plasmius. You know how that is, Mercenary.” Whoa, wait, what? Ghosts could be mercenaries? That was so cool! “Get out of my way.”

“Our laws are stronger than the word of some parasite.” Oh, hell yeah. Danny didn’t know what the hell any of that meant, but he was already starting to like these two.

“Just about have it,” the ghost cutting him free said quietly, sounding frustrated. “Did he start using steel nets?”

“Yeah, some of them he uses to shock me.” Danny was gratified to see this ghost looked horrified and, huh. Maybe these ghosts were sane. That was cool. He was pretty sure the only sane ghost he had meant before now was Clockwork. “How’s that other one when it comes to fighting?”

“Mm, let’s just say you don’t have to worry about us holding our own.” A few more ropes cut, and Danny was shooting out of the net at once, deciding to worry about the startled gasp from the ghost later.

“Hey, tin can! Can’t you even leave me alone on Christmas!” Seeing Skulker bring out a new weapon, Danny growled. He was so sick of these goddamn weapons. “That’s it.” Dropping down to the stairs, Danny glanced to the ghosts that had come out to help him. “Stay behind me.”

“And just what are you going to do on your own, whelp!” Sucking in a breath, Danny pulled on every scrap of power he had and screamed. It was like- Jesus, he never knew how to explain this power. Like being in the middle of a thunderstorm? It was like standing in the middle of a field with a crazy thunderstorm and knowing that none of the lightning would ever hit.

He made it about ten seconds before he felt his change snap around him and force him to the ground, Danny gasping for breath and so, so thankful that the Ghost Zone had oxygen. Slowly looking up, Danny felt himself pale as he saw Skulker heading back towards him and looking pissed. His suit looked like it was barely being held together, but it seemed like there were enough weapons left to still make his life about to be over.

Scrambling back and instead just falling over, Danny tried to push himself up before he paused at seeing a white ghost shield form in front of him and easily deflect Skulker’s attack. “Mercenary!”

Looking around, Danny almost jumped at seeing the ghost that had cut him free was kneeling beside him and looking at him with wide green eyes that looked as shocked as he felt.

::

Staring down at the teen in front of him, Andrew silently admitted to himself that he had no words to describe the situation he was now in. It was odd enough to hear Vidya warning him of ghosts fighting on her steps, but to come out and see Skulker and the infamous Danny Phantom curled up in a net and looking like he had taken one hit too many? That he hadn’t quite expected.

It was true that today was officially the start of the truce and Andrew was content to send Randy after Skulker as a warning, but cutting the teen out of that god-awful steel net to see words written across his skin that matched his own? That…

And now here the teen was, looking utterly and completely human, and staring at him with frightened blue eyes and a frown that looked two seconds away from becoming a snarl. “I can take care of my own fights.”

Oh, Danny. A precocious little thing with too much fight in him and bristling even when he had no power, was bleeding, and looked a few steps away from fainting. A quick glance down showed that he was wearing his coat, which, good. His skin was covered. No need to throw the teen into even more of a panic attack - which was what Andrew was quickly heading towards- Ah.

Skulker had been hurting his mate. His mate was Danny Phantom and was bleeding in front of him and looking more and more afraid as the seconds ticked by. Right.

“Look, just let me go, I’ll get out of your hair, we can let bygones be bygones, and call this a day and-”

“It’s alright,” Andrew said quietly, slowly making telegraphed moves before helping the teen up and supporting him as he almost fell. “We’re some of the saner ghosts, I’m afraid. No over the top fighting from us.”

“Thank god.” Danny slumped and lost near all tension in his body, Andrew easily keeping him propped up and staring at the words that coated his arms and peeked past his shirt. Words that asked the same question over and over and now… Now he could give Danny an answer, right? This was-

“Riters!” Ah, but first, they had some trash to take care of, it seemed. Feeling Danny flinch against his side as Randy’s shield vanished, Andrew quickly tucked him closer.

“Oh, Randy.” Andrew drawled, looking to Skulker and grinning as that suit of his floated back. “Refresh my memory. What day is today?”

“Well, last I checked it was Christmas Eve.” Randy was by his side in a second, guns already in hand and wicked smile on his face. How nice to see White Fang still loved a good fight. “Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Very. You see, I thought there was- Now, keep in mind, I could be wrong, but I thought there was a certain truce that all ghosts followed.” Andrew noticed that Danny was watching them curiously, relaxed a bit more now that Randy was in front of him. He probably wasn’t used to having people on his side. “Remind me of the truce, grand frère?”

“Of course, frérot. The Christmas Truce dictates that ghosts aren’t allowed to fight with other ghosts from the first seconds of Christmas Eve to the last seconds of Christmas. I do believe that includes half-ghosts, as well.”

“There’s a truce?” Aw. Danny muttered under his breath when he was confused, it seemed. “Sure would have been great to know that last year.”

“Randy, why don’t you teach Skulker a lesson on why ghosts shouldn’t fight during this time of year?” Andrew kept his tone light and pleasant as he turned to Danny to quickly check him over again. It didn’t seem anything was broken, and it looked like he could walk. That was good. “Make it hurt.”

“With pleasure.” A flash of pure white and a scream from Skulker and the two were already half a mile away, Andrew rolling his eyes. Honestly, Randy was far too much of a showoff.

“Would you like to come in? I don’t know much about half-ghosts, granted, but after that last attack it seems like you could use a bit of time to recover without worrying about what crazy ghost will show up next.”

“So instead I walk into the home of a crazy ghost I don’t know?” He knew Danny had fast responses, but Andrew had never seen his words when he was defensive and distrustful. It was fascinating.

“So better the enemy you know than the stranger you don’t know, yes?” Andrew had to hold back a laugh when Danny scrunched up his nose. Hardly a few minutes with his mate and already Andrew was falling more in love with him. “You’re tired, bleeding, and can’t shift back. At least stay until you can fly home without dropping out of the air.”

“I can change just fine!” Danny flashed a smug smile before it slowly dropped, and he cleared his throat. “Not, uh- Not that it’s any of your business. Why do you even care, anyways? This isn’t your problem.”

“Mm, would it make you feel better that the offer is only there so you stop bleeding on my front steps?” Andrew watched the teen almost jump before looking down and around at the pristine marble before he was huffing and glaring at Andrew.

“I am not bleeding all over your steps, man.” Right- Right. Okay. Just- Act calm and collected- This was his mate. And they were already getting along so well- Well… They were bantering? That counted in a way. “Look, it’ll only take me ten or fifteen minutes to get home. I’ll just wait out here for another five until I can change back. There you go. Problem solved.”

“Danny, you’re bleeding.” The stubborn little teen didn’t have anything to say about that-

“How do you know my name?” Ah. Okay. Right. Andrew was a storyteller. He could come up with a lie easily enough. Hopefully.

“You expect me to not know your name?” Andrew watched as Danny shifted, wincing as he jarred something. It took more effort than it should have to not reach out and help. “I believe everyone in our world knows of the half-ghost Danny Phantom.”

“Yeah- Yep. That’s me. Public Enemy Number One and all that. Walker start spreading my wanted  poster around, then?”

“You’re- No,” Andrew laughed, shaking his head and this precious, precious teen. “You’re the one who went through something horrible and still chose to be good. That’s more rare than you might think.”

“Oh.” Danny didn’t seem to be glaring anymore, but he was nervously looking over his shoulder now that it seemed Andrew wasn’t considered a threat. “So, uh, right. Okay. That offer to stay here still open?”

“It really is no trouble.” Besides, now he had an excuse to skip that awful party Randy had been trying to drag him to. “I can even help bandage some of the wounds you might have trouble reaching, if you want.”

“I… Right.” Danny gave him a look that could only be called calculating. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours, you know. Seems kind of unfair.” Oh- Oh! Right. Andrew had his skin mostly covered, so Danny didn’t…

“I’m…” Andrew stared at this shaking and scared teenager that was his soulmate and finally gave a warm smile. “Ghostwriter. My name is Ghostwriter.”