#Valerie should have been included

[theworldofotps]

Best Memories (T.W)

Pairing: Hook x Reader Word Count: 1,262 Description: Hook never wanted you to know what he did for a living.

Trigger Warning: Includes character death. I'm so sorry for what you're about to read but I hope you enjoy it regardless. Thank you @new-zealand-chic for reading over this for me beforehand to let me know if it was worth posting. You can thank @madhatterbri for picking the character. ________ Tag list: @omg-im-such-a-masochist​ @melissahausen​ @new-zealand-chic @writtingrose @99hook @madhatterbri @sjwrites22​ @sassymox @mrsacklesevansmgk @xladyxfatex @adamcolesbaybay @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch​ @demonqueen29​ @itsicantbelievethis666​ @lilred91 @rebellious-desires @claymorexpunisher @letsgivethisonemoreshot @ava-valerie​ @shortyiceheart​ @serpantscorpio8497​ @thatpanpal​ @thatnerdwriter​ @wrestlersownmyheart​ @vebner37​​ @seeingstarks​ @whenimakeitshine1234 @legit9thlunaticwarrior​ @blaquekitty @ironshamelessyouth​ @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin @ripleyswhore @moonrosekk @xbreezymeadowsx @alyyaana  @elevennbloom @melblacc @alliwant456  @mcreignsera @auburnwrites​ @aews-four-pillars If you wanna be added to the list lemme know.

Hook taglist: @wickedval _______

“Mamas wake up.” A soft voice whispered in your ear as warm lips pressed against your cheek and neck a few times, a groan left your lips as you tried to snuggle deeper into the blankets. “More sleep.” You whined, you were so tired the night before had been filled with the two of you love making and you were more than happy to just lay here together resting. “I know but I gotta get up my dad needs me to run a couples errands for work and I want some love from you before leaving.” Tyler pressed a kiss to your shoulder as he slowly worked on waking you up, when your eyes finally opened the were met with the sight of him grinning at you. His hair flopped over his eyes and all messy from your fingers running through and tugging it. “Good morning beautiful.” He said pressing his lips to yours as you mumbled back a good morning, stretching you couldn’t help but blush as his eyes followed the sheet falling off your chest.

“You look good wearing my marks.” The smirk in his voice was evident as he referred to the love bites he had left scattered across your skin; the most recent one being on the left side of your chest directly over your heart. “Well you seem to enjoy giving them so I’m glad you think so.”

“Can’t pretend like you don’t enjoy them mamas you’re almost always moaning my name when I’m giving them.” You smiled watching as he climbed out of bed still completely naked and walked to the bathroom to shower. Laying in the bed you shifted on your side as you listened to him hum. The sun had just started shining through the windows, so you knew it was still early. When he finally returned from the shower with a towel around his waist you whistled wiggling your brows.

“Behave I don’t have time to get you.”

He chuckled dressing quickly then walking to the bed and leaning over to kiss you deeply his hand resting on your cheek.

“Be safe, call me if you need anything and I should be home by six.” Kissing him back you nodded stroking his jaw lightly with the tips of your fingers.

“You be safe as well I mean it I don’t want you coming home with stiches in your knuckles.” “I’ll do my best.” He laughed giving you another kiss as you exchanged I love yous and he left the bedroom. Settling into the blankets on his side you yawned rubbing your eyes as you listened to his fading footsteps. The front door closing signaled to you that he had left, and you could finally go back to sleep. Tyler never wanted you to know what he really did for work, told you it was best that his girl didn’t get mixed in with those types of things. Apart from he did some stuff with his dad that was all you really knew. So, when Anthony showed up at your shared apartment later in the day looking stressed and begging you to come with him to the Senerchia home you knew it was serious. “What’s wrong?”

“Tyler got hurt.”

Was the only thing that he told you as you slipped your shoes on and grabbed your keys. The tight feeling in your stomach only grew as you followed him down to his car and buckled up. Watching out the window as he weaved through the crowed streets of New York. His knee bouncing in anticipation as his eyes darted around, the feeling of dread grew as you got closer to Taz’s house.

Anthony parked and the two of you exited the car quickly making your way to the front door, not bothering to knock Anthony opened it for you. Motioning to follow him he led you up the stairs and to a room you were most familiar with. Tyler’s room.

“I’m sorry Y/n.”

He whispered squeezing your hand and stepping back you paused for just a moment, fear gripping you as you searched his face. Pushing the door open you spotted Taz and his wife surrounding the bed, the room was quiet apart from some labored breathing and soft crying. Looking up Taz’s eyes were filled with tears as he motioned for you to join them, standing he took your hand.

“I’m sorry y/n, I’ve tried everything I could and so has the doctor there’s nothing more that can be done.”

“What happened?”

“Ambushed, he tried to fight them all off, but it was no use he’s barely hanging on but said he wanted you.”

It felt like you couldn’t breathe as you listened to him and after a brief word with Tyler’s mother, they left giving you privacy. Tears sprung to your eyes as you looked at the love of your life laying motionless in the bed. It looked as if every breath he took hurt, and you were sure it did. Walking over you knelt next to him and gently stroked his cheek. His eyes opened and despite the pain he felt Tyler smiled softly seeing you.

“I was hoping you’d make it in time.”

His voice was weak as he spoke labored gasps and breaths as you took one of his hands, it was covered in blood, but you didn’t care.

“Anthony got me here as quickly as he could.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no no you don’t need to apologize this isn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it is, I thought it was just the one guy and I fell into a trap did everything I could but.”

He coughed wincing as tears of pain spilled down his cheeks your own tears flowing freely as he finally relaxed back on the bed. “I want you to be brave for me, okay? Don’t distance yourself from the family, they’re going to help you get through this. I’m sorry I don’t get the chance to love you for the rest of our lives like I promised.”

Tyler said as his thumb brushed across your engagement ring, your heart felt like it was being squeezed as he lightly tugged your hand. Encouraging you to climb onto the bed with him you carefully did so holding him gently.

“I love you.” “I love you too y/n so much.”

There was a moment of silence before you whispered to him the vows you had spent the last three months writing. The slight smile on his face brought a sad one to your own as he did the same, he carefully wiggled off his ring and gave it to you. “Take the chain.”

“Ty I can’t.”

“Take it baby, I want you to wear it with my ring please.” You gently lifted his head holding back the gasp at the dark blood staining his hair and pillow as you removed the gold chain and put it in your pocket. Tyler lifted his face for a kiss and frowned seeing how sad you were.

“You know, they say that after the body dies the brain lives on for several minutes replaying your best memories.”

“Really I didn’t know that.” You sniffled wiping your face as your forehead gently rested against his and he couldn’t help but kiss you once more he knew it was about to be the last. “I just want you to know that my several minutes are all going to be about you.”

He whispered, and just like that he was gone the brightest light in your world was snuffed out leaving you alone in the dark.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not telling my friend I don't want to play DND with her?

I (17M) am a player in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign (NOTE: it is not actually DND, I am just saying it for simplicity's sake. If anything sounds off, that's why. Either way, it's TTRPG, and both games have the same system, although they aren't anywhere near similar to DND gameplay-wise. It's very roleplay focused.) with a few of my friends (all 17-20F: Viola, Korrina, Valerie, and Olympia). Viola is our DM, and I have so much fun every time we play, with no intents on quitting because of this.

Olympia just like... fucking sucks though, to be honest? Like, I just hate playing with this chick. She's always asking for extra bonuses on rolls because she's just such a good player (no one else does it, Viola allows it though), she actively started PVP with me, she physically disabled my character in said PVP and I had to do chaos control (I did not want to have my character be disabled, if I did I would have a disabled character, but I failed a roll against her in this fight so I had to have my character go on a side-quest to fix it: I would be more fine with it if it was Viola, but another player? Really?), and she's just not really funny when she talks about the campaign outside of the sessions (I know, it's a little personal). She gets really upset when we mention this one thing we all like to the point of taking inspiration from it for characters and NPCs because she doesn't get it but she refuses to try the thing so we just have to not talk about it with her, and overall she just... isn't enjoyable to be around.

I know I'm gonna have people in the comments say "just tell her that you don't like her now! You sound awful, you should quit," etc etc, but hear me out. I am a player. Since the DM is Viola, and Olympia and Viola are having fun, I don't feel like I should say anything. It's the DM's story, and as a mere character in the story I can't have any say in the format, especially since I was the one that invited Olympia to the group (I made a casual offer to my whole friend group over a school group chat and both Olympia and Korrina responded, so I had to include both of them), and we've been playing this campaign since August.

One of our players had to cancel on us a week ago as of writing this, and so I decided to run a oneshot based off of a campaign I've been wanting to do (first time DMer, I wanted to try it out). The players were Viola, Korrina, and Olympia, and it was actually really fun! I wanted to wait for Viola's campaign to end before I actually started playing my campaign, but that wasn't going to happen in a while, so I had decided to run it then.

I don't want Olympia anywhere near my actual campaign, though. I'm planning on letting my friend (Drasna, 18F) join, as well as anyone else who shows interest, along with Viola, Korrina, and Valerie. But as you may know, Olympia is insufferable to me, and as DM I feel like I have the right to deny her from playing with me.

She still played in the oneshot though, and was... very excited for it. I am aware I am the only one with beef here. Olympia keeps on PMing me about her character, asking about the world, and she's really interested in the world and the format of it. Her character's nice even if a little similar to one of the main plot NPCs I have, but as I've mentioned, I really want to cut her out when the campaign gets rolling. The only reason I couldn't for the oneshot is because we are actively in the middle of a campaign and everyone would think I'm being weird and things would be tense for the rest of the campaign. I can't just tell Olympia to her face "hey, I hate playing with you actually. Go home, fuck off."

I feel like I treated Olympia fairly when we played (she didn't do anything drastic, at least), but I don't know how my negative feelings on her are going to impact the campaign. I don't want to have an inbalance in the characters and how they're treated.

AITA for leading her on to make sure things don't get awkward during Viola's campaign, even though I have no intent of changing my mind on not having her as a player?

What are these acronyms?

[marzipanandminutiae]

she's never going to read this, but it's still interesting

so the person with the extremely cold corset takes last night has now decided that dress history folks are straight-up lying about the purpose of corsets. because we just love them so much, I guess?

she found this ad:

and therefore knows corsets were Totally About Waist Reduction First And Foremost, Always And Forever, Amen

I have. some thoughts.

the main one being that nobody claimed corsets were never used to waist-train back then

the secondary one being that many ads for "form-reducing corsets," at least the ones that I found, make a distinction between "normal" corsets and their product:

It's a specialty product, not what the average woman is wearing on a daily basis. Is its existence messed up? Yes! But nobody has been disputing that pressure on women to look a certain way, and fatphobia, are awful. The issue in question is: was the primary function of an average (in this case Victorian/Edwardian) corset waist reduction? It seems to me that the ad supplied- again, for a specialty garment that was not seen as an ordinary corset -does not prove OP's point.

so let's look at some ordinary corset ads, shall we?

(don't freak out too much about the "baby/child corsets"- I've worked with extant examples many times, and they're just lightly stiffened vests. you couldn't lace a kid down in them if you tried- not that you should, obviously)

(Pliability, elasticity, comfort- but no mention of waist reduction as a selling point)

(this one is an unusual design, but I'm including it because it mentions support- and specifically breast support -not once, but twice. It also instructs ladies to measure their waists OUTSIDE their clothing- which will result in a larger measure even than we commonly use for custom corsets nowadays. note that a 2" lacing gap was common, per a corsetiere quoted in Valerie Steele's The Corset: A Cultural History)

(Flexibility and comfort, yet again.)

(Rather a ridiculous one, including the implication that you need an elegant corset to snare a husband and therefore economic security and love, but the bottom left text says "What an improvement the Madam Warren corset. And how comfortable.")

so we've clearly got comfort, support, and ease of movement at the forefront of the average consumer's mind, for so many ads to mention such thing. a number also don't have much text at all:

(The Celebrated EEE is my hypothetical burlesque name, but I digress.)

of the first twenty random ads that come up when I do an image search for "corset advertisement," eleven mention health and/or comfort, and only one directly mentions waist reduction- while advertising, again, a separate specialty "reducing" corset.

am I saying it never happened? absolutely not. I have NEVER been saying that. tightlacing did happen. obviously reducing corsets existed. I would not deny any of this

am I saying that, clearly, support and comfort were thought so high on the average corset-wearer's priority list that manufacturers played to those attributes more than waist reduction when constructing/advertising corsets, implying that they are NOT, in fact, the same thing as a Kim K waist cincher? yes

(file under: things I cannot believe I have to fucking say, and yet here we are)

[itshype]

Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss, Godhood (DC x DP)

What’s the best way to cover up a secret when Danny can’t lie very well? Make an even more elaborate lie – but one that tugs on the heartstrings! My DC x DP Previous Works: Space Lover Danny, Kingmaker Danny, Service Animal Cujo, Danny yoinks Connor, Ghost Bruce HC + Ghost Jason HC

So, Danny's government just made his existence illegal. Which is rude and very othering and mean. In canon, Danny sort of slides around this but hey, this should be a pretty upsetting incident.

So, Vlad immediately switches his attitude (because your girl loves redeemed Vladdie!), and the two work together for weeks to try and minimise any chances of either of them getting caught. Danny is really feeling the whole “Only two of their kind” when his president declared open season on Danny (I don’t care if this isn’t how laws work in America. I’m not American I don’t care for foreign legal accuracy).

And so, weeks later, they’re actually together in ghost form with Extended Team Phantom (Tucker, Sam, Jazz and Valerie) trying to figure out their best way forward because if Vlad openly opposes these laws as Mayor too publicly the GIW might start looking at him way too closely and everything would unravel. They really can’t pretend that revealing the possibility of a human/ghost hybrid wouldn’t put events around whichever of them hadn’t been caught under a brand-new light.

Valerie is there pretending not to be emotionally invested in her boss’ and Danny’s welfare while reading a book and occasionally leaping in with “Devil’s Advocate” comments of how the Fenton parents and GIW might respond to some of their ideas.

Then the Justice League show up. Now there’s a whole law (please see Navigate any storm for my HC about the JLA’s relationship with the anti-ecto acts) they're obligated to step in. Now, I’ve been pretty uniform with who I’m including in these notfics so for a change, here we get Wonder Woman, Barry Allen’s Flash, Supergirl and I think Jason Todd but dressed up as Batman (Bruce got a booboo on his ickle frontal lobe and is out for the count, Flash and Supergirl are here because I loved their dynamic in all crossovers in the DCTV universe PRE-crisis).

Here we have the perfect storm of well read (Diana and Jason) but kind of gullible and not-as-paranoid as Batman (Flash and Supergirl, Jason is definitely suspicious but would defer to an expert like Wonder Woman in the right scenario).

Diana has shown up ready to fight, Hestia’s lasso glowing in her hands, and Team Phantom is sharp – they’re well trained and smart, but they can’t really compete against superhumans like the JLA. Diana demands that they all surrender and relinquish control over their human sycophants before being taken into custody for violation of the anti-ecto acts and performing actions of war on civilians or whatever other legal stuff she knows about.

The two halfas are floating and green so denying any knowledge would be bad. Vlad steps forward to try and babble on to buy Danny time and he scrambles for an escape. He doesn’t see a way out, but what he does see is the book that Valerie was reading. Percy Jackson. He looks back at Wonder Woman. Back at the book. Back at the Daughter of Zeus.

“Cousin! It’s so great you came to visit us at last!”

That at least gets Wonder Woman to pause. She asks what he’s talking about. Then “Batman” says not to let the ghost confuse them. He’s glaring at the vampiric ghost who seems to be trying to protect the smaller one. Vlad has legs, Danny has his little tail form.

Danny lets out the fakest laugh you’ve ever heard. He explains that ‘of course’ they weren’t ghosts. They were superpowered beings. Superpowered beings are protected by metahuman law.

“Batman” points out that they both look a lot like ghosts. Danny’s mind is scrambling for the right names. He finds them.

“Oh, I am actually the son of Melinoe, goddess of ghosts.” Daughter of Persephone, would make him Diana’s first cousin, once removed. Totally fit in with his power set plus she was a really obscure goddess who wasn’t very well known or documented, and therefore he could make up stuff about his ‘mother’ if he so chose.

“And who’s the vampire?” Barry asks, though Jazz, at least can tell that everyone is way less on-guard.

“I am…” There’s a very long pause. “His Father. Deimos. God of Dread. Son of Aphrodite and Ares!” Danny wants to smack him.

Okay, great, Vlad just ‘yes, and’ed Danny from being a demigod to the both of them being full-blown gods in their own right. Sure.

“Yes! I am Phantom…”

Jazz cuts him off to say that his name was Phántasma [φάντασμα] and of course the locals just anglicized it to Phantom from the original Ancient Greek. Danny agrees and goes onto explain how he was a pretty new god – y’know, comparatively – and these were some nice humans who were all considering becoming his priestesses and priest. Sam ducks in to explain how Phantom – sorry, Phantasma, was the god of ghosts finally relinquishing hold on their forms and surrendering to the afterlife. Something chill and small, nothing that would necessitate him getting involved with human affairs and no abilities that would mean any extra attention from the Justice League.

Diana starts to cry, she thought she was all alone in the world and right here was her cousin. All along she had family in the realm of men, family who had been so excited to meet her yet who had not reached out. Unfortunately, Danny made a mistake. Melinoe isn’t Hades and Persephone’s daughter. She’s Zeus and Persephone’s daughter. Diana connects the dots and in a single instant stops crying.

“A baby brother!” She reaches forward to squish Danny’s face.

Jazz takes great offense at that. Danny is her brother (though she can’t admit that). Danny’s at closest, Diana’s half nephew – but since he’s her half nephew on BOTH sides she’s willing to concede him as her full nephew.  Diana argues that since her Dad is Danny’s grandfather and great-grandfather plus great uncle, their ichor is close enough that he’s basically her full brother. Ironic as Deimos would actually be closer to being her half-brother. Vlad is a creepy old vampire though, not an adorable teen superhero.

Tucker makes up a very elaborate story about being too insecure to reach out before now. He requests Phantasm’s blessing to convey this story to Wonder Woman so that Danny doesn’t have to say anything.

Valerie gets out a notebook to try and map out this fictional family tree while googling all the deities’ names she doesn’t already recognise. It makes her thankful it is only fictional. Phantasma’s family tree looks more like a Christmas wreath. “Batman” is also trying to figure out the most appropriate relationship between Phantasma and Diana in his HUD.

This is when everyone has made their biggest mistake, not paying attention to Vlad for more than a minute. This is a problem he is thrilled to remedy. His chest swells and he starts to prattle on about how hard it’s been for him as a single father since his beloved Melinoe died in the God War (Wonder Woman’s cinematic canon prequel). Of course, Supergirl asks how they survived, and they say some very broad things about sheltering in the afterlife where Ares could not reach them, as gods are most powerful in their own domain.

Disregarding the fact that if this all were true, Danny would be about 100 years older than her, Diana acknowledges that a child without a mother must struggle and offers to help Danny whenever necessary. If he wanted to, he could come live with her in DC and meet all her superhero friends to help guide him.

They’re scrambling for a reason as to why Danny would turn down this offer. Vlad speaks first. He explains that since his mother’s death, Danny has overtaken her domain as the god of all ghosts and, while Phantom is very clearly not a ghost, he couldn’t possibly leave all his subjects. Especially since the stupid GIW keep attacking father and son. Vlad says that honestly, the US government should be glad that they haven’t smote them, the GIW and everyone else who would challenge them.

Diana is horrified. Ghosts are revolting scum, and her two new family members are full-blooded gods who shine with otherworldly power and definitely not the glow of ectoplasm.

Whenever any of the other superheroes (who are more clear-headed at this time) try and ask any probing questions either:

Danny insists that a mere mortal wouldn’t understand the scope of his abilities

Tucker yells at them for daring to question “Phantasma’s” great authority

Sam insists that she would hate to be told the answer, that everything her god does is for her to decode. She asks what they think the symbolism of Danny robbing a bank could be.

She offers to get them in touch with the president and he could make them both special advisors to the GIW – the JLA had only been called in due to how much trouble the agency were having and bringing two gods in would be a quick way to get the entire situation ship shape.

The flash gets in touch with Phantasma’s high priestess next week, he reassures everyone that the ‘misunderstanding’ is all cleared up. Danny’s officially the CEO of the guys in white.

Hope everyone enjoyed. Masterpost coming soon.

((Dan as Hades???))

Here's "Phantasma's" family tree - simplified

[darthfrodophantom]

A Secret Uncovered on AO3

Summary: When a reporter catches Danny's transformation on tape, Danny finds that dealing with his new notoriety is the greatest battle of all. While facing the media, his classmates, Valerie, Dash, his teachers, and his family, he wonders if they will see him as he is, or if they will only see him as a ghost. But who is the mysterious ghost who set him up? What plans does he have for Danny now that his secret has been revealed? And how much can he possibly mess up his life further?

AO3: Link

I'm so excited to present the official repost of A Secret Uncovered to AO3! I know FanFiction.Net has been a difficult place to view this fic, so I've been wanting to cross-post it over to AO3 for awhile.

But I decided if I was reposting it, why not shine it up a bit? So I've been meticulously going through each chapter with some major edits including: adding more internal thoughts in the beginning chapters, tightening up some dialogue, fixing some grammar, and updating the writing style. But don't worry! It's still the same plot and all your favorite parts should still be here, just expanded upon and refreshed. And the original cut will always live on FanFiction.Net for nostalgia purposes.

If you've read this before, I hope you enjoy some of the updates! If this is new for you, I hope you enjoy the ride!

[arisu-artnfics]

“A trip to Paris” 4

Notes: 

Title of chapter by beta. (Still @the-oaken-muse on tumblr or The_Oaken_Muse on AO3).

Chapter: 4/12 Previous Next (First). Versión en Español

Also on: A03 || FF || DeviantArt || Facebook.

Chapter 4: “Danny Needs a Break”

Jack, Maddie, and Dani had just finished filling out paperwork in Lancer's office when, as was quickly becoming their usual, a ghost appeared. The Fentons leapt into action, joining up with Phantom and the Red Huntress, who had also detected the unwanted guest on the premises. If there just so happened to be two Phantoms in that fight, the students of Casper High were none the wiser.

After the ghost was taken care of and the Fenton family was back in Mr. Lancer’s office, Dani suggested that she should also be included in the time management plan for Danny. She would need one similar to his, if not the same, when she started studying there next year since she was a Phantom as well. Her parents and Mr. Lancer agreed.

After a few days, they fell into a sort of rhythm. Dani and her parents took the day shift, while the others were in school, with Danny helping them out on the more difficult ones. The original Team Phantom took the afternoons. At night they alternated turns, so if someone patrolled a night, they had the next night off. 

It had barely been more than a week of the routine and the new members of their team were already starting to realise just how much work really went into ghost hunting. It really did help, spreading the load evenly like that, but even with everyone pitching in, Danny was still exhausted. It turned out that leading multiple teams meant you had to do a lot of running around. Everyone agreed that a real break was what he needed.  

“You need a break? That’s easy, you should try travel!” said Dani as she popped a chip into her mouth. Sam and Valerie nodded in agreement. 

The teens were chilling in the Fenton’s living room after school. They were all there, well, almost all –Tucker couldn’t hang out because he was busy with Mayor Business™. Sam and Valerie were on the couch, with Dani sitting cross-legged on the floor next to them and Jazz was curled up in the armchair reading a book.

Danny paced from one side of the room to the other, unable to sit still. “As much as I like the sound of that, I can’t. I thought you guys of all people would understand… I can’t just leave, Amity Park isn’t going to defend itself!” 

“Danny, I love you and all, but all this pacing is starting to make me dizzy.” Sam patted the empty seat next to her, an unspoken invitation. 

Danny paused in his steps, taking in the worried faces of his loved ones before sitting down on the edge of the cushion. His foot bounced nervously, his body a coiled spring. 

Sam sighed before continuing. “What if, I don’t know... Valerie here could,” Sam gestured to the girl next to her, “protect it for a while… Your parents could even close the portal, you know, temporarily…” she suggested gently. They had talked about this before, about Danny taking a break. Maybe this time he would listen.

“I don’t know Sam… Not that it wouldn’t be nice– I mean, it sounds so easy when you put it like that.” said Danny, rubbing the back of his neck. And it wasn’t like he didn’t want to take a vacation, he just wasn’t sure if he knew how to anymore. Any other time that they went on holidays, it was to places nearby or the portal was locked, or both. He was always on call, Amity Park was never without a protector.

“Hey, I would be down for that,” Valerie chimed in. “And if your parents closed the portal while you're away, it wouldn’t even be that bad.” After all, she knew she could take care of the ghosts that used natural portals or found other ways to escape the Ghost Zone and torment the people of Amity Park.

“No, I guess it wouldn’t be too bad… And we have done that in the past… but…” Danny’s mind drifted back to the last time the portal was closed for a longer period. The GIW had almost managed to destroy the Ghost Zone, he couldn’t let something like that happen again.

“No ‘buts,’ Mister, you need a real break. No fights. That means no ghosts.” Sam crossed her arms with a stubborn look. “No portal, no ghosts. It’s that simple.”  She remembered the last time they locked the portal, everything had turned out alright then. It had been nice and peaceful, no ghosts at all! Or almost no ghosts, she couldn’t quite recall the specifics at that moment, but everything had turned out okay in the end.

Just as Danny was about to retort, Maddie walked into the living room. “Hey kids, what are you talking about in here?” she asked playfully. 

In her hands was a plate of freshly baked cookies, still hot from the oven. The kids had been meeting up at their house more and more lately, and while the Nasty Burger would always be their favourite hangout, it was easier for them to talk about ghosts more openly here. Maddie loved having them around, and she always tried to keep their favourite snacks on hand.

She offered the plate to Valerie first.

“Oh, thanks Mrs. Fenton!” she said after taking one. Valerie had quickly learned to love Maddie’s homemade cookies.

“Thanks, Mom!” Danny and Jazz said at the same time, both reaching for the same cookie. Danny glared at his sister while she just rolled her eyes and then they each grabbed a different one. 

When it was Sam’s turn to take one, she simply shook her head with a polite, “No, thank you.” She wasn’t sure if this batch was vegan or not. 

Mrs. Fenton seemed to realise her mistake and drew back the plate, winking at Sam, “Don’t worry, dear, I have some special ones for you in the kitchen. I’ll bring them out in a moment.” Lastly, she offered the plate to Dani before setting it on the coffee table.

“Thanks, Maddie!” said Dani, biting into the cookie. “Well… we were talking about closing the portal while Danny is away.”

“What?” Maddie’s step faltered briefly as she walked back to the kitchen to grab the second batch of cookies. “And where exactly is Danny going?” she asked, offering one to Sam. She was getting better at those vegan recipes, if she did say so herself. 

Sam accepted the cookie with a smile this time.

“We’re trying to tell him that he needs a real vacation. He needs to travel, to get away from Amity Park this summer...” Valerie was the one to answer.

“Oh...” said Maddie with dawning realisation, then, more dreamily, “A real break… that would be nice.” She put the plate of vegan cookies down next to the first one.

“Yeah, a real break,” Jazz finally spoke. She turned to address her brother and sister, “Now that everyone here knows about you two, and Valerie here is more than capable of stopping all kinds of ghosts, even you…”

“Hey!” protested Danny, raising his hands in mock offence.

“No, no, she’s right. I’ve kicked your scrawny ghost butt plenty of times,” said Valerie, with a teasing grin.

“Oooh! Now that’s something I have got to see!” Dani joined in the ribbing.

Jazz cleared her throat, “As I was saying little brother… You know what I mean. She’s good, very good, maybe even the best on our team. She certainly gives you a run for your money.”  

“Yeah, okay…” said Danny. He was still insecure about it, but Jazz had a point.

“Listen, this whole year has been one thing after another, right?” she asked.

Everyone nodded. 

“So, everyone is exhausted, right?” 

Again everyone nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

“And you know that breaks are supposedly for breaks, right?” asked Jazz one more time, getting a last round of nods.

“Tell that to the ghosts,” Danny huffed. A real break was nice in theory, but it was easier said than done when you had the restless dead attacking the city every day.

“And that’s why I’m here, dummy,” said Valerie, teasing just a bit. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself, you know.”

“Me too!” said Dani, grinning “That’s why I said travel, and far away, and I mean it! Far, far, far away… So far that none of the ghosts will be able to bother you.”

“Definitely!” Jazz agreed. “It has to be far enough that you wouldn't even try to fly yourself back here.” She knew full well that her brother would try something like that if they let him.

“How far does that need to be?” Maddie wondered aloud. She knew that her son was strong, but just how strong was he? What kind of flight range did he have? How was his stamina? Her scientific mind whirled with questions.

“Well,” said Sam, almost without thinking, “once we travelled across the whole country in three days–”

“You did what?” Maddie cried, cutting off Sam. She doesn’t remember Phantom or any of them travelling that far. 

“I mean, I’ve travelled all over the country, too…  but it took me a lot longer than that. You know, stopping here and there… but… meh.” Dani shrugged. When she told them that she had been places, she meant it.  

Maddie looked at her youngest with new eyes. The United States was a big place, to think that Dani had been out there all alone… If they had known, they would have taken her in a long time ago.

“We had transportation,” Sam explained, breaking Maddie out of her musings. “It wasn’t just Danny flying us. And it was an emergency.” She had forgotten that nobody actually knew about that, since Danny used the Reality Gauntlet to make it so nobody but the three of them remembered it.    

“Then we should probably try going even further, visit someplace outside the country… like Europe or South America… although it’s getting cold down there now, so it wouldn’t be as much of a summer vacation…” mused Jazz, thinking of different options. While the northern hemisphere was getting hotter, the southern half of the planet was gearing up for winter. She supposed it might be a nice escape from the sweltering heat though.

“Europe could be nice… We could finally go to Paris… ” said Maddie, considering the possibilities and letting herself become cautiously excited over what she thought was an old, dead dream of her high school self. She also conveniently forgot about the apparent cross-country trip her son and his friends had been on. 

“Woah, woah, woah!” Danny put his hands up as if to ward off this topic of conversation. “Are you guys for real?” Everyone seemed to be on board with just leaving the country, and Amity Park, unprotected. This was getting out of control. 

“Well, yeah, of course we are!” Valerie said. “It’s not just your sister who’s worried about you, we are too. We’re your friends, Danny, we care about you. And even with us helping you,  you still look like you’re about to pass out all the time. You need a break, a real one. I have to agree with Dani, travel would be good for you. Paris, like your mom suggested, should be lovely right now, and it’s nice and far.” 

Valerie smiled. She could very easily imagine how beautiful Europe would be this time of year. There was once a time in her life when she could have easily taken a trip there, back before her dad lost his job. A few months ago she would have blamed her turn of fate on the ghost boy, but now that she had learned the whole truth, including about Cujo… Well she blamed her dad’s company for that. Why they would just “get rid of” the dogs like that, is a mystery and cruelty.  

“You know what, Paris sounds perfect! I could probably pay for everyone to go on the trip, even you Val,” Sam offered. The two girls hadn’t always gotten along, but since Valerie had officially joined the team, Sam had been putting in the effort to make her feel included.  

“What?” Danny’s voice had an edge of panic to it as he looked between everyone in the room. They all seemed to be seriously considering this trip, and not only that, they looked happy about it. 

“Or not...” said Sam, remembering how her boyfriend could be sometimes. 

“Better not, or Mr. I-won’t-leave-Amity-if-it-isn’t-protected here will never relax,” said Valerie pointing her thumb at Danny. As much as she appreciated the offer, she couldn’t accept it. A trip like that would be expensive, and she wasn’t going to let Sam pay for everything, as nice as that sounded. 

“You’re no fun, Danny!” Dani pouted. “How about this: you relax, I stay.” She put a hand to her chest, proudly. After all, she was a Phantom, too.

“What? No! You’re family, Dani! You should come too! We- we only just found you…” he ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up wildly. Then, unable to sit still any longer, he abruptly stood and resumed his pacing.

“I know, I know,” Dani replied, trying to calm her brother. “But, look, I’ve had plenty of travelling lately, I wouldn’t mind being a bit of a homebody for once. And, no offence, but I could use a break from you guys. Don’t get me wrong! I love you and all, but this family is kinda overwhelming, especially when you’re used to being on your own.”  

“Danny darling, you’re pacing again,” Maddie pointed out gently. “It’s very sweet that you want your little sister to go with you, and that you trust Valerie to protect Amity Park while you’re gone, but I was about to suggest that you kids go and your father and I stay behind instead. Even with the portal closed, which yes, is a good idea, someone should stay, you know, to monitor it… make sure the Ecto-Filtrator is still good…”

“I can monitor the portal!” Dani excitedly cut in. “It can’t be that different from Vlad’s, right? And it was one of my chores to change the Ecto-Filtrator. After his first portal blew up his mansion, he was really paranoid about that sort of thing, so he made sure I knew how to do it! You and Jack should get to go, you were just talking about how you’ve always wanted to go to Paris, and you guys have been working really hard! You deserve a vacation.”

“Then it’s decided,” Jazz clapped her hands authoritatively. “Valerie and Dani will stay behind to keep an eye on Amity Park and the portal, and the rest of us will take a much needed vacation. Now, I’m going to go find Dad and let him know the plan.” Jazz left her book on the side table, her reading had been non-existent since the casual planning started- well, not that casual. Everyone needed a break, including her. She headed for the lab in search of Jack, muttering to herself about passports.

“Great idea sweetheart!” Maddie called after her. “Tell your father that if he doesn’t come up here to finish discussing this together, he won’t get any cookies!”

“Okay, Mom!” Jazz shouted back and kept going down the stairs.

In a quieter voice, Maddie addressed the rest of the kids, “I’m going to go grab my laptop from upstairs so we can start checking everything that we need...” 

Just like that, Danny, Dani, Sam and Valerie were left alone in the living room. 

Danny finally stopped pacing, sighed, and sat back down next to Sam. The girls exchanged relieved looks, it seemed like Danny had finally accepted the possibility of travelling for real.  

“He wouldn’t get any cookies?” Valerie asked softly. She looked down at the plate. Surely Mrs. Fenton didn’t think they would eat all these before Mr. Fenton could get any, right? 

“It’ll help get his attention...” Danny explained, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously. Sam nodded along, after all she had known the family for many years and was well aware that sweets were the best way to get through to the man. 

“Ah!” said Valerie, an understanding smile lit up her face. She had seen Mr. Fenton working while eating before, and at that time he had been helping build a very important machine that saved the world.

“Any snack works, but fudge is his favourite...” Dani added, feeling embarrassed as well. She wished Jazz was there too. It wasn’t fair that she got to miss out on the kind of quality sibling bonding that happened over being embarrassed by their parents.  

“I’ve had your mom’s fudge, I can see why it’s his favourite!” Valerie giggled. “Okay, while we wait for the others to get back, I’m gonna call my dad and let him know that we’ll be having Dani over for a while.” That could be a good option to help out. She picked up her cell phone and began to dial.  

“But I can stay here...” Dani tried to protest. She had just started thinking of her room as her room, instead of the guest room. She had finally gotten used to living there and thinking of FentonWorks as her home. She was also used to being on her own, fending for herself, staying where it is home shouldn’t be that much of a problem by comparison. 

“Normally, yes, but with the FBI and CPS on the Fenton’s case… I don’t think that’s a good idea...” said Sam delicately, knowing that it's a sensitive topic, especially for Danny. 

Danny made a thoughtful face, looking a bit disappointed with himself, but didn't comment. That interview with both representatives defending his parents was a wild time.

“Oh right, you guys told me about that… ” said Dani, remembering the explanation the Fentons had given her not that long ago. They had gone over the whole interview with her, from start to finish, it had played a major role in Vlad’s sentencing. 

Meanwhile, Valerie was remembering a similar, though less detailed, explanation. She set her phone back down, realising she’d gotten ahead of herself. Even though her suggestion wasn’t a bad idea, they should decide what to do first, as a group.

“All right, we’re here!” said Jazz. Everyone turned their attention to the doorway as she walked in with Jack not far behind. 

“Same here,” said Maddie, laptop in hand. “I almost couldn’t find it! It was under a pile of laundry for some reason.” She shrugged. 

Jack sent her a guilty look, then, noticing the plates of cookies, made a beeline for the coffee table. "So, kids, Jazzy–pants here has been telling me that you’re planning a little trip!" He picked up one of the vegan cookies and took a bite, making a face when he tasted it.

"Here, dear," said Maddie, giving him the tray of regular cookies. "Actually honey, it's more like a proper holiday. You know, we haven't had one in a very loooong time." She opened up the laptop and turned it on.

"Mr. Fenton, Danny needs a vacation, a real one, all of you do. When was the last time you had one, a real–real one?" asked Sam, crossing her arms and fixing the man with a stern glare. She knew very well that the last proper holiday was supposed to be the trip that didn’t happen, the one that they cancelled at the last minute. 

"Well… we went camping, and me and Danno went on that fishing trip and, uh… Hey Mads, where did you and Danny go that last time? Or was it the time before that one…" Jack muttered as he drummed his fingers against his chin. He was beginning to confuse himself.

"Jack, those trips were more like short bonding time with the kids, not a real family vacation. And in those cases it was just me or you with one of the kids… well, except that time we went camping… and that was…" Maddie looked at Danny, asking silent permission to talk about it. She knew that hadn’t been their best moment as parents, the way they hadn’t believed in Danny. In the end it was just a ghost problem, a ghost that only kids could see. That fact had been hard to learn and accept. 

Danny sighed, "Don't remind me, please. Even Jazz thought I was crazy." He ran a hand down his face.

"In my defence, I didn't even know he existed, let alone the fact that we wouldn't be able to see him!" said Jazz, trying to defend herself again after all these months.

"Well, maybe if you’d acted your age…" Danny crossed his arms and sent Jazz a bit of a mean glare.

"Danny… It's alright now. Let it go," said Sam. She quickly grabbed Danny's hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to stop the argument before it could really get going. 

Valerie was the one to break the awkward silence, "All right, so… back to planning?" she  asked. She didn’t know the full story, but she could tell that it was getting personal, and fast.

"Oh yeah!" said Jack enthusiastically. He turned to the others with a huge grin, "So, Paris you said?"

"Well, yes honey, I mean… I’ve always wanted to go there… and it's too far away for Danny to try to fly back. You know how he is." Maddie explained.

"You could fly here from France?!" Jack asked, excitedly. He never thought that would be possible even for Danny. He was about to ask a million questions when Maddie cut in.

"Jack, dear… the idea is for him not to do that. It’s supposed to be a time for us to relax," she said.

"Well…" said Danny after a couple of seconds of silence, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Don't encourage him, Danny,” Jazz scolded. “You know he won't stop if you get him going." She knew well enough how that would go and then they’d never get this vacation planned. Boys. If it weren’t for her and her mom, they’d never get anything done.

"I'm not! I'm just saying… I don't know… maybe?" He shrugged. They hadn’t tested his abilities in a very long time and he’d gotten stronger since then, so it could be possible, but he didn’t have a good answer for his dad. 

"Look, I wanna know how strong I am just as bad as you do,” Dani piped up, “and there will be plenty of time for that later, but you’re so worn out that any tests you guys run won’t really be accurate anyway, you know? And we’ve got more important things to think about right now, like figuring out where I'm staying," she said pointedly. 

"Well, I know that my dad won't mind at all if Dani stays with us while you’re gone,” Valerie said. She pulled out her phone to check her messages. “But I should probably wait to call and let him know until after you guys know for sure when you are going… and all that.” She put her phone back into her pocket. 

"If you won’t let me pay for the trip, at least let me pay for your hotel,” Sam blurted out. She put her hand up to stop Danny, “And before you say anything, I could even go with you if I paid for it. My parents wouldn’t mind. They’re always trying to get me to go on fancy rich people trips to Europe anyway. I already have a passport, and it won’t be hard to get the rest of the paperwork taken care of. I have it covered. It would be just like the last vacation when I got to travel with you guys… Although, that never really happened did it? Sometimes I really hate that we used that ‘reset button’…" She sighed. Yet another reason for them to take this trip, Danny needed to have a real break, he deserved it. If that meant using a good portion of her family money, so be it. It wasn’t like they couldn’t afford it.  

"What? Do I want to know?" asked Valerie, confused by Sam’s statement. She didn’t remember hearing about a trip that never happened. If they had mentioned it before, she had definitely forgotten.  

"No, you don’t. Trust me…" said Jazz. She waved her hand, “Alternate reality. You’ll just get a headache.” She had learned what happened and it still confused her. She didn't know which deadly situation –specifically for her family– was the worst. Maybe it was the one where they all died, although she could swear that the other one with reality changing couldn't be much better.

"Sam, sweety, you don’t have to do that! We’re more than capable of paying for the trip ourselves,” Maddie said, trying to steer the conversation back to planning. They were so easily sidetracked… “but thank you for offering.” 

"Oh, it’s really no trouble at all, Mrs. Fenton! And I want to do everything I can to help Danny," she replied with a smile.

Maddie paused to consider Sam’s offer, she knew how determined the girl could be when it came to doing what she thought was right. They would probably end up allowing the hotel payment just because this seemed like something she was very passionate about and probably wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Are you sure your parents would be okay with that?” Jazz asked pointedly. She knew that Sam held a certain amount of disdain for her family’s wealth, and had a bit of a personal vendetta with her parents.

“I’m sure,” said Sam. “This is one thing they’ll agree to no problem. Well... I might have to dress up and take some pictures for the family social media while we’re there, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

"We could take some pictures together," said Danny, suddenly warming up to the idea of travelling. “Paris is called the City of Love, after all.”

Jazz cleared her throat, getting them back on track. "So... Mom. Have you looked up plane tickets to Paris yet?" she asked, gesturing to the laptop. 

"You guys will probably need to fly out of Chicago," said Valerie. That’s what she’d always had to do since the Amity Park airport only handled domestic flights.

"She’s right, you know," confirmed Sam.

"So, we’ll need to fly out of Amity and then take a connecting flight to Paris…" mused Jazz, thinking aloud.  

"That's what the online booking system says," announced Maddie, reading her findings from the laptop. There wasn’t even an option for a direct flight from Amity to Paris, all the options include travelling to the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago first, as that was the closest international airport.

"Wait… is everyone here going?" Jack asked, completely lost. He understood that they all needed a break, but nothing else other than the possibility of his whole family going to Paris–probably a sign that he needed a break, too. 

"No, honey,” Maddie replied gently. “Dani is staying behind with Valerie to keep an eye on Amity Park and the portal, even though we’re going to be closing it while we’re gone. Danny has made it very clear that he wouldn’t be able to really relax if we left the city completely unprotected.”

"Oh, right… that makes sense… I think…" said Jack, processing the information. He was a bit unsure about just the four of them going, but looking around, everyone else seemed to be in agreement. He hoped it all worked out for the best.

“We’ll need to round up everyone’s passports…” Maddie said absentmindedly as she continued researching for their trip, then she realised something. “Oh, I suppose it’s good that Dani volunteered to stay, her passport hasn’t even come in yet.”   

Danny was feeling a bit more confident about travelling, but he was still worried about Dani. He turned to Valerie, “Are you sure it’s alright for Dani to stay at your house?" he asked. He knew it would be okay with Valerie, but what about Valerie’s dad?

"Don't worry! My dad won't mind at all! Actually, he would probably be thrilled to know I'm bringing friends over, you know? Or just a friend…" Valerie said with a bit of a bittersweet smile. After she had been kicked out of the A-listers, she had thought she’d never have friends again. She shook herself out of her thoughts and winked at Danny, “Also, you know, he knows.”

“And not only about Danny,” said Jazz, “but about yourself as well. And that’s saying something. Nobody knows about you. Well, other than us, of course!"

"But he doesn't know about me," said Dani. How would they explain the fact that she is also a halfa, and not just any halfa, but Danny’s clone. Although, it wasn’t like anyone was going to say that detail, right? 

"Don't worry, Dani, Valerie's dad should be all right. He knows about Danny because he was there helping with the machine in Antarctica," Sam explained what Valerie had implied. She knew that Dani didn’t know exactly how many people, or who, were in the know about Danny’s secret. They weren’t thrilled that a bunch of people knew, but it was in the past now. 

"Exactly!" said Valerie. “My dad’s seen some pretty crazy stuff. I mean, he’s been dealing with my ghost hunting for a while now… It takes a lot to faze him, you’ll be fine.”

"So,” said Maddie with a single clap of her hands, bringing the attention of the kids back to planning, “considering that you kids are going to be on summer vacation in about a week, we should get our tickets for next Monday… That will give us the weekend to pack." She typed in the new travel date. It also helped that flights were cheaper during the week. They had been saving money up for a big trip like this for years, but the less they had to spend on plane tickets, the more they could do once they got to Paris.

“Oh, that’s a brilliant idea, Mads!” said Jack, looking over her shoulder so he could see the laptop screen.

“But we still don’t know if Valerie's dad would be all right with Dani staying with them… And Dani is family too…” Danny tried one more time; it was a weak argument, even to his own ears. Family was important, but sadly without a passport Dani wouldn’t be able to travel anyway. He was going to miss her a lot, a fact he would be keeping to himself, otherwise his sisters would tease him endlessly. 

“Oh, Danny-boy, it’s all right, your mother and I will call him afterwards, but your mom here is finding good offers to go to Paris right now. Although I don’t get why it has to be with a connection...” Jack wondered aloud looking between Danny and the laptop screen, taking a bite out of another cookie. He hadn’t been paying much attention during that part of the conversation. 

Maddie sighed, “Jack, dear, you know Amity Park doesn’t have an international terminal,” she reminded him, “and please don’t get crumbs on the keyboard.”

“Yeah, Mr. Fenton, the closest international airport is O’Hare in Chicago,” Sam picked up the explanation. “Did you know that it sees more international flights than any other airport not on the East or West Coast?” 

“How do you know that?” asked Valerie, raising an eyebrow. 

“Probably because her parents like to travel a lot, and maybe they mentioned it before...” Danny trailed off, worried that it would sound like he was bragging about Sam’s family. He knew Valerie wasn’t as well off as she used to be, and he didn’t want to sound rude.

“It’s true,” Sam confirmed with a shrug, “and little pamphlets full of fun facts are better company than my parents when their flight’s been delayed.”

“Oh… ” said Valerie. Even though she had just offered to pay for the Fenton’s hotel a few minutes ago, it was so easy to forget that Sam actually had money, or, well, her family did. She never acted rich, and it was hard to tell from looking at her, what with the whole punk goth thing she had going on. Valerie wouldn’t judge her for being rich anyway, but still. 

“All right!” exclaimed Maddie, drawing the kids’ attention away from their fun facts about travelling. “I think I found something! There’s a flight from Amity Park to Chicago at 6:00am Monday morning, then a connecting flight at 8:00am that will take us to Paris!”

“That sounds perfect!” Sam commented. In the past, before they had finished the Amity Park Airport, it had been a bus trip to Chicago, and a much earlier morning. 

“Doesn’t it?” Maddie said, very pleased with herself. She continued reading the travel details to the others, “The flight from here to Chicago is about a half hour in the air, so even if we have a delay, that gives us plenty of time to get from one gate to the other once we land at O’Hare… And then it’s another eight hours to Paris… Which means we’ll get there around 11:00 pm Central European Time! 

“Wait,” Danny said excitedly, “I could fly us to Chicago!” He knew that it would be so much easier and faster, and then they wouldn’t have to worry about their plane being delayed. 

“No!” Jazz cried, a bit louder than necessary. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, “Danny, the whole point of this trip is for you to have a break. Doing crazy things like flying a family of four across the state is not taking a break. So please, give the powers a rest, okay?” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

“I hate to agree with Jazz,” Sam ignored the other girl’s shout of indignation, “but, Danny, you have been doing a lot lately, even now that you have help.” She squeezed his hand a bit and gave him a worried smile.

“Yep!” said Dani, dramatically draping herself over his shoulders. “You’re like, the king of micromanaging, bro. You need to learn to take a chill pill.” She hid her worry behind a mask of teasing. She had been standing for a little while now, but she didn’t think Danny had seen her until she laid herself on him.  

“Et tu, Dani?” Danny asked in mock offence. She’d only been living with them for a short time, and she was already on his back as much as Jazz, and even more literally.  

“Oh, wow...” Valerie murmured. She understood that he was worried about Dani, but she seemed happy. Valerie wasn’t really sure what was bothering him so much.

“Oh, c’mon Danny, don’t be like that! We’re not ganging up on you just because we feel like it, you really do need a break. You know Dani can take care of herself, and she’s learned a lot about taking care of others from watching you. You’ve done so much for her, and for everyone here,” Sam gave his hand another squeeze, “let us do this for you.” She knew that Danny needed a bit of a push to let go of the extra worry.

“She’s right, you know,” said Jazz, giving him a small smile.

“Yeah, Danny, I know I'll be alright, and I’m super excited to show you just how much I’ve learned! Mom and Dad will call Mr. Gray—” 

Dani was interrupted by Maddie and Jack gasping loudly. 

“What? What did I say?” she asked, confused at their reaction.

“You called them ‘Mom and Dad’… without even thinking about it...” Jazz said proudly. Dani didn’t usually call them that, but when she did, she had to make an effort at it. 

“Oh… yeah I guess I did!” Dani said and smiled a big smile. She hadn’t even noticed, but at some point she’d stopped thinking of them as ‘Jack and Maddie’ and started thinking of them as her parents. The Fentons had shown her what family really means, and that was so special to her.

Danny finally smiled too, “All right, I guess we’re going to Paris! Mom, Dad call Mr. Gray now please...” That way the last of his worries would finally disappear.

“With pleasure,” Maddie wiped away a happy tear, “but we should finish booking our flights at least before we talk with him.” She turned her attention back to the laptop.

"Good idea Mads!" added Jack, wiping away a tear of his own and looking at the laptop screen, too.

"If you find a good offer, take it before it changes. My parents complain about that all the time; you’ll never find the same offer twice, but might find a similar one if you’re lucky. Not that they need it anyway, but you know how they are…" Sam rolled her eyes with a shrug.

"Mmmmm… true,” Maddie hummed, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen. “We should have searched on incognito, at least we could have compared prices better…" She knew what Sam was referring to, the theory that airlines use cookies to track which flights you look for, increasing their prices. 

"But what we have here seems like a reasonable price, right?" asked Jack, pointing out the details of the flight on the screen.

"No to interrupt or anything,” Valerie cut in, “but do you guys have any idea how long you’ll be gone?" She had texted her dad while the Fentons were focused on the travel details. He didn’t have a problem with Dani staying with them, but wanted to know how long they would be looking after her.

"I thought you said it would be alright!" Danny cried out, his anxiety spiking again.

"It is, but it would still be nice to know ahead of time," Valerie snapped. She could tell by his tone that he was worrying again, but he was really starting to test her patience. 

"Oh, right… sorry." Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"It's alright," Valerie sighed, she felt a bit bad for letting her temper get the better of her.

"I’m so sorry, Valerie, we completely forgot about that!“ Maddie gave her an apologetic look. “Well, we’re leaving next Monday, and we’ll want to have at least a week there…" 

Danny blinked at that information. "You haven't decided how long we’ll be gone yet?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, we have a couple of tabs open to compare prices for that…” Maddie said, Jack nodding along, “and it looks like it would be worth it to take two weeks." After all it seemed like there wasn't that much of a difference between some of the prices, and it looked like round trip tickets were slightly better than one way.

"Oh… yeah, that sounds okay…" said Danny. At least two weeks didn’t sound that bad, even though he didn’t know what he was supposed to do for that long, not yet at least. 

"Then that's the plan!" Maddie nodded decisively and clicked ‘confirm’ to purchase four round trip tickets. 

"We’ll be getting back to Amity Park late on a Friday night, two weeks into your summer break," Jack informed the kids. That is, if he was reading along right.

"Great, now we have an answer for Valerie’s Dad!" Jazz said with a smile. She knew that taking a two week trip to Europe wouldn’t leave her with much time to finish getting ready for university, but it was going to be worth it. 

"Yeah, that works!" said Valerie, typing up a text to her father with the more detailed plan.  

And just like that, Maddie and Jack booked their flights from Amity to Chicago, and from there to Paris, France. The Fenton family was going on an adventure, and they couldn’t be more excited. Before they could celebrate, however, they needed to talk with Valerie’s father, after all, they needed to finish sorting out Dani’s stay.

Thankfully, Mr. Gray was pleased to have her over, Danny had done so much to help their family in the past, and he was more than happy to return the favour. Although he insisted that wasn't the only reason that he accepted, he was also very proud of his daughter for making a new friend. It was just like Valerie had said it would be.

With all the big things sorted out, everyone started to go their separate ways. Jazz returned to her book after helping Maddie find their passports. Valerie announced that it was about time for her to head home, it was getting late, and she would need to rest up for the coming days. She gave a final wave to Dani at the door, she would be keeping a close eye on the girl, even if she thought she was too old for it. And finally, Dani was left to her imagination, already fantasising about taking care of the house and fighting the ghosts that, if any, came with a closed portal.

Sam gently reminded Danny that they had homework, forgotten in favour of planning an international trip, and the two of them decided to go up to his room to work on it. She took his hand as they climbed the stairs, giving him a warm smile. She was so glad that he had finally relaxed and warmed up to the whole travel idea.

Jack and Maddie began looking for hotels that were in their budget, but paused their search to cook dinner. 

That night, after the meal, Sam was invited to stay over – it wouldn’t be the first time either, even though those old times were with Tucker in the room too and they had all been just friends. Sam did accept the offer of course, after all sleeping there wasn't new for her, and she always loved to just enjoy spending extra time with Danny. To be continued :D :D

[starrclownshazbinblog]

Valerie i liked this backstory on her. Considering she's brown skin latina and lesbian of course she's an easy target of abuse and bullying then she's also emo. The backstory of her was actually quite good in vivzie lore but the constant joke about genitalia and her view of sex worker is disgusting. So thank you changing her name also giving her proper backstory

Of course! When I started doing this obviously the show hadn't come out yet and we didn't know Valerie (not calling her her original name) was a exterminator. Honestly, I think they should have kept her a human sinner. Yeah I think a fallen angel finding redemption at the Hotel could have been a really good plot line! But personally I think they should have used that on a ESTABLISHED angel.

How fucked up would it be that Emily, someone who is heavens ideal angel, gets outlasted because she's sided with the child of the man that caused all the pain and suffering on humanity. Hell it wouldn't just effect her, it would effect Sera too. Sera obviously doesn't like the extermination but doesn't have the power to stop them. Imagine the FEAR and PANIC that she would be feeling now that her precious little sister is in hell, where she could be exterminated.

Sorry that was a ramble 🙏🏿

Valerie is a character I don't spend nearly enough time on and it's not because I don't like her, her background is increasingly sensitive though. The three most important parts of her background I would argue is her: Salvadoran identity, her LGBTQ identity, and her abusive relationship.

I am White. I have never experienced racial discrimination, something I am increasingly grateful for. How I write racism has to be sensitive because I could spew some racist bullshit if I'm not careful. (Actually my best friend T (not using their real name) is Mexican and has told me about their experiences as being a WOC in my, VERY white southern school. It's so sorry you moved here)

Her LGBTQ background is something I have more experience with. I am a Pansexual but no one respects that. The best I get labeled with is Bisexual and half the time people think I'm a lesbian because my one relationship was a girl. It's alot easier for me to write homophobia because I've experienced homophobia.

Her abusive relationship is something I need to research more. Same things with racism, I've never experiences a abusive relationship.

Valerie is someone I have to include more because I love her so much 💜

Asks are always open, art is always here, commissions are open, clock racists in the face with a rock and or heavy stick.

- ⭐️StarClown⭐️

[glassprism]

Hi! You may have answered this before, and if you have, I'm sorry for asking a question you have already asked.

Do you know the age range for Christine actresses? Like how old the oldest actress was when they played here. I know the youngest has been 18 and I know Kaley Ann Voorhees (I remember her specifically since she was the Christine when I saw it on Broadway) was one of those. (I'm excluding Emmy Rossum from this since I'm talking strictly stage show).

I'm curious because she's always been a dream role, but I think I might be reaching the age of being too old {25}. Even if I am, though, I'll be content with doing it in the privacy of my own home. Lol.

So first, I just kind of want to say that I'm really worried for the state of the industry if you and others start thinking that 25 is "too old" to play Christine. (This is what happens when you keep casting younger and younger, CamMack and co.!)

Now, as for your actual question: I think we should separate it into two related but still somewhat different categories: who are the youngest and oldest Christines ever (basically the minimum and maximum age ranges, good as little factoids of knowledge) and what is the general age range (probably more useful for someone actually looking to get the role).

To start with the first, a couple of corrections! The youngest Christines have actually been around 16-17 years old, and no, I'm not including Emmy Rossum in this: actresses like Katie Hall and Amy Nuttall were 16 when cast as understudies and 17 when they performed the role, while Kaja Mianowana, Paulina Janczak, and Marta Hadžimanov were 17 when cast as principals (though typically sharing the role with a somewhat older actress). Additionally, actresses like Olivia Safe, Sarah Bakker, Julie Goodwin, and Amy Hudson Holder, were 18 to 19 years old when cast as understudies or alternates. Kaley Ann Voorhees was actually 20 years old, not 18, when she was first cast in Phantom, making her comparatively older than some of the others on this list, though she was still the youngest actress to play Christine on Broadway.

Now as for the oldest, those would probably be Barbara Fonyo who was 50 when she ended her run, as well as Lisa Vroman, who was 47, and Jill Washington, who was 46, when they ended theirs.

However, the general age range of Christines, I'd say, is probably mid 20s to 30s, and you'll typically see that in casting calls where, if they specify an age range, will say something like "20-29" and what-not. I have said that it seems productions are casting younger, and honestly it seems like every new Christine is only in her 20s, but there have been several actresses cast in the show in their 30s even in the last decade or so: Valerie Link in Hamburg (34), Ali Ewoldt on Broadway (34), and Meghan Picerno in the World Tour and Broadway (maybe 34/35).

But ultimately, your actual age will matter less than what age you can play as (e.g. some people can play teenagers and young adults into their 30s and 40s) and, more importantly, your skills when it comes to singing, acting, and (to some extent) dancing. That should ultimately be the focus when trying to become Christine, not your age!

[tasam1075]

Search Abandoned

Jeff put the latest FBI report concerning his son's disappearance on his desk after reading the contents in dismay.

After almost six months of fruitless searches the FBI believed that there was no longer any real chance of finding Scott alive and they should be looking for his body instead.

His watch and other belongings, including blood-stained clothing, had been found, scattered across four states but no other trace of Scott had ever been discovered.

Lady Penelope, along with every IR agent, had been unable to find any trace of Scott.

The latest update from her was full of her frustration at the inability of her sources to locate any sign of Scott, she firmly believed that they should have found something by now.

The FBI had already scaled back their efforts, ready to call the search off.

Jeff wasn't ready to give up on his son but he didn't know what else he could do, where else could they look?

How was he supposed to tell everyone that the FBI now believed that Scott was dead, they would hopefully find his body eventually, that it was now a murder investigation rather than a missing person.

Maddie and Virgil were both blaming themselves for Scott being taken even though they couldn't have known what was going happen when Scott and Virgil left the hotel that evening, both ordered to take a break by their respective partners.

Only Imogen and Valerie, the twins whose early arrival had been caused by the stress of events, were giving them both a reason to carry on day after day.

Chloe, who now stayed close to her beloved Aunt-Bec, had the rest of her uncles reading with her, whenever IR requirements allowed them to do so.

Even John had been on the island for the entire time that Scott had been missing.

Five was on automatic, monitored by Brains, so John could fly Thunderbird 1 and act as Field Commander, a role that he excelled at even if it wasn't his preferred position.

Jeff knew that they would have to make other changes, Five had never been intended to be remotely operated for a prolonged period of time but they may have no choice.

He decided that he would tell the rest of the family about the latest news after the evening meal, once the children were safely in bed.

That discussion did not go well. Rebecca, Scott's heavily pregnant fiancee, broke down and had to be comforted by Maddie and Tintin.

Along with Grandma they escorted Rebecca to her room, not before notifying Jeff that someone would stay with her overnight.

Jeff was relieved that Becky wouldn't be alone, the last thing that anyone needed was another, stress induced, early delivery.

Scott's brothers wanted to drop everything and take over the search themselves, not wanting to stop until they'd found Scott, even shutting IR down.

Jeff, although he agreed with his sons' sentiment, knew that they couldn't do that. It was a heartbreaking decision to make but he knew that there was no choice, IR had to continue even if it meant that the active search for Scott had to be stopped.

It wasn't until John pointed out that Five could be running continual searches for any mention of Scott automatically, without any detrimental effects on IR operations, and that Penny would still have all agents looking for any clues that the others relented.

IR would continue operations, the search for Scott scaled down but never abandoned.

Two days later the FBI publicly announced that the search for Scott Carpenter Tracy, eldest son of billionaire Jefferson Tracy, had been downgraded and the investigation was now classed as a murder inquiry, despite the fact that no body had ever been found.

The Tracy family, publicly, declined to comment on the decision.

****************************************************************** "

All the chapters that I've posted here belong to the same fic.

I'm seriously stuck on the next two scheduled chapters - the characters will not talk to me.....

[elenatria]

I need to start posting on tumblr again cause I miss it so much. .__.

There's a lot to be said about, idk, the last six months, what's been going on in my life etc. I should make several posts about my Chernobyl-related trips (including my trip to Lithuania to spot Chernobyl filming locations).

Maybe in the future.

The more I think of what has happened the more I find it hard to believe. Suffice to say that last August me, @fuerst-von-argot and @progressi9 were able to visit Valery's apartment in Kaunas (it opened its doors to the public as a museum only last January), that in October I finally saw Alan Williams (Charkov, head of the KGB) on stage and gave him his present, that last weekend @stellan-pip-69 and I got the chance to meet Jared Harris and Robert Emms.

Phew.

It's been a lot.

Nowadays I post mostly on Instagram but I do miss tumblr. It's more fandom-centred, I'd say.

I used to have too much FOMO, care too much about what people say, be jealous of people, friends, who were active in a fandom when I wasn't. Burn-out is a thing, and so are insecurities.

Idk.

I guess what's left after all the hype is gone (and the haters distracting us from our true goals) is the original content itself, the creative minds behind it. The friends we meet along the way, the trips. The love we have for a pairing and the appreciation for the people that brought it to us.

I guess what is left is the inspiration, the art we make with our own hands, the process.

I guess nothing else matters.

[picturejasper20]

So, i was trying to think of the strange connection that there is between Danny Phantom fans and Steven Universe fans, aside from SU being a show that was very popular on its moment. Like one show is from 20 years ago and the other is from last decade, both with different executions and genres.

...Which lead me to write a whole essay no one asked for, so here you go:

One of the first things that comes to mind is how the main leads are hybrids- Danny Fenton is half human/half ghost, Steven is half human/ half gem. And like both series give an idea that they are pretty unique in their experience as hybrids and they both belong to both worlds yet not fully to either of them.

Danny has a lot of issues with having to hide his part of himself from the world, his parents included. Meanwhile, Steven doesn't understand certain social norms and can feel disconnected from other teens around his age, having lived a somewhat recluded childhood from his peers. (This gets more explored in Future)

Aside from the struggles that being an hybrid it brings to them, they have episodes about learning new powers or learning how to control them. You see them start rather powerless only to become pretty OP on the long run. -Steven getting tired for summoning one shield to being able to do it without sweat-Danny having his powers glitching at the start to gain a power like Ghost Wail later on, etc.

Another thing that Danny and Steven share in common is that they want to help and be useful. In Steven's case, he wants to help people with their problems or "fix" them. Over time Steven starts to define his identity around helping others a little too much to the point that he doesn't know who to be outside of that.

A pretty common headcanon for Danny in the DP fandom is that his ghost obsession is about having to protect everyone he can, something you can see in the series in a way. After Phantom Planet, Danny doesn't know who to be outside being the hero and feels that people don't need him anymore in the context the world having being saved after the series finale. ( A Glitch in Time)

Both try solving problems talking it out if possible, if it is a misunderstanding or they think the antagonist can be reasoned with.

With Steven, he doesn't need an explanation as most people know his personality, for Danny- it depends on the situation and his mood, sometimes being kinder and other times more violent. I would argue again that he still tries to talk things out when he sees that violence isn't necessary -just not the same as Steven

That's not to say their characters are the same, in fact their personalities are pretty different and their ways to approaching problems differs too. They do, however, share some parallels in their character arcs that i already discussed.

Another aspect are the main antagonists, both Steven Universe and Danny Phantom have their antagonists have motivations outside of being evil for the sake of being evil.

In Steven Universe this is a main theme and i don't think it doesn't need much introduction. Antagonists (most Homeworld gems) have been taught and were socialized to act in a specific way in the totalitarian society they were born into. Examples of this are: Peridot, Jasper and Lapis- these motivations can be mixed with revenge or similar things as well.

In Danny Phantom the main antagonists are Vlad Masters/Plasmius and Valerie Gray, both characters who aren't evil by nature and the series leaves clear that their antagonism comes from what happened to them and the decisions they took in result of that.

Vlad Masters role as a villain comes from the insolation and abandonment issues that came from the Ghost portal accident in college caused by Danny's father, Jack Fenton. Vlad became obsessed with getting revenge on Jack and believing he "stole" a family that should have been his.

Valerie comes from her blaming Phantom for (accidentally) ruining her life and trying to get revenge on him, becoming a ghost hunter. Valerie's role is a mix between anti-hero and antagonist since she wants to protect people but opposes Phantom at the same time. Eventually she becomes a bit of a friendenemy to Phantom over the course of the seasons.

Other recurrent antagonists have their own motives to do bad things ( Sidney, Desiree, Ember) while others are more naturally classic evil (Ghost King, Spectra). It depends on the character one is talking about.

Diving more into Vlad Plasmius, both series have this idea of "legacy", as like protagonist having to deal with what their parent/s "left behind for them".

For Steven is a huge deal for him since many of the antagonists who attack him are for things his mother Rose Quartz did, having Steven deal with all this issues and believing he has to fix them, blaming himself for what how Rose hurt people in different ways.

As for Danny, Vlad Masters' antagonism comes from the portal accident caused by Jack, Danny's father, when Vlad, Jack and Maddie (Danny's mom) were still friends in college. In a way Danny has to deal with something that was caused by his father. It isn't something he choose to but yet still brings him a lot of problems to his life.

I'm not sure which character from SU Vlad could be compared to, but i would say that Spinel is the closest one, since Spinel was abandoned by Rose Quartz (as Pink Diamond), who was her best friend, similar to what supposely happened between Vlad and Jack after the ghost portal accident.

Other theme is the idea of redemption, or how you can be your worst own enemy. As i mentioned, antagonists in SU usually get redemmed and change their ways from the systematic ideas they were raised in. There is this idea that people have the capacity to change if they propose themselves to.

In Steven Universe Future, Steven is "his worst enemy" as he has to deal with his own demons he has been avoiding for years for trying to repress them or being too busy helping other people. He goes through a negative corruption arc because of this, ending with him realizing that he can't hiding his issues and needs help with them.

In the Danny Phantom series, this is very important theme in "The Ultimate Enemy", where Danny is confronted by the possible evil future version of himself, called Dan Phantom in the DP fandom. Danny battles against this version of himself and tries to fix his mistake, proving that he can avoid that future from happening.

Danny also meets Vlad Masters in the dark future timeline in this special, who regrets his actions after so many years passed and how he accidentally helped with creating Dan in that timeline.

A Glitch in Time expands on this theme further by exploring Vlad and Dan's motivations a lot more and giving them second chances. The novel itself shares parallels with Steven Universe and SU Future in multiple ways.

Back to Dan Phantom, he shares quite a lot of things in common with Malachite to the point people have pointed out these parallels.

In Steven Universe, gems can fuse with other, creating more powerful gems. A fusion's personality and manners are determined by the relationship the partipants in the fusion have and a combination of their personalities.

Malachite is the fusion between Lapis Lazuli and Jasper, two characters who hated each other and carried lots of personal issues the moment they fused, resulting in a fusion that is unstable. Malachite represents the toxic codependent relationship between the two characters.

Dan Phantom is the fusion between Danny and Vlad's ghost halves, Phantom and Plasmius. Dan was created in a timeline both Danny and Vlad had a lot of issues, with Danny having to deal the lost of his family and being left traumatized. All this trauma along with Vlad's mental state went to Dan, turning him into a destructive ghost.

These are the elements i see that Danny Phantom and Steven Universe series share in common to explain why fandoms often overlap, i'm not sure if there are more that i'm not able to recall at the moment.

[orphanheirs]

Intro Post!💀🦇🕸🕯

Hey there! Figured I'd finally make one of these in case anyone who stumbles on this blog wonders what it's all about.

As it says in my blog description, this is an online space where I can compile and organize imagery, info, and anything else that inspires me related to the novel I'm developing. At least that was the original motivation for making this, but I'm definitely wanting to post some original content surrounding the story and the characters in it soon! This imaginary world has been obsessing me for a few years now, and I'm honestly chomping at the bit to share it with others.

What you'll see on here:

Images related to: gothic lit, the regency period in Europe/Britain, the late 16th/early 17th century, some earlier 18th century, ancient and prehistoric cultures, paganism, the occult, witchcraft, fairies, folklore, the countryside/forests, autumn, Halloween, demons/devils, romantic fashion, screenshots and gifs from films, illustrations/other artists' art that inspires me, and any other random pic that speaks to me or that gives me an idea even vaguely related to the story.

Text posts relating to: all the same subjects above, plus quotes from poetry and literature, other stories that inspire me, and writing advice posts/memes.

Hopefully soon: posts introducing my characters and sharing concept art, ideas, research I've done, who knows what else??

***Content warning for some imagery that may be disturbing (as can be expected, I guess, from a horror aesthetic/theme).***

What the novel's about:

It's [going to be] a gothic/dark fantasy/folk horror/historical fiction novel set in regency Britain and centering around the concept of Halloween and its origins/meaning. Think Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell meets Over the Garden Wall. Kinda. Characters include a bratty aspiring sorcerer, a demonic changeling who wants to be human, a witch, a sin eater, and a handsome devil. Over the course of the plot the question of whether the spirit realm(s) and mortal world should be kept separate will be a source of conflict.

I've had some aspects of this story/characters in my head since I was 14, so it's super special to me!

About me:

I'm an artist, writer, and musician. This is my first time trying to write anything as involved as a novel. I'm having loads of fun with it, though. I love music and reading and history, particularly fashion history, and anything related to the supernatural. The title of my blog is a reference to a song by Echo & the Bunnymen (though I think it's actually an inaccurate lyric :P ).

Ficton books I've been reading lately: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles books, Edgar Allan Poe short stories

Nonfiction books I've been reading: The Devil and All His Works by Dennis Wheatley, Celtic Mythology by Philip Freeman, The Making of Victorian Values by Ben Wilson, Occult Features of Anarchism by Erica Lagalisse, Halloween by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne

Some musical artists I'm into recently: Cranes, Kate Bush, The The, The Smiths, Fiona Apple, Alex G, Caroline Polachek, Imogen Heap, Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, Pinback, Steeleye Span, The Cleaners From Venus, Suzanne Vega, The Garden, Jessica Pratt

Visual Artists I've been thinking about lately: Edward Gorey, Aubrey Beardsley, Nicole Rodrigues, Francisco de Goya, Leonora Carrington, Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, Willam Blake, Edvard Munch, Harry Clarke

Some of my favorite films: The Witch, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, The Wicker Man (original), Meshes of the Afternoon, Days of Heaven, The Thief and the Cobbler, The Masque of the Red Death

Regardless of why you're here, I sincerely hope you enjoy browsing around, and feel free to say hi! :) I would love to link up with other writers on here and make some new pals. Also feel free to like this post and I'll give you a follow!

[soleilceirinen]

Renaissance | teacher!Cillian Murphy x fem!Reader - Part 10*

Summary: you are an Art History student in your last year at university. Cillian is your teacher. A/N: in this story Cillian is about 20 years older than the reader. Everything happens in an alternative universe where he is not an actor or famous, he doesn't have a wife or kids like in real life. Warning: this contains smut* and mentions of it, if you are a minor, do not read it. This is fiction, not based in real life. English is not my first language, sorry if there are mistakes. Thanks for reading! Part 9 - Cillian Murphy Masterlist

A week had passed since Brad left the apartment, at least now you could get out of your room without being afraid of him jumping at you and trying to kiss you or something worse. 

You had been looking at other places but none of them convinced you, they were too old, too expensive or too far from the university. At least your landlord let you stay until the end of the month, which was almost over and you still hadn't found anything. 

Olivia suggested that you could move into her apartment for a while until you found a permanent place, but four people already lived there, five if you included yourself, so you thanked her and continued with the search. Valerie lived in the dorm, so it wasn't an option since bringing in outsiders was against the rules.

And then there was Cillian, who offered you his guest room for as long as you needed it. But you couldn't accept it. Spending time with him in his house was one thing and another completely different living with him, it made you anxious just thinking about it.

"When you finish reading that article, here I leave you this essay by a former student that could be useful to you, it is about the collection of tapestries of Elisabeth the Catholic. You should consider going back a little to the Middle Ages and including her in your research because she really was the driving force behind the patronage of the rest of the women in the family." Cillian's reflective voice brought you back to reality. 

He had made space in his desk so you could study in his office instead of going to the library. “Thanks, I’ll take a look when I finish this,” you said, grabbing the essay and letting it aside. 

Cillian took off his glasses and placed them on the desk. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his back. He then looked at the notes you had taken about the article you were reading. "You're very meticulous," he commented with a nod of approval.

“Thank you,” you smiled shyly. 

He looked so handsome, with the sleeves of his sweater rolled up to his forearms and the edge of his white shirt peeking out from underneath. You swallowed and clenched your thighs, thinking about everything you would do to that man if you could. He noticed it and placed a warm hand on your thigh, his touch making you shiver. 

“If I ask you what you are thinking, would you be completely sincere?”, he wondered, staring at your lips.

You looked at him, hesitating between being honest or making up some excuse. "Promise me you won’t judge me."

He shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek. “I would never judge you.”

“Well, I was thinking about what it would feel like to suck you up right here in your office while you're sitting at your desk," you whispered, leaning into him. He cleared his throat and looked at you with wide eyes. 

You tried to ignore the heat spreading across your cheeks and lower belly, not knowing that Cillian was just as bad if not worse than you. He sighed. “What can I say, Y/N, I’m all yours,” he spoke softly, patting his lap. 

“Are you serious?” you were a bit surprised. Tilting your head to the side, you looked at the closed door. “Right now?”

“It's as good a time as any. This way you get it out of your head and continue with your project with more enthusiasm.”

His words made you laugh. “Okay, Cillian.”

He moved the chair back to make room for you, as you stood up you were able to see his hard length pressing through his trousers. “You liked the idea too, I see.” 

You sat on his thigh, grinding your hips to feel the friction of his jeans against your covered clit. With one hand he grabbed you by the waist to keep you in place while with the other trembling one he tried to unbutton his jeans. You pressed your forehead against his, panting and holding onto his shoulders as you felt your orgasm arrival. 

"You sound so good while you ride my thigh..." He whispered in your ear with a hoarse voice and left a trail of kisses from your earlobe to your neck. That was enough to make you cum. Still holding onto him and panting, you planted a wet kiss on his lips. 

Looking down, you noticed that he had finally managed to unbutton his jeans, so you used your palm to stroke his length, feeling its consistency through the underwear. Cillian clenched his jaw and let out a muffled moan. 

Several knocks on the door made you jump off his lap in a flash, returning to your chair in the corner of the desk. He buttoned his pants as quickly as he could and sat in a funny way, trying to hide his erection. “Come in,” he said out loud after clearing his throat. 

He had completely forgotten that he had a tutoring scheduled that day and it made you laugh, but you tried to cover it up with a cough.

The door opened slightly and a girl from your class stepped in the office. “Good morning, Mr. Murphy. I asked for tutoring today to review the grade I got in last week’s essay…”, she fell silent when she saw you, clearly not expecting to find anyone else in Cillian’s office. 

“Sure, take a seat. Just give me a second to find the essays.” He started looking through the mess of papers and books on his desk until he grabbed a folder, taking one of the papers out of it and staring at the student. “I hope you don’t mind that Y/N is here, she’s working on her final project.”

You gave her a small nod and returned your attention to your notes. However, you couldn't help but notice the way the girl looked at Cillian and how she ran her hand through her hair as she leaned over the desk to look at the writing. He was explaining in a monotone voice which parts of the text would have needed revising before handing it in and which paragraphs she could have written differently to reinforce her own ideas instead of just paraphrasing the original author. 

“For these reasons I have given you that grade, do you agree?”

She bit her lip and looked up thoughtfully. "I don't know, Mr. Murphy. I think I deserve a little more." 

“Try a little harder next time and we'll see,” he said with a polite smile. “Can I help you with something else?”

She said no and after saying goodbye to Cillian, she left the office clearly disappointed, not looking in your direction even once. 

“So, was her essay the kind that makes you want to tear your eyes off?”, you asked innocently. Cillian stared at you bewildered for a moment until he realised what you meant. 

He chuckled. "Kind of, yeah."

You looked at his cheeks, which were still a little flushed. “Cillian, do you think that she has heard us?” 

He shrugged and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know, I didn’t remember about her but next time we can’t forget to lock the door.”

“So, there’s going to be a next time?”, you teased him, smiling playfully. 

Cillian stared at you, fidgeting with his glasses in his hand as he spoke with a pretended seriousness. “Absolutely, yes. More than one, I hope.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Pedro X. Molina :: @newcounterpoint :: @pxmolina

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 1, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 02, 2024

On Tuesday, March 26, Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump’s election interference case, put Trump under a gag order to stop his attacks on court staff, prosecutors, jurors, and witnesses. On Wednesday, Trump renewed his attacks on the judge and the judge’s daughter. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton took the unusual step of talking publicly about what threats of violence meant to the rule of law. Walton, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, told Kaitlan Collins of CNN that threats, especially threats to a judge’s family, undermine the ability of judges to carry out their duties. 

“I think it’s important in order to preserve our democracy that we maintain the rule of law,” Walton said. “And the rule of law can only be maintained if we have independent judicial officers who are able to do their job and ensure that the laws are, in fact, enforced and that the laws are applied equally to everybody who appears in our courthouse.” 

On Friday, former president Trump shared on social media a video of a truck with a decal showing President Joe Biden tied up and seemingly in the bed of the truck, in a position suggesting he was being kidnapped. 

A threat of violence has always been part of Trump’s political performance. In 2016 he urged rallygoers to “knock the crap out of” protesters, and they did. They also turned on people who weren’t protesters. Political scientists Ayal Feinberg, Regina Branton, and Valerie Martinez-Ebers studied the effects of Trump’s 2016 campaign rhetoric against marginalized Americans and found that counties where Trump held rallies had a significant increase in hate incidents in the month after that rally. 

Trump’s stoking of violence became an embrace when he declared there were “very fine people, on both sides,” after protesters stood up against racists, antisemites, white nationalists, Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis, and other alt-right groups met in August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they shouted Nazi slogans and left 19 people injured and one protester, Heather Heyer, dead. 

In October 2020, Trump refused to denounce the far-right Proud Boys organization, instead telling its members to “stand back and stand by.” The Proud Boys turned out for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, where they helped to lead those rioters fired up by Trump’s speech at The Ellipse, where he told them: “You'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing…. And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump’s appeals to violence have gotten even more overt since the events of January 6. 

And yet, on Meet the Press yesterday, Kristen Welker seemed to suggest that there is a general problem in U.S. politics when she described Trump’s attacks on Judge Merchan as “a reminder that we are covering this election against the backdrop of a deeply divided nation.”  

But are the American people deeply divided? Or have Trump and his MAGA supporters driven the Republican Party off the rails?

One of the major issues of the 2024 election—perhaps THE major issue—is reproductive rights. But Americans are not really divided on that issue: on Friday, a new Axios-Ipsos poll found that 81% of Americans agree that “abortion issues should be managed between a woman and her doctor, not the government.” That number includes 65% of Republicans, as well as 82% of Independents and 97% of Democrats. The idea that abortion should be between a woman and her doctor was the language of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, overturned in 2022 with the help of the three extremist justices appointed by Trump. 

Last week, the Congressional Management Foundation, which works with Congress to make it more efficient and accountable, released its study of the state of Congress in 2024. It found that senior congressional staffers overwhelmingly think that Congress is not functioning “as a democratic legislature should.” Eighty percent of them think it is not “an effective forum for debate on questions of public concern.” 

But there is a significant difference in the parties’ perception of what’s wrong. While 61% of Republican staffers are satisfied that Congress members and staff feel safe doing their jobs, only 21% of Democratic staffers agree, and Democratic staffers are significantly more likely to fear for their and others’ safety. Women and longer-tenured staffers are more likely to be questioning whether to stay in Congress due to safety concerns. Eighty-four percent of Democratic staffers think that agreed-upon rules and codes of conduct for senators and representatives are not sufficient to “hold them accountable for their words and deeds,” while only 44% of Republicans say the same.

Republicans themselves seem split about the direction of their party. Republican staffers were far more likely than Democrats to be “questioning whether I should stay in Congress due to heated rhetoric from my party”: 59% to 16%. “The way the House is ‘functioning,’ is frustrating many members,” wrote one House Republican deputy chief of staff. “We have to placate [certain] members and in my nearly ten years of working here I have never felt more like we’re on the wrong track.” 

One Republican Senate communications director blamed extremist political rhetoric for the dysfunction. “[W]ith the nation being in a self-sort mode, it is easy to never hear a dissenting opinion in many areas of the country. People in DC, who work in the Capitol, generally have a collegiate approach to each other. The American people don’t get to see that—at all. From the outside it appears to be a Royal Rumble and bloodsport. It’s reflected in the [way] people, regular citizens, now view one another.” 

A Republican House staff director wrote that Congress is “a representative body and a reflection of the people writ large. When they demand something different of their leaders, their leaders will respond (or they will elect different leaders).”

Burgess Everett and Olivia Beavers of Politico reported yesterday that nearly 20 Republican lawmakers and aides have told them they would like Trump to calm down his rhetoric. They appear to think such violent commentary is unpopular and that it will hurt those running in downballot races if they have to answer for it.

It seems unlikely Trump will willingly temper his comments, since threatening violence seems to be all he has left to combat the legal cases bearing down on him. Over the course of Easter morning, he posted more than 70 times on social media, attacking his opponents and declaring himself to be “The Chosen One.”

Tonight, Trump posted a $175 million appeals bond in the New York civil fraud case. He was unable to secure a bond for the full amount of the judgment, but an appeals court lowered the amount. Posting the bond will let him appeal the judge’s decision. If he wins on appeal, he will avoid paying the judgment. If he loses, the bond is designed to guarantee that Trump will pay the entire amount the judge determined he owes to the people of New York: more than $454 million. 

Trump and his campaign are short of cash, and there were glimmers last week that the public launch of his media network would produce significant money if he could only hold off judgments until he could sell the stock—six months, according to the current agreement—or use his shares as collateral for a bond. The company’s public launch raised the stock price by billions of dollars. 

But this morning the company released its 2023 financial information, showing revenues of $4.1 million last year and a net loss of $58.2 million. The stock plunged about 20%, wiping out about $1 billion of the money that Trump had, on paper anyway, made. The company said it has not made any changes to the provision prohibiting early sales or using shares as collateral. 

Tonight, Judge Merchan expanded the previous gag order on Trump to stop attacks on the judge’s family members. Trump has a right “to speak to the American voters freely and to defend himself publicly,” but “[i]t is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings,” Merchan wrote. “The threat is very real.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[jessilynallendilla]

Danny Phantom Episode Breakdown

Part 2

FUCK UP FACTS IN BOLD

4 ATTACK OF THE KILLER GARAGE SALE 

Jazz is trying to tutor Dash in basic algebra and he’s distracted by her hotness and he’s disproving her thesis that no one is untutorable he can’t even pronounce that word 

Danny still can't control his powers making him a klutz and Dash calls him Fentonowski and a twink 

Jazz is unimpressed he was rude to her brother then tried to ask her out to a party but she’ll go on one condition 

First appearance of Technus ghost Master of Science and Electrical Technology and Danny’s the one who accidentally released him from the portal 

Danny also accidentally gives him the idea to use the technology in the lab to take over the world Technus declares it a great idea and Danny should consider tutoring 

Using the new Fenton Weasel to suck up Technus Danny overloads it causing it to explode green ectoplasm (presumably Technus’s remains) everywhere Jack doesn’t notice any difference in the mess 

Sam offers to pay them the 80+ dollars so they can get into the new amusement park Tucker refuses since he can’t pay her back 

Danny is distracted that everyone including the perfectly flawless Paulina is getting invites to Dash’s hottest party of the year 

Sam tells them in the social circuit they’re invisible it won’t matter in five years but the point they have each other is ignored when Dash gives Danny an invite because Jazz made him 

Now that he’s invited the cool kids notice him 

The next day even Tucker notices Danny acting different now that he’s a part of the in-crowd Kwan calls him "Fentonmiester" (Valerie is with him is she reaming him for ditching their date for the dance) 

Dash gives Danny the magazine Jock’s Quarterly picturing the expected outfit to wear a “chique” sweat suit (the magazine says it has an exclusive Butch Hartman interview) 

Dash won’t be embarrassed so threatens Danny to wear one  

Sam says she almost hates to offer Danny the money for it (so she’s willing to help out her friends even though she doesn’t like their choices) but is cut off by Paulina telling Danny to listen to her “totally krunk” CD and Sam is annoyed by Danny ditching them again 

Maddie's and Jack’s invention to cook hotdogs ten times faster than a microwave reanimates the hotdogs 

As inventors the Fenton’s have plenty of money (so who’s buying these weapons and patents) but as parents they want Danny to earn his own money to understand its value either get a job or sell his old junk and comic books 

Maddie wants the exploded Ghost Weasel to go to the shed and is annoyed it hasn’t been cleaned out in years 

Jack is attached to the junk even though he doesn’t know what it does but does think some of should be gotten rid of giving Danny an idea 

Now the ectoplasm ominously glows 

The next day Dany sells the old junk 

Tucker makes a crack about Lancer being bald and Lancer threatens that he’ll remember it when he’s grading tests 

Sam tells Danny he’s still welcome to hang out at her place Saturday Danny notes they’ve never been to her place 

Danny gets the last twenty he needs from selling Dash “Fentina” computer upgrades and ditches his friends to clean up while he buys the sweats and while Sam complains Tucker also ditches her 

Later Tucker questions that Sam tipped the pizza guy a ten Sam deflects saying she thought it was a one 

Tucker is speechless at Sam’s home theater set up (she has a Jaws poster)  

Sam confesses her family is filthy rich her great grandad Izzy invented the machine that puts cellophane on toothpicks 

Lancer can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than shaving the animal on his back but when he turns it on it glows possessed and grows longer blades shaves an # and flies out the window 

As Danny is driving his moped the shaver attacks him and turns its blades into a cleaver 

It turns into a giant pair of scissors during the fight and Danny tosses it far away and just manages to save his outfit from being ran over 

He sees a bit of glowing wire on the ground noting he should be concerned but has a party to get to 

Sam is annoyed by Tucker asking how rich she is Sam can’t buy a bowling alley as they already have one and there's no room for a second 

Sam’s grandmother bowls a strike (she calls herself Bubbie Yiddish for grandmother already hinting that Sam and her family is Jewish) 

When asked why Sam hangs out with them when she's stinking rich she confesses she didn't want to buy popularity tucker tells her to tell that to Danny  

The remote Sam bought from him is ominously glowing and it cuts to Dash’s computer screen making an evil grin (so after being blown into ectoplasm can ghosts reform after a while) 

The Fenton’s keep the reanimated hotdogs in the fridge 

Danny asks Jazz if new look is “stoopid” Jazz says it is stupid and reveals she’s not going to the party despite being the only reason Dash invited her 

Jack is now freaked out because the stuff is missing from the shed Danny lies that he didn’t see anything 

Jack decides to secure the lab in the meantime and has the hotdogs cover him for protection 

When Danny gets to the party Dash reveals since he’s wasn’t part of his posse he didn’t send him the email that the dress code was changed to loser chique now everyone is dressed like Danny Sam and Tucker Paulina sees Danny's outfit and gags asking if his mom dressed him 

Technus takes over Dash’s computer calling all mechanized spirits to him 

Sam has a toaster from Denmark the glows and floats in the air 

Sam figures that the junk Danny sold was contaminated with ghost stuff 

They gleefully go to ruin Danny's big jock party to warn hm of the haunted technology 

Danny has a terrible time at the party and goes upstairs realizes even though they all all dressed like his friends they aren't (there’s a buff dude dressed like Sam) 

Danny's ghost sense alerts him to the swarm of haunted tech in Dash's room 

Technus’s new tech form is glitchy because Dash didn’t install the upgrade yet and stupidly announces it out loud so Technus can hear and Technus declares it another great idea Danny should be a teacher 

Danny gets blasted into Dash’s closet and finds his collection of letterman jackets and pink and blue teddy bears 

The fight trashes Dash's bedroom and accidentally inserts the upgrade disc 

Tucker gets the Fenton thermos and says Danny should carry it in a lunch box 

The fight gets to Sam and Tucker and the giant Technus mech asks who’s your daddy Danny's punching has absolutely no effect 

Sam and Tucker refuse to help until Danny apologizes that he was stupid and shallow to choose to hang out with the popular kids over them and won't do it again  

Sam declares the old version of Portals XL technus is running on is vaporware the worst software ever 

Technus has a remote that can transform Danny into a cowboy Vanna White and Spock  

Tucker can't bypass the program because Technus had upgraded 

Sam makes a call to have the latest version of Portals XL delivered Tucker makes a pass at the delivery lady 

Sam gets Technus to scream out his name and shout out his motive distracting him as she plugs him into Tucker’s PDA because every new version of Portals XL has a gigantic hole in its security system 

Danny shoves a giant claw into the disc drive and Technus yells that it doesn’t go there as he is shut down 

Danny sucks Technus into the thermos which depossesses the tech (and no one in the city noticed the giant shouting mecha) 

Danny put al the old stuff back in the shed and his dad is checking it all for government bugs (is he that paranoid or is the government really watching them) 

Danny has to return the sweats to return everyone's money and apologizes again for how he treated them he should know how it feels to be invisible 

Dash opens his locker causing an avalanche of teddy bears (why is he still wearing his geek chique outfit)  

Danny says he learned one person's trash is another's revenge 

5 SPLITTING IMAGES 

Sam roped her friends into helping her with her agenda to save the frogs since she claims dissecting frogs is bad and offers humane alternative of mechanical frogs “I can’t believe it’s not a frog cadaver” (why are the robots slimy) 

The Box Ghost attacks and when having scalpels thrown at him Danny thinks Sam has a point about dissection (oh oh Danny don’t go on tumblr or AO3) 

In the auditorium the Box ghost launches costumes and props from the musical My Fair Lady and a depowered Danny 

Sam goes on stage and announces she has something sick and disgusting going on their school she’s about to show them when the curtain is pulled up it reveals Danny in a dress and tucker says he should take it off it’s weird (but that soft pink does looks nice on him) 

Sam is angry at Danny for ruining her assembly and Tucker says that puce bra wasn’t his color 

Because Boxy trashed his locker he was assigned a new one 724 (it’s extremely rusty did maintenance just ignore it and never replaced it) 

Danny is apparently ignorant about the legend of this locker being curse and touches the mysterious mirror inside it 

Dash bullies him by shoving him in his new locker 

Danny is petty with his powers again and possess Dash to slam his head on the lockers repeatedly and dunk himself in the janitor’s mop bucket 

When they leave and eerie voice from the locker chants bullies  

Maddie and Jack heard Danny got a new haunted locker and will stake it out during school Jazz tries to defend him by saying he doesn’t need them confirming he’s a clumsy nerd 

Jack wrecks the kitchen trying out the new Ghost Gloves 

As some jocks bully the marching band tuba player the 724 locker door flies open knocking one out  

As Paulina flirts with the AV nerd to distract him as Kwan ties his shoes together the locker causes a trophy to fall on Kwan's head making him knock into a fire extinguisher and spray foam in Paulina’s hair and the spirit also reties the kid’s shoes 

At lunch Danny swears to Sam it wasn’t him then he possesses Dash and tosses the tray of food on Paulina (so his crush on her is over I take it) 

Sam tries to tell Danny he shouldn’t use his powers like that but sees Lancer and books it outta there 

Tucker then expositions the legend of the haunted locker  

It was originally owned by a Poindexter named Sidney back in the fifties 1954-1958 it was class of 55 Sidney was the most bullied kid in Casper High history to the point it was a graduation requirement and he was shoved in his locker so much it’s believed his spirit haunts it (so did Sidney kill himself or did he die from a prank gone wrong) 

Sam comes back with the box of frogs she smuggled out of the biology lab 

Dash throws food at Danny and he’s had enough (the jumping frogs reflecting in Danny’s sclera look weird) 

Danny gives Dash and atomic wedgie and dumps the frogs in his pants as revenge (him standing in the shadows of a deserted hallway looks menacing) 

Sidney is finally free of his locker the doorway has been opened (so objects can be portals to the Ghost Zone well some cultures do believe mirror can be a way into the afterlife) 

Sidney accuses Danny of being a bully and poltergeists the school Lancer sees the exploding lab equipment and shouts “Great Gatsby” 

Jazz tells her parents there’s nothing weird in the school as the student body runs out the doors screaming in terror 

Sidney calls tucker a nerd which he takes offense to (he’s a techno geek) 

In the fight Danny depowers shocking Sidney that he’s the Halfa everybody in the Ghost Zone talks about him he’s half a boy half a ghost 

Sidney is angry he was using his powers for evil and won't listen as Danny tries to explain why he took over Dash’s body giving Sidney the idea to take over his body (Danny’s body glows green and he starts to painfully contort is this what happens when the host fights back or when a ghost possesses another ghost in the fight for control)  

Danny’s spirit is sent to Sidney’s world as Sidney (in Danny’s body he has Sidney’s red eyes from the possession and in Sidney’s world Danny sees in the mirror he looks like Sidney but has his green eyes) 

Tucker covers Danny/Sidney from his parents (so can people slightly see the outline of a ghost when they’re technically intangible) 

As Sidney Danny is bullied by the students (if this is Sidney’s lair why is it so awful if it goes with the suicide theory are ghosts punished for it in the afterlife or could Sidney just not picture a life for him other than being abused) 

When Danny tries to escape the school it’s just floating in the Ghost Zone and he almost falls (so can he not use his powers here or did he panic and forget to fly) 

Danny/Sidney is just happy to have friends and they ask if he’s alright since his voice is weird (he’s been using dated slang) Danny/Sidney says it’s puberty  

Danny/Sidney uses his powers to get Dash (who also notices he’s talking weird and also thinks its puberty) a bunch of sodas from the machine since he thinks he’s a poor kid that already lost a bunch of quarters from the school bullies he tosses them to everyone calling them egg creams (the drink doesn’t contain neither egg nor cream) 

Danny is able to possess the mirror enough to open the locker on the living plane and see what Sidney is doing and his friends can't hear him 

Kwan invites Danny/Sidney to touch football when Danny/Sidney sees the locker open he slams it closed throwing Danny back in the ghost school 

Danny forces enough energy through the mirror to track his friends to the football field and write in the dirt 

Dash and his goons leave Danny/Sidney to get pummeled by the opposing team’s tackle but he uses his intangibility to escape impressing them with his game (Sam and Tucker look happy he has this moment)  

Danny’s message for them to open locker 724 is ruined by his parents hunting for the ghost but Maddie doesn’t believe their machine when it says Danny is a ghost  

Jack gives Tucker the Ghost Gloes as he goes to the bathroom 

As they’ll be staking out the school all night Dash declares there’ll be a party at Fenton’s house Danny/Sidney asks where he lives (so the ghost doesn't have the memories or habits of the person they are possessing)  

Tucker thinks something’s up since Danny’s acting off Sam plans to use his residual popularity for her save the frogs crusade 

As Sam and Tucker go to get more frog pins Danny contacts them from the locker mirror and tells them Sidney took over his body and sent him to this bizzarro spirit world 

Danny proves it’s really him by saying in the second-grade tucker threw up in Sam's lunch box and blamed it on Ricky Marsh Sam kicked him off the monkey bars for it 

The mirror is some kind of portal but he can't phase through it he thinks it serves him right for using his powers to act like a bully now he’ll be bullied for the rest of eternity 

They need to send Sidney back in so Sam gets Danny/Sidney saying a nerd is being shoved inside his locker (Danny/Sidney just assumes it’s Tucker) 

Tucker uses the ghost gloves to shove Danny/Sidney through the mirror 

Danny/Sidney fights Danny but he’s terrible at it “You may have my powers but you sure don’t know how to use ‘em course I don’t know how to use them but at least I know how not to use ’em better than you do” 

 The students watched as they believe Sidney is fighting the Halfa and winning 

Danny gets thrown into his locker but takes the mirror threatening to smash it stranding them both there (so is this Ghost School cut off from the rest of the Ghost Zone then how did they know about Danny being a Halfa) 

Danny/Sidney takes the bait and possesses Danny again Sidney’s body contorts as Danny gets his body back and escapes through the mirror 

Sidney’s plans of revenge are put on hold as the fight with Danny made him popular 

Danny falls out of the locker landing on Lancer as he’s carrying the frogs releasing them 

Danny says he used his powers to become the kind of person he hates and won't do it again so they believe it’s the real him 

Danny then smashes the mirror getting him in trouble with Lancer for destroying school property (but it was Sidney’s mirror school lockers don’t have mirrors) 

Lancer would hold him responsible for the escaped frogs too but as upstanding students like Dash have a problem with it he’ll overlook the frogs then tells Sam she could learn from them about activism 

Lancer assigns Danny a new locker (why the locker wasn’t damaged just the mirror or did you just now decide it’s a rusty piece of shit) 

Danny’s new locker is in the band room and he loses his new popularity  

The Box ghost then steals Sam’s mechanical frog declaring he’s now the mechanical frog ghost but changes his mind when it starts sparking (all it will take is one student with an over protective parent to be electrocuted for the school to go back to real frogs and avoid a lawsuit) 

[aurorawest]

Reading update

White Trash Warlock by David R Slayton - 4.75/5 stars

Urban fantasy with a protagonist from a trailer park, who, for bonus points, got sectioned by his older brother as a teen. Daddy issues, mommy issues, and brother issues, what's not to like? I ordered everything else by this author I could find when I finished the book, including the other two books in this series.

The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos - DNF

Boring.

The Revolutionary and the Rogue by Blake Ferre - DNF

Boring, with the added crime of actual plot happening but still, somehow, nothing actually happening. I kept reading whole pages and realizing I had no idea what I'd just read.

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard - DNF

OMFG CAN I CATCH A BREAK. This was such a disappointing DNF, too, because I'd really been looking forward to it. One of the characters is a spaceship and it bills itself as a space opera? Yes please. But after the initial marriage of convenience setup, it's just all a bunch of pointless, boring conversations. Nothing happens. I flipped ahead. Still nothing happening. Not a space opera but definitely cozy sci-fi, which I think I officially hate.

Honeytrap by Aster Glenn Gray - 5/5 stars

An FBI agent and a GRU agent get assigned to work a case together in 1959 and they fall in looooove. But oof, this book was so good. I'm not sure I've ever had a time skip hit me in the gut so hard. I really can't recommend this book enough, it fits squarely in my niche interest of mid-century America or Britain m/m romance. I think Natasha Pulley also awakened something in me with The Half Life of Valery K, because I seem to be a sucker for gay Soviet men. Speaking of, if you liked The Half Life of Valery K, I bet you'll like this too! Anyway, read this, but be prepared to be hurt by it.

Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro - 4/5 stars

X-men meets Strangers Things with a dash of English boarding school, set in Victorian Britain.

Human Enough by ES Yu - DNF

Promising until it devolved into boring, pointless conversations and tumblr posts on neurodivergence.

Olympic Enemies by Rebecca J Caffery - DNF

I put this down on page 12 and my wife grabbed it to flip through it, cackling at the amateurish prose.

Frost Bite by J Emery - 4.5/5 stars

Snowed-in cabin fic with an enemies to lovers romance between a vampire and a (former) vampire hunter. It was cute and a quick read.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner - DNF

Very Not Like Other Girls. Also read a review that said pregnancy was a huge focus of the book, and that's a squick for me.

Reverie by Ryan La Sala - 3.75/5 stars

This book didn't quite live up to the promise of its beginning (missing memories, bizarre disruptions to time and space) and the writing was a little twee at times, but overall I enjoyed it. This was the author's debut, so I suspect subsequent books will probably be better. I did feel like the teenage main characters were weirdly inured to death, which also contributed to me knocking of a quarter of a star from what would otherwise have been a solid 4 star book.

All Souls Near & Nigh by Hailey Turner - 3/5 stars

If you like The Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards, this series might be worth picking up. I will say, though, that it's nowhere near as good. I think it's a combination of pacing and too many characters that detracts from my enjoyment of this series. This is the second book and I enjoyed it more than the first, probably because I sort of remembered the massive cast of characters from the first one. It's one of those things where I really don't think they're all necessary and some should be combined with others. The pacing is also...weird. It's pretty much nonstop action. At one point I think the main character drove back and forth between various crime scene locations and his office like 5 times in a day.

That said! Despite the issues, clearly I still picked up book 2, and I'll probably read book 3 at some point. I really like the two main characters.