#amity thereafter

[ep-10]

3D Fenton Works

Used as background in my Webtoon comic "Amity Thereafter"

[astirysk2electricboogaloo]

[confessedlyfannish]

DP x DC Writing Prompt #5

Damian does not glance back at Bruce when he knocks on the door. Instead they both wait in silence.

After a moment, the door opens.

"Hello," Jasmine, Jazz, Fenton greets politely, unsurprised to find the Waynes on her doorstep. Damian's expression grows ever darker at this revelation.

"Hello Ms. Fenton, are your parents home?" Bruce asks, placing a firm hand on Damian's shoulder, to ground as much as to restrain. To his credit he does not shake it off.

"No, they're out of town for a conference," the eighteen year-old says, opening the door wider. "But I think you'd better come in."

Bruce would normally decline, but Ms. Fenton is a legal adult and he has already, even unknowingly, waited 16 years. Damian makes the choice for him, striding past the threshold.

"Please take a seat," Jazz says as she leads them to the living room. She ignores Damian's swinging head as he takes in the home. It is deceptively large, a 90s style house filled with modern furniture. The walls are bright, with purple and green accents that would normally feel garish but somehow work. The stairs leading to the second floor are lined with family photos that Bruce yearns to take a closer look at. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"

"No, that's alright, thank you," Bruce says, taking a seat on the long plush couch. A men's windbreaker lies haphazardly thrown across one of the arms. A closed container of Oreo cookies sit on the coffee table next to a physics textbook open to chapter 16, half covered in highlighter and filled with sticky notes. There's a child's painting framed next to the tv, a handprint made to look like a thanksgiving turkey in bright blue.

For the home of experimental scientists, it is cozy and well lived-in.

Damian repeatedly glances at the stairs through the doorway.

Bruce clears his throat. "We were hoping to--"

"I've texted--oh, I'm sorry," Jazz says, having spoken at the same time. Bruce gestures for her to go on.

"I've contacted Danny, he should be here soon. He was out with some friends." Jazz explains. As she hadn't pulled out a phone in their presence, Bruce can only deduce they have some sort of camera at their front door. This also explains Ms. Fenton's complete lack of surprise at their appearance.

"So you know who we are." Damian says, the first words he's spoken since they arrived at the house and the longest sentence he's spoken since they arrived in Amity Park.

"I do," Jazz says, calm in the face of Damian's clearly simmering anger. Bruce trusts him not to attack Ms. Fenton, but he still watches him carefully.

"He told you about me," Damian says. It is the same question, but it is also not.

"He did," Jazz says.

Damian swallows. "I see," he grits out.

Jazz's neutrality slips and her face softens in sympathy. "Damian," she starts hesitantly, but before she can say anything else the front door opens.

A moment later Bruce's son walks through the doorway, and Damian is on him.

This is what Bruce hoped to prevent, but despite his numerous checks of Damian's luggage his son has still managed to smuggle a small dagger, which he now produces and swings in a calculated arc at Daniel Fenton's jugular.

Danny dodges cleanly, and dodges every swipe thereafter in a manner that speaks to continued practice long after his time at the League. Damian is a perfect product of his training, but it is up against Danny his flaws come to light. He is just as good as he always was, but Danny is better.

In a matter of seconds Damian grows frustrated and sloppy in his attacks, completely atypical for him. Danny takes Damian out at the knees and pins him down with one arm, pressing his face into the carpet.

"Calm down," he orders. His voice is deeper than Damian's at sixteen to his twelve, the accent that still traces Damian's words completely gone from his speech. Damian growls and thrusts his head back into Danny's face, meeting it with a sharp thunk. He rolls up as Danny recoils, putting distance between them. Danny glares at him from several steps away, hand to his forehead. Damian tosses the dagger into his other hand as he charges, and to Bruce's surprise Danny does nothing more than turn his face to the side, allowing Damian to draw a sharp line down his cheek.

Damian stops dead in his tracks.

"Are you done?" Danny asks, blood beginning to pool at the seam of the cut.

Damian's expression is stricken, eyes stuck on the blood starting to drip down his brother's face.

"I said, are you done, Damian?" Danny asks. His voice is cold.

Damian hears him this time, and he flushes red. "I--you--"

Danny sighs. He looks at Jazz, whose expression is back to carefully controlled.

"Are you alright?" he asks her. She nods.

"You left me," Damian accuses, standing there holding his bloody dagger limply.

Danny turns back to him, raising an eyebrow.

"You left me," Damian repeats louder, rapidly blinking.

"Yes. I did." Danny provides no excuse nor any explanation. His stance is unyielding.

Damian's eyes bounce wildly, shifting to Jazz and Danny slides smoothly in front of her, protectively. He looks at Damian warily, not as if he is his brother, but as if he is a danger. Damian flinches.

Hope is the last to die, Bruce thinks, watching as that last bit of hope Damian had is extinguished, the knowledge working its way through every inch of his body like ice in his veins. His eyes darken. He turns and runs from the room, the front door slamming shut not a moment later.

Jazz stands up, pulling a few tissues from the box on the coffee table. She presses them to Danny's face, cupping his cheek until he holds it himself. "I'm going to go get the first aid kit," she says gently. It is a thinly veiled excuse to leave them alone, and Bruce is grateful for it as she heads for the stairs.

They both wait until her footsteps have faded, taking each other in. Bruce looks at his mother's eyes and the sharp turn of Talia's nose. Damian's everything, four years older.

"You shouldn't have come here," Danny says, throwing himself on the armchair Jazz has just vacated.

"You know who I am," Bruce says carefully.

Danny glares. "I've kept your secret. She nor my parents know."

"I know," Bruce says. "That's not what I meant. You know who I am. And who I pretend to be. So you know I am familiar with masks."

"And?" Danny asks, looking vaguely bored.

"And so I can recognize when someone is wearing one. Damian will too, once he's calmed down."

Danny's expression sharpens. "No, he won't. Because you are going to go to back to whatever bed and breakfast you're staying in, pack up, hop in your private jet and fly him back to Gotham immediately before the League realizes you've gone. If they haven't already," he mutters.

"This is about the League then," Bruce says. "Do you not believe I can protect you?"

"I don't need your protection," Danny snaps, and watches Bruce actively extrapolate with a dawning resignation. "So this is the World's Greatest Detective at work," he says, slumping bonelessly into his chair, the first teenager-y thing he's done.

"Damian's in danger from the League," Bruce says. Danny glares from his slump. It's almost cute. "And as long as the League doesn't know about you, he's safe."

"Draw your own conclusions," Danny says, baring his teeth. Damian often makes the same face. "As long as you leave."

"I can protect him. I can protect you both," Bruce says. "Let me help you."

Danny closes his eyes. He centers his breathing in an exercise someone has clearly walked him through in the past. Bruce would bet money on the adoptive sister waiting patiently upstairs.

"Mr. Wayne. You are not my father," he says. "My trust in you extends to the point that I left Damian in your care, but that is where it ends. And that was when it was sanctioned by the League. By coming here you have endangered those sanctions."

Bruce disregards the sting, doubling down on his analysis. Talia had left Damian with Bruce well after Danny had left the League. But Danny speaks as if the decision had been his.

Or perhaps, Bruce realizes, it is not that Danny decided upon it, but that Danny allowed it to continue.

Bruce takes a second to review what Oracle had gone over with him before they left for Amity. Daniel Fenton had by all accounts, since leaving the League, lived a fairly normal life. His adoptive parents were eccentric scientists dabbling in the occult but their findings that bordered pseudoscience circulated a very niche community of like-minded eccentrics. The bulk of their income came from alternative energy, a more viable source of study that they'd veered harder into in the past year or so, a government contract with the EPA currently in the works. This had in part funded a vacation to an all-inclusive resort the family had taken that past summer.

Danny received average grades in school, above average in science and mathematics, declining sharply in his freshman year and sophomore year before evening out around the second semester. He had gotten into fights repeatedly with one student in particular, suspended for two weeks following an incident that resulted in a the student receiving a black eye. Teachers reported him to be highly intelligent but distracted and removed. They had recommended he be evaluated for an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He had no social media. He had missed multiple picture days. The ones he had attended he was sneezing, or a blur of movement, even going so far as to fall off his stool, legs flailing. Bruce had drank up every last one as Barbara had waited patiently.

A normal life. A family vacation to Bermuda. Average grades.

His freshman year, distracted and removed. The same year Damian had arrived at Bruce's home. Masks upon masks.

"You have informants within the League," Bruce says. Danny, to his credit, has no discernible tell. But there is no other explanation. "What will you do, if they find out you are alive?"

"That is none of your concern," Danny says, but he might as well be saying whatever I have to.

He never stopped practicing, after all.

"If they go after Damian, it is my concern."

"And that is why you need to take Damian back to Gotham before they do." Danny says. "I will take care of it."

Damian had barely spoken since he had realized Danyal was alive. But Bruce had seen the reverence in his eyes as he looked at the file.

"الوريث الصحيح" he had murmured. The rightful heir.

"You are proposing going after the entirety of the League with no backup," Bruce says. "Even if you think they won't kill you, you won't win either."

"Maybe they will," Danny says lightly. "Kill me. That would also work."

Bruce inhales sharply. "Danny," he starts.

"Go home, Mr. Wayne," Danny says, pushing himself up with one hand. The other still clutches the wad of tissue to his cheek, partially soaked with blood. "Go take care of your son."

"I'll go," Bruce says, "I'll take him to the Watchtower. And then I'll come back."

"Mr. Wayne-"

"I should've come for you," Bruce interrupts. "Sixteen years ago. I should've come for you."

Danny's brow furrows. "You had no idea I existed."

"But if I had. I would've come. I never would've left you there. And now that I know, I am not leaving you now."

For the first time Bruce watches Danny be completely caught off guard. He openly gapes at Bruce.

"You would've died," Danny lands on, voice thin. "They would've killed you."

"Unlike you, I would've brought backup." Bruce says, mimicking Danny's lightness.

He's lying. Sixteen years ago he would've thrown himself at the League to save his newborn son without a plan, without a thought beyond rescuing his baby.

Danny barks out a laugh. "You would've laid siege to Nanda Parbat with The Big Blue Boy Scout?" he looks wistful. "That would've been rad."

Bruce sees his opening. "Danny," he stands, eye to eye with his son. "Let me help you."

Danny evaluates him. "The Batman," he says softly. "I didn't want you to come, then. I didn't need one more person I had to prove myself to. All I wanted was to live amongst the stars, in the quiet of the cosmos."

"You want to be an astronaut," Bruce says. At Danny's cocked head, he says without shame, "I read your essay on personal heroes. You wrote about Edward White. Ad Astra Per Aspera."

Danny smiles slightly, sadly. "It is a rough road."

"You can be whatever you want to be," Bruce says. "I won't stand in your way."

"Even if I want to be Danny Fenton?" he asks.

"Even then."

Danny sighs. "I don't need your help Bruce," he says. "No," he says as Bruce opens his mouth. He pulls the wad of tissues away from his cheek. Underneath the splotches of dried blood the gash in his face has cleanly knit itself together, a faint white line now all that remains.

"I don't need your help," he says clearly. He holds a palm forward, and a green fire grows from its center, until the flames are licking delicately up his fingers.

"I know The Batman does not kill. But I am not a Robin. I am something else entirely," Danny says, his eyes reflecting the green of the flames. Or not, as he looks up at Bruce, his eyes green all on their own. They are sad. This is why he stayed away, Bruce realizes. Not out of fear. Danny is not afraid. Danny is tired.

But for his brother, Danny will wake up.

"And If the League takes one step towards Damian, I will raze them to the ground."

[notedgyanymore]

Here's an idea that I had after making this post, just to be clear, you don't have to read my old post to understand this one.

Basically this a typical “Danny runs way to Gotham to escape from his parents and the government” but here's the twist the Fentons don't think he is a dangerous monster who killed their son, no, they think Danny is only dangerous to himself, they see his ghost self as a lifelong sickness that affects the body and the mind and the GIW pretty much thinks the same way. In fact, this started when Vlad's secret was revealed, and he got institutionalized because the court ruled that Vlad couldn't be responsible for his actions as he was influenced by a ghostly obsession, and therefore he should receive treatment instead of punishment.

Shortly thereafter the GIW created screening tests to find and help more people who suffer from similar ectoplasmic contaminations, with their test were able to detect mild curable cases that are just temporary to lifelong chronic conditions like halfas or liminals, it was in one of those tests that Danny got caught. After an evaluation, the GIW concluded that Danny was mostly just a danger to himself and since his parents were specialists in the field, it was best to leave him with them.

Since this all happened, Danny has lost most of the freedoms he once had, he is now homeschooled, has to constantly wear devices that restrict his powers, can't use his ghost form or fight to protect Amity Park, has to go to a psychologist every week and a psychiatrist every month to manage his “ghostly impulses” and gets minor “protective tasks” to safely indulge in his obsession which he knows are completely meaningless. Danny is also strictly forbidden to go outside without supervision in fear that something like a ghost attack might trigger his obsession, so now he can only hang out with Sam and Tucker in his house or talk to them on the phone likewise he is banned from entering his parents' lab not because it's dangerous mind you but because there are things there that might upset him as full ghost still have no rights and are fair game to torture in the Fenton household.

Needless to say there are plenty of reasons as to why Danny ran away from home, and yet when he first got to the city of Gotham he didn't expect to get any help much less from a vigilant who is unaware that he is also in danger of losing his freedom and autonomy but hey Jason can't say he expected to get a new brother either, so you can say that they are both lost when it comes to what the future holds.

[noras-dc-shenanigans]

Distant Relatives | Engrave

Daniel James Fenton

1990-2004

He will forever remain in spirit.

“Seriously?”

Sam leveled a flat look at her boyfriend, who grinned proudly back as the headstone was fully settled into the ground. On his other side, Tucker exchanged an exasperated look with the goth and spoke in a tone to match.

“Ya know, I’m pretty sure designing your own headstone isn’t supposed to happen until, like, a lot later in life. And I’m also pretty sure you’re not supposed to plan, attend, and give a speech at your own funeral. And come on, man, really? ‘Remain in spirit?’ That’s the best ghost pun you could come up with?”

“Hey!” Danny exclaimed, affronted, “I was going for subtlety. And if the Justice League is offering to give me a proper grave for me to get gifts at, I’m gonna do the whole shebang! And it’s not like I’ll ever get a real funeral, anyways, so I’m gonna make the most of it!”

While intended as a joke, the last sentence instead reminded everyone of exactly why they were doing ‘the whole shebang’ in the first place. As of the week before, it’d been five years since Danny had died and resurrected at the safe time, and turned him into a rare Halfa.

In that time, Danny had, accidentally, won the title of Ghost King during a fight with the previous holder. That had subsequently caused him to spend every single Saturday in one of Clockwork’s Time-Out bubbles, learning how to be king.

Occasionally, that had involved CW sending Danny to shadow (heh) other ghost leaders such as Princess Dora, Frostbite, and Pandora. Other times, it was lessons on the Ghost Zone’s history and all the different afterlives it contained. And yet other times, the Master of Time would decide that a practical lesson in using what Danny had learned would be best.

That had meant that, once a month or so, Clockwork would drop Danny into a random city, tell him who/what to look for and/or what to do, and then disappear.

(Danny still wasn’t sure if he’d ever actually left or if the old geezer had just hidden somewhere to watch and laugh.)

That had led to Danny, age 17, accidentally bumping into Batman, Robin (the sword wielding one) and Wonder Woman, who had been looking for the same magical, time-messing-up artifact that CW had sent Phantom after. It was… not a great start, as they’d found him intangibly retrieving (stealing from a museum case) said item, Robin had attacked, Phantom had still been intangible, and Robin had gone straight through him and smacked into the wall, knocking a portrait off and setting the alarm ringing.

That had set them all fleeing for the exits, as they were in an ~Unnamed~ country that would not appreciate people stealing their shiny, new, (blackmarket stolen) exhibit.

Luckily, they’d made it out without being seen, and had been able to sort out the ah, situation. They’d come to an agreement that he would take the piece, as they hadn’t actually been able to come up with a way to contain its magic, and Phantom would also take a League communicator, so that they could coordinate if they wound up after the same thing again.

Over the next few months, one thing led to another and the Justice League discovered that the GIW was blocking anyone in Amity Park from calling them for help. They dug deeper, discovered the Anti-Ecto Acts, and suddenly every major newspaper in the country was writing a story on the ‘Ecto-trocities’. The government, called out about the violations against the Meta-Human Protection laws, were forced to abolish the Acts and disband the GIW.

Shortly thereafter, the League had approached a freshly-18 Phantom about joining up, he’d agreed with the ‘I’m-still-a-dimensional-ruler-though-so-I’ll-mostly-be-available-for-emergencies’ stipulation, and badda-bing badda-boom!

Phantom was officially a member of the Justice League.

Now, obviously, the whole ‘dimensional ruler’ thing had to be explained, especially after they learned the while Halfa situation, and one day, outta the blue, Batman had asked if Phantom had ever gotten a proper burial.

This of course had led to Phantom having to come clean about his Danny Fenton half, and that no, he hadn’t, and even though graves and final rites were considered very important in ghost culture he wasn’t really dead so he couldn’t have a funeral and getting a headstone seemed weird on his own ya’ know?

And… well. Apparently, he hadn’t come off as casual as he’d been trying to, because a week later he was offered an official funeral service and a grave stone in a high-securing cemetery reserved strictly for heroes, to prevent grave robbery and desecration.

So here Danny was, watching a gravestone that he’d designed being placed under a tree, as without a body they didn’t have to worry about roots. Sam and Tucker continued to nag him about his engraving choice, all the way through the funeral, and Danny’s speeches, and also their own speeches, as they were the only ones ‘in-the-know’ that had been invited. He was still working up the courage to tell his parents, and Jazz was present but declined to speak, citing some psychological mumbo-jumbo.

All in all, it was a fantastic funeral, if Danny did say so himself, and he got some awesome grave gifts! His favorites were the gold drachma from Wonder Woman and the moon rock from Superman.

Later that night, alone in the dark, thankfully still-mostly empty cemetery, he stood gazing down at his own grave, and the gifts, and the engraving, and smiled.

————

A day late due to having to deal with car issues, but still done! I have the start of a different route I was taking for this but couldn’t get to finish, so I might post that at a later date.

[lavendarlily]

ectoberhaunt day 13: horror flick @ectoberhaunt

nightlight

words: 1602

relationships: gray ghost

read it on ao3

valerie and danny celebrate friday the 13th

Even at four years old, there was little that Valerie Gray was afraid of. She’d climb the tallest trees, spin flips on the monkey bars, and never ever let the older kids mess with her or her friends. 

That didn’t mean she didn’t need her nightlight. 

Valerie wasn’t scared of the dark. That’d be silly. No, she was afraid of what hid in the dark. The monster under her bed, the ghosts in her closet. Alone in her bedroom at night Valerie felt completely vulnerable. 

She’s woken her father up enough times with tales of what was lurking around her room that he finally invested in a nightlight. They plugged it in together, and turned off the lights. A warm glow emanated from the device, providing a sense of safety to Valerie. That night she slept soundly, and every night thereafter. 

Now at sixteen, there was still very little that frightened Valerie Gray, having now stood up to actual ghosts and monsters, rather than those from her imagination as a child. She was brave and motivated. Nothing could stand in her way. 

Today was Friday the 13th - an unofficial holiday in Amity Park. She’d proudly managed to snag her boyfriend away from his friends for the night to watch a horror movie together (and cuddle a bit. Maybe more - she was sixteen after all). Valerie had gathered a few candles, her coziest blankets, and a mix of her and Danny’s favorite snacks, and prayed to whatever force was out there that there wouldn’t be any loose ghosts about for just this one evening. One evening! That’s all she wanted! One evening with her dorky, wonderful boyfriend, without having to make some lame excuse to leave so she could detain the freaking Box Ghost again.

Her father emerged from his bedroom dressed for his night shift. He looked at his daughter’s set up, then gave her a look that said no funny business before kissing her head and walking out the door. Not much later did her doorbell ring, signaling the arrival of her beloved guest. With a smile on her face, Valerie opened the door to her favorite pair of blue eyes and troublesome grin. 

“Hey you,” he greeted, enveloping her in his arms. Despite his lower-than-normal body temperature, Valerie curled up into his body, taking in the scent of his clothes, feeling the soft thud of his heart in his chest, letting her guard down in the place she felt safest. Too soon he released her, and they moved to the living room.

His eyes sparkled as he sifted through the selection of curated snacks, grabbing the bag of mini Oreo’s and a blanket and settling on the couch. He patted the empty spot next to him, and Valerie plopped beside him, snatching a corner of the blanket and pulling it over.

“Hey!” Danny protested, yanking the blanket back. “Get your own!” 

Valerie giggled, swiping the blanket completely out of her boyfriend’s grasp, taunting him to fight for it. He scrunched his nose then threw himself on top of her, awkwardly laying all his weight onto her chest and lap. 

“I’m your blanket now,” he said. 

Valerie laughed. “Get off me, dork.” 

She pushed him off her body so he was once again sitting upright, then cuddled up next to him, spreading the blanket so it covered them both, then kissed his cheek.

“Fine. We can share, I guess,” he joked, and reached for his bag of Oreo’s. “What are we watching?”

“I was thinking something classic,” Valerie answered, reaching for the remote. She scrolled through their options until she landed on The Conjuring.

“Sounds good to me,” Danny said through a mouthful of cookies.

She hit play, then snuggled in for the next two hours.

————

At first, Danny’s gasps and reaches for her hand were cute. Every build up she could feel his heart racing beneath his chest, and each jump scare prompted him to squeeze her hand. However, it stopped being as cute when he nearly broke her hand by how hard his grasp was. 

“AH! Danny! Careful,” she objected, shaking out her sore hand.

He blinked, coming out of his focus on the film, then frowned. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry Val,” he apologized, puppy dog eyes in full effect.

“It’s okay, just…gentle, okay?”

He nodded, then placed his arm around her and pulled her in, placing a kiss on her forehead before returning his attention to the movie.

She must have dozed off at some point, because she found herself opening her eyes to a brightened room and the TV playing some comedy film. Her boyfriend sat next to her, tapping away on his phone.

Valerie yawned and sat up to stretch. “Jeez, did I really fall asleep? I’m sorry.”

Danny smiled warmly at her. “You’re fine.”

She checked the time - it was late. “Guess you should be getting home, huh?” Valerie felt terrible. Finally grabbing some alone time and she totally knocked out. 

Danny bit his lip, and looked around the room. “Uh…can I stay for a little? Maybe for the night?”

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows. Danny didn’t normally try to take advantage of the nights her dad wasn’t home - one thing she loved about him was the respect he held for her boundaries. 

Taking this into consideration, she had to wonder.

“Danny…are you scared after watching that?” she ventured.

He stiffened. “No! No- not at all!” he protested. “Maybe I just want to spend the night with my girlfriend, like any teenage boy, right?”

Oh yeah, he was totally freaked out. A smile crept onto her face. She found it hilarious that despite all they faced in Amity Park, her boyfriend could still get spooked by a horror film. 

“What are you laughing at?” he pouted. “It’s completely normal for a guy my age to want to-”

Valerie playfully shoved him. “Danny, get over yourself. We both know what this is really about.” She pulled him into herself, so that her arms were around his chest and his head was laying on her shoulder. “I’ll keep you safe from Bathsheba.” Beneath her, he closed his eyes and groaned, a small blush creeping up his neck. 

Releasing him, Valerie went to her room and grabbed a spare pillow. She returned to the living room and threw it at Danny’s face, giggling at the muffled “oof” that resulted from its landing. 

“You can sleep on the couch, but you have to be gone before seven tomorrow when my dad gets back,” she warned. Valerie knew her father would flip out if he came home to Danny on the sofa; she didn’t want to risk any consequences that would result in restricting her being able to spend time with him. It was already hard enough, with the constant ghosts attacking and her job at the Nasty Burger. 

She turned to leave, but Danny called out to her. “Can you…stay?” he asked cautiously. “Just until I fall asleep?” he hurriedly added. 

Valerie rolled her eyes, but nonetheless made her way to the sofa. “Scooch,” she ordered, then slid between him and the backrest. She slipped her arms around him and tucked her head into the crook of his neck. If he was going to act so needy, he was getting little spooned. 

Just as she got comfortable, Valerie realized something. The lights were still on. With a groan, she sat up, and started inching off the couch. 

“Wait, where are you going?” came Danny’s voice, a touch of worry laced in his words.

Valerie placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just turning out the lights, silly.” She moved to stand up, but Danny had grabbed her hand. 

“Can we just leave them on?” he asked, avoiding eye contact. 

“Danny,” Valerie replied, exasperated. As much as she loved him, she was so going to make fun of him for this later, despite the fact that she found this display a little endearing. “How are you going to fall asleep with the lights still on?” 

He looked at her pleadingly. “Vallllll,” he whined. 

She squeezed the hand he was still holding, then let go. “I’ll be right back, ok?” Valerie slipped away to her bedroom, racking her brain for where she had last seen it. Was it in her junk drawer, or that box in her closet? Did she even still have it?

After a few moments of searching, Valerie found the object she’d needed stashed away in a drawer with other trinkets from her childhood. She hoped it still worked. She returned to the living room and found an outlet in the corner. Perfect. Valerie plugged it in and turned off the lights, prompting a “What are you doing?” from Danny. 

It took a moment, but he realized the room was not completely dark as he expected. Rather, there was a soft and friendly glow coming from the corner that provided just enough visibility of the room without compromising the feeling of nighttime. As Valerie returned to her spot behind him, he turned his head to see her face. “A nightlight? Really? I’m not five.”

“Yet you’re scared to turn off the lights and you need me to stay here with you,” she countered. “Just go to sleep Danny. I promise nothing will hurt you.”

He grunted, but didn’t protest further, and instead curled up deeper into Valerie’s embrace. She held him like that until his shallow breaths turned slow and deep, but at that point, she couldn’t risk moving and waking him. As long as they were up by seven, maybe she could let it slide. 

[hordebreaker]

annoying change #352

Book!Viserys never doubted his choice.

At eight, the princess was placed into service as a cupbearer…but for her own father, the king. At table, at tourney, and at court, King Viserys thereafter was seldom seen without his daughter by his side.

Yet Princess Rhaenyra continued to sit at the foot of the Iron Throne when her father held court, and His Grace began bringing her to meetings of the small council as well.

The amity between Her Grace and her stepdaughter had proved shortlived, for both Rhaenyra and Alicent aspired to be the first lady of the realm…and though the queen had given the king not one but two male heirs, Viserys had done nothing to change the order of succession. The Princess of Dragonstone remained his acknowledged heir, with half the lords of Westeros sworn to defend her rights.

Still, questions persisted, not the least from Queen Alicent herself. Loudest amongst her supporters was her father, Ser Otto Hightower, Hand of the King. Pushed too far on the matter, in 109 AC Viserys stripped Ser Otto of his chain of office and named in his place the taciturn Lord of Harrenhal, Lyonel Strong. “This Hand will not hector me,” His Grace proclaimed.

Queen Alicent had her own candidate: her eldest son, Prince Aegon, Rhaenyra’s half-brother. But Aegon was a boy, the princess ten years his elder. Moreover, the two half-siblings had never gotten on well. “All the more reason to bind them together in marriage,” the queen argued. Viserys did not agree. “The boy is Alicent’s own blood,” he told Lord Strong. “She wants him on the throne.”

[finitefall]

What happened between Rhaenyra and Alicent in the book?

The short answer is that Alicent and Rhaenyra grew to hate each other because Alicent wanted her blood on the throne but Rhaenyra remained Heir to her father even after he had sons. But, to give you a little context, I’ll grab my copy of Fire and Blood.

Rhaenyra must have met Alicent as a little girl (Alicent is 9 years older than her, so she was 6 when Alicent came to court) - even without knowing her personally before she married her father - since Alicent's father, who was the new Hand of King Jaehaerys (to whom Viserys succeeded), brought his family to court with him. This is how we're introduced to Alicent:

Ser Otto brought his wife and children to court with him, and served King Jaehaerys faithfully for the years remaining to him. As the Old King's strength and wits began to fail, he was oft confined to his bed. Ser Otto's precocious fifteen-year-old daughter, Alicent, became his constant companion, fetching His Grace his meals, reading to him, helping him to bathe and dress himself.

The next time Alicent is mentioned is when Viserys chose Alicent instead of Laena as a second wife:

He would marry again, yes... but not a twelve-year-old girl, and not for reasons of state. Another woman had caught his eye. He announced his intention to wed Lady Alicent of House Hightower, the clever and lovely eighteen-year-old daughter of the King's Hand, the girl who had read to King Jaehaerys as he lay dying.

The first time Alicent and Rhaenyra are proved to interact with each other is during the wedding of Viserys and Alicent:

Princess Rhaenyra poured for her stepmother at the feast, and Queen Alicent kissed her and named her "daughter".

They do seem to get along, but the matter of the succession wouldn't make it last. Alicent wants her blood on the throne, that much is clear. In 110 AC, Alicent, now 22, had three children with Viserys, including two boys:

Yet Princess Rhaenyra continued to sit at the foot of the Iron Throne when her father held court, and His Grace began bringing her to meetings of the small council as well. Though many lords and knights sought her favor, the princess had eyes only for Ser Criston Cole, the young champion of the Kingsguard and her constant companion. “Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from Ser Criston?” Queen Alicent asked one day at court. The amity between Her Grace and her stepdaughter had proved short-lived, for both Rhaenyra and Alicent aspired to be the first lady of the realm... and though the queen had given the king not one but two male heirs, Viserys had done nothing to change the order of succession.

Before this, nothing is said about Rhaenyra not liking her stepmother anymore, Alicent is the one who started the hostilities with her stepdaughter, like said in the quote just above. Rhaenyra, of course, doesn’t accept it.

In 111 AC, a great tourney was held at King’s Landing on the fifth anniversary of the king’s marriage to Queen Alicent. At the opening feast, the queen wore a green gown, whilst the princess dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black. Note was taken, and thereafter it became the customs to refer to “greens” and “blacks” when talking of the queen’s party and the party of the princess, respectively.

When it was question of marrying Rhaenyra, Alicent tried to convince Viserys to put her blood on the throne through it since he wouldn’t change the succession:

Queen Alicent had her own candidate: her eldest son, Prince Aegon, Rhaenyra’s half-brother. But Aegon was a boy, the princess ten years his elder. Moreover, the two half-siblings had never gotten on well. “All the more reason to bind them together in marriage,” the queen argued. Viserys did not agree. “The boy is Alicent’s own blood,” he told Lord Strong. “She wants him on the throne.”

The animosity between Alicent and Rhaenyra kept growing, and they both had supporters. Alicent noticed Rhaenyra’s sons didn’t look like her husband, for example, which made things even worse between them. Then, there was the fight between Rhaenyra’s sons and Aemond. But as long as Viserys lived, Alicent couldn’t do anything more. Rhaenyra had been named Heir to the Iron Throne by her father and he would not go back on it. When he died in 129 AC at 52 years-old, though, Alicent (now 41), was immediately alerted and a council took place to decide what to do. Alicent, supported by her father and almost everyone in the room, took the opportunity to place her son Aegon on the throne, and what’s called The Dance of the Dragons could begin.

[hplovecraftmuseum]

". . . and thereafter Loveman and I discoursed in the manner of a Greek and a Roman about to part in brotherly amity . . . CVRA. VT. PALICANVS." (Lovecraft writing of his parting with Samuel Loveman after meeting him in New York City) and later: "One whole day Loveman and I roamed around the Metropolitan Museum of Art, drinking in the beauty, and agreeing that real beauty perished utterly with the Graeco-Roman age . . . " S. L. 1, pp 174. And later: "We live in a decadent age like that of the later Roman Empire, and only the simple can find grounds to dodge the fact . . . " SL 1 pp 160. All the above quotes were from Selected Letters 1 ARKHAM HOUSE PUBLISHERS. Loveman was one of Lovecraft's early friends of Jewish Heritage. Both men were aficionados of Classical art and literature. It's interesting that Lovecraft's most famous fiction rarely featured themes from the the Classical World. Although HPL considered Hellenic Greece to be the high point in human cultural evolution he himself felt a greater connection to Ancient Rome - which was in many respects a Grecian derivative. (Exhibit 294)

[kingarmorking]

oh guys i have An Idea for the Hon AU and identity crisis (and this 100% pulls from the amity thereafter comic on webtoon def check it out) (I'm also referring to each half of danny separately since this whole episode involves them being separate)

ok so! i really Really REALLY like the idea of phantom harboring a lot of the intense emotions that fenton experienced when the portal first turned on

phantoms obviously a good guy and ghosts arent inherently malevolent BUT considering most ghosts in korean culture are?? combining that with all the fear he felt?? yeah without a human half to keep him in check phantom would be… at the very least more on edge around humans, he wouldnt outright attack them but hed definitely be like “listen so long as you don't bother me i wont bother you. got it”

that first time in What You Want (iirc thats the name of the episode?) its quick and both halves of danny are equally confused when they go through the ghost catcher

BUT IN IDENTITY CRISIS? fenton has had enough of phantom and wants to be a normal kid again. but he doesnt realize that his inherent want of wanting to keep people safe is pretty much the reason phantom helps everyone

so fenton separates the two and… phantom feels betrayed more or less! so hes essentially like “no why the hell would i want to protect humans when nearly every single one wants to destroy me! and apparently my other half doesnt want me either! you caused the issue you can fix it!” and flies off to hide

fenton doesnt really realize how Badly he fucks up until technus comes back and hes just. free to cause as much havoc as he wants. and then! he starts getting sick on top of that!

phantom just wants to be safe and with all the residual fear hes got in him, hes going to hide and if someone finds him and tries to attack him he will not hesitate to fight back. phantom also starts getting sick btw

ill see about doing a screenshot redraw later but this is my ramble for now! at the end of the episode fenton reconciles with phantom and they merge together to make one whole danny and it really puts into perspective about how no matter how much he wants to change it (if at all now), both halves of him are what make him danny now and somehow he finds some comfort in that, esp since he knows that sam and tucker will always be there for him, ghost human or halfa

[ep-10]

New webtoon comic page update on Amity Thereafter. Be sure to go check it out!

[drabbles-of-writing]

In Beastars au, I imagine once Amity frees Luz, they run back to the owl house. Eda isn’t home at the moment, but Lilith is. Shortly thereafter, Odelia shows up to “speak some sense into her daughter” (be an abusive asshole). Lilith, of course, comes out to meet her. She follows with a claw. To the eye. Odelia gets the fuck out of there as quickly as possible, but still got some nasty scars.

Lilith: Try and sell your face after this, bitch

Theres just Loud Angry Shrieking outside the Owl House as Amity is holding Luz close. The girls are fighting and they are PISSED and were Lilith not going Feral Amity would’ve run out to Also attempt murder on her mother

[goldencardinal]

Even if it was said out of desperation, I realize just how much Hunter has really screwed up things with the Owl House crew with his threat in Eclipse Lake. Say, for argument sake, at some point he does run away from Belos and turns to them for help. He threatened both Amity and Luz's safety which I don't think Amity would keep from her girlfriend and he's been shown to betray trust placed in him over and over again. Luz didn't think things through during Hunting Palisman when he turned on her, tho he did still let her go and even protected her. He betrayed Amity twice when going to Eclipse Lake and manipulated her each time. While he did it to save himself from the wrath that would incur from Belos who is a much greater threat to his life, it still sets back any connections he may have made with them and hindered any he would try to make in the future. After all, he betrayed them before, right? Why wouldn't he do it again? This would lead Hunter to feeling guilty and any kindness they would show to him thereafter would feel undeserved after the things he did to them. It would be very much a situation like Zuko in ATLA when he had his change of heart and joined up with the Gaang.

[goodqueenaly]

Alicent and Rhaenyra were apparently good friends for a time, do you think that died the moment Alicent made her romantic interest in Viserys clear, the moment became Queen, the moment she became pregnant or was it not a moment but a gradual or at least not totally immediate affair? For that matter did Rhaenyra not protest her father remarrying or warn him of the danger his choice posed to her or was she too arrogant to consider it until the princes were born?

Relevant passages from F&B:

When King Viserys took Alicent Hightower to wife in 106 AC, House Velaryon was notable for its absence. Princess Rhaenyra poured for her stepmother at the feast, and Queen Alicent kissed her and named her “daughter.” The princess was amongst the women who disrobed the king and delivered him to the bedchamber of his bride.

The amity between Her Grace and her stepdaughter had proved short- lived, for both Rhaenyra and Alicent aspired to be the first lady of the realm...and though the queen had given the king not one but two male heirs, Viserys had done nothing to change the order of succession. The Princess of Dragonstone remained his acknowledged heir, with half the lords of Westeros sworn to defend her rights. Those who asked, “What of the ruling of the Great Council of 101?” found their words falling on deaf ears. The matter had been decided, so far as King Viserys was concerned; it was not an issue His Grace cared to revisit

I give Rhaenyra plenty of (I think deserved) criticism, but it’s worth noting that Rhaenyra was only nine when Viserys remarried. To that end I think it might have been hard for Rhaenyra at nine to have a full understanding of what Viserys marrying Alicent really meant. As much as Viserys had known Alicent for his whole time as heir and then king (which may have played into his choice to marry her), Rhaenyra would have known Alicent for virtually her entire life. We get no sense of their interactions before Alicent’s marriage, but as Rhaenyra was “the Realm’s Delight” and declared heir of her father after Aemma’s death, it might be reasonable to suppose Alicent followed the lead of most of the court (as Criston Cole once did), doting on Rhaenyra to get in good with the king. Plus, Alicent herself was only 18, closer in age to Rhaenyra than she was to the king; Rhaenyra might have not thought of Alicent as replacing her mother because Alicent was six years younger younger than Aemma had been, closer perhaps to being her contemporary than her father’s. She was the heir (whatever Rhaenyra understood that that meant, at nine), her father loved her, and she probably had no reason to distrust Alicent, who was nothing like her mother anyway - why should she be against the marriage (again, to the extent she even knew what that meant)? I’m no child psychologist, and I certainly don’t pretend I know GRRM actually intended this, but I think that’s a reasonable reading of the situation.

However, as Gyldayn notes, I think once Rhaenyra realized what Alicent being queen actually meant, that amity quickly disappeared. Even when Aemma lived, Rhaenyra had been “[a]t the center of the merriment, cherished and adored by all”; once she became Viserys’ cupbearer, the king “thereafter was seldom seen without his daughter by his side”. Queen Aemma might have been content to let her doted-on daughter be the center of attention - but Queen Alicent had no desire to do the same with her now-stepdaughter. Rhaenyra was now getting a divided portion of attention, from both her father and the court - a change she might have pinned squarely on Alicent. Nor would Rhaenyra have taken kindly to Alicent and her Hand father advocating with Viserys to change the order of succession in favor of Alicent’s sons (especially if she was hearing these arguments during her attendance of court and meetings of the small council). 

[fanfictionsrookie]

RWBY VOL 8 EPISODE 1

FUCK YOU RT! FUCK YOU! YOU CAN’T BE LETTING ME GO DRY FOR EIGHT YEARS AND THEN SLAP THIS ON THE FIST EP! I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK. THE AMOUNT OF FANGIRLING I EXPERIENCE ALMOST KILLED ME! BUT THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT, RIGHT? YOU WANT TO KILL ME WIITH THE CINDER FEELS. WELL I’M HERE FOR IT XD

It’s difficult to guess what exactly Cinder’s background is from this. But by her hands alone you can tell that she is working nonstop. Nice little detail. Those pigtails are adorable though.

It does make me wonder how prelevant these memories are, what triggers them, and if Cinder even realised she was doing this while experiencing that memory.

Neo being rightfully afraid. I’m scared for her at this point.

And even Cinder is afraid. She knows she messed up and she’s mentally preparing for the repercussions. Of course, she easily slips on that calm facade of hers, which honestly confirms it to me that her attitude in vol 1 to 3 was just a farce and her way of trying to be like Salem.

Salem looks genuinely surprised in this shot. She didn’t think Cinder would be able to get it in the first place...

...granted it was Neo. While Neo has every right to be upset, her being there is entirely dependent on Cinder’s usefulness.

THIS LOOK! This and the shot thereafter, just confirms that Neo and Cinder did have a form of companionship between them, that in Neo’s eyes, they were equal. But what Neo doesn’t understand is that Cinder can’t admit or tell Salem that. Cinder refers to Neo as an asset, because it is the way Cinder can protect Neo from Salem and keep her around.

These outfits where definitely worth the wait. I love Emerald’s outfit but Mercury looks fine AF XD

Poor Emerald. While I kind of expected that kind of retort from Cinder, I have a feeling their interactions will be different with no one looking. Excited for it. Also, can be talk about how JACKED Hazel is? And that outfit... I’m sorry, I don’t know how to feel about it.

Well, what IS Salem’s plan for Cinder? Surely it can’t be just to hang back? Although that time alone is bound to bring up repressed memories.

She looks so disappointed in this shot. Like this power isn’t just something she wants, but something Cinder genuinely thinks she NEEDS.

That’s awesome. You can see Alas’ forcefield up already. Salem, biding her time until it’s destroyed.

So this shot has an entirely different context. Salem is not making her say it to reaffirm loyalty. Cinder is doing it out of her own will, to convince Salem of that. Perhaps to convince herself as well.

And it worked! Salem is 100 percent convinced Cinder is still under her thumb and she is reveling in it. Now I’m wondering who’s really manipulating who.

HIS BEAR HANDS! I’M SORRY I HAD TO!

Nawww baby! Such a soft moment.

Heh Six Swans Vodka.

I know it’s for narrative purposes. Like there is no time to unpack Ozpin returning in this episode as well. But still, keeping secrets is not the best decision right now.

I don’t think I’ve seen Ruby this angry and annoyed at any of her teammates, especially not Yang. As much as I dread it, I’m still exited to see how at odds Ruby is gonna become with everyone else.

I love how they cut between the current scene and future through the dialogue, really compacted everything nicely in terms of pace.

Heh the poster in the back. Rumpel Stilkskin.

The fact that Penny suggested giving Salem the relic, only to get shot down, just confirms it that she will have to resort that in the end.

He’s in a hospital room but he looks pretty dead to me.

I know she’s still beat up but damn I’m living that hairdo.

I KNEW IT! Although I was kinda surprised that James didn’t kill the woman too. Vine seems much to at ease with all of this.

CRWBY really going for the nostalgia huh. Also. ZWEIIII.

An interesting choice to put both on them on the same clover petal. Could Harriet also be defecting?

I’m just glad Qrow has Robin to pick him up. poor mad needs some support.

THIS IS WHAT MY SLEEP PARALYSIS DEMON LOOKS LIKE. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? DOES SALEM HAVE WINGS? CAN SHE FLY?

Winter’s colours and uniform looks too much like Ironwood for my liking. I doubt she will defect. Weiss forging her own path ahead.

I KNEW WE WERE GONNA SEE THESE TWO AGAIN!

Salem has her loyal minions...

...while Ironwood only truly trusts himself. I love this visual.

The way everything is positioned makes me think that Penny will sacrifice herself, or will be instrumental in getting Amity’s final launch up and running.

I don’t know it if it was intentional, but this tells me that Cinder is willing or forced to walk away from even RUBY to get the power she wants. 

And would even walk past the people who are actually there for her. And while this does give Neo probably cause to betray Cinder, after seeing what Salem is capable of, I’m willing to be that Neo will stay with Cinder just so that she can be on the “winning side”

Oh gods. We knew this was coming right. I’m hoping this will make Cinder realise that she is on the wrong path. Is Neo there as a symbol of possible support, or will she watch Cinder go up in flames. DON’T DO THIS TO ME CRWBY. PLEASE!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Like it can’t be just as shot CRWBY are fond of using, this must mean something! It connects her to both Cinder and Salem and I don’t know what to make of that? Usually this shot is after one of the characters has made a mistake in a monumental conflict and often rise from the surface to the dangerous consequences of their actions. WHAT DID YOU DO RUBY?

For a second I thought that was Cinder’s Grimm hand, and I honestly think that says enough.

This visual..... I don’t think Ruby is gonna make it out of this safety.

If anything it makes me think that Ruby’s drive and will to save Remnant, only looking at the big picture will leave her at odds, if not alienated to her team through this volume.

But there is only one way to find out.

....

Hey guys, so there is a lot more I wanted to bring up, but I think in the future Imma cap it to 30 screen shots. It’s has been damn exhausting writing this but I am so excited and terrified for this volume!

[immortalonus]

Snippet

When you’re not only a crazy slow writer, but also a distractable one who consistently cuts her own content in repeated fits of frustration-adjacent editing sprees, it takes a while to complete literally anything.

Since this is my stupid fan blog, and being currently sleep deprived enough not to worry about the quality of my decision making quite as much as might be normal, I decided to go ahead and throw a discarded section of one of my current WIPs out into the wild.

I genuinely loved this when I wrote it, but went to bed, lost my flow, and forgot where the heck I was going with it, to the point where I felt the need to remove it entirely.

For those wondering, this is a Valerie-centric fic, and the following passage is from her POV.

She had flown in just as the sun had simmered down past the horizon, leaving purple smears behind on a horizon just bright enough to cast the city below it into flattened silhouettes. What few streetlights survived the twin threats of ghost fights and budget cuts flickered weakly, sodium orange pools buzzing in isolation against the all consuming night.

There were other lights, too: Colder, paler, unnatural in hue. Most of these stranger lights had darted in and out of the shattered husks of former buildings like freak minnows, dodging through cluttered allyways before escaping sight beneath trash bags swollen tight to bursting with the gaseous exhalations of their rotten get.

 Valerie sneered at their presence, habitual disdain turning the corners of her mouth downward in automatic disgust. Ghosts were showing up more and more outside of Amity, these days, especially in the kind of run down and abandoned areas which made up the majority of Elmerton. It was so obvious, how little they belonged, their very auras, so unlike any natural light, declaring the foreignness of their being.

Normally, Valerie would have chased them off, given a gesture at pursuit, but on that night in particular, after having her entire world cracked through the middle and being forced to keep focus and function for so many hours thereafter, Valerie was willing to let whatever spooks crawled through the crumbling brickwork well enough alone.

For now, that was.