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gaemkyuu · 3 years

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The Present

Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault/rape, but not overtly descriptive. A/N: As much as I like writing fluffy pieces or glimpses in time, I really wanted this series to have some sort of progression. A lot of the feelings and emotions that are in this piece was taken from personal experience or the experience of someone close to me. In no way do I claim that all experiences are similar to the one disclosed in this piece of fictional writing. Disclaimer: This is a FICITONAL writing piece on Charlie Gillespie. In no way do I claim or declare that Charlie’s portrayal is accurate to real life. I do however, own Teagan Valencia :)

Masterlist *now taking requests ;)

The Teagan Valencia Series: The Meeting / The Fight / The Proposal / The Present / The Recovery / The Future

***Please note that sensitive topics are addressed in the writing and may cause discomfort or trigger readers. If subjects such as non-consensual sexual engagement, rape or sexual assault cause discomfort, please refrain from reading the story.

The Present

“Cut! That’s a wrap on this scene, great job everyone! Let’s break for lunch” Kenny announced to the crew. He smiled at Teagan releasing a big sigh. As awesome as this all was, it could still be tiring!

“You’re doing a great job Kenny. Seriously, I can’t wait for the second season” Teagan gave Kenny a hug from behind his chair.

“I should be giving you a giant hug Teagan!” Kenny stood up from his directing chair, moving his way to Tegan. “Congratulations on your engagement!” He gave her a big bear hug. “Now let me see the ring!” Teagan showed her his hand and he inspected the ring gleefully. Although they had gotten engaged two weeks ago, this was their first week filming and the first time Kenny saw her since the night of the party.

“I told you I had good taste Kenny” Charlie came over and wrapped his arms around my waist, perching his chin on my shoulders.

“Honey, you didn’t pick out the ring, you just picked it up” Teagan joked as Kenny released her hand. Turning to give Charlie a quick playful peck on the lips, Teagan saw the playful smirk kneeing he had a clever come back.

“I’m not talking about the ring, I’m talking about the person” he smirked kissing her back playfully. “Are you joining us for lunch?” His eyes hopeful.

“Well since you can’t leave the set for a birthday lunch, I guess so” she dramatically sighed acting like she was disappointed.

“Hey! I’m taking you out for dinner! Remember? Birthday dinner?” Teagan’s dramatic façade broke and Charlie realized he fell for it. “Sometimes I wonder why you're not the one in front of the camera”.

Charlie kissed her on the cheek and led her to lunch with the rest of the cast. As usual Maddy already had the designated brownie plate that both of them shared from and Savannah was able to join them as she finished in hair and make up. Everyone had a fun time chatting and hanging out at lunch but they had to continue filming. Charlie, Owen and Jeremy had to go get touched up and a new wardrobe on, but he left Teagan in the company of Booboo and Savannah, as Maddy went to go take a nap.

“Hey Savannah, we are going to need you and Maddi on set soon” the three of them jumped at the sudden interruption from the new Production Assistant. His eyes piercing and intense staring at Teagan. “I’m James the new Production Assistant and you are?”

“I’m Charlie’s fiancé, I’m just visiting him on set today.” Teagan smiled back politely despite feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. She came to understand that this was the new PA that kept coming up in their group chat. It was no secret that a majority of the cast who had interacted with him felt slightly uneasy. Owen had been changing in the wardrobe trailer when he “popped out of nowhere and scared the living shit” out of Owen. Jeremy had been sneaking onto the set to take a nap in Julie’s infamous bed when he found James lurking around in the dim lighting. There were a few other stories that Teagan remembered, but she waved it off as James being misunderstood as he was new to the cast.

“Oh yeah! Sure! I’ll go get Maddi” Savannah stood up quickly getting ready to film.

“Well ladies, it was a fun lunch, but I’m done on set and need to head over to a photo shoot” Booboo smiled collecting their lunch mess and glancing at his watch. “Which starts in an hour, shit. I better get going. Happy Birthday again Teagan, I wish I could be there tonight!”

“Don’t worry about it Booboo, let’s take a raincheck” Booboo gave her a big hug and waved them goodbye. “Hey I’ll come with you since I’m going to hang out in Charlie’s trailer” she stopped Savannah getting out of her chair too. “As much as I love watching him act, I know he has the Switch in his trailer and I want to play Mario Kart”

Savannah giggled at her friend and the two of them noticed James still standing there. “I’ll go grab Maddi if you want to let Kenny know we are on our way” Savannah smiled at the PA, who simply gave a curt nod, never taking his eyes off of Teagan. The two girls waited until he was no longer in their line of sight before moving towards the trailers. “Between you and me, I heard he’s being let go at the end of the week”

“What? Why?” Savannah looked incredulously at Teagan, shocked at her response. “Okay, I know he’s kinda weird and freaking people out, but what if it’s because he’s new?“

“He was hired last minute because of some pregnancy complications our actual PA Sarah had. She was cleared by the doctor to come and work yesterday, but she won’t be able to be here until the end of the week. We told Kenny we would much rather have her here and not James” Savannah shuddered as she said his name. Teagan didn’t know that he made everyone feel this uncomfortable.

“Who hired him?” She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because someone had thought he was a good fit. There must have been some sort of misunderstanding!“

“Netflix kinda threw him in since it was so last minute! He’s from Vancouver, so it made things easier” Savannah shrugged stopping in front of Charlie’s trailer. “Now go relax birthday queen, we’ll come get you in a few hours when we’ve wrapped and we can get ready at my apartment!”.

Teagan smiled and hugged her friend, entering the trailer shortly after. She was greeted with the familiar scent of pine and cologne, just like Charlie. His trailer was neat, save for the sweater or shirt tossed here or there, and his acoustic guitar propped up against the couch. She opened his fridge pleased to find it stocked with water bottles, knowing well that Charlie mostly drank from his blue hydro flask to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment. After grabbing a bottle, she headed to the couch of the trailer where she plopped down and grabbed his Nintendo switch. She played a couple rounds of Mario Kart, drinking water when she felt a sudden sleepiness descend her. Putting the switch away, she took off her shoes and clothes opting to wear Charlie’s orange hoodie and black sweats for her nap. Glancing at the clock, she realized she had about two hours before they would start wrapping up for the day and thought a little cat nap wouldn’t do any harm. Plus, Savannah knew where she would be in case she didn’t pick up her phone. With that Teagan drifted off to sleep on the couch.

Teagan didn’t expect to wake up on the floor of the trailer with both arms restrained to the leg of the desk. Confused for a moment, she found herself restrained like a hostage in a movie, her hands tied with heavy and thick rope and a cloth restraining her mouth. Looking around, she recognized she was still in Charlie’s trailer and thought this was a cruel joke that her friends were playing on her. To her horror, she realized it wasn’t a prank when she saw James shutting the blinds and locking the trailer. She took a deep breath to scream, but quickly stopped when James noticed that she was awake, unsheathing his pocket knife.

“You're so pretty” he whispered, drawing close so that he was inches away from her face. She watched tensely as his eyes scanned her face with this crazy look in his eyes. “If you scream I will hurt you” he whispered as he untied the cloth muffling her mouth. Teagan was too afraid to say anything as James started to laugh. “You did it James, you got a pretty one” he smacked his head twice dropping the knife by Teagan’s foot. As he paced the trailer muttering to himself, she tried to inch the knife slowly to her with her foot, but this caught her captor’s attention. “Oh no you don’t!” he lunged for the knife as Teagan tried to kick him away, her leg getting nicked in the scuffle.

“Help!” she cried, but was quickly muffled by one hand on her mouth, the other holding the knife pressed up against her throat.

“I told you not to scream!” he yelled at her. Teagan began to cry in fear as she realized the man was mentally unstable and out of control. “Now I don’t trust you!” he gagged her with the cloth that was previously muffling her pulling at her hair in the process. Teagan tensed as he pressed the knife back to her throat. “I’m serious. I will cut you if you scream” he threatened holding her jaw with his free hand, forcing her to look at him. As more tears began to fall from her eyes, he cooed and shushed her hoping that she would stop. “Stop being sad. You aren’t pretty when you’re sad. I can make you happy. Let’s do that!” she trembled as his face lit up as though he had come up with a brilliant idea. He suddenly stood up and smacked his head again, muttering to himself incoherently. Teagan had no idea what to do. If she made a ruckus someone might be able to hear her, but the man in front of her might act on his words. She winced as he bumped the leg that he nicked.

“Did I hurt you? Oh no... Dammit you’ve damaged the merchandise James... You made her ugly! No. no. I can fix it. I can fix it” Teagan watched as he cursed at himself, dropping down to her side, yanking off Charlie’s sweats. The cut wasn’t deep by any means, but it was there and about two inches in length. However, it left Teagan pant less on the floor of the trailer with James staring at her half naked form, hands shaking as he drew nearer to her. Teagan knew what was to come as she struggled against her restraints and he pinned her legs down, approaching parts of her body she only let Charlie touch or see. Tears started to flow freely from her eyes as she protested through her gag, shaking her head no and trying to yell for help. James didn’t care anymore that Teagan had become vocal again, as he was too focused on indulging his own fantasies. Teagan cried out desperately and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing for this whole thing to go away. A banging on the door interrupted both of their thoughts as they froze. James terrified that he had been caught and Teagan hopeful that someone had come to end this.

“Teags! It’s Owen, open up! You alright in there?”

Teagan realized this was her only chance to end this and she screamed the loudest Help she could despite being gagged. She was sure Owen wouldn’t be able to make out what she was saying, but the fact that it was a scream would have alerted him to something important. The banging on the door became steady and stronger as if he was trying to break the door down. They could hear him screaming for help and speaking to someone over the phone. Quickly a commotion began to gather outside the trailer and James paled.

“This is all your fault! You stupid bitch! I told you to be quiet” he slapped her hard across the face, a burning sensation residing in her cheek. “You were supposed to be quiet!” he slapped her again on the opposite cheek, but this caused the back of her head to hit the leg of the desk that restrained her hands. A ringing in Teagan’s ears overcame all of her senses and she couldn’t focus on anything else. She felt him roughly cut her restraints and drag her to a standing position, but she couldn’t stand. She felt dizzy and nauseous at the sudden motion as the ringing in her ears started to subside. James held the knife against her throat, his back to the wall waiting for people to break into the trailer.

With a final bang, security was able to bust the door open, two of them filing into the tiny trailer, Owen standing behind them. There was Teagan, a knife being held to her throat, a swollen cheek, her underwear discarded on the floor and the orange hoodie preserving whatever parts of her body that it could. She felt the knife press into her neck as James and the security officers yelled back and forth at one another. She could feel a sharp stinging sensation and warm liquid languidly make its way down her neck. The yelling intensified and so did the pain. Teagan could barely hear Owen’s attempts to comfort her and assure her over the noise. She couldn’t understand what was happening, but James’ body tensed and convulsed, pushing the knife slightly deeper into her for a moment and then collapsing to the floor. In a rush of motion and bodies, the two security officers rushed to James’ shocked body on the floor and Owen rushed to Teagan, quickly untying the pink hoodie that was a part of his costume to help cover her up.

“Teagan! Teagan look at me, are you alright?” Owen’s voice snapped her back to reality as his soft anxious blue eyes searched hers.

“...Owen?” his name came out as a tremble followed by a fresh stream of tears as she lunged into his chest. He caught her and held on to her just as tight as she held onto him. Owen’s heart broke as she held onto him for dear life. He picked her up, never letting her go and moving her out of the trailer as the security guards handled the rest. As Owen exited, the small crowd of castmates and crew that had gathered in the alley gasped at the sight of Owen and Teagan. Savannah rushed over to throw her jacket over her legs to help Owen’s pink hoodie, giving her soft rubs on her back as she sobbed into Owen’s chest.

“Teagan?! Teagan! Oh my god, what the fuck happened?!” Teagan’s face came out of hiding as she heard Charlie’s voice. Their eyes met as Charlie sprinted over to her, pushing people out of the way. Owen quickly handed Teagan to Charlie, both of them crying and Kenny arriving at the scene with Maddi. Sadness befell their faces at the scene, but Kenny quickly took charge and started dispersing the crowds, giving orders to others to help remedy the situation. Teagan sobbed uncontrollably in Charlie’s arms and he offered as much comfort and solace as he could. The paramedics soon arrived and Charlie had no choice but to hand her over to them, but he followed the paramedics to their van with Owen and Savannah in tow.

Along the way, Owen had explained how he had come to find her. It turns out that Owen wasn’t needed for the final shots of the day, so he went to find Teagan before changing. Savannah had mentioned that Teagan had gone to hangout in Charlie’s trailer, so naturally Owen made his way over. He didn’t expect the muffled sounds of desperate screams and cries to intensify as he neared Charlie’s trailer. He knew something was wrong, but the door was locked, and after confirming that she weren’t doing something else, he began to yell for help and try to break the door down. As one team of paramedics checked on Teagan, Kenny asked the other team to check on Owen as he used physical force to break the door down with the security team. Therefore, he wanted to make sure Owen didn’t hurt himself in the adrenaline of it all. The entire time Teagan sat on the stretcher and gurney, covered with a blanket, Charlie held onto her hand tightly. Her tears subsided but everyone could tell she was still shaken. The rest of the cast members who were still on set were escorted to their vehicles and told to return home for the day. Filming had to come to a halt until they were cleared to run again.

“Mrs. Valencia, I’m going to need you to confirm some details of your assault so we can properly attend to you” the female police officer spoke to Teagan with an apologetic looking female paramedic at her side. “Sir, we are going to have to ask you to let us speak to her privately”

Charlie kissed her forehead and went to let go of her hand, which Teagan protested.

“No please. He can stay. Please, I need him” her voice initially came out strong and desperate, but fell to a quiet whisper as she finished speaking. The police officer made eye contact with one another and then with Charlie, who returned closer to her side.

“Very well. Mrs. Valencia, did your assailant force any penetration on you?” the police officer got right to the point, staring deeply into Teagan’s eyes. Charlie tensed, preparing himself to hear the answer he didn’t want to hear. Teagan hesitantly shook her head no. “Did he force himself upon you that can be considered sexual assault” she bowed her head, ashamed of what she was admitting, and softly nodded. “I’m sorry Mrs. Valencia, I’m going to need you to tell me a little more than that” the police officer looked at her apologetically, knowing fully that this was a difficult conversation to have. “We need to have a verbal confirmation.”

“It was just his fingers. No kissing or anything more” Teagan whispered, her eyes filling with tears once more. The police officer thanked her and nodded to the paramedic who finished cleaning her cuts and bandaging them up. Charlie held her hand the entire time, rubbing soft circles on her back. After the paramedic was done, she gave the two of them a moment alone.

“I’m so sorry Charlie” Teagan whimpered, crying all over again. She bowed her head in shame and embarrassment, feeling hopeless and defeated.

“Teagan, look at me” and when she refused to lift her head, he placed a finger under her chin to lift it. Teagan looked at his eyes full of determination, anger and conviction. “Don’t you ever apologize for what happened to you.” his voice was stern, unwavering despite the emotions he felt inside. “None of this is your fault. Don’t think for a second that you are responsible in some way shape or form.” His eyes bore an intensity that Teagan only saw when something upset him, in which she couldn’t blame him.

“Do you still love me?” she tried to be strong as she spoke, but her tears got the best of her. Charlie’s eyes suddenly became soft, concerned and worried. She couldn’t bear to look at him as she felt that he may have been disappointed in her.

“Of course I do Teags. Nothing could ever change that.” her tears softly fell down her face as Charlie pulled her in for a tight hug, peppering her with kisses. “I’m so sorry Teags, you must have been so scared” he rubbed her back hoping to provide more comfort and assurance. “I’ll love you no matter what. This doesn’t change anything, Mrs. Gillespie” the last part of his comment made her chuckle through her tears and pull away to look at him. “I can’t promise you and say things are going to be the same from here on out, but I can promise you that I’m not leaving you. Ever.” He had hoped that his eyes conveyed his commitment to her and she confirmed this with a gentle kiss on his lips. Charlie was careful to kiss her back knowing that she was still in pain from the assault.

This was a hurdle that they were going to face together. Teagan knew deep down that this event had caused serious damage and she couldn’t quite come to terms with what happened. However, she knew that Charlie was going to be with her and oddly enough, that was all she needed right now.

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie imagines #fanfiction #imagine #TeaganValenciaSeries

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beneaththetangles · 4 years

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The World Is Not Enough: Isekai and the Hope for More

When it comes to anime and light novels, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an isekai series or six. Countless stories spanning many genres have used the person-travels-to-another-world premise. To borrow language from the infamous TV Tropes, the isekai concept has been played straight, played with, inverted, subverted, parodied, deconstructed, reconstructed, and more.

People must like isekai stories (I know I do!), otherwise there wouldn’t be approximately 47 million of them, with new ones coming out all the time. Regarding this topic, I recently actually-a-while-ago-but-it-took-me-a-long-time-to-write-this happened to see a post by Twitter user Sashimi Princess Maddie which was retweeted by J-Novel Club:

This post struck a chord with me because I’m fascinated by the connection between fantasy and faith. J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories” is of course required reading on this topic, as is Chapter IV — “The Ethics of Elfland” — in G.K. Chesterton’s book Orthodoxy. They discussed fantasy generally, and logically what is true of all fantasy is also true of the specific subset of fantasy we call isekai. Now, the tweet is obviously partly humorous, so it would be unjust to respond to or critique it as if it were a serious essay. However, I do want to highlight one point of possible disagreement that I believe is relevant to my own thoughts. (I say “possible” because without a full-fledged essay from Maddie, I may be overlooking or misunderstanding points that a more complete argument would resolve.)

Japan is ground zero for isekai. The isekai stories we consume overwhelmingly originate in Japan, and are written by Japanese people for Japanese people. And Japan is a place where Christianity’s influence has been meager, at best, since the Tokugawa period. Meanwhile, the religions with any sizeable footprint in Japan, namely Shinto and Buddhism, don’t contain a concept of heaven comparable to that found in the teachings of, say, Christianity or Islam. Christians make up 1% to 2% of Japan’s population (depending on which estimate you read), which means many Japanese people have probably never even met a Christian! Thus the appeal of isekai in Japan cannot be explained in terms of filling in a gap left behind by the decline of traditional religious hope for heaven.

The OP’s argument would work better if the vast majority of isekai came from, say, western Europe or the United States. Throughout much of the west, Christianity formerly held immense cultural influence. However, Christianity’s influence in these places has declined greatly in the past century or three. If such places produced most isekai stories, we could make a more plausible case that isekai draws upon lingering notions of heavenly reward, relics of a discarded traditional religion whose notions permeated society, in order to fill the hope-deficit created by that religion’s decline.

I believe while Maddie is correct to find conceptual connections between isekai and religion, I just find the specific relationship posited by the OP inadequate, especially with regard to Japanese people. Thus I invite you, dear reader, to consider other Bible teachings that do more to explain the appeal of isekai even in a culture where Christianity (including its notions of heaven) never held much sway. The picture of our world and human nature painted in the Old Testament provides a partial explanation for why we like isekai, an explanation that is not contingent on lingering cultural debris left behind by Christianity.

Let’s look “In the beginning” — yes, the one where “God created the heavens and the earth.” As God completes his creative work in Genesis 1, we read “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” *That* is the world in which God intended us to live. And all this “very good” stuff includes humans, too, who the text says God created in his own image. Alas, we humans ruined things. To put it another way, long ago God and man lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation sin attacked.

Yeah, after God created all this good stuff (including we humans!), Genesis 3 introduces a slew of bad things that weren’t supposed to be part of this world: sin, death, the curse. Of course, God knew this would happen, and already had a plan in place. That plan reached its climax in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, but in some respects it is (at least from our point of view) not yet completed. For now, we still live in a cursed and corrupted post-Genesis 3 world, a place where sin and death run rampant. We ourselves are broken by sin, and we must endure in a world unlike the one God originally created for humans.

The entire Bible is stories of humans sinning, which goes a long way toward showing what mess this world is, but the Bible also contains an entire treatise specifically exploring how awful our post-Genesis 3 world really is. Speaking of our world as “under the sun,” Ecclesiastes incessantly hammers home the “vanity” of this life. “Under the sun” is an unreasonable, unjust, and oppressive place that we can’t understand or fix. “Under the sun” is a place where bad things *will* happen to us no matter how hard we try to avoid them. “Under the sun,” all our labors will accomplish nothing of lasting value. “Under the sun,” we’re all gonna die just like dumb animals, no matter how we lived. And then the cherry on top is that after we die, no one “under the sun” will even remember us, and any stuff we had will be misused by people who don’t deserve to have it.

Our own experiences validate this picture of pointlessness. I had an abusive childhood; I’ve faced a slew of physical and mental health issues; I’m presently almost 35 and I’ve never so much as gone on a date, let alone gotten married or had a family; I’m unemployed and living with my parents because I’m failing so hard at adulting. I’m not hopelessly miserable–God has abundantly blessed me in certain respects–but that doesn’t negate the reality that in some meaningful ways, my life is a big huge disappointment. You, O reader mine, will have different points of sadness and frustration and failure than I do, but I suspect most of us, if we’re honest, would have to concede that our lives are painfully disappointing, or at the very least have not followed the tracks we dreamed they would.

This image of the incomparable Kanami from the isekai series Log Horizon serves no purpose except to break up my wall of text and make me (you?) laugh.

Creation and the Fall provide the starting point for the appeal of isekai. God wanted us to be good and to live in a good world, but thanks to our sin, both we and this world are in far worse shape than he originally intended. Since we weren’t made for a cursed world, it is entirely natural that on some level we long for a place that is somehow more, or better, than the one we inhabit. Likewise, since we weren’t created so sin and death could dominate our lives, it is entirely natural that on some level we long to be somehow more, or better, than who we are. Even if we don’t have a clear idea of what exactly we really want, we still long for a vague something beyond our present existence.

We intuitively sense that something is off about both ourselves and our world, and this leaves us wanting a world and selves that are different from the world and selves we know. In the beginning, we were made for more, and now our existence isn’t quite right. Isekai appeals to this nebulous desire for something better that stems from our latent awareness of the Fall. Isekai stories give more concrete form to the desire to be different than who and what we are, and to live in a reality that isn’t entirely like ours. We may not want to live in the setting of every isekai story, but even grimdark isekai is still isekai, and thus shares the inherent appeal of the idea of other worlds.

Ecclesiastes is again relevant at this point. Perhaps the most hopeful part the book’s message is unstated. As noted above, Ecclesiastes keeps emphasizing how everything “under the sun” is terrible. This raises a question: Is “under the sun” all there is? And here we find the implicit note of hope: the one thing mentioned in Ecclesiastes that isn’t “under the sun” is God. Throughout the Bible, God is consistently depicted as up above. So when Ecclesiastes mentions God, this gloomy book is hinting that there is more to reality than just our world “under the sun.” There might be a chance to escape the utter vanity of this life, if we seek somewhere–and more importantly, Someone–outside and beyond the world we know.

“Now let me be clear,” God is an almighty spirit unbound by the constraints of space and time. Thus, the Bible’s references to God dwelling in the heavens are obviously metaphorical and do not affirm some sort of literal spatial relationship between God and any celestial bodies or astronomical coordinates. That said, the Bible regularly pictures God as being in heaven, and if we follow the logic of that metaphor, then God is not “under the sun.” This is supported by one of the titles repeatedly ascribed to God throughout the scriptures (most often in the Psalms and the book of Daniel): “the Most High.” Again, this superlative is metaphorical, not a literal claim about physical altitude, but to be “the Most High,” God is, in a conceptual sense, above everything else — the sun included.

The core premise of isekai stories is the idea that other worlds exist and that it’s possible to pass between them. Since we already desire something more, better, different than our present existence, isekai has a natural appeal. What distinguishes isekai from other fantasy / sci-fi stories is how directly it addresses this innate post-Fall desire for a different world. Non-isekai stories offer the possibility implicitly, not unlike Ecclesiastes: They ask us to imagine a reality different from our lived experience, but don’t necessarily give any indication that we can do more than imagine. Contrariwise, isekai takes as its explicit premise the idea that a person just like us, from the very world in which you and I live, can somehow go to a different world, and there experience significant personal changes of some kind.

All fantasy / sci-fi stories at least touch on the notion of a world unlike ours. Even if their setting is very much based on our world, by their very nature they include phenomena never seen here. Arthur C. Clarke famously captured the overlap between sorcery and science: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” All fantasy / sci-fi stories occur in a world where mechanical or supernatural forces beyond our experience or comprehension offer new possibilities. Isekai stories not only show us such worlds, they depict these worlds as existing in addition to (rather than instead of) our own, and as being possible for us to visit.

All of this ultimately brings us to the New Testament’s teachings about hope and resurrection and heaven. I think the OP was correct to see a connection between the appeal of isekai and the Christian hope of heaven. But heaven is only the fulfillment of our longing, not the origin of it. The Bible’s depiction of the Fall and its consequences explains better why we would find the idea of heaven, and isekai, appealing in the first place. We wouldn’t need heaven—or isekai—if we were perfectly satisfied with this world. But we aren’t satisfied, and the Bible’s account of the Fall and its effects explains why we find our present state dissatisfying. And so, reading isekai stories is really about hope for something beyond the reality we know. We feel rightly disappointed with our lives and with this world. We desire something else, and isekai supplies our imagination with more concrete ideas about other worlds.

For now, heaven is an incomprehensible wonderfulness. We know almost nothing about heaven, after all. Given how light on specifics the Bible is, even the most devout Christian is still limited to an amorphous notion of hope. But isekai stories are something I can wrap my mind around. The heroism, the adventure, the romance, the supernatural creatures—all of it speaks to my desire to be more, to experience more. The worlds I can imagine through isekai help strengthen my longing for the even better world I can’t yet imagine. Isekai stories help bridge the gap between the unsatisfactory reality I live with and the heavenly realm so glorious that human language can’t describe it. While we can’t really imagine heaven, isekai at least helps us envision something beyond our lives under the sun. Isekai cannot truly satiate our desire our desire to go somewhere different and be something different (that’s what heaven is for), but it does help us explore and understand our sense of longing.

People can enjoy isekai stories regardless of how much they accept or know anything about Christianity, which makes sense if our desire for an existence that is more, better, different than what we know far predates even Christianity. Isekai has not “taken the place of traditional religion as a promise that our suffering will be worthwhile” in a chronological or causal sense (e.g., religion held sway, and it declined, and that decline contributed to the popularity of isekai as a substitute). I believe it is more accurate to see isekai and the Bible’s teaching on heaven as parallel responses to the Fall. We can choose either or both, but they aren’t in competition. Isekai can be an expression of hope and longing both for those who believe in heaven as a religious doctrine, and also for people in places (e.g., Japan) where Christianity’s impact is minimal.

“In the beginning,” God intended for us to be better and to live in a better world, but sin broke the world and broke us, and now we’re all coping with this disappointing life under the sun and desiring something more. Thankfully, God promises that this world and our present condition are not final. He encourages us to hope for a world and a self that is perfect. We don’t know what that will be like, but isekai grants our imaginations a glimpse of possibilities beyond this world. Depending on isekai alone for hope, apart from Jesus, is not unlike eating a ton of junk food before supper and being unable to enjoy the real meal, but isekai can also be an hors d’oeuvre that whets our appetite for the heavenly banquet to come. To me, reading and watching isekai stories is an act of hope, helping me endure this present world by reminding me that I really do have hope of living in another world as a perfected version of myself.

#Anime #Manga #Light Novels #Christianity #Isekai #Religion #Japan #Heaven #Hope #Articles #Author: JeskaiAngel

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quasieli · 3 years

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top six: fictional characters that give you gender envy, flowers, little things that make you happy and d&d moments :D

Ooh lotsa questions!

Gender Envy:

1) Bow from She-Ra (2018). Something about buff athletic dude who wears crop tops and is soft as hell is very Gender to me.

2) Vax from Critical Role. Pretty boy, kinda goth rogue? That’s sexy as hell and I wish that was me.

3) In a wildly different idea of gender envy, I’ve been thinking about it lately and @quantum-lesbian’s character in the Frostmaiden game I’m in with them, Ambrose, is Big Gender. Beautiful non-binary drow with a starry and kinda witchy aesthetic that dresses super grandly and ostentatiously no matter the occasion? Yes please.

4) Pete from The Unsleeping City, specifically season two. I adore season one Pete but season two Pete that works in a queer bookshop and has a teapot arcane focus, is artsy and is unapologetically a trans man who doesn’t give a shit about gender roles? Sign me the fuck up.

5) Beau from Critical Role. Buff GNC lesbian mixed with academia, but like academia from the prospective of a grad student with ADHD trying to learn everything about their special interests? A+, I love her and I’m jealous.

6) I’m gonna cheat a lil bit for this last one. I know the prompt is fictional characters, but Julia Lepetit and Jacob Andrews in their Hitman streams? Simultaneously both of them were Gender for me. Jacob esp felt like that for me, which is weird cause dresses can make me dysphoric, but I am also slightly envious of the Dude in a Dress type of gender presentation.

Can you tell that I’m a confused trans masc enby

Gonna put it under the cut from here cause oof, there’s still a lot more.

Flowers:

1) Big slut for Sunflowers, always have been, always will be.

2) Fun fact, my dad’s family used to own a flower shop (in like the 70s, so I never got to see it :(), and one of their big things was hydrangeas. My dad has always loved them and now I love the snowballs too!

3) A recent favorite, the Baker’s Globe Mallow. It’s a type of flower that only grows from the soils of forests that have been affected by wildfires. It’s a simple little flower but I love the idea of something beautiful rising from the ashes after tragedy. A little dramatic, but I’m queer, ofc I’m dramatic.

4) Roses are another important flower to my family (Rose was a family name for a couple generations), and ya know, they’re a classic.

5) There’s this beautiful magnolia tree in front of my house that blooms with the most beautiful white and pink flowers every spring, and it’s one of my favorite things to see every year.

6) There’s so many different types of Lillies and they’re all very pretty, but the Purple Stargazer is prob my favorite.

Little Things That Make Me Happy:

1) My cat, Maddie. She may be a cranky girl at times, but she is also very sweet and will always be my baby (even though she is 12).

2) Not a little thing really, but my best friend. Just getting a sweet/silly text from her or the two of us chilling in a room, sitting in a comfortable silence because we just like being together, nothing better.

3) Baking, esp if I’m doing it for others. I’m not much of a sweets person myself, a little treat every once in a while type person, but I love baking. It’s a very relaxing process for me, even when it can sometimes get stressful, but seeing people enjoying something I made, especially something that brought me great joy to make, is simply the best.

4) In the same sorta vein, crafting and other art, but that’s a bit more personal. I love making things for others, but art, particularly drawing, is something I do more for me. It’s such a great feeling when you can get into a really good art mood and just sink yourself into a project. I love it.

5) My plush toys. Yes, I am a 23 year old, no I will not stop loving my plushies. I just got a few new friends, which I made a post about recently, and they such good cuddle buddies. However, there is one king amongst them all. I have this old, beat up christmas puppy beanie baby, on his tag named Jingle Pup, but I just call him Jingle. I had one version of him since I was like 6, but he currently lives on a shelf cause he is very beaten up and fragile, but his “brother”, who I got when I was 8, is still in kinda good shape and is currently chilling on my chest as I type this lol.

6) Again, not a little thing, but it’s important to mention; D&D. The game itself is such a joy, but truly the best part of it is the people. I love creating stories and memories with people through this weird little game. Truly one of my favorite things to do.

D&D Moments:

These are all gonna be personal moments, rather than anything from actual play shows/podcasts. RC is Reforged Campaign, where I play Saube, and FM is Frostmaiden, where I play Sparks.

1) RC - Meeting Mahety, Saube’s girlfriend. We met her way back in session 12 and we are now up to like session 73. Saube saw her and was immediately big heart eyes at her but also felt a bit awkward and shy. So, being a game a dice, I decided to roll. 10 or higher, Saube would talk to her, 9 or lower, she’d stay put. I rolled a 17, 17 is now a lucky number for me. I love Mahety and I’d die for her.

2) FM - This was an insane fight that should not have been so crazy, but in a fairly early session, my group went up against an angry druid and her awakened animals. So much batshit stuff happened in that fight, and we unfortunately lost our bread loving bard (RIP Agneyis), but one of my favorite combat turns happened in this fight. Our artificer, Omaren, has a robe of useful items and one of the patches on it creates a large pit. Thinking quickly, Omaren tore off the patch, slid it under one of the dire wolves we were fighting and created a looney tunes style pit under it, allowing us to take it out easily via pot shots. Such a clutch move and such a funny visual, especially because the dire wolf kept failing the checks to get out of the pit.

3) RC - Saube’s Zebrith (I will never remember how this actually spelled RIP). So, for context, Saube ended up with a death curse (long story) that mechanically meant they had disadvantage on any death saving throws. Scary as hell, need to get that fixed! So, Saube and their party had to be smuggled into another country to talk with some religious leaders of a goddess known as The First, the goddess of death. They were told that Saube would have to go through the aforementioned ritual, which included her soul leaving her body for a short period of time. During this ritual, her friends had to call back to her, to say things that would bring her back to her body and I still cry thinking about that game. That ritual was not only important for Saube bodily, but spiritually as well. After that ritual, Saube officially became a cleric of The First!

4) A real sappy one, RC - Saube meeting all of her friends. Anyone who follows along with the rantings on my blog probably knows how important this game is to me. I met this random group of strangers on tumblr and formed a D&D party with them and now, a year and a half later, I honestly think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I know that sounds silly and dramatic but not only has this game brought me so much joy and comfort, but I also gained a group of really amazing friends who have been nothing but amazing since day one. As much as Saube knows she can depend on SICL, I know I can depend on my group of weirdos lol. We both love our friends very much and even though we’ve all been through some crazy shit, we wouldn’t change it for the world.

5) RC - Just playing Saube in general. I really didn’t intend for it to be this way, but Saube is very much a reflection of myself. She is the first long term character I have ever played and so much of me is in her. I try not to treat D&D like therapy, because that’s unfair to my DM and fellow party members, but playing Saube has allowed me to work through some of my own problems, especially social anxiety, in a lot safer of an environment. It isn’t so much that I’m asking this game to help me fix my life, but playing out these scenarios that, in the real world, would make me anxious or make me freak out, I can stop, take a moment to breathe and work out these issues in a way that makes sense to me. Playing her has led me to understanding myself a bit better, as well, and that’s truly such a wonderfully unexpected gift from this whole experience.

6) Lastly, a silly one: RC - Getting a crit 6. The last session of this game got real interesting. Saube’s party ended up in the ethereal plane and magic got real fucky there. So, any time any of us tried to cast a spell, we’d roll a d20, not look at the result, and then try to guess what number rolled. The closer to the number, the better the result. A few times, a few people managed to get within like 3 or 4 of their roll, but oh the power I felt when I rolled a 6 (on Saube’s die!) and guessed it correctly! So, not only did the spell (Bless) work, but it worked super well. So instead of getting +1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws, Saube and two other party members got +2d4 to attacks, saving throws and skill checks. So powerful I broke the rules of D&D lmao.

#asks #ask games #floralprintshark #D&D #Flowers #Saube #Sauhety #SICL #Sparks #long post #thanks <3 <3

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five-rivers · 4 years

Text

Exile

Prompt by @halfaqueen. My goodness, this took forever to write. I have no idea how it got so long.

Danny hadn't realized that exile was still a thing, but when he and Jazz had gotten expelled, and their parents had been banned or barred from basically all public places, and all of them had gotten restraining orders of one sort or another, and dozens of lawsuits had been filed against Fentonworks... Well... Officially, it wasn't exile, but that was what Amity Park was clearly aiming for with this harassment campaign.

He watched his city, his haunt, disappear over the horizon from the back window of the GAV. It was all he could do not to cry out aloud. Leaving like this felt like tearing part of himself away.

"Don't worry, Danno!" said Jack, leaning over the back seat. He wasn't driving, as he had lost his license early on in the city's war against them. "Just give it a few weeks! They'll be begging for us to come back, what with all the ghost that'll attack!"

This did not make Danny feel better.

"Jack," said Maddie, drawing out her husband's name. As clear as day, her tone said, Don't get their hopes up.

"You betcha! Because nobody can catch a ghost better than the Fentons, that's for sure!"

Jack Fenton hadn't ever been good at reading things as abstract as tones.

"They think they can stop the ghosts by closing the portal? Please! If it was as easy as that, we'd have closed it ages ago!"

Danny cringed, and sunk lower in his seat. No. None of that made Danny feel better.

Amity Park had hired other ghost hunters, blatantly replacing the Fentons, but Danny didn't know how good they were. He didn't know how good he should hope they were, either. On one hand, he wanted them to be bad, so that Amity Park would drop the restraining orders and he could go home. On the other, he wanted them to be good, so that Amity Park would be safe, so that everyone would be safe and no one would be hurt. But, then, if they were good, and everything was fine, that meant that Amity Park didn't need him any more, that he wasn't helpful, and, even though it was selfish, part of him wanted to be needed.

But, worse, what if they were good enough to defeat the more common ghosts, but then someone powerful come through, someone big, and they couldn't handle it? What if the new hunters worked for the GIW and would send the ghosts they caught off to be experimented on?

Danny had warned away as many ghosts as he could about what was happening before they left, but it didn't seem to be enough. And what if that warning got to someone who would see it as an invitation? As an opportunity to strike, now that he, Phantom, was gone.

He'd been so worried, stressed, and paranoid that he'd made himself sick. He was probably going to make himself sick again before the day was out.

"Where are we going, anyway?" he mumbled.

"Didn't we tell you?" asked Maddie. Danny shrugged. "We're visiting some relatives of Jack's. They have an interest in the supernatural, and they offered to let us stay with them while we look for a more permanent solution."

"Yep!" said Jack. "My favorite cousin, Cory! She's not quite a ghost hunter, but she has that Fenton blood for sure!"

"Cordelia Nightingale," said Maddie. "I don't think that her branch of the family has been Fentons since the sixteen-hundreds."

Danny swallowed. He was not a fan of the name 'Nightingale,' all things considered. It reminded him too much of pain and Sam pushed up against a wooden stake.

He decided this, on top of everything else, was a bad omen. He bet that 'cousin Cordelia' was going to turn out to be a ghost or, somehow, something worse. Like a witch. Or she had something like Freakshows staff. Or she grew blood blossoms for fun. Or she was part of a cult.

Ugh, why did that sound like something that might happen? What was his life?

Half gone, that's what.

Jazz patted him on the knee. "Maybe it'll be nice?" she said, hopefully.

"Maybe," said Danny.

He didn't have high hopes.

Sam probably would have liked the house. Danny didn't. The Gothic architecture only accentuated his fears. He frowned up at the spikes on the railing and the darkly painted boards. No. He didn't like this house at all.

He wanted to go home.

But, at his mother's prodding, he bent and picked up his suitcase. Most of his things were still at home and, if this lasted longer than a week, would then be put into a storage locker along with the rest of the family's belongings, to await a time when they once again had a house of their own to live in.

Jack bounced up the steps and pressed the doorbell with his thumb. Almost at once, a thin woman with graying brown hair opened the door. She wore a black turtleneck and a dark, straight skirt that ended at her ankles. Somehow, she made the outfit look practically Victorian.

"Cory!" exclaimed Jack, giving her a trademark Jack Fenton hug.

Both Jazz and Danny cringed slightly. That felt a bit too familiar for someone who he hadn't seen for literally their entire lives. Danny just hoped this wouldn't be Vlad all over again.

But, to his surprise, Cordelia gave Jack a thin smile and hugged him back. She extracted herself and stepped away from the door, into the house.

"Please," she said, "come in. You must all be tired. Amity Park is hours away."

One by one, the Fentons passed through the door, Danny bringing up the suspicious and paranoid rear.

"You must be Jasmine and Daniel," said Cordelia, closing the door. It wasn't quite dark inside the house, but it did feel rather dim. It smelled sweet, but dusty. Like flowers. Old, dry flowers.

"Jazz and Danny, please, Ms. Nightingale," said Jazz.

"Call me Cordelia. We're family, after all."

Was that ominous, or was Danny just paranoid? Well, it wasn't paranoia if people really were out to get you, right?

His breath went cold in his mouth, and something moved out of the corner of his eye. He whirled, trying to trace it.

He couldn't see anything. His ghost sense hadn't gone off.

"Danny?" said Maddie. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just thought I saw something."

"Probably my cat," said Cordelia, calmly. "She's a shy little thing, but curious. Don't be surprised if you don't see her again."

"Right," said Danny, doubtful, but not wanting to press the point.

"Now, I've cleaned out rooms for you upstairs," she gestured, and began to lead the way.

Danny started to follow, but another shadow moved at the edge of his sight, this one distinctly humanoid. He turned again, trying to find what cast it. There was nothing. He hurried to catch up with the others.

"Do you live here all alone?" he asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Oh, no," said Cordelia. "This place is much too large for one person. I let out rooms to some nice young ladies who work in town. None of them are here right now, of course, but I'll introduce all of you at dinner."

Well, there went that theory. He glanced back down the stairs. There was definitely a chill in this house.

"You didn't have to give us this much space," said Maddie, snapping Danny's attention back to the conversation. "We should pay you."

"Nonsense. You're family, and those rooms weren't being used anyway. Here, this one has a king mattress, so you two will want this one, even if it is a bit tight, and Daniel, Jasmine, you two take the ones on either side."

Danny and Jazz shared a look. It was a lot easier for Jazz to cover for Danny, or for Danny to sneak into her room for help, when they were next to each other. But there was nothing to be done. They shrugged.

It didn't matter who took which room. Jazz went left. Danny went right.

The room was a lot like the rest of the house. Old-fashioned and dark. It was also meticulously clean and decorated like something out of an old movie. It looked like a set piece. It really did.

Then again, Cordelia did say she had just cleaned the rooms. It wasn't anything to get nervous about, even if it did make Danny feel like he was the main character in a horror film.

He put down his suitcase.

"The bathroom is just down at the end of the hall. The schedule is posted next to it, make sure you write down when you want to shower, so you don't disrupt anyone," said Cordelia, still talking to Jack and Maddie in the hall. "The kitchen is downstairs and in the back. If you take the last of something from the refrigerator, write it down on the shopping list. Otherwise, go ahead and make yourselves at home. Freshen up, take a nap. Dinner is at six."

"Do you want any help with that?" asked Maddie. "You're cooking for an awful lot of people."

"No, no, I'm more than used to it."

"Alright. Did you catch all that, kids?"

"Yes," said Jazz.

"Yeah," said Danny. He wanted to look for whatever was giving him this chill. He didn't like the idea of something supernatural sneaking up on him or his family while he slept.

He couldn't find it, and it was driving him crazy.

There was something in this house, even if Danny couldn't see it as anything but a shadow in his peripheral vision. Jazz couldn't see it at all, but she believed him after that whole thing with Youngblood.

Even if they couldn't find the thing, however, they found lots of other... things. Creepy things. Dead-eyed porcelain dolls. Dusty portraits. Bundles of dried herbs. Weird sculpture things. Light fixtures that should have been updated before Danny was born. A stuffed cat. A closet full of brooms.

"You know what I haven't seen?" asked Danny, as it turned five o'clock.

"No," said Jazz. "What? Ghosts?"

"A litter box," said Danny.

"That doesn't really mean anything," said Jazz. "It could be in one of the bedrooms, or there's a cat door and the cat goes outside."

"Maybe," said Danny. "Let's check out the yard."

This far from the nearest town, the yard was big and cut into a forest that loomed darkly over them even in the bright sunlight. The yard itself was full of flowering plants, but...

"I think these are all poisonous," he said. "At least, a lot of them are."

"Isn't that normal for decorative plants?" asked Jazz. "They weren't bred to eat."

"Yeah, I guess," said Danny, frowning. "But would you necessarily want a cat out here with all this?"

"Cats are carnivores. They wouldn't eat the plants. Can you see the neighbors?"

"No. Too many trees."

"How far away are we, I wonder?"

"It can't be that far," said Danny. "Not if her boarders commute to town."

"That's true. We're not in the wilderness." Jazz scanned up and down the height of the trees. "Not really."

"Maybe a little bit," said Danny. He could imagine some of those trees being hundreds of years old. The ground might not have been untrod by human feet, but... "Does everything here just sort of feel... off? Or is that just me?"

"I don't know," said Jazz.

Gravel crunched in the driveway, audible even from the other side of the house. Jazz and Danny walked to the corner of the house so that they could see around the corner and watch what was happening.

A small white car was pulling into the driveway. It stopped next to the GAV. As they watched, three young women stepped out. One of them had long, dark hair and wore a red sweater and skirt, reminiscent of Cordelia's. The second had pale blond, almost white, hair and wore a deep brown shirt and skirt. The third had red hair, and wore white. All of them had wicked looking boots and matching leather purses.

"Okay," whispered Jazz, pulling Danny back around the corner. "I... Maybe they just like to match?"

"I hate this so much," said Danny. "I want to go home."

"Maybe whatever is going on here is friendly?"

"We are literally never that lucky," said Danny. "I hope it's just a ghost. I can deal with ghosts. It's probably a ghost."

"Really?"

"No. Let's go in. We're going to have to meet them eventually."

"This is Sofia," said Cordelia, indicating the dark haired woman. "This is Alison." She put her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "And this is Morgan." She nodded at the redhead. "Girls, these are my cousins, Jack, Maddie, Jazz, and Danny."

Three sets of eyes moved sequentially from Jack, to Maddie, to Jazz, to Danny. They stayed on Danny.

"It's nice to meet you," said Sofia, still looking at Danny.

He tried to hide his discomfort. Could they tell he was half-ghost? He hoped not. That was his trump card if everything turned out as badly as he feared and he had to get his family out in a hurry.

What he wouldn't give for a piece of concrete evidence right now. Without it, his parents would never listen to him. They hadn't with Vlad.

They were still looking at him. Jazz slipped in front of him.

"So!" she said, brightly. "Dinner?"

Danny pushed back in front of Jazz. "Yeah! It's six, right?"

"Well, it sounds like the kids have inherited that good old Fenton appetite! Huh, Cory?" added Jack

"Yes, yes, come along. Girls, why don't you go ahead and get the table started. No, Maddie, the girls know how I like it, I'll show you later. You just sit down and relax." Cordelia disappeared into the kitchen.

The three younger women moved smoothly around the room, pulling plates and silverware- real silver silverware- from a china cabinet. They set the long table in the middle of the room with rigorous formality. There were more kinds of forks at each place setting than Danny had seen even when having dinner at Sam's. They topped it off with two candelabras.

Cordelia emerged with a casserole dish. Whatever was in it was thick, roughly cylindrical, and covered with a thick red sauce.

"Wow! Is that a roast?" asked Jack.

"Yes," said Cordelia. "I always make this when new guests arrive. The girls have all had it."

The 'girls' nodded as one, and retreated to the opposite side of the table. They almost moved in sync with one another.

Cordelia put the roast on the table, and went back to get side dishes. This gave the three women more time to stare at Danny.

On occasion, Danny did want attention, acknowledgement, what have you, but this scrutiny would have been a bit much even when he was at the height of his 'look at me' phase. He kept a tight hold on his core to keep himself from flickering invisible.

Cordelia came back with two serving dishes full of green... things. Possibly vegetables, but Danny didn't recognize them. She then started to, with excruciating slowness, carve the roast.

The slow exposure of the meat under all that sauce was enough to make Danny vaguely ill. It was too... wet. Too vibrant and too gray all at once. He swallowed against the smell.

"Wow!" said Jack, as Cordelia dropped a slab of meat on his plate. "This looks great, Cory! What kind of meat is it?" He was already sawing away at the flesh. It was all Danny could do to keep himself from slapping it away from him.

"Beef," said Cordelia, smiling at him as she carved. "Locally grown and harvested. It's an old family recipe, from before our branches split and we were all Nightingales."

"You mean Fentons!" said Jack around a mouthful of meat.

Cordelia's smile turned brittle. "However you would like to put it, Jack." She went around the table, serving herself last.

Danny made no move to pick up his utensils. The women on the other side of the table ate while watching him, barely looking at their food. Jazz was the only one who seemed to notice, and when Danny caught her eye and shook his head, she put down the bite of meat she had picked up, turning her focus to the vegetables.

"So," Jazz said, "what do you three do?"

Sofia's eyes flicked briefly to Jazz. "Graphic design," she said.

"That must be interesting."

"It's a job."

Danny didn't eat that night.

"I have some granola bars," said Jazz, grabbing his arm before he entered his guest room. Not that he intended to sleep there. Or anywhere.

"You keep them," he said. "I'm fine. You didn't eat much, either."

"You didn't eat anything," said Jazz.

"I'll be okay." Danny flared his eyes. "I've got an extra reserve, remember?"

"If you say so," said Jazz. She was frowning. "Danny... Let's share a room tonight."

"What?"

"I don't like how those three were looking at you," she said. "I can't believe Mom and Dad didn't notice..."

"They don't notice anything," said Danny. He pulled Jazz into the dubious safety of his room. He didn't want to have this conversation out in the hallway. "Wait," he said, eyes flicking over the room. "Where's my suitcase?"

Jazz shrugged. "Kind of reminds me," she said, not quite whispering. "I was thinking about barricading the door."

Danny hissed through his teeth. "I put my thermos up here when we went to eat. It's gone, too."

"If this were a horror movie, this would be when we yelled at the screen for the characters to leave."

"Think we can convince Mom and Dad?"

"Maybe together?"

Danny shrugged. "Let's give it a try."

They left the bedroom, and knocked on their parents' door. There was no answer.

Jazz frowned. "Maybe they have their earplugs in already," she said. "Can you, you know." She made a gesture where her arms crossed each other.

"Let's see," he said, going back to the bedroom. He waited until Jazz shut the door to turn invisible and phase through the wall.

Passing through the wall felt... odd. Like walking through layers of cobwebs. He shook his head as if to clear it and surveyed the room. Jack and Maddie were already in bed. He made a face and stepped back into the other room, becoming visible and tangible for Jazz.

"They're asleep," he said, shaking his head.

"First thing tomorrow morning, then," Jazz said, wringing her hands. "Maybe- Do you think we should sleep in the GAV? Put up the ghost shield?"

"I'm not even sure that this is a ghost," said Danny. He walked around the bed, part of him still looking for his missing suitcase. "But you have a point, I just..." He glanced at the wall his room shared with his parents'. If he and Jazz slept in the GAV, Jazz would be very safe, but their parents would be vulnerable. If he stayed here, and Jazz slept in the GAV, she'd be safer than sleeping alone in the house, and his parents would be safer, but if something happened to her, he wouldn't be able to react to it, he wouldn't be able to protect her. "I don't know."

"Let's at least go down and look. Maybe you left your suitcase in there, after all?"

"I don't think so," said Danny.

"We can get the weapons locker."

Danny blinked. "I almost forgot about that. Yeah. Let's go."

They were halfway down the stairs when Jazz grabbed his shoulder. "What?" whispered Danny.

"I can't hear anything."

"Huh?"

"This house is old. These stairs creaked when we were walking on it before. Why isn't it now?"

Danny bit his lip. "Let's keep going." He put his hand on Jazz's and made them both invisible.

"I can't see my feet," said Jazz.

"Just be careful," said Danny, continuing down the stairs. "I'm going to phase us through the front door, okay?"

"Fine."

It was still twilight when they stepped outside, the first stars just beginning to show. It wasn't hard for them to navigate, slipping around the white car, but when they did, and finally got a good look at the GAV, they froze.

Jazz said something very un-Jazz-like. Danny let his invisibility fade.

"What happened?" asked Jazz, in shock.

"It looks like someone beat it with a crowbar," said Danny, almost reverently, touching the crumpled metal. "A really big, really fast crowbar."

"Danny, this glass is supposed to be bulletproof."

"And ghost-proof," agreed Danny. "Let's go barricade your room. Think it can get through a dresser?"

The thing about being under high levels of stress for long periods of time was that it was tiring. Exhausting, even. So, even though Danny didn't intend to sleep, he did.

He woke up unable to move, something heavy weighing down his chest. His eyes fluttered open. Something huge and dark, the shadow he'd only glimpsed before, loomed over him, pressed down on him. He could see Jazz's bright hair hanging off of the bed above him. He tried to call out, to warn her, to get her to run, but he couldn't speak.

He couldn't breathe-

When his eyes opened again, light was weakly streaming through the thick glass of the windows, making the dust in the room sparkle gold. He sat straight up, breathing hard. He was still in Jazz's room, the dresser pulled across the doorway. Why do that and then leave him here? It didn't make sense.

"What's wrong?" asked Jazz, voice deep and crackled with sleep. She yawned.

Danny told her.

"That sounds like sleep paralysis."

"Like what now?"

"Sleep paralysis," said Jazz. She yawned again. "Some people get it. They wake up, but they're still asleep and they can't move. And also they hallucinate."

"That sounds fake."

"You sound fake."

"You know what? That's fair. That's actually fair. This whole situation sounds fake, so why not add sleep paralysis to the whole thing? It's better than an actual literal demon." He took a deep breath. "What do we do now?"

Jazz licked her lips and ran a hand through her hair.

"We tell them that the GAV has been trashed, that those women were staring at you like they wanted to eat you all dinner, and that your clothes were stolen. And then I'll spell it out for them, if I have to."

"What, that this place is probably haunted or possessed and Dad's cousin is a witch?"

"No," said Jazz, making a face. "That'll probably only make them want to stay even more. That those three are probably pedophiles who stole your clothing and wrecked the GAV so we couldn't leave, and that neither of us felt safe sleeping alone. Sorry. Then we'll make them call a cab."

"No, no, that's fine. That's a better explanation than I could come up with. Let's do that. I would honestly rather stay at Vlad's than here."

"Yeah," Jazz dragged her hand through her hair again, and grimaced. "Let me get dressed, first. Do you see my brush over there?"

"No," said Danny.

Jazz looked around the room. "Actually... Where is my suitcase?"

"It was-" Danny stopped. "It was in that corner when we came in, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Jazz. "Okay, forget getting dressed. We're talking to Mom and Dad now." She swung out of bed and made her way to the door.

Danny phased through her, so he would reach the dresser first and easily pushed it out of the way. He stuck his head out the door, looking both ways for Cordelia and the borders.

The door to the room next to Jazz's, their parent's room, was open.

"Shoot," said Danny. He walked over. "They're not here."

"Downstairs? Maybe they went to get breakfast." Jazz emerged from the room crossing her arms over her chest.

"Maybe," said Danny. He had a bad feeling about this.

Cautiously, they made their way down the stairs and peered into the kitchen. No one was there.

"Hello, children," said Cordelia, directly behind them.

They jumped, both trying to get away and spin at the same time. Jazz clipped her elbow on the doorway and almost fell. Danny caught her and pulled her back up.

"If you are looking for your parents, you just missed them."

"What do you mean?" asked Jazz, a little more sharply than she usually would.

"I mean, they just left," said Cordelia mildly. "They took that vehicle of yours to town to go shopping. Something about not eating me out of my house. It was very kind of them."

"But the GAV was wrecked..." said Jazz, even as Danny gave a tug on her arm.

"Was it?" asked Cordelia, smiling. "It seemed fine when they left. You should get dressed, though, Jasmine, and, Daniel, are those the clothes you were wearing yesterday?"

"Our clothes are gone," said Jazz.

"You left them in your car? Well, no wonder you're looking for your parents. I think I might have some old clothes that will fit you. Come along, now." She turned.

Possibilities tumbled through Danny's head. A large part of him wanted to just grab Jazz and fly away to find their parents in town, but he estimated that there was a pretty good chance that they weren't in town, but trapped here somewhere. Jazz had apparently made that same calculation, because she was giving him the 'don't you dare use your powers' head shake.

Fine. Okay. Play along it was, then.

Cordelia lead them into a dusty ground floor room full of chests. She opened one, knocking free a number of cobwebs. "These are a little old fashioned, I'm afraid, Daniel, but it has been a while since a boy your age lived here." She handed him a small, neat stack of clothing. "And these are for you, Jasmine. I wore them when I was about your age. I grew a few inches, after that."

"Right," said Jazz, already backing away. "We'll just go... change... then. Right Danny?"

"Yeah," said Danny.

Jazz didn't speak to him until they were back upstairs. "What now?"

"Now," said Danny, "I go ghost and see if Mom and Dad are trapped in a dungeon under the house or something. If not, I take you and get the heck out of here. If they are, I rescue them, we get the heck out of here. We'll steal Cordelia's car or something."

"Not much of a plan."

"Don't kid yourself. We never have a plan. Do you want to get dressed, first, or...?"

"Pass."

"I'll have to bring you with me. I don't want to leave you alone up here while I'm searching," warned Danny.

"I know. I don't want to be alone here, either."

Danny took a breath and-

Did not go ghost. He doubled over, gasping for breath, transformation rings flickering to nothing around him as the shadows pressed inward, suffocating him. The huge fingers around his chest- The almost-human silhouette-

"Danny?" asked Jazz, alarmed, shaking his shoulder. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Not," wheezed Danny, "sleep paralysis."

The shadows crept up over his eyes and everything went dark.

When he woke up, he was wearing different clothes. Very different clothes. They were all white and loose. He wasn't sure if he should call them robes, but they had that kind of feeling. His shoes were gone. He was in his guest room, on the bed. Jazz was nowhere to be seen.

Danny should have taken his family and run as soon as he saw that not-ghost shadow. He swallowed, shaking, and clenched his fists. It was still here, watching him. He could feel it, even if he couldn't see it.

Okay. First step, get out of here.

He swung his feet off the bed. As soon as they touched the floor, something twined around his ankle and rapidly climbed up his leg. He gasped and yanked himself back, trying to free his knee from the shadow twisted around it. It held fast, firmly squeezing his thigh.

Danny growled. This wasn't the first shadow he had fought. He gathered ectoplasm in his hand and poured energy into it until it burned brighter than magnesium. The shadow retreated, and Danny scrambled to stand on the middle of the bed, ectoblast still in his fist.

"Now, now, no need for any of that."

Cordelia stood in the doorway, not the least bit surprised to see Danny wielding supernatural powers.

"Where's my family?" demanded Danny.

"Safe," said Cordelia, neutrally, "and they will continue to remain so."

Danny shifted, and the bed springs squealed. "What do you want?" he asked.

"My heritage. Come along. I will explain as we go." She turned in the doorway and looked over her shoulder. "Our shadow will not trouble you, should you follow now."

Danny clenched his jaw at the threat but gingerly climbed down from the bed and followed Cordelia across the frigid floor.

"Our last common ancestor was Elizabeth Nightingale," said Cordelia. "She was married to James Fenton. They had two children, John Fenton-Nightingale and Mary Fenton-Nightingale." She paused. "Elizabeth was knowledgeable in what would have been called witchcraft, and she was very, very good at it."

They climbed down the stairs to the first floor. All of the lights were off.

"But, as these things happen, she died. A mistake with a summoning." Cordelia turned into a long hallway Danny had missed in his earlier explorations of the house. "John and Mary were divided on how to handle her legacy. John," the name was said with anger, "decided that Elizabeth's craft, her knowledge, was evil, and decided to destroy it. He burned generations of Nightingale knowledge in a single night. When Mary tried to stop him, to salvage her mother's legacy, he tried to burn her, too. He denounced her as a witch."

"I'm sorry about that," said Danny. "I really am." After all, he knew exactly what that felt like. "But I don't see what that has to do with us. That was hundreds of years ago. A bit late for revenge, don't you think?" A sufficiently disturbed ghost wouldn't, but Cordelia was, as far as Danny could tell, human.

"This isn't about revenge," said Cordelia. "Besides, it has everything to do with you. Of the two of us, you are the one who met the man, Phantom."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's no need for you to play coy with me, young man," said Cordelia. "Why else do you think I put so much time and effort into getting you here? The magics to turn your town against your parents weren't child's play, after all." She bent and seized the corner of a rug, pulling it up and back to reveal a trap door. "Neither was calling the shadow to keep you bound." She lifted the ring handle on the trap door, pulling it open. "After you."

Danny stared down the dark hole below. There was a metal ladder, but he couldn't tell where it ended. A very faint light from somewhere to the right reflected off of some of the rungs.

"Is this where you reveal you're a cannibal?" asked Danny, unimpressed. "Is that what horror movie this is?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Hardly. Although you and Jasmine refusing to eat with us last night made everything harder than it had to be."

That definitely wasn't Danny's stomach growling at the reminder that he hadn't eaten since lunchtime yesterday. "Drugged, was it?"

They stared at each other over the trap door.

"If you refuse to cooperate, we can always use Jack. Or Jasmine."

Danny's lips twitched as he held back a snarl. "Fine," he snapped, angrily climbing down, into the hole.

It turned out that the ladder wasn't terribly long after all. It descended into a basement of normal height.

That was, however, the only normal thing about the space. Far from simply being unfinished, the floor of the basement seemed to be stone. So were what little he could see of the walls. It was like the basement had been carved from one huge piece of bedrock, but that couldn't be possible. Danny didn't know, well, anything about geology, but he was pretty sure houses usually weren't built on stuff like this.

To the right, there was a small table with a single burning candle on it and two chairs, one on each side. Beyond that, Danny could make out a circle on the ground marked with chalk.

The cold feeling that had been plaguing Danny since yesterday was a hundred times stronger in this room. His core was alert, but the relief that his ghost sense usually brought just never came.

The strain was beginning to ache.

"Sit down," said Cordelia, indicating the chair closest to the chalk circle.

Danny complied, tense, and Cordelia moved the candle to one side, taking out a book and setting it on the table. The book was old and singed, the edges of the leather cover and several of the pages burnt and curled. Cordelia stroked it, reverently.

"This is all that Mary managed to salvage from the flames," she said. "Just this one book, out of so many. All that knowledge lost. Elizabeth was the last one to have it."

Danny heard movement in the dark corners of the room and turned his head to Sofia, Alison, and Morgan emerging, all of them in robes similar to his own, but in their own colors. They came close, and grabbed the back and arms of his chair.

"You asked me what I wanted. I want Elizabeth Nightingale."

A surprised laugh, almost a scoff, forced its way between Danny's lips. "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't exactly have her in my back pocket. Do these pants even have pockets?"

"You might not have her," said Cordelia, annoyance creeping into her otherwise level tone, "but you can get her. Bring her back from beyond."

"Uh, not sure what's in your book, but, contrary to popular belief, not all dead people know each other. She might not even be a ghost. She might have moved on."

"She hasn't," said Cordelia, almost smiling. "Not with the summoning she was doing. We are going to send you to her, and you are going to bring her back." She tilted her head to one side. "We could do this with any blood relative. The original plan was to use Jack, but your condition makes you so much more open to this kind of thing. Your chances of success are much higher."

Danny crossed his arms. "And if I don't succeed, you'll make Dad and Jazz try."

"That's right."

"Why don't you do it?" asked Danny. "You're a blood relative, aren't you?"

"Sadly, the ritual requires four people."

"Yeah, that's the only reason, huh?" said Danny, because he liked to antagonize people he couldn't strike back against in other ways, and also because he was an idiot.

"As I said, we can always use one of the others if you do not cooperate."

"And you'll let us all go if I do?"

"If you bring back Elizabeth, yes."

"Fine," said Danny. "What do I need to do?"

"Very little," said Cordelia. "Give me your hand. Your right hand."

Reluctantly, Danny held out his hand. Cordelia took it and wrapped a thin, white cord around it.

"That will lead you to her."

"I thought you were sending me to her," said Danny.

"You won't be in exactly the same spot," said Cordelia.

Then she whipped a knife out from under the table and sliced deeply into Danny's hand. He pushed back, away, holding his bleeding hand close to his chest. The only reason the chair didn't tip back was because the other three witches were holding on to it.

"Go stand in the circle," ordered Cordelia.

In a fit of pique, Danny phased backwards through the three women holding the chair, not bothering to wait for them to move away to let him go. The shadow pushed uncomfortably against his shoulders, but did not otherwise protest.

The circle was simple, no runes or symbols, just a single line of white chalk on the dark stone. Danny stared at it for a long moment, before stepping over it and standing at the center, his elbow dripping blood as it ran down his arm from his hand.

"Alright, girls, you know what we need to do," said Cordelia.

Danny stood in a field of washed-out red grass. Overhead, the sky billowed with rolling, boiling gray clouds. They seemed too close. The air smelled of smoke. The horizon was blurred and warped, as if Danny were looking at it through thick, wavy glass, or as if in a dream.

This wasn't the Ghost Zone.

He took a deep breath, the smoke washing through him. Okay. He was here. Now he needed to find Elizabeth Nightingale.

He looked down at his hand. The white cord had been turned red with his blood, and it had grown longer, reaching back over his shoulder.

"Eat your hear out, Ariadne," muttered Danny. He looked over his shoulder.

A forest was on fire.

The tall, straight, slender trees burned from their tops, like candles. Their trunks were bare, entirely free of leaves, needles, or branches. Danny should have felt the heat, even at this distance. He didn't.

The bloody cord led between the trees.

"Right," muttered Danny, "because nothing can be easy."

Resigned, he started walking towards the trees and discovered that the 'grass' on the ground actually consisted of thin-walled ceramic-like tubes. Fragile ceramic tubes. The ones he stepped on shattered and cut into his bare feet. He hissed, resisting the urge to hop around and get even more shards stuck into him. The bottoms of his feet felt wet and hot. He tried to phase the shards out and couldn't.

"Is this hell?" asked Danny, aloud. "This has to be hell. Ancients."

He couldn't feel the shadow near him anymore, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Despite the 'grass,' he hesitated to try and go ghost to fly over it. He didn't want to pass out onto the tubes and break them even more. He didn't want those shards in his face or hands.

The squelching of his blood as he shifted his weight decided it for him. He couldn't walk over all of this.

He sent one last look around him for the shadow and summoned his rings. He was relieved when they flowed smoothly over him, transforming him into a ghost, into Phantom.

His normal hazmat suit did not appear, however. Instead, the white robes he had been dressed in turned black. Danny frowned at this. He was not a fan. He wanted his hazmat back.

Whatever. There were more important things to focus on. For example, both his blood and the cord had turned a lurid, ectoplasmic green. Much easier to see against the red-hued backdrop of this world.

He lifted up off the ground and flew on, occasionally pausing to pull shards out of his feet. His accelerated healing made the wounds scab over quickly. The cut on his hand, however, continued to bleed freely. This was beginning to concern him. He didn't have an infinite supply of blood. Or ectoplasm. Whatever.

As he approached the burning forest, he expected to start feeling heat, but even when he was right at the treeline, hovering midway up the impossibly tall, thin tree trunks, he couldn't feel anything. It wasn't hot. It wasn't cold. The smoke didn't smell any stronger.

Even so, he knew fire didn't have to be hot to burn. Fire was a chemical reaction, and Danny had no intention of being one of the reactants.

That was, if this place obeyed anything like normal physical laws. Since the trees hadn't actually burned down at all, the fire staying at the same height, he had to conclude that they didn't.

Still. He was going to stay away from the fire. Briefly, he considered flying over the forest, but the cord angled ever so slightly down, and he didn't know how the cord would fare trailing through the fire. Nothing the witches had said made him think it was indestructible.

He flew under the fires. It was bright underneath the trees, in a sort of inverse of a real forest. Bright, dry, and somehow brittle. Danny flew cautiously. This might nor be the Ghost Zone, but he didn't trust it not to have carnivorous landscape features, and even Earthly forests had their dangers. Lions and tigers and bears.

Oh my.

The angle on the cord began to point down more sharply. Danny was getting closer. The forest was also becoming stranger. The tree trunks bled, and glowing eight-legged flies licked at the ichor. Flowers of sickly fire bloomed from the ground in intricate geometric patterns.

Then, amid the burning brightness, Danny saw a house. A big house. A castle, even, its sides built into the burning trees, its pennants alight with flame, smaller fires moving, no, patrolling the battlements.

Danny quickly went invisible. He had a horrible suspicion that Elizabeth would be in the dungeons of that castle. The cord was going to make him hilariously easy to see, not to mention that he was still dripping blood. This was going to suck so much.

But as Danny approached, the fire creatures did not appear to have noticed the cord at all. Some of them even passed through it without slowing down.

Okay. So, as shocking as it was, Danny had actually caught a break.

Slowly, relying on the fire creatures to open the doors, Danny made his way through the castle and down. Down. Down.

The walls down here glowed, as if with heat, but it was a dull, old, tired glow. A rosy cherry color that burned Danny's eyes and made his head pound. Doors in the walls were made of wood that burned from the inside, veins of embers streaking their surface. The bars set in them glowed white-orange.

The green cord snaked across the floor and wove in between the bars of one of these doors.

Danny stopped. He was quite sure Elizabeth was behind that door. But...

Was freeing her the right thing to do? He had gotten the impression that she was dangerous. At least as dangerous as those witches. Even to save his family, should he set someone like that loose on the world?

But Danny had made this decision and all decisions like it the moment he died in the portal. That was the essence of an Obsession.

Besides. Elizabeth was family, too.

He held out his hands, letting frost form on his fingers and palms and pressed them against the door. Once again, he wondered why he couldn't feel any heat. He should. His ice should at least be registering the pressure, the power drain, of something trying to melt it. It didn't.

Ice spread over the door, extinguishing the light and making the metal creak. Feathery tendrils wound up the bars and encased the hinges. The wood began to fall into ash, as if the fire had been the only thing holding it together, and the bars clattered to the ground.

The inside of the cell was incandescent white. The only dark spot was a huddled, burnt black figure in the corner. The cord let straight to it.

Danny, very emphatically, did not want to go into that room. He hovered at the threshold.

"Elizabeth Nightingale?" he called, softly. If the falling bars hadn't alerted the fire creatures to his presence, he wasn't going to ruin that luck by speaking too loud. "Elizabeth?"

The figure abruptly lurched sideways and fell. Danny flinched. Bit by bit, the figure clawed their way towards the door, dragging itself onward.

Danny could hardly bring himself to watch. Part of him wanted to help. Part of him wanted to run far, far away and never come back.

But, at last, the ruined and horrible body made it to the threshold. It reached up with a claw-like hand and grasped Danny's ankle. He cringed at the feeling of the flaking burnt flesh, but didn't try to shake off the hand. He bent slightly, unsure if he should try to help the figure up.

"You," rasped the figure, ash falling from its jaw, "not from here."

"Um," said Danny. "No. I'm not."

The figure began to pull itself up. As it did so, it sort of began to piece itself back together. Danny had seen similar things before, with ghosts returning to their base form, healing, after an unusually devastating attack. Usually, though, it was slower and usually-

Danny abruptly pulled away. Usually ghosts who were doing that were draining his energy to do it. He glared.

"One of mine?" asked the figure, that was now decidedly feminine. It finally drew itself to its knees. Her knees. "One of my," she coughed, "grandchildren?"

"I'm a descendant of yours, I guess," said Danny, cautiously. He wasn't quite pressed up against the far wall, but he was close.

"You came for me," she said. Her voice was still too rough and dry for Danny to detect any emotion in it.

"I was sent," said Danny, flatly. "If I pick you up, are you going to start draining me again?"

She didn't respond for a long time. "No," she said, finally.

"Great," said Danny. "Let's go."

Elizabeth wasn't hard to carry. She wasn't much larger than Jazz, and he flew her around all the time. The problem was, he couldn't seem to extend his invisibility to her. Any power he sent to cover her was simply absorbed.

"Okay," he said, finally. "We'll just have to be fast, then." Mentally, he began to map out the path he would have to take, and how many doors he would have to blow down. It made for a discouraging picture.

"They can't harm you," croaked Elizabeth.

"What?"

"Pure soul. They can't harm you." She reached up to trace his chin and cheek with her still-charred fingers. "You don't feel the heat. You can't. You can't be harmed."

"Uh. Yeah. I don't think that's how it works. I stepped on some sharp stuff when I first got here, and, let me tell you, it hurt."

"The fires can't burn you. Sending you was clever." Elizabeth seemed to have exhausted herself at that; her hand fell back into her lap.

Right. Well. Whatever. The fires hadn't burnt him yet, but he had stayed well away from them. He was going to continue to do so.

He took a deep breath and flew out of the dungeons as quickly as he could. As expected, the fire creatures spotted him quickly, and they began to shout and shriek in a language Danny couldn't even begin to understand.

They also threw fireballs. And fire spears. And fire chains. Just, a lot of things made out of fire.

It was a good thing Danny had ice powers. Otherwise he would have had a hard time combating all this. A few fireballs passed far too close to his head for comfort. His ice also seemed to be unusually effective on doors.

Finally, Danny was able to get above ground, and, no longer constrained to follow the cord around his wrist, he escaped through a window. He spiraled up, almost high enough to hit the underside of the flames licking at the trees, and then dove away.

"So," he said, "what now?"

"You don't know?" Elizabeth looked a lot better now. Almost human.

"I wasn't given a whole lot of information when they coerced me into doing this. They just said to follow the cord to you, and I did that." Speaking of which, what had happened to the cord? It had just vanished, without Danny even noticing. "I was half-expecting to just get zapped back the moment I found you."

"Coerced?"

"They said they'd make my dad or my sister do this, if I didn't, and they can't fly."

"They're alive."

"Yeah."

There was something like a frown on Elizabeth's face. "They shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah. You don't have to tell me that." More shrieks were approaching from the direction of the castle. "They did this with one of your books. Please tell me you know how to get out of here."

Elizabeth licked her lips. Her tongue was pink. "We go out where you came in," she said.

Danny looked at the trees around him. He only knew where the castle was because of the noises coming from that direction. Otherwise, everything looked the same in every direction. He was pretty sure that even if he went back to the castle, he wouldn't be able to tell which direction he had approached it from, and after that...

They were screwed.

"Follow the blood," said Elizabeth.

It was better than nothing, Danny supposed. His green blood did stand out against the red, but he's been high in the air when he shed it. Following that trail was going to suck, and it still required going back to the castle and avoiding all the fire creatures.

Some of this must have shown on his face, because Elizabeth said, "Not like that, boy, look." She pointed to the small puddle of ectoplasm that had dripped from his hand while they had been talking.

Flowers and vines were growing from it. Ghostly green and blue flowers and vines. As he watched, the vines grew longer, the flowers opened wider.

"Oh," Danny said. "I guess that makes things easier."

Easier was, of course, a relative term. Was following the trail left by ghostly plants growing out of Danny's blood easier than stumbling blindly around the burning forest? Yes. Was it easy? No. No it was not. Especially not with the fire creatures hunting them through the trees and how far apart the blood spatters could be.

Still. Danny was able to follow the trail for an hour before the fire creatures caught up to him.

When they did, they seemed almost, confused. They didn't attack. It was like they were waiting for something.

Danny would have run, but he was worried that he'd lose the trail if he tried to do that, and he didn't think he'd be able to find it again. He and the fire creatures stared each other down. Every few seconds, one of them would make a noise and another would answer.

Rapidly, Danny was becoming surrounded. He would have to make his move soon. He really didn't want to lose the trail, but he didn't think he could win this fight.

Too many enemies. Too much fire. Maybe if he flew straight up, he-

The fire creatures attacked. Danny ducked, wove, and conjured shields of ice and ectoenergy, but there was a limit to what he could do against this many attackers, especially while carrying Elizabeth.

He saw a ball of fire coming that he couldn't dodge and instinctively twisted to spare Elizabeth.

It splashed against him harmlessly.

Everything stopped. The fire creatures froze, even their flames going still, as though they were videos that had been paused. One began to wail, and then they all fled, disappearing into the brightness of the forest.

"A pure soul," said Elizabeth again. She patted his shoulder. Her skin was a burnt red, now. Her eyes were as blue as his were when he was human. Her frown was deeper, more obvious. "It was clever to send you... but they shouldn't have."

"Sure," said Danny, a little surprised. He scanned the trees, trying to see if any of the fire creatures were waiting in ambush. Seeing none, he continued.

They reached the field of tubes, and Danny followed his blood trail back to where he had lacerated his feet.

"Now what," he said.

"Land," said Elizabeth.

Danny grimaced, remembering what had happened to his feet the last time he had tried to walk here. He landed carefully on what looked like the thickest part of the vine growing from his blood-

-and was abruptly back in the chalk circle in Cordelia's basement.

The shadow pounced on him. Unprepared, Danny dropped Elizabeth and fell. Pain sparkled along his limbs as the shadow pulled at his ghost form. It was too much. The lack of sleep, the hunger, the stress, the energy he had spent finding Elizabeth and bringing her back, the blood loss and pain from the wound in his hand, his inability to protect his family, and now this attack. He curled up, trying to protect his head and hand, and abandoned his ghost form.

"Stop this at once!"

"Grandmother, I-"

"Call off this shadow."

A beat. "Very well." The shadow stopped its assault, and Danny stumbled up and out of the circle, scuffing the lines beyond all recognition. Cordelia and Elizabeth were the only women standing. The boarders were all kneeling, faces hidden.

"Grandmother, many times great grandmother, I greet you. I am Cordelia, the last descendant of your daughter, Mary, and I have labored long to bring you back to this world, so that your works will not be lost."

Elizabeth, Danny noted, was standing very straight, her skin sunburn-pink in all but a few places, her arms crossed over the burnt rags of what might have once been a shirt. She did not look pleased.

"So my works won't be lost," repeated Elizabeth.

"Your son betrayed you," said Cordelia. "He burned all your books, all your magics. This is all that survived." Cordelia held up the singed book.

Elizabeth pressed her eyelids together briefly. "And so, you forced your cousin, a child, into that place after me, rather than coming on your own?"

"There was no choice-"

"There is always a choice," said Elizabeth, cutting her off with a sharp gesture. "Better that book should have burned as well, and I was imprisoned forever. You were lucky in my captors. Others would have delighted in taking a pure soul as an ornament for their court, even if they couldn't have harmed him."

"You can't mean that-"

"I do. Is it true you have imprisoned the other members of this boy's family?"

"He would never have agreed, otherwise. Please, this is all we have left of our heritage. We need you. This was all necessary. I beg of you, teach us."

Danny began to back away, to the ladder. Maybe if he got out fast enough, he could trap them in the basement and look for Jazz and his parents.

"Do you know how I wound up there? In that place?" asked Elizabeth. "I went too far, and I ignored the rules. What's your name?"

"Cordelia."

"Cordelia. Cordelia Nightingale-Fenton?"

"Just Nightingale."

"I begin to see," said Elizabeth.

Danny was almost to the ladder. Maybe he could tap into his ghost powers a little bit and float up, quietly.

"If you had come to get me yourself, if you had even asked him-" Elizabeth gestured to where Danny had been. Both women did a double-take, and then their eyes traced up to where Danny currently was.

"What are you doing?" hissed Cordelia. This was the first time Danny had seen her visibly angry.

"Stop," said Elizabeth, grabbing Cordelia's shoulder. "What is your name, boy?"

"It's Daniel Fenton," said Cordelia, when Danny didn't answer.

Elizabeth considered Danny for a moment. "Go to your family, Daniel. Whatever curses or enchantments Cordelia cast on them should be lifted. Including that hate curse." She ran her fingers down Cordelia's arm. "Why on earth did you cast that?" Her eyes flicked back up. "Expect to receive my correspondence, Daniel Fenton."

Danny found Jazz and his parents in the attic. Their luggage was there, too, and Danny and Jazz's missing clothing. Maddie's cell phone was going off. Danny ignored it. He started shaking them. Slowly, they came awake.

"Danny?" said Jazz. She scrubbed at her eyes. "Ugh, what's that sound?"

"Mom's phone is going off."

"What?" said Maddie, groggily. "My phone?" She fumbled at her pocket. "Yes, what is it? Yes, this is Doctor Fenton. What? Well," this last word was a bit snide. "It's about time. We'll be there before the end of the day." She snapped the phone closed. "Jack, sweetheart, wake up, we're going back home. All the charges against us have been dropped, and they want us to look into a ghost attack. Apparently, Phantom didn't show up. As we knew he wouldn't."

"Huh? Ghost? Where?"

"In Amity Park, Jack."

"In Amity Park! Alright!" said Jack, jumping to his feet, and grabbing most of the luggage. "I knew they wouldn't last two days without us! Let's go, kids!"

He ran down the stairs. Maddie took a moment to look around, pursing her lips. "How did we get up here?" she asked. She shook her head, dismissing the question. "Do either of you kids know where Cordelia is?"

"She went out," said Danny. "To town. She won't be back 'til later."

"We'll have to leave a note, then. You two should get dressed before we go, or you'll have to try and do it in the GAV bathroom."

"So what really happened?" asked Jazz, after Maddie went down the stairs.

"Long story," said Danny, throwing on a pair of jeans, "and we really do need to leave. Fast." He took his luggage and rushed down the stairs.

Danny watched Cordelia's house shrink in the rear-view mirror of the GAV, right up until it shimmered out of existence like a mirage. He clenched his teeth. He had seen worse.

He turned in his seat and put his hands in his pockets, intending to brood over what had happened, but his hand encountered a stiff piece of paper that had definitely, absolutely, not been there before. Well. Elizabeth had said to expect her correspondence.

He pulled a crisp white envelope out of his pocket. On the front, in spidery cursive, was his name. He turned it over. On the back flap was written the name Elizabeth NF.

She was family. Distantly. He put his thumb under the back flap, and began to open the letter.

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2020

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holidaywishes · 3 years

Text

Embers XVII

Chapter XVII: if you were me...

Summary of series: Katie moves from Peachtree, Georgia, to L.A. with her son, Alex to start fresh after the death of her husband. When she meets Evan Buckley, a young firefighter, she falls fast but will her son be so quick to accept Evan into his life?

Summary of chapter: Bobby connects with Katie in a way he didn’t expect at a weekend Barbeque; Evan continues to try to reassure Katie that he’ll be careful

Warning: angst, some fluff

Author’s Note: It’s time to add Bobby’s P.O.V into the mix! Why, you might ask, because I felt like it, that’s why. Also because Evan and Bobby have such a great relationship that it seems like only a matter of time before Katie would grow to be closer to him. This is the second last chapter I think but let me know if I should go more than 18 chapters; if I get enough people interested, I might continue the series! Cheers, Stay Golden! <3

masterlist

the other masterlist

Bobby’s P.O.V

When Evan invited everyone over for a barbeque, you half expected him to ask you to grill everything but was pleasantly surprised when he never did

“You sure Katie’s okay with this?” You asked

“It was her idea!” He exclaimed, “she wants it to be like our place, instead of just hers.”

“Well that’s good,” you smiled, “I just don’t want us to intrude on anything...”

“Of course not!” He replied, “are you kidding? She loves you guys and she wants to be able to know you all better. Family is important to her and you’re my family...” you placed a hand on his shoulder as his thought trailed off before bringing him in for a hug

“We’ll be there” you finally said after pulling away from the hug, patting his shoulder with a smile. As the day went on, the team got call after call that were all pretty routine — the proverbial cat stuck in a tree and all that — before dispatch called in a gas leak but when you pulled up, it didn’t look like anything happened, “alright, masks on!”

“What are we looking at here?” Eddie asked

“Dispatch said it was a gas leak,” you replied, “don’t know who could’ve made the call but we have to be prepared for anything”

“Shouldn’t DWP be handling this?” Hen questioned, “I mean if it’s just a gas leak...”

“We gotta make sure that no one is injured or unconscious. We’re here to help whoever needs help.” Evan was first to head inside but not before you could shout to him, “HEY! BUCK!” You snapped and his head turned back to you, “do not rush inside there like that!”

“Cap..” he started

“We don’t know what’s in there, we need to be careful. Just relax...” He stepped back as you lowered your hands and sighed, just as a fire broke out and burst through the roof of the building. You watched as Evan ran to the truck and darted back toward the building before you could stop him, “BUCK!”

“On it Cap!” He called back as if he thought he would be okay and, as angry as you were, you couldn’t stop him from doing his job. The rest of the team followed close behind, carefully checking the space and calling out for anyone who might respond. Once the building was cleared, you took Evan aside

“What were you thinking?!” you said sternly

“What do you mean?” he furrowed his brow

“I told you not to rush into the building like that!”

“Cap, I took all the nece--”

“No!” you interrupted, “you were reckless, again! You should’ve listened to me. I’m your Captain!”

“Nobody got hurt! I’m fine!” he shouted

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” you yelled back before composing yourself, “you can’t just go risking your life like that anytime you feel like it!”

“I’m sorry, Cap...” he said softly before you directed him back to the truck

“I know that you know what you’re doing, Buck, but anything can happen and I don’t want you to get hurt. Not if I can help it...” you admitted

“I’m sorry” he apologized again, the two of you jumping into the firetruck to head back to the house. Things were still tense but you hoped that the barbeque would soften things up.

Katie’s P.O.V

“I’m just going to pick up the kid,” Evan laughed as he spoke about Alex, “need anything?”

“Don’t think so,” you replied, “but don’t be too long. Everyone should be here soon and I don’t know them well enough yet to ‘entertain’ on my own...”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said, kissing the crown of your head, “but I’ll be back soon.” You rushed around the house trying to clean everything before the members of the 118 got there for the barbeque that you and Evan had organized; you were starting to get more and more nervous as you felt the seconds tick away. Suddenly, you heard a screeching outside and you ran outside to see what was happening only to find Evan’s car speeding through the street. To say you were angry would be an understatement and you could only stand on the sidewalk with your arms crossed until the car came to a halt

“Hey, mommy! Did you see us? Did you see us?” Alex exclaimed as he hopped out of Evan’s truck

“How could I not?” you said between bared teeth, “Alex, sweetie, go get cleaned up and ready for the barbeque. Everyone will be here soon.”

“Okay!” he said cheerfully while you waited for Evan to meet you on the sidewalk where you stood angrily

“Hey” he smiled, leaning in for a kiss but you pulled away

“What the hell was that?!” you yelled

“He wanted to go fast...”

“He’s a child!” you continued, “what were you thinking?! You could’ve killed yourselves!”

“I knew what I was doing!” he shouted

“You put his life in danger because he asked you to go fast?”

“I only went sped up when we got onto this street, nowhere else!” he admitted

“And you think that makes it better?” you argued, “what if a child had crossed the street and you didn’t have enough time to stop? Or a dog? or if another car came toward you?”

“I--” he faltered

“You have to be smarter than that!” you shouted, noticing a car pull up down the street, “I don’t want to feel like I can’t trust you with Alex...”

“Hey!” Bobby and Athena greeted as you attempted to wipe a tear from your eye without them seeing

“Hey!” you smiled back, “come on in. I’m just gonna grab Alex, Evan can you take them into the backyard?” He nodded in response, following close behind you while still giving you space. You could hear everyone arriving so you sent Alex down to say hello while you composed yourself enough to talk to each of the guests.

“So how long have you lived here, Katie?” Karen asked

“Since I moved to L.A., so about 3ish years” you replied, feeling Evan creep up behind you and slide his hand onto your lower back

“It’s a great place!” she exclaimed

“Isn’t it?” Evan smiled

“Yeah, it’s a lot to take care of but we like it” you giggled before looking to see where the kids had gotten to

“They’re fine” Evan whispered and you just looked at him, feigning a smile as to not show any irritation to your boyfriend

“I’ll just be right back,” you smiled, “just have to go check on something.” You felt Evan follow you inside, placing a hand on your shoulder to turn you around

“What’s going on?” he asked quietly

“I just need a second, Evan!” you yelled softly, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Who I’m supposed to be for them,” you gestured to the guests in the backyard, “for you, right now.” A sigh escaped your lips before you brought your hand up to your forehead

“You’re not supposed to be anyone, you’re supposed to be you...” he replied

“I’m sorry, Evan,” you whispered, bringing your hand down from your forehead to hold his hand, “I just need a minute okay? I’ll be back out in a second.” You leaned up to press a soft kiss on his cheek before heading upstairs to the guest room. You made your way across the room, peering out at the guests mingling below, and opened the window so you could step out; taking a seat on the roof like you’d done so many times at your childhood home in Georgia. It didn’t take long for Evan to notice you and draw Bobby’s attention up to where you sat, your eyes drifting onto the horizon to avoid their stares.

“Katie?” You heard Bobby’s voice call from behind you, he must have snuck up to the guest room without you noticing

“Hey, Bobby,” you sighed, “come on out. Sit with me...”

Bobby’s P.O.V

“Katie?” Evan whispered to himself as he looked toward the roof, “what is she doing?” When you followed his gaze, you saw Katie sitting on the roof staring out at the sky as she brought her knees close to her chest

“Did something happen?” you asked

“Sort of... I should go u--”

“I’ll go.” You interrupted, a smirk growing on your face, “she just looks like she’s thinking.” You made your way through the house, trying to be as quiet as possible as the stairs creaked with each step. You looked at the guest room, took in the bare walls and the neatly made bed and realized no one had ever been in there, “Katie?” you called softly when you finally got to the window

“Hey, Bobby,” she replied with a small sigh, “come on out. Sit with me...” You stepped onto the roof and sat next to Katie. The two of you sat in silence for a while, staring at the sun that was beginning to set and listening to the laughter below, “they’re so happy, you’re all so close...”

“Yeah,” you smiled, “we’re lucky. We’re happy to have you in our little family, too.” She looked at you quickly before dropping her eyes

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Bobby... I don’t know if I’m part of this family yet...”

“Of course you are” you tried

“I love him so much, Bobby,” she whimpered, keeping her head down as she spoke, “and Alex loves him and he’s been so great with both of us. I just.. sometimes I listen to his stories about work or I hear about things that have happened through the news or Maddie or whatever and I get so... scared.” When she finally looked up, you saw the small stream of tears falling from her eye

“Why are you scared?” you asked, allowing her eyes to fall on yours.

“I don’t want to lose him.” She whispered and, as you sat there with your eyes dancing across her face, you felt a tinge of sadness wash over you; a rush of memories of your daughter, Brook, flooding back as you connected Katie’s face with hers. She was so innocent now, Katie, so fragile in this moment, almost a completely different person than you’d seen on the bridge as she fought for her son. Like Buck, you wanted to protect her but you didn’t know how, “I don’t want Alex to lose him...” she added after you hadn’t said anything

“You won’t lose him” you said quietly

“How do you know?” she asked, turning her body toward you just enough so she could face you, “he’s so brash and reckless. He puts himself in danger all the time and, as much as I know he would never voluntarily put us in danger, my fears are still real. The pain in my heart is still there when I turn on the news and see something about a firefighter trapped in a burning building -- thinking that it might be him and he might not come home to us”

“He’s made some irrational decisions, yes,” you admitted, “but he’s a good kid. And we’ve always got his back”

“I believe that,” she said, “but what would you do if you were me?”

“What do you mean?” you furrowed your brow

“If the person you loved kept making reckless decisions that occasionally got them injured and you knew one day it would all be too much and he wouldn’t come home, the same way the person you married didn’t come home, and you had to sit your son down and tell them that they’d never see them again,” she rambled, “what would you do?”

“If I had to, I’d do my best”

“Or would you...” she sighed, “would you cut and run? Knowing that you could save your son the pain of losing another father figure. Or would you stay? Hoping that the love you had for this person would be enough to..” She stopped for a second, as if she just remembered your loss, sighing deeply as she continued, “shit, Bobby. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have s--”

“No,” you interrupted with a smile, “it’s okay. I think about that, too, sometimes. If Marcy had left me early on, before we had the kids, or when things got... complicated, would things have been different? Would I have been different?”

“I didn’t mean to...” she hesitated but you just smiled, wrapping your arm around her to comfort her

“It’s okay,” you chuckled, “look, if you want my opinion on Buck, I can’t give it to you.” You watched Katie’s brow furrow in confusion before she scoffed at you, “I would be too biased. But know this, he loves you. He loves Alex. He’s had a lot of things come up recently that he doesn’t quite know how to deal with but he’s trying. The only way he knows how. Evan’s doing his best but he needs to know that someone will be there for him. Love him as much as he loves them.”

“I can’t keep letting Alex down, Bobby..” she whispered, “I love Evan. More than I ever thought I could, but I loved Jesse the same way. So intensely, like I couldn’t breathe without him and that ended up horribly.”

“Your husband was different,” you countered, letting her head drop on your shoulder as you explained your argument, “he couldn’t separate himself from his job. He was a SEAL first and everything else was just background. I don’t doubt that the love he had for you was real or the love that he had for Alex was real, but I can only imagine that being part of that world, the Navy SEAL world, forces you to leave everything behind. Evan isn’t like that.”

“I know...” she started

“So don’t compare him to Jesse.” You said finally, tilting your head down just enough for her to look up at you with her eyes, seeing that she understood; you squeezed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

“Can I cut in?” Buck’s voice chimed in from behind and both you and Katie shifted to look at him. You waited for her to allow him to take your place before you got up, patting Evan on the shoulder as you switched spots. You watched them embrace each other gently before Evan tucked Katie into his side

“I was worried about you” you heard him whisper

“Now you know how I feel” she joked back as Evan nodded and kissed her forehead

“Alright, alright,” he smiled, “truce?” She leaned up to kiss him in response and you found yourself smiling at their interaction before a tear escaped your eye. You imagined what Brook might have been like in this situation, how she might have cried to you about some boy she loved. You remembered Marcy and you making up after little fights like this early in your relationship. Your heart stung at the thought of your past life but then May and Harry and Athena popped across your mind and the idea that one day May might come to you for the same reason as Katie filled your heart with love and you began walking out of the room.

“You okay?” Athena asked, surprising you as you closed the door behind you

“I’m perfect” you replied, planting a kiss on your wife’s lips

“Good. Now, you need to learn to stay off roofs” she half-joked and you nodded

“They’re good kids...” you said, making Athena chuckle

“Yeah,” she smiled, “they are.” You made your way back outside where the rest of the group was, watching as Evan and Katie watched as the sky turned a dark purple

“They’re gonna be okay” you thought to yourself, a smile creeping across your face as Katie found you below, mouthing ‘thank you’ and nuzzling closer to Evan.

#9-1-1 #911 #9-1-1 on fox #911 on fox #Embers #Embers tag list #taglist #Embers taglist #tag list #Evan Buckley #Evan Buck Buckley #masterlist #the other master list

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luc-elementix · 4 years

Text

Ever After High Books (Brazil-Portuguese)

With my two latest posts (here and here), I was curious about the Ever After High books which were released in Portugual. So I checked out on Amazon and I’d listing all the books that were released in Portugual.* (except the two Ever After High series of novels!)

* Note: I didn’t make the distinction between the books released in Brazil and in Portugal since both use pratically the same language...

The four first books are exclusives short stories. They are books with 4 pages of puzzle so the story must be really short and simple. (I already share with you the translation of the first and the last one here and here!)

O Conto do Músical (The Tale of the Musical)

Apple White and Raven Queen are writing a musical to perform in Music class. Apple wants her friend to play the Evil Queen, but Raven wants a very different role. Be enchanted by them and assemble the beautiful puzzles in this book.

Apple White em Apuros (Apple White in Trouble)

Apple White loves to charm and help others wherever she go. This time, she needs to wake up her friend Briar Beauty, who always falls asleep in the most unusual places. Be enchanted by them and assemble the beautiful puzzles in this book.

A Festa da Raven (A Party for Raven)

To change her destiny and show that she is different from her mother, Raven Queen wants to throw a party for her friends. But she needs to be careful that Madeline Hatter's hat doesn't end her plans. Be enchanted by them and assemble the beautiful puzzles in this book.

Dilema no Café dos Contos (Dilemma at Cafe of Tales)

Upon entering Café of Tales, Poppy O'Hair meets her friends Royals and Rebels at separate tables. She is in a big dilemma, not knowing which way to go. Be enchanted by them and assemble the beautiful puzzles in this book.

There we have the books that I recognized as the Portuguese version of books already released in the US...

O Mundo de Royals e Rebels (A World of Royals and Rebels)

Since Legacy Day, Royals and Rebels have been separated by different destinations, but united by the same objective: to find a Happy Ending. Find out a little more about these fantastic students and immerse yourself in their stories full of magic in this book with enchanted activities. That's Ever After High!

Original Title: “Ever After High - Anual” (or “Royal & Rebels”)

Atividades Encantadas (Enchanted Activities)

Ever After High students split between Royals and Rebels, but that division doesn't matter in the end, because they'll be friends forever! Know a little more about the students of each group and have fun with many enchanted activities!

Original Title: “Spellbinding Activities”?

Desenhe, Sonhe, Crie (Draw, Dream, Create)

Use all your imagination to design and create in this inspiring book. Choose your destiny on each page and enter into a world of charms and fantasies!

Original Title: "Draw, Dream, Create - Sketchbook”

Then we have these two colorings books. I’m wondering if they are the “Wonderlandiful Doodle Book” US book in two parts...

Atividades Chapelàsticas (Hat-tastic Activities)

Discover Maddie Hatter's incredible parties and find the Royals and Rebels in this enchanted activity book. Draw, paint and create your own happy ending!

Passatempos Encantados (Enchanted Hobbies)

Be enchanted by the Royals and the Rebels and learn more about Wonderland in this incredible book full of activities. Draw, paint and create your own happy ending.

I found out anything about this book but I think it could be the “Yearbook”...

Contos e Encantos (Fairytales and Charms)

Ever since Raven Queen refused to sign the Storybook of Legends on Legacy Day, Ever After High has never been the same. Incredible things happen every day at the most enchanted school in the world. Get to know a little more about Ever After High students and have fun with fantastic stories!

The following books are mostly coloring books...

Jardim dos Contos (Garden of Fairytales)

In the Ever After High universe, the characters can be Royals or Rebels, follow their own destiny or choose a new one. The important thing is to do everything with a lot of color, creativity and imagination, and that is what the students of this magical school invite you to do in this book! Have moments of tranquility and charm while painting your favorite characters.

Sonho encantado (Enchanted Dreams)

With beautiful coloring pages and fun activities, this book will entertain the little ones in the world of Ever After High!

365 Atividades e Desenhos para Colorir (365 Activities and Drawing to Color)

Anything can happen in the fairytale universe of Ever After High. In this book, you will be able to participate in this magical world with many activities and coloring pages. Bring a little fantasy to each day of the year with these fun activities!

PS: Yes, as you see it, I found out two versions of the cover!

Atividades de Royals e Rebels (Royals and Rebels Activities)

An activity book with coloring pages and amazing activities. An enchanted Memory Game on the back!

Mundo de Ever After High (World Of Ever After High)

With this case of stories and activities, fun is guaranteed! Contains: 1 CD-ROM with one enchanted webisode, 4 books of stories, 2 books of activities, 2 coloring books and a sheet of stickers.

Escola dos Contos de Fadas (School of Fairy Tales)

At Ever After High school, the children of fairy tale characters need to follow their parents' steps so that their classic stories can continue to be told. But not everyone agrees with this, so the school was divided into two groups: Royals and Rebels. Meet the charming characters of this story, painting drawings full of fantasy!

PS: This is a coloring book with many illustrations and a sheet of stickers!

Here we have two series of four books based on one character. I have any idea of what could talk the first four books (Bio of each character? Stories?) but the four last books (the ones with the new ‘Ever After High’ logo) containts each one 3 stories based on 3 webisodes...

Vida de Princesa (Life of Princess)

Apple White makes the most of her princess days. She is always fabulous and willing to help those in need. After all, she wants to be the best queen of all time, without forgetting that the most important thing is inner beauty!

A Confusão do Feitiço (The Confusion of the Spell)

Everyone expects Raven Queen to be evil, just because she is the daughter of the Evil Queen. Despite this, she always tries to do good things, to prove that she is different from her mother. Raven wants to use his magic for good, but something often goes wrong!

Briar Adormecida (Sleeping Briar)

Briar Beauty is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty. She wants to enjoy every second, because she knows she can fall asleep at any moment. That's why Briar loves to spend time doing his favorite activity: organizing events!

A Poção da Maddie (Maddie's Potion)

Madeline Hatter is the daughter of the Mad Hatter, so she loves crazy. When she is not testing magic potions that increase and shrink everything, she has fun with her hat and the chapelastic things that come out of it.

O Bolo de Aniversário da Apple e Outras Histórias (Apple's Birthday Cake and Other Stories)

In this book, you will venture out with the Ever After High gang in three incredible stories: Apple's Birthday Cake, A Good Deed & Spring Festival. Immerse yourself in the universe of Royals and Rebels and have fun!

O Conto do Dia do Legado e Outras Histórias (The Tale of Legacy Day and Other Stories)

In this book, you will venture out with the Ever After High gang in three incredible stories: The Tale of the Legacy Day, Ginger's Sweet Treats & The True Hearts Day. Immerse yourself in the universe of Royals and Rebels and have fun!

A Gata que Parecia Lobo e Outras Histórias (The Cat that Looked like a Wolf and Other Stories)

In this book, you will venture out with the Ever After High gang in three incredible stories: The Cat that Looked like a Wolf, Thronecoming & Lizzie Shuffles the Cards. Immerse yourself in the universe of Royals and Rebels and have fun!

A Vedadeira Beleza e Outras Historias (The True Beauty and Other Stories)

In this book, you will venture out with Ever After High students in three incredible stories: The Rumpelstiltskin Tale, The True Beauty & Rebels Got Talent. Immerse yourself in the universe of Royals and Rebels and have fun!

#eah #ever after high #everafterhigh #ever after high book #portuguese #portugal #apple white #Raven Queen #madeline hatter #poppy o'hair #Holly O'Hair

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tirsden · 3 years

Video

youtube

I feel like I need to say something about this, and ironically I already said what I want to say in Youtube comments, so the following has been drawn heavily from said comments.

At the timestamps of 19:26 and 19:35 of the Cynical Reviews video are two scenes that stand out from the movie, and I remember those textures from the trailer too. If you want to trigger an autistic person on any level of the spectrum, show them those scenes or even a still from the scene. I pulled up Notepad at that point to pre-write a comment and about one-third of the paused video was showing behind Notepad. Even just that much in my peripheral vision was literally making me nauseous as I worked on the comment. The busy, repeating pattern on the wall and costumes is a fucking nightmare.

Before I go any further, I'll mention where I am on the spectrum. I'm high-functioning autistic, the label formerly known as Asperger's Syndrome but I'm guessing they're trying to get rid of that label because apparently Dr. Asperger was cushy with Nazis. Oops. And if that word seems a little too flippant, understand that my seeing the relevant information on Wikipedia was devastating. I've been getting fed up lately seeing that "Aspergers is no longer a diagnosis" because I went 28 years without knowing what was different about me and why the world didn't make sense. I was about to leave a comment on another video, something along the lines of, "You can't take my diagnosis away from me, I have a label and it's mine. Not only is doing so disingenuous to me and people like me, it's disingenuous to Dr. Asperger." Before I hit submit I realized I should go google him before I said something I might regret... and staring at his wiki page, if I had a proper desk close enough to use, I would have been head-desking so hard. I really don't know how to properly put in words how I feel about the whole situation now... though the phrase "this is why we can't have nice things" comes to mind.

Back on the Sia topic and review, after I'd finished composing that bit of comment and watched a few more minutes of the review, I was feeling more and more like I'd been hit by motion sickness. Some of the footage after the timestamps probably didn't help, but my gods... "you haven't even watched my film" = "I DIDN'T EVEN SHOW IT TO ANYONE ON THE SPECTRUM OR THEY WOULD HAVE BARFED." Maybe I'm a little more sensitive than some in the motion sickness / visual trigger department, but come on. That is some horribly tone-deaf cinematography, and that's not even getting into the portrayal of the autistic character.

One of the first things I thought about Maddie's interpretation of autism, is that it's closer to something like Down Syndrome, but I had a Down Syndrome aunt and the comparison still makes me want to throw up a little. Closer does not mean accurate... but, yeah. That was my observation. Cynical's mention of Maddie drawing character ideas from a DiCaprio character with some other type of developmental disorder explains so much now. And I don't blame Maddie for what she was involved in, because it's clear she has an abuser controlling her life. There really isn't any flowery way to say that. It is what it is.

Sigh. What the hell do I even do with this? I love(d) Sia's music, and her episode of Carpool Karaoke was probably one of the most fun things I'd ever watched on Youtube. My favorite Pandora station is based off her song Chandelier, a station I've affectionately referred to as "Dying Cat Radio" due to the sound style of a lot of songs that play on it. Now... I think I'm going to have to delete the station and try to rebuild it via Aurora and similar artists. I do not do well with associations, and I was already on the fence after watching the Music trailer recently. After this review? It's over. And it's another nail in the coffin of "having real people as heroes," especially celebrity figures. Other nails for me have been Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, and Vin Diesel... and I wonder at what point these people either became so disconnected from reality they lost their "souls," or if they were always like that and we just couldn't see it yet.

As for the associations thing and a big reason why I can’t really separate artist from art, I've only ever seen it addressed once by someone else, in the book Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. In the book, the author briefly describes his character Will Graham as such:

“Graham had a lot of trouble with taste. Often his thoughts were not tasty. There were no effective partitions in his mind. What he saw and learned touched everything else he knew. Some of the combinations were hard to live with. But he could not anticipate them, could not block and repress. His learned values of decency and propriety tagged along, shocked at his associations, appalled at his dreams; sorry that in the bone arena of his skull there were no forts for what he loved. His associations came at the speed of light. His value judgments were at the pace of a responsive reading. They could never keep up and direct his thinking. He viewed his own mentality as grotesque but useful, like a chair made of antlers. There was nothing he could do about it.”

And... I've run out of mental steam, so [insert conclusion here] because I've said what I want to say. The formal writing rules in me are cringing with a closing like that, but it can join everything else cringing over the disaster that is Music. Time to damage-control the migraine that's asking me why I'm staring at a big white thing with little black letters, and why I sat through that review when I knew the footage was not good for me, even just the clips used. "Oof" is right, Cynical Doggo... "oof" is right.

#tirsdenoriginals #sia #music #sia's music movie #autism #autistic #cynical reviews

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flyupandaway · 3 years

Note

as usual im late to the party buuut!! 🍬&🦄 for adrian // 😵&💼 for soph // 💕&⛈️ for liam //🍯&💣 for maddie // 🏡&⌛ for viv // 🌼&🐢 for jonah!!

party doesn’t start until you arrive queen!!! ILY 💕 i had sm fun answering these 🥺

talk about your muse

Adrian

🍬 family headcanon

Adrian has never had a sense of family or home. He’s always been on his own, and up until recently, he’s liked it that way. He never really understood the value of family since he’s had to be on his own and look out for himself. He always had the belief that he had to look out for himself because no one else would. The closest thing he had to family was the guys who he would go to the casino with and that was mainly because he knew he could win their money from them so he kept them around. He considers his relationship with Dove as the first “family” he’s had (and later lil Annie going to join the family!!).

🦄 physical health headcanon

Adrian struggles with alcohol dependency and there was a time a few years ago before he moved to Miami when he was drinking incredibly heavily and would black out for days at a time. He just didn’t feel like he had any sense of purpose and had nothing to do with his life. The drinking got better once he moved to Miami, got a job and started to win big at the casino. However, now that he’s out of the city, he has slowly started to increase his alcohol consumption and is again becoming dependent on the liquor, especially since he lives away from Dove and has nothing to keep himself occupied besides work.

Sophie

😵 sickness headcanon

When Sophie isn’t feeling well, the only thing she will eat are french fries. She is convinced that french fries — and french fries alone — are the cure to any cold or flu. She pairs her fries with blue gatorade and red gummy bears. I feel like as soon as Milo notices Sophie feeling under the weather she stocks up on gummy bears and gatorade and is ready to run to McDonald’s at a moment's notice to get the fries.

💼 work headcanon

Sophie normally falls asleep pretty early except on nights when she’s painting, drawing or working on her next project. She can stay up for hours when she’s inspired, oftentimes having to get dragged home by Milo to get into bed. She is typically a morning person but when she’s inspired and in the middle of working on something she turns into a night owl. She also gets very absorbed in her work, often losing track of time, forgetting to eat or the fact that she has to go to her second job. She’s definitely missed a few of her barista shifts because she was too busy painting away.

Liam

💕 love headcanon

Liam doesn’t mean to be a player but he oftentimes gets himself into not the best situations, which started when he was in eighth grace. He had a crush on two different girls and thought he could get a date with both of them for valentine’s day. So he made sure to give a valentine to one and then the other to go see a movie with him. He strategically picked a movie in the afternoon and a movie in the evening, but he didn’t think about the fact that the two girls could run into each other in the bathroom—which is exactly what happened. Safe to say Liam got busted and also had a bucket of popcorn spilled on him, but at least it was after the afternoon movie date so it was just the evening movie he missed out on.

⛈️ sadness headcanon

While Liam hates being sad because it leads him to making impulsive, reckless decisions, he writes some of his best music when he’s upset about something or when he’s really happy. He’s written a number of songs about Grace during their arguments about how much he cares about her and doesn’t want to lose her, which just goes to show how special she is to him but also how stubborn he can get when he doesn’t want to apologize first or talk to her initially.

Madison

🍯 food headcanon

Madison wasn’t always as good of a cook as she is now. Her junior year of high school, Madison was trying to make a turkey for Thanksgiving in an effort to give her dad and brother a “normal” holiday after her mom left. The day was anything but normal considering the kitchen was filled with smoke, the turkey was still incredibly frozen and Madison almost caused a fire in the kitchen from leaving a cookbook open over one of the stove burners that was on. In her defense, Madison thought she’d turned a different burner on. Also, when she cooks for her dad and brother, Madison typically prepares whatever they want for dinner, so she doesn’t get to eat her favorite food that often, which is cheese raviolis.

💣 stress headcanon

Madison has addictive tendencies just like her mother but instead of turning to drugs, Madison turns to work and picks up extra shifts. It isn’t unusual for her to go days without sleep when she’s feeling stressed and just run on autopilot in a way that she knows what’s going on around her but doesn’t feel like she’s in her body to experience it. It gets especially bad around her birthday, which is also a few days before her mom left. Since she’s usually the one taking care of others, she’s good at hiding her stress, although her brother is finally starting to catch on and he refers to her in this state as “Zombie Madison.”

Vivian

🏡 home headcanon

Given her involvement in her father’s business, Vivian is extremely paranoid about keeping things in her house. She recently rented out an apartment where she keeps most things related to the deals she is involved with, although the place looks normal. The house is what she uses when people come over or she’s hosting a dinner party for the “charity” she is in charge of. The apartment is where she keeps her money, weapons and other various items she needs for deals (and when deals go wrong).

⌛ sleep headcanon

Despite her paranoia, Vivian typically sleeps great. Her confidence has especially increased lately after the hit on the Montgomery family since now she feels like she and her family are untouchable. She does get nightmares every couple of months though that have to do with when her younger sister was kidnapped years ago since her gut is telling her that things have been going too well smoothly. But she will never admit she has nightmares since that means admitting a weakness. As much as she cares about her family, her siblings especially, Vivian doesn’t do much to show it since she doesn’t want anyone to have something that can be used against her.

Jonah

🌼 happiness headcanon

Jonah is happiest in the mornings when he takes Lucy on her morning walk and during the weekends when he volunteers at the animal shelter. He has always loved animals, dogs especially, and if he didn’t enjoy writing and working at his bookstore then he’d probably be doing something related to animals or maybe even go to vet school. He also set up bird feeders outside his apartment building and always carries around cat treats in his backpack if he comes across a stray. He is also an avid follower of his neighborhood's “lost pet” Facebook group because he hates when people are upset and doesn’t know what he would do if he lost Lucy. So he checks the group every so often in case he comes across an animal during one of his many walks with Lucy.

🐢 mental health headcanon

Jonah’s mental health could definitely be better. He carries around a lot of guilt over what happened to his girlfriend, even though it wasn’t his fault and it happened years ago. He has developed fairly severe insomnia over the years related to the accident. He also takes on other people’s emotions, especially sadness, which can be incredibly draining for him as he is going through his own sadness and grief. But he can’t help it because he wants to see those around him happy, even if that means putting himself in a worse position emotionally. He has a hard time saying no to people, and it’s not unusual for him to get stressed over the plans he’s made with friends because he couldn't’ say no but ended up double booking himself and has no idea how to do both things he agreed to.

#adrian #sophie #liam #madison #vivian #jonah

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myemergence · 4 years

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Lean on Me

Summary: After they don’t get the results that they hoped for with radiation, Michael starts to consider brain surgery to treat his cancer. The aftermath leaves May struggling, afraid to lose her dad. Buck is worried, determined to make May see that she’s not alone.

Or, the one where Buck is a big brother to May.

Author’s note: I was scrolling through tumblr the other day and saw this gifset of Bobby/Buck after Bobby’s scare in 3a, and then Michael/May in 3b - it inspired me to write this. I hope you enjoy it.

BIG thanks to Nicole for the beta!

Check me out on AO3

“Hey, Chim, do you mind if I take home some of this birthday cake for Harry and May?” Bobby asks. He closes the lid to the box that contains the rest of Chimney’s cake from the crew’s small birthday celebration at the firehouse.

“Sure,” Chim says unenthusiastically, pushing the cake around with his fork in disinterest, “knock yourself out.”

“How are they doing?” Buck looks up from his plate, his gaze settles on Bobby, a look of concern softening his features. “How’s Michael?”

“Uh,” Bobby hesitates, “he’s upbeat, he’s fighting. Radiation was supposed to be his best shot, now we’re all grappling with putting our hopes on his next best shot, surgery.”

“How are the kids handling it?” Eddie asks from where he sits beside Chimney at the table, turning his attention to their captain.

“I think Harry’s doing okay, it’s May I’m worried about. She’s got a better understanding of what’s going on,” Bobby explains.

“She’s the oldest sibling,” Chim interjects, “older siblings don’t get to be blissfully ignorant, they have to be the realists.” They continue to talk as they clear the rest of the mess, and Hen joins everyone at the table.

Buck purses his lips, and he hesitates briefly. In every way that matters, the one-eighteen has become his family over the last few years. Aside from his family at the firehouse, Maddie is all he has. So the blood that courses through his veins is one-eighteen strong. That also means that his concern for the youngest members of the one-eighteen family runs deep. “Is there anything we can do? I mean if there is anything you can think of that might help, just name it.”

“Thanks, Buck, I appreciate that- I just don’t even know what is the best thing for them right now. If I think of anything, I’ll let you know.”

Buck pauses, then nods his head. “Sounds good, Cap.”

Buck thinks about how he can help the Grant children from the moment the conversation shifts to Karen and Hen fostering. He tries to think of some elaborate way to let May know she’s not alone, that he’s been there. That’s how Buck finds himself standing outside of Bobby and Athena’s home, knocking on their door a few days later.

Bobby pulls open the front door, a look of surprise on his face when he sees Buck. “Hey, Bobby, sorry to drop over unannounced.”

Bobby shakes his head, “Come in.” Buck steps into the house, and Bobby closes the door behind him.

“So, you’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

“The thought did cross my mind,” Bobby says with a light laugh. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, I’m good,” Buck glances around, sees May sitting at the dining room table and, despite the fact that she has earbuds in, talks in a loud whisper to Bobby. “I, uh, I actually came to see May.”

“Oh, wh-” Bobby begins to ask what he has to talk to May about, but stops when Buck looks at him more closely, his intent clear. Bobby leads the way to the dining room and Buck follows. May seems wrapped up in her Instagram feed, and Bobby attempts to draw her attention. “Hey, May? Look who stopped by.”

May forces a tight smile, pulling one of the earbuds out. “Hey,” She moves, as though to put the earbud back in place.

“May,” Buck starts, “I actually came to ask you a favor.” May stops, setting the earbud down on the table, and takes the other one out, before turning her attention to Buck.

“A favor?” She looks at Buck quizzically.

Buck pulls out his cell phone. “I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a cat for weeks, and I just can’t decide which one I want. The shelter has quite a few.” He swipes through the photos and shows them to May.

A small smile tugs at the corner of May’s mouth, “That one is cute.” She motions towards his phone, looking at a gray short-haired kitten.

Buck scratches the back of his head. “Are you busy for the next few hours? Maybe you could come with me? I’m terrible at making decisions.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Buck, I need to do some cleaning before my mom gets back.”

“Go ahead, May. Harry and I have you covered,” Bobby promises as he steps out of the dining room and into the kitchen.

Buck flashes a smile, “So, what do you say?” He looks at May hopefully. He really wants her to come out with him. Being a teenager is not easy, and being a teenager with an ill family member is even harder. He thinks back to what Chim said earlier, about older siblings having to face the truth and not be blissfully ignorant. Although Chim was referencing his current situation with Albert, he knows that what was said earlier wasn’t untrue either.

May is silent for a minute, and he is sure that she’s going to say no. “Alright, I guess a couple of hours couldn’t hurt. I’m just going to go grab my purse.” Buck beams.

Buck stops in the kitchen where Bobby pretends to be cleaning. Buck rests a light hand on his shoulder. “She’s gonna be alright, Bobby,” he promises.

Bobby breathes out and turns to look at Buck. He looks like he’s searching for the right words, then finally settles on, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Buck says, “she’s family.” He steps out of the kitchen so that he can wait at the door for May.

A few minutes later, Buck’s Jeep pulls out of the driveway and onto the road as they head in the direction of the animal shelter. “I appreciate you helping me out.”

May locks the screen on her phone and lets out a small sigh at his words. “You don’t have to pretend this is me helping you out with something, Buck.” She levels him with a serious look, which he catches out of the corner of his eye. Buck almost chuckles because it is so clear at that moment that she is Athena’s daughter.

“I’m not pretending anything.”

May sighs. “So you’re telling me that Bobby didn’t put you up to this? Or my mom?”

“No, they didn’t,” Buck says honestly, then adds, “but they are worried about you.”

“I’m not going to break. You didn’t need to take me out just to make sure that I’m okay.” May says with a roll of her eyes, glancing out the passenger window.

“Not just to make sure you’re okay,” Buck says and then chuckles, “I really need someone to help me with this.” He reminds her, laughing lightly as he pulls the Jeep into the parking lot.

May looks down at her phone, fidgets with the edge of her phone case. “They told us a few days ago that the radiation didn’t work. Not like they were hoping for.” Buck remains silent and now that he’s parked, he turns his attention fully to May. “He’s going to have brain surgery, and they don’t even know if it’s going to help,” May’s voice wavers, “what if it doesn’t?”

“You can’t think like that, May. You can’t immediately settle on the worst-case scenario. I know you’re scared. I-I understand,” Buck stumbles with his words for a brief moment. “If you are all convinced that he can’t do this, then he won’t,” Buck says gently. “But, if you are all convinced that he can, then there is still hope.”

May swallows, moves her hand to dab at her tears. “How could you understand?”

The silence is heavy for a moment and then, “My grandpa, he died from brain cancer when I was a kid. It was really hard to watch him go through that. The hardest part was when he gave up on himself.”

“He died anyway,” May says stricken.

“Things were different then, they didn’t have the advancements that they do now, May. But when we stopped believing that he could fight it, so did he. Maybe he would have died anyway, but I wonder how much longer he would have had if he saw us believe in him instead.” Buck reaches over and places his hand on top of May’s, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

May forces a smile, “I don’t want him to give up. I want him to fight.”

“Good,” Buck smiles, “now are you ready to help me pick out the perfect furry creature to destroy my place?”

May spends too much time researching on the internet. She knows that looking at the statistics and worst-case scenarios aren’t going to do much in the way of calming her fears. She knocks, then unlocks the door and steps into her dad’s apartment.

“Hey, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?” Michael asks.

May frowns. “I didn’t think I needed a reason.”

“Yeah,” Michael draws out, “but you usually have one.” He begins shuffling around some papers on the table, but May still sees his living will lying on the top, before he’s able to shuffle it under some nondescript papers.

“I knew it. I knew you were lying,” May says as she shakes her head in disbelief.

“May,” Michael starts, “this isn’t-”

“You’re updating your will. People do that when they’re dying.” She says plainly, hurt and worry evident on her face. Was it even worse than she thought?

“And they also do it when they have two children and are about to undergo major surgery.”

“A risky surgery,” May says from where she is still standing in front of the doorway. “I looked it up.”

“Okay, uh, you’re right,” Michael stands upright, walks around the table and stands in front of his daughter. He pauses briefly once in front of her before motioning to the two chairs that are in front of him. “Okay, let’s sit down.” He sighs, waiting for May to sit in front of him. She does after a moment and as she looks at him, all she can think is that this is her dad and this surgery is risky. There are so many possible scenarios. What if he doesn’t come out of it?

“It is risky,” Michael admits, “and I don’t know what’s going to happen. There are no guarantees here, but without it…” He breathes out slow, steadies himself for his next words as he looks at May. “I could be dead in a year.”

May closes her eyes, lets the words sink in. When she opens them, she looks at her dad distraught, eyes red-rimmed and her lips pressing into a straight line. “So then why didn’t you tell us? Why did you lie to me and Harry?”

Michael shakes his head, a pained look across his features. “I didn’t want to scare you,” He admits.

“Aren’t you scared?” Michael lowers his eyes, eyes wet as he considers her question.

“Yeah.” His voice is barely above a whisper, his nod infinitesimal. Michael looks around helplessly before his eyes settle on May. “I’m scared of dying. I’m scared of living and being worse off than I am now. And most of all, I am terrified of not seeing you and Harry. That’s why-that’s why I’m doing this, it’s to make sure that you two are taken care of-”

May thinks of her conversation with Buck in his Jeep earlier that day. She remembers him talking about his family losing hope and how his grandfather gave up too. He declined so quickly after that. She doesn’t want the same thing for her dad. She needs him to still hope.

“Stop,” May says sternly. “Stop doing that. Planning for your death, you can’t think like that. You still have options, and as long as you still have options and have us, there’s still hope.” Her eyes settle on Michael.

“When did you grow up on me?” He asks with a deep laugh, looking at her in awe. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” She says softly as Michael embraces her in a tight hug, and she closes her eyes in the embrace.

Buck hears a knock on the door and shifts from where he is lounging on the couch. “That was quick,” he says as he pulls open the door for their takeout order. “May.”

May shifts under his gaze, “I-I hope this is okay?” She starts, pressing her lips together tightly, her eyes wet with unshed tears. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Oh, May. Of course it’s okay,” Buck says, and in an instant his arms are around her slim frame, drawing her to him in a comforting hug. He lets out an even breath and kisses the top of her head. “Let’s get you inside.”

Buck leads her into his apartment, and she sits down on the couch next to him. Buck remains silent, knowing that May will say something when she’s ready. “This is all my fault,” she cries, folding into herself as her body shakes.

“Woah, woah, woah…” Buck reaches an arm out and pulls her over until she is pressed against his side. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not.”

“It is,” May says through tears, allowing herself to lean into Buck for comfort. Gently, he brushes the hair away from her face so that he can see her face more clearly.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“After you dropped me off at home the other day I want to see my dad,” May says. “He was updating his will. I told him that I’d been reading up on his surgery and that I knew how risky it was. But I thought about what you said, about your grandfather. So I encouraged him to fight. I told him that as long as he still has options, as long as he still has us that he still has hope.”

“There is still hope,” Buck agrees.

“He-he’s not going to get the surgery. And radiation didn’t work. So he’s going to die and it’s going to be my fault, Buck!”

“Hey,” Buck’s forehead creases as he looks down at May, this girl that he has come to look at like she’s his little sister. She is coming apart at the thought of losing her dad, and Buck can’t say that he blames her. He thinks back to Bobby’s scare not that many months ago. He remembers the fear well.

“This isn’t your fault, none of this is.” Buck continues and draws her snugly against his chest, then kisses the top of her head. “And just because Michael chooses not to get the surgery, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have options. Did he say why he didn’t want the surgery?” His voice is gentle as he looks down at May, who has visibly calmed down.

“He thinks the surgery is too risky. He said he doesn’t want to focus on his death anymore, he wants to focus on living, however long he has. ”

“It is risky. The good news is that there are trials and other options to look at. Maybe he’ll be able to get into one of those. And either way, we aren’t going to lose hope.” May breathes evenly as her eyes close.

“I just panicked,” She whispers. “I don’t want him to die.”

“The good news is neither does he.” Buck smiles gently, hearing movement up in the loft. “Hey babe?” He calls out. “Can you bring Sadie down?”

Buck feels May sit upright before he feels scrutinizing eyes on him. “Babe?” Her brow raises. She leans forward, and a grin breaks out on her face as Eddie makes his way down the stairs. “Oh hey, Eddie .” She turns to Buck and smacks him gently across his chest with the back of her hand, then practically hisses. “I knew it!”

“Oh, please. You did not,” Buck says with a roll of his eyes as Eddie chuckles, carrying the kitten over to May who happily scoops her up. There is a knock on the door and Eddie answers, getting their takeout food and setting it on the counter.

“Hey, May,” Eddie calls as he glances up, “we’d love it if you’d stay for dinner.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” Eddie says as he grabs plates from the cupboard, and it’s not lost on May how easily Eddie navigates Buck’s kitchen, how comfortable he seems in Buck’s space. “You are family and you’re welcome anytime.” Buck and May make their way out to the kitchen with May still snuggling the kitten to her chest.

“So,” Buck motions to the spread of Chinese takeout that Eddie has spread out over the counter, “what do you want?”

“I want to know when the two of you are going to tell everyone that you’re a couple,” May says with her first genuine smile of the night.

Buck stutters and glances at Eddie who just shrugs his shoulders, smiling in amusement. “When we’re ready,” Buck says carefully.

“That doesn’t sound like an actual time.” May bends down, setting the kitten on the floor before she walks to the sink to wash her hands.

“You’re right, it doesn’t sound like an actual time,” Eddie teases.

“I’m not telling you what to do,” May says as she dries her hands and turns to look at Buck and Eddie. “I’m just saying that life’s too short to not be happy. And life’s too short to not let people be happy for you.”

“She does have a point,” Eddie says, turning his gaze to Buck.

“That she does,” Buck whispers, dipping his head down and placing a quick kiss against his lips before he turns back to May. “We’ll tell them the next time that we see them.” Eddie finds Buck’s hand and interlaces their fingers.

Buck looks at May as she smiles warmly and he wonders if he actually helped her tonight, or if she helped him. One thing they all need to remember is that life is short, and you can never predict what is going to happen tomorrow. Even in the face of tomorrow’s uncertainty, Buck knows that he can face whatever is thrown his way as long as he has his family by his side.

#fanfic #evan buckley #may grant #michael grant #eddie diaz #911 #911 3x11

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darks-ink · 5 years

Text

Electricity - Ectoberweek 2019

A short one today, because I forgot that I’m really bad at writing pointless fluff. I just don’t get through my words if there isn’t at least a tiny bit of plot to support all the banter. But I also didn’t want to throw out my idea and write angst, so...

Rating: General Audiences / K+ Warnings: none! Genre: Humor, Fluff Words: 1,961 Additional Tags: Banter, Light-hearted, Puns & word play

[AO3] [FFN]

---

Lightning ran over Danny’s skin, simultaneously hot and cold, branching to cover every inch of his flesh. Its currents ran under his skin, electrifying and sharp.

He let out a breath laugh, twisting his arm to watch the play of energy and light where it danced over his skin.

“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” Sam said, leaning in closer. The light of the electricity, ecto-green in color, reflected in her eyes. “And it doesn’t hurt?”

“Not at all,” he assured her. Her, and Tucker, who maintained a careful distance. “It’s a little… electrifying, but it’s no more painful than any of my other powers.”

“Ha ha.” Tucker rolled his eyes, pushing his PDA a little further away. “You keep that power away from me, Fenton, until you can assure me that you won’t fry my electronics.”

“Aw, Tuck,” Danny whined, pouting at his friend, “but what if that never happens? How am I supposed to hug my bestest bro if he won’t let me come close?”

Danny shifted like he was about to stand up, and Tucker hissed at him like a cat. “Don’t you dare! You hear me, Fenton? Don’t!”

He laughed, but sat down again. “Alright, alright. Settle down already, Tuck, I’m just joking.”

Tucker huffed, disgruntled. “Yeah, uh huh. I’ll believe that when you stop having live electricity running down your arms.”

“Technically,” Danny said, lips twitching into a smirk, “it’s dead electricity.”

Both of his friends groaned, loudly, and Danny laughed. “Sorry! I couldn’t resist it!”

“You never can.” Sam shook her head. “It’s Tucker’s fault for giving you the set-up.”

“Hey! Don’t blame me!”

“Can and will!”

Danny rolled his eyes, cutting off the stream of lightning that was pouring down his arm. “Alright, that’s enough. Here, is that better, Tucker?”

The boy hummed. “Well, I suppose that it’ll have to do.”

---

The ever-constant buzz of electricity hummed under Danny’s skin. He felt restless, the energy crackling and demanding a release he couldn’t give it. Large displays of power were bound to set off all kinds of radars his parents had set up, never mind the damage that he would undoubtedly do to all the electronics in the house.

Really, he didn’t know what he would do if he fried the microwave. Rely exclusively on his parents’ cooking? Absolutely not. Not only would he rather die, he probably really would die if he tried.

Jazz looked up from her book, fixing him with a speculative gaze, and he stilled. Hadn’t even really realized that he’d been moving, jittering restlessly.

Although… now there was an idea.

“Danny?” Jazz asked, cautiously, when he stood up from his chair. “What’re you-- Hey!”

He quickly ducked away to avoid her swatting hand, his core quickly replenishing the little charge he had lost shocking Jazz. He’d been careful to restrict it; the zap had been little more than what she might get from static.

“You little brat,” she said, grumpily, but with an undeniable fond undertone. “Keep your static to yourself, will you?”

Danny hummed, pretending to think about it. Then, lightning-fast, he tapped her, zapping her again.

“Hey!” She glared at him, putting down her book entirely. “The first time I was willing to pass off as regular static, but there’s no way you could’ve recharged it that quickly. Are you going to tell me, or am I supposed to guess?”

“Eh.” He glanced over at the door, making sure it was closed, and that his parents were staying downstairs. “It’s a new ghost power. I can generate electricity, I think? But I’m having some trouble controlling it still.”

He tugged on his core, the electricity running through his flesh sparking through it, forming visible branches of lightning. The release didn’t last long, however, because he heard footsteps on the stairs and was forced to cut it out quickly.

“Huh,” Jazz said, briefly looking towards the stairs. Had clearly heard their parents coming up, too. “That’s pretty neat. Definitely something you would need to learn to control, though. Lightning is--”

“I know,” he interrupted her, rolling his eyes. “Believe me, Jazz. I, of all people, understand how dangerous electricity can be, especially when charged with ectoplasm.”

She made a face, clearly disgruntled by his interrupted, but nodded. She opened her mouth as if to add more, but the door to the lab slammed open, their parents entering.

Jazz shot him a look that clearly said that they would be talking about this more later, but…

Well, he might’ve pretended not to see.

He could handle it just fine without her, he was sure of it.

---

Danny yawned, idly twisting his locker open. Despite all the energy he could feel coursing in his body, he was still exhausted.

Well, he supposed that he might be tired because of the electricity. Generating so much charge so constantly was probably something he should be compensating with more food and sleep.

Ah, if only he could afford such luxuries. He could barely get enough sleep to support his body normally.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and turned his around forcibly, and he startled back to awareness. Dash loomed over him, face twisted into a snarl.

“Fenton!” he growled at Danny, hands balled into fists. “You ready for a bit of fun, huh?”

“I don’t know, Dash, what do you have to offer?” Danny taunted back, not feeling particularly threatened. He saw Sam push her way through the crowd already, Tucker right behind her. And even without them, well… Dash wasn’t all that scary if you fought ghosts on a daily basis, was he?

“You feeling smart, huh?” Dash reached forward, grasping onto Danny’s shirt, lifting him up slightly.

Then the boy suddenly let go, yelping.

Danny landed roughly, caught off-guard by the sudden drop. Blinked confused at Dash. Why had he…?

“What the hell, Fenton!” Dash flapped his hand a little, like he was shaking off a small hurt. “You think you can save yourself with a little static, huh? Well, too bad.”

He reached for Danny again, taking hold of Danny’s collar once more. And again, he was forced to let go, hissing between his teeth.

“Oy, what the--?”

“Leave him alone, Dash.” Sam shouldered her way past Dash, stopping right next to Danny. Crossed her arms and glared at him with her full goth fury. “Or are you bull-headed enough to try that again?”

Dash shot her a sharp look back, then shifted it to Danny when Sam failed to falter. Seeing that neither of them were responsive, he huffed loudly. “Ah, what do I care. I’ll see you, Fenton,” he narrowed his eyes at Danny, “some other time when your girlfriend’s not around to save you.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Sure, Dash, whatever.” As Tucker sidled in next to them, he called after Dash, “And she’s not my girlfriend, by the way!”

The three of them watched Dash walk a little further away, the boy digging a hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone. Then, suddenly, he shouted in anger.

His phone had died.

Danny winked at his friends, who both grinned back, knowingly.

Ah, it felt good to get a little petty revenge sometimes.

---

Danny walked into the kitchen, arms stretched out over his head. His spine crackled with the movement, his spine noisy as its vertebrae shifted into their proper alignment. He yawned, idly scratching his left arm.

The electricity under his skin was still present, strongest in the arm that had taken the initial charge of the Portal. In his ghost form, he could see the sparks shift along the scar it had left. In his human form, he had no scar, no monument to the accident.

Not until now, at least. The metaphysical scar formed by the constant currents of lightning, forever trapped in his skin, and ever-shifting.

He forcibly took his right hand away from his arm again. No scratching. He didn’t want to risk breaking the skin, releasing the power that laid underneath it. Baring the scar that laid underneath it.

Still, his core hummed in discontent. It continued to produce electricity, energy that Danny couldn’t release.

Licking his lips, he eyes up Jazz sitting at the kitchen table, breakfast in front of her. Maybe he could…

He snuck over to her. Not the stealthiest, perhaps, but stealthy enough thanks to the book distracting her. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders, making sure to draw back enough power that it would be little stronger than static.

“Danny!” she yelped, jumping in her seat. “What--”

“Again?” his mom asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked away from the pan with eggs. “Danny, stop shocking your sister.”

“Sorry,” he said, pulling up his shoulders, feeling chastised.

“How do you keep getting so much static, anyway?” His mom shook her head, turning back to the pan, thus missing Danny’s panicked glance at Jazz. “It’s almost unnatural, how much charge you keep accumulating.”

“Unnatural?” his dad echoed, suddenly drawn into the conversation. “Why, it must be--”

“It’s not ghosts, Jack!” Maddie snapped at him, shooting him a sharp look. “Honey, not everything is the fault of ghosts.”

As his dad pouted, Danny shot Jazz a half-panicked, half-relieved look. She returned one much the same, although somehow much more comforting. Also somehow chastising at the same time.

Yeah, he was pretty sure he was gonna stop with the zapping other people.

At home, at least. No promises on using it against Dash.

---

Danny rose up, higher and higher in the air, arms flat against his sides and legs merged into a spectral tail. Even with the wind buffeting him, he could feel the electricity coiling underneath his skin, his jumpsuit.

Suddenly he stopped, the ghost chasing him not realizing until it hit him. He grabbed it, hands fisting the longer fur on its neck, and he grinned down at it.

Then, for the first time since he’d gained his new power, he let go of his grip on the electricity his core was generating.

Lightning crackled out of him immediately, lancing through his ectoplasmic flesh. Cleaved through the air with a booming crack like thunder.

But it didn’t hurt.

If anything, it was elation that Danny felt. Pure bliss, like an increasingly heavy weight was finally taken off of his chest.

The ghost he held yelped, and he released it, watched as it fled. He felt certain that it had been properly chastised, that it wouldn’t risk bothering him again.

Still, he yelled after it, “Shocking, right?”, grinning to himself.

He let the lightning crackle over him a little longer, branching over his arm and his chest and through the air around him. Then, after a long moment, and with a heavy sigh, he pulled back on his power again.

Well, he got to use his new power in a fight, at least?

Danny flew back down to the ground, made sure no one was watching him, and shifted back to human form. He stuck a hand into his jeans to pull out his phone, going to call Tucker and Sam so they could reunite. He’d lost them sometime during the fight.

He pressed the on button on his phone. Pressed it again, frowning as it didn’t turn on. Disgruntled, he held it down a little longer, waiting for it to turn on.

When he finally realized that it wasn’t turning, he sighed.

“Of course,” he grumbled to himself, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. “Of course the stupid thing got fried. Should’ve known.”

And he slumped off, hoping to find Sam and Tucker on foot.

(He was relieved to find, when he returned home and plugged his phone into the charger, that he had just drained its battery, and that the phone was otherwise fine)

#danny phantom #danny fenton #ectoberweek19 #dp fanfic #phanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #dark writes #me deciding where to place the readmore is basically compromised of me throwing an imaginary dart somewhere in the first paragraph lol #i dont want to make it too long but i want to be interesting enough to catch ppls attention

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