#certain someone keeps winning the polls on patreon

[the-pen-pot]

Tier Spotlight: Artificer - $5/month (7 day free trial available!)

What's included: Access to drafts of many of my current WiP longer stories are available in this tier, including the next five chapters of Hiraeth (Merlin) before they go up on AO3.

There are also drafts of several other in-progress Merthur WiPs that haven't been posted elsewhere yet, as well as Sherlock and the Hobbit.

Additionally, you get to vote in polls to help me choose what to focus on writing in a particular month!

Note: All the first chapters of these drafts are available to read for non-patrons as well.

🌟See below the "keep reading" for WiP info and summaries!🌟

Merlin

King & Court (22 draft chapters available)

Summary: Loneliness is an insidious thing. When Merlin looks at Arthur, he sees not just a prince waiting for his time to rule, but a young man struggling to find his place in the world, with little help from anyone else.

The truth is, Arthur needs more than the friendship Merlin can offer. He needs people he can trust: men and women who will become his court and his confidants, and if he is going to survive to take the throne and lead Camelot into its golden age, he needs them sooner rather than later.

Finding loopholes in Uther’s laws is no easy feat. Court life is a dangerous game, but it’s one Merlin has every intention of winning so that Arthur can have knights of his choosing by his side.

And then there is the matter of his magic…

------

Love Is Never Lost (12 draft chapters available

Summary: Uther Pendragon has never approved of Arthur’s friendship with Merlin. There had been disappointed sighs and whispered warnings, but Arthur had never thought it would come to this: scars on Merlin’s back and a manservant made hollow and thin by cruelty.

Yet Uther’s efforts to drive a wedge between them instead bring Merlin’s greatest secret to light, and once the wound of secrecy has been purged, their healing brings them closer together than ever before.

Much to Uther Pendragon’s horror.

When Merlin disappears, Arthur is left questioning the true honour of the crown and the value of a kingdom forever stained by his father’s tyranny. Will he answer the call of duty, or will he sacrifice everything to chase the cries of his heart?

------

Sigh No More (5 draft chapters available)

Summary: Prince Arthur Pendragon, Captain of the Llamrei, would far rather spend his days patrolling Camelot's Waters than assume his place on the throne. Yet when he finds the wreckage of a vast ship and one lone survivor on board, nothing can prepare him for the path his life will lead.

Nor the demands his heart will make.

(Feral world-building Camelot with sailing ships AU)

The Hobbit

Quarantine (11 draft chapters available)

Erebor is saved from the dragon and beginning to rebuild, but Thorin, newly healed from the injuries of the battle, suddenly takes ill.

The sickness is a dwarf's worst fear: highly contagious and always fatal. Thorin locks himself away to die a slow death, alone. Of he would, if not for the persistence of a certain hobbit. Bilbo breaks into the royal chambers, effectively locking himself away with Thorin.

Except as the disease progresses, he begins to think it looks rather familiar. In fact, it's a common childhood illness, one hobbits have been able to cure for years.

------

Where The Heart Is (11 draft chapters available)

'There was an attack. Raiders. There was no warning of their coming.'  Gandalf sighed: the broken sound of someone who has failed in  their duty of care.  'They took everything they could carry, and  burned everything they could not. Many of the fallen were impossible to  recognise.' Gandalf leant on his staff, and the wizard looked more tired than Thorin had ever seen him. He swallowed, and Thorin wanted to  put his hands over his ears, because he knew, sick and certain, why there had been no more letters from Bag End.

'Bilbo is not among those who live.'

(Bilbo's presumed dead, but has actually been taken by raiders. Thorin must rebuild his kingdom with a broken heart, while Bilbo fights his way across the wild north, broken and bleeding, to make his way back to the mountain that has become his home. With bonus hobbits re-homing in Erebor.)

Sherlock

Guard of Diocletian (14 drafts chapters available)

'What's his Shift?' John asked, frowning to himself. Sherlock had not mentioned anything about another form. That in itself was not unusual. A lot of people were rather private about their alternative shapes. It was frowned upon to ask someone outright what creature they were when changed, but Mike was like him, baseline, and if he was going to live with this man then he needed to know what he could wake up to find one morning. Shedding on the furniture was one thing, but he had no real desire to find a strange, threatening animal in the living room one day.

'He isn’t one, is he?' Mike's eyebrows were up, his honest face truly puzzled. 'I've never seen him change, and he's been coming here for years. I mean, I suppose he could be, but...' Mike trailed off with a shrug. 'I think he's like us.'

John pursed his lips, tapping his cane on the floor as he shook his head. 'No, Mike, he is nothing like us.'

L'Appel Du Vide (Six Draft Chapters Available)

Hunters were a rarity. In fact, there was really only one family that  knew what they were doing and became a name to fear, but the last Van  Helsing had died in 1886. Well, the last male Van Helsing,  anyway. Still, that did not mean their unique genetic gifts had not been  passed down the female line, holding steady and sure even as the name  faded into memory. 'If I confirm your suspicion, what will you do?' 'You don't need to confirm it. I saw!' 'And yet you did nothing to stop me.'

Sherlock is a vampire, John is a Van Helsing. What could possibly go wrong?

[shepherds-of-haven]

Forgive me if this has been asked, Lena, but do the RO's who don't get romanced by an MC go off and fall in love with other people and/or spend the the remainder of their lives without companionship or is it something that you'd prefer to be left up to headcanon?

Hi anon, we've actually had two different polls about this on Patreon because I wasn't sure how people would feel about it! I've wavered back and forth: I could envision endings where, say, best friend!Ayla falls in love and opens an orphanage with a partner if MC romances and marries Shery, and can see how that would be satisfying and realistic for players to experience, especially for characters they consider to be friends and want to see achieve this kind of ending; but I've also been in the camp where I don't always like this as a player, especially when I'm planning on romancing those characters in other playthroughs (like in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I didn't let Felix marry anybody even though I romanced and married someone completely different, because I was planning on romancing him next and I am jealous and possessive). So I've definitely gone back and forth myself, and have polled opinions on Patreon twice!

So far, both times the winning options have indicated that 1) the majority of voters thought the Shepherds deserve relationships/families with other people if not romanced by the MC, and if that was something they would actively want for themselves (aka Blade or Tallys or Chase likely wouldn't settle down with anyone if not romanced, but Trouble and Ayla do want kids) and 2) a toggle seems to be a good compromise for both sides? Like, if the epilogue of the game is presented like a book summing up the events of the aftermath of the game, it would read like...

As for Ayla...

Not much is known about her personal life, but her achievements and accomplishments after the Shepherds were renowned.

After retiring from active service, Ayla traveled the world, teaching Wind magic to a variety of students to keep the art alive. She eventually settled back in Haven and opened a school. Several statues and temples were built in her honor.

Both her personal life and her professional accomplishments are outlined in detail in the book.

After retiring from active service, Ayla traveled the world, teaching Wind magic to a variety of students to keep the art alive. She eventually settled back in Haven and opened a school. Several statues and temples were built in her honor. She married a Weather-Mage and they had six children together, eventually starting their own orphanage.

Note: the above is complete BS I made up on the spot, so please don't take it as any indication of what the actual epilogue is going to be like! Just kept it as quick and generic as I could make it.

As you can see, choosing the first option omits any details about Ayla's potential relationships and keeps that aspect of her life purposefully vague and ambiguous. Choosing the second option is more explicit and could delve into her potential relationship, marriage, or family, even if it's not one she shared with MC.

The thinking was that this 'toggle' was a good compromise for people who don't want to see the characters in certain relationships (for whatever reason, and perfectly validly), and for people who do and are curious about that aspect of the Shepherds' potential futures/endings. I am still leaning that way currently, but I have received some feedback that the existence of the toggle would still be upsetting for some people, kind of like knowing it exists makes it real regardless if you see it or not, and it could be off-putting for some users' experiences. So I am still ruminating and percolating on the issue! I don't think I have very strong feelings on the matter either way, and the toggle seems like a fair way to compromise, but I suspect I won't truly make the decision until I'm ready to write the epilogue, I think.

I hope that makes sense!

[ciestessde]

Airhead Doorbell

This elf has racked up quite the tab at your tavern. And he’ll have to pay up before he’ll get another ounce of ale out of you!

The night is winding down, people leaving the small, smokey building in groups or pairs. Most of them drunk. Only a few stragglers are left, sitting in the corners of your tavern and finishing off their drinks. And to finish off your night, like many nights before, a certain “customer” comes trudging in the door: a sleepy-looking elf with long, messy hair, and a longbow and arrows on his back. He plops down in a stool at the bar -- and lets his head smack down onto the counter with a heavy thump. Giving a long-suffering sigh, you walk over to him, your dripping-wet cleaning rag in hand.

You rhetorically (and grumpily) ask, “Long night, Aired?” He gives a muffled, “You have no idea” in response anyway, sighs, and lifts his head up with a groan. Huh. For once, he actually seems genuinely exhausted. Normally, he’d start joking with you the second you walked over, trying to win a free drink with some laughs. Concerned, you ask, “You… wanna talk about it?” “No, just…” He brings a hand up and ruffles his hair. The long strands tangle further, making him look like he just climbed out of bed. “Just… One ale, please.” “Nuh-uh.” Suddenly, he’s wide awake and staring at you, wide-eyed in alarm. “HUH?! Why not?!”

You put the hand holding the rag to your hip -- and send him a serious glare. You just barely manage to growl out, “Be. Cause. You still haven’t payed off the last…” You take a moment to double-check your count. The rag drips an entire puddle of dirty water on the floor when, trying to rein in your anger, you squeeze it tight. Exhausted or not, there was no getting around a tab like his. “FIFTY ales this month. And that isn’t counting last month. OR the month before THAT-!” “-I-I-... I just haven’t found a good job yet, that’s all!” “And you’re still refusing to work off your debt, I take it?” Aired glares back at you. “N-no way! I told you before, I’m FAR too skilled to be seen working in a tavern -- let alone as a waiter of all things!”

You cross your arms, tapping your thumb and staring him down. He starts sweating. There’s only one reason you’d allowed him to rack up such a tab: Elves were always good for business. Whether it was because they always seemed to have money to spare -- or because whatever they lacked in money, they made up for by drawing extra business in the door just by being inside. You’d had a few other elves who had gone through similar dry spells, in fact. But never as long as Aired. And to make matters worse, the elf always came by when business was practically dead! If he just came earlier (or accepted the job offer, already!), he might be worth the trouble.

And yet, in this case, he might still be of some use. Because there was one other way elves were good for business: their skills.

You stop tapping. “... Well, if it’s a job you’re looking for, I might have one.” Aired sits up straighter at your words. His voice comes out choked, “O-Oh…?” He clears his throat. “What is it?” “A group of clients came in earlier today. They were complaining about not having a good enough archer to help them take down…” Your mouth thins as you try to remember. “I think they said it was a worm? Eh, it was that or a wyrmling. Either way…”

You reach into the pocket of your apron, pulling out a pen and notepad. You scratch something down, rip the page out, and set it down on the counter in front of Aired. “Here’s their address. Come back with some money, and I’ll consider serving you drinks again. Depends how much you bring in.” “Oh, um… Thanks?” He picks it up and inspects the note. He’s holding it as if it might bite him.

Swallowing, he tucks it into the pouch on his hip. You’ve gone back to cleaning, trying to dry up the puddle, only to hear him dare to ask from above you, “So… I don’t suppose I could get one more ale-?” You growl, “Get out of my tavern. Now.” and hear him scurry out the door.

You don’t hear from him the next day. But what you do hear, about halfway through the day after that, is your door SLAM open as you’re serving a new customer the best-tasting meal on the menu. A burly man with an axe on his belt -- the one who had opened the door ever-so-gently -- storms up to you and yells, “Are you the one who sent us that archer?!” You set down the customer’s meal with a polite, “One moment please.”

Turning from the customer, you tuck the tray you’d carried the food on under your arm. “What archer?” You lead the Angry Axe-Man over to the counter (where you at least a have weapon hidden). The man follows you, at least, but he’s still screaming. “That sorry excuse for an elf! ‘Airhead Doorbell’ or whatever!” Before you set it down in the sink, the tray hangs in the air for just a second. Hesitating, you ask, “... Aired Dorbella?” “Yeah! Him!” Axe-Man slams his hands on the counter. “Was it you who sent him?!” Trying not to chuckle, and as straight-faced as you can manage, you turn and ask, “Why? Did he do something?” “He missed the first shot!” You pause. “... He what?” “HE! MISSED! The VERY FIRST! SHOT!”

Finally, Axe-Man’s teammates join you and a guy dressed all in back adds, “Not just that. He freaking RAN AWAY!” You’re still frozen, but you manage to squeeze out, “That… Doesn’t sound right.” “You’re telling us!” Axe-Man yells. Recovering, you admit, foolishly, that it WAS you who gave him their address- but they interrupt your explanation with an even more confusing bit of info.

A female mage in the back of the small huddle asks- err, accuses you, “Why the hell d’you send us that young of an elf, huh?!” “Wait. Young?” You stand on your toes to try and meet the woman’s eyes. “What does that have to do with it?” She elbows her way to the front, Axe-Man reluctantly shuffling to the side. “It’s only the really freakin’ old ones that are any good at ANYTHING!” A dwarf on your right adds, “Yeah, and Airhead couldn’t have been more than twenty! So why d’you-?!” You wave your hands and try to salvage the situation, saying, “I swear, I had no idea -- about his age OR why it mattered! I only gave him your address for the job ‘cause he owes me a ton of money!” “Yeah, well, you’re not the only one!” Axe-Man screams, “He demanded we pay him upfront to be our archer, and then he just VANISHED!” Another teammate you can’t see yells from further back, “We should hunt HIM instead of the wyrmling!” The rest of the group gives out a raucous cheer of agreement.

And a light-bulb turns on in your head. You might be able to get something out of this after all! Aired may not be good for money -- or to recommend for clients’ jobs. But if he really isn’t “any good at ANYTHING” like the woman said… Well, now you know why he can’t seem to get any “good” jobs. Which means, with the debt he owes you -- he can’t refuse yours!

Smirking, you make yourself heard over the excitement.

And a couple days later, you’re examining the beautiful new bounty hanging on your wall:

“REWARD! “This young elf owes a large debt to the local tavern. 300 Gold will be rewarded to anyone who can bring him in ALIVE. Poses minimal threat.” There’s a portrait of Aired above the text, with his name printed directly between.

The people who made it must have misheard the name, though. Because the bounty is for someone called “Airhead Doorbell.”

~~~~~

If you liked this, please REBLOG!

You can vote for the next OSW (and/or make an OSW request) using the poll HERE until Nov. 13th, or find the current poll on my Tumblr, Twitter, or Website!

AO3 version

Buy this OSW as an ebook for $0.99 here!

OSWs Master List

{This is part of my “OneShot Wednesday” project - I’m trying to write a one-shot every week that other people have requested! Original Requests one week, and Fanfic Requests the next.

While I will try to keep track of all the requests I receive regardless of how they’re sent, the best ways to send them are: A. Through the current poll. B. If it’s a Fanfic Request, through the pinned tweet on my Twitter C. If it’s an Original Request, through either my email (CiestessDE@gmail.com), my Patreon (if you’re a patron), or my Ko-fi.

Just about everything goes – I’ll tell you if there’s a problem. But if you want to know more about how they work, you can read about Original OSWs here, and Fanfic OSWs here.

So please send me ALL the ideas!!! I will make sure to recognize whoever’s idea/request it was in the work – just ask if you want to remain anonymous.}

[theguardiansseries]

From the Beginning Chapter 5

Bonjour, mes chers! Here's chapter five and chapter six will be coming up in the next hour or so!

Make sure to follow this blog so you can stay up to date on the latest chapters and news about the Guardians series!

You can also join the group discord to talk about all things Guardians here at https://discord.gg/mnDVQXa.

If you’re willing, you can also pledge to me on Patreon where you can unlock polls, read chapters in advance, and even get links to the docs on stories I’m currently working on. There’s also a tier that will allow you to receive monthly physical copies of one of my completed works.

Don’t have the money to pledge monthly? Consider making a one time pledge by buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. It’s basically Patreon without the monthly part of it. Every $25 I’ll be doing a giveaway so anyone who donated during that period will have a chance to win a published copy of one of my fanfiction works!

Click here to read on FFN Click here to read on AO3

Summary: Danny Fenton was a simple, sixteen-year-old teenager who loved fast food, video games, and getting a B on surprise pop quizzes. He’s also the half-ghost teenage hero Danny Phantom who defends Amity Park from ghost attacks on a daily basis. Somehow, the ghost attacks make a lot more sense than crushes, friendships, and falling in love with someone he is definitely not supposed to be falling in love with. It was a lot easier to separate Phantom and Fenton before, but now it’s getting harder the more he learns about himself. Just who was he? The dorky son of scientists who loved the stars or the hero that protected the town. He’s starting to feel like he won’t like the answer. (Iambic Prose) (Prequel to Guardians and Partial Show Rewrite)

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

Chapter Five

::

“I still can’t believe Vlad bought this place out.” It wasn’t that Danny hated Axion Labs or anything, but after dealing with the ghost of a dead puppy they put down, it was kind of hard to bring himself to like them any. “I mean, what is he up to?”

“You know, I’d really like to have a day where you didn’t become your parents and get paranoid about ghosts and their plans. You realize you sound like your dad, right?” Sam was looking utterly unapologetic at the lies that were coming out of her mouth. “All your missing is the orange jumpsuit.”

“Didn’t he give you one as a Christmas present, this year?” Traitors. Danny’s best friends and closest confidants were traitors. “You should wear it for Halloween next year. You can go as a ghost hunter.”

“Isn’t the point of Halloween to go as something I’m not?” Danny might not be a ghost hunter like his parents or the Guys-in-White or anything, but, come on. He protected the town and caught ghosts for not even a living. He was a ghost hunter. “Seriously, though. You guys know Vlad is probably using this place to run some secret experiments on ghosts or something like that.”

It wouldn’t surprise him if the man was. Vlad was rich and powerful and all that shit, but he was also an insane fruit loop who seemed to think he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. Now, suddenly, they were visiting Axion Labs on a school field trip? Suddenly it was Danny’s class that was there? That reeked of suspicion. “I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“A Fenton with a bad feeling? Should I be worrying about any ghost attacks?” Startling at the words more than anything else, Danny looked over to see Valerie’s dad.

“Oh, hey, look, I think one of our classmates wants to ask us something.” Sam, the heartless traitor, grabbed Tucker by the hand and left Danny to what was probably going to be the most awkward and threatening talk by an adult he’d ever had as a human.

“Ha- Ha! Hey there, Mr. Gray!” Danny swallowed and tried to calm himself down. He had faced far worse things than a protective dad, after all, right? “What, uh, what can I do for you? Sir?”

“I’ve noticed that you and my daughter have been spending more time together, lately.” Oh, god, please, no. “I just wanted to make sure I don’t have to worry about any funny business.”

“Oh, uh, no- No. We’re just- We’re still just friends, and stuff, and-” Danny snapped his mouth shut as the man raised a hand.

“I meant ghost wise.” Oh, man, that was even worse. “Valerie’s had a hard time with the ghosts that attack Amity Park, especially when they cost me my job at one point in my life. I don’t want any of that Fenton ghost business to interfere with her life.”

“Trust me, sir, we’re totally on the same page about ghost business and it not affecting Valerie.” The last thing Danny wanted was to deal with the Red Huntress again. Like, okay, he could understand why Valerie had started the whole ghost hunting thing, but things were finally settling down! In fact, Danny was almost certain that her dad had taken away her suit, which meant way less worry for him.

Plus, Danny was getting better control of his powers, the ghosts were becoming less of a danger, and Danny knew that he could finally keep his friends and family safe without having to worry about them getting hurt by all of this. Things were good, so he wasn’t too worried about Valerie running off to pick a fight where there wasn’t one.

“I promise you, sir, I’ll be keeping the ghost stuff away from her as far as I possibly can.” Valerie’s father seemed to study him and look him up and down for a moment before patting his shoulder.

“You’re a good kid, Danny. I hope I see more of you around.” Huh. That sounded like he just got roundabout approval to date Valerie. Did he just get roundabout approval to date Valerie? It sounded like her father just gave him approval to date her. That- Okay. Cool. That was cool.

“Right, er, yes- Yes, sir!” The man walked away to probably go continue doing his work, Danny staring after him for a moment before shaking his head and alright, that had certainly been something. Danny couldn’t help but mutter a little ‘weird’ under his breath as he looked around to see where the rest of the class had gotten off to.

It was actually kind of cool to explore Axion Labs and see all the science and stuff they were up to, especially considering they were working on space exploration lately, but Danny couldn’t even enjoy himself. Who knew what Vlad was using this research for.

“Hey, Danny! They got this cool jetpack rocket thing over here!” Looking around quickly, and spotting where Tucker was waiting, Danny’s eyes widened at just what he was talking about and that was so cool.

Danny managed to enjoy himself for almost an hour as they got into the science behind their space research, but of course this was Danny and his life could never be enjoyed for very long before his worries came speeding back at full force.

They were just starting to head to another section of the building, which was shaping up to be just as sleek and shiny as the rest of it, when Danny felt Sam grab his wrist and pull off into a corner between two large databanks. “Are we about to have some movie moment where you tell me someone is following us?” Even as he joked, Danny was already scanning around them. He hadn’t noticed anything strange, and there didn’t seem to be anyone paying them attention. Mostly it was tired security guards and even more exhausted scientists.  

“What? No. Your life isn’t a movie, Danny.” Hey, now. “If anything, it’s a Saturday morning cartoon with a poorly contrived plot and even poorer writing.” Hey. “No, look, you just- You need to be careful around Valerie.”

“C’mon, Sammy, not this again.” Danny groaned as he scrubbed his hands down his face, shaking his head. “Sammy, I thought we got over the whole jealous thing- Ow.” Clutching at his right arm where he was very solidly punched, Danny pouted at a completely unapologetic Sam.

“You deserved that and you know it.” Yeah, he totally did. “You know I’m not jealous. Unless you want to have that very uncomfortable talk about feelings and emotions, again?”

“Ugh, no thanks.” Having one ‘We’re just friends, so I guess we can finally stop crushing on each other and please let’s not make this awkward!’ talk was enough for one lifetime and all the ones after that. God. That had been such a long conversation and Danny was beyond grateful that both he and Sam had made a pact to never mention the tears shed by both of them that night. “Sorry. Still, I mean, come on. She’s not that bad.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Sam crossed her arms and rubbed at the skin where goosebumps were rising, Danny frowning. It wasn’t that cold in here. “She just… She really hates ghosts, Danny. She really, really hates ghosts. If she ever found out about you-”

“Which she won’t.” Danny knew the price of his secrets and they were ones he wouldn’t be telling anyone. Enough people knew who he was, and he knew that if the ghosts knew just how big of a wreck they could make his life, then they would tell the whole town with no hesitation. He was honestly surprised Spectra or Walker hadn’t tried that, yet. “It’ll be fine, Sammy.”

“Will it?” Oh, jeez. Danny hadn’t thought Sam would get so worried about all of this. Glancing around to make sure no one had noticed they were missing, Danny stepped forward to pull Sam into a tight hug. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. It takes work to find new friends, you know.”

“And we all know how much you hate putting effort in being social.” Danny laughed at the swat to his side even as Sam hugged him back. “I get it, Sammy. Just… trust me, okay?”

“You sure? You tend to get a bit stupid around the people you like.” Yeah, well, that was true, but there were limits when it came to being a little bit stupid. “It looks like you’re really starting to like her, Danny.”

“It’ll be fine.” The ghosts weren’t that much of a threat, Danny was getting more control over his powers, and Valerie didn’t seem to hate ghosts as much as she used to. It wasn’t perfect, but things would be okay.

::

He was an idiot. Danny was an idiot. Trust me, he had said. It’ll be okay, he had said. He had told Sam, and then eventually Tucker, that things were fine, that he and Valerie were okay, and this was fine. It had been going great, and then Danny had forgotten that he was the half-ghost little freak that wasn’t allowed to have life be good to him.

It hadn’t even been a week before everything had gone to shit. Now Danny could only stare at his hands as he panted harshly through the stale air of his bedroom and tried to figure out where it had all gone so wrong. It had been going so well in the beginning.

He and Valerie had been getting closer and spending more time together and Danny had started to believe that something was really there for them. He had overheard her that one day and Valerie had been willing to give up ghost hunting for him, and then fucking Technus had come in and ruined everything-

No… No, Technus hadn’t ruined things. He had just been the one to show Danny how wrong he was about all of it. It was one of the tougher fights he had been in lately, and they had all ended up fighting in space. He didn’t even have a chance to enjoy it because he had been trying to destroy that stupid satellite that could have ruined so much, and he ended up fighting both of them and he had almost-

He had hurt her. He had hurt her. He hadn’t even thought about it, before, but just how much power did he have? Was he supposed to be this powerful? None of the other ghosts were ever really a huge threat to him anymore, so just how much of a threat was he?

Ha, well, he already knew the answer to that one, didn’t he? He had seen how much of a threat he could become. Just because he was no longer going to become destroy-the-world evil didn’t mean he still wouldn’t have the power Dan did. Fuck, he had power now that Dan didn’t have until years later. He had defeated Dan when no one else in the world could. That… What did that mean for him?

“Danny?” Quiet knocking on the door startled him out of his thoughts, Danny swallowing as he heard Jazz’s soft voice. “You in there? Sam and Tucker texted me. They thought that maybe you would want to talk?”

Unable to even think of anything he could say, Danny instead wrapped his arms around himself. For as much as he loved his sister, she couldn’t help with something like this. God, and the only ‘ghost therapist’ was fucking Spectra. No doubt she’d get a kick out of all of this when they next met.

The freak who couldn’t control his powers. The little weird child who didn’t know where he belonged. Collapsing back onto his bed, Danny stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that barely glowed anymore, the edges becoming blurred and undefined in the darkness of his room as the sun really began to set.

“Stupid.” He finally got up into space and he didn’t even get to enjoy it. There was a peaceful quiet in his room that lasted for a wonderful thirty seconds.

“Danny? Are you even in there?” Throwing his hands over his face, Danny stared at the backs of his eyelids for what felt like an eternity before he was triggering his transformation into his ghost half. “Danny! I know I just heard you change! I can see the light coming out from under your door, young man!”

Just as the door began to open, Danny triggered his intangibility, falling through the floors and ceilings until he was in the basement. The lights were off since his parents weren’t there at the moment, but that just meant it was lit up only by the active ghost portal which… was sort of amazing.

Setting his fingertips against the energy, Danny frowned as he almost felt like he was being pulled towards the portal. “I’m not that much of a ghost.” Great. He was talking to thin air. Again. “Might be more of one than I thought, though.”

Pressing both palms up against whatever the Ghost Zone was really made of, Danny breathed out slowly as he glanced upstairs at the sound of Jazz’s heavy footfalls. He just… He’d talk to her later, but right now he needed someone who wouldn’t have an opinion about all of this.

“Doors are always open, huh?” It hadn’t been too long since he had last been there, but… Maybe Ghostwriter wouldn’t mind a friendly chat?

It was better than thinking about how he’d always grow up to be Dan, in some way. He didn’t want to think about that.

No. Right now a chat with a ghost who didn’t hate him sounded perfect.

[bedlamgames]

Q&A #107

Today we have revisiting Rough Landing, a question I don’t need to answer in the best possible way, double bimbos, tumblr being tumblr, me possibly somewhat going off on one in regard to what NOT to do, and more.

[Anonymous said:] Had a Corruption rank up and one of the slaver options had both Depraved and Spiritual, which are supposed to be mutually exclusive I thought: Choice 4: Madeline Crakewyne - Human Wastelander Futanari - Competent Skybreaker - (Spi)(Fly)(Res)(Clu)(Cun)(Usc+)

- You’re right, those should be mutually exclusive. 

[Anonymous said:] There is an event where one of your slavers will slip into your tent at night and have their way with you. Can you explain some of the mechanics that govern this event?

- My absolute favourite kind of question. Mainly as there exists a resource in game already which I hope should be able to fully explain all the details. Please see under Help and Prefferences -> Forced Encounters. 

[Anonymous said:] Need to ask; any chance for standard dwarf female commission, or this one is considered up to date?

- There technically is one in Scout the Coast though I’d prefer to get another one for the examine. I’ve been trying to get one done for ages through the commission polls that would serve to be a fun NH take on Dorf Fortress. I’ve also got a set of portraits potentially coming as a bonus though there’s some health issues getting in the way of that.

So it’s not consided up to date, there is a chance, but maybe not for awhile. 

[Anonymous said:] Bug report: orc cum addict training on bimbo slave results in double bimbo.

- That’s hilarious, and far too appropriate. Alas, I must say that has been found and will be fixed for the update. 

[Anonymous said:] the links to pixiv have disappeared

- Oh tumblr... why must you be so well tumblr. Tried adding a link to the twitter which has a link to the pixiv and that’s not showing either as an active link. Thankfully if you go the tumblr directly (i.e not on the dashboard) there’s an embed of the twitter so you can access them that way.

[academiy-blog said:] Hey man, Love the work you do, please don't give up on this path, you're so talented and creative. I am in love with your game No Haven and want to make a game like it but don't know where to start or how to do it. I am a complete stranger to coding and game making but I want to create adventures that people can lose themselves in like you do. Can you please tell me where should I start learning and what skills would I need to make a game like No Haven? You're awesome, take care Your big fan, me

- First seriously appreciated!

But oh man do not like it like I did as it was the complete wrong ass-backwards way to do it :D

Starting with RAGS meant I learnt a rather terrible system like the back of my hand which I worked how to break horribly to do what I wanted it to do. Doing it that way meant I often learned the wrong lessons when it comes to coding more in general, and didn’t know that, cause it worked. 

Then moving onto Twine without the time to really take a break to learning coding properly meant I was having to pick up concepts on the go, and again made a bunch of mistakes. 

Personally if I could somehow start over I’d do a coding course of some kind, and then use that knowledge to make games rather than deciding to make games, and still at times be lacking vital knowledge about what I should be doing or indeed not doing. 

Saying that I’ve found freecodecamp (especially the emails with five things to read each week), and w3schools to be great resources so maybe you could try starting there?

[Anonymous said:]   If someone hates being spiritual leader, they won't leave role when asked. In fact slavers leave this role only if they dislike it. Is this a bug?

- I’m pretty sure that’s been fixed, but will double check. 

[From the Patreon:] Short question:How do i transform my Character or another Slaver into the opposite gender? Male -> Female or Female -> Male.Are there certain assignments?

- There's a couple of different ways. 

Biomancy and Corruption can both do it for Male>Female. So you can either work towards doing it on purpose using the encampment activities, or you can run assignment that can result in Corruption like Changing Places and it might well happen. 

There's assignments that can do it one way or the other like Keldan Alley or Into the Depths. 

Then there's the option of getting too deep in debt with the Ensnared Rose.

[From TFgames:] The game is very fun and enjoyable.How to actually win the game?I gained a lot of money, trained the slavers and slaves.What to do next?I got tired of repeating tasks.

- Hi, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Currently there's a placeholder win condition of reaching 10k gold. Honnestly it's not very interesting as is and purely in there as a placeholder, and most players from what I've heard prefer to set their own goals like aquiring certain uniques and training them up. I know one player on my discord server always goes for the full collection of cheerleaders, along with making sure they have their own 'assistants'. 

There's also the golem scenario which has an alternate win condition which is more involved complete with patron submitted art for the final victory. 

I do have plans to address the win conditions by making them more interesting and varied. So that will be coming down the line. 

[From the Collective:] Some theoretical questions:a slaver promoted witch with Racial:Wyrdcraft is supposed to go away after some time. How does this combines with aspect Bimboborn ? Does she comes back after some time? Is there a way to keep her? What happens if a slave version of her is given as a slave to a dominant slaver with the appropriate aspect. What does she gives as traits to her master? any magic or Elementalist traits ? Can she go away?

- Bimboborn would not apply like if they were sold. She does not. There isn't but certain slave training and levelling her up can get her to stick around for longer. Witches can't be given with that aspect and there's a special scene to reflect that. 

[From the Collective:] My MC gained this Debauched Exaltation:  Caress of Bone -40 And the Mal Trait that goes with it.Does it make him immune to mind control events ?Apparently not if I look at the Mashlands Witches but there's other events I haven't tested.

- Call it Malevolence light so it mainly just works on assignments. Also those totally-not-witches have all sorts of tricks so who knows what they're actually fully capable of.

[From the Collective:] Negotiate entry of the Lord's gate: It doesn't trigger a level up if your slavers win enough xp to level up at the end of the mission. You need another mission to level up.

- Doesn't surprise me. It's a miracle that utter mess of an assignment hangs together at all so something minor like that is a small price to pay. Had to try to pull it apart recently for the Twine conversion and man it is so much yikes you would not believe. 

[From the Collective:] Not really a bug, per se, but still:I want to do the Mistress of torments mission (For the Normal Success result). When my slaver number is at maximum I can't do this even if I set the general orders to "Don't recruit anyone"I think it's the case for all missions with potential slavers. You should be able to do them with the "Don't recruit anyone" option on.

- I'd need to go back and do an alternate result where no recruitment is possible for that to happen. It's something I've been trying to do a lot more with the slave taking assignments recently especially, as I know it's also annoying when you're full up on slaves and are then locked out on too many assignments.

[From the Collective:] what's the requirement for crafting traits and Artisan/Artificier aspect? leaving a slaver on crafting assignment for months doesn't seem to trigger lvl ups.

- Currently impossible as Crafting xp isn't really a thing. Saying that the first Crafting assignment is currently walking the commission poll (along with the Insatiable fuck off fight) on the patreon so now it's just a matter of time for that to change. 

[From the Collective:] Imperial Muse I don't understand a part of the rewards Rewards Diplomacy rank up bonus: large wood elf shaft x4

- That's an amusing, if very annoying bug as I keep forgetting about it (happened with this update that's about to come out too though did get to hotfix it before the public release), if I don't add a new Diplomacy assignment to a certain condition.

[From the Collective:] at the moment no enchantement. As far as  I know there is only one enchanted item, from the ooze mission, maybe a proof of concept.the tinkerer encampment position is also in development.

- There's also the enchanted armours possible to find from corruption, there's a late game assignment in the city that can provide some, certain uniques start with one, and the next update will have an update which can also provide some. 

[From the Collective:] I have just realized that the bug that allowed to promote slaves even after you have reached 20 slavers had been fixed (sometimes I hate myself) Can you do something to expand the number of slavers - Do not count slavers and slaves in camp position - Do not count unique slaves and slavers (this way you will not be blocked with new missions of the update that have a story role), the 2 golems the witch queen, the fallen paladin and his demi angel friend, maybe also the cheerleaders, was unable to have more than one until slavers were 20) - Have a small number of places that can on be used by promoted slaves - a unique mission, perhaps  one for each region that allows additional camp size. - Some camp positions can be unlocked by missions. Taskmaster at Mountains, Alchemist at City, brewer at Coast, Cook at Forest, Emissary at Plains

- The current limits are in place due to RAGS (along with partially due to how I've set up the arrays, see previous answer about mistakes being made), so for now I'm not planning to change that or add ways to get round it in RAGS. However I do plan to change this I hope in the Twine conversion. There I can redo arrays on the fly which should make changing that more reasonable. 

[From the Discord:] Favorite Boardgame?   

- I’ve played much better, much designed games and certainly much more well regarded ones, but if I’m being honest for the best memories attached to it then absolutely Go. Not the one with the black and white tiles. The International Travel Game which came out in the early 60′s that my grandparents had a copy of. 

Thinking about it I suspect how willing it was to utterly screw with the players by diverting them on a flight to Paris to ending you up in some tropical island on the other side of the world you were trying to get to might have some influence on my approach to game design :D

[From the Discord:] What are the chances of a 10 Year Anniversary Remastered Edition of RL in 2024, complete with CHAPTER 3 (j/k... but I would play it)

- Honnestly, with what I’ve learned doing WR and NH I’m reasonably confident I could do a combined RL1 and 2 in Twine in a couple of months max if I dropped everything else. So not something I’m likely to do anytime soon with so many other priorities, but one I have thought about. 

[From the Discord:] What are the most recent major Scientific, Magical & Cultural innovations in the land of NH?

- I have an assignment chained to discuss that. 

[From the Discord:] Do marlsunes get fleas?

- Yes, occasionally if they let themselves go, but it’s treatable. 

[From the Discord:] With the existence of a Horned One camp... is there any credence to the rumoured couples only Horned Two camp?

- Given how well the double horned one idea is doing in the commissions recently, looks so. 

[From the Discord:] Specifically, how advanced is the art of glassmaking in the land of No Haven? Are glass panels a thing? Maybe even one-way mirrors made by the foremost guilds that employ E:Ea?

- See that’s a more tricky question than it sounds, and it’s all down to the Neko Protection League.

One thing I’ve found with commissions is it’s often a negotiation to get everything you want, and in that sacrifices end up being made, and/or details that were important in the original pitch get overlooked to focus on something else that is more urgent to be amended. In this case the glasses I wanted to look even more archaic didn’t get reflected as much as I’d have liked. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a bloody fantastic pair of pictures. Just a minor regret you know that I feel as is they don’t quite fit what I had in mind for the tech level of the setting.

[From the Discord:] Draki harpies - possible or UFO-like sightings?

As cool as a visual that suggests, which is tempting don’t get me wrong, draki are of elvish and human origins only. 

[theguardiansseries]

From the Beginning Chapter 3

Bonjour, mes chers! I'm finally back and settled in and looking for a job, but until that has to be worried about enjoy the latest chapter!

Make sure to follow this blog so you can stay up to date on the latest chapters and news about the Guardians series!

If you’re willing, you can also pledge to me on Patreon where you can unlock polls, read chapters in advance, and even get links to the docs on stories I’m currently working on. There’s also a tier that will allow you to receive monthly physical copies of one of my completed works.

Don’t have the money to pledge monthly? Consider making a one time pledge by buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. It’s basically Patreon without the monthly part of it. Every $25 I’ll be doing a giveaway so anyone who donated during that period will have a chance to win a published copy of one of my fanfiction works!

Click here to read on FFN Click here to read on AO3

Summary: Danny Fenton was a simple, sixteen-year-old teenager who loved fast food, video games, and getting a B on surprise pop quizzes. He’s also the half-ghost teenage hero Danny Phantom who defends Amity Park from ghost attacks on a daily basis. Somehow, the ghost attacks make a lot more sense than crushes, friendships, and falling in love with someone he is definitely not supposed to be falling in love with. It was a lot easier to separate Phantom and Fenton before, but now it’s getting harder the more he learns about himself. Just who was he? The dorky son of scientists who loved the stars or the hero that protected the town. He’s starting to feel like he won’t like the answer. (Iambic Prose) (Prequel to Guardians and Partial Show Rewrite)

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

Chapter Three

::

“I’m pretty sure most people would label this as torture, you know!” As promised, Danny had come to the library the next day at around ten- Okay, he had woken up a little before nine, but then he had to eat, reassure his parents, talk to Jazz, and then he had to eat something else where his mom’s food had looked poisoned, and then he had to actually find his way to the library considering Clockwork had just formed a portal for him the last time. Still. It was already almost three, probably, and Danny was dying. “Why do you have so many books!”

“Surprising as this may seem to you, there’s quite a few books that exist out there in the world.” Ghostwriter seemed to be as cheery as Sam when a new Hot Topic opened, which, yeah, pretty terrifying. “Those go over in the spiritual growth section.”

Looking down to the glowing books he was currently killing his back with, Danny stared for a solid five seconds before he looked back to Ghostwriter. “Is that… Is that a joke?” It was almost bordering on a pun. Ghostly spirit-y books being put in a ‘spiritual growth’ area.

“Unfortunately, the Ghost Zone doesn’t seem to have a system when it comes to filing, so I’m forced to make do with what I can. Second floor, fifth shelf from the northeast corner.” Wha… What? “Oh, honestly. It’s right past the section on Geography.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the Dewey Decimal system works,” Danny grumbled, flying the books up to the second story and, seriously, this library looked way smaller on the outside. The second story was even more pretentious than the first one, too.

Like, okay, the library was covered in purples and whites and all that, but the second story had white railings that looked to have carved flowers or vines or something like that on them. It was stupidly pretentious. Not to mention the bookcases on the first floor were arranged like a goddamn maze, Ghostwriter using his powers to levitate them around to different places whenever he felt like it. Danny could get re-organizing, but this was just ridiculous.

Danny ended up staying there until at least six judging by how worried Jazz was when he finally got back, and the second day wasn’t much better. It seemed that he was there eight hours a day easy - although it was nice that Ghostwriter managed to find non-poisoned food for him to eat around ‘lunch.’ So, yeah, free, non-poisoned food. It definitely could have been worse.

By the third day of his guilt apology offer, it wasn’t so bad. The library was quiet and peaceful, which, yeah, kind of surprising in the Ghost Zone, but it was nice. It was also kind of fun to get lost in a simple task like shelving and ordering books. Yeah, alright, so, okay, maybe he had mis shelved a few books here and there, but Ghostwriter seemed to always find them quick enough, so that was something.

His back had even adjusted to the stupidly heavy books he was always flying and carrying around, and after that it really was kind of nice. Maybe he’d even get a part-time job in a library back in Amity Park if the whole ghost fighting thing ever settled down. It really wasn’t all that bad.

It was even nice making a ghostly friend who wasn’t totally batshit crazy - okay, so, maybe the guy got lost in his books pretty easily and tended to slip into rhyme and sometimes forgot Danny was even there until he almost crashed into him or tripped over him due to having his nose stuck in a book while he was walking, but, really, they all had their quirks - even if Ghostwriter’s had ended up leaving Danny near crying of laughter when the man had tripped over him and ended up on the floor in pure confusion. Just the thought had Danny snickering to himself again.

“I know what you’re laughing about.” Shit. Putting on as innocent an expression as he could, Danny huffed when the man didn’t buy it for a second. “You should be more careful where you choose to sit-”

“Dude, I was bending over to pick up a book I dropped.” Danny couldn’t be sure, but he was almost certain that Ghostwriter was blushing. It was great.

“My point stands.” Sure, it did. “Now, you were telling me about your sister before you went away with the pixies.”

“Before I- What?” Went away with the- What did that even mean? Was it some kind of ghost phrase that maybe meant-

“It means you were lost in your thoughts,” Ghostwriter laughed. Danny was still getting used to the fact ghosts could laugh and not sound evil. “It’s something you do remarkably often.”

“Yeah, well… It’s just that Jazz is always trying to help with all this ghost stuff, but it’s not- She’s not- It’s not safe, you know? At least me and my friends have had time to get used to fighting ghosts, but she hasn’t.”

“You haven’t thought to help her get to the level you’re on now? From the stories I’ve heard, it seems you were rather bad at all of this yourself when you first started.”

“That’s the point, though. I don’t want her to start ghost hunting period!” It was dangerous. At least Sam and Tucker knew how to use the weapons, and Danny had ghost powers! Jazz was- She was great, but she wasn’t ghost fight great.

“You should be fighting with each other, not against each other,” Ghostwriter tsked. He tsked. “My older brother was always further along in physical attributes than I was, but he always took the time to help me catch up, so we could fight alongside each other.”

“Why would you two even need to know how to fight- Nope, no, nevermind, too long a story and I need to prove a point.” Ignoring Ghostwriter’s ‘cough,’ Danny shook his head. “Look, Jazz is- She’s not a fighter, you know?”

“However, it sounds like she wants to help you. You’re siblings. No one is going to understand your struggles better, and the important part is to keep each other safe while fighting together.” Yeah, but-

“Look- Look, okay, you’re a younger sibling, right?” Waiting until he got a nod, Danny continued. “You should get it, then. Sometimes we have to protect the idiots who never even think of protecting themselves.”

There was a long moment where Danny was ready for Ghostwriter’s next argument before the ghost gave a small nod. “I see your point.” Ha! That was a win! A win on a technicality or something or whatever, but still a point! “I still believe that you should allow your sister to help, however.” Ghostwriter hummed, tone of voice turning casual. “She seems smarter than you, after all, and certainly a little more intelligence could never hurt.”

“Oh, ha, ha.” Still… Ghostwriter kind of had a point, himself. Jazz was smart, and she probably could help them without getting involved in an actual ghost fight. Maybe… Maybe he should start bringing Jazz more into the ghost side of his life. “Alright, c’mon, where are these books going now?”

Following Ghostwriter’s directions and random conversation starters was pretty easy after getting over his initial wariness, to the point that it felt like hardly any time at all before he was on his last day of break.

He had meant to help finish with the entire main level and get all the cases and shelves looking great, but, well… He may have gotten distracted reading the books rather than actually sorting them- It wasn’t his fault, though! They had finally gotten to the fiction books and there had been a pile of sci-fi books and, okay, look, Danny wanted to be an astronaut for a reason, okay, this was basically training for that.

“So, this is where you disappeared too, then.” Shiiit. Ghostwriter had found him. “Oh, please, I’m hardly going to take away a book you’re actually reading.”

“Hey.” Danny frowned up at the man, ready to argue and complain before he saw the plate of food he was holding and oh, yeah, he could eat.

“Honestly, you’re like a puppy the way you just perked up.” Wha- He was not a puppy! “Which book did you get distracted by?”

“In my defense, this was a danger the second you wanted me to shelf the science fiction stuff.” Danny tilted the book, so Ghostwriter could see the title before he was carefully setting it away from the food. He was kind of wary about damaging books after everything, which, yeah, definitely not gonna hurt a book when Ghostwriter was right there.

“You like science fiction, then?” There was no need to sound so surprised about it. “Mm, I shouldn’t be too shocked. Your parents did build a portal into a world full of ghosts.”

“I still have trouble believing that, some days.” Like, yeah, okay, ghosts. Ghosts were a normal, everyday part of Amity Park, now. So, ghosts, but also ghosts.

“If it helps, I still have trouble believing what I am, now.” Ghostwriter picked up the book Danny had been reading and started flicking through it, Danny staring at him and… He had forgotten, but the ghosts had been human once, too. He was used to the nutjobs like Skulker and Technus, but how many ghosts were like Ghostwriter who were still human? “I’m curious, what would you say was your favorite book?”

“I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure asking that question is, like, blasphemy for a book lover.” Mostly because he had asked Jazz that question once, and she had looked at him as if he had asked her to murder a child in front of him. “Shouldn’t you hate that question?”

“You would think,” Ghostwriter laughed, taking a seat across from Danny at the table. “I actually find that asking someone for the name of their favorite book reveals a lot about a person.”

“Yeah, alright, Sherlock- And that’s not my favorite book.” Watching the man bite back what was probably a laugh, Danny sighed and leaned back in his seat and, right, favorite book… Nn. “Does favorite author count?”

“Oh? That right there says even more about you.” Ghostwriter was fucking with him. He had to be. Looking up, he saw a grin that showed the man was definitely fucking with him. “I’ll accept it just this once.”

“Ha ha.” Leaning forward and grabbing his sandwich, Danny took a bite and swallowed before glancing up to Ghostwriter again. “Don’t laugh.”

“I would never.” Somehow, that was a hard one to believe. Still, it wasn’t like his favorite author was bad, just not that well-known.

“My favorite author is M. J. Anderson.” Seeing the expression forming, Danny pointed at him. “I said don’t laugh!”

“I wasn’t going to.” Oh, wow, he denied that rather quickly. “I just- I suppose I’m surprised that of all the authors you could pick, you choose that one.”

“Hey, Anderson had a lot of really great books- I mean, have you read The Soundless Clock?” The other’s expression looked like some weird combination of embarrassment and amusement, Danny crossing his arms and choosing to ignore him. The Soundless Clock is one of the best books to have ever been written, and Star Gazers isn’t very far behind, either.” That had Ghostwriter laughing.

“Star Gazers? That book read like it was written by a sleep-deprived college student who had one too many cups of coffee! It’s riddled with small plot holes, grammatical mistakes, and the narrative seems to switch from Star to Ches at some places!”

“You mock it, yet you’ve read it?” A helpless little shrug was the only response he was really given. “Okay, yeah, the book doesn’t read the best, but that doesn’t- That doesn’t affect the story, you know?”

“Oh? What do you mean?” The ghost was up to something, but dammit, Danny had a point to prove!

“It’s- Ah, jeez, man, it’s hard to explain, but it’s like- The book isn’t the best, but the story is. Like, okay, yeah, it reads like it was still a rough draft, in some places, but it was a great story. It was all about being scared to leave home and leaving anyways because of the idea of what’s out there. It was about being sheltered and alone and not knowing what it was like out there but wanting to find out! It was a story about- About exploring the galaxy and being able to one day say, ‘Ah, yes, I know that star, and that one, and that one, and I know all their stories.’ It’s- It was a book about adventure and space and- And- Dude, that book is what made me want to be an astronaut!”

“Did it, now?” Ghostwriter had a small, silly little smile on his face, one cheek propped up on his hand as he stared at Danny. Deciding that he didn’t even want to ask, Danny quickly took another bite of his sandwich. “You seem to adore Star Gazers, but you still think Soundless Clock is better?”

“Well, yeah.” Right. Time to defend his books again- God, he had become his sister. “If you say anything bad about that book, I think I might have to fight you again.”

“Alright, then. Tell me what’s good about it.” That- Well. That was a very long list, but it was one Danny was willing to share- Or… Maybe not a list.

“Andrea didn’t want to be a hero.” Ordering his thoughts, and, yeah, okay, this was actually a good way to start it. “Yeah- Yeah. Andrea didn’t want to be a hero, but she became one because no one else was going to do it, you know? She was a kid off the streets, but she got into trouble and lied about it and then- Oh, man. She ended up on possibly the coolest ship in the entire world and she hated it just until she stepped on and realized she loved it. She was shit at every job they gave her, but then she worked on the ship and fixed it up, and that ship- That ship is a main character the same way Hogwarts is a main character in Harry Potter.

“But, Ghostwriter, man, dude, she basically went from this little kid who didn’t know what she was doing to a hero because she could help, because- Because she could, you know? She was there, and she knew she could help, and so she did.” That… The Soundless Clock had always been his favorite book, but there were even more reasons to love it, now. “She became a hero and even though she went through some really horrible shit, she still kept going. That… It was a great story.”

“Not including the plot hole in the chapter on the Airship Gala-”

“Fuck you, that was not a plot hole, that was foreshadowing.” That got the man’s attention, Danny smirking. “Looks like you don’t keep up with the fan forums. I mean, that guy- Oh, man, you don’t create a character like that and never use him again.”

“I suppose, and yet, there’s no sequel.” Yeah, and considering the book had been published in the eighties… “I like to think that the man she met was actually the friend of her mother’s and the Admiral.”

“Really?” Huh. That was- That was actually a pretty good theory. “I can see it. Oh, man, a sequel would have had so much potential.”

“There’s always hope,” Ghostwriter grinned, leaning back in his seat. “Thank you, by the way, for telling me why you love those stories.”

“Oh, uh, sure?” Such a weird ghost. “So, right, okay, shelving the sci-fi books. Where are these going?”

Much to Danny’s surprisingly disappointment, the end of the day came far too soon, Ghostwriter and Danny managing to talk about their favorite books before circling around to talk about their siblings and then ghosts and everything in between. It was great, and then the entry area of the library was clean and looked amazing.

“So, uh, I guess that’s that, then.” It looked a lot neater and a lot less dusty after everything, so Danny supposed Ghostwriter sort of knew what he was doing. “Five days of library cleaning.”

“You did better than I would have expected.” Oh, jeez, that was a compliment. Startling as Ghostwriter lightly touched his shoulder, Danny looked up to him to see the man giving a smile. “Apology accepted.”

“Good- Good. Now I don’t have to worry about being trapped in another poem, at least.” He was actually pretty sure he had seen that book when cleaning. He was also pretty sure he hid it under a couch somewhere. Maybe. Probably. Could have been behind a stack of books on one of the shelves. “So, uh, guess I’ll… Guess I’ll head out, then.”

“Danny.” Oh, shit, wait, Ghostwriter knew his first name? Well, technically all ghosts probably did, but all of them just called him ‘boy’ or ‘Phantom’ or ‘whelp.’ “You really should talk to your sister.”

“Oh- Oh, right, yeah. Yeah, I should.” Jazz… She deserved a real explanation for everything, and Danny was sure she could help them in her own way. Probably. Maybe. “Right, so, um… Bye?”

Ghostwriter chuckled and gently pushed Danny out the door and- “If you ever need a quiet place to read, my library will always be open for you.” With that, Danny found himself floating outside Ghostwriter’s library, the doors closing shut behind him- No, not closing. There was a sliver of a crack that showed he could easily push them back open.

“Always open, huh?” Danny had just made a friend who was a ghost. That was… That was great. “See you soon, then, GW.”

::

“Door’s open!” Opening the door, he had just knocked on, Danny poked his head into Jazz’s room and took a quick look around. She seemed to be organizing her backpack for when they went back to school and honestly. “Hey, Danny. What’s up?”

“Oh, well, see, I kind of- I maybe thought- It’s actually pretty funny-” Danny babbled as Jazz grabbed him by his wrists and effortlessly steered him into sitting down on her bed. “Rude.”

“Yes, I am. Now, what’s wrong?” Oh, boy, that was a question. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“Yes- No- Yeah. No, yeah, yes, there is.” Right. He just had to tell her… Well. “I… I kind of think there are some things we should talk about. It… It might take a while, though.” Everything would mean over a year of ghost fights, worries, fears, and injuries. “Will you listen?”

“Always.” There hadn’t even been a second of hesitation, and that was all the courage Danny needed to relax against the bed and give a grin.

“Well, it all kind of started last year. You probably remember when Mom and Dad couldn’t get the portal to work, yeah? The whole accident? It- I mean, you’ve probably figured it all out by now, but there’s a bit more to it all…”

“You have my attention for as long as you need it, Danny.” Right. That- Well. That was all he really needed, right now.

“Okay, so it all started with Mom and Dad’s bad engineering and this stupid button.”