#danny is obvious but very flattered

[emacrow]

Danny has an aggressive secret admirer and that Admirer is Damian wayne.

How this all started was during the Gotham exchange program where Danny had accidentally enrolled in as a joke but didn't think he actually get picked.

Luckily his rogues decided to give him some peace for once since they didn't want to go anywhere near Gotham because she a scary lady, but she actually a very misunderstood lady who just want companion..

Just have a odd way of expressing.. but she allow him in her city until the program is over but has hinted very cryptic if he want to stay then Her Knights have ways.

On his first day of gotham high, everyone so far kept whispered about the new wayne bait?

He didn't really listen but he was mostly asleep in the classes because he already have the whole class homework down already and he using this entire program as a vacation to sleep for once since he first became a halfa.

How he met Damian was pure accident.. literally, as he had accidentally body flipped him so hard to the ground due to Damian grabbing his shoulder and he really didn't meant it but his body instinctly grab his hand.

Which lead to his now peaceful vacation becoming a bit problematic.. as Damian will not leave him alone..

Unknownly to danny. He had gained admirer..

His locker filled with letters that would make Dora blush with how old fashioned they were written in. The occasion and daily weapon gift giving left in his own dorm.( he thought it was skulker leaving him weapons to try out on their next fight) The chocolates he kept receiving thought it was from the other girls from the other class room. Some of his clothes were missing but he thought it was his roommate.

Meanwhile Damian is at his wits end to the point of nearly putting cameras in Danny's room if it weren't for Tim catching on rather quickly on his 'too far gone deep obsession' with the new kid. He had been benched several times because he had been caught on several occasions trying to sneak into Danny's apartment, his locker, his gym locker. To the point they now trying to distract him from approaching danny.

He is just doing the courting rituals that he had learned so far from Talia.. he didn't even get to try the kidnapped and held hostage ritual yet :(

[hourousha-chu]

Killers React to a Drunk Survivor- The Trickster (Ji-Woon Hak)

How were you supposed to know that the Entity planned on snatching you for a trial soon as you hit the bottle? All you wanted was to take the edge off. Granted, it seemed to work as everything was much more of a blur now. You stumbled through Ormond with nary a shiver, the booze keeping you nice and warm inside. Who said this wasn't a perk in itself?

Soon, the telltale lullaby of a killer sent your heart racing. But your inhibitions were out the window, and you gravitated towards the familiar melody.

Oh, the look on The Trickster's face when a darling little survivor ran not away from his blades, but right into his chest.

"Ji-SWOON cutie! Haven't seen you in foreverrrr! I missed youuuu!"

He didn't know whether to be annoyed, flabbergasted, or flattered. Actually, yeah, go with all three. All he could do for a moment was stare dumbly at you, mouth slightly agape, as you nuzzled against him without shame, arms securely wrapped around his torso.

Clearing his throat, he glanced around to ensure no one was watching. "Someone was too eager for an encore, hm? I'm touched, honey." He hesitated before awkwardly patting your head while trying to push you away. No such luck. The contact only made you push your head against his hand like a cat, practically begging for more. Did you have to giggle so sweetly like that?

It was obvious you were out of sorts. One glance at your extra rosy cheeks confirmed that you had to be drunk. Had you been drinking in the trial grounds? There was technically a bar here, but he couldn't imagine it was stocked. Now that he thought of it, he didn't remember anything like this happening before. Survivors were supposed to be coherent and have basic self-preservation instincts at the very least.

The Trickster clicked his tongue and sighed. He lifted you onto his shoulder with no resistance, earning a delighted squeal. "Yaaaay! Hook me, daddy!"

You were going to be the death of him. "You're not mentally fit for a trial right now." He ignored your protests as he carried you upstairs to one of the bedrooms in the lodge. Setting you down onto a cot, he turned briskly to leave you. "Go find the Hatch once I've finished the others."

His shoulders tensed when he heard you sniffle. Against his better judgment, he turned to see your eyes watering.

"D-do ya not like me?" you blubbered. "I thought you liked my screams 'n stuff…"

Entity help him. "Would you rather I took advantage of you instead?" he muttered.

You really looked like you were considering it for a second before you shook your head. "No, it's just…I'm so lonely…"

The Trickster ran a hand through his hair and exhaled through his nose. "Look. If you set a trap for a rabbit, but the rabbit is watching eagerly, ready to jump into it, it's not a hunt. No chase or challenge or satisfaction." Sure, Evan might be appeased and Danny might die laughing. Not the point. "So rest up and come back when you're ready to be a good little bunny, all right? Then I'll happily spend some quality time hunting you down."

That made your cheeks positively glow. You cupped them in a way that should not have been adorable at all and nodded your head. "O-okay Ji-Swoon! I promise I'll be good!"

You laid down and he was pleasantly surprised at your obedience. He couldn't help but smirk. Stalking closer, The Trickster leaned in to peck your forehead. "There's my good bunny. Now don't make me come looking for you again."

In that moment, you could've died happy.

Once you escaped and the foggy memories came crashing back, you actually wanted to die. Maybe you'd get sent to the Void if you were lucky.

Of course, you were offered no such reprieve. It was a while until you had another trial with The Trickster, and you prayed he'd forgotten.

Of course he hadn't.

He pinned you to the wall after leaving you for last, a smug grin on his face. "How's my good little bunny? Feeling better than last time, I hope?"

You grunt and tried to free yourself, about to retort, but his hand brushed your head ever so slightly. For just a moment, you relaxed and leaned into him, your body remembering when he...

"...I'll give you a good chase then you can Mori me. Permanently, if that's possible."

Your bodies were so close that his chuckle rumbled against your chest. You cursed yourself for the involuntary chill that ran down your spine. "Aw, but why? I thought we could spend some quality time together, since you're so lonely."

Your cheeks blossomed indignant red. "Asshole, I was drunk! Don't use that against me!"

"They say that alcohol unmasks the true desires of the heart. You certainly had a lot to say that day, honey."

He leaned in closer, breath fanning your face. "Quite honestly, I found it adorable. Besides…you're not the only one that's lonely, and wanting."

He used your shock to nuzzle closer to you, one hand snaking around your waist while the other petted your hair. Your muscles went slack at his touch.

"I believe I deserve some thanks after treating you with such dignity and patience. I'd like to hear how you feel for me while you're sober."

You didn't try to get away as his lips closed in. "And," he whispered, "I want to feel it too."

A fog enveloped your brain once more, similar to when you'd been drunk, except now his lips were the culprit. You gasped for air when he finally pulled away, gaze lidded.

He was smirking, as always, but something else hid behind his gaze. Something softer. "See? I have the same effect on you, but better. You don't need to get wasted when the perfect remedy is right here."

You rolled your eyes at his cheesiness, but smiled. "Even if that were true, I can't exactly drag you back to the campfire with me whenever I want."

He pouted. "How do you know? You've never tried." Your incredulous stare made him laugh again. You couldn't help but chuckle as well. "I'm just saying, I want my bunny to stay healthy. So they can give me many, many rewarding hunts."

Before you could reply, he rested his head against your chest so he could hear your heartbeat. "But perhaps, just this once, I'll take that missed opportunity and keep you company."

Your touch-starved body melted into him, and your eyes fluttered shut. "...I'd like that."

(Cross-posted from my AO3!)

[goggles-mcgee]

Do you think Adrien isn't abused by his father?

? No, I don't think that. It's pretty obvious in the show that he is, he is being neglected, which is a form of abuse. I would also argue that he is being emotionally abused as well in the sense that Gabriel's love for Adrien is anything but unconditional.

The picture the show paints isn't flattering. Gabriel is consistently shown having more love for his wife than his son. It's like Adrien was only a byproduct of their love, and that's why Gabriel gives him affection here and there, but ultimately, he only loves his wife. I don't know if that makes sense or if I'm describing it weird, but an example can be Jack and Maddie Fenton from Danny Phantom. They love each other and their work more than their children, in my opinion.

An extreme comparison would be that Gabriel is very much like Father from The Willoughbys, except he does hold some love for Adrien. It's just small compared to his love for Emilie. He does provide for Adrien, buys him things he thinks he wants or needs, so he won't ask for anything Gabriel isn't willing to give. He feeds him, but only what he believes Adrien needs, i.e strict diet. He gives him activities to do but they are only what Gabriel approved of, nothing more, nothing less.

Gabriel just likes being in control, but it's too a very unhealthy amount.

To me, he only loves Adrien because he is Emilie's and his son. Maybe that sounds normal, but I mean it in the sense he only loves him because he's a part of Emilie and looks like her. But since he's not her, he only loves Adrien a fraction of normal love.

I mean, for God's sake, he put his own son in danger just to try and confirm if he was Chat Noir or not. He did show some worry, but like....in the end, all he cared about was being defeated by Ladybug and Chat.

I really hate Gabriel if that's not clear. I know he's portrayed to love Adrien and is doing everything for him and his mother, but like Gabriel is doing below the bare minimum for his son. If he loved him as much as normal parents do, he would show it. Plain and simple.

But no. He's neglectful and manipulative. Guilt tripping his own son is probably a hobby.

[tourettesdog]

A list of some of my personal favorite Danny Fenton headcanons in no particular order:

Transmasc 

Ace and bi (he figures out he’s ace much faster than bi)

He’s very short, roughly 5′1″-5′2″ (Sam is the tallest of the trio)

The portal accident fucked up Danny’s hormones (partly why he’s so short-- also he doesn’t menstruate anymore which is a small win)

Danny’s ghost form is moderately influenced by his mental image of himself, making him appear somewhat more masculine (slightly broader shoulders, a flatter chest)

He has white pupils in Phantom form, but also white sclera (for the aesthetic)

Eyebags for days

His eyes have a subtle glow to them, even when human

Danny doesn’t feel hungry unless he’s overexerted himself/been injured. He still needs to eat semi-regularly to maintain his human body’s condition, but the ectoplasm in Amity Park keeps him comfy

Has to eat Entirely Too Much food if he leaves Amity Park for any period of time to make up for the energy deficit

Can technically survive without ectoplasm, but his ghost half is healthier/stronger through absorbing or consuming ectoplasm regularly

He drinks (usually filtered) ectoplasm when he needs a pick-me-up

Entirely too much coffee, containing worrying amounts of caffeine

Danny has a very hard time putting on weight and muscle and stays pretty scrawny

Does age, but more slowly

He has lichtenberg figures going up his left arm and at least across part of his chest. The scars are white when human, but green when a ghost.

His left hand is messed up from the portal accident. Nerve issues, chronic pain, unreliable grip strength.

He wears a sweatshirt pretty much everywhere, regardless of the temperature. It hides the scars, dysphoria, and is comfy

Danny has a Lot of scars and keeps getting more. For obvious reasons.

His human blood looks normal enough, but close inspection reveals green flecks-- vise versa for the ectoplasm he bleeds as Phantom. If an injury becomes bad enough, the opposite color starts to seep in

He’s very cold to the touch as Phantom, and somewhat cold as human. Once he gets control of his ice powers, he can willfully adjust his temperature a certain amount at the cost of some energy

No heartbeat as Phantom, very slow heartbeat while human

He doesn’t really need to breathe as Phantom, but does so anyway out of habit and instinct

Breathing as Phantom still has some benefits; mostly in being able to calm him down

Fangs in both forms. Not super big ones, he can hide them if he’s careful, but they’re there.

Danny has a healthy fear of electricity. Lightning storms make him anxious and uncomfortable physically (uncomfy, staticky sensations)

He’s very touch-starved and likes to cuddle with his friends. Doesn’t like being touched by people he’s not close to.

He’s very close with Jazz and confides a lot in her. She’s the first person he comes out as trans to

He loves his parents but is genuinely terrified of them after becoming a halfa and struggles to feel close to them (I also like angst so I err on the side of his parents reacting Badly, and Danny and Jazz slowly at least resenting their parental neglect more and more as they get older)

Danny likes to vibe around with a spectral tail more than legs. Will drape/coil the tail over any surface and sometimes friends (usually in summer, or once he can control his temp better)

Ghost core thrumming/humming/pulsing shenanigans with emotions

His core purrs when he’s very happy

He does have an Obsession and it is to either protect or help (I like both equally)

Danny’s Obsession involves (protecting/taking care of) himself as well, but he’s Bad at that. Good friends help. 

He does not pursue a job at NASA. He still loves the stars, but after exploring the Infinite Realms and experiencing so much existential dread, he craves comfort more than the unknown (I am personally terrified of space so that influences this I’m sorry!!!)

He gets Really good at making ice sculptures and sells them. He can control the chill of the ice, making it less of a hazard

If/when he takes up the mantle of Ghost King, he maintains strong ties to the human world 

His ghostly wail always sounds like his 14-year-old dying screams and Sam, Tucker, and Jazz are very upset by it

When Danny’s angry or upset, his ice powers easily bleed into his human form, dropping the temperature and creating frost around him if he’s not careful

He can use his core to keep him cool in summer, but it exhausts his energy badly since he’s not meant for hot weather

Danny still feels the cold when human, though he has a much higher tolerance for it. He prefers cold temperatures, but sometimes he likes being warm just for the sake of being warm (especially when he’s anxious or wants to cuddle)

He gets overstimulated easily by sounds and smells (unaided by enhanced ghost senses)

He doesn’t need to sleep as much as a regular human, but still can’t manage to sleep enough (either due to insomnia, nightmares, or rude interruptions)

YE

I have a lot of other contradictory headcanons I like too, but I just wanted to include ones that can coexist in this list

[noir-renard]

batburger AU is an absolute masterpiece, and I was wondering, if you don't mind sharing, what is your process like for coming up with these incredible plotlines? It's a skill I want to work on, and you, my friend. mmmmMMMMM

ougghhh thank you so much!! ❤️🥰🥰🥰This is a delightful and very flattering question, so I'll do my best to answer it.

I, like many writers, enjoy rotating things in my mind like a rotisserie chicken. (I say "enjoy", but I don't have much say in the matter. These thoughts be roasting and turning 24/7 Costco Style and I'm helplessly standing in front of the chicken rack, warming myself up with the oven heat because I got cold going into the giant refrigerator room to get some berries)(this is a metaphor but it also happens literally to me pretty often. Costco cold. Rotisserie chimken warm.)

Sometimes something good will result from this; sometimes during the more productive sessions of "rotate that thought like a tether ball", neat sentences will form from the ether in my brain.

IYGABAB, for example, was birthed from the randomly generated mind-typewriter paragraph: In a way, it was almost funny. It certainly sounded like a joke—Batman, Bruce Wayne, and Red Hood walk into a bar. Only it wasn't a bar, it was the Iceberg Lounge, and Batman swooped down from the skylight rather than walking in. You might recognize that as the first sentence of the story.

Because I was and continue to suffer from incurable DP x DC Brainrot, my first thought about this paragraph was, heh, that sounds like something Danny would say.

My second thought was, wait, why is Danny at the Iceberg Lounge? And what are Jason and Bruce doing there? And who is wearing the batsuit, and why?

I thought about this scenario for most of the day, coming up with possible answers. When I'd been thinking about it long enough that it was clear Iceberg Lounge Time wasn't going anywhere and the daydream plot was actually kind of interesting and Hey, I'd love to read that story, I started writing it down and kept writing.

The first scene I actually wrote down in full was the one where Sal asks Danny to cover for him at work. Of all the possible answers I came up with for "Why is Danny at the Iceberg Lounge?" the answer I liked the best was "He's covering for a co-worker/friend from his actual job".

Which generated a new question: what's his actual job? Does he work at a coffee shop? At a diner? At a grocery store?

And then I realized the chaos, the beauty, the delightful mayhem that having him work at Bat Burger would be. Like yeah yeah we all know Danny looks like all the Robins already, but to actually make him dress as a Robin for work? I couldn't pass that up.

That's when I knew this story had legs. There was a place for it to start and a place for it to go.

Returning to that initial paragraph helped me generate a lot more questions that needed answering if I wanted to continue the story. Why is Red Hood at the Iceberg Lounge (other than looking for Danny)? What is Bruce doing there (and why does he need to be there as Bruce and not Batman)? Who is wearing the Batsuit (and why are they wearing the Batsuit instead of their regular suit)?

Answering those questions generated a lot of the plot threads, after which I had a general idea of what Bruce, Jason, and Dick were up to (Duke's presence at the Iceberg Lounge came later).

I could have left it at that, but like Marie Kondo I love messes, so I made up some problems for the rest of the batfam and found ways to link them together in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. (If you come back and ask me again after the story is over, I can give a more in-depth answer about this, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone!)

side note: I wrote the story out of order; when scenes came to me, I wrote them down, even if I didn't know where exactly they fit into the story. Keeping momentum up was more important to me than having a story that made perfect sense right from the start. (I did have to put it in order eventually, and I chose to do this by making a calendar of events as well as document with all the characters and what they were up to at any given point in the story. Was this the best way of doing it? Probably not. But it worked so I'm not going to question it too much)

In this way, I kept building and building the story, layer by layer. I think this method is technically called the "snowflake method", but because I did it kind of haphazardly it didn't really feel like a method 😅

In short, the answer to "what's my process" is this: I find a question so interesting that answering it generates countless other questions that demand an answer, and in the process of answering them all hopefully a story will fall into place.

I hope this is helpful! My mind is a chaotic place that's hard to parse (even for me), but I did my best to describe it in a way that's informative.

[allthingsfook]

hello love !! sending this in anonymously because I have a very obvious favorite in the band .. I think all of my friends will know who I am though LOL

I’m 24. Short, chubby, pale, freckle-covered redhead. I wear glasses 🤓 I love fashion/clothes !! I normally like to wear 60s/70s influenced outfits. lots of funky pieces !! I also love theme parks and concerts. music is kind of my life, and I’m actually probably going back to school soon for marketing so I can work in radio. I’m an amateur concert photographer (never gotten paid, I just do it for fun), and I also sometimes do some embroidery work (I’m not great at it, but it’s relaxing)! in addition, I’m trying to teach myself how to sew 🪡 plus I collect records, new and vintage 🤩 Pisces sun, Cancer moon, and Leo rising … that’s all I can think to include lmao THANK U !!! <3

Hello gorgeous anon! I love that you sent it like this so I couldn’t clearly see your lane 😂

I ship you with…

Danny 💛🤍

To every short Queen, there must be a tall king! Just think about how amazing the hugs are!!!! Especially after he’s been away on tour. Once reunited, he’d pick you up, swing you around, and give you the biggest kiss.

I absolutely adore Danny when he wears unique, vintage pieces. I think he’d like to expand his wardrobe more as well, so there no question as to whether you could help him with that or not. What’s even better, your closet would be just one! None of that her side, his side bullshit. Danny would be snatching your cool clothes all the time. Along with that, the amount of time the both of you would spend in a record store would be astronomical!!! Each of you walking out with an arm full of albums. It’s not like you have a library full of vinyl at home 😉

Danny seems the most down for a day at a theme park. I get the sense he’s a little of an adrenaline junkie, so get in line for the biggest ride! Hopefully you don’t mind heights! Even if you do, he’d be there to comfort you 🤍

I think he’d appreciate someone with a career in the music industry. It would give you endless things to talk about and not to mention the advice he’d take from your discussions. How flattering would it be if you were just spitballing ideas and you noticed one show up on GVF’s marketing?! Oh how he would value your opinion and suggestions.

How sweet would it be to fill your home with the photos you take! They no doubt would be the biggest conversation pieces when friends/family come over. Embroidery and sewing are tedious for sure, so frustration can be expected at times. Danny would also remind you to just take a break and go back to it later. He’d love each piece you create, and display them on a book shelf in your house.

Capricorns and Pisces!!! Love that combo! Most sources say that it’s a very unlikely and disconnected couple, but I firmly believe that’s when the best relationships come forth. You’re defying the odds!!! 🤟 Capricorn’s tend to be based on practicality and Pisces more on emotion, so work to find that balance! I think that may come more natural with Danny ❣️

Hopefully I hit the nail on the head… if not I have a sneaking suspicion your lane might be Josh. Otherwise I just gave you a long ass ship to someone you might open your eyes too 😆😆 Please let me know, I’m dying 😂

[summercourtship]

110 with danny johnson? <3 thank you lots ^^

Is it obvious that I prefer writing Danny pre-Fog? I really do and I don’t know why. But I’m definitely going to try to write more taking place in the Entity’s realm because I should, and I am really intrigued by the idea of him being obsessed with you as a survivor hmmm

uninvited guest

danny johnson x reader | warnings: implied outdoor sex, mentions of murder + stalking, f!reader but no pronouns used, not really explicit sorry :/ | word count: 909

prompt post

It was very reasonable for your friends to plan a camping trip for the weekend, wanting a temporary reprieve from the serial killer currently terrorizing your small town.

It was less reasonable for you, someone who was currently sleeping with said serial killer, to agree to accompany them. Maybe you were just hoping that someone who had admitted to stalking you wouldn’t follow you to the campgrounds, or maybe you were just that fucking stupid.

Everyone else had already gone to sleep for the night (or at least retreated into their tent) but you wanted more time by the dying fire, more time to stare up into the clear night sky and contemplate the ideas of aliens and other galaxies far far away when-

A branch snaps in the woods just outside your campsite. As soon as the sound reaches your ears, you’re on high alert, any drowsiness immediately wiped away. Everything suddenly seems terribly quiet, even the crickets and cicadas deciding to shut up (for once). The entire Friday the 13th series flashes before your eyes and you’re about to curse your friends for wanting to go camping, off all things, when you could’ve just gone to the beach and gotten really drunk on mojitos and-

A ghost mask peers out of the brush at you, barely illuminated by the fire and singular lantern by your side. Perhaps you should be worried about the fact that you actually relaxed when you saw the familiar mask, but at least you didn’t have to worry about it being a bear or a serial killer who wasn’t sparing your life so you can fuck.

He continues to watch you, not moving into the clearing or really moving at all. If you weren’t annoyed by his presence you might’ve found it eerie.

“I can see you.” You whisper-shout, not wanting to alert your friends but also not ready to get up from your spot. He only tilts his head to the side, and it takes you an embarrassingly short amount of time to figure out what he was doing. Playing dumb to get you to leave your nice, comfortable seat and blanket, join him in the woods, and he would either finally kill you or just want to get handsy.

But you weren’t going to fall for it. At least, not so easily.

You turn back to the fire, watching as the logs slowly start to crumble, resisting the urge to poke it with a stick. No need to play with fire when Ghostface was already watching you.

Another log splits in half, a few sparks flying as it hits the ashes in the pit, and you turn your head to risk a glance back at Ghostface when you quickly register that he is no longer where he was in the woods.

You know, like the smart, intelligent person that you are, that he didn’t leave. And you are quick to realize that his earlier branch snapping was definitely on purpose. Which becomes even more clear when you start to turn back around and your blanket is ripped off your body, replaced with strong arms and a knife resting below your jaw.

Somehow, astonishingly, you didn’t let out the scream that had definitely bubbled up your throat. Instead, you turn your head as much as you can without nicking yourself on the blade, which turns out to be not very much. You can barely see him out of the corner of your eye, but you can tell he’s entirely focused on you.

You didn’t know whether to be flattered or terrified. (Could you be both?)

“Why are you here?” You ask, trying to be as quiet as possible.

“Why wouldn’t I follow my favorite person on an adventure?” He’s right next to your ear, his voice and the slight breath you can feel through his mask sending goosebumps over your skin.

“You weren’t invited.” It’s a lame reason. You both know it. As if that had ever stopped him before.

“I’m always invited when you are.” The tip of his knife taps against your neck, and you shudder against the cold metal. “Unless you want me to go ask them if I can join yo-”

“No!” You don’t know if you object because you know he’d probably kill them or because you don’t want your friends to find out exactly who you’d been sleeping with lately.

“Then stop making a fuss.”

The hand not currently holding a knife to your neck trails down your chest, roughly grabbing at your breast, and it normally wouldn’t and shouldn’t have felt as good as it did but something about the man behind you made everything he did exponentially more sensual. Enough so that you were already getting wet, every brush of his fingers sending heat straight to your core.

Maybe you were just fucked up, but what else was new?

His thumb barely grazes over your nipple, and even through the layers of clothing separating them, you can’t help the whine that leaves you, your hips rolling in an attempt to generate any sort of friction. This doesn’t escape his notice, and he chuckles against your ear.

“Do you think they can hear us through the tent?” He murmurs, the voice modulator barely picking it up. “You’re gonna have to work extra hard to keep quiet, doll. But if you’re having too much trouble, I can think of some things to help shut you up.”

__

rules + characters

[instasiswetrust]

The hand around Nea's neck tightened, words choking up and dying inside her throat. Eyes that used to be blue now glinted red in the dim atmosphere of her kitchen, illuminated only by the light coming from the setting sun. No mercy or compassion could be found in those eyes, just a deep-seated hatred that scared her down to her very core.

"I think that's enough of your inane babbling, Nea." Dwight's voice was a purr, low and dangerous, filled with thinly veiled intent. She still manages enough spite to glare back at him.

"Now, now darling, no need to be like that." Dwight clicks his tongue like a disapproving parent. "None of this would've happened if you'd kept your dirty little mouth shut instead of talking shit about MY BROTHER."

The slap comes as a surprise to her, a second going by before the pain finally hits. She tastes something coppery and metallic at the back of her throat and realizes she has bitten her tongue. His hand around her neck has relaxed just enough for her to speak again so she does.

"It's not shit if it's the truth, Dweet." She sneers, eyes hard and flinty with anger. “Your beaner of a brother is a filthy slut who likes to suck PsychoMyers dick - Ack!"

"Shut. Up." Dwight watches her choke on her breath as his hand tightens once again. He's about done bothering with this bitch, and if he wastes any more time he was going to be late for dinner. And while mom could understand murder quite easily, being on time for dinner was a mandatory rule.

Without letting go of his holds, he turns to glance at the boy sitting on a stool by the kitchen island, watching him with an enraptured expression. There are two points of red high on his cheeks, and the hunger in his eyes sends a tentative shot of arousal through Dwight's spine.

"David, the bleach if you will?" The boy shook his head like a dog would before opening the cap of the gallon next to him and handing it over to Dwight. "Thank you."

David only offers him a shaky nod, his gaze shifting briefly to what Dwight thinks might be his lips before returning them to his face. It's a little funny how out of everything, this is what gets to David.

Turning back to Nea, Dwight doesn't even bother being flashy or dramatic. He forces her jaw open and pours the bleach, watching her choke on it. It burns her eyes, her throat, and the stench is absolutely disgusting but he doesn't stop until the gallon is half-empty and Nea Karlsson lies limp in his hold.

------

After the party, when he had called Nea out on her bullshit in front of everyone and promptly vomited on her expensive Adidas sneakers, he had assumed he wouldn't ever hear about the cheerleader clique again. Had even been fine with that. David was with him now, and he would always have Danny in his corner. He could let Nea think she had won, just this once.

Thing was, bitches never quite learn how to keep their mouths shut.

Dwight had gone to her house planning to fake an apology, David in tow telling him how it was a waste of time bothering with someone like her. But of course, Nea had had to mention Danny. Make fun of his little brother, of Michael, even mock Joey, and Susie. His friends. His pack. His family.

He remembered everything of course, to the smallest detail. How he had forged the note saying Nea was running away with another Alpha, thinking she would be hated if she stayed. David helped him carry the body to Max's pigpen. The way David's cock tasted on his mouth and the muffled sounds he had made as Dwight sucked him off in the back of his car.

It had been fun. The kind of heady high he had only felt once before when he had to clean up one of Danny's scenes because he had gotten himself stabbed.

And of course, no one at school suspected a thing. The student body ate up Meg's fake note so easily it was almost laughable. Dwight had assumed that had been it, and focused on his grades, filing everything that went through with Meg, Nea, and Kate to the back of his mind.

That was why Kate’s call took him by surprise.

"Dwight, please, you have to help me." Kate's pitchy, worried voice begged almost as soon as he accepted the call.

Dwight knew Kate, had become accustomed to the different shifts in her voice that marked her emotions more clearly than her expressions did. She wasn’t just worried, she was terrified but there was also an undercurrent of guilt there that made him take her words with a grain of salt.

"It's 11 pm, Kate. My heat only broke yesterday." He said flatly, not at all in the mood for her bullshit. Despite his heats being a mellow affair, his body was still sore and he wanted nothing but to bury himself back in his nest.

"Please." She was begging now and Dwight swore he could hear Ace's and Ash's drunken babble in the background. "Meg left me alone with Ash and Ace as one of her pranks, and they are really drunk. I'm... I'm really scared Dwight, please."

Oh. Yeah okay, he couldn't say no to that. Out of the three of them, Kate had always been the nicest, relatively speaking. She went along with whatever the other two told her to do sure, but that was about it. He was gonna regret this later for sure but right now all he knew was that he needed to get her out of there.

"Fine, okay. Lemme grab my mom's keys and I will be there. Text me your address in the meantime."

She thanked him profusely before cutting the call and Dwight sighed. With luck, Uncle Herman might be awake and could lend him two bottles of vodka laced with sedatives.

------

It had only taken a day. Just one. Now all the school was gossiping about how much of a slut Dwight was, having spent his heat with not one but two Alphas.

Ash and Ace had no proof of course, other than their words but this was high school. The veracity of things didn't have to be proven for people to believe them and as it was, Dwight had become an absolute social outcast in the last party. If the star Alphas of the football team claimed it was true, of course, it was.

"Danny, leave it. They are not worth it." He said for the second time as a group of cheerleaders went past their pack's table and made faces of disgust at Dwight.

"But Dwickyyyy ..." Danny pouted, and Dwight knew this was his brother's best front. Knew that there was fury and venom in his brother's dark eyes. Knew there was already a plot brewing there too. "I d-don't wanna."

But Dwight was adamant about this, shaking his head again and turning to face the whole pack who had different expressions of anger among them.

"No one gets to lay a hand on those two, you hear me? I will personally deal with them, myself. Is that clear?" Some of them nod, but others like Frank and David still snarl. This made Dwight frown, holding their gazes until they lowered their heads. "Good."

It was only later when Dwight was heading out of the locker room after a particularly tense cheer practice, that things started to get out of hand.

"What the bloody fuck did ye say about my boyfriend, ye git?" David's accent was unmistakable but the kind of vitriol that filled his voice was completely new to Dwight. It had him instantly separating from the team and making his way over to the source of the commotion.

There was a throng of people gathered around the base of the bleachers making it unable for Dwight to properly see what was happening. He was about to push his way through when the crowd suddenly parted, giving him a perfect view of the bloody mess that was inside.

Ace was bleeding profusely from a broken nose, his left eye was swollen almost shut, Ash was next to him, knuckles scraped and bloodied. He seemed fine, for the most part, his lip was split and there was a smear of bloody saliva on his cheek. Dwight didn't care about them though. It was who he saw in Joey's arms, nearly unconscious, that caused him concern.

From what he could see David had ended up almost as bad as Ace, blood running down his nose, lip split, right eye already swelling up, and knuckles scraped. If the way he seemed unable to walk straight on his own was any indication, Dwight fears he might have a concussion too.

"Fuckers started it," Joey said as soon as Dwight was close enough to listen to him. "Caught up with us just at the start of practice and started spouting shit about you. Bet they just wanted to get a rise out of him."

Dwight sighed, helping Joey sit David down by the benches. The younger Beta left to go pick up their things and Dwight busied himself cleaning off the blood caking his boyfriend's face and knuckles. He was frustrated, bordering on angry, and David must've scented it off him because he managed to frown despite the obvious pain it put him in.

"Ain't gonna say sorry for showing those gits what they get for slagging you off." He rasped, having to stop midway to spit a gob of congealed blood into the grass.

"Wasn't going to ask you to," Dwight said simply, prodding at his nose with careful fingers to make sure it wasn't broken. "But you need to trust me when I say I will take care of it."

"I trust ye, sweetheart. But I can't just sit back and do nothing when they come looking for a fight." David shot back, wincing slightly despite the softness of his boyfriend's touch.

"Technically, you can." David gave him a glare that Dwight matched with equal intensity until the Alpha looked away first. "Look, I'm not mad at you. They provoked you knowing full well you would react. I just hate it when you get hurt because of me."

"...Even if it's kinda hot?" David grinned.

"Even if it's kinda hot," Dwight confirmed, offering him a small smile.

-----

Three days later, Dwight finally enacted his plan.

He'd left a note for Ash and Ace to find, inviting them to the cemetery so they could reenact their threesome fantasies with him. The idiots had believed it all, hook, line, and sinker. It was almost funny how easy it had been.

Flattering clothes, and heeled boots, things that would look sexy but would be easy to clean afterward. Danny had done his make-up, something deadly that would match his leather gloves, brimming with excitement because Dwight finally got to enjoy a little murder.

So now he waited patiently for them to arrive, sitting primly on a headstone like the image of a proper Omega one would see in cheap romantic novels. David waited in the car, parked by the entrance of the graveyard, only because he had refused to allow him to do this without any backup.

At last, the two of them appear, looking awkward and nervous and a little drunk already. They reek of interested Alpha pheromones, which in turn threatens to make Dwight throw up but he kept his pleasant facade for now.

"Boys, you're here! Fantastic. We can finally start this." He chirped, voice high and happy.

Ash and Ace smirk, step closer, crowd him in the middle of the two like Dwight would try to escape or something. It irked him but he remained calm, rising a bit to wrap his arms around their necks and pull them closer. Neither of them noticed the thin syringes until it was too late.

"What the-" It was the only thing Ace managed to get out before he stumbled on his feet, falling on his ass. Ash didn't even manage to say anything before his knees gave and he fell to the ground face first, body a messy heap.

They were still conscious of course, his mom's special brew numbing their limbs but allowing them to stay awake. It was not something that showed up in general toxicology reports either, and thus had quickly become Dwight's favorite.

"You tried to rape Kate, almost got away with it even, had I not come help her out. Not satisfied with that, you chose to slander my name in front of the whole school." His voice was flat, emotionless, clinical. Rage simmered under the surface but there was no point in letting it drive his actions. Passion crimes were always the easiest to spot, and Dwight was not about to get caught over two idiots like these.

"That was the biggest mistake you could make." He positioned Ash's body so he was sitting with his back to a tombstone, facing Ace. Their terrified eyes stared at him horrified but he once again felt nothing, his mind an unperturbed lake. "Don't you think so too?"

When he was satisfied with how the two of them were posed, he slipped a folded note inside the pocket of Ash's varsity jacket, glad that his leather gloves would leave no remaining evidence on the soon-to-be corpses.

With the same overwhelming calm, he pulled out his custom-made colt 45, a gift from his mother. It was black with a white grip, engraved with golden vines over the barrel. A pretty little thing he rarely ever used, but it seemed fitting this time.

No more words left his mouth as he placed the gun in Ace's hands, making sure he'd got a proper grip on it before raising the gun to Ace’s head. There was no dramatic pause before he pulled the trigger, no tentative build-up. One moment Ace was alive, the next the left side of his head looked like hamburger meat.

Dwight made sure that none of the blood had gotten on him before moving over to Ash and doing the same thing. Worldless and instant. There was no point in stalling or watching them try to beg for mercy.

Once he'd triple checked the scene was flawless, he silently made his way back to the car where David was waiting for him. The swelling in his eye had gone down at last but he still looked worse for wear. Still, he grinned when he saw Dwight slide into the driver's seat.

"All done?"

"All done," Dwight confirmed, allowing his body to relax. He required a serious shower and even then he wasn't sure he would be able to scrub the hideous Alpha scent those two had covered him with.

"C'mere..." David murmured, pulling him closer so he could nuzzle firmly at both sides of Dwight's neck, marking him with his scent. It wasn't enough to completely dispel Ash's and Ace's scent, but it managed to take the edge off and settle Dwight's stomach.

"Thank you." He said honestly, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's uninjured cheek. "Um..."

"What is it, darlin'?"

Dwight didn't want to appear needy or like he needed to be babied after kills. But the way Ash and Ace had crowded him, rubbed their scent over him, bothered him greatly. The Omega in him protesting with the hostile scents.

"Do you think you could stay over tonight?" He asked quietly, face once again tucked in the crook of David's neck. "I'm not bothered after killing them, it's just... I feel dirty with their scent all over me."

David hummed, threading his fingers through Dwight's messy hair. "Sure, sweetheart. Ye just need a little scenting, I can give ye that."

[flowerfan2]

Love Is The Seventh Wave

McDanno, A03, 2400 words

Written for the H50 Writers Club Discord “Danny Deserves Better” challenge

“Are you serious?”  she says, and all eyes in the writer’s room turn towards her. “That’s just cruel.  And it makes no sense.”

 “It’s dramatic, Lola.”

 “Lilla,” she corrects, surprised that the douchebag even came close, given that he hasn’t spoken more than those three words to her since she started working for him a month ago. “Just hear me out.  What if instead of having totally out of character bathroom sex with Joanna....”

 *****

 Danny’s sipping idly at his drink when he notices the woman sitting nearby.  She’s pretty, her dark hair a contrast to her light silky blouse, and she’s about as out of place at this bar at ten o’clock in the morning as Danny is.

 She looks up at him, and Danny cracks a smile.  “You looking at me?”

 The woman shakes her head.  “The television’s behind you.  And I desperately need a distraction.”

 Same here, Danny thinks.  “Well, if you’d rather have a live distraction than whatever’s on the news, I’m happy to oblige.”

 The woman smiles and moves over to the seat next to him, bringing her coffee with her.  “At this point I’m willing to try anything.”

 “Buy you a drink?  Wine, beer, scotch on the rocks?”

 “Nah, I’m good.  Not quite desperate enough to drink the hard stuff before noon.”  She glances at Danny’s glass.

 “Club soda,” he admits, and she grins.

 “We’re practically twins.”  She sticks out her hand.  “I’m Joanna.”

 “Danny.”  Her hand is soft, but her grip is firm and doesn’t linger.  “It’s nice to meet you.  So, what do you want to talk about?”

 “Oh, anything but my love life.”

 A laugh bursts out of Danny. “Get right to the point, do you?”

 “No sense wasting time.  For all I know, you’re a reporter doing a story on bars that open before noon and you’ll have to dash off to the next one any minute now.”

 “No chance.  I’m a detective, actually.  But I’m taking a personal day.”

 She gives him an appraising look. “A cop?  But you seem so nice.”

 “Ha, ha, ha.  Very funny.”

 “So,” Joanna says, “why a personal day?”

 Danny takes a moment wondering how to answer this – he’s not really sure himself – when his phone rings. It’s Steve, of course, and the fact that hearing his voice makes his whole body light up just adds fuel to the giant dumpster fire that is his life.  He hangs up after a few minutes and turns back to Joanna.

 “Who was that?”

 “My partner.”

 Joanna looks at him appraisingly, and then nods.  “Yeah, I’ve got one of those.”

 “You’re a cop too?”

 She snorts.  “Um, no, that’s not what I meant.  I’m a lawyer, actually.”

 Danny’s confused.  “So you have, what, law partners?”

 Joanna takes a packet of sugar and adds it to the fresh coffee the bartender has set down in front of her. “You’re a little oblivious, aren’t you?”

 It’s said with such amusement that Danny isn’t mad, and he’s happy to play along.  “Oblivious about what?”

 Joanna sighs and takes a careful sip of her drink, then stirs it some more.  “You’re telling me that guy you just spoke to is your work partner?”

 “Yes, who else would he be?” Danny has his own answer for this, but it’s a fantasy he hasn’t entertained in, oh, at least an hour or so.

 Joanna shrugs noncommittally.

 They slip into a more or less comfortable silence, and Danny contemplates his club soda.  It’s just as boring as it was when he started it. He’s not even sure why he’s here, at a random bar on the north shore.  When he woke up this morning, knowing he had a day free to do anything he wanted, a day off from work and all of its headaches, the first thing he thought of was checking the weather report to see what the waves would be like – because surfing with Steve is one of his favorite things to do to de-stress.  But then he realized that Steve didn’t have the day off too, and it all seemed pointless.

 A day without obligations is hard to come by for a single working dad, and Danny knows in theory he should be enjoying it.  But he’s not.

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push.”

 Danny is drawn out of his thoughts by Joanna’s comment.  “No, you’re fine, it’s not you.”

 Joanna leans back a little and runs a hand through her hair.  “Want to know what I’m doing here?”

 Danny takes in her flattering outfit, her carefully done make-up.  “Waiting for a client meeting?”

 She laughs.  “Nope.  One with my partner.”

 “Your law partner,” Danny clarifies.

 Joanna laughs again.  “Yes.  Except that’s the problem.”

 “What’s the problem?”

 Joanna takes a deep breath.  “The truth is, I’d like it if my law partner were a little more than that.”

 Danny feels a rush of shame, and looks quickly around the bar – still empty, except for the bartender.  “Is this some kind of joke?”

 She reaches out and puts a hand on his arm.  “Relax. I’m really not pulling your chain. I’m telling the god’s honest truth.” She takes her hand back and swipes at her phone.  “Here, see? We go out for drinks every Thursday night, everyone in the office.  Thirsty Thursday kind of thing.  Last night went on a little longer than usual, since we just got some really good news on a case.”

 Joanna shows him a photograph of a tall, blond woman with her arm around Joanna, both of them in business suits and holding glasses of champagne.  Several other people are crowded around them.  All of them are making happy faces at the camera, except for Joanna, who has eyes only for the woman at her side.  

 “Oh,” says Danny.

 “Yeah,” says Joanna.  “And I’m pretty sure Jasper – he took the picture – sent it and about twenty other equally embarrassing ones to everyone who was there, including my partner.”

 “Is that good or bad?”  Danny asks.

 “I’m not sure.  But I’m going to find out.”

 “What do you mean?”

 Joanna taps her fingers on the bar, clearly a little nervous.  “Okay, you’re probably going to thing I’m nuts.  I went for my usual run this morning, through my neighborhood and down to the beach.  It’s the same route I’ve run hundreds of times, and there isn’t much beach there, just some scrubby trees by the water’s edge, but you know any bit of beach is beautiful here, so it’s all good.  And this morning, for the first time ever, I saw a honu on that little beach.

 “A turtle?”

 “Yeah.  I’ve never seen one there before, but today there was a honu right there, a really big one.”

 “Okay…”

 “Honu are a symbol of good luck, right? I’ve realized that if I don’t say something to my partner soon, I’m going to lose my mind, or have to quit my job, or both – and once I saw that honu, I knew I could tell her how I feel. I’m going to do it today.”

 “Wow,” Danny said, feeling buoyed by Joanna’s excitement.  “You really are?”

 “I really am.”  Joanna stands up from her chair and straightens her skirt. “I finally realized it’s too important to keep hiding from.  The way I feel about her… I think I love her, you know?  And I can’t believe I’m telling you all this, maybe it’s easier because I don’t know you…”

 “No, I get it,” Danny says, and he does.  Sitting in this random, sunny bar, with a woman he’s never met before, with no preconceived assumptions, no rules or requirements, Danny suddenly feels like he’s opening up, too.  

 “I just don’t want to let a chance for love pass me by, not any more,” Joanna continues.  “Not if we could really be something, and I think maybe we can. So I asked her to meet me at one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, in Haleiwa.  Away from the office, somewhere private… and I better go, I don’t want to be late.”

 “Of course not,” Danny says, standing too.

 Joanna regards him for a long moment, and Danny squirms a little.  “I think today is your lucky day, too,” Joanna says.

 “Why’s that?”

 “Because you met me,” Joanna says, grinning as she leaves.  Danny thinks she’s right.

 ****

Joanna’s excitement is infectious, and Danny feels himself standing a little straighter as he leaves the bar. Maybe her plan would work for him, too. He hasn’t wanted to say anything to Steve for all the obvious reasons – he doesn’t know if Steve feels the same way despite how close they are, he’s never heard Steve express any interest in men at all, and he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.  But this constant pining is wearing away at him, and he isn’t getting any younger.  What if he waits another ten years and then it turns out Steve was up for something more after all – what a waste that would be.  Or what if he doesn’t have ten years to make up his mind – what if Steve’s conversation with Eddie’s veterinarian this morning turns into asking her out for a date, and they hit it off and live happily ever after?

 There are millions of ways that Danny can miss his chance with Steve, and only one way to find out if he’s still got one.

 Danny makes a few stops on his way back to Steve’s place.  He texts Tani a few times to keep tabs on the team and make sure he knows when Steve’s heading home.  He’s got a caprese salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar on the table and wine opened and breathing on the counter when he hears the front door open.

 Steve appears in the doorway to the kitchen, and Danny’s jaw falls open.  Steve’s wearing a dark gray button-up shirt, collar open at the neck, and black slacks that hug his ass like his cargoes never quite manage.  He even looks freshly shaved.

 “Hey, Danno,” Steve says, voice low, and Danny shivers.  He takes a step towards Steve but somehow trips over his own feet and the carving knife in his hand goes flying to the ground.

 Steve sucks in a breath, and they both stare at the knife, stuck in the floorboards about an inch away from Danny’s bare right toe.  “Huh,” says Steve.  “Lucky.”

 Danny sucks in a breath and shakes his head, trying to grab on to anything at all that makes sense. “Why’re you dressed up?”  he finally comes up with, which isn’t particularly witty but is somewhat better than oh my fucking god what is going on here, which is a close second.

 Steve smirks.  “I’ve got a date.”

 Danny’s heart sinks.  He’s too late, he’s just one goddamn day too late, this is his life every single time.  He was a fool for thinking otherwise.

 “With that vet?”

 Steve looks determined.  “No, not with the vet.”  Steve crouches down at his feet and retrieves the knife, then places it in the sink.  He’s right up in Danny’s space.  “You look nice too,” Steve says, and at first Danny think’s it’s a non sequitur, but then he takes in Steve’s expression, that cocky confidence with an undercurrent of uncertainty, and the way Steve is lining up his own very nicely clad shoulder with Danny’s, and suddenly the clouds part and all is clear.

 “Wait,” Danny says.  “What do you think… How did you…?”

 Steve’s face does something that seems to be a cross between a smirk and a hopeful grin.  “Tani said you texted her a few times today.”

 “So?”

 “She said you were buying wine.”

 Danny bites his lip.  “Again, so?”

 “You never buy wine, unless you’re cooking a fancy meal.”

 “I buy wine all the time.”

 “When was the last time?”

 Danny has to think pretty hard about it, and that’s when he knows he’s losing this particular argument.  He still has hope for winning the war, however, so he stops talking about wine.

 “Can we go back to the part where you said you had a date?  Because you’re not acting like you have a date.”

 “No?”  Steve asks.  “How should I be acting?”  Steve somehow moves even closer to Danny, tilting his head, waiting for Danny’s answer.

 Danny can feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he thinks he might be getting light headed.  

 “Come on, Danny,” Steve says, his breath puffing against Danny’s skin.  “How should I be acting?”

 Danny just blinks up at him, and then he’s saved from having to come up with an answer by Steve’s lips pressing against his own.  Danny thinks he lets out something like a moan as his mouth opens under Steve’s, and he slides his hands up Steve’s back under his ridiculous shirt and pulls him close.

 ****

 “You can’t possibly have known what I was going to do just from Tani telling you I was buying wine.”

 Steve flops over onto his back. The sheet is pulled up just over his stupidly attractive hip bones, and Danny sneakily reaches out a finger to slide it back down again.

 “Honestly, all I knew was that it seemed like you were getting ready for a date,” Steve says.  “And it made me realize that I could lose my chance with you, anytime.  You could meet someone, maybe even that woman you were talking to at the bar this morning, and it would be too late for us.  So I changed into the spare clothes I keep at the office, and figured I’d give it my best shot.”

 Danny pushes up on an elbow. “Have you eaten a radioactive spider lately?  Drank some kind of serum?”

 “No…”

 “Because the mindreading shit is frankly disturbing…  I literally – and I mean the actual meaning of literally, not the one the kids are using these days – I literally had that same thought today.  That you’d finally get up the nerve to ask out that vet again, or fall in love while buying ammunition, or save some gorgeous lady’s pet parakeet from terrorists, and I’d lose my chance with you.”

 Steve turns towards Danny, his face brimming with affection.  “I guess today really was our lucky day, then.”

 Danny grins into Steve’s kiss. He’s gonna send Joanna a fruit basket. And maybe give a great big donation to whatever organization looks out for the honu, because he owes them, too.

[pollylynn]

Title: How the Mighty WC: 900

“Are you a fan?” — Danny Valentine, Dead from New York (7 x 22)

He doesn’t quite subscribe to the Never Meet Your Heroes philosophy. He’s been hero-adjacent enough times in the course of his career that he’s had pleasant interactions. Hell, he’s come to call some of his former heroes friends—or at least poker buddies. And it’s not just his ego talking when he thinks he’s been the hero worth meeting, just as he’s been the hero caught in a bad moment, in an unfortunate mood, who could stand to have his public cut him the occasional break. So, no, he’s not among the hero avoidant. 

But it’s been a rough little while on that front. He’s still smarting over Lance Delorca and the whole goat herder incident. And there are days when he feels like he can’t shower vigorously enough to rid himself of the Brock Harmon funk. More immediately, Mickey Franks has been a disappointment. 

The man is funny, to be sure, but he’s also hot mess. He is, in fact, a type of hot mess Castle recognizes, given his childhood, his teen years, his lifetime of living with his mother’s professional trials and tribulations. Mickey Franks is the guy whose issues everyone excuses in the name of his genius—the guy who is absolute hell for everyone who has to share a scene with him, who is up till dawn just trying to survive another rehearsal when Mickey’s gone rogue. He’s the guy who blames circumstances, conspiracies, cast mates for the way his career has stalled and doesn’t realize that it’s him—that he’s such a performative hot mess that he’ll never be anything more than small-screen funny for five to six minutes at a time. So, yeah, there’s a hero he probably could have given a miss. 

But Danny Valentine is the real blow in recent memory, and the shock to his system is all the worse for the fact that he was riding he Danny Valentine wave right up to the point that the man revealed himself to be an utter creep. It’s all the worse because a part of him wants, wants, wants that Righter vest from the Model Cop sketch, and even kind of wants that terrible wig or hairpiece or whatever it was the man hand on his head for the live performance. He wants to be flattered. He wants to dine out on and regale his heroes-cum-poker-buddies with the story of Danny Valentine playing him, but he would also like to find a convenient necktie and elevator shaft for all his lecher-dispatching needs. 

His ambivalence has led him to some dark and stupid places. He really needs to be writing, but instead, he spends his time on his laptop hate-watching everything the man has ever been in. He has found every embarrassing commercial for every humiliating product. He has hunted down the unaired episodes of Starfleet—a show so bad that its narrative sins make him long for the poetry and coherence of Nebula-9. Family Practice leaves him cackling in smug satisfaction at the man’s inability to pronounce even the simplest of medical terms. 

But it’s in the dead of night that his obsession really gets off to a gallop.  He pops in his earbuds and scowls at episode after episode of Hot Suspect. He plays a game with himself where he scrawls down the name of the entirely obvious perpetrator before the end of the first act, and if he’s right—and he is right ninety-nine percent of the time—he gets to spend ten minutes Googling for dirt on the man, and there is a seemingly endless supply of dirt. 

He has fallen into it. He is up to his neck in dirt on ex-hero Danny Valentine when she finally catches him in the act she’s certainly suspected him to be guilty of for weeks. He is so engrossed in being grossed out by the man’s transgressions and excesses that she’s able to work her way entirely behind him and slam her palms down on the desk on either side of the laptop. 

“Why?” She demands. She sinks her teeth into his shoulder for emphasis. “Why are you obsessing over this guy?” 

“I’m not.” His voice shoots up a perfect fifth above normal. He slams the laptop closed with a force he very well may regret. “What guy?” He blinks in a vain attempt to land the denial he really should have opened with. “Obsessing!” He tries for a scoff, but that’s on the fritz, too. He scowls down at the desk, completely out of words. 

“Castle.” She swings the desk chair around and trust falls into his arms. He catches her, of course, and she winds her arms around his neck. “He’s a celebrity creep. Forget him.” 

“He is.” It comes out as a sigh that’s far more disappointed than angry or disgusted. “But I—“ He shakes his head and burrows into her shoulder. “He was—“ He doesn’t finish the thought. He can’t finish it, so she does. 

“He was a hero.” That comes out as a sigh of her own. It’s several different kinds of relief to know he’s not alone here. “So we we find a better one.” 

“Way ahead of you, Detective.” He smiles as he wraps his arms tightly around her.  It’s true. He is. He’s had a better one drop right into his lap. “Way ahead.” 

A/N: So the real thing is that Evelyn, who is in her sixties if she’s a day, runs 7 mph, like, right out of the gate. But also Danny Valentine is a creep. I’ve had it with creeps. That’s why this is not a thing. 

images via homeofthenutty

[bug-ocs]

i’d found a relationships ask meme a loooong time ago and i kinda reworked it to be more like an interview-style between danny and eli...so...here’s some really cheesy shit below the cut (AND SORRY IT’S SO DAMN LONG, RIP MOBILE)

Who made the first move and how?

Danny: He slipped me his business card while I was at work. I-it doesn’t sound all that great, but it was really smooth how he handled it, ya know?

Eli: Ah, Dansha. You flatter me. I was so nervous, I was sure you’d notice.

Danny: *laughs* See, that’s why you impress me! I didn’t notice at all! Smooth as always. And after giving me nothing but compliments the whole time? How could I say no…

Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

Eli: *turns to Danny with a gentle smile*

Danny: *sighs and slowly raises his hand* Eli’s really good about getting me out of my funks, though. He always knows how to say just the right thing.

Who is the most romantic?

Danny: *immediately turns to Eli*

Eli: *laughs* Oh, come on, Dansha, give yourself a little more credit! You’ve hand-made pasta for a lavish Italian dinner! You’re romantic in your own way, lapochka.

Who can’t keep their hands to themselves?

Danny: *blushes* I-I dunno why. I’ve always been like that…

Eli: So handsy…It’s very endearing. You wouldn’t expect it from him, but he always has his hands on me!

Who says ‘I love you’ first?

Eli: Ah, that was fun, wasn’t it? I don’t have trouble saying it at all, but Dansha is a little more…reserved, so naturally I said it first.

Danny: *slaps forehead* I can’t believe I didn’t say it back at first…I knew I did, but…

Eli: *pats his shoulder* Ah, it made it all the more special when you finally did, and I knew you meant it with all your heart.

Who would you ask if y’all ever had a threesome?

Danny: *groans*

Eli: *laughs* Well, we—

Danny: We’re not talking about this. Next question.

What do y’all get up to on a night out?

Eli: Ah, we’re both such homebodies…

Danny: Yeah, a “night out” for us is like…getting dinner and then chilling at the bar for a while. Might do some shopping if it’s early in the evening.

Eli: I do enjoy watching you peruse the cooking aisle at Bed Bath and Beyond.

What do y’all like in bed?

Danny: *blushes and stammers* Wh-wh—I-I didn’t know I’d be asked these kinds of questions! I-Isn’t that a bit personal?

Eli: *sighs* I’m pretty vanilla as far as most things go, but Dansha—

Danny: Shut up!

What is the most embarrassing thing y’all have done in front of each other?

*They both groan*

Eli: Well…thankfully I got it out of the way pretty early…I was having a very intense conversation with Danica about my…um…you know, I was sorting through my feelings when we first starting dating and Dansha…he showed up about halfway through and heard a bunch of it…You’re so good at pretending you didn’t hear anything.

Danny: *clears throat* Hear what?

Eli: *smiles gently* Well, Dansha, what about you?

Danny: There’s quite a few that come to mind, but I’m still not over the ramen incident…

What do y’all hide from one another?

Danny: *scowls at Eli*

Eli: *chuckles* Yes, sometimes I hide my favorite snacks in the night stand, but I’m just doing what needs to be done! I can’t have him taking my snacks all the time! He loves his hot chips.

Danny: Then just buy two bags!

Eli: I do and you just eat both of them!

When did y’all realize y’all should get together?

Eli: Immediately. I saw him walk up to my table and I knew he was the one.

Danny: Eli…come on…

Eli: I’m serious! There was an angelic glow around you from the ceiling lights and everything. I don’t think I’d ever fallen that hard before.

Danny: *hiding his flushed face in his hands*

Well, Danny? What about you?

Danny: I, uh—y-y’know, I’m kinda…it takes a little longer for things like that with me a-and while we were definitely dating, I had this awful thought in the back of my head that he was just kidding, a-and I knew! I knew he liked me because he said it and did things that made me believe it! But the first time I really believed it was when I cooked a meal for him. *He blushes and hides his face behind his shoulder* No one had ever been that enthusiastic about my cooking before, and…I dunno, it sounds cheesy but it just felt like a little sign, you know? A little reassurance that we were a good match, I guess.

When one of y’all has a cold, what does the other do?

Eli: It’s pretty obvious, no? Dansha pampers me with all my favorite foods. Hand-cooked by the pro chef himself!

Danny: Ah, Eli knows better than to try to hand-make ramen—which, of course, is the only logical thing to get me when I’m sick—so he always goes out of his way to stop by Aitsumoto, no matter how long the line is… It’s quite sweet…

When y’all watch a film what do you choose and why? Who gets the final vote?

Danny: If it were up to me, we’d be watching cooking shows on YouTube, but we watch those every night anyway… I’m not a big movie buff, so I usually let Eli decide, and we always somehow end up watching cheesy romcoms from the late 2000s.

Eli: It’s when they peaked! You can’t get better than The Proposal!

When y’all fight, how do you make up?

Eli: *waves his hand dismissively* Oh, easily. I just have to bring him ramen.

Danny: He's not wrong…but likewise, I just bake him croissants. They have a tendency to be my pastry of choice for metaphorical olive branches, and he knows how much work goes into them.

Where do y’all go on your first date?

Danny: Ah, we went to Aitsumoto…I’d been hanging out at the bar for a few weeks and finally worked up the nerve to actually ask him to hang out when neither of us were on the clock.

Eli: I thought it was very sweet of him to take me to his favorite restaurant. Food means a lot to him, and I felt like I got to witness something intimate, watching him eat the famed ramen he always talked about.

Danny: *hides his face and groans* God, I’m so used to going by myself. I can’t believe I ate like that in front of you. Especially when we’d just started dating!

Eli: *laughs* I felt like I was intruding!

Danny: It’s a wonder you still wanted to go anywhere in public with me after that.

Eli: *whispers behind his hand* It was actually very cute.

Where does your first kiss happen?

Eli: *dreamily* His apartment…he made such a fantastically romantic meal, all from scratch!

So, you kissed him first, Eli?

Danny: *clears throat* Ah, n-no…that was, uh…that was me…

Eli: *chuckles* Give him a heartfelt compliment, and he’ll do any—

Danny: O-okay, next?

Where do y’all first have sex?

Danny: *groans, head in hands* Please, I didn’t know we’d be talking about—

Eli: My apartment, this time. A little bit more privacy, you know—?

Danny: No more! I’m not talking about this anymore!

Why do y’all fight?

Eli: Usually over stupid miscommunications. I have a tendency to shut down when I’m upset, and Dansha isn’t great at using his words sometimes.

Danny: Yeah…guilty as charged. Usually once the emotion dies down, one of us tries to come at it from a different angle and we both realize we’re being stupid.

Why do y’all need to have a serious chat?

Eli: It’s…usually about Vice stuff. I’ll notice Dansha isn’t acting himself, or I’ll say something that is unintentionally antagonizing.

Danny: We’ve got it down to a science at this point. Gen’s helped us a ton, too. And Eli knows I’m not great at…talking about stuff, so I’m really thankful for his patience.

Eli: *kisses the back of his hand* You’re worth every second, lapochka.

Why do your friends get annoyed with y’all?

Danny: That! What he just did! His cheesy little—augh, God! *groans into his hands*

Eli: *shrugs his shoulders with a smile* I mean every word, but it’s still quite fun to dote on him in front of his friends. They say they can’t stand it, but I know they think it’s cute, too

Why do y’all get jealous?

Eli: Well, I don’t get jealous…*turns to Danny*

Danny: *throws his hands up* He’s a hot bartender! How can I not be jealous when every goddamn customer flirts with him?! God, sometimes I swear he milks it just to see me get riled up!

Eli: *mouths* I do.

Why do y’all fall a little bit more in love?

Eli: It might seem like a cop-out answer at this point, but watching him cook. All the cute little facial expressions he makes to himself when he’s thinking or concentrating. It’s all very endearing. I can taste the love he puts into his dishes, especially when he cooks just for me. I feel like I see a very real part of him not many people get the chance to, and every time I see it, I fall a bit more in love.

Danny: That, what he’s doing now. He’s so open and honest and affectionate, and I’m not used to that. He’s so selfless and has such a giving heart, and…I just feel so lucky I get to be with him. He…makes me want to love myself. He makes me want to be a better person!

Why does it work between y’all?

Danny: He’s willing to put the work in with me. Loving him is easy, but I know I can be—

Eli: I’ve told you a million times, Dansha. Loving you comes naturally to me, and if there’s any effort involved, you’re worth every bit of it.

[daisylincs]

Hi lovely people who follow me,

As many of you will undoubtedly know, the school year has started up again - which means it’s time for me to throw myself wholly back into my teaching. 

This time of year is always absolutely crazy for me, what with the whole rush and rigmarole of getting to know my new students, getting re-acquainted with the old ones, figuring out where everyone’s at, who needs extra help, who’s ahead, how I’m going to structure everything this year, and so on and so forth.

As a result, I’m probably going to be a lot less active here on Tumblr - but I just want each and every one of you to know that I am still here, even though I might go offline for a few whole days on end when I’m feeling particularly overloaded. I still want to talk to you guys, and gush with you, and play tag games with you, though, even if it does take me a whole lot longer to actually get around to it all.

My inbox is always open, and so are my DMs - so if there’s something you’d like to share, or thought I might enjoy, or even if you just want to say hi, you are so welcome!! Tag me, ask me things, come yell with me - I might be a little less active, but I still love you guys to absolute pieces, and nothing could ever persuade me to give up these things.

Another super sad side effect of this all is that I’m going to have to close all prompts and requests for the time being - because while I absolutely adore hearing from you all (in fact nothing makes me feel more flattered and happy with myself) I also have this teensy little problem of Too Many WIPs™, and realistically I just... can’t add anything else to my plate. This year is just already such chaos, you know, and unfortunately time is not on my side.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not writing!! I am, and I’m loving every slightly-rushed second of it. To do a quick run-down, here are the projects I’m working on at the moment:

Agents of Birthdays 

A.K.A. my quest to write all my fandom friends a special ficlet fic for their favourite ships on their birthdays. For obvious reasons, there’s no update schedule for this one - it’s just whenever someone has a birthday. I’m also very proud to announce that this is the one series where I have, to date, been on time every single time!! And I really do plan to keep it that way. 

(For an idea of the birthday schedule, see the amazing @bobbimorseisbisexual‘s Celebrations page. For fic teases, DM me and I will HAPPILY provide 😏😏😏)

Danny Boy & Quake

Sky’s the Limit

Spider-Dorks

I’m going to do the little explain-y thingy in one for these three series, because they all form a part of my 100 Followers Celebration! 😍😍 Gosh, I still can’t believe I’m this far over a hundred followers - LOVE YOU GUYS!! 

Anyway, anyway, anyway. So, in these series, I created three AU settings and asked you guys for prompts - and I got some really fabulous ones, I’m delighted to report!! I’m working on all three of these series on the side (slow but steady wins the race) and it’s my hope to have them all mostly completed and ready for posting by or around this December.

Spideychelle Week 2020

Oh, boy, this event finished literal months ago, but here I still am, just barely half-way through. *cringes* I am still working on the next few fics for this, somewhere... vaguely productive in my brain. Does such a place exist? Ahem. I wish I could tell you when I’ll actually get around to writing the next lot, but as it is - the link for the series on AO3 is here, and who knows, maybe I’ll surprise you all and myself and actually finish it this year. WHO KNOWS. I can live in hope, though.

AoS Season 7 Countdown

I should really change the description of this to “LATE,” because good heavens, is it ever late!! This was meant to be a series for BEFORE the seventh season of AoS, and now season 7 is over and the series is... not. I can’t bring myself to say I’m done with it yet, though, because I do actually have the fic plans for the last three days all figured out!! So I’m just going to say this is a series for me now, instead of for the official event, and I am not quitting on it yet. One day, it will be completed. One day. We can all live in hope together - also, the AO3 collection is here.

...

Okay, whoa, this post got awfully long-winded!! I swear I only meant to write a hundred words - I swear it. How does this always happen to me??? 

Anyway, TL;DR: I love you all to pieces, and I’m signing off with the biggest load of virtual hugs sent out to you all!!

~ Lily xx

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - "Louie's Eleven!"

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Ben Siemon, Bob Snow

Written by: Madison Bateman and Francisco Angones

Storyboard by: Stephanie Gonzaga, Rachel Paek, Brandon Warren, Krystal Ureta

Directed by: Matthew Humphreys

Will they make a spinoff of this with April, May, and June in a decade? Maybe not.

Our episode begins with a special performance by the Three Caballeros. Donald Duck begins to sing, only for Panchito Pistoles to take over for him for pretty obvious reasons, much to Donald's annoyance. Jose Carioca changes the song completely before he could get to the good part, much to Panchito's annoyance. Eventually, they get into a fight, knocking down their curtain and revealing they were performing for Scrooge, who was busy with his bath.

Unfortunately, Scrooge wasn't too impressed with this bath-interrupting showing, and he wouldn't have been impressed even if he wasn't bathing. He summons Duckworth from the afterlife to kick them out of the mansion, using his ability to turn into a demon ghost. For those just joining the series, yes, this is completely normal.

Apparently, performing in bathrooms is also normal for them, implying that they're getting desperate for that big break. They could accept an offer from anyone, even one of Donald's nephews, who is followed with music fitting for a heist. Donald's a little hesitant, but Panchito and Jose go along for the green one's scheme.

That scheme? IT. No, they're not going to get a job where they tell people to turn their computers off and on again, nor does this scheme involve any sewer clowns promising candy, rides or balloons that float, but it's "it" spelled with all caps. Specifically, this is about The IT List, a website run by "famous taste-maker" Emma Glamour, who we will see later.

Dewey butts in to talk all about why this is so important: anything on the IT List becomes super famous, and he should know because she tells him exactly what he likes. That's some interesting commentary; people can blindly go with trends without forming their own opinions. That's partially why I'm doing these reviews in the first place. While DuckTales 2017 being "the good reboot" is a popular consensus from what I can tell, I want to see if that's really the case. So far, yeah, I agree with the trends in that case. There are some others I don't, of course, but that's a different story.

A great way to get on the IT list is to be invited to her exclusive party at the Duckburg Museum, and Louie has a scheme just for that.

Louie's going to help them out under the condition that they sign a contract giving him half of the money they make when they get famous. Of course, Louie still has that Louie Inc. inside of him despite no longer owning the company. Donald is hesitant again, but Panchito and Jose sign it immediately. It seems like the Three Caballeros and their constant disagreements would be a major plot point just from these last few scenes, but it's merely more of a running gag than anything major.

This plan is titled Louie's Eleven, a reference to Ocean's 11, a 1960 film, which inspired a whole series of films in 2001, involving a heist involving 11 different people trying to steal a highly guarded casino vault using their individual skills. An Ocean's film did come out when this episode was in production, and it was following the then trend of having an all-female ensemble. Louie decided not to go with that idea.

Throughout the episode, he introduces these eleven people, one by one as soon as they become relevant:

Louie - The brains behind the operation and the closest character to Danny Ocean from the films this episode is a parody of.

2-4. The Three Caballeros - The talent(?), with a question mark that suggests that Louie isn't so sure of this. Apparently, he didn't have very many flattering photos of any of them; not even his uncle, whose photo portrays him being chased by bees.

Dewey - The specialist. He wanted to be the inside man, even having a photo ready of some person in a tuxedo with his face taped over it to show that he's the guy with the license to chill. Can't really blame him; he is now a certified Dew-ble-O-Duck. He accepts the specialist role, just because it implies he's special. Also, he wants to do yo-yo tricks, even if he's not very good at it.

We get two more of Louie's Eleven already, only to show up for one little scene each. That will be a theme with most of these members, actually. I should cut them some slack; it's not like they have 90+ minutes to spare.

Huey - The forger. Despite being the real brains of the triplets, he doesn't suspect a thing even if he's specifically told to copy Emma Glamour's signature.

Gyro Gearloose - The tech guru, who clearly is only in this just to test out some earpieces that he promises will not explode in their ears. To his credit, they never do.

They make it to the party, sneaking around the outside and peeking into the window, giving us our first shot of Glamour's personal assistant: Daisy Duck. Louie fills him in on this personal assistant of Glamour, but...

...it looks like he's already lost in her eyes with romantic music in the background and a fitting expression. Prepare for the endless amounts of daydream sequences where they just do stereotypical things without any reference to their previous character traits. After we see him with bubbly eyes, he then returns to his normal expression and says...

Donald: (shakes head) Whatever.

It's hard to buy this sudden lack of caring, but at least there's some sort of resistance to the "love at first sight" cliche that anyone would expect when these two shared screen time. Not that the cliche would be out of place as just pairing two people of the same species together; Daisy is Donald's girlfriend, after all, and that was established since her first appearance. In this series, he's not quite there yet. Daisy is unaware of this, as she is busy getting this party to be...

...perfect, as Louie unknowingly says in unison. Dewey immediately jumps out and saying he's going to dance on the red carpet, only for Louie to pull him back and say that he should be following his plan. It's Louie's Eleven, after all, and as long as there's no surprises, this party crashing will be just fine.

As to tempt fate with that last sentence, they find out that Falcon Graves is there, showing off what happens to people who violate the "no party crashers" policy. He's throwing out Percival P. Peppington, who already tried to crash a party before. I wonder if we'll ever get to see him in a major appearance; his resemblance to Willy Wonka can't be just because of that purple outfit.

Dewey definitely recognizes him, as the last time he encountered him, he made him lose a lot of money and he threw him off a building. We can even see Graves do a double take when he thinks he saw him, proving that he does remember the events of that episode, too. What are they to do?

Dewey dresses up as DJ Daft Duck, a costume he apparently was carrying with him this whole time, and the Caballeros switch their hats and wear sunglasses to pretend to be his entourage. Graves doesn't really get the chance to look closely at the forged invitation, as Daisy tells him to move the line along. Even with how much fear Dewey had, he still couldn't help himself but show off that he's ready for the fun time, much to Louie's annoyance.

This does give a little more of a point to the Caballero's disagreement on how they're going to perform, which shows up again here, as it mirrors Louie and Dewey's conflict with how they should do this plan. This conflict shows up again when they attempt to get past a different guard, only to get pushed out of the way because they don't have a stage pass. Louie has just the plan to do this, as much as Dewey wants to attempt to woo the guard with his yo-yo tricks, and it involves his number 8:

Jane - The inside woman, who managed to get a gig at this top of the line party despite being an employee at Funzo's Funzone. Considering what kind of crazy things have happened there, though, she may be overqualified at this point.

Her only action in this scheme is to spill something on Daisy, who has that all important stage pass, so that she can go off in a corner so that Donald can distract her long enough to get it. With Daisy out of the way, Louie wants to use his Louie charm to get Glamour ready for the big performance.

Falcon Graves is now right next to Glamour herself, with him showing off to a random passerby of what happens when someone violates the "no photographs" policy. She does look a little familiar, actually, and there is a reason for that.

Thankfully for Dewey, it's here where Louie decides the specialist needs to do something to divert that skilled bodyguard's attention. Unfortunately for Dewey, it's not as cool as what he thinks his yo-yo tricks are, as Louie's #9 turns out to be...

Harpy - The diversion. Yeah, it's a long story how they ended up with a harpy on their side, even if this particular harpy seems to be unwilling.

There are several reasons why the Harpy is here. First, the harpy does indeed distract Falcon Graves, getting him out of the room. Second, it shows how little Louie wants to have Dewey do anything cool. Third, hey, it's another reference to a previous episode! Other than that, yeah, she just kind of disappears after this; other than those three, she's only here so Dewey can be miserable.

Meanwhile, Daisy goes to the elevator, letting out her rage on a poor vase, something Donald would totally do. Donald, sneaking behind her, runs towards the elevator, getting his foot caught in the door. Not before he motions to Daisy to let her in first, of course; he has to show he's a gentleman!

With Donald and Daisy in the elevator, Louie tells Donald to grab the card sneakily and get out of there. How Louie thinks his Uncle Donald is that careful is beyond me, but he does know that he would need to stop that elevator in order to keep Daisy out of his way. With who? His number 10!

Webby - The tactician. Wait, wouldn't Louie be the tactician? I'd say the technician would be more fitting, considering what she does. She appears for a little bit more than the harpy, at the very least.

Donald immediately says he's got it, as he feels he could easily grab that stage pass right off of her, and Louie interprets this as that he's got the card and he's already out of the elevator and tells Webby to cut the power. Needless to easy, nothing is easy for Donald, and he eventually gets caught up in Daisy's bag. He eventually admits to Daisy that he's crashing the party, and unfortunately for him, she understood that perfectly.

Louie, who decided to go radio silent so he doesn't know what's not going down or up with his Uncle Donald, runs up to Glamour, ready to use his charm. He does this right after telling off Dewey, who felt he would be perfect because he likes everything she likes because she tells him what to like.

As a bit of karma, Glamour's first word to this random kid showing up at her literal throne and pretending he's some sort of hotshot like her suggests that she figured out his entire plan. The only thing she got wrong is that she assumed he was the one that wanted to be on the IT list...though that may not be wrong, either; there's certainly some subtext for this.

He doesn't get to ponder about that for long, though, as a bunch of mercenaries show up and tie up everyone with rope, including most of Louie's Eleven. Much to Louie's mismay, it turns out there's somebody else doing a scheme tonight. Considering these are the same mercenaries that were in the first episode, it must be the self-proclaimed scheme master himself...

...Falcon Graves?! What a twist! Much more than terrified that this seemingly invincible bodyguard is now an unavoidable villain, Louie is disappointed that Louie's Eleven isn't the only scheme in this building.

In reference to that, Dewey points out that there's still one more member in Louie's Eleven we have yet to see! Who could this 11th member be? GizmoDuck would be too heroic to participate in this scheme, they probably don't want Glomgold anywhere near them, and we already got one person associated with Greek mythology. Could it be Launchpad, possibly with the help of what remains of his inner Double-O-Duck? As everyone hears galloping in the distance, we get to see who it really is, and it's...

Manny the Headless Man-Horse - The enforcer or muscle depending on whether you go with Louie's line or what he put on the photo.

Admittedly, I wasn't expecting him to show up in this episode, so he does bring the element of surprise. Does he add anything else, though? All he really does is show off how terrifyingly strong Falcon Graves is, as he defeats him in about as long as it takes to read this sentence. After he's defeated,the episode seems to continue as if he didn't even exist, with only a mere "that was odd" from Graves before he demands to have Glamour's phone.

We cut back to the elevator, where Daisy is still quite angry that this crazy man has crashed the party. However, she reveals, along with a nice dress that she designed herself, that she wishes Glamour would listen to her, too. Donald connects with this, saying that nobody seems to understand him. There's some seeds planted here and there, with that Daisy getting into a Donald-like rage scene from earlier, but this scene is where this romantic subplot really starts to bloom. It even leads to Donald singing a song, as Daisy specially requests it.

The thing is: Daisy doesn't seem to mind his speech impediment. Not only is she the only person who can understand it, she loves Donald's singing voice! Don't worry; Dominic Lewis, the series' composer, fills in for Donald for the sake of anyone else's ears for everything but the first and last lines. This amazing voice inspired her so much, she decides to throw her bag up to the ceiling, revealing an emergency ladder, helping them escape.

Meanwhile, we get to learn why Graves wanted the phone: he wanted to sell it to a very, very wealthy high bidder. A bidder that couldn't possibly be one of his former employers, who would have a vested interest in knowing what is IT, especially himself.

It turns out to be Mark Beaks. He's even revealed to be Glamour's son in a way that totally suggests he has certain issues. Dewey says this actually makes sense, and I can only assume this is referring to how they're both people who seem to be associated with the internet, and not just because they're the only gray birds in Duckburg.

Don’t worry or unfortunately depending on one's point of view, he doesn’t get to do much. As Louie is moping about his failed plan, Dewey finally decides to do his plan.

Following in the footsteps of K-Strass the Yo-Yo Guy, Dewey manages to sneak onto the stage and do his not-so-well-practiced yo-yo tricks. Even one of the mercenaries manages to be memorized by how terrible he is, as is Graves. He's so memorized, that he doesn't notice when Donald and Daisy are ready to kick him right in the face.

Much like the last episode, which was also much like the last episode, this ends with a massive fight scene with everyone in the room. It seems like almost every episode seems to end with some massive fight scene with everyone in the room. There's even little scenes with some of the seemingly forgotten characters, including Webby, who fights one of the mercenaries. I'm not complaining, this is cool.

This fight scene also proves that Daisy is a force to be reckoned with. It does kind of make Manny even more useless, being shown up by a lady with a great dress, but I kind of expected that at this point.

To make a long story short, Graves ends up losing the battle, and a few other plot threads get their conclusion, too, including the Three Caballeros finally performing with no creative differences whatsoever. They didn't really do anything to resolve that one; it just kind of happens.

After all of this, do the Caballeros get to be on the IT list? Here's a hint: Donald finally gets to sing, and Dominic Lewis is nowhere to be heard. At least one person likes it, though.

How does it stack up?

I haven't had a good track record with romantic subplots in rebooted cartoons, but I'd say DuckTales 2017 did pretty well with this. It’s not boring, it doesn’t go too far in either direction, and we got a good performance out of it, even if it was only one in-universe to Daisy’s ears.

The Ocean's Eleven plot is pretty good too. I'm not against a good movie parody, even if I'm not that familiar with the movie in question, but it is entertaining nonetheless. 4 ducks.

Next, come on and slam, and welcome to Japan.

← The Lost Harp of Mervana! 🦆 Astro B.O.Y.D.! →

[goneontv]

Creating our Pitch Document

If you’ve been following our progress with getting GONE on your TV screens, then you’ll already know that we recently asked you, the fans, to send in your fan-art to be used in our pitch document. We were absolutely overwhelmed with the responses we received, and would like to take this opportunity to thank every single person who got in touch! The pitch document is full to the brim with fantastic artwork. Below is just one incredible example:

Credit: Howard by Elina Poznaka

What exactly is a pitch document? AJ and Michael tell all below. Firstly, AJ explains what a pitch document is, and who will see it.

What is a pitch document?

AJ: A pitch document is used to identify key things within the intellectual property, in this case the GONE series. It identifies:

·         Who the author is;

·         The books publishing history;

·         A short synopsis about the world Michael has created;

·         Character bios of key characters;

·         How the series could be broken down into episodes;

·         A detailed synopsis;

·         Bios of the production company and producers involved;

·         Contact information for all involved; and

·         All of the work we received from fans, to showcase the amazing, active audience that the series already has.

As well as all of the above, we also had some key scenes drawn up by a concept artist.

What is a concept artist?

AJ: A concept artist visualises and brings to life ideas, so that they may be ready for production. We do this because Film and TV are visual mediums: the whole experience is centred around watching and listening. Having these graphics created is a great way to illustrate the series on a basic, captivating level. Some absolutely fantastic images were produced - some of which you may have seen already…. Keep your eyes out for more!

If you haven’t seen any of the images, head over to our Twitter (@ajriach).

Who will see the pitch document?

AJ: Most of the people viewing the document will be parties/companies that we’re pitching the project to, be this a studio or another production company. I will be spending some time in LA with Michael over the coming weeks, so watch this space for any updates…

Of course, we are sure some of you are interested in seeing the document too, so over the next couple of weeks we will roll out some screengrabs. Keep your eyes peeled for these, they’re pretty great! Here’s a taster...

Next, Michael shares his experience of putting the document together, and his feelings about bringing GONE to life.

How did you feel when putting together the pitch document?

Michael: I felt guardedly hopeful.  I feel guardedly hopeful about most things in life, and I suspect that caution annoys people who expect me to be more excited.  But I don’t really do excited, guardedly hopeful is as close to excited as I get. (Gilfoyle from SILICON VALLEY is my spirit animal).

I’ve really enjoyed working with AJ and Ian, as well as Imogen and the two writers, Danny and Ron, who’ve been my mentors in the script-writing work.    

Which did you feel was the most exciting aspect?

Michael: Well, see above.  The original astronauts had a line about, ‘maintaining an even strain.’  In other words, don’t get too worried by the problems, don’t get too excited about the possibilities, try to maintain a sort of level flight through life.  By the way this also answers the question: ‘Why have you never worked in publicity, Michael?’  Also, ‘Why are you not fun at parties, Michael?’

What was it like revisiting GONE more than a decade after originally writing it?

Michael: This will sound like one of those bullshit writer answers, but it’s humbling realizing that something you did a decade ago still resonates with people, that it has a life of its own.  You might think that would make me proud or egotistical, but rather the contrary because it’s a reminder of how much the fate of my work is in the hands of other people.  I’ve never really seen myself as working for publishers, I work for the readers.  I am their dancing monkey. 

Were you impressed with the artwork we received?

Michael: It was amazing.  When we wrote ANIMORPHS, Katherine (my wife, Katherine Applegate) and I were some of the first writers to encounter the emerging phenomenon of fan-fic and fan-art.  At that point no one knew what it all meant.  Should we try to stop it, ignore it or embrace it?  Our conclusion was that it was incredibly flattering, humbling, and kind of wonderful.  So, I’ve always been a supporter of fan contributions.  

Now, was I surprised that GONE readers were such a talented bunch?  No, not at all, of course they’re talented, and smart, and charming, good-looking and quite frankly the finest bunch of humans ever to tread the soil of this benighted planet!  (I’m bad at publicity, but I know how to suck up to fans).

What do you think of the pitch document?

Michael: It’s rather better than the sorts of things I produce on my own with my very limited skills at layout.  It’s, like, professional.  

How did you feel when you saw the concept art of the key scenes?

Michael: I thought, damn, given the ridiculous time constraints we put on the artist, they were excellent.  I know some fans have had concerns, but they need to bear in mind that they’re seeing the embryo, not the eventual fully-formed thing.  

What is it like seeing GONE start to come to life?

Michael: Katherine and I were in London looking at neighbourhoods with an eye to moving there.  Seriously.  I was thinking of a sort of genteel semi-retirement where I’d write just one book a year, hang out in London smoking cigars and drinking Scotch at 10 Manchester Street (my London cigar hideaway) then, whenever the sun deprivation got too bad, hopping down to the Algarve and... well, I had this meeting I’d agreed to and entirely forgotten about until about an hour before.  I met AJ and Ian at a restaurant and they basically said, ‘We’d like to try and produce GONE for TV and would you like to write it?’

So, Katherine and I went to dinner that evening and it was instantly obvious to both of us that we were going to do it and that between us we had enough stuff going on in Hollywood that moving there made more sense than moving to London + Algarve.  So, because our lives have never been planned in any rational, adult way but always just improvised in a series of ill-considered reactions, we thought, ‘Let’s go to Hollywood!  Yay!’  So we pulled a 180 and bought a house in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles where, I believe by city ordinance, all writers are required to live.  

Stay Tuned!

That’s everything for now - stay tuned and keep an eye on our social media, where any and all updates will be posted. This blog will also be updated regularly, to keep you in the loop!

Join the conversation using #GONE and #EngageInTheFayz!

Michael’s Twitter: MichaelGrantBks Engage’s Twitter: engageproductions

[edzasks]

o shit I accidentally sent an ask to the other acc but anyways I wanted to know how u think how zac acts w taylor is different than how he acts w zendaya and alex

No problem. I would answer this on the main but I think people are getting fed up with too many asks because I get a lot per day and answering them probably overwhelms everyone. 😂 So.. This is long, I’ll try to do this in the TL;DR format.

Just putting this out there: Zac when he likes somebody he also tends to make bad jokes and gets real awkward which he said himself because he said it’s him realizing he likes somebody.

- Zendaya had a bf already, and it’s obvious Zac was aware (before, and after) during filming. He even met Tom himself.

- He only compliments Zendaya’s work ethic because he’s so amazed by her work ethic. Never once does he ever compliment her in the romantic type of tone, or ever comment on her looks. 

- Whenever he “sounded” flirty (just being nice.) Zendaya would quickly flip the interview and make the subject focus on work if you pay attention, and then laugh awkwardly high pitched. 

- Dancing to Beyonce, talking about The Sims just screams like two good work friends who get along and geek out.

- They don’t hang out with one another outside of work, or alone. Maybe twice in a group, but never alone.

You can just tell they were like work buddies the entire time seems like Zendaya gets along with guys really well and they clicked because of that, not romantically.

Basically, Zendaya’s friendship with Zac is like Bradley Cooper’s and Gaga’s. (”There can be one person in the room.”) Just like how Zac kept repeating how amazed he was by Zendaya’s acrobatic work.

-

- Alexandra also had a boyfriend already (before and after) the filming of Baywatch. I’m sure Zac was aware.

- He doesn’t compliment Alex’s looks from what I remember, or ever is flirty. If you noticed the difference with Alex, and Zendaya, in almost all his Baywatch interviews he’s quiet and seems very uninterested, especially uninterested in the film. Never have I seen him so quiet and uninterested.

- He calls Alex a “G” and nitpicks her during her ice cream talk which is pretty obvious they’re friends, I don’t think anyone calls someone they’re into a “G.” I don’t think he’d be giving her slight snark (in a nice way), either if he was actually into her that way when she made her ice cream eating comments.

- When the Australian interviewer asked them if they had anything going on, he asked for a question repeat and gave an aloof answer completely uninterested with barely a reaction and then made that sarcastic pickle joke. 

- His reactions with Alex were the same with Anna Kendrick, he just was quiet.

Now with Taylor, he’s completely different.

- Watch their Ellen interview, he has his foot on the couch, the entire time he’s all confident with his arm behind her. Since when does Zac ever sit that way during an interview? Never and the entire time he’s trying to act all cool and smooth. Big noticeable difference. That interview is completely different than the Zendaya, Alex ones. His behavior is entirely confident and he’s engaged.

- When talking about this co-stars during an interview he stopped and stared at Taylor on the carpet and you could see his eyes look up and down and then he smiled and turn back to the interviewer. Never seen him do that before.

- He was making bad jokes when they did their Ellen interview and would get awkward. The guitar pick bit made it real obvious, he even stuttered, and he would blush whenever Ellen called them a couple, he was clearly flattered by the idea.

- He actually did spend 1-1 time with Taylor outside of work, even though voice acting doesn’t require them to hang out or work with another. Alexandra, and Zac only hanged out in a group, besides her birthday party. Alex seemed way more closer to Jon Bass than she is with Zac.

- When asked if he was dating Taylor, he started blushing and said no, but said at least he did in the film and then started blushing like crazy. While with Alexandra he had no reaction and wasn’t paying attention. He was always blushing whenever someone mentioned Taylor to him.

- Zac is a multi-millionaire with connections, lbr if he really cared about learning to play guitar he would’ve gotten someone to teach him any time, but “coincidentally” he decides to ask Taylor of all people to teach him? Nah, he just wanted to get to know her because he clearly liked her. Even Danny Devito calls him out saying it was a pickup line. I noticed he did this big smirk too whenever someone said she’s teaching him to play lol.

- After Lorax wrapped up, he still would talk about her in interviews. 

Honestly, even just watching that Ellen interview, you can just see how different he is, vs with her compared to Zendaya and Alex. He wasn’t his usual complimenting self, he was actually even making teasing jokes towards Taylor and acting all cool, and I guess “bad boy” is the word?

(Though, I don’t think Taylor liked him that way, maybe afterwards she had a little crush but I think it was one sided.) I’m also pretty sure as well, they did go on an actual date back when Taylor’s old publicist used to use US Weekly, I mean the fact that he even took her out to eat at one of his favorite restaurants, it’s pretty obvious. Though it seems Taylor said they didn’t have that “click” so.

[freshwater--mermaid]

Ersatz Ch 23: They Don’t Know They’re Dead To Me

Danny woke suddenly to the sound of screaming. He barely had time to process this before his body hit the bed with a dull thud.

He grimaced, rubbing at his eyes as he rolled out of bed. Another bout of yelling woke him up fully, and he quickly unlocked his door, flinging it open.

He looked out into the hallways and instantly spotted his mother, standing in the doorway to Jazz's room. She held up a small ecto gun, pointing it inside.

"Get down, Jazz!" she yelled as she took aim.

She fired a single shot, causing Jazz to cry out.

"Mom, you're going to set my room on fire!" the teen protested from within.

Danny wanted to approach and see what his mother was shooting at, but the sight of the active ecto gun kept him rooted.

Jack came bounding up the stairs, holding a mostly-finished ecto rifle in his hands, its wires still exposed.

Maddie glanced toward him and frowned.

"Jack, you're not firing that in the house." she said. "It's far too strong; it'll singe through the walls!"

Jazz squealed out, and all attention was turned once more inside the room.

"Just get these things out of here!" Jazz shouted unhappily.

Danny guessed correctly that it had to be ghosts, and his thoughts turned briefly to Vlad's warning about increased activity.

Maddie dove into her daughter's room, firing off several times despite Jazz's protests.

Two small ghosts suddenly burst through the wall and sailed in random directions. They looked like animals of some kind, but their rapidly darting forms were hard to distinguish.

Maddie ran into the hallway and fired her gun repeatedly at the fleeing spectres, green beams arcing across the walls, fizzling out harmlessly against anything non-ghost they hit.

The two spirits streaked past Danny and Maddie's gun crossed over him as well, still firing.

With an unintended shout, Danny fell back from the doorway, barely dodging one of the stray blasts.

He could hear Maddie and Jacks' footsteps beat down the hall as they pursued their prey. He continued to lay upon the floor, unable to get back up.

That single, small beam of charged energy had conjured up far too-clear memories of pain and peeling skin. The bloom of sharp light, the burning and the sensation of falling. All of it crashed over Danny, and the teen could only lay there and hope his parents didn't come back.

Thankfully, as the minutes passed it seemed that the ghosts had tried to flee outside. Jack, of course, had preemptively set the shield, trapping the little spirits.

As he finally began to calm down, Danny sat up, pulling his knees up and resting his arms upon them. He raked a hand through his hair, frustrated and confused by his own actions. What had come over him?

Sure, the ecto gun would've stung, but it wasn't as powerful as the one that had blasted him out of the sky weeks ago. So why had he been so petrified moments ago?

Danny groaned in annoyance at himself. He couldn't afford to get jumpy around his parents; Maddie would undoubtedly pick up on it, and the last thing he needed was her attention.

Danny stood up, silence ringing out as the shooting ceased. Then Jack's boastful voice could be heard downstairs. They had definitely been successful in capturing the ghosts.

A lumbering gait thundered excitedly downstairs, while a second set of steps padded lightly back up to the second floor.

Danny turned and walked away from his open door as Maddie passed by, heading to Jazz's room.

Danny listened to the muffled conversation between mother and daughter as he looked out his window. The shield blinked out of existence as Jack shut it off, and it took Danny's eyes a moment to adjust to the black night sky.

A quiet knocking from behind beckoned Danny to turn, and he wasn't surprised to find his mom's concerned face looking at him.

"Danny, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mom." Danny answered casually.

Maddie paused for a moment, looking caught between thoughts before speaking again.

"I'm sorry I scared you, honey." she said, her voice almost as quiet as the silent house. "I guess I just wasn't thinking, and…the ecto gun can't hurt you, sweetie. You know that, right? I know that, but I suppose I…"

Maddie was at a loss for words, obviously trying very hard to assure Danny that she had meant him no harm. This at first alarmed Danny, as he wondered why she'd be so stressed over this unless she knew his secret.

And then it hit him, like a bolt from the sky.

More images from the past flickered across his mind. His mother. Not his mother anymore. Possessed by some unknown entity. The feel of her sharp nails as she dug her fingers into his hair, striking his head against the ground.

Stars danced across his vision briefly as he came back to the present. With a start, he stepped forward, coming to stand before Maddie.

"I wasn't scared," he insisted. "I was just caught off guard. Still half-asleep, and all…sorry for worrying you, Mom."

Maddie smiled at her son, moving forward, arms reaching out in the beginnings of a hug. Alarm bells sounded in Danny's head, and he quickly took two steps back, arms half-raised. He couldn't let her feel how cold he knew he was.

And like that, his words were undone. The smile was gone, and Maddie's face had drawn back up into a look of sadness and worry.

"Okay, honey…" Maddie said, her voice somehow even quieter. "Sorry this whole thing woke you up. Get back to sleep, sweetie."

With those parting words, she turned and went to join her husband in the lab, no doubt to observe their newly captured subjects.

Danny closed his door quietly and locked it. But instead of going back to sleep, he lifted off the ground cautiously and slowly flew out of his window, careful to remain invisible.

The freedom and solitude of roaming the dark skies of Amity Park helped ease the unwanted memories and thoughts from Danny's mind.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* 

Laughter echoed down the empty halls of Casper High, as the group of teenagers stood around a large table in the cafeteria. Various craft supplies littered the table's surface.

Nearly everyone present was engaged in conversation as they cut, glued, and folded paper into different Halloween themed decorations.

Two individuals, however, were completely silent, and Tucker's gaze swept between them both.

Danny looked completely absorbed in his own thoughts. The only reason he was attempting to cut out little ghosts from white paper is because Tucker had given him the task, hoping the inside joke would bring a smile to his friend's face.

No such luck. Danny had taken the supplies and got to work without comment.

Tucker looked to the opposite end of the table, where his other best friend stood. Unlike Danny, Sam wasn't absorbed in thought. She was instead absorbed in her own sour mood, brooding as she created a glitter-coated skeleton out of black paper.

Tucker sighed quietly at Sam's childish attitude. He supposed she was still stung over Dash's comments from the day before, and the fact that the very jock in question was now joking with Star as he made paper pumpkins was apparently salt in the wound for Sam.

Paulina had heard of Dash's mistreatment of Sam, and had very angrily talked the boy into helping out with decorations for the haunted house. She had invited Star along as well, and managed to convince the principal to let them borrow the cafeteria after school hours.

Tucker guessed that also contributed to Sam's mood. Paulina had managed to organise this entire get-together, while Sam had still been mulling over a theme to go with.

Tucker just hoped that she stopped sulking and lightened up, or Dash would soon give in and call her out on her attitude. That would not go well.

The teen looked down at his own little project, a vampire made from several glued-together pieces of paper. Tucker knew he wasn't that great an artist, but he was actually proud of how it was coming along.

"Wow, nice job, Tucker." Paulina commented from across him. She held up her own work; a cut out banner depicting little orange pumpkins.

"What do you think?" she asked with a beaming smile.

"Dang." Tucker replied. "That's really good! How'd you learn to do that?"

Paulina gave a flattered laugh at the obvious awe in Tucker's voice.

Tucker could feel Sam's glare burning into the side of his face as he listened to Paulina go on about her art class at her old school.

Tucker continued to ignore her stare as he got back to his own work. Just because she was angry over Dash and Star being there didn't meant that he was going to ignore everyone too.

Another hour flew by as the group, save two, continued to chat and show off their crafts. Dash was surprisingly amiable, but Tucker suspected it was mostly a front to impress Paulina, since the blond didn't talk directly to him, Sam or Danny.

Still, Tucker sure wasn't going to rock the boat. As long as the ol' Bone-Cruncher stayed docile, there'd be no issues.

Soon enough it was time to head home. Everyone gathered the finished decorations and piled them in front of Sam, like some kind of Halloween offering to their goth queen.

Tucker was happily surprised when Sam looked up and thanked everyone for helping out. Paulina grinned and hugged Sam before bouncing off with Dash and Star in tow.

Tucker walked over to his friend, who was looking down at the pile with a blank expression.

"Don't set it on fire." he smiled. "We worked hard on those."

"I'm not gonna torch them." Sam huffed, hands at her hips.

She gave Tucker the same odd look as the crafts, and Tucker was about to question it when Sam's eyes widened and she looked around the room.

"Hey, where's Danny?" she asked, already worried.

Tucker hadn't even noticed Danny's absence, and joined Sam in walking around the large room. As Sam moved toward the entrance, calling Danny's name, Tucker stepped over to the large windows.

"Sam," he immediately called. "He's over here."

The girl jogged to him as he walked toward the back door. Opening it, the two stepped out into the evening air and walked over to their lone friend, who was staring silently off toward the distant buildings that neighbored the school grounds.

"Hey, space cadet." Sam greeted, standing beside Danny. "What're you looking at?"

Danny didn't answer for a moment, but then raised a hand and pointed out toward where he was looking.

"There's ghosts flying around over there." he said. "They came close to the school earlier, bit I think they felt me here, because they left fast. They're still in the area, though."

"Really?" Sam asked, tense and on alert as her eyes swept the vicinity.

Tucker felt the same apprehension. They really didn't need another ghost attack. But one part of Danny's explanation grabbed Tucker's focus.

"What do you mean by 'they felt you here'?" he asked.

"Ghosts can sense-" both Danny and Sam began at the same time, only to stop short and blink at each other.

Sam shrugged sheepishly.

"Hey, I've been reading through tons of books on ghosts, remember?" she said.

"Yeah," Danny replied, looking surprised. "But who knew they'd actually get some of their information right."

"Not all of them are written by hacks." Sam countered with a frown. "Some of them have been very helpful, in fact."

Danny raised an eyebrow at her, and Tucker worried that he might insist on seeing the very book that Sam was obviously talking about. Tucker himself had only skimmed through the first chapter, but even that was full of enough theories that he doubted Danny would appreciate.

But Danny only turned his gaze back out, quiet once more.

"Okay guys, we should be heading home now." Tucker spoke up after several seconds of silence.

He turned back toward the door, only to groan at his own mistake. He'd forgotten to prop the door open, and thus had locked the three of them out of the building.

"What?" Sam asked, before realisation hit her as well.

"Great." she muttered. "Now how are we gonna get our stuff?"

"We can always come over early-" Tucker began to suggest.

Danny stepped between them, interrupting Tucker with a raised hand. Smiling, the teen then proceeded to stretch his arm out toward the door. As soon as his hand collided with the metal surface, it fell through, making it appear is if Danny's hand had been taken at the wrist.

His smile grew as Tucker smacked himself over the forehead.

"We're such idiots." Sam groaned.

"Yeah, kinda." Danny replied.

The others gave him annoyed looks, but couldn't help but share in the lifted mood, smiling as well. Despite Danny's increased weirdness, it was still easy to forget that he was actually a ghost, Tucker mused.

His thoughts and smile both froze as he saw Danny take Sam's hand before holding out his second for Tucker to take.

"Uh uh, no way." the boy protested, stepping back. "I said never again."

Danny gave Tucker an amused look before shrugging.

"Have it your way." he said, looking at Sam. "You ready?"

Sam nodded, doing her best not to look nervous.

Tucker watched as the two became translucent before Danny stepped through the school wall, pulling Sam in behind him. Tucker shivered at the memory of becoming intangible. The cold numbness and the inability to breathe greatly disturbed him. He wondered if that was how Danny felt all the time now. No wonder the kid was in a bad mood so often.

Standing alone at the back of the school was also not ideal, and Tucker cast his gaze around the empty area. Tiny dots of color caught his attention, and he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look.

As Danny had said, small spirits could be seen flitting about around the distant buildings. Tucker was glad that most of said buildings were closed down old shops, otherwise people would surely be running around in a panic by now.

Danny appeared with Sam, fazing back through the building. Sam's arms were full of decorations while Danny held both his and Tuckers' bags. His attention focused immediately on the distant figures, and he held out Tucker's bag wordlessly.

Shrugging his own on, Danny began walking out across the grass toward the road. Sam called uselessly after him as she quickly folded up the papers and placed them within her backpack.

Tucker waited with her, watching Danny as he reached the sidewalk. Danny's posture didn't change much, and neither did his stride, but something had become off about him. It raised the hairs on the back of Tucker's neck, reminding him of that documentary Sam had made him watch once. A lioness had walked out toward a gathered group of zebra in much the same way. Like she was already calculating which angle was best to move in from, and which zebra looked like the optimal target.

Sam and Tucker jogged to catch up to their friend, and the little spots of color could be seen again further away, before once more turning invisible. Tucker wondered if they lacked the strength to go unseen for more than a few moments at a time. Sam's book had said something about smaller ghosts typically being weak.

As Danny neared them, they swirled rapidly through the air, shooting off and going invisible again. Danny responded by moving to stand behind a building, allowing his friends to catch up to him. He leaned against the brick wall, looking around for any potential pedestrians nearby.

"One of you look out there and tell me what you see." he said.

Both teens gave him matching odd looks, to which he shrugged.

"What? I don't want them to spot me." he reasoned.

"But they already sense you." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but they don't know exactly where I am, or they'd have run by now."

Sam moved to the corner of the building, stepping out into the open and casually looking around. She could see a couple walking into a store farther down, but no ghosts.

"I think they might already be running." she said, turning back to the boys.

Danny frowned, looking down at the ground in concentration.

"They are moving." he said, "Come on."

He stood away from the wall and proceeded to walk at a normal pace down the pavement, friends in tow. And then suddenly he turned a sharp right, heading down a long, narrow alley.

"This way." he called over his shoulder, breaking into a light jog.

The small passageway seemed to go on forever, the light dim, and Tucker fought off claustrophobia as he followed after Danny. The boy was obviously sensing that the ghosts were getting closer, his steps picking up speed more and more.

Tucker really hoped that Danny would remember that they were in public, and wouldn't automatically leap onto the first ghost he saw.

Danny burst out into the daylight, halting so abruptly that Sam and Tucker ran right into him. They lay on the ground in a stunned pile before Sam began righting herself.

Tucker shot up as soon as she was off him. Laying over Danny was like being on top of an ice sculpture, and he quickly began rubbing the warmth back into his arms.

Danny picked himself up without comment, his eyes turned toward the road.

Two figures walked down the sidewalk in their direction, not noticing the looks they got from passerbys as they searched about.

"Just great." Danny muttered lowly, frowning heavily toward his parents.

They hadn't spotted the group yet, too focused on tracking down their quarry.

'Probably the same ones Danny's after.' Tucker thought.

For a moment he wondered if Danny would duck back into the alley to avoid them, but instead the pale boy just shoved his hands into his pockets and walked toward them.

Maddie spotted him quickly, her determined expression lifting into a bright smile.

"Hi, sweetheart." she greeted, propping her ecto rifle against her hip so she could wave at them.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Danny asked, an accusatory undertone lacing through his words.

Thankfully Maddie didn't pick up on it, and Jack wasn't listening to the conversation as he continued down the road.

"We found another cluster of ghosts near the house." Maddie answered. "We've been following them since, but they keep managing to slip away. By the way, you should be heading home; it's getting late."

"Actually, I was gonna stay over at Sam's." Danny replied. "We still have her haunted house thing to work on."

The quick lie appeased his mother somewhat, but Maddie still gave the three a disapproving frown.

"Then you should be heading to Sam's home. It's going to be dark soon and I don't want you out on the streets."

"Got it, Mom." Danny said.

He quickly stepped around her, keeping out of arm's reach, and continued down the sidewalk.

Tucker and Sam gave quick goodbyes to the Fenton parents as they followed Danny, who was looking toward another alley.

Upon reaching it, he ducked into the shadows, glancing back at the adults before turning to his friends.

"There right here somewhere." he whispered.

Tucker really wanted to suggest that they just leave and go to Sam's place, but he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Danny to drop the pursuit. And Sam was too busy being supportive to side with Tucker, despite how much she didn't like the whole ghost-eat-ghost thing.

The concept itself didn't scare Tucker. Heck, he ate meat all the time, and figured it was kinda the same thing.

But the way Danny had changed when he'd eaten that ghost in Sam's room. Not just his eyes but his expression as well. Now that had scared Tucker, as much as he hated to admit it.

Pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Danny quietly cheering. Tucker spotted the boy, Sam close behind, near the end of the alleyway.

Danny suddenly went invisible, causing Sam to jump back slightly. She stood completely still, eyes looking around for any sign of movement.

Both teens startled when a group of little ghosts flew up from behind a discarded pile of boxes and began flying around. They obviously wanted to stick close, and spun together in random directions.

Now that he could view them up close, Tucker realised that they looked like little rats, in shades of dim green and sickly yellow.

A bright stream erupted from nowhere, and the tiny spirits gave warped squeaks as they flew past Sam and Tucker, back toward the street.

One, however, became caught in the beam, and was quickly pulled into the thermos. A now visible Danny capped the device and shoved it down into his backpack.

An ecto gun firing sounded not a moment after, and the three ran out into the open to watch Jack and Maddie. The former was firing off his weapon at the fleeing ghosts, while Maddie had lowered her rifle to the ground and was taking aim with her own thermos.

She managed to capture the remaining ghosts in two shots as they fled about in a panicked circle.

She capped the thermos with a satisfied smile, Jack grinning as he ran up to her.

"That's my gal!" he exclaimed. "Did you kids see that?"

"Sure did, Mr F." Tucker smiled back.

"Danny, did you use your thermos?" Maddie asked her son, who stood at the back of the trio.

"Yeah, but I missed." Danny shrugged. "We should head to Sam's now. It's getting dark out, after all. Bye!"

Danny gave a short wave to his mom before turning on the spot and walking quickly down the street.

Tucker internally winced as he followed. The Fenton adults were certainly distracted by their catch, but Danny should've tried to not be so obvious. Then again, Danny had been pretty obvious about his ghost status since the beginning, in Tucker's opinion, and no one had found out yet.

'This city is full of morons, I guess.' he thought.

Danny practically ran the entire way to Sam's house, casting impatient glances over his shoulder occasionally at Sam and Tucker, who lagged a few paces behind.

He didn't wait for them to catch up before entering the large house, fishing out the thermos as he climbed the stairs.

"Man, Danny, are you starving or something?" Tucker asked as he and Sam entered her room, locking the door behind.

The question made Danny look up sharply at them from his spot in the middle of the room.

"What? No, it's just…these opportunities don't exactly come around that often." he said, throwing his bag into a corner.

"Maybe that's going to change." Sam suggested, staring at the thermos. "There seems to be more and more ghosts popping up."

Tucker silently agreed, but was surprised when Sam's words only seemed to make Danny nervous.

He quickly turned his attention back to the thermos in his hands, and the mood in the room became tense. Most of it was coming from Sam, who stood half-turned toward the door, frozen in mid-decision.

"Sam, you get grossed out just from watching Tucker eat a burger." Danny said, rolling his eyes at her. "You don't have to stay in here. I won't cry over it."

The last bit was said with a teasing smile, easing Sam into a more relaxed stance. She still looked unsure, but then took a deep breath and turned, leaving the room quietly.

Tucker bottled up the urge to follow her as he locked the door once more, walking across the room and sitting down on her bed.

Danny looked at him briefly before uncapping the thermos, letting the lid drop to the floor with a bounce. He was turned away from Tucker, so that the other boy couldn't see his face.

Tucker could see, however, that he held his shoulders tensely, still nervous like he'd been the first time. Maybe he too was aware of the change that overcame him? The manic way that he had moved and the look he had worn on his face?

Tucker had subconsciously been bracing himself, hands digging into the blankets beneath him, and he jumped when Danny spoke up.

"You know you don't have to stick around, either." Danny's voice came quiet and steady, offering no hint as to what he might be thinking. "It's not like you could do much if it got away."

Tucker cast about for a joking comeback to explain why he was remaining in the room. His mind drew a blank, with not even a serious reply available to him. Tucker honestly had no clue why he didn't just join Sam in whatever room she was surely pacing around in.

The silence stretched out awkwardly, hovering over them both until Danny finally accepted the non-answer.

Pressing his thumb over the release button, light streamed out momentarily, before vanishing as a small green shape manifested on the floor.

Without hesitation, Danny took advantage of its confusion, reaching down and grabbing the creature around its middle. It squeaked and struggled as Danny held it up to eye level. He watched it for a moment, eyebrows drawing together.

"Stop whining." Danny said, frowning in agitation at the rat's increasingly loud shrieks. "You could be on your way to my parents' lab right now. You're the lucky one."