#dream catcher deja vu

[uhlatcha]

BEGINNING OF END - ATEEZ DREAM CATCHER AU - CHAPTER TWO: HONGJOONG'S DREAM

AO3 | WATTPAD | MASTERLIST | VIDEO TEASER | PLAYLIST

STORY SUMMARY: A group of teenager boys found confort in each other and in the dreams they share, but what they don't know is that a group of girls in a boarding school not far from their city, who hide a powerful secret can change completely their lives, puting not only their dreams in danger, but also the destiny of the world.

FANDOMS: DREAMCATCHER AND ATEEZ

WORD COUNT: 2626 

GENRE: FANFIC, SCIFI, FANTASY, MISTERY.

DISCLAIMER:

This is a work of fiction influenced by Ateez and Dreamcatcher respective lores. I used a lot of references and canon stuff, but also made some changes so both worlds can work together.

NOTES: ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE, ANY FEEDBACKAS ARE WELCOME.

CHAPTER TWO: HONGJOONG'S DREAM

Hongjoong’s dream wasn’t always the same. Some things changed from time to time. But two things were constant. He was always alone, and he was sleeping, until someone’s steps woke him up, and when he opened his eyes, there was a man, all dressed in black, staring at him under a fedora hat.

Hongjoong never saw the man’s face, because of the mask he wore, and the man never spoke to him, just held a weird golden hourglass in his direction. And even though Hongjoong was afraid of the stranger, he never wanted to try to escape from the man. It was like he was his destiny, and he wasn’t afraid of facing it.

When he woke up, it was like a bomb had just dropped, making him lose his pace, his ears were zunning and he felt kinda lost, not knowing where he was. The night was hot, and he was sweating and panting.

It’s just a dream. He repeated to himself more times than he could count. But the truth was the sometimes, that felt so real, much more like a vision, a deja vu.

Hongjoong looked around, trying to find out where he was, since he wasn’t on his bed in the school dorm. He felt the leather fabric under his hands and knew exactly where he was.

The only light was the weak silver light of the crescent moon coming from a hole in the ceiling of the warehouse. Dammit, he stayed longer than he expected there and ended up falling asleep. He would end up in trouble again at the dorms.

He should have listened to Seonghwa when he told him to go back to the dorms, but he didn’t, and now there was no point in going back, it was already too late. The smart thing to do was to go back to the school early in the morning.

He laid down on the couch again, trying to be comfortable, but the vivid dream was still in his mind. He didn’t remember when the dream started, but it had followed him since he could remember, at least once a month, sometimes more. However, he never told anyone about that weird dream, or the strange man in the fedora hat. And even though he researched allot about dreams, he didn’t find anything helpful about what the dream could mean.

“It was just a dream” he repeated, aloud, letting the sleep crawl over his mind as he was alone in the warehouse.

***

Over San’s bed were both of his school uniforms. He only wore his old uniform for three months, then his parents told him they had to move again, and there was nothing he could do besides packing his this. He stayed for such a short time in the old school, and knowing how thing work, he didn’t even tried to make friends, he knew sooner or later he would move to another place, and leave everything behind, so why make an effort?

He looked at his new student ID and his new uniform, laying beside the old one. His parents had promised they would stay longer this time, that they were not going to have to move to another place for a while, but they had made that promise before, in vain, so hi wasn’t really looking forward to go to his new school, or to meet new people. He had accepted that was his life, being alone and going from city to city in a couple months.

He picked up his new uniform. He needed to get ready for his first day of school, right in the middle of the semester. He went down the stairs when was ready, carrying his school bag in his shoulder. The breakfast was on the table, with a note from his mother.

“Had to go to work earlier than I expected, sorry for not being able to give you a ride on your first day. Eat your breakfast and text me later to tell me how school was.

-I love you, mom.”

He grabbed a toast and a cup of juice. He didn’t care to sit, just finished the food by the sink and headed to school, ready to spend another day being alone and invisible

San loved his parents, but he missed the time he was younger and used to live with his grandparents. When things in his life were more stable, when he had a routine that worked for more than just a few months, when he had friends.

Now however, he had traveled through almost half the country, staying in each place for just a few months because of his parents’ work. He had been in six different schools only in the last two years, and even though he managed to keep his good grades, keeping friends was a lot harder, so he stopped trying at some point.

But there was something about that city that made him optimistic. The city in particular was so small that reminded San of the city where he grew up and lived with his grandparents, which was a good thing. Even though he wasn’t exactly happy about the move, he could at least enjoy the small town air.

*** Yunho set his alarm for much earlier that morning. It was his first day back at school in a few weeks and he wanted to leave the house before meeting his parents. They thought that Yunho wasn’t ready to return to class yet after the accident. Yunho, in turn, couldn’t stand spending so much time at home. He understood that his parents were still emotionally shaken by the loss of his brother, he was too. But staying at home was only making the situation worst.

So he prepared his uniform and material the night before, woke up early in the morning and left before his parents ha woken up, so they couldn't try to convince him not to go. He also texted Hongjoong the night before, asking him if he could stay at his dorm if he arrived at school to early, but he didn’t got any answer, so he texted Seonghwa, who agreed to go to school earlier to help Yunho with all the homework he lost.

He met Seonghwa on the bus, they talked a lot, more about school matters, what made Yunho feel a lot better. Seonghwa and his other friends had visited him while he was out of school because of his brother’s death. They did their best to try make Yunho talk bout his grief, but he wasn't very good at t. His pain was his on, he didn’t want to make his friends carry his weight. So he asked then to talk about other things with him, Hongjoong was specially very good at making Yunho feel comfortable, and Yunho thought part of it was because he was very likely his brother, and having such presence around him made him feel less lonely, but none less guilty.

“Do you want to go to the warehouse after school? We can finish some homework and then play a bit of basketball.” Seonghwa suggested, they were sitting at the library, Yunho was a bit lost in thoughts for a while but Seonghwa’s words brought him back.

“Yes, sure.” Yunho said. “It will be good to reunite with the whole gang.” he said, smiling weakly.

“Good.” Seonghwa said, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “And talking about the gang… Jongho just texted me, him and Woo just arrived.”

“Let’s go meet them” Yunho said, picking up his notebooks.

***

Jongho was by the school gates with his friends from the basketball team, they were ll teasing each other because of the last game, but he wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation. He was waiting for someone.

He was playing with the juice box he brought when he saw her. Han Soojin.She was, as always, focused on her on word, a book in hand, not even paying much attention on the way.

“Hey, Han Soojin.” Jongho said, when she almost past through him without noticing his presence. She looked startled but someone suddenly calling her, but then she sw it was Jongho.

“Hey” she said, smiling politely at him; “Whats up?”

“Just wanted to say hi, and give you this.” He said, handling her the juice box.

“Is it for me?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes, its you favorite right?” he said, putting his hands on his pockets nd trying to look cool.

“Yes, but why are you giving me this?”

“I just wanted to thank you for your help.” he explained. the girl had been helping him with the school tasks for the past week. Even though he didn’t needed any help, but Soojin didn’t knew it.

“Oh, thank you, but you didn’t had to.”

“It was nothing.” Jongho said, brushing it off. “Our study session later today is still up?” he asked, trying not to sound to desperate and pathetic.

“Sure,after your practice, on the library?” she said.

“Actually… do you mind if we study at my house? My mother asked me to stay at home and wait for the plumber, we have a problem with the kitchen plumbing. Would that be too much of a problem?”

She hesitated for a few seconds, thinking about it.

“We can study at my front yard.” he said, trying to make her fell more comfortable.

“I just have to ask my mom first.” she said. “So she can pick me up when we finish. I’ll text her and give you an answer by lunch time, but I think it will not be a problem.”

“Cool.” he said, smiling.

“See you at lunch then.” she said, then walk away.

“See ya.” Jongho said.” And thank you for the help again.”

She smiled shyly and walked away, as Jongho stayed, looking at her with a silly expression.

“Choi Jongho” Wooyoung said with a teasing tone. “Look at you, all lovey dovey with the teachers’ favorite.”

“Shut up.” Jongho said, rolling his eyes to his friend who he didn’t even noticed had arrived.

“Did she already found out you don’t need help wit your grade at all?” Wooyoung asked. He knew Jongho was one of the best students at school, he was just using the tutoring thing as an excuse to spent time with Soojin.

“No… We’ll at least she didn’t gave me any signs that she knows.” Jongho commented.

“Maybe she does know and jst doesn’t want to embarrass you because she is too nice.” Wooyoung said.

“Maybe.” Jongho said. But the truth was that he didn’t care about her reasons, he was happy just to spend some time with her.

“You should just confess to her.” Wooyoung said.

“Not until I am sure she likes me too.” Jongho said. “I don’t want to be rejected.”

“Of course she likes you, dumb ass. You are the captain of the basketball team, all the girls have a crush on you.”

“She’s not like the other girls.” Jongho said.

“Bullshit” Wooyoung said. “You are just being a coward.”

“That’s not of your business, okay? Just forge tit, and don’t talk abuot it with the other, or I’ll punch you in the face.

“Okay Mr. Muscles… ” Wooyoung said, rolling his eyes. “Now let’s go to meet Yunho.”

“Wait… is Yunho back?” Jongho asked, surprised and excited.

“Yes, Seonghwa texted me and told me they are at the library doing late homework, but they are coming to meet me at the courtyard since I was banned from the library.”

Jongho laughed at his friend, who had been banned from the library for speaking too loud, Then they went together to the courtyard to finally meet their friend.

*** Yeosang kept his eyes fixated on the car window, watching as the figures of students and trees they passed by. It was a beautiful morning, it was shame that his father was complaining so early in the morning about how irresponsible and selfish he was.

“Yeosang, are you paying attention?” his father asked, stopping the car by the school gates

He wasn’t paying attention, was too lost on his thoughts while looked through the the window. He spent so much time practicing emptying his mind to not listen to his father complaints that now was hard to actual listen to him.

“I’m sorry.” Yeosang said, quietly,unfasten the seat belt and grabbing his backpack.

“You need to be more attentive.” His father scolded him. “If I receive one more complaint about you not paying attention to classes, I wont let you keep frequenting this stupid clube” His father said. “Do you understand it?”

“Yes, father.” He said and left the car, walking towards the court yard, where he sat alone, finally breathing.

He was so stressed, a stress that only grew at each day. His father was being even more of a control freak since he had found out Yeosang Joined a new club at school, a club he didn’t considered would be helpful to his well calculated and successful future.

Yeosang by his turn just wanted a hobby, he just wanted to do something he had choose, instead of something his parents wanted him to do.

Yeosang was sat minding his own problems when a commotion dragged his attention.

Song Mingi had just bumped at someone. Yeosang didn’t knew the boy, he had never seen him around before, but the boy was smart enough not to talk back at Mingi, probably because he notice how tall he was, and also, because of his threatening look.

So the boy onlu looked down to recolect his books Mingi had made him drop. After Mingi had left, Yeosang helped the boy, since of his books had felt really close to Yeosang.

“Thank you.” The boy said. “What is his problem by the way?”

“You might be new here if you don’t know Song Mingi’s attitude” Yeosang said. “Just stay away from him and you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks for the advice.” The boy said. “I am San, by the way.”

“I am Yeosang.”

“Do you happen to know where the literature class is?” San asked, showing Yeosang a sheet of paper with his schedules.

“I do, I can take you there.” Yeosang said, then he hear another commotion.

Most people couldn’t understand how Mingi actually had friends, how he became best friends with Jeong Yunho, the most bright and kind boy in the whole school, was a bigger mystery.

Mingi was quite the opposite of Yunho. He was a loner, a loser. He had a very hostile attitude towards most of the students and teachers. He was the one with bad grades and a bad attitude.

“HEY JEONG YUNHO.” Mingi shouted from the other side of the country yard. All the students seemed to froze at the sound of his deep voice.

Yeosng saw Yunho turn around slowly, a serious expression on his face. The whole place was in complete silence as Yunho grinned and Mingi pointed an accusatory finger to him. All the students seemed to get ready to witness a big fight. That was Song Mingi, the trouble maker. When Song Mingi shouts your name in the middle of the courtyard, it can’t be a good thing.

“Things seem about to get heat.”San commented.

Yunho was a bit taller than Mingi. Maybe he stood a chance. That was what the students who were watching the scene were thinking.

But what happened was way more of a shock. Yunho walked towards THE Song Mingi and hugged him. And Mingi hugged him back, with a big smile on his lips.

“It’s good to have you back.” Mingi said, taping his back.

“Is good to be back.” Yunho said. “I missed you, bro.”

“That was shocking.” San commented.

But that wasn’t new to Yeosang. Most of the students didn't understand the case with Yunho and his other friends, which were a very odd group. How the best student, the art kid, the social butterfly, the jock, the class clown and the loner end up together was a mystery for who was outside of the situation. But the truth was that how they ended up together didn’t matter, what matter, was why, were they together.

And soon, San and Yeosang would discover the reason.  

[dp-marvel94]

Face to Face- Chapter 50

Summary: When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of the ghostliness that had haunted him since the accident, not to wake up on the lab floor with his parents saying he’d been overshadowed but everything’s back to normal now. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to then dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was supposedly possessing Danny remember a life that wasn’t his? Most of all, why do both the human and the ghost feel that something vital is missing, in their very soul? Or: Trying to cure himself of his powers one month after the accident, Danny accidentally splits himself but neither his ghost nor his human half know that that is what they did

First -> Last -> Next

Word Count: 5,621

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Soon enough, bedtime came, for his human half at least. Phantom waited in their bedroom, happily devouring the last chapter of their book while Fenton stripped out of his slightly ripped, grass-stained jeans and showered. 

The human returned, just as the ghost slammed the book close. He lifted the paperback, softly knocking his head with a groan.

“That bad?” Fenton raised a brow, a hint of teasing.

Phantom shook his head. “No. It… ugh! How could he end it in a cliffhanger like that?! I mean, did she just die? She just got her sister back and then this happens….” The ghost boy ranted, his other self just watching with an amused expression.

Human Danny slipped into an old tshirt, careful of the now-unbandaged cuts. “I’m telling you, she’s not dead. It’s some kind of stasis. They’ll figure out how to get her back in the first chapter of the next book.”

“The next book’s not even been announced yet!”  Phantom complained. Even so he enjoyed the conversation, glad that their memory sharing had become so seamless. With hardly an effort, Fenton knew everything he’d just read. Ranting to himself about a book had never been so fulfilling.

“That’s what fanfiction is for.” Fenton wiggled his eyebrows. He winced, pulling his sweatpants on, past the cut on his leg.

Ghost Danny frowned, stopping his rant. “Let me help you with that.” He darted out of the room, returning moments later with bandages. 

“I’ll change your wrappings too.” Fenton offered.

Phantom agreed, rolling up his pant leg.

The two sat down on the bed, across from each other. Carefully, bandages were changed. Ghost Danny rolled up his sleeve. He watched as his human half wrapped the three scratches on his arm, a sense of deja vu hitting him. They’d been here before, on the bed treating injuries. The same burn mark on both their stomachs. Except… instead of letting Fenton help him, Phantom had refused, insisting to do it himself. Something in him twinged at the thought, at how far they had some. That moment, realizing that the injuries were the same despite his greenish skin tone, felt like so long ago. It was back before they’d even told Sam and Tucker, back when he’d still been in denial.

“Mom and Dad haven’t mentioned talking about it again.” Fenton said, a perfect segway from his thoughts.

Phantom nodded, fastening his counterpart’s wrapping. “They were busy, talking to Dora. I guess they got so excited they forgot-”

A knock. “Danny?” Dad’s voice came through the door. “Can I talk to you for a bit?”

Ghost Danny sighed, muttering under his breath. “Spoke too soon.” He raised his voice, enough to be heard through the wall. “Yeah. Come in.”

The door opened. The man’s brow furrowed at the two on the bed. “You could have asked your mother or me to help with that.” He motioned to the bandages.

Fenton shrugged. “We’ve got it. Thanks for offering though.” He gave a slight, authentic smile before turning his attention back to Phantom’s leg. 

The bandage secured, the ghost let the pant leg fall back into place. The human boy did the same and… 

Phantom’s stomach twisted, the nervousness hitting. He picked at his gloves, shifting on the bed.

“So… what did you want to talk about?” Fenton asked the question.

Dad approached the bed with a sigh. Phantom didn’t wait for him to ask, moving to make room and motioning to the spot.

The man sat, eyes flickering to the ghost version of his son. His brow wrinkled with parental concern. “Your mom told me about what you talked about this afternoon.” 

Phantom bit his lip. “About… me frost-burning Fenton?”

Dad nodded, gaze moving to human Danny’s hands. “Can I see?”

Tentatively, Fenton opened his clenched palms, healed and unmarked. “They’re fine. Not even a scar or anything.”

The adult carefully examined one of the hands, before withdrawing. “We need to talk more about this. About what happened right after the ghost catcher and the week after.” 

Something in ghost Danny tightened, an impulse to argue. Across from him, Fenton’s lips turned down. He glanced at the clock. “But… it’s almost eleven.”

“I know. I know it’s late and you have school tomorrow.” That worry remained, flickering across the Dannys’ faces. But Dad’s expression softened, understanding. “I’m not gonna make you go into it now. You do need to sleep.” He reached out, ruffling Fenton’s hair with a chuckle. “This you does at least.”

Human Danny’s shoulders untensed, the affection sending a fond warmth through his heart. “Yes, this me does need to sleep.”

The man nodded. “Gotta get that beauty sleep. But…” His other arm reached for the ghost version of his son and Phantom let himself be pulled into a half hug. “We have to talk about things. Okay? We can’t put stuff like this off.”

There was a silent pause. Neon green eyes met their blue counterparts. A wordless conversation.

“Tomorrow.” Ghost Danny promised. “Tomorrow after school. Fenton and I, we’ll… we’ll tell you everything.” Despite the flickering worry, there was no hesitation, no doubt.

Dad smiled softly, holding each boy close. “Good.” He gave Fenton’s arm an affectionate squeeze. “Sleep tight, Danny boy.” He did the same to Phantom. “Let your mom and I know if you need anything, son.” 

“I will.” Ghost Danny smiled softly.

“I love you both so much.” Another squeeze and the man let go. He stood, walking to the door. “Good night.”

“Good night, Dad.” Both Dannys waved. 

The door closed, leaving ghost and human alone. Phantom drifted up, moving to hug his other self from the side. A long, contemplative silence. Then….

Fenton sighed, arm moving to return the embrace. “It’s going to be alright. We saw how well they handled meeting Dora. They were so excited….”

Phantom gave an agreeing hum, his own core churning. No other words were needed, the feelings crystal clear between them. They were still scared. The thought of bearing the truth… it was daunting, intimidating. No one ever really wanted to talk about hard things; it was difficult, no matter the subject matter but…

The Dannys sighed in sync, as one. Muscles untensed, heart and core beating so close together. A strange peace settled. It was going to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fenton went to sleep. He dreamed of stargazing, of cuddling with Blobby. The little ghost purred, kneading into his lab with its little nobby appendages. He scratched under its chin.

Phantom listened to music. He doodled in his sketchbook and enjoyed the quiet night. He watched the stars slowly move across the sky, cheristing his human’s sleepy presence in the back of his mind.

Soon enough the sun rose, its rays bringing the world to life. The ghost smiled, enjoying the light’s warmth on his face. He gave his blob a kiss on the head, eyes crinkling at the soft mewing noise it made. He scribbled a quick sketch, putting on the finishing touches. And….

Danny sighed, feeling a part of himself draw away. He was waking up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday morning, Fenton got ready for school before riding there with Jazz. He met his friends at his locker and found the school was abuzz. 

“It was a dragon!” 

“No way!”

“Look, I have a picture.”

Two boys talked excitedly in front of a locker. Lester and Mikey. Fenton remembered them from the few Dungeons and Dragons sessions Tucker had dragged him into. Had one of them been at the park?

“I saw it too.” “Yeah, it turned into this blue, glowy chick.” “The Fentons said she was a ghost.” “A ghost? That’s ridiculous.” “Well, what else could it be?”

Questions, theories buzzed around him. Most thought it was a hoax, a publicity stunt blown out of proportion. And Fenton was grateful. Dealing with questions was more than he wanted today, not with his stomach flopping over the impending conversation with his parents. At least Phantom was having a chill day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Any particular food you want me to try and infuse with ectoplasm?” Mom asked, when she and Dad came up for lunch.

“A grilled cheese sounds good, honestly.” Phantom shrugged. “I have no idea how you’d do that though.”

The woman furrowed her brow in thought. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

“I should probably go see Sidney at some point. He might have some ideas too. Plus, he was going to give me some tiger fruit seeds to see if I could grow them and that never happened.”

“Maybe we could plant them on the island the portal is on, in the Zone.” Dad suggested.

“That’s a good idea.” Ghost Danny nodded. Then his voice pitched up, attention on a certain ghost.“What are you doing?” 

He reached down, scratching the curious blob which was investigating the ecto-cookie he was eating. If the ghost had a nose, he’d have thought it was sniffing it. Another insistent bob and Blobby darted forward. Its mouth-like depression opened, snatching a bit of the cookie.

“Hey! That’s mine.” Phantom jerked his hand away, before stuffing the rest into his mouth.

Mom’s nose wrinkled in disgust but with a flicker of green light, all attention was one the blob.

Dad blinked. “It’s got cat ears.”

Ghost Danny swallowed the cookie. He reached down to scratch the new ears. “Huh…. I thought Blobby was pretty catty.” A purr sounded from the blob. “Who’s a good kitty?”

A mew sounded and the little ghost flickered intangible. A bit of wet, smashed cookie fell into Ghost Danny’s lap. The boy stared down, nose wrinkling in disgust. “This is fine.”

Mom waggled her finger. “No more real world food for you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The school day continued, as did the quiet day at home. An undercurrent of anxiety lingered but… so did an expectation, a determination. 

Soon enough, the bell rang. Classmates rushed out of the room, excited for the three day weekend. Fenton felt some of that too; Mom and Dad had told Phantom earlier that they thought the ghost catcher would be finished by Monday. He let himself feel excitement, hope at the thought.

Saying goodbye to his friends, Human Danny rode home with Jazz. He and his ghost half watched an episode of Criminal Minds with Mom before helping her with dinner. 

Phantom smiled, enjoying his grilled cheese as the family ate.

The sun went down. The table was cleaned, leftovers put away and dishes cleaned.

It was time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Start at the beginning.” Mom offered gently. 

Up on top of the Ops Center, with blankets and pillow to cushion against the hard metal, Fenton and Phantom looked to the stars. Their parents sat at either side of them.

Fenton started. “It… it hurt. Going through the ghost catcher hurt. I mean, of course it would, getting pulled apart like that but… neither of us realized at first.” He sighed. “I just…I just remember hitting the ground, being confused, and… feeling like something was wrong.”

“I just ran.” Phantom bit his lip, fidgeting with his gloves. “I saw you guys with your suits and goggles and stuff. I just thought ‘danger’ and… and ran. I… uh… got to the park before I actually started thinking and remembered what happened.” The image flickered in his mind, staring at his own white gloves. Searching for the flicker of warmth near his heart. “I thought… I thought I was dead.” The words were surprisingly easy. “I tried to turn back and I couldn’t so I thought I’d just died all the way. Like… going through the ghost catcher killed me.” 

Those moments of panic, of sorrow came back to him, the echo of those feelings. But Phantom shook his head, pushing them away. He managed a look up, at his parents' faces. His dad’s mouth, void of its normal smile, drawn into a deep frown. His mom’s eyes, normally so sure and confident, now round and wet.  They looked so sad. And it was just going to get worse. He forced himself to continue. “I freaked out and started crying.”

“I remember that.” Fenton nodded somberly. “I started crying too, once Mom got me up to my room. Something was missing and… I wanted to go home.”

“I wanted to go home.” Phantom agreed, rubbing his watering eye. “I had to see what happened. I thought… I couldn’t be a ghost. There was no way… no way I was dead. I just needed to see… to see my… body. Then I could figure out what was happening. I just… needed to see it.” 

Mom’s brow furrowed, a sad understanding. “So you flew home.” 

The ghost nodded. “I did.” The memory replied through his head. Rushing home, phasing into his bedroom. “I saw Fenton asleep on our bed and thought… thought he was my corpse.” Horror flickered across the faces. “But he was breathing. So… I wasn’t dead. I was having an out of body experience or something.” That moment of elation, of pure joy. “I hadn’t been… been too late. I still had a chance. I could figure out how to go back to normal if I could figure out how to… well… get back in my body. I could… I could be human.”

He let the words linger, the feeling of excitement, sheer hope.

“Then, I woke up.” Fenton’s words shattered the moment, like a pane of glass. “I woke up and…” He shivered. Phantom felt the echo of that remembered horror. The feelings of his insides churning, the world turning on its head. “You thought I was possessed or something.” Human Danny continued. “You flew away, completely freakout.” Someone else had been in his body. An imposter, except…..

The ghost looked up, taking in the confused expressions. This was it. This was the big secret, the knowledge that had been haunting him. The one thing he couldn’t say, couldn’t admit to his parents. But….

Phantom swallowed, willing himself to continue. “I realized that wasn’t true though. Fenton wasn’t possessed. He wasn’t some imposter in my bedroom. He was… he was the real deal.” For just a moment, the bewildered expressions deepened. “Fenton was Danny, the real Danny. So there was… was no way I was.”

Mom’s eyes widened, the confusion evaporating. “Oh, Danny.” She breathed.

“I thought… I thought I was the imposter.” The words were so hard to force out with his trembling voice. “I wasn’t real. Just some confused imprint thing. Just… just some disgusting ghost.”

“Danny boy…. I’m…I’m so sorry.” Dad wrapped an arm around the ghost boy. 

“I mean, I know that’s not true now.” Phantom whimpered. And now he was crying again. “But I was positive, completely sure. So that… that’s why I didn’t come home. I thought I was a… a stupid copy at… at best. Or I’d been possessing Fenton for a month.” His speech quickened. “A month! And not even realized it. I mean, who does that?! Who hurts someone like that without even caring? So… maybe… maybe I was actually evil like… like you guys said.”

“No, baby. No.” Mom pleaded, reaching across Fenton to cup his cheek. “And… and that’s what I told you, after you showed us the truth. I’m… I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, baby.”

More poured out. “I tried to stay away. I thought I’d… I’d been hurting Fenton. Maybe he was my obsession. That’s why I looked like him and had his memories. So I just… wandered around town.” People watching at the mall, sneaking into the movies, floating above the clouds. “But everything reminded me that… that I was alone. Just some freaky ghost. And I kept finding myself back here, near Fenton. I couldn’t… I couldn't stay away.”

The memory rose up unbidden. Floating into front of their house late at night. He’d caught a glimpse of Fenton in their bedroom window. And…. it flipped, the scene from the other side. Standing at the window, his blanket draped around his shoulders. Shaking off another strange dream. A flash of light and a glowing figure. 

Back on the rooftop, his human self’s hand was in his. “You started following me around, a few days after. When that Lunch Lady ghost showed up… you tried to fight her to protect Sam, Tucker, and me.” His eyes rounded, soft and grateful. “You saved Sam.”

He saved Sam. Phantom took a breath, furiously whipping at his face. The memory of her face, staring up at him, flickered in his mind. He needed to help her. Even if he only cared about her because Danny did, he still cared. The warmth in his chest, the certainty, that strange peace. Fenton had been with him and for just a moment…. they had been Danny again.

The thought, the memory gave him courage. “I did save Sam. I got her out of that creepy meat pile. I was still scared but… I’d done something good. I'd finally done something right. So I went after the Lunch Lady again.”

“And…” Mom tensed. “That’s when we found you and… shot you.”

“Yeah.” Ghost Danny sighed. That pain, that heartbreak threatened to rise. They could never love a ghost like him; he’d been so sure of that, getting attacked serving as a painful reminder. But… “I forgive you.” He closed his eyes, leaning into his parents’ arms. “I’ve forgiven you for a while now.”

“We forgive you.” Fenton agreed, joining the hug.

Phantom found himself nodding, his mind drifting over that afternoon. Being chased, yelled at, and shot hurt; he’d consider it one of the worst experiences of his life but…. “We’ve come so far since then.” Not just his parents and his relationship with them but personally, he and Fenton. 

“What happened next?” Mom finally asked, after a minute’ pause. “After we almost caught you?”

Right. Phantom took a breath, preparing to continue. 

But Fenton spoke for him “I went and found him.” He smiled slightly, fond, before sombering again. “I saw what happened with Sam and you guys. The perception sharing thing. And… I’d had enough. I needed to figure out what was happening with me. So I just kinda followed my instincts and found Phantom at the park and…” He gave the ghost a poke in the side, teasing. “This one told me to go home and forget about him. And then just disappeared.”

The ghost boy shook his head, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. It was almost funny now, in retrospect. He’d been pretty melodramatic. “I did come back.”

Fenton’s face softened. “Yeah, you did.”

“Later that night.” Phantom explained at the questioning looks. “I flew to our room. Fenton wanted to talk so…” 

He trailed off, green eyes meeting his counterpart. It was just like back then, after he’d broken down crying and on instinct Fenton had hugged him. The pieces of their soul had touched and…. I know who you are. The words rang in their heads now, still hand in hand. The experience had been so close, so intimate. How could he word that?

Phantom closed his eyes, taking a breath. “As soon… as soon as we touched, we felt it. We were the same.”

“I was so happy.” Fenton almost whispered. “I finally figured out what was wrong. I was… I was just half a soul but… I found the rest of me, my other half.”

Their parent’s eyes. Soft, relieved. “And as soon as you found each other…. you just knew.” In Dad’s voice, there was more than a hint of awe. 

The human boy nodded.

“Every time you tell us more about being split, I’m amazed.” Mom mused, a shake of her head.

“Yeah, it’s…..” And how could Fenton explain that to someone else? Much less someone who had never felt their soul, their very self unravel. Even now with his two halves so close together, hand in hand, they still weren’t quite themself, not fully. “It’s a lot.” Another breath. “It took a week but we figured out the truth.”

“I didn’t want it to be though.” Ghost Danny wanted to swallow back the words, the disappointed looks stabbing his core. “I didn’t want to be true. I was stubborn. I said it couldn’t be. There was no way. I… I was a ghost and… Danny was just a normal human boy. We couldn’t… couldn’t….” He sniffled, his dad starting to rub his back. “I ran… I ran again.” His cheeks turned green, shame painting his face.

“But you didn’t stay away.” Mom offered, compassionate. “You told me earlier, you and Fenton talked in your room the next morning. And you both went to see Sam and Tucker.”

Phantom shrugged, blushing. “I just couldn’t stay away. Honestly….” He bit his lip. “It was crazy but… I kinda hoped Sam and Tucker wouldn’t think we were the same person, that… they’d think it was too crazy to be true so… so… I’d be right.” His dad’s brow, wrinkled in worry. He could almost hear the question. “But Sam saw right through me. She recognized me, not just as the ghost who saved her but…. Me.” He tapped his chest. “Who I really was. So… I was wrong. I…I couldn’t keep lying to myself.”

“So like he said earlier, we hung out with Sam and Tucker.” Fenton said. “Phantom wasn’t in denial anymore, actually started letting everyone call him Danny again. We had a pretty good time.”

For just a moment, a hint of relief flashed across the parents’ faces. But then… “And you texted me when you got home, after you flew back.” Mom’s brow furrowed, more worried than ever. “The cold burn…. You said you got upset and that’s why your powers acted out. What happened that night, Danny?”

The ghost’s face darkened, ashamed and guilty, eyes fixed down. 

“Danny boy….” Dad’s voice, soft and gentle. “You never explained. Why didn’t you want it to be true? Why didn’t you…. you…” His lips turned down, at a loss for words.

“Why didn’t I want to be Danny?” The words were barely audible.

The parents nodded, faces pale.

Phantom stared down for a long moment, mind swimming. So many words, images flashed in his head. Emotions, long forgotten. The uncertainty, the anger, the sorrow. Fenton’s face, disbelieving and desperate. The tears on his face. How… how could he explain? Should he even? That moment, that argument…. 

“NO!” Something in the human Danny snapped. “I’m half a person without you! How are I supposed to be happy without the other half of my soul?!”

“You don’t actually want me! You just want to feel whole! I’m a sickness, a disease. Some...some foreign thing that’s been haunting you.”

So much pain. So many ugly words. 

Ghost Danny whipped his face. “I didn’t want to be Danny because… because that meant… there was no fixing me.” The words were a punch to the gut. “It meant…. I was actually… this.” He motioned to his glowing body. “I’d… I’d actually died and there was no going back to normal. I…I’d never really be human again. I didn’t…. I told Fenton I didn’t want to refuse because… he was supposed to be normal. He was supposed to be human. But Fenton… he insisted. He wanted to merge. He wanted to be whole. But…but….”

“I didn’t really get it.” Human Danny picked up. “I kept… I kept pushing and Phantom kept getting more upset. And…”

 “Just stop! Stop trying to comfort me!” Dripping tears turned into a stream. “I’m scum. A dirty, good-for-nothing ghost. I’m a freaking disease! I deserve to be hated so stop acting like you don’t!”

“That’s when he cold-burned me. But… I’d hurt him first.” Fenton whimpered, drawing his knees to his chest. “I… I hated myself so much.” The memory flashed…. The glacial pain. Crying on the bathroom floor. The anger, the self-hatred, the guilt. “That’s… that’s why I asked you to fix me. I hated my ghost powers so much. I hated that part of me. I wanted…I wanted to get rid of it. I tried to get rid of Phantom.” He’d thought… he’d thought talking about feeling like an imposter would be hard but this….  “I wanted it… I wanted him gone so badly, I ripped myself in half. I …I violated… I destroyed myself.” 

Tears dripped down Fenton’s face. But Phantom’s hand was still in his, the understanding, the forgiveness streaming through him. His ghost didn’t blame him, had let go of the bitterness, the anger. The blame had been both of theirs and now… The human let out a breath, letting it go.

“I didn’t… I didn’t realize that until that night.” His own glowing eyes in the mirror. “I didn't see it. But…” On the bed, Phantom’s eyes wide and hopeful. “When I saw… when I saw Phantom face to face, when I actually looked, I couldn’t hate him. He was… he was me, just me. And he was in pain and scared and… and I didn’t want to be scared anymore.” He squeezed his ghost half’s hand. “I wanted to understand what had happened to me. What I had become, what I…what I am now. And I couldn’t do that unless I accepted Phantom and…. started forgiving myself.”

There was a long silence after the words. Phantom scooted closer, wrapping his arms around his other self. Love and forgiveness radiated from the contact. Seconds later, Mom did the same, hugging the ghost version of her son. And Dad did the same, strong arms embracing the three figures.

“I don’t… I don’t even know what to say.” Mom muttered. “Just… thank you for telling us.”

“It was so brave, Danny. You’re so brave.” Dad reassured. “You’ve been through so much.”

“And… I’m sorry.” The woman continued. “We’ve said it before but I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m… I’m sorry for how I’ve made you feel and what the thing we’ve taught you made you think. But…” Mom hugged him tighter, her words so tender right behind Phantom’s ear. “You’re not an imposter. You’re my son and you’ll always be. And I’m sorry I made you think that wasn’t true, that… that that couldn’t be true.”

“I’m so sorry, Danny.” The other adult’s voice was so quiet. “I’m so sorry, son. We messed up so badly. I know you thought so badly about ghosts and about…about yourself because of us. And I’m so sorry. It never should have gotten that bad. You shouldn’t have felt that bad.”

“And the ghost catcher wasn’t your fault.” Mom brushed a hand against Fenton’s hair. “It wasn’t your fault. You’re not… you’re not destroyed. I know… god… I know you don’t feel like yourself. I can’t… I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling. But you’ll come back from this. You’re not too far gone.”

Phantom ignored the twitch of surprise at the curse, too relieved, too grateful for the words. “I… I know. I know I’ll be able to refuse. Even if…” His voice quieted, almost a whisper. “Even if I won’t be that same as before.”

It was a reality, a potentially fearful one. But… the Danny who had gone through the ghost catcher was dead. Whoever came out after, the Danny they would be, would be someone different.

Still, their parents hugged them tightly. “We’ll still love you.” Dad vowed. “Full human, two halves, or one whole halfa. We love you.”

“And we always will.” Mom whispered.

Human Danny felt his whole body relaxed, a relief washing over him. The words were sappy, so sappy. And things he’d heard many times before. He knew his parents loved him. But he’d still been scared, just a hint of doubt lingering in his mind. But that doubt was empty; it was nothing. Now, his parents knew. Everything was out in the open and they hugged him, reassured him. They loved and accepted him. They understood.

The group hug finally fell apart.

“Yeah, thanks for listening.” Fenton whipped his wet face.. “That was hard. Especially talking about Phantom and me’s argument. It was…. It was…. Bad. Really bad but… it needed to happen. The fight, I mean.” 

“We wouldn’t have gotten better with each other if it hadn’t.” Phantom agreed. “We needed to figure things out and we did. So…”

Twin eyes meet again and… the promise they’d made, down in their bedroom, rang in their head. 

But I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I want to try. To be the person we’re supposed to be. Together.

The parts of their soul had touched, memories, thoughts, and emotions coming together. 

On the roof, eyes swirled green and blue. “We got really close.” Two voices spoke as one. “If we hadn’t realized we needed to tell you the next day, then maybe…”

Mom suddenly sat up straighter. She blinked at the boys, brow furrowed. “Really… close? What do you mean?”

Phantom blinked, eyes fading back to green. “Really close….”

“We… we almost merged.” Fenton said it like it was a revelation.

“What?” Dad’s mouth fell open.

“We almost merged.” The human boy blinked, eyes widening. “Before we even told you guys. We could… we could feel it. Our mind and soul coming together. Everything was…. was running in sync. We were coming together. It… shit.” Fenton furiously ran fingers through his hair. “Phantom ended up half-phased into me.”

Mom just blinked, for once not saying anything about the language. “Half-phased in…” She shook her head. “Was that the only time?”

“Well um.” Phantom wrung his hands. “I tried to possess Fenton the next night. I thought we’d fuse but… you saw what happened.”

The adult’s frowns deepened as Fenton continued. “Umm…. a few other times felt similar? When we were thinking and feeling together, I guess? Or doing the perception sharing thing. But we weren’t close together to most of those. And we don’t start uh….” He vaguely waved his hands around, lacing his fingers together.

The ghost furrowed his brow, before eyes widening in another realization. “When I flew through the portal after my fight with Mom…. Fenton was with me.” He pointed to his head. “We were freaking out and… it’s like we fused but we still had two bodies.”

“It felt like we put ourself back together wrong.” For just a moment, his eyes were distant. Then he shook his head. “It’s like there was just one of us again. We were just… Danny. But… it wasn’t right. We weren’t right.”

The human Danny fell silent, brow furrowed. He replayed the memory, the feeling. They really had come so close, only to have to pull themself apart again.

For a long moment, the adults just stared, Dad looking bewildered. And Mom… her forehead wrinkled.

Finally, the woman took a breath, eyes almost twitching.  “Sweetie…” Her lips slowly turned up. “Have you considered that maybe… you don’t need the ghost catcher?”

It was the Dannys turn to stare, disbelieving. “What?”

The adults traded a look. Realization dawned on Dad’s face and… the man burst out laughing. “We spent… we spent all the time fussing with… with that thing. Only for… for…” A guffaw cut off the words,  large hands furiously ruffling both heads. 

Phantom phased out of the hold, eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”

“Danny,” Mom also chuckled, eyes sparkling with fond exacerbation. “We were trying to fix the ghost catcher so it could give you the energy boost you needed to re-fuse. But.. you almost merged several times without it. Have you thought that maybe you don’t even need the ghost catcher? Maybe… you can do it by yourself.”

Fenton stared for a moment more, moving out from under his father’s hand. He traded a look with his ghost half. And…

Phantom leaned over laughing. “Of… of course. It’s so obvious!” The ghost put his hands on his head. “It makes so much sense!”

Human Danny suddenly understood. “Our mind already wants to be one.” He laughed. “Our core and brain.. They’re already working together… all the time. We don’t need the energy boost. We don’t.” He grinned. “We can do it by ourself.”

“We can do it ourself.” The ghost repeated, glowing with excitement.

“Why didn’t we realize that two weeks ago?” The human half-laughed, half-groaned. “I feel so dumb.” 

“That’s what happens when you’ve only got half a brain.” Phantom teased.

Counterpart eyes met and…. Total agreement. Joyous, complete agreement.

“Can we try?!” Both said, eyes shining.

“Not so fast.” Dad held out his hands, giving a chuckle.

“Tomorrow.” Mom continued. For just a moment disappointment flickered on the boy’s faces. Then… “We want you to re-merge as soon as possible. But we should do this in the lab, in case something goes wrong. The last failure we saw was… rather painful to watch.”

The Dannys’ shoulders fell at the reminder. On this same roof…. The fear, the pain. Terror at what was supposed to feel like coming home…. becoming a violent rejection. 

Dad’s hand gently patted Fenton’s and Phantom’s shoulder. “It’ll work.” He reassured. “Just let’s all get a good night’s sleep first.” He yawned. “We’ll all be fresher and… we can celebrate.” He smiled.

The woman agreed. “I’ll make chocolate chip pancakes, your favorite.”

The boys finally relent. “Alright.” Fenton sighed, corner of his lip turning up. “Danny… Halfa-us will like that.”

Mom lifted a hand, cupping both Dannys’ checks. “I’ll look forward to seeing that version of you again.” 

The woman removed her hands and Dad leaned forward, scooping the two counterparts up in another hug. “As fun as it’s been having two of you, I’ll be happy when you’re back to how you’re supposed to be.”

The two Dannys relaxed into the hold, smiling as Mom joined the group hug again. “Me too.” 

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: Some things about Bedman?;

Is It a robot, a revenant or some kind of demon (because of the flesh like substance under It's face)?

Is Bedman? just a program or is It actually the original Bedman's spirit possessing the bedframe?

What kind of personality would you use to describe Bedman? as It is now? I know It's incapable of forming memories anymore, It's protective of Delilah, and until Delilah asked It to stop doing so, was self-destructive.

First: 8th Generation High Density Bedframe is its full name description as told in Guilty Gear Xrd.

Based on what we know, it has the ability to "catch dreams" via a Dream-Catcher Lattice it generates with its hands via Bedman's "Deja Vu" powers. (The power to Play Back Dreams like a Rewinded film).

The Label "Oneroi" is also printed on the Bedframe's hands, which suggests Bedman infused "Dream Demons" in to the frame to further expand his powers in the realm of Dreams.

As for the Bedframe in Guilty Gear Strive's events after Romeo's Demise: As far as can be determined, it is a spirit-replica of Bedman's remnant will possessing the Bedframe despite being a technically inanimate object.

You can think of it as a Magical Foci Beast, similar in the vein of Paracelsus (A.B.A.'s Key partner) and Izuna who was a Kanzashi Tsukumogami (an object given great care that gained a soul of its own).

The reason it is a "replica" of Bedman's will can be evidenced by its intelligence and powers that could at least temporarily bind Delilah's Magic for a time. This was originally something only Bedman could do with his powers, but was transferred to the Bedframe.

At the height of Bedman's power the Bedframe could completely regenerate from the damage it took from Bedman's battle with Slayer, but as of Strive's events, because Bedman is not present to fully repair the unit with his power, the damage has taken its toll.

The Bedframe itself seems to only have a short-term memory, based on its description in Strive, so it can only execute basic levels of communication at the moment.

More evidence that it is a replica of Bedman's Will is related to the idea that it concerned itself with Delilah as a priority, but also it is similar in fact to the way Eddie was born from Zato=ONE's body (a soul that got replicated inside a Kinjuu/Forbidden Beast Shadow Organism).

The gestures it makes around Delilah and the fact Delilah can identify it as her brother's Bed suggests that there is some unspoken almost psychic bond between herself and the Bedframe. This is simply conjecture, but it is likely that much like how Delilah states that she is more powerful than her Brother was... that power alone is part of what allows her to communicate with the Bed.

The frame's "head" is semi-organic, with a mouth (though it has a giant alarm clock inside its head that activates during Sinusoidal Helios).

It is still somewhat unclear the true origin of Bedman and the Bed itself... but most likely it is a combination of Bedman's power influencing the Bed as well as some heinous experiments done on Romeo and his sister prior to the events of Xrd.

I would venture to guess that the ones responsible for Bedman's origins are likely connected to Crow Kuruwaba, Happy Chaos, the Conclave, and especially the former members of the Postwar Administration Bureau.

Strive's story suggests that P.W.A.B. has been fully reformed since Millia Rage took command, but prior to this it was a den of Mad Scientists and Warmongers with no ethical restrictions on using either Gears or Humans for experiments.

This only paints a very dark picture about events that we don't know occurred in the shadows of the History of the Crusades.

(For further reading, read the Bedframe and GG Weapons tags).

[petewentzcoded]

#100 Catch Your Wave - The Click Five

#99 Cute Thing - Car Seat Headrest

“Come visit Kansas for a week of debauchery / Songs and high fives and weird sex”

#98 Tongue Tied - Grouplove

“I loved you then and I love you now

#97 Confidant - Bears In Trees

“Because I let your essence go / I’ve not felt clean to this day”

#96 A Little Less 16 Candles a little more touch me - Fall Out Boy

“You can make all the moves / You can aim all the spotlights / Get all the sighs and the moans just right”

#95 Funny You Should Ask - The Front Bottoms

“The good thing about this cast is I can still hold a knife / So if you ever twist my arm again I’ll be sure to put up a fight

#94 Cosmic Hero - Car Seat Headrest

“And if you don’t come home tonight / You will never call it home again / And if you need some peace and quiet / There is room for all in heaven

#93 Fly Out To Alaska - Bears In Trees

“They tried to promote to full-time at the gay bar / I told them I’ve got to finish my degree”

#92 Tibetan Pop Stars - Hop Along

“My love is average / I obey an average law”

#91 Rose by the Ocean - In Her Own Words

“In your eyes I’ve always been a sunny day”

#90 America (Never Been)

“It’s a living kind of life”

#89 Tire Swing - Kimya Dawson

#88 Timberwolves At New Jersey - Taking Back Sunday

#87 Sabrina the Teenage Bitch - Seaway

#86 The Drum - Car Seat Headrest

“The drum’s in debt”

#85 When I come Around - Green Day

#84 Great Heights - Bears In Trees

“And your smile on my shoulder, well that’s mine”

#83 She’s Out of Her Mind - blink-182

#82 Strangers - Car Seat Headrest

“When you’re strange then if they like you then they gotta be stranger”

#81 Dreamcatcher - Grayscale

“She’s got that dark skin, peppermint / Fingers in her mouth”

#80 It’s Called: Freefall

“Called to the Devil and the Devil said / Hey! / Why you been calling this late?”

#79 Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle and Sebastian

“Elope with me Miss Private and we’ll sail around the world”

#78 Beast Monster Thing - Car Seat Headrest

“Don’t get mad at the system / You can’t change the system / Get mad at your lover! / You can affect your lover!”

#77 I Don’t Want to Be - Gavin DeGraw

“My whole situation made from clay to stone / And now I’m telling everybody”

#76 Sugar We’re Going Down - Fall Out Boy

“Always sleeping in, and sleeping / For the wrong team”

#75 Never Meant - American Football

“”Cause you can’t miss what you forget”

#74 Destroyed By Hippie Powers - Car Seat Headrest

“What happened to that chubby little kid who smiled so much and love the Beach Boys / What happened is I killed that fucker and I took his name, and I got new glasses”

#73 Anyone Else But You - Michael Cera & Elliot Page

#72 Two Beers In - Free Throw

#71 Black Butterflies and Deja Vu - The Maine

“I lose my voice when I look at you”

#70 Beach Life-In-Death - Car Seat Headrest

“Capital O, significant other / And you can take him home to your mother / And say Ma, this is my brother”

#69 Everlong - Foo Fighters

#68 Superstar - Sonic Youth

#67 Notes - Modern Baseball

“A brick-boot swimming lesson / In the deep end of my adolescence”

#66 Bodys - Car Seat Headrest

“Don’t you realize our bodies could fall apart any second? / I am terrified your body could fall apart at any second”

#65 Strange Love - Simple Creatures

“You’re just a crater of yourself / And she’s the fallen angel underneath”

#64 Harness your Hopes - Pavement

“And I’m asking you to hold me just like the morning paper / Pinched between your point, your index and your thumb”

#63 Cigarette Daydreams - Cage the Elephant

“If you can find a reason, a reason to stay / Standing in the pouring rain”

#62 Death Valley - Fall Out Boy

“You can wear a crown but you’re no princess”

#61 Cloud Sick - Free Throw

“I’m chasing dreams in the clouds / But I don’t wanna feel like nothing forever / I wanna make you proud”

#60 Thick Skin (Should I Give In) - Brave Bird

“We’ll stay young or we’ll stay fucked up and numb / I’m not better but I’m not getting worse”

#59 Harness Your Hopes (Live Version) - Pavement

#58 Jamie All Over - Mayday Parade

“You opened up into my arms / And we laughed as I held you”

#57 Cocaine Jesus (Live Version) - Rainbow Kitten Surprise

#56 Tainted Love - Soft Cell

#55 Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood

“touch my neck and I’ll touch yours / You in those little high-waisted shorts

#54 When You Were Young - The Killers

“He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus / But more than you’ll ever know”

#53 When? When? When? - Car Seat Headrest

“And now I’m torn between / Trying to be a better man / Trying to accept the man I am”

#52 Pothole - Modern Baseball

“The fossils of my footsteps will be unearthed / At a far off date unknown”

#51 This Year - The Mountain Goats

“I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me”

#50 Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash

#49 Sober To Death - Car Seat Headrest

“We were wrecks before we crashed into each other”

#48 Work - Jimmy Eat World

“When the dance is through, it’s me and you / Come on, would it really be so bad?”

#47 Charlie Black - Modern Baseball

“Wait a minute, ‘cause I’ve been living / More like a fucking king without you”

#46 Alien Blues - Vundabar 

“I need to purge my urges / Shame, Shame, shame on you”

#45 Ivy - Frank Ocean (Car Seat Headrest Cover)

“Not matter what I did / I couldn’t fucking sing back then”

#44 Red & Blue Jeans - The Promise Ring

“You in red and blue jeans / And your white and night things”

#43 Tonight You’re Perfect - New Politics

“Tonight, you’re perfect / I feel perfect too”

#42 Greek Tragedy - The Wombats

“So free up the cheaper seats / Here comes a Greek tragedy”

#41 Heaven, We’re Already Here - The Maine

#40 Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

#39 Always Sunny In South London - Bears In Trees

“You woke me up last night saying / You were scared of the old you / But I’ve romanticized that enough”

#38 Smokey Eyes - Lincoln

“I hope you’re walking around campus / Contemplating your own smallish size / This is not what all my idols told me college would be like”

#37 1937 State Park - Car Seat Headrest

“I didn’t want you to hear / That shake in my voice / That pain is my own”

#36 Drops of Jupiter - Train (With Confidence Cover)

#35 Apartment - Modern Baseball

#34 Float On - Modest Mouse

#33 Nervous Young Inhumans - Car Seat Headrest

#32 Love & Drugs - The Maine

#31 Your Graduation - Modern Baseball

“And you’d never forget it, oh, just forget it”

#30 Center of Gravity - The Brazen Youth

“And his parents / Still love each other / And music / Still finds its way back to him”

#29 Mr. Brightside

“Open up my eager eyes, ‘cause I’m Mr. Brightside”

#28 Hayloft II - Mother Mother

“Whatever happened to the hayloft? / Burnt to the ground, and what about Pop?”

#27 Cocaine Jesus - Rainbow Kitten Surprise

“When you find an old picture of us / And you clear away the dust / I hope you miss me sometimes”

#26 Long Distance Conjoined Twins - Home Is Where

“Alter boys curb stop the mall Santa Claus”

#25 Pretty Handsome Awkward - The Used

#24 Foreigner’s God - Hozier

#23 Where Did The Party Go - Fall Out Boy

“Silent film stars stuck in talking cinema life / So let‘s fade away together one dream at a time”

#22 Courage Was Confused - Knapsack

#21 The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

#20 The Medic - Foxing

#19 Don’t Drink Coffee - Bears In Trees

#18 Coals - Modern Baseball

“You find it hard to miss your family / When everyday you’re part of one more”

#17 In The Water - Head North

“That’s how I loved you most / When you’d burn at my soul / Remind of all I could feel”

#16 Kilby Girl - The Backseat Lovers

“Feels like a night to carry a tune”

#15 You’re In Love with Me - Car Seat Headrest

#14 Re-Do - Modern Baseball

“Your unrequited love for life”

#13 I’m Doing Push Ups - Bears In Trees

“Now you’re as hollow as you’d always said you’d be / Screaming “hold my hand but please don’t touch me”

#12 A Decade Under The Influence - Taking Back Sunday

#11 Cherry Wine - Hozier

#10 Re-done - Modern Baseball 

“On a side note you stole my heart/ Like I stole your hometown lingo

#9 Long Distance Conjoined Twins (Live Version) - Home Is Where

#8 Cute With The E - Taking Back Sunday

#7 She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5

#6 Jackie and Wilson - Hozier

“I need to be youthfully felt ‘cause God I never felt young”

#5 The Future Freaks Me Out - Motion City Soundtrack

#4 MakeDamnSure - Taking Back Sunday

“You are everything I want / Cause you are everything I’m not”

#3 Cherry - Moose Blood

“With your hair up like you do / And that face that you give me when you’ve missed me”

#2 Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional

#1 Acolyte - Slaughter  Beach, Dog

“Soak my scrapes and sleep tight / Sing, my brave acolyte”

[themagical1sa]

stop feeling like crying while listening to Deja Vu by Dreamcatcher challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)

[incorreci-spaghetti]

Yoohyeon: Aww! Look at you getting all romantic with these candles!

Jiu: First of all, I’m about to sacrifice you.

[firienwood]

PLEASE, WATCH THIS!

[kpopmultifan]

DREAMCATCHER has released the dance practice for “Deja Vu,” the title track of their special mini-album “Raid of Dream.”

[iTunes/Apple Music] [Spotify]

[theirfirespirit]

OURS - POLY!MAFIA!MHA Series

Chapter 2: Deja Vu

Word Count: 1.6K

Warnings: Cursing

My eyes wake up from some bright ass light hitting my face. I slowly wake up and see the sun beaming through my windows. 

Getting up, I groan softly while holding my head. Man, how much did we drink last night? 

Thinking back to last night, I immediately start to smile, remembering the men we spent time together with. Too bad we probably will never see them again.

I get up to go take a shower and brush my teeth.

As I finish my teeth, I hear Mycha get up and do the same. Damn, she looks like a zombie.

“Good morning to you, sunshine.”

“Ugh…” she groans, “I need food.”

“Ok, well we’ll go get some breakfast.” I say to her as I get into my bed and grab my phone off the nightstand. I open it up and notice all the birthday wishes from last night and the time. 

12:32 pm

“Or maybe lunch”

“Yea, lunch sounds good, but I want to go shopping as well.” Mycha says, racking her brain for other errands she may need to do.

“Well, I was thinking about going to start my tattoo piece and maybe getting my nose pierced.”

“Ok, we go to lunch and then we go our separate ways and then meet up for dinner?”

“...Yes, that should work. What about dinner at 8? Gives us time to come back if possible and get changed.” I suggest.

“Perfect.”

We both get dressed and grab our purses and keys. She gets in her modified 2015 Ford Fiesta ST while I get into my modified 1998 Acura Integra GSR. I followed her to our favorite hibachi place down the street from our place.

We sit down and eat our lunch. As we sit down, we talk about what she plans to get and what my tattoo may be.

“I’m thinking about getting that tattoo of the yin yang dream catcher for my native american side, and then the feathers flow into the colors of the flags for each of the other ethnicities.”

“Where though?”

“Maybe starting on my ribs and going to my hip.”

“Ma’am, that’s going to hurt.”

“Ma’am, dating my ex hurt. At least, I’ll get pleasure from this.”

Mycha giggles and shakes her head. “I mean … true.”

I laughed a little and we continued eating our food before paying and leaving.

“Remember, we are meeting back at our place at 6 so we can head out. If anything happens, call immediately.”

“Ok, mom.” I smirked.

She rolls her eyes and gets in her car. “Whatever, I love you, bitch.”

“Love you, bitch” I say back while getting in my car and putting on my quick release steering wheel 'til I hear the satisfying ding of the wheel to signify its truly on.

Mycha’s POV

I get to the mall and park in a spot. Walking into the mall, I think about exactly what I want/need to get so I’m not wasting too much time.  I checked the time on my phone once more. 

1:45pm

Ok that gives about 4 hours to do some damage. 

I walk into Macy’s and look for some nice tops I can dress up or down. While walking into the store, I saw that there’s a sale going on storewide. 

YES! Buy one get one 50%! I’m here for it.

I searched around and found these pretty v neck t-shirts in multiple colors. Looking at the tops, I can’t choose between colors.

I do wear a lot of black and pinks but maybe this olive color would look nice as well. Ok, but this purple and blue. Oh my gosh and this yellow would brighten up my skin too!

As I’m pondering over these colors, I feel a presence behind me. 

“Hi cutie.”

“Look sir, I don’t know who you are, but I’m not -” I start as I turn around and see a familiar redhead, smiling.

“You’re not interested? I can leave you alone if you.” the redhead said, rubbing the back of his neck, sheepishly.

“No no no, I thought you were some creep trying to flirt. I’m sorry.”

His smiles once again. 

His smile is so fucking pretty! Ugh! Please, keep that smile!

“No, I get it. Also, I think you should get those. They’d look nice on you.” He points to the tops I was previously looking at.

I turn to look at them and sigh.

“I want to, but I don't know which one to get.”

“Why not all of them?”

“Sir, I’m balling on a budget.” I quipped.

“I’ll get them for you.”

I stared at him for a moment. Did he just - No, don’t accept it because you still don’t know the man.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll -”

He goes to grab one of each color.

“Hey! You don’t have to do that! I can get a couple now and get some others later.”

“Later, you don’t know if there’ll be a sale.” He says walking to the cash register with the shirt in hand.

“We’ll you don’t even know my size.” I crossed my arms.

He looked at me, “You still have the size of the shirt you were possibly going to get in your hand, love.” He takes that shirt out of my hand and adds it to the pile on the counter.

“Ok, seriously you don’t have to do it.”

“I know, I don’t have to, but I want to. Plus, you’ll look beautiful with your new shirts and a smile on your face.” He grins as he pays for the shirts and whatever else he grabbed before. “Can you separate the shirts for this? Thank you.”

“Ok, but what is the catch? What do you want from me? How did you even know I was here?” 

“Cutie, I came here because they are the only place that carries my favorite cologne and I just happened to catch you walking past me to go to the shirts. Also, I don't want anything, except dinner, if that’s ok with you. Last night got cut short and I didn’t even tell you my name, which is Eijiro.” 

Eijiro grabs the bags and hands me my bag of shirts.

So, his name is Eijiro.

“Honestly, I just want to formally introduce myself to you because I find you cute and sweet but feisty, but not as feisty as your friend though my friends like her. It’s not that I don't like her, though! I’m sure she’s a great person and what not but I’m not interested in her like I am you. Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!” He stumbles a bit. Eijiro rubs his free against his neck again, blushing slightly.

I giggled, “I understand and yes, she’s fiery. How about this? I’ll see if she minds going to dinner with us instead of just her and I. Therefore, we all can formally introduce ourselves to each other and I can thank you for the shirt.”

“YES! I mean, yea that sounds great. Here’s my number!” Eijiro enthusiastically reaches for his phone and gives me his number. I texted him and he received my number in exchange.

“Alright, well I’ll text her and I still have about 2 and a half hours before I got to head back. Wanna shop some more?”

“Yea! I’ll let the boys know as well”

I opened my message and sent Luna a quick text to let her know the slight change in plans. 

Maybe, one of them, or both, will help her recover from her ex.

Luna’s POV

I feel a buzz from my phone as I pull into the parking lot of Blue Flame Tattoo and Piercings. Once the car is parked and turned off, I pull out my phone and look at the notification.

iMessage from My Wife Mycha at 1:45pm

Opening the notification while taking off my quick release, I read the message.

Mycha: Hey, do you mind if we change plans, slightly? I met Eijiro - or the redhead from last night and somehow, he ended up asking us to dinner with his friends. I know it’s sudden and I agreed BUT I told him I’d ask you. What do you think?

So, they met again. I’m glad, he seemed quite interested in her and it better not just be for sex, or I might just go to jail for murder. 

Me: Let me see how I feel after this, and I’ll let you know.

I walk into the shop and the doorbell rings. I’m greeted by a man with raven-colored chin length hair. His bangs could cover his face if it weren’t held back by a bandana. From what I can see, he has a half sleeve right arm, a lip ring, and his left ear is full of piercings.

“Welcome to Blue Flame, I’m Tamaki. How can I help you?”

“I’m here to start my rib piece. I made an appointment with … I wasn’t given the name. My name is Luna.”

“No problem, I have you in the system. The person you’ll be working with should be finishing a client now. I’ll let him know you’re here though. Feel free to chill in the lounge while you wait.”

I go to sit on the couch and look at the tattoo I hope to start today.

Not even 5 minutes late, the previous client comes out. She is thanking the tattooist for her new ink. The tattoo artist comes out and gives the money to Tamaki who puts the money in the register.

The tattooist turns to me and smiles. 

Oh, are you serious?

“Well, if it isn’t the spitfire from the club?”

[ack3rlady]

The Universe Had His Back - Chapter 6

Sunshine

Summary: Reader finally goes back home to meet Levi & Luna and discovers the true reason behind her fallout with him.

Chapters: Five | Six | Seven

Master List

Warnings: Fem! Reader, Fluff, Spice - non-explicit , Modern AU

Word Count: ~ 2.7k

Inspiration: Shall We - Chen

Tags: @sooibian, @queenofcurse, @red-n-tall, @badbitxhbuckybarnes , @sweet-assh0le ; Anyone else who'd like to be tagged, please let me know!

Being at the patisserie today was difficult. You were exhausted after staying up all night in anticipation of how the day would go. The thought of returning to your old home that evening to see Levi and Luna combined with the revelation bombs that Hange had dropped on you yesterday had your heart in your throat for a good part of the day.

You were so distracted that a dozen eggs went flying from your hands when Miche tapped on your shoulder from behind during one of his usual visits, causing a huge mess on the kitchen floor. You had blown up at your new assistants Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie for looking at you wrong when they rushed to help with cleaning up the mess, after which Miche had officially ordered everyone to stay out of your way.

Your head rested on his shoulder, as you ate a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich, sat in the breakroom during lunch hour. Mikasa sat opposite you, quietly analyzing your body language, contemplating whether breaking the silence would be the correct choice to make. The television news anchor’s gibber-gabber played like white noise in the background while you chewed on the dry bread at a frustratingly slow pace, your eyes glued to the Aztec patterns on the ceramic backsplash beyond the sink. After hearing you sigh for the fourth time in three minutes, Miche decided to finally speak up.

“You do realize you’re not going to war, right? It’s just your little girl, not a titan. What has got you this terrified?”

He was right. Why were you overthinking this? Luna was your own daughter. She could never hate you, could she? Would she despise you for not being there for her for the last two months? What if she refused to see you today? What if she refused to see you at all? Your breathing began speeding up again.

“Oi!”, Miche jerked his shoulder and shook you out of your thoughts. “Stop worrying, will you? It'll be just fine.”

This resulted in another sigh from you and an eyeroll from the two.

Hours flew by in a matter of what felt like seconds. It was already time to leave for the much-awaited reunion. You assured Miche that you were okay to drive when he offered you a lift. Upon beginning on the familiar route you took every day for the last five years before you moved, memories of the long periods you spent stuck in traffic, longing to see your family after an exhausting day at work flashed before your eyes. Unlike then, you were hoping to be stuck in it today, just so that you could buy more time to prepare yourself.

But obviously, life had other plans. You zoomed past surprisingly empty roads and didn’t have stop at many red lights. And before you knew it, you pulled up on the street outside the house, your house, within fifteen minutes. You sat in your car frantically shaking your leg and running your hands through your hair, looking at the little home where you had spent both the best and the worst days of your life.

Light emanated from the large windows, the Prussian blue front door that you and Levi had painted yourselves, was closed, the lawn was freshly mowed, and Luna’s swing set sat on the grass just like it did while you still lived there. The sight made your heart warm, but you couldn’t get yourself to walk towards it. You gripped the steering wheel and laid your head on it, trying to calm down, until a knock on the window caused you to jump. You looked up to find Levi hunched over and motioning you to step outside.

“Oi! You’ve been parked here for thirty minutes. Are you coming home or what?”, he asked when you lowered the window.

Home?

You decided to finally leave the comfortable confines of your vehicle and slowly made your way to the house, your heart beating rapidly. Levi’s hand found yours; the warmth from his fingers intertwining with yours made your breath hitch.

“It's going to be okay. She’s really excited to see you.”, he assured you when you met his eyes.

Inhaling deeply, you stepped inside the house. Everything looked exactly how you remembered it. The sheer white curtains lining the French windows were gently blowing with the breeze, the rich cherry-wood grandfather clock that stood ticking away at the far end of the living room, books were lined neatly on shelves, family pictures were mounted on the wall, warm yellow light from the lamps illuminated all these features - it was all unchanged. You were instantly drawn to the pictures. Letting go of Levi’s hand, you moved to stand in front of the wall, softened gaze roaming through them and reminiscing the happy memories they brought back.

“Mama!” You were roused from your reverie by a voice you yearned to hear for the last two months. Immediately, Luna had clung to your leg like a koala bear.

“Loonie!” you squealed, picking her up and pulling her into a solid embrace.

“I missed you, Mama!”, she reciprocated with an equally tight hug.

“Oh, I missed you so much more, baby girl!”, you didn’t realize when you began sobbing.

Levi, who was happily watching your reunion from a distance, walked closer and placed his hand on your shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as a reminder for you to stay strong.

“I’ll get dinner ready. Moon beam, why don’t you take Mama up to your room?”, he drew Luna’s attention as you stole some moments to compose yourself. The little one zealously tugged on your hand and guided you upstairs yapping in excitement the whole way.

You watched in awe as she told you story after story about everything she could possibly remember since the day you last saw her. Her angelic voice was like cool water to your parched ears. What took you so long to come back here? All the fear of rejection vanished in thin air as Luna modeled the new dresses you just gifted to her, and showcased the toys and books that her doting Papa, uncles and aunts bought. She insisted that you tie her hair into two space buns like you always did before because apparently, “Papa never gets it right like you do.”

Levi leaned against the door frame and smiled at the sight of Luna theatrically narrating an especially thrilling story about her encounter with a ladybug in the backyard. He clicked a mental picture of his little girl's dramatic oration while you marveled at her as if she sprinkled the stars up in the sky. As soon as she was finished telling how the polka-dotted bug landed right on the ridge of her nose, she spotted her father and announced that the three of you were to immediately commence with a tea party.

Akin to the rest of the evening, Luna insisted upon sitting on your lap as you sipped on hibiscus tea that Levi brewed while she drank the warm turmeric latte that she requested you to make. You peppered the top of her head with kisses as the walls of your home reverberated with more tales about her day at the park, and about a puppy that tickled her fingers by licking them. At 8:00 PM sharp, Levi declared that it was time for dinner when you finished your respective beverages.

His signature dish, Tonkotsu ramen was on the menu that both you and Luna gobbled it up in no time. For dessert, you brought her favorite strawberry ice-cream mochi that you made yourself at the patisserie. You two ladies chatted away and Levi participated every now and then.  You couldn’t help but think how perfect this felt and going by his serene expression, Levi seemed to be mirroring your thoughts.

Bath time after dinner had been a routine as the three-year-old was still learning to eat by herself and more often than not, made a big mess. You volunteered to bathe her while he cleaned up.  He slet out a content sigh when Luna’s laughter accompanied by yours echoed through the house as you splashed her with water while she played in the tub. Even the most beautiful music in the world did not hold a candle to this harmony that was falling on his ears.

When it was finally time for bed, Luna was in deep slumber within minutes, drowsy after a warm bath and a fun-filled evening. You reclined on the bed by her side, caressing her hair and listening to her mellow snores, and Levi sat on the armchair by the bed, catching up on some reading, occasionally glancing at the pair of you.

It was tranquil. The light from her moon-shaped night lamp dimly illuminated the room. The dream catcher that you made for her swayed over your hear. Nothing but sound of the soft breaths of your baby and of Levi occasionally turning the page of his novel filled the air. There was no stress, no negativity, only peace of mind. With closed eyes, you took it all in, this life you missed so much.

You had been entranced for a while before feeling a soft tap on your forearm. Levi signaled you with his neck to head outside. Right as you tried to get out of bed as gently as possible, a little hand gripped yours tightly.

“Mama, don’t leave.”, the melancholy in Luna's sleepy voice tugged on the strings of your heart. You opened your mouth to respond, but words refused to spawn.

“Moon beam, Mama will be back home with us soon.”

Levi was now on the bed beside you, caressing Luna’s hair with one hand and clutching yours tightly with the other. It was hard to decide whether the sudden flutter in your heart was a result of bewilderment, or from the warmth of his words.

Making sure she was really asleep this time you both lightly kissed the snoozing baby, snugly tucked her in and made your way downstairs.

“Tea?”, he offered while entering the kitchen. You obliged, making yourself comfortable on the couch, not ignoring the sudden Deja- vu that dawned upon you.

He soon returned with two steaming cups of fragrant chamomile tea and sat next to you, stretching his arm on the backrest. He absentmindedly twirled strands of your hair between his fingers as you both sipped the hot beverage in a serene silence.

“I owe you an explanation.”, Levi finally began.

You turned to face him, with your back now resting against the arm of the couch. Poles apart from his usual calm demeanor, he looked... fidgety. His puffed the already plump pillows beside him, eyes glancing over everything in the room but you. Your continued silence was enough sign for him to go on with what he wanted to say.

“Uh... You are the first person I’m about to tell this to. In fact, I have never even uttered this out loud before. I only just came to terms with it myself.”, he exhaled sharply.

“What is it, Levi?”, you urged.

"Okay. Here goes. Something in me changed on the day Luna was born. I knew that as a father, I was expected to be her protector; that's what I was told a father should be. But- But I was too afraid for her. It was an obsession, almost blinding. It started with keeping the kid out of harm's way at all costs. But it just deteriorated from there. As she grew up, she wanted to try new things and explore. And you, like any parent would, encouraged her to do just that. It makes me sick to even say this, but my urge to shield Luna got so bad that I started to perceive you as a threat to our own daughter. I got these splitting headaches and I’d black out and lose track of what I was saying or doing every time things didn’t go my way. I didn’t even realize when I pushed you far, far away until it was too late.”, he sighed, his gaze locked on the blank television screen in front of him.

Your stomach was in twists, horrified face exuding your inability to grasp what you just heard. There was a long, pregnant pause as he waited for you to say something... anything.

“How could you?”

Levi and you had been together for a long time even before you married. You were offended that he could feel this way about you. It made you furious that he put you, Luna and himself through so much pain. Neither of you could control tears from being shed as he continually begged for your forgiveness.

"I knew I had fucked up, the moment I signed those papers. I turned our whole world upside down with my own hands. My mind felt like a prison that I could not break out of, and instead of letting you help me, I abandoned you.", he despaired.

Your rage started to evaporate when he described how lost he felt the moment you were gone; how he had hung on to Luna like his life depended on it, just to maintain his sanity. He was barely sleeping and the frequent nightmares he had were only making things worse. He told you how he had been working hard on controlling his impulses - starting by trusting Furlan, Isabel, Hange or Erwin with taking care of her in his absence.

“I can’t express how much I regret letting you go, love. I wish for every second of every day that I hadn't done it.”, He was breathing raggedly, as if trying hold back another wave of tears.

You quietly stared at him, unable to think of anything to say to him.

“It is getting late. I should leave.”, you sniffled as you began to gather your things.

Your mind was in scrambles; the heartache threatening another breakdown. It was almost midnight, the tea had done its job and you were exhausted, causing your feelings to be much more amplified than they would be otherwise. The last two days had been too much to process.

He nodded in despondency and watched you walking to the door.

It reminded him of something.

This.

This was his nightmare coming true. Again.

In his dream he was stuck to the floor, robbed of his voice, his limbs frozen. He couldn't let that miserable dream win this time. He needed to stop you. He had to have you back. He couldn't let you leave.

Not again.

Just as you were about to step out, he called out your name and reached out for your hand.

“Stay.”, he whispered, almost too softly.

“Levi, I have to be at work early tomor...”

“Why are you such a dumbass? Do I really need to spell everything out for you?”, he interrupted.

“You’re not helping your case right now.”, you raised your brow.

“I love you, you idiot. I let you go once, and I don’t want to do it again. I wont survive being away from you any longer. I need you. I horribly failed at being a good husband. But I promise I’ll make everything right if you give me another chance. Please.”, he begged, the lone tear running down his cheek shone in the dim luminescence of the room.

Dumbfounded, you gaped at his anguished face. You were wordlessly taking in what he had just said when he mistook your silence for rejection and turned around, looking dejected.

“Levi!”, you clutched his hand and pulled him towards you.

Your bodies collided, faces just a few inches away from each other's. Reaching for his face with your other hand, you wiped the tear away with your thumb.

“Kiss me.”, you breathed.

He looked... befuddled, unable to comprehend the words that just left your tongue. Getting impatient, you took it upon yourself to close whatever little distance that remained between you.

And like pieces of a puzzle, your lips met; perfectly merging together as if that’s where they always belonged. The stars that twinkled in front of your closed eyes accompanied were by ecstatic explosions in your heart and butterflies in your stomach. His lips tasted like sweet chamomile tea, with hints of the tangy strawberry from earlier. His touch was so gentle that you were transported back in time to the balcony of his old apartment where a shy Levi took all evening to muster up the courage to kiss you after your first date while it snowed outside.

The tenderness soon heightened into fiery passion when his hands wandered down to your thighs to pick you up and pin you against the door, slamming it shut. Waltzing tongues, heavy breaths, frisky hands; you were like two starving animals who were just presented with their favorite meals, hungrily grabbing the other and moaning into each other's mouths. He began to fiddle with the hem of your shirt, pulling it up with one hand as the other held you firmly against the door.

“Oi! What the fuck?”, Levi resembled a child who dropped his ice-cream on a hot summer day when you swatted his hand away.

“Slow down, Tiger. What’s the rush?”, you smiled coyly while wiggling out of his grip.

“I-I uh...”, He looked dazed, unable to form sentences.

“I love you too, Levi. I never stopped. But I don’t want to get hurt again. It has only been a day since we reconnected. Can we take this slow?”, you sighed, smoothing his hair and straightening out his shirt.

“We’ll go at whatever pace you’d like.”

A/N: So, did you ever expect to be Levi's Modern AU Zeke Yaeger? 🙊😬

Chapters: Five | Six | Seven

[stealanity]

WIPS LISTING !

steal my heart ✩ lee juyeon (one shot)

summary : i have the idea in mind but i didnt write the summary yet lmao, but it's detective ! juyeon x phantom chief ! reader, based on this drabble i wrote

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

numeric ✩ eric sohn (maverick collab)

summary : in a world where numbers are more important than anything else, you learned by heart the meaning of these, giving you the power to analyze the people you meet through their assigned number. but what you did not expect, is to find yourself stuck with the number that will cause your downfall.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

eleven ✩ kim younghoon (till death do us apart collab)

summary : the news broke your heart, but you didn't cry. you promised yourself to complete a list of eleven things to do before saying goodbye to this world you loved. but you didn't expect to receive help from this person who rocked your past memories, clinging to your cold hand as if nothing had changed.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

save me your last dance ✩ ji changmin (make your own collab)

summary : since forever, changmin has constantly dreamed of being the highlight of his prestigious school's end-of-year dance show. when his teachers finally seem to approve his request, he surely didn't expect to have to share the stage with the person he hates most in the world.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

challenge box ✩ park sunghoon (deja vu collab)

summary : their whole friendship was based on this little music box : whoever had it could give the challenge they wanted to the other. all shots are allowed, the game has no limit. but it all ended when one of them had the guts to stop.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

rain of memories ✩ eric sohn (dacing with the devil collab)

summary : after years away from home, y/n finally finds the comforts of his hometown. her mother told her that nothing had changed, but it was just a lie : people's stares and whispers proven otherwise. in the end, the only comfort she finds, is in this translucent and untouchable boy, who seems to follow her everywhere since her return.

statut : 1.2k | ongoing | 5%

somewhere ✩ eric sohn (kidult collab)

summary : youngjae use to think, as long as he go with the flow, waves of life will take him away from his past memories. but the more he sails on the boat, the more the abyss of his child' soul seems to call for him. even if you were there to take control of his helm.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

cinderella's dead ✩ yang jungwon, park jongseong (smau)

summary : the little demon hopping on y/n's left shoulder looks satisfied with her little life hidden in the shadows : the young student carried away by the flood of parties, hanging on her not-so-wise boyfriend jay's arm. but what does the little angel think, sitting quietly on her right shoulder, when her sweet eyes fall on the alluring innocence of yang jungwon? (probably going to change, but the main idea is here)

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

bottle game ✩ enhypen (serie of drabbles)

summary : your friends dragged you to a party you didn't want to go, preferring to spend your saturday evening comfortably installed on your sofa in front of a movie. but in the end, it turned out to be more interesting than expected. your friends decided to do the bottle game with seven of the most popular boys in school : heeseung, the president of the student council, jay, the school exchange student, jake, the captain of the soccer team, sunghoon, the local heart catcher, sunoo, everyone's cute little brother, jungwon, top of the class, and niki, the best dancer in the whole school. on which boy will your bottle stop spinning on?

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

untitled ✩ ju haknyeon (la haute couture collab)

summary : waiting for inspiration to comes to me

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

untitled ✩ ? (one shot)

summary : what awaits you after death? (member) expected a lot, but surely not to end up in a parallel universe ruled by an angel of death. he didn't know how he ended up here, or why he didn't remember anything from his life. how did his life end? how is he supposed to leave this world and finally rest in peace? and who is this mysterious angel of death that haunts the thoughts of (member)? (probably going to change, but the main idea is here)

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

scratches ✩ ? (one shot)

summary : i dunno yet but smth inspired by arcane, like i have the main plot, a potential title and a potential member, but i still need to decide

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

hate that ✩ ji changmin (smau)

summary : dunno yet but an exes to enemies to lovers au based on taeyeon & key' song hate that, i mean jichang his y/n ex boyfriend, who leave her without telling her anything, breaking her heart in PIECES and come back one year later, when she have a new boyfie (lee juyeon) and JUST MESS UP WITH HER FEELINGS AGAIN and blabla

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

drunk in love ✩ kim sunwoo (mini-serie)

summary : or every time you see kim sunwoo is when he's drunk and in love.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

spiderblog ✩ eric sohn (smau)

summary : after her favorite cat café was destroyed by spiderman, y/n has promised herself to unmask the identity of this hero that everyone idolizes. little did she knows, the answer was right next to her.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

balcony lovers ✩ sim jaeyun (serie of drabbles)

summary : or all the times you meet with your under neighbor through your balcony during quarantine. without ever knowing what he looks like.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

photograph ✩ ? (serie of drabbles)

summary : after her boyfriend's death, y/n finds a mysterious album, in a box hidden under his bed. but only god knows, she can hear every memory captured in these photos.

statut : 0 | not started yet | 0%

[panda-writes-kpop]

Hi, I really want to Stan dream catcher but I’m struggling. As of now, I’m listening to their b sides and just their discography. Can you help me please?? Thank you :>

I quite literally love Dreamcatcher with all of my heart, so I’d be happy to help out! (I put a readmore because there’s a lot of info lol.)

General Info:

Dreamcatcher is a 7-member girl group under Happy Face Entertainment (or I think that they’re know as Dreamcatcher Company or DCC for short.) They’re popular for their rock style of music and their nightmarish concepts. Their fandom name is InSomnia, and they debuted on Friday, January 13th, 2017 with “Chase Me”.

Korean Title Tracks:

Dreamcatcher have 11 Korean Title Tracks as of this post. The first six are referred to as the “Nightmare Arc/Storyline/Era”. These tracks are as followed (they are in release order!):

“Chase Me” (2017)

“Good Night” (2017)

“Fly High” (The Prequel to the First two) [2017]

“You and I” (2018)

“What” (2018)

“Piri” (2019

The next title track, “Deja Vu” (2019), is a part of a partnership with a game called Raid of Dreams. The next three comebacks, as you’ve probably heard of, are their most successful to date. They are referred to as the “Dystopia Triology”. These title tracks are:

“Scream” (2020)

“BOCA” (2020)

“Odd Eye” (2021)

Their latest comeback, “BEcause” (2021), is apart of a special album that is not related to any of their previous works.

Personal Discography Recommendations:

These are some of my favorite songs from them that are in no particular order.

“Wonderland” (2018)

“Black or White” (2020)

“And There Was No One Left” (2019)

“Whistle” (2021)

“Full Moon” (2018)

The Members

Here comes probably the best part: the members themselves. As I said earlier, there are 7 members that make up Dreamcatcher. I’ll give a picture, their stage name, their positions in the group, their representative animal, and a few sentences about their personality. (The pictures are teasers from the “Summer Holiday” album!)

JiU

Position(s): Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Visual, Leader

Representative Animal: 🐰

Personality: Has a very sweet and kind personality. Often seen helping other members or talking to InSomnia and making sure that they’re okay. Has the tendency to say semi-inappropriate things. Is a foodie!

SuA

Position(s): Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist

Representative Animal: 🐣

Personality: Very loud, very chaotic. Can go from 0 to 100 in a moment. Says inappropriate things a lot. Likes to flirt with InSomnia and her fellow members. Also enjoys flustering InSomnia and her fellow members. Does act like a child even though she’s the second oldest. Also her laugh is amazing.

Siyeon

Position(s): Main Vocalist

Representative Animal: 🐺

Personality: Has a strong duality in her personality. Can be chaotic, loud, and flirty like SuA. Also can be soft and a bundle of sweetness as well. The Queen of cursed audios. Also tends to space out both in formal and not formal scenarios. Is a living meme.

Handong

Position(s): Vocalist

Representative Animal: 🐱

Personality: The “Savage” member. Is quite shy most of the time. A genuine sweetheart. Is generally regarded as the strongest member in Dreamcatcher. Also is regarded as the funniest member by Insomnias and Dreamcatcher themselves.

Yoohyeon

Position(s): Lead Vocalist

Representative Animal: 🐶

Personality: Very aloof and goofy. Tends to tease others along with being teased herself. Can be regarded as the “greasy” member. Also is very clumsy. Speaks English well.

Dami

Position(s): Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocalist

Representative Animal: 🐼

Personality: One of the shyest members of Dreamcatcher. Likes to read. Is one of the more random and weirder members of the group. (We all remember that ghost story.) Is known to be very stoic, but she does care for the girls in less obvious ways.

Gahyeon

Position(s): Vocalist, (Lead?) Rapper, Maknae

Representative Animal: 🦊

Personality: Bubbly and sweet. Can be very scary if the members push her buttons enough. Is teased by the older members, but she does tease them back from time to time. Just a complete, well-rounded cutie pie.

I hope this helped! Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help. Welcome to the Dreamworld!

[dp-marvel94]

Face to Face- Chapter 35

Summary: When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of the ghostliness that had haunted him since the accident, not to wake up on the lab floor with his parents saying he’d been overshadowed but everything’s back to normal now. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to then dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was supposedly possessing Danny remember a life that wasn’t his? Most of all, why do both the human and the ghost feel that something vital is missing, in their very soul? Or: Trying to cure himself of his powers one month after the accident, Danny accidentally splits himself but neither his ghost nor his human half know that that is what they did

First -> Last -> Next

Word Count: 5,122

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: I'm back with a new chapter, luckily a little faster than last time. XD Since I posted the last chapter, I also posted my Invisobang story so I hope you check out that story if you're interest. After reading this update though, of course ;) Happy Reading!

In the lab, Fenton paced back and forth, anxiety buzzing in his veins. This was turning into the most stressful ten minutes of his life. Err...no, the accident was more stressful. Or telling his parents about Phantom. Or getting lost in the Ghost Zone just an hour ago. Or...actually he’d been under a lot of stress recently.

“Danny.” Jazz interrupted his frantic activity. “Is everything okay?”

The boy froze, turning to look at his sister. He bit his lip. Things weren’t okay but…. Fenton closed his eyes, slightly pushing his perception away from the lab to…. His breath hitched. Neon green bloomed in his mind’s eyes. A flash of blue and...the image was fuzzy, from a distance but...there in front of him were two ghosts on a motorcycle and out of the corner of his eye...Mom! His heart fluttered, beating faster in a mix of relief and anxiety. Phantom’s lips were moving but the exchange of words felt far away. Fenton couldn’t pick them up, nor those of the other three people. Finally, the other two ghosts left and...tears... Mom was crying. She was hugging him. She-

“Son?”

Fenton pulled back, gasping. His eyes blinked open. The...lab? Right, he was here in the lab, waiting for Phantom to come back with Mom. Mom….His heart ached, even as he let out a breath of relief. “We found her. Mom’s okay.”

“She is?” Dad asked, eyes widening hopefully.

Fenton nodded. “Phantom’s got her. They’re flying back now.”

The large man visibly sagged in his seat, tension easing. Jazz let out a sigh of relief. The human Danny let out a breath as well before flopping down onto one of the stools. The trio sat in silence for a small eternity, held in eager and somewhat nervous anticipation. Fenton’s eyes flickered to the portal, searching for any sign of movement. Then….the green mist rippled; he could almost feel the cold dampness on his skin. Fenton blinked and two figures slipped through the portal. The boy’s shoulders relaxed, face softening with relief.

“Mom.” He breathed, as Jazz exclaimed the word. 

At the same time, Dad stood. “Maddie!”

The large man barreled forward, just as Phantom was moving to help Mom to her feet. Dad swept the woman and the ghost boy up in a hug.

“Jack.” The woman gasped, slightly surprised.

At the same time, the ghost boy let out a startled squeak. Fenton winced in sympathy. 

“You’re both okay.” Dad continued, undeterred.

“Yeah.” Phantom breathed, squirming slightly in the hold. For just a moment, the ghost flickered intangible. Then he stumbled away from the pair of adults. 

Both parents pulled out of their hug and turned to face Phantom. At the same time, Fenton stepped forward to stand beside his other half.

“Sorry.” Phantom blushed, looking down. “Didn’t mean to do...that.”

“It’s alright, son.” Dad soothed. “I got a little excited there.” A small smile graced his face. “I’m just so happy everyone’s here and safe.”

“Me too.” Jazz stepped forward, joining the rest of the family. She wrapped her arms around her mother in a hug. “You’re alright? Right Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie. I’m fine.” The woman nodded. “Your brother found me.” Mom looked up, her eyes meeting Phantom’s over Jazz’s shoulder. Her expression softened before her gaze flickered to the human Danny.

Fenton swallowed, feeling his stomach flop even as he held the gaze. After a long pause, the woman gave Jazz a pat on the shoulder and pulled out of the embrace. She then stepped around her daughter, approaching both versions of Danny. Her wide, misty eyes glanced between the two.

“Danny, baby.” Worry creased her forehead. “After you...after Phantom flew off...I thought...I didn’t know… if that would affect your other half but….” Her lips quivered. “Are you both okay?”

The human boy winced at the question, wrapping his arms around his waist. He glanced at his other half before answering. “We’re fine… at least physically.” His voice tapered to a whisper at the last word.

Guilt flickered across Mom’s face. “We have...we have a lot to talk about. But…” Her eyes shone with affection. “I’m so happy you came looking for me. And you came home.”

Phantom shrugged, trying to look casual. “I wasn’t gonna just leave you there.” He muttered.

The woman opened her mouth, thinking to reply. Her mouth closed and then she sighed. “Still...I was so scared, when you ran off. I’m...I’m just so happy you’re safe.”

Fenton looked down, guilt swirling through him. He remained still, even as his mom stepped forward, wrapping one arm around him and the other around his ghost half. “I love both of you so much.” She whispered.

A sense of deja vu overtook the human Danny as he couldn’t find it in him to reply. This had happened just minutes ago with Phantom, hadn’t it? And yet...the memory of that interaction passed through his mind, with the same conflicting emotions. He wanted to believe Mom’s words, he really did. But… ‘if Mom doesn't love you, then she doesn't really love me.’ Mom could say the words but if she didn’t really mean them...if she still didn’t accept Phantom….

The ghost boy pulled away and a moment later, his human followed. Both boys looked down, unable to look at their mother. Then there was a cough to the side. “Let’s go upstairs.” Dad said surprisingly softly. “Your mother’s right. We need to talk about things.”

Fenton looked up. He swallowed nervously, even as he nodded. The group of five trudged up the stairs, Dad first, followed by Jazz, then Mom, and finally the Dannys with Phantom coming last. The ghost glanced back at the lab, his eyes flickering to the portal. Fenton paused, brows furrowing as he noticed the action. Then he gently grabbed his other self’s arm and pulled him up the stairs. 

No words were said; none were necessary, but emotions were shared through the touch. Anxiety, fear, relief, hope, pain. So many feelings. Fenton didn’t know how to handle them. Everything hurt but...he hoped. Mom had said she was sorry earlier to Phantom, hadn’t she? She was acting like she was sorry but…

Fenton looked up to find his mother sitting in the armchair, looking uncomfortable. In front of him, Dad placed his hand gently on his sister’s arm. “Jazz, please go upstairs. Your mother and I need to talk to your brother.” The words were serious and melancholic but said gently.

The other teen frowned, starting to argue. “But...I can help. Danny...he needs me-”

“Jazz, honey.” Mom interrupted. “Please. I...we can handle this. I know...I know I made mistakes.” Again, her cheeks reddened with guilt. “But… It will be okay; we can fix this.”

Jazz’s brow wrinkled, a severe look flashing across her face. Then her expression softened. She turned to look at both versions of her brother, who were still hovering nervously at the threshold between the kitchen and living room. “Danny, do you...want me here for this?” Her eyes flickered to their mother before her voice quieted. “I told you earlier, I’d go with you to talk to her if you wanted.” She frowned, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

Phantom blushed, his face turning green as he shifted nervously in the air. “No. It’s...it’s okay. Dad’ll be here.” 

Jazz’s frown deepened, her eyes meeting Fenton’s. “Are you sure?”

The human boy nodded. “Yeah. It’s...you should go upstairs.”

His sister stayed staring for a long moment, still looking very much displeased. Then she heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll go.” She turned back towards the stairs, her deeply worried expression changing into something severe and maybe even judgmental as her eyes passed over their mom. Then Jazz walked across the run and up the stairs. Soon, she disappeared down the hall and the sound of a door closing rang through the quiet house.

More tense silence froze Fenton in his spot, his heart pounding anxiously in his chest. His eyes carefully avoided the adults who were both now sitting. 

Dad spoke up first, from his seat in the recliner. “Come on and sit down, son.” He leaned forward, patting the couch.

The pair of Dannys glanced at each other before Fenton started forward with his ghost half following after. Both sat side by side on the couch, shoulders tense and heads hung low. Fenton balled his fists in his lap. Now that his relief about Mom being safe had drained out of him… the pain, every word of that argument came flooding back. The human felt his ghost half shift in his seat beside him and so he looked to his side. Phantom opened his mouth briefly, looking like he wanted to speak, but then his jaw snapped closed. Fenton bit his own lip. He understood the feeling; neither of them knew what to say, how to start.

Mom made the decision for them. “Danny.” She started softly and Fenton looked up. “I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t...I shouldn’t have said any of what I said. I...I promised I would listen to you but... but I didn’t and…” She sniffled. “I just...I just yelled at you and…” Her voice shook with emotion. “You said...you thought I didn’t love Phantom. I...I made you think that but… I swear, I love you so much. You’re my baby and...I… I’d do anything for you. I love… I love you so-”

“Stop.” Phantom cut her off, voice pained. Fenton could feel his heart aching as the emotional dam broke. “You...you say that but… you said...you said I’m not supposed to be a ghost. You keep...you keep acting like there’s something wrong with me. And you wouldn’t even… even admit it. That...that you treat me different from Fenton or…” Mom winced at the words but they kept pouring out of the ghost. “Or barely look at me...or touch me… or…” Phantom sniffled, eyes watering. “I can’t...I can’t be what you want. I can’t be...be normal. I...I tried and this is what happened. All that horrible stuff you think...think about ghosts...you still think that about me. And…” His voice cracked, no more words able to come through as he started crying.

Fenton was crying too, feeling every single word in his heart even if they hadn’t been said with his mouth. He cried too, wrapping one arm around Phantom in a useless attempt at self-soothing. Even after Mom’s attempted apologies, even after she’d ventured into the Ghost Zone without a plan to find him, even after everything, the fears welled up. He felt sick with it, his insides churning.

The human boy barely registered when the couch shifted. “Danny. Danny baby, I’m… I’m so sorry.” Fenton looked to the side, following the sound of his mother’s voice. He winced. The woman had moved to sit beside Phantom, her arms wrapped around him. The ghost didn’t react, helpless in his tears. Mom pulled him closer. “No. I don’t...I don’t think that about you. I know you’re...you’re good. You’re not a...a monster. I never... never should have said that. I was wrong.”

Fenton whined, low in his throat. “Then why… why do you treat us… us differently? Why wouldn’t… wouldn’t you admit it?”

One of the woman’s hands moved to grab the human’s shoulder. “I hadn’t even realized it but… you’re right about… everything you… Phantom accused me of. I was treating you two differently. You were right about me… about me.... Hesi… hesitating to touch you… or look at you.”

“Why?” Phantom whimpered.

There was a pause, a sniffle. Then the woman answered. “I’ve been...I’ve just been so afraid.”

The ghost flinched, briefly flickering invisible. “Of...me?” The words were so quiet, so broken.

Mom shook her head vigorously. “No. No. Never. I’ve just...I’m...I’m so afraid of hurting you again.”

That made Phantom pull out of the hug. “What?” He frowned, Fenton copying the action.

“I’ve...I’ve already hurt you so much. The...the accident...the portal...my portal, my invention already hurt you. And...and I split you in half and…”

“Maddie.” Dad finally interrupted the words. “Both of us did that, not just you. That...this is both of our faults.”

The woman looked up, shaking her head. “No. But I’m...I’m the one that shot him, Jack. I...I shot you…” Her eyes flickered to Phantom. “I...I shot you and I’m...I’ve been so scared of hurting you again. I’ve been… been trying to keep you at an arm’s length to protect you. But I didn’t realize I was still hurting you.”

Fenton pursed his lips, at a loss of what to say. His ghost half had no such problem, anger briefly flashing across his face. “Yeah, well...you still did. You still….you still said I’m wrong and unnatural. You still said I’m supposed to be alive, like I have any control over that. You still said I wasn’t supposed to be a ghost.”

Mom glanced down, guilt darkening her checks before she looked up again. “You’re right I did say those things. I shouldn’t...have wanted you to be something you can’t be. It’s just…” She sighed, eyes watering again. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Ghost Danny grimaced, eyes narrowing harshly. “Really?”

The woman swallowed, looking even more guilty. “At least...that’s not what I intended. I meant...none of this was supposed to happen. The accident… it shouldn’t have happened. You...you shouldn’t have been hurt...you shouldn’t...shouldn’t have d...died because of my...my invention. But…” She gasped, voice trembling. “It was my negligence, my carelessness that did this to you. It was...it was my fault. You never should have been down there. I never should have made you clean the lab. It never should have been your responsibility.” She took a shaky breath. “But when...when I found you down in the basement after the accident..you weren’t...you weren’t breathing.”

Fenton gasped. “Really? I didn’t… I didn’t know that.”

Mom didn’t directly reply, pinching her eyes closed. “That was the worst five minutes of my life. I’d thought...I thought I’d lost you.” The grief was enough to bring new tears to both boy’s eyes. “But...your heart restarted and you seemed miraculously okay after the hospital and then...and then I learned about this…” Her eyes opened, looking at Phantom. “The portal...my portal killed you. It killed you. And...I’m so scared of losing you again. There’s so much I don’t know about ghosts. And-”

“No. Mom, that’s not…” Phantom interrupted. “You didn’t...you didn’t lose me. You’re not going to lose...to lose me.”

“I know that. I know that now.” Mom replied with conviction, looking at the ghost. “You’re still here. And that...that makes me so happy.” One hand moved to cup Phantom’s check. “I’m so happy you’re still here.” Her eyes moved to Fenton, her other hand touching his face. “I’m so happy that you survived. You’re still alive...at least partially.”

The words were not as comforting as she likely intended. The human Danny bit his lip. “But...what if...what if I wasn't?”

“What if I was just Phantom?” His ghost half continued the thought. “What if I was just a ghost?”

For just a brief moment, Mom’s eyes widened in surprise. A complicated mix of emotions crossed her face- wariness, uncertainty, fear, sorrow. Then she swallowed, a new determination passing her features. “Then...it would...it would still hurt but...I’d be happy to still have my son here, even if he was different.”

Ghost Danny didn’t pull away, even as hurt flashed across his features. Instead, his hand reached up to grab the woman’s other arm, the one that was reaching for Fenton’s face. The action drew his mother’s eyes. “But Mom…” He bit his lip. “I’m already different. That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to understand. I’m a ghost...a real ghost. And I don’t... I don’t want to be an exception just because I’m part human or because I’m your son. I just…” Tears ran down his face. “I just want you to accept me for who I am, ghostliness included.”

Mom’s eyes widened again, her hands pulling away. She studied Phantom’s face, before her eyes flickered to Fenton. “You...all of you thinks that.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement. Then the woman shook her head. “Of course you think that. You keep telling me that and…” An understanding passed over her face. “I’m still not listening. I...I really need to do better, don’t I?”

Fenton and Phantom didn’t say anything. What could they say? It was true and all of them knew it.

“Both of us should do better, Maddie.” Dad spoke, making both boys gasp softly. They’d forgotten that he was here. The man blushed, looking guilty. “I should have noticed what was happening and pushed to talk about things sooner.”

The human felt his heart clinch. Oh how differently things could have gone if they’d tried to have this conversation as the four of them first, instead of Mom and Phantom alone.

Mom shook her head. “That might be true. But… this is on me. I should have noticed.” Her eyes flickered between the two Dannys again. “I shouldn’t have made you feel like this. I was too caught up in my own grief and fear. I haven’t been the Mom that you’ve needed.” She paused, conviction shining in her eyes alongside the guilt. “I should have noticed you were hurting and... it was because of my behavior. I messed up but I want to do better.” She took a breath. “How can I do that? How can I make this up to you?”

For a long moment, both Dannys were silent, processing the apology. Fenton bit his lip. It...it sounded authentic. That conviction, admitting to mistakes, the willingness to take responsibility. And they’d...they had wanted this apology so badly. But...should they trust it? Maybe, start with….

The two Danny shared a glance, contemplating how to reply to the question. Finally Phantom sighed. “We don’t...we don’t know. Maybe…” He wrung his hands in his lap. “Don’t freak out if I use my powers or...you know...talk about being a ghost.”

“Yeah.” Fenton agreed, mustering all the confidence he could. “It’s not like it’s a bad word. It’s just...how I am now and...I’m okay with it.” The boy said the words and for once, no guilt accompanied them. They were...they were the truth.

The same could not be said of their parents. Mom’s lip turned down, her face reddening with guilt. “Sweetie...That...that should go without saying.”

“But,” Phantom softly argued. “You have freaked out….or…” He blushed. “You….well...you’ve looked at me weird, like you’re...un...uncomfortable.” Getting out the words was so hard. “So...so….I don’t feel like I can use my powers or talk about...stuff.”

“Hey, Danny-boy. It’s okay.” Dad said. “We talked about this, remember? You can talk to your Mom and me about anything. I want you to come to us if something’s bothering you. Or if you just want to talk. Or not talk, just hangout. We’re here for you.”

For just a brief moment, the guilt returned. Dad had said that last night. But...both Dannys were still hesitant.

“But you are right.” Mom continued. “This is your home. You’re supposed to feel comfortable here, like you can be completely yourself. And I have not been making you feel that way. And…” She took a breath. “You are a ghost and you have ghost powers. They're your powers.” The words were said with only the slightest hesitance, like they still hurt at some level but...Mom was trying. The woman put hands together, looking more determined. “So how about this? I gave my full permission to train your powers.”

Phantom blinked, startled. “What?” At the same time, Fenton asked more excitedly. “Really?!”

“Yes.” Mom confirmed with a nod of her head. She held up a finger. “In the lab with us and…” She glanced at the other adult, whose eyes shone with a hint of excitement. “We’ll have a training session in the next few days, before we finish with the Ghost Catcher. If that’s alright with you.”

The ghost boy looked at his counterpart before answering tentatively. “Yeah. We can do that but...what about just...general ghost power use?”

Fenton didn’t say anything, pleasantly surprised by the bluntness.

“Danny. They’re your powers.” Mom continued after a pause. “You said...it feels natural to use them. I meant what I said before, it would be cruel to forbid you from flying and… I do trust you.” She vowed. 

There was a pause as both Dannys took in the words, again surprised. Phantom bit his lip. “You do? But…”

Mom reached out to touch his arm. “Yes, Danny. I trust you. And I should have never let that waver, not with this.” She comfortingly squeezed, eyes flickering to Fenton. “I know that having ghost powers hasn’t changed you deep down, not where it counts. You’re still my son who’s responsible and knows to be reasonably careful.”

“And to fess up if you’ve messed up or accidentally broken something.” Dad added with wide affectionate eyes. “Which you probably will. You’ve got my clumsiness.” The corner of his lip turned up. “And those powers are tricky. So, it’ll be alright, right son?”

“Um...yeah.” Fenton replied, with a slight blush as a warm feeling rose in his chest. Did that...was he actually starting to feel better?

“And speaking of fessing up…” Mom said. “I am so proud of you for talking about this with us now. And earlier...it took a while but you told us about your powers and you told us what the ghost catcher really did. And I’m proud of you for that.” The woman offered a slight smile. Then her lips turned down again, more serious. “You trusted me with the truth. And I know I’ve broken that trust. I want to earn it back. So...do you think we can work on that?”

Fenton’s heart squeezed. He glanced at Phantom and… “Yeah. We can...we can try.” And he would try. Both parts of him would but there was a lot of trust that needed to be rebuilt. 

Mom gave a nod. “Alright. We can start with what we talked about, the training and freely using your powers. And…” Her eyes focused on Phantom, eyes again wide with conviction. “From now on, if you’re uncomfortable, tell me. This is your house; you’re supposed to feel like you can be yourself.”

The ghost’s lip twitch. “O...Okay.” Beside him, Fenton swallowed. Well...that was a tall order. He couldn’t...he couldn’t promise that.

Dad seemed to notice the discomfort. “Or tell me.” The man added. “Just don’t keep bottling it all up, son. Your mother and I just want to help you. We want you to be happy and safe.”

“And we’ll do everything we can to do that.” Mom continued. “Is there anything else you need us to do?”

The human Danny bit his lip and glanced at his ghost. Okay...they could consider being more willing to talk to Mom and Dad. And training and using their powers freely was exciting. But still, there was more.

Fenton sighed. “About your theories about ghosts….uhh….” The boy trailed off, unsure where to exactly start on the problems there.

“Your mom and I already talked about rethinking them.” Dad started.

“Or rather, throwing out the old hypotheses all together.” The woman frowned. “We need to look at everything with fresh eyes. And gather more information. Like I said...there’s so much we don’t know.”

“But what we do know is, we can’t assume any ghost we find will be thoughtless or emotionless.” Dad added with a nodd.

“Or malevolent.” Mom said. “We’ll proceed with an open mind and hope for the best. We do want to go through the portal at some point and observe ghosts in their native environment.” The corner of her lip turned up. “Maybe we can find some other humanoid ghosts to talk to...just talk to.” Her expression then shifted, turning more serious. “But...this won’t be until after we get you re-fused. As we’ve said, you’re our priority, Danny.”

Both Dannys nodded, considering the statement. Then Phantom agreed, biting his lip. “That sounds good. I’m...uh...glad you’re gonna rethink studying ghosts. Just talking’s good.”

From his seat in the recliner, Dad’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, speaking of talking to ghosts…” A hint of excitement lit in his eyes. “You said that you talked to a ghost who helped you find a portal back home. You said he was called...Sidney?”

Mom’s eyes widened, flickered to her husband and then to Phantom. “What?!”

“Uhh...yeah…” The ghost boy rubbed the back of his neck. “His name’s Sidney.” His eyes met Mom’s. “So...long story short, there’s like...a metaphysical line between me and Fenton because...same person. So I...uh...followed it to find him and the line led me to a portal that’s actually in Sidney’s lair and opens up into one of the locker’s at school.”

The woman blinked. “So… you found a portal...inside this ghost’s...lair?” Phantom nodded. “And it leads to...a locker in your school?” This time, Fenton nodded. “And this portal...you got back home through it?” Both Fenton and Phantom nodded. “Which means...you went back through our portal to find me.” Mom blew out a sigh, her voice a mix of surprise, amazement, and a little worry.

“Yeah.” Phantom shrugged, though his cheeks flushed green. “I wasn’t gonna leave you.”

The adult’s face softened. “Oh sweetie…” She shook her head. “So this ghost...you talked to him?”

The ghost boy nodded. “Yeah. He actually taught me some stuff about the Ghost Zone and uhh...ghost etiquette, I guess. And apparently...the ghosts have a word of people like me. We’re called halfas.”

Both adults blinked, taking in the words for a long moment. Then Dad’s eyes lit up. “Halfa! Human you said that earlier, in the Fenton GAV. What else did you learn?!”

Fenton slumped slightly, overwhelmed by the sudden excitement. “Can we...uh..maybe talk about this later?”

Dad’s expression fell, disappointed. A hurt look flashed across Mom’s face. “Danny sweetie...whatever happened, you can tell us. I promise we’ll keep an open mind.”

The human boy’s eyes widened slightly, guilt briefly flaring in him at the reaction. “No Mom, it’s not that. It’s just...there’s a lot.”

Phantom nodded. “I learned a lot. Tons. It’ll be...a long conversation and…”

“I’m tired.” Fenton continued, sudden weariness overtaking him as he yawned. “I heard...I saw everything that happened...in the lab.” He paused briefly, stomach only slightly flopping at the memory.  “And...I got kinda pulled to Phantom when we ran off…” Mom and Dad both looked confused so he clarified. “My part of our mind...It’s like...I wasn’t aware of what our human body was doing because...I was with Phantom.”

Dad frowned. “So...like two people in one body? But...you’re the same person?”

Phantom shrugged. “Yeah it’s confusing. It didn’t last very long but...a lot happened and...I’m tired too...like mentally and emotionally so…” He trailed off, unsure.

Mom’s expression softened. “I understand, Danny. We can talk about that later. You can go upstairs and take a nap if you want to.” She moved from where she was stilling to crouch in front of both boys on the couch. “I’m so happy you’re back and you’re safe.” She leaned forward to kiss Phantom’s head... “And I love you so much. Phantom and Fenton.” And then Fenton’s. “Ghost and Human.” Neither boy flinched at the kiss, nor did they shy away as her eyes met Phantom’s before flickering to Fenton’s. “Thank you for talking to me and giving me another chance.”

“Yeah. Mom. We love you too.” Both Dannys said in synch.

And they did; that had never changed. Everything that had happened before, all the words and actions, all the pain, all of that hurt badly, so badly. But...that was because they loved their parents.

Mom stood and stepped to the side and Dad moved to kneel in her place. His big arms wrapped around the pair. “I’m happy you’re safe too. And...I know it was hard but...I’m glad all of that’s in the open now. Now we can start dealing with it and getting better.”

Fenton squeezed back, returning the hug. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“You’re right. Thanks Dad.” Phantom squeezed as well.

The man pulled away, his eyes watering. He enthusiastically patted both boys' knees. “Now go take that nap. I want you bright-eyed and bushy tailed to tell me all about your adventure in the Ghost Zone.”

That earned a chuckle from Phantom even as he blushed. “Yeah. That’s a word for it.”

Fenton shook his head, the corner of his own lip turning up. He glanced up, catching a slight glimpse of Mom’s subtle smile as Dad stood and stepped back. The human boy rose to his feet. “Come on, Phantom.”

“I’m coming.” The ghost also rose and floated beside his human as the pair went up to their room.

[susoftjockau]

The Party - Part Seven

Looking at plants was the type to inflame a ravenous hunger. Well, anything can make one hungry, so this wasn't a new experience for him even with the new context to it. If anything, this was one of the less intense but pleasing moments in his life, where he could enjoy a meal without that lulling buzz of deja vu he kept having when it came to eating in general — veggie burgers, salads, pizzas, somewhere located with the cheerleaders with no care in the world; it was a pattern that he got used to quickly.

This time it was a bit different: there was a light squeeze in his chest, the kind that kept him warm like a fireplace even with the cold walk out of the park and the goosebumps riding his arms. It must've been Connie; he wouldn't lie that she had been a small crush of his ever since they met — it didn't help that this intensified because of that magical statue he touched a week before that, being told that it granted miracles of romance, which he was a sucker for. He could question why he had such an affinity for her but it was already there for him if he squinted hard enough. It must’ve been her warm personality. Or her intelligence. Or anything else for that matter that kept him focused to his jam bud, staying right next to her as they exited the Japanese grounds for some food.

They found the truck on the outskirts of the garden — wafting of spice and vegetable, dream catchers dangling from the overhang, makeshift tables harboring a few families and teenagers for the night. Some were talkative, but many appeared to be relaxing, enjoying the solitude as the truck took orders for plates and cups of Mexican cuisine, the clang and tussle of kitchen utensils resounding within in an enthusiastic beat.

Connie took account of the menu boards plastered above the truck's open grate, a small frown on her lips. "Do you think they have salads?"

Steven looked through the contents. There were tacos, quesadillas, customized cups of horchata, and everything in-between, but there doesn't seem to be any that would fit a description of a salad. He knitted his eyebrows, there was some case for worry here. "We could ask for non-meat stuff? I could take out the stuff if I have to."

"I know that, but," she bit her lip, flinching at a loud clang of metal from the truck's kitchen, "I have to make sure their meals don't have too many carbs or cholesterol."

Oh. He felt a bit ashamed for forgetting that one tidbit: that his jam bud had a diet stricter than his. "Wellll, we'll just see where it goes. One of these dishes must have a lot of vegetables, they’re bound to help us with custom orders; they sound like they'll be okay with it if it makes their customers happy."

"I hope so." She rubbed her arm, but after a second of it she pulled it back down, like the action burned her upon contact. "I don't want my stomach to act up."

"We could find another restaurant if that works for you."

"No, no," she shook her head. "I'm okay, let's just ask them and see if we have to move or not."

He nodded. Sounds like a deal. "Alright."

The ordeal wasn't that worrisome when it came down to it. There were a slew of questions over which dishes had the most vegetables, which one harbored non-meat ingredients, and the typical pondering of choices they could pluck from the menu, both of them taking jabs on what would be the best dish — Connie more weary on her end than his. It wasn't a nervous wreck of a deal, but he could tell something was on her mind, something fumbling around her noggin like a pest on a wall. He had the patience; he had the time, yet he didn’t want to ignore it.

"You feeling okay, Strawberry?" The nickname caught her off guard. They were sitting at a table, facing each other with their meals. Steven had picked from a platter of small veggie tacos, and she was nibbling at her burrito, sweet potatoes peeking through the salsa verde, teeth hesitant on digging into the contents. It was a quiet affair, but there was a tension in the air, something he couldn't describe, yet there nonetheless. "You seem out of it."

"Am I?" Connie put her burrito down, wiping a sauce smear from her chin. Her eyes were downtrodden, looking away from him. "Sorry, I'm just thinking."

"You could tell me if it bothers you." He put one of his tacos onto her plate -- a peace offering, he called it, the breaking of tacos, even if he didn’t really break it and kept it in one piece.

She gave him a sheepish smile, putting the taco back onto his set. "Well…"

"I promise," he did a criss-cross motion in front of his chest, "won't say a word to anyone."

"I know you wouldn't." She grimaced slightly. "I'm just nervous to say it."

"Well," he said. "You don't have to tell me if you're nervous but I promise you that no matter what, I'll accept what you'll say."

"You're so sweet." Her sentence seemed to take him by surprise. Even she seemed to be surprised, tone twisting into something unfamiliar. "But yeah, I'll tell you, if it makes things a little bit easier."

"Remember, Connie," he said. "I'm always open."

"Mhm. Just give me a moment."

At the sight of her quick bite at her food, he smirked at her. "How is it?"

"It's good," she admitted, cheeks brushed with pink. "Better than I realized."

He couldn't help his giggle as she started back up again, putting the burrito down.

"It's just that," she fumbled with her fingers on the table, biting her lip, shoulders tense under the weak moonlight. "I get anxious over these types of events." She stopped, looking at him with inquiry in her stare like she was waiting for him to react. After a second, he nodded. That was enough. "When your friends were around, I'd feel like I'm drowning, overwhelmed by all of it — two of them are okay, yes, but having all of them surround me and ask questions made me want to get away...or dissociate."

"Ah…" He tried not to take offense to it. Being truthful was better than just lying to him, but somehow it still hit him that this would be hard. He can't just place her into his friend group with one step, it wasn't that simple; people had to adjust in their own ways, pacing themselves to something manageable. For Connie, she couldn't handle a crowd with all eyes on her, he'll have to take it slow or he won't have his favorite people around unless he wanted a chance of her having a panic attack.

"Okay." He said, taking a bite from his taco, chewing slowly. He needed a moment to ponder. Think. What could help her? How slow was he supposed to go? Where should they start? "You said you could manage how many at a time?"

"Two or less." Her voice went higher. "But if you really want me to get to know them, then I can try anything as long as it doesn't make me anxious."

"But you don't have to befriend them if you don't want to." He reminded her.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to." She stated. "Back at the food table, I did have a conversation with one of them; it didn't pull me into a fit or had me wanting to leave, it actually felt nice." Before he could respond, she added one more. "I'm open to trying something with you, with them, but I'll tell you if it's too much, if I can't handle it."

A sharp inhale. "You promise that?"

"I promise."

"Okay. Okay." Think. Think. Think. She could take two or less. She was able to find stuff to talk about with them without being uncomfortable. He had the patience to guide it and she had the honesty to tell him if anything went wrong. He rubbed his chin; there was an idea, but he had to get it through her before he could think of it further. "What about one-on-one time? We could schedule hangouts with them so only you and one of the girls could get to know each other. I could be a third party so you don't have to talk much if it gets awkward!"

Connie stared at him, uncertainty in her eyes — the intrigue, however, was churning in them. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Mumbles strung out from her lips. "I don't think a third party would be necessary for all of them. There are some cheerleaders that harbor more of an outgoing and talkative personality than some I've noticed. I could handle them, the only ones I'm worrying about are the ones who might be too much."

"So...I'll only come if you need me?"

"Mhm."

Okay, he thought, a smile beginning to grow on him. They were making progress; they were compromising. If they could tinker with it more, they should be able to make it work. He spoke up. "We could make a list of who'll go first? I can give you a description of each one and what they like to talk about and you can rate them on who you're most likely to get along with."

"Yeah." Her face lightened up. An ease was there, finally. "Yeah, that can work!"

"Do you have a piece of paper? I want to write the list down."

"What if we just use our phones?" She fished it out from her pocket.

"Oh yeah,” he couldn’t help his embarrassed giggle. “That works."

Progress was being made.

[sugakuns]

stream deja vu by dream catcher or remain swagless

[incorreci-spaghetti]

Doctor: Ma’am, you’re a hypochondriac.

SuA: [to the others] See!? And you guys kept saying I didn’t have anything!