#ftf: danny

[mir-iamwilde]

Aren't you scared? Well, that's just fine. || DAMIDGE

WHO: @dannyssylvester, @mir-iamwilde

WHERE: Midge's Apartment

WHEN: The 31st of October, before and then after the halloween party

WHY: Danny and Midge get ready for the party, then come back to Midge's afterwards. Danny shares some personal information, and then Midge gets vulvernable.

WARNINGS: Mentions of kidnapping, violence, religion. Sex, NSFW

Midge WildeStepping out of the shower, Midge was kind of excited for her costume. She knew she was going to look great in it, but it was surprisingly low maintenance for her. She didn't even have to blow dry her hair, just brush and braid it. Which is exactly what she decided to do first as she stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, still wrapped in her towel as she sat down at the chair in front of her mirror and began brushing her hair. "You know," She said, turning to Danny, "You could have joined me in there, I wouldn't have minded." She teased, winking over at him as she began to put her hair into a french braid.

Danny SylvesterIt was Halloween already, never Danny's thing, but he liked to dress up hot whenever he could so this definitely counted. He'd got his pants on so far, and pulled on his shirt but hadn't buttoned it up yet. Too busy getting distracted by the very gorgeous woman who's house he was in. "I know," He replied as Midge came back into the bedroom. "But I didn't want us to be late, we would have definitely got sidetracked." Even though he said that, he still stood up and placed a kiss onto Midge's shoulder, before moving to look at his accessories for his costume. "I feel like this is going to come in handy tonight." Danny waved his whip at her, a smirk on his face.

Midge WildeMidge grinned at his answer, letting her fingers tangle into his hair when he kissed her shoulder, "Babe, it's a party, not a wedding, you don't have to show up on time." She grinned, standing when she'd finished her hair to look at what he was holding. Midge walked over to where he stood, her hands adventuring to his abs, enjoying his open shirt. "I'm confused," She said, her face innocent as she met his eyes, "What could you possibly use that for?" She bit her lip as she tilted her head, as if trying to understand, "Maybe I need a demonstration..."

Danny Sylvester"Well in that case." Danny muttered and pulled Midge into a kiss as she began to touch him. He quickly pulled back and grinned at her. "A demonstration? I don't know... Are you sure you don't want to go straight to the party?" But he unfurled the whip and wrapped it around Midge's back to pulled her closer and kiss her hard. "If you want a full demonstration you'll have to get on the bed. And then I'd tie you up and then eat you out, but not let you come, just leave you hanging and keep teasing you, but you can't touch yourself." He nipped at her bottom lip. "And maybe I have a few other ideas too."

Midge WildeMidge let her eyes slide closed when he spoke, the images running through her mind caused her to let out a soft moan as her hips ground slightly against his on instinct. “Please,” she whispered, her hands still roaming his upper body. She couldn’t seem to resist him and didn’t care how long it took to get to the party, “You can’t tell me something like that and then leave me hanging, baby.” She said, her fingers tangling into his hair, not caring that her towel was coming loose around her on its own, “I need follow through.”

Danny SylvesterDanny just chuckled and brushed his lips gently against hers, teasing her. "Are you sure? Everyone will be waiting for us at the bar." He looked down to see that Midge's towel was starting to come off and he reached forward to pull it away from her body, mouth watering at what he saw. "We have all the time in the world after the party though." And he pressed hot kisses to her neck. "And at the party."

Midge WildeShe couldn't explain how much she didn't care about anyone who was waiting for them, but she could tell that Danny did, and she could wait. Waiting was half the fun. Midge laughed as he pulled her towel away, letting her arms rise up at her sides as she turned around to give him the full view. "All the time in the world, huh? You promise? Because I want you to take your time tonight." She grinned, her fingers tangling into his hair, "I think I might make you wait until after, maybe tonight at the party you can look but you don't get to touch, what do you think about that?"

Danny SylvesterAs she turned around and showed off her body to him, Danny smirked and slapped her ass lightly before she turned back around. "Oh don't worry, I will take my time tonight, if you're a good girl that is." He leant down to peck her lips a few times before pulling back. "You know you drive me crazy when you tease me. But I like the sound of that challenge honestly." His hands soon found their way back to her ass. "Not gonna lie though I'm going to be staring at your ass all night baby."

______________________________ Midge WildeComing home from the party, she hadn’t really had the fun time she’d envisioned. It wasn’t that she’d had a bad time, but the night seemed to feel heavier and heavier as it went on, and by the time she found her way back to Danny, she was just ready to leave and be alone with him. After hearing about his fight with Zach, the last bit of her energy seemed to drain out of her and she was ready to just sink into him. Entering her apartment she made her way straight to the fridge for some water, before turning to warp her arms Danny’s neck, her free hand tangling into his hair before removing his hat and placing it on her own head instead. Midge gave him a soft kiss, “Thanks for coming home with me.”

Danny SylvesterWhere he thought he was going to have a really fun time tonight with Midge and win the couples costume contest, but that certainly didn't happen. It was a bad time all around, with weird conversations and an almost fist fight, caused by him of course, and now he just felt slightly deflated. But luckily there was one little light in his life right now, Midge was still here. She was a good distraction, and was all over him straight away. Smiling softly as she put his hat on, he kissed her gently. "Thanks for inviting me back. Means a lot."

Midge WildeShe frowned, knowing his night hadn’t been great, not that hers had been either, but she wanted so badly to see him smiling like he usually did. She placed kisses along his jawline, “Baby, come here,” she whispered, taking his hands to lead him to the couch. She gently pushed him down on the couch before straddling him. Instead of rushing to take their clothes off like she normally would though, laid herself down on top of him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You wanna tell me what’s on your mind?”

Danny SylvesterHe couldn't deny it, but Danny melted every time she called him baby. With a small smile, he let her lead him to the couch and he sat down. As she straddled him, he did expect it to be the start to sex, so he was definitely surprised when she wanted him to talk. "I'm sorry I ruined our night." He frowned and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know, I just... You mean a lot to me, you know that right? I've never felt a connection with anyone like this before." And he looked deep in her eyes, trying to convey everything he felt. "But you don't know the real me. And I think we need to change that."

Midge Wilde“You didn’t ruin anything, my night still looks pretty good,” she smiled, gesturing to them sitting together on the couch. She nodded when he said she meant a lot to him, though she tried to deny it to herself, she knew whatever this was with Danny was deeper than just great sex, it was deeper than anything she’d felt. Midge frowned as he continued, anxiety spiking in her chest at his words, “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

Danny SylvesterHis smile was soft, and so was the kiss and he leant up to press his lips to her. Danny could see that Midge was getting a little tense, so he reached up and held onto her arms, rubbing them to sooth her. "Sorry that did sound a little ominous." He swallowed a lump in his throat and took another deep breath. "This is going to sound crazy, I can't deny that, it took me a while to wrap my head around it." With a sigh, he got himself settled better on the couch. "Originally I was led to believe that I was adopted by Sue Sylvester. But I wasn't. I was kidnapped. You ever hear the story about Daniel Schuester? The baby that got kidnapped, that's me. And I have been living a lie my whole life and it is eating me alive."

Midge WildeShe sat up as he spoke, trying not to show her disbelief on her face. For a moment, she sat silently, just trying to take in what he'd just said. "What?" She finally spoke, her voice so low she didn't know if he'd even hear it. She wasn't sure if this was some kind of Halloween prank, or what, but she also couldn't imagine why Danny would come up like a story like this. "What?" She repeated, finally meeting his eyes, "How is that possible? You said originally you were lead to believe, so when did you find this all out?"

Danny SylvesterDanny just nodded slowly, his face sad. "Yeah... yeah it's true, it's all real." He rested his head against the back of the couch as he reflected back on bad memories. "About twelve years ago." And he shook his head. "I had been at home searching for my birth certificate and instead found lots of information about the real me and what happened... I flipped out, asked Sue and she confirmed it, and then I ran. That was my biggest mistake and regret. I left and didn't tell my siblings anything. Disappeared for twelve years and turned up like two months ago because I decided to tell them the truth." He finally looked at her now. "I'd been through so much shit and had just given up, I needed to come home."

Midge WildeShe didn’t know what to say, and instead just stared at him. She should have had a million questions, but her mind was blank, just trying to take in what he was saying. “What kind of shit?” She finally asked, wanting to make sure he knew he could tell her everything. “What about your birth parents, do they know?”

Danny SylvesterThe first question had caught him off guard and he paused. "I got arrested a few times, Sue bailed me out and then after the second time she said she wouldn't any more. So the third time I was in jail for just over three years." She was the first person he'd actually explained this too other than Penny. "Then after I was released I struggled to get a job and I ended up homeless for two years." Danny's brows furrowed deep. "That was hard. Really hard. I thought I was going to die, I was really ill at one point." Then he shook his head. "That doesn't matter though. And no they don't, I'm just trying to get to know my siblings a little better first."

Midge WildeHe had mentioned some of his past to her before on their date, how it was difficult to get a job because of it, but he hadn’t provided as many details. Staring at him, she ran her fingers through his hair, hoping to be some kind of comfort, “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.” She whispered, “I hope you know that that never has to happen again, you’re stuck with me now, so you’ve always got a place to stay, okay? And someone to bail you out.” Midge sighed, leaning forward to give him a soft kiss, “I think that’s smart, I can’t imagine what navigating all of this has been like for you, baby, but just know I’m here for you, okay? Whatever happens, whatever you decide to do, I’m going to be here, okay?”

Danny SylvesterAs Midge ran her fingers through his hair, Danny sighed and leant into her touch. "It's okay." He muttered, the only thing he had the energy to do was shrug. Her words sunk in and he looked over at her, unable to find the right words to say, so he just nodded, many thoughts and feelings overwhelming him. He knew that Penny would never kick him out, but to know he had another place to stay if he needed it just made the heaviness in his chest ease slightly. "Why are you so good to me?" He asked against her lips, desperate to kiss her. "Penny is friends with some of them so I can go to her for help with telling them." Danny tried a small smile and nodded. "I know. Thank you."

Midge WildeBecause you deserve to be treated well.” She said, her voice serious, her answer matter of fact. Midge nodded, she wanted to listen for as long as he wanted to talk, but she also wanted to feel close to him, closer than she felt right now. She wanted to try and make his night better, to show him that she cared about him in the only way she really knew how, so she leaned forward again, kissing him as her hands cupped his face. She deepened the kiss, knowing that if he needed to talk more he would. Still she pulled away to rest her forehead against his, “You deserve so much better than what you’ve been given, baby.” She whispered, her hands roaming his body now as she placed kisses along his jawline, “I want to give you everything you deserve.”

Danny Sylvester"I don't." Danny replied, his voice barely a whisper so he wasn't sure whether she'd hear him or not. But then they were kissing again, and this time he allowed himself to get lost in it. As their foreheads rested together, he sighed, Midge was trying her best to cheer him up and he just kept pushing her away. Reaching up, he took his hat off her head and threw it aside so he could run his fingers through her hair. He didn't say another word, and just pressed his lips desperately against hers.

Midge WildeShe deepened the kiss, just wanting him. She didn’t feel the need to try and impress him, or make stupid comments, she just wanted to be as close to him as she could get. She sat up, just enough to take her top off, before moving closer again, her lips leaving a trail down his neck as she unbuttoned his shirt, allowing her fingers to trail along his bare skin as she went. “Danny,” she whispered, meeting his eyes again. “Take me to the bed.” It wasn’t that they couldn’t have sex on the couch, but it didn’t feel intimate enough tonight, she wanted more than just to be fucked by him, though she couldn’t put what she wanted into words, it felt like it needed a bed, and a closeness that the couch didn’t offer.

Danny SylvesterHe smiled as she pulled back to take her shirt off, letting his eyes roam over her upper body. His hands moved to cup her breasts, squeezing gently and then moving away so she could unbutton his shirt. Pressing his lips against hers again, he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him on his lap. But as Midge spoke, Danny looked at her and nodded, glad that she felt the same as he did. He didn't want to fuck her today, he wanted to spend some intimate time with her. Hooking his arms under her legs, Danny scooped her into his arms and picked her up, carrying her to her room, and gently placing her on her bed.

Midge WildeShe held onto him as he carried her, and then pulled him down on top of her when he laid her down. Midge began kissing him again, pushing his shirt off his shoulders now and down his arms. “Danny, I-…” she started to say something she was sure to regret, but the words love you almost tumbled out of her mouth without a thought. She didn’t know if it was even possible for her to be in love with anyone, but she did love Danny, as a person she loved him, but she couldn’t say that, not when they were about to have sex, not when she wasn’t even sure how she meant it. “I need you, baby.” She whispered, trying to cover up for her almost slip as she kissed along his jaw again.

Danny SylvesterHe was pulled down on top of her and he grinned into the kiss. Midge had definitely made him feel better by just being her, but he couldn't deny that sex would help too. But it was different, with Midge, even though he didn't feel like he was worthy of what she said to him, she did make everything better. His heart was thumping hard in his chest as he took a moment to look down at her. What was this? He had never been this soft and intimate with anyone like this before. So why Midge? Why was she different? She spoke and he nodded again at her request, kissing her once more. "I'm right here baby, I'm not going anywhere." And he tilted his head so she could kiss his jaw.

Midge WildeShe let his words echo through her, but didn’t say anything back. She didn’t need to, she just let the sounds they made fill the room instead. Midge reached down to undo her shorts, pulling them down with her panties and then kicked them the rest of the way off, leaving herself completely naked. She wasted no time moving to his pants, undoing them and pushing them down, leaving the rest to him to kick off. Midge kissed him again, her hands wrapping around his shoulders as she pulled him closer. She didn’t want all of the games and the teasing they usually had, she just wanted him as close to her as he possibly could be.

Danny SylvesterAs Midge took her clothes off and lay there naked in front of him, Danny pressed his lips to wherever he could on her body, feeling himself getting hard. Then his pants were coming off and he dragged his boxers down his legs before throwing them to the floor. They were pressed so closely together and he rolled his hips against her as they kissed. Danny reached down to stroke himself a few times before he pulled back from the kiss to look at her. "You ready?" He whispered softly.

Midge WildeShe let out a soft moan at the feeling of Danny's hips rolling into hers. Midge nodded, when he asked if she was ready, "Yeah, I'm ready." She whispered, letting herself relax back against the bed, her legs spreading to make sure he had plenty of room. She didn't know what this was, why this felt so different, but she felt like they were on the brink of something. Standing at the edge of a cliff that they were trying not to tumble over, and yet she also wanted to leap.

Danny SylvesterDanny gave her one last kiss before he lined himself up and slowly pushed in. He let out a soft gasp at the feeling and moved his head down to press his forehead against hers as he began to slowly rock his hips back and forth. Danny certainly wasn't used to this level of intimacy, it was soft and gentle, but honestly right now he wouldn't change it for anything, he wanted to be with Midge like this. Something had changed between them, but he just didn't know what. He moaned deeply as he pushed himself in further, but didn't get any quicker.

Midge WildeShe let out another moan at the feeling of him filling her, her hips rocking toward him in rhythm with his own. The pace he set was slow but it felt incredible, every movement felt magnified. Midge brought her hands up to cup his cheek with one, the other finding its way into his hair. She didn’t try to hide the moans that were escaping her with each thrust he made. Midge wanted to close her eyes, get lost in this feeling completely, but met Danny’s eyes instead. Everything felt so intimate, and she didn’t want to run from that for once. She didn’t know if he felt the same way, if he felt the same connection she was, but in the moment it didn’t matter, all that mattered was being there together. “Tell me something,” she whispered, longing to hear something that told her this was more than just in her head, that he could see the real her, that he thought she was beautiful, that he felt as vulnerable as she did in this moment, anything to tell her she wasn’t crazy for feeling this way.

Danny SylvesterHis eyes wanted to flutter shut as Midge ran her hand through his hair, but he kept them open needing to see all of her in this moment. There were a few soft groans from him as his pace picked up, and he pulled away so he could take a better look at her, laying there all for him and only for him. When Midge spoke, Danny's brows furrowed and he slowed himself down slightly as he stared at her. What did she want him to say? His heart was beating like crazy in his chest as he opened his mouth, he didn't want to say the wrong thing. But in the end, it came naturally to him. "You're so beautiful." And he brushed his lips against hers. "I care about you so much. I swear I do."

Midge WildeShe kept her hips moving in rhythm with his, watching him as he spoke. Midge pulled him closer so she could kiss him again. It was strange, the way she’d been naked in front of him plenty of times now, but had never felt this vulnerable, and yet, she’d also never felt this safe with anyone. Midge could feel her orgasm building already, “Baby,” she whispered, placing kisses along his jaw again, “I’m so close,” she added, her knees starting to shake a bit at the feeling. She couldn’t explain this, why she felt so exposed to him like this, she couldn’t hide behind her normal bravado and it terrified her, but Danny on top of her felt like a shield from all of the bad shit in the world that could hurt her.

Danny SylvesterHe moaned into the kiss, his rhythm picking up now as he was desperate for them both to come. His fingers traced all over her skin and moved down her body until he was gripping onto her hips. "Yeah..." Danny grunted slightly as he pushed in deeper. "Me too." He looked down at her, meeting her eyes and smiled softly. Everything he was feeling right now seemed to be amplified even more on this moment. And Danny cared about Midge so much, he knew he did, so why did this feel so different? "Come with me?" He asked, nearly at his peak. "Please come with me baby."

Midge WildeMidge nodded at his question, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hold off now even if she wanted to. She kissed him again, moaning into his mouth as she felt herself come undone, her hips rocking in rhythm with the waves of her orgasm now. She moaned again, her breathing ragged as her back arched off the bed, her toes curling into the blanket under her, and her hands grasped his arms, as if she needed to hold herself steady. Midge relaxed against the bed again as her orgasm slowed, trying to catch her breath. She didn’t want to move yet, didn’t want to lose the closeness, worried that somehow the vulnerability and the safeness of the whole thing would disappear as soon as the moment ended.

Danny SylvesterAs he saw Midge hit her peak, felt her tighten around him and heard her moan, Danny came too, his whole body shaking and feeling like it was on fire. It seemed very intense for Midge too and that spurred him on even more to keep moving his hips as they rode their orgasms out. Once they'd both came down from their high, panting hard, Danny moved down to kiss her softly, cupping her cheek. "That was incredible." He whispered and brushed his nose against hers. "Never felt anything like that before." He admitted.

Midge WildeShe let out a few shaky breaths before speaking, wanting to make sure she didn't say anything stupid. She brushed her fingers through his hair again, trying to keep herself in the moment, not let all of her fears and insecurities seep in and ruin this. "Me too." She finally whispered back, kissing him again. "Will you stay with me?" She finally asked, wanting him to spend the night, of course, but she knew that she meant that question with a deeper meaning, wondering if one day Danny would leave her, outgrow her. "I don't want to sleep alone." She added, hoping to cover up any double meaning to the question.

Danny SylvesterDanny nodded his head slowly at her request, but was confused to why she would even ask, of course he would stay with her, he'd stay forever if she asked. He pulled out slowly with a groan and dropped onto the bed next to her, gathering her into his arms. "I'm not leaving your side, I promise." Pressing a kiss to the back of her shoulder, he reached for one of her hands and tangled their fingers together. "Are you okay baby?" He whispered to her, trying to capture her lips as best as he could.

Midge WildeShe didn’t know why she let herself get so bothered all the time. They had just had a moment where everything felt so wonderful and then she had to remind herself that what goes up must come down before she even had a moment to enjoy it. But as Danny pulled her against himself she felt okay again, letting her body relax against his. She turned her head to kiss him back, then nodded. “I am now.” She whispered, “I think I just got scared for a second there, it sounds silly, I know.”

Danny Sylvester"That's good." He replied as he kissed her once more, before laying back down and moving to spoon her. Sure they'd had a lot of sex since they'd been hanging out together, but it was the moments like this that Danny felt were truly special, just the two of them together, holding each other and talking and really building a connection. He felt some sort of pounding in his chest, but he ignored it to focus on Midge. "What do you mean scared?" And he dipped his head to brush his lips against her neck. "That I'd leave?"

Midge WildeShe sighed, letting her free hand draw circles on the skin of his arm. "No," She whispered at his question, and then shrugged, "Or maybe." She didn't know what she was afraid of, she just felt like they were in a bubble that was about to pop for a minute and then he wrapped his arms around her and she felt better. She didn't know how to explain that. She let go of his hand, rolling over to face him now. "Usually it's so easy for me to be with someone physically. It's fun and it's easy and then when it's done, it's done. But when I'm with you I don't want it to just be done when it's done. I don't mean that I want to have more sex, I just..." She trailed off, her eyes wandering around the room instead of on him, trying to find the right words, "I feel like all the ways I'm usually so good at protecting myself are useless against you."

Danny SylvesterAs Midge rolled over to face him, Danny let her talk, but had a frown on his face as he listened. It didn't sound like a bad thing she was saying, but maybe it wasn't necessarily good because she seemed quite nervous and almost scared. But the other thing was that, he understood. He'd hook up with a girl and once they'd had sex he'd probably leave or just stay the night because it was convenient. With Midge his rules changed; he wanted to spend time with her, go out to dinner with her and hold her hand and buy her candy and cheer her up when she was sad. And it was terrifying. But as soon as he would look at her, that feeling in his chest and his stomach would settle. "You let your walls down around me. But I do the same, I like my walls down around you. Because I trust you, and care about you."

Midge WildeNodding at his words, she felt herself relax again. She was comforted by the way he understood her, even if the fact that they had that connection to understand her was part of what freaked her out. "Trusting someone means giving them a lot of power to hurt you." She finally said before placing a soft kiss on his lips, "I guess that's part of it, giving them the power to hurt you but trusting that they won't. And I do trust you, but then when I feel vulnerable I don't think I always trust myself, and I start thinking about..." She trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Like, just now, I was thinking that we just had this amazing moment where it felt like we were so connected, but then my first thought after was that at some point what goes up must come down, and you can't ride a high like that forever. It's like I can't just let myself enjoy something, I have to ruin it for myself, so I get scared."

Danny SylvesterDanny frowned but nodded, understanding completely. He had trusted the woman he thought was his mother, and she'd hurt him, in more ways than one, so now it was hard for him to trust anyone. But he trusted Midge as soon as he had met her, and to let her in was a huge step. "It sounds like you're getting in your own way of being happy. And I don't want you to do that, because you deserve to be happy." He leant his forehead against hers and tangled their fingers together, anything to try and comfort her. "There is bad with the good, there always will be. But you have to try and enjoy yourself and stay positive." He sighed a little, feeling deflated because he knew he wasn't really helping. "I care about you so much and I'm always going to be here, I promise you that, and I promise I'll never hurt you." Danny brushed some hair out of her face. "And you can talk to me about this and how you're feeling any time okay? I'm always here to listen to you."

Midge WildeShe nodded at his words, “I know. It’s not as dramatic as it all sounds, I just get in my head, but then when you said you were staying, I felt fine. I just need a little reassurance sometimes, I guess.” Midge kissed him, hoping he knew how much better he could make her feel just with his presence. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you in my life, and have you care about me the way you do, but I hope you know it’s mutual.”

Danny Sylvester "Then I will always reassure you Midge, whenever you need it." And Danny pulled her as close as he could as they kissed, letting her know that he was there and not leaving. "You're lucky? No way, I'm the luckiest guy in the world." He replied with a soft grin and kissed her nose. "But I know it's mutual. I struggle with accepting love and people actually liking me sometimes, but I know you care about me. You always know what to say or do to make me feel better."

[syljoni]

TAGGING ➝ @dannyssylvester, @syljoni

LOCATION ➝ Juicy Peach Gym

TIME FRAME ➝ 9/24. Evening

WARNINGS ➝ Mentions of kidnapping

NOTES ➝ Danny shows up at Juicy Peach to see Joni and tell her why he's been gone for so long.

Joni Sylvester

Joni hated being behind schedule and tonight was no exception, there were a couple of stragglers who had stayed after a class checking out the shop and she was grateful when they finally left and she could get started on closing up. She was behind the front desk and when she heard the door open again and looked up with a smile. “Hey! So sorry, we’re about to close!” She said in an upbeat tone. He looked somewhat familiar but definitely wasn’t a regular, and even the non regulars that came by less often she could usually place. “Were you looking for some information on joining?” She asked, reaching into a drawer for their brochures and holding one out to him. “I can give you a quick tour if you want, but like I said, we’re about to close so I’m afraid you’ll have to come back a different day if you want to register.”

Danny Sylvester

Danny hadn't exactly been stalking his siblings, but he had been keeping a very close eye on them since he'd moved to LA and maybe followed them around a little bit, but that's notstalking. Last time he'd seen Joni she was thirteen years old, not even in high school, so to see her now this beautiful woman who worked in, or possibly owned, this fitnesa place, he was so proud of her. Making sure that everyone had left for the night apart from his sister he quickly entered and waited for Joni's attention to be on him, a soft smile on his face. "Hey." He started, but then he was confused as she handed him a brochure and was trying to get him to leave. She didn't recognise him, his smile dropped a little bit, but he didn't blame her at all it had been a long time. He chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, just looking to talk to you." Stepping forward, he tried not to spook her. "Joni it's me. Danny. Your brother."

Joni Sylvester

She looked at him with confusion when he said he wanted to talk to her. It wasn’t insanely uncommon for people to recognize her and even hit on her in public from social media, but it was another for a man to come into her gym when she was alone at night. Still, she didn’t feel like she needed to be nervous, and instead found herself studying his face again, trying to place him. The last thing she expected to hear was exactly what he said next, though and she heard herself gasp and felt herself stepping forward to hug him before she truly processed what was happening. Joni stepped back quickly after hugging him, “Shit, I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to just jump on you like that.” She’s said, but a small laugh escaped her at the same time. “Danny?” She questioned, but now as she looked at him again, it was so obvious and she was embarrassed she hadn’t recognized him straight away. “I’m so sorry, I feel like an idiot you just- you look so grown up compare to how I remember you…What are you doing here?”

Danny Sylvester

He thought it might take her just a little longer to understand what was going on, so he was totally caught off guard when Joni hugged him, and he quickly wrapped his arms around her, laughing in relief. "No it's okay kid, it's cool." Danny let her take a step back, but he gripped onto her shoulders, holding her and arm's length. "Yeah. It's me Joni, I'm really here. And I'm sorry." He chuckled and shook her head. "It's okay, it's been a while huh? Guess I need a shave." And he ran a hand over his short beard. "Last time I saw you I don't think I even knew how to grow facial hair. And you were just a teenager." Danny gave her a squeeze and let go. "I'm here to see you. And the others. To explain where I've been and to apologize for being gone so long."

Joni Sylvester

Joni had always been an absolute softie when it came to her family, or anyone she loved, really. While anyone else she may have kept at a distance, her siblings were her whole world, even one who she hadn't seen in almost half of her life. She shook her head when he apologized, and pulled away from him, just long enough to step around him and lock the door to the gym and turn off the open sign, not wanting anyone else to interrupt them. Joni stepped into another hug with Danny, just incase he took off again, she wanted to remember him this time. "You look great," She added, taking in his features and committing them to memory. "You don't need to apologize to me, I'm just glad you're back, are you staying?" She asked hopefully, and then lead him to the back breakroom where there were some couches they could sit on and relax.

"Do you want anything to drink?" She asked, opening the fridge to grab herself a water before sitting down. She was itching to know why he'd left, but she also didn't want to rush him and wanted him to be comfortable when he told her.

Danny Sylvester

As his sister pulled away for a moment, Danny had a split second of worry that she might kick him out. But then she was just locking the door and he smiled at her as she came back. He hugged her a little tighter this time, not wanting to let his youngest sibling go. "So do you. You're a full ass grown up now. And I bet you're fucking killing it in life." Following her to the backroom he took a seat on the couch. "Yeah I'm staying. Been living here for like a month now, I just needed time to settle into a place and get a job before I spoke to you." Danny smiled softly at her and shook his head. "No I'm good right now thanks." He felt almost nervous as he sat here with her. Joni was the youngest of his siblings and he wasn't quite sure how she would take this news, or what her relationship with Sue was like since he had been gone. "I really am sorry I was gone. It might not seem like it, but I am."

Joni Sylvester

She smirked when he called her a grown up, "I wouldn't go that far, I still feel like a 13 year old sometimes, but I do own this place, so that's pretty cool." She said gesturing to the gym around them. Relief washed over her when he said he was staying and she nodded. Joni sat down next to him on the couch and let a sigh, "You don't have to be sorry, really. I missed you, but i'm just glad to have you here now. So, tell me," she prompted, motioning toward him, "you said you wanted to explain, I'm listening."

Danny Sylvester

He gave her a very impressed look and grinned brightly. "No fucking way. Good for you Joni." She was doing well for herself and he felt nothing but pride for her and how far she'd come, and she was still young. "Yeah I missed you too." Danny smiled sadly, and he meant it. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "Look this is totally crazy and very hard to believe, but it is the truth I swear." Danny turned his body more to face his sister. "I've been gone so long because I found something out and I got mad at Sue and I left. I wasn't adopted like we all thought I was. Sue kidnapped me, and not only did she do that, but she kidnapped me from the Schuesters. Their little boy Daniel that they've been searching for all these years. That's me." He let the words sit between them for a moment, giving Joni time to process them

Joni Sylvester

She listened intently as Danny spoke, and let out a loud laugh when he was done. Joni shook her head, "No...That doesn't make any sense." She said, staring at him and waiting for the punchline, but the serious look on his face told her that he meant what he'd said. Sitting silently for a few minutes, Joni ran through so many possibilities in her mind, that he was messing with her, that he was mistaken, that ...anything other than that possibly being true. "I mean, Sue is kind of nuts, she's done some really messed up stuff but...kidnapping a baby?" Joni finally said, shaking her head. There was no way, right? She felt her face getting hot, tears threatening to escape her stinging eyes and her mind tried to process what her brother was saying. She didn't know what to believe, "How did you find out?"

Danny Sylvester

Danny just let Joni go through all the emotions, sitting there in silence as he watched her. "It's true." As he saw some tears forming he moved forward and wrapped an arm around his sister. "Hey, hey, none of that yeah? It's okay, I'm here now." He rubbed her back gently and sighed. "I needed my birth certificate for something. Let myself into Sue's room but I couldn't find it, instead I found paper work and different things about me and her bribing people to keep it quiet." A small laugh escaped his mouth. "It's totally crazy right? It doesn't sound real at all, but it is. She found me and I told her to tell me the truth and she did. And then I left." He rested his head against hers. "I don't exactly regret leaving, but I regret the way that I did it. I should have kept in contact."

Joni Sylvester

She couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around any of this, it didn’t seem real. She chose to just plow through, assuming it was real just until she could process it. It felt good to be comforted by her big brother, despite all of the craziness of the situation. “Where did you go?” She finally asked, “I mean, where have you been all this time? Do the Schuester’s know?” Her mother had yet to be thrown in jail so she had to assume they didn’t. “What the fuck? What are we supposed to do with this? What…where do we go from here?”

Danny Sylvester

He hesitated on his reply, giving her a sad smile. "I was around, had to keep moving cities or towns... I kind of got arrested a few times. So I moved about so people didn't know me and judge me. I was in Vegas before I moved back here." Frowning, he shook his head. "No they don't. But I want to tell them, they deserve to know." Danny rubbed at his tired eyes, so many words and plans and answers swimming around in his head. "I don't know." He was very reluctant to share his plan to tear Sue down to Joni, not sure how close they were now his sister was an adult. "I just needed to see you guys before I made a decision."

Joni Sylvester

She nodded as he spoke, her heart breaking when he said he’d been arrested a few times. All she wanted in this moment was to take away any of his suffering. “Oh, Danny…” she whispered, cradling his face in her hand before pulling him in for another hug. It scared her to think about him telling his real parents who he was, but she also knew that he was right and they deserved to know. Joni knew her mom was crazy and the things she did were beyond belief on so many occasions, but Sue was still her mom and she didn’t want to see her thrown in jail, even if she did belong there for literally kidnapping a baby, but there was also the matter of Robin still being a child and her mom going to jail would be traumatic. “I…I don’t know what to say. I can’t imagine the pain they’ve suffered all these years. I can imagine Mom relishing in causing it though.” Joni shook her head, “Whatever you decide to do, I’m with you, okay?”

Danny Sylvester

Danny was surprised that she was hugging him again, but he pulled her in close, closing his eyes as he held her tight. "I missed you Joni." He'd make it up to them, all of his siblings. Years and years of missed birthdays, Christmases, graduations, a wedding, he should have been there for all of them. "I'm going to be staying with Penny so I'll be around, a lot." He shook his head as he thought about the Schuesters. "They need to know, I mean they probably won't believe me, but I have to try." Then he sighed loudly. "It's just everything that will happen afterwards though. I don't want anything bad to happen to you guys, I didn't come back to hurt you guys." He then looks down at the floor. "Pen says that Sue's got another kid? I can't let anything bad happen to her either. That's not fair."

Joni Sylvester

"I missed you, too." She said, covering the sadness in her voice, hoping not to let it show too much. "Okay, good. I will be bothering you at Penny's constantly, then." Joni nodded when he siad the needed to know, deciding it maybe wasn't the time that prooving it would probably be pretty easy with a blood test, but then she wouldn't blame them if they worried this was some elaborate scheme by Sue to trick them into thinking Danny was their son and wanted nothing to do with it. She stayed quiet, though. This was Danny's business and he needed to handle it however he felt was right and didn't need her putting doubts in his head, or encouraging him one way or another. "Yeah, Robin." She agreed, and frowned, "I get what you're saying but you were kidnapped as a baby from loving parents, those parents have been hurt so much and they're still hurting. Maybe being raised by a literal kidnapper is the bad thing that's already happening to her." Joni offered, wanting to show her support for whatever decision he made.

Danny Sylvester

He chuckled at her comment but was glad that he and Joni's relationship would be getting back to normal pretty quickly. "Sure you can bother me there or I can bother you here or at your place." At least if everything went wrong with the Schuesters then he'd still have his siblings on his side. And Joni was taking this pretty well so that was good. Danny listened to his sister's words carefully and nodded slowly. "But then what? Sue goes to jail but what happens to the kid? Penny can't take her in, or any of you, she needs extra care." There was a part in the back of his mind that was telling him that he shouldn't care about some kid who has nothing to do with him, but he just couldn't ignore it or her, she was still technically his sister. Danny gave Joni one last squeeze and smiled softly at her. "Thanks kid, it means a lot that you're on my side. Not gonna lie, I was worried."

Joni Sylvester

It wasn't that Danny was wrong about anything he was saying, but the consequences of Sue's actions weren't the responsibility of her kids, and it didn't change the fact that Will and Emma deserved to have peace and know that their child was ...at least alive. "That's a bridge we'll all cross together when we come to it, okay? You're not responsible for that." She assured him. "You don't ever have to worry about that with me, okay? Unless you turn into Sue or something...then I might turn on you."

[stardustthread]

These bitches love releasing shit in April huh

[s0livagant]

Black Smoke Rising really is that bitch isn’t she

[all-my-love-jk]

sneak peak

hey guys :))

no official big update yet, but here’s a little tease of an introduction. The next couple of posts are going to be explaining and expanding on some of the world building I’ve worked on; and then next week we’ll hopefully dive into some characters!!

•••

There was a time when the realm was quiet. No movement. No sound. Just stillness in the great black void. Then, from the void, there was Him. The only thing creation has known about Him is that he is the master; their creator. He demands nothing. He does nothing. Just silence.

Ever since He created the four races of the realm, He has hidden himself away. Legends have carried down through the centuries. Some claim to hear His voice through whispers on the wind. Myths have been told to children for generations of the great gate and key locking away the master. A key that can only be held by the true bloodline. A child’s tale. A fable. But, what if those myths were true. And what would that bloodline do if it was in danger?

[omegasmileyface]

The Forest, the Trees, the Fire I: CATALYST

Chapter 1

Let's get it started! This is the phic that @ectolemonades and @attackradish and I put together for Invisobang 2023! Our wonderful artist was @crunchysart, and you can see part of their work in this chapter! :3

For the full characters list, word count, content warning, and a directory to all the currently available chapters and related content, see the Table of Contents!

full summary: The world outside of Amity Park has learned about the existence of ghosts, and the time for first impressions has arrived. The delicate public consciousness could be disrupted by the slightest ripple. Danny Fenton is being ripped apart from all sides, and when he finally breaks, the ripples will be very big indeed.

warnings: none for this chapter

words: 1001

AO3 link

next chapter

===

There is no forest without its trees

and though the roots bind together

in ways you could never see

until no one tree is distinct from the others,

each green needle is a letter in the story.

And when they are blown off, one by one,

they become tinder.

One needle becomes one spark,

the spark becomes a fire,

the trees are gone,

and the forest is gone

because one needle caught too soon.

It is the work of historians

(and naturalists, and readers, and gods)

to trace the fire back to the needle

and to the tree that dropped it.

===

September 28, 2006

Danny Phantom stumbled a landing on the gravelly roof of a building. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

Danny had enjoyed fighting Ember for all of five minutes. She took control of a little gig at the record store, he showed up to save the day (with the Fenton Fones in, of course. He learned his lesson with her), witty banter, blah blah blah, now she'd end up in the Fenton Thermos.

It was almost a relief having someone to fight. Something to distract him and keep him from being crushed under the pressure of his reality. Something to make his life feel normal. Or— it was, until he spotted a clock and realized he was officially late for a history lesson with Frostbite. The Observants would no doubt be on him for it. He could practically hear them; he can’t even make it to a history lesson on time, how is he qualified to be King of the Infinite Realms?

“Look. You’ve had your fun, you got your attention… if you let these people go, I won’t put you in the Thermos today.” Danny tried to keep his stance somewhere between non-threatening and ready to pounce, just in case Ember wasn’t willing to back down.

Ember rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. “Fine. You’re off your game, anyway. There’s no satisfaction when your heart’s not in it.”

“Wow," said Danny, "you’re so thoughtful.”

“Hey, I may be a ghost, but I do have a little human decency left.”

Danny snorted. “Tell that to the media right now. Anti-ecto propaganda is making a comeback.” He cringed a little as soon as it came out. Why did he say that? He didn’t need to vent about his problems to Ember, and it’s not like she cared anyway.

“Hasn’t that… always been a thing?” Ember cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Just go give those people their free will again,” Danny said with a dismissive wave.

“They’ll be fine for a few more minutes. Tell me what’s going on, kiddo.”

“I mean… in a nutshell, the ‘all ghosts are crap’ stuff stopped around the time I stopped being actively hunted every time I did anything,” Danny explained.

“Wow. Public opinion changed that much in the last— what, year?”

“I thought so, but there’s been all this talk lately about how ghosts and humans aren't 'supposed' to interact, and how ghosts are, like, 'scientifically unable to behave themselves' or whatever. They make it so it doesn't sound evil, but… it’s just a lot to deal with right now.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. He was exhausted, his body ached, and he really just wanted this conversation to be over so he could get to his last scheduled task of the day before he could go home and maybe get some sleep. “Look, I’m late for a meeting right now, appreciate the heart-to-heart, but if you’ll just work with me here I really need to get going.”

Ember stood back up, brushing herself off as if she’d actually been sitting on the roof and not hovering a few inches above it. “Alright, I’ll get outta here then. Thanks for not putting me in your stupid soup container.”

“Yeah, whatever. You might not get so lucky next time.” Danny gave her a half-smile.

They both made a move to go their separate ways when flashing lights in the distance caught their attention.

“What’s going on over there?” Ember asked, squinting.

“Uh, hopefully something that won’t be my problem,” Danny responded.

White vehicles had surrounded what looked to be the Dairy King on the edge of town. There was a moment of chaos as people in body armor rushed into the building and others ran out.

The pair glanced at each other, silently deciding that this wasn’t something they should get involved in.

“See ya, babypop,” Ember said with a mocking salute to Danny. She headed back in the direction of the record store while Danny gave the Dairy King one last, lingering look before leaving.

===

===

Four in custody following Dairy King raid

Tiffany Snow | Staff Reporter

The Garrison Irving Walker Commission took four ghostly employees into custody following a raid at the Amity Park Dairy King Thursday.

The GIW discovered the four ghosts employed at Dairy King during routine patrols of Amity Park. GIW operatives raided the restaurant Thursday evening and took them into custody.

“By incorporating themselves into human society, ectoplasmic entities give the public a false idea that they can trust them like humans. They are posing as employees at businesses around town, high school students and who knows what else,” Operative Q, a senior operative with the GIW, said.

No current law explicitly forbids ghosts from working in customer service, but given that they are unable to legally obtain the required paperwork to be employed, the situation at the Dairy King is being investigated. There is currently no policy in place defining ghosts and their relation to living things. In addition, the GIW deemed their employment unsafe to the public. A GIW representative said the entities will be used for research and disposed of.

Dairy King management offered no comment regarding awareness of the employees being ghosts during the hiring process. The restaurant will be closed temporarily due to short staffing.

[leloudlizbirb]

Ftf

I'm trying to find the fic where Danny is trans ftm and started his period during a gala Vlad forced him to attend. He shyly approached Steph and Cass to ask if they had a pad. There was a bit of dead on main ship in it too where either Danny or Jason (or both) feel attracted to each other when Jason comes up to them. idk that's all I remember from the fic.

Edit. I found it:

[privjeanne]

about ☆ dexter sylvester.

"this is how the world works, you gotta leave before you get left"

BASICS

Full Name: Dexter Sue Sylvester.

Nicknames: Dex; (from Sue) Daxton, Dyson, Delphi, Deluxe Disappointment, Dextrose, Dexterity, Sylvester #1.

Age: 33 (january 1st, 1991).

Hometown: Cleveland, OH.

Orientation: Gay.

Occupation: Financial expert and accountant for SuePerStar Athletics.

Education: BS in accountancy, MS in finance from PSU.

Faceclaim: Assad Zaman.

FAMILY

Mother: Sue Sylvester.

Sibling(s): Danny Sylvester, Penny Sylvester, Sage Sylvester, Joni Sylvester, Robin Sylvester, Immy Cortes, Haley Menkins.

ABOUT

[Link for brevity]

CHARACTERISTICS

Big Three: Capricorn sun, Cancer moon, Gemini rising.

MBTI: ISTJ.

Enneagram: 8w7.

Color Association: #D1B37F.

LINKS

all posts ☆ about ☆ answered ☆ connections ☆ dash ☆ ftfs ☆ likes ☆ memes☆ starters ☆ texts ☆ visuals.

[dannydanoninoo]

"Thanks for what you said back there"

"You mean a lot to me too"

"Cool, happy to help"

[jaket-tripping-the-light]

Little Bean

Jake Kiszka x female reader

warnings: language, pregnancy

a/n: pure, feel good fluff and my first GVF related fic ( :

Word Count : 1.5k

“Shit.” You sit on the cold title of your bathroom floor. “This can't be right. It just can't be. How? We were so careful.” Your mind is spinning. The overwhelming feeling of nausea crashing into you like a wave. You lean your head back against your bathroom cabinet, taking deep breaths to try and calm your mind. You look up at the ceiling, closing your eyes, flashes of you and Jakes future playing through in your mind. 

The two of you had always talked about what the future could hold for the two of you but you both knew that the future was never something you could plan out. Jake had his career and as did you but you would give up everything for Jake if he asked. The love you had for that man would cause you to follow him to the ends of the Earth. There was just one thing you and Jake had never thought about planning out… children. You had both talked about how you wanted kids in the future but it was simply that. The future. 

You open your eyes, your mind still reeling. You look back down to your hands holding the six different pregnancy tests. Every single one, positive. You quickly drop them all and bury your face in your hands, letting out a sigh.

What is Jake gonna think? What will he say? Are you ready to be a mother? Is he ready to be a father? What about his career? He would make such a great dad. He really would. How are we going to take on a responsibility like this? Oh god, what is he gonna say?

A million questions racing through your mind making it feel like it's going to explode. You take a deep breath, pushing your thoughts to the back of your head. You stand from the bathroom floor and make your way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Picking up your phone from the kitchen counter, your heart flutters when you see a message from Jake.

“Hey baby, I miss you. Gonna get your favorite from that little dive for dinner! I'll be home soon!” you smile down at the screen as you read.

You begin typing back, “I miss you too Jakey. That sounds so good! Thank you baby!”, you hit send and place your phone back down on the kitchen counter taking another sip of water.

You stand with your hands pressed against the cold kitchen counter for a minute longer before you make your way to you and Jake's bedroom. Grabbing your favorite pajama pants and one of Jake's t-shirts from your dresser, you get changed. You then make your way to the bathroom stopping at the door frame to look down at the tests you had left on the floor. You slowly crouch down and take a moment to look over the tests again. All still positive, as if they were gonna change during the ten minutes they were out of your sight.

You gather them off the floor and make your way to the living room. You knew Jake would be home any second so you quickly hide the tests between the couch cushions. You then turn around to the record player and pull out one of your favorites. Battle Studies by John Mayer had a hold you like no other record did. Sure enough the next thing you hear is Jake fidgeting with his keys trying to unlock the door. The door flings open and there he is… the love of your life, standing in the doorway with the biggest smile on his face, holding up two bags of takeout. 

You reach your arms out to him, he kicks the door shut behind him and drops his keys and the takeout bags on the counter. He practically runs towards you wrapping you in a hug, burying his face in the crook of your neck. “God, I missed you so much today sweetheart.” he mumbles and you tighten your arms around him. He pulls back, placing his hand to your checks pulling you into a kiss.

 “I hope you're hungry cause I definitely over ordered.” he laughs and makes his way back towards the kitchen, “I like the music choice by the way.” 

“Starved. Are you sure because I can change it if-”

“My love” he cuts you off, “I love you and I know you love John Mayer. I also know how much you love his music. Therefore, I will listen to John Mayer till my dying day if I know it makes you happy.”

You let out a laugh.

“I do love John Mayer but not nearly as much as I love you.”

“Well that I'm certain of sweetheart.” he winks at you.

…………………………………………….

You both take a seat on the couch and start pulling out the food. Jake goes over his day as you both sit there enjoying the food and each other's company. Once you're both done eating Jake carries on telling you about all of the work he and the boys had gotten done in the studio that day. All of a sudden you see Jake's hand waving in front of your face, realizing you had zoned out thinking about what was hiding in the couch cushions.

“You okay babe? You look a little spacey.”

“Yeah, yeah. I just uh- there's just… something I need to tell you. A big something.”

“Oh. Well, lay it on me angel.”

“Okay. You know how we talk about our future and what it could hold but how we can’t plan it all out because everything can change in just a few seconds?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, things changed today… and I- I just want you to know how much I love you and I don't want this to get in the way of your dreams or your future…and if your not ready for this I totally understand because I don't even know if I'm ready for it but I- I want to be ready for it and there's no one else in this world that I would want to do this with and- and I just don't want this to hold you back in any way because I know how important your career is to you and-” you ramble on until he cuts you off.

“(Y/N), sweetheart, slow down. You're starting to worry me.”

You look him in the eyes, reach between the cushions and pull out all six tests placing them between the two of you. He looks down, staying silent, then looking up at you. Any other time you would be able to read his mind, know exactly what's going on in his head, but not in this moment. The two of you sit there for a few minutes until you break the silence.

“What are you thinking?” You ask him.

“I- I uh- um- what are- you thinking?” he stutters.

“A lot. Worried, slightly confused but above all else- happy.” You say as you stare at your fidgeting hands.

Next thing you know he's wrapping you in the tightest hug.

“Oh shit, sorry.” He pulls back. “Are you okay?” He questions like he almost broke you.

“I’m okay Jakey.” You let out a small giggle that sounds more like a sigh. “So… happy?” you question.

“Happy? (Y/N), oh my angel, I couldn't be more elated!” he all of a sudden jumps off the couch, placing his hands on his head, walking around the room. “Oh my god, I’m gonna be a dad. We're gonna be parents babe! Parents! We’re gonna have a baby!” He sits back down taking your hands in his, looking in your eyes. “I know we haven't really talked about it but…this- this is all I've ever wished for, my love. This is what I dream about when I close my eyes… starting a family with you. You and only you.”

Tears of happiness begin to fall down your cheeks. He takes your face in his hands, leaning closer to you, wiping away the tears streaming down your cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

“A baby. Our baby.” his voice is filled with a calm excitement. “I can see it now… you, me and our little girl. I really hope it's a girl!” He moves his hands to your stomach making you smile. “Me and my girls taking on the world! The two of you coming on tour with me so I never have to be away from you! Having both of you at every show! Singing her to sleep each night! Teaching her to play guitar! And oh my god, the boys are gonna be so excited! Especially Josh, god, he wants to be an uncle so bad! We're gonna be the best parents sweetheart, the best! Us and our very own little bean!”

He takes your face in his hands once again and pulls you into a kiss. Your smile growing even more as he deepens the kiss. You pull back to catch your breath and rest your forehead on his.

“I love you so fucking much Jakey.”

“And I love you more than you'll ever know mama.”

[mir-iamwilde]

Roll with the punches || Danny & Midge

WHO: @dannyssylvester, @mir-iamwilde

WHERE: The Spare Room

WHEN: The 31st of October

WHY: Midge finds out about Danny and Zach's talk.

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence, but very very light.

Midge Wilde

[Spotting Danny at the bar and making her way over] Maybe we should have used your whip as a leash so we could keep track of each other better tonight. 

Danny Sylvester

[grins when he sees her and pulls her in, kissing her softly] I think we should have. Or maybe we should just go back to yours and use it there like we planned.

Midge Wilde

[Kissed him back but frowned at his words] You want to leave already? You’re not having a good time?

Danny Sylvester

[shakes his head slightly] No it's fine... we can stay. [shrugs] Just didn't know if you wanted to go back now.

Midge Wilde

I don’t care if we stay or go, I just want to know you’re good. Are you okay?

Danny Sylvester

[hesitates] I'm fine...

Midge Wilde

Hey, you don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but don’t lie to me, okay? Come on, [One hand tracing the opening of his shirt on his chest] Let’s get out of here if you want, I believe you made lots of promises earlier that I intend on making you keep.

Danny Sylvester

[sighs] Sorry, I shouldn't have lied. I'm not okay. [shakes head] But we don't have to leave yet

Midge Wilde

[Stepping closer and resting her forehead against his shoulder] You can tell me what’s wrong, you’ve been here for me so much lately, let me be here for you.

Danny Sylvester

[wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in] I can't. You won't like it

Midge Wilde

So, did you like it when I answered the door bruised and crying the other night? Doesn’t mean you weren’t there for me. [She sighed, shaking her head] I hate being this person, pushing you to let me in, but you can trust me, Danny. I’m not going anywhere.

Danny Sylvester

[clenches his jaw at the thought of her hurt] I got into a confrontation with one of your siblings

Midge Wilde

[Standing up straight again, her head tilted] What do you mean? Who? What kind of confrontation?

Danny Sylvester

The one that's dating Immy, Zach is it? They certainly do not like me. [looks away] It got a little physical, but I didn't hit them. Just grabbed their shirt. I shouldn't have

Midge Wilde

You grabbed them? [Frowning at his words] Danny, why? What happened? I mean, I know he can be protective but…What happened?

Danny Sylvester

I'm sorry but they made me angry. Immy's gonna kill me. [runs a hand through his hair] Said I wasn't good enough for you

Midge Wilde

Danny…you have to understand this isn’t good. That’s what big brothers do, they tell guys they’re not good enough for their baby sister. I don’t blame you for getting mad, but…you know how my dad is. Zach seeing you get angry and putting your hands on him is…That’s not something he’s going to get over easily. [Sighed stepping closer to him again, her hands snaking around his waist as she placed a kiss on his jawline] It’s okay, okay? I know you’re mad, they shouldn’t have said that, but he’s just protective. I’m sorry, baby, how can I make your night better?

Danny Sylvester

I... I didn't even think of it like that. I'm sorry. I totally fucked up. [tries to pull away from her] Seriously? I nearly punch your sibling and you're comforting me? You should hate me. I've just proved every had thing they said about me right, I'm not good enough for you.

Midge Wilde

No, hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Don’t do this, Danny. Don’t pull away from me just because you’re upset, I’m right here, I don’t hate you, and you are more than good enough for me. [Pulling him in closer] No one knows the real you, baby, but I see you, I’m never going to hate you. We’ll fix this, okay?

Danny Sylvester

[he can't resist her and moves back in closer] Why? Why are you still here?

Midge Wilde

[Meeting his eyes, studying his face before answering] Because I care about you, and you can’t scare me off that easily. [Cupping his face] Do you trust me?

Danny Sylvester

I care about you too... [nods and closes his eyes] Of course I do.

Midge Wilde

[Kissing him gently] So, trust that I’m not going anywhere, okay? Come on, let’s go home.

Danny Sylvester

Okay... [opens his eyes again] Are you sure? We can stay a little longer if you want

Midge Wilde

[shaking her head] No, I want to be alone with you and that whip. Don’t keep teasing me, a girl can only handle so much. [grinning]

Danny Sylvester

[smiles softly at her] That settles it then, let's go home.

[missmxrtian]

[ attention ] for your muse to touch mine as a way of getting their attention @immortalweapon​

The little girl had seemed panicked. She was clearly an alien with the shade of deep purple skin she had and the lack of pupils she had, her eyes reminding her of Kori’s. “It’s okay, I’m like you! Look!” M’gann offered with a soft smile as she let her skin change back to the normal hue of green it was. It was easier to hide, to use her shapeshifting to blend in with humans, but her mind was focused on the little alien girl in the park who looked moments away from crying. She had managed to help her find her mother nearby who had been frantically looking around the park for the girl and hadn’t even thought to think about herself when a hand tapped on her arm.

Turning around, M’gann’s eyes widened when she saw the man with her purse. “Oh! Oh geez. Duh, Megan.” She muttered to herself when she realized in her hurry to reunite the little girl with her mother that she had left her purse on the bench in the park. “Thank you so much! The stuff in my wallet would have been a pain to replace. What can I do to thank you? Coffee? A sandwich? A baked good? I mean, seriously! That’s so nice. Not everyone is kind enough to do something like that.”

[supersxn]

[ secrets ] my muse sharing/confiding a secret @immortalweapon​

Jon, in all honestly, didn’t know what prompted him to spill his guts out to this stranger. It hadn’t really been planned, but sitting in the diner late at night with very few people, Jon sitting by himself at the counter, he got to thinking. Another man was sitting a few seats away from him, some old song playing over the speakers of the jukebox in the diner and the sound of the cook making his next order being the only thing to fill the silence. His mind had been spiraling lately about his family and the need to explode about it to someone who didn’t know him—didn’t know his family was overwhelming.

“Do you ever feel guilty for something that isn’t even your fault?” Jon blurted out and blushed, looking at the man bashfully. “Sorry, I just...family issues, man. My dad...he’s got another kid,” that was the easiest way to put it, “my older brother? He wasn’t a good dad to him, barely there, ya know? But with me...he was the best dad. I didn’t know things were bad because of him between them and I feel...I feel guilty because I got the good dad while he got the crappy one. It’s not my fault, I know that, but I can’t help but feel like I could’ve done something as a kid to change it somehow. I don’t know. I just...don't know. Now I’m blurting this all out in some diner to you, a stranger, because I don’t know how to deal. Wow. I’m...sorry.” He blushed in embarrassment, “I didn’t mean to unload on you.”

[s0livagant]

Rlly good mail day

[all-my-love-jk]

hello my lovelies!!!

Alright, so this is something I have been planning for almost a year now. I have always loved fantasy novels and good storylines, and one of the ways I connect with GVF’s music is through the stories and images they are able to depict through music. I couldn’t help myself from creating a universe from it. They’ve said themselves it’s like LOTR! :)) With that being said, through this I am in no way claiming that this is the only message these songs give or that this comes even close, i’m only taking inspiration from these song lyrics and creating a real connected story from it. also, i don’t in any way claim this as original, these characters and storylines are heavily developed from what GVF has already written and inspired by their own personalities; full credit goes to their wonderful music :)

so, my idea is to start writing out some of it here, sharing concepts and ideas, possibly full chapters or in depth character analysis, because I’m still figuring out the story myself! I’m also looking for collaboration, because if this were to get bigger and become an actual full book on the forum, I would need some help lmao😭

Anyways, please feel welcome to leave any feedback/criticisms you may have because this is a work in progress and I want your input! i’ve enjoyed reading so many amazing stories through tumbler and other platforms like ao3, but I’m not as much of a super experienced writer myself. I’ve always enjoyed it, but I’ve never put my work on display like this before, so any help is appreciated!!

also, just tell me if the whole idea is dogshit, i won’t hold it against anyone😂

thanks for reading <3

[omegasmileyface]

The Forest, the Trees, the Fire I: CATALYST

Chapter 4

second chapter in a row to more than double the word count lets goooo. this one is the longest by far! feel free to take a break in the middle. also, it's my personal proudest! :3 Authors: myself, @attackradish, @ectolemonades. Artist: @/crunchysart

For the full characters list, word count, content warning, and a directory to all the currently available chapters and related content, see the Table of Contents!

full summary: The world outside of Amity Park has learned about the existence of ghosts, and the time for first impressions has arrived. The delicate public consciousness could be disrupted by the slightest ripple. Danny Fenton is being ripped apart from all sides, and when he finally breaks, the ripples will be very big indeed.

warnings: mind control/physical forcing, descriptions of pain, intense bad-faith arguing

words: 7587

AO3 link

first chapter

previous chapter

next chapter

===

November 8, 2006

Y'know, so much of Danny's big routine of "daily life" had changed, you'd think the smaller things would change too. But through all the turmoil— in Amity, in the Zone, in his own head— here he still was. Opening his front door after walking home from school, dreading whatever weapons and conversations lay beyond it.

He supposed, if he really cared that much, he could just fly up to his bedroom and hope his parents didn't notice.

And, wow! There they were, in the living room. No avoiding these pleasantries. If he vanished now, they'd just shoot at the open door anyway.

"Hi, guys."

"Hi, Sweetie! Here, come sit down and watch this news story with us."

Ooh, and a fate worse than death too! He'd know.

"Sorry, I've got a lot of make-up work—"

"Oh, some things are more important than homework!" His dad scooted over and patted the place where he had been sitting. Why? Why didn't he just leave the space that was open before? His dad was inscrutable. "I think you're gonna like this."

Danny listened to the little voice in his head that hated him and glanced at the TV.

It was an interview with Director Stewarts from the GIW. He seemed to be explaining the fight to get new passive ectofatal technology approved for public spaces. A man with a well-tailored suit in just the wrong shade of blue to match his eyes sat across a desk from him, nodding along and smiling like they were talking about a new library program.

They thought he'd like this. The thought froze him, his body torn between straight-up pouncing on the TV and shutting down completely. He paused to make sure they were done with the thought. Nothing? No well, we at least thought you'd like updates, sweetie? No well, not this, the documentary about comets that's on next? Not even a brief chuckle from his mom for his dad's blatant obliviousness?

Just silence. Enraptured silence. Pleased silence, even.

Danny took stock of himself before he responded. Held perfectly still until he was sure all his rage was moved out of his tense fists and glowing eyes and back into the little hole inside himself where he usually shoved it. Maneuvered his smile out of "betrayed lover who felt the stab before thinking to be sad about it" and into "obedient church kid". Put those secret identity acting skills to use. He refused to open his mouth before his body was loose and innocent on the outside.

"I thought you guys hated the GIW?"

"Eh," said his dad. Helpful as always.

"They tend to bury everything they do in bureaucracy," elaborated his mom, "and care about the science last, money first. But, intentions be damned, they're working on some incredible new ways to keep the people of this town safe."

"Really," said Stewarts on the TV, "it's a matter of doing what we need to. The current regulations aren't made with that in mind, but we're doing what we can, despite the misunderstanding from lawmakers. Publicizing our new research is a big part of that."

Danny took a breath. "Personally—" ah shit, some of his tightness came across with that one. Loosen up, D-Man. "I don't feel safer knowing that there are people who want to put untested radiation emitters in my school."

His parents turned to look at him. They weren't nearly as good at hiding their anger.

Fuck.

===

"Stop!" There were tears in Danny's eyes. It was all he could do to keep from Wailing. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." He ran into his room like a wild animal before he could hear any complaints. There were no restraints that kept a ghost down quite like social convention.

The argument had been no different from every other argument they'd had on the subject the last few months. Lightning-paced switching between heated discussions of ectology (in which both parties clearly had irreparably different understandings of fundamental facts) and direct war on Danny's track record as a "bad kid". Two "we studied this, honey"s versus one "and you don't even care about graduating high school". Danny wasn't strong enough to pull out the child neglect allegations. At that point, he may as well tell them why he thought of himself as such an expert, about the death trap in their basement, but even this endless conversational circle of unstoppable forces and immovable objects was better than that. He knew he didn't have it in him.

He didn't know, though, why he hadn't thought to just leave before now. Damn this family and their cleverness— none of them knew how to just take their losses and shut the hell up. Even Jazz, when she was here, only ended arguments by shouting her psychiatric advice the loudest.

Maybe Jazz would know what to do. She put up with being the only bearer of emotional responsibility in the household for years, maybe she'd have pointers now that it was his job. He fumbled for his shitty $20 flip phone to call her. 

He must have been more desperate than he thought, because he somehow reached into the phone to summon her number without giving it any thought. He laughed at himself and his core while it rang. Too lazy to scroll through my contacts?

"Hey?"

"Jazz! Hi. Um, how are you?"

"I'm ok, I'm just getting back from dinner. What's up?"

"Oh, well…" see, now he was starting to have second thoughts about bothering her with this. But she could probably hear how upset he was through the phone, so there was no stopping now. "I got in another argument with Mom and Dad."

She exhaled sympathetically. "About ghost stuff again?"

Danny scoffed. "What else would they be willing to talk about for that long?"

Jazz didn't respond. He sighed. "I really just need to cool off for a bit. But do you have any ideas on how I can keep from just getting in the same conversations again and again and just making it worse?"

"Well, you should probably just refuse to talk about it, if you just don't want to waste your time. But if there's any chance they'll listen, it'll be because you let them know that your info comes from a good source. Assuming they agree, that is."

Danny scoffed. "So, what? Tell them I've been hanging out with ghosts and taking their word for things? Yeah, they'll love that."

"No!" Danny could practically hear Jazz roll her eyes. "If you want to get anywhere, you'd have to tell them that you're learning these things firsthand. Let them know about… the accident. You don't even have to tell them about Phantom."

All the passion left Danny. "…I can't do that."

"Danny. You know they won't really hurt you, at least not if you leave the Phantom part out. And the fighting. I know you can be cautious about what you tell them, you're good at—"

"It's not that! I mean, I'm not convinced they wouldn't do something drastic with the way they've been talking lately, but even without that… I mean, imagine having one of your kids away from home, and the other is so disconnected from you and honestly kind of being a fuckup—"

"Danny—"

"—and then you find out that he's been a ghost for two and a half years? And you think that ghosts can't, like… experience emotions or love or anything? That would hurt them so bad. Assuming it doesn't drive them away completely, they would hate me for telling them. Fuck, they could magically end up not caring at all, and I would hate myself for making them hear that. They might suck, Jazz, but I love them."

"I understand that—"

"I don't want to hurt someone I love, Jazz." The tears on Danny's face had dried, but he could feel more behind his eyes.

"I'm really sorry it's like this. …I don't know if this helps or anything, but they're going to get hurt one way or the other."

"I should just be staying out of arguments with them—"

"Look, you asked if there was a way you could keep the same conversations from happening again and again. They're comfortable where they are, and if you want them to stop hurting you and everyone else, they're going to have to stop being comfortable for a little. There's no way everyone can get out of this one unharmed."

Maybe he just wasn't done with all the feelings from earlier, but he really felt like what he was hearing should have been making him sad. He didn't understand why he was just getting angry.

"The pain they're going to feel is just a normal part of living with other people and learning. Maybe they need it."

Danny's breath hitched with a very ugly sound. He felt… offended. Not by his sister, it wasn't by any means her fault, but… by something. Reality. "It's not fair."

"I know. I'm sorry. But, hey, you don't need to listen to me. Just keep it in mind, I guess. Hey, um…"

The phone was silent for a few seconds except for the sound of rustling fabric.

"Sorry, but could you try not to call me unless you really need to for a while? Things are getting sort of stressful here and as much as I like talking to you, I'm a little worried about, like, disrupting my schedule. N-not that you shouldn't call! But, I guess… try to hold off, if it's not a hassle? I'll try to call more often when I have the time. Sorry… Okay?"

Oh.

His calls were disrupting her life.

For a moment, yet another angry thought flew through Danny's head. Did he not deserve to call her? She always wanted to be up in his business at home, and she could still call, but he couldn't? She was the only one who got to decide when they talked?

The thought extinguished itself before he could dwell on it. All he knew was that one more of his outlets, his comforts, his friends was off-limits at the moment.

"Got it. I'll try. Thanks for talking to me."

Danny hung up and went to spend the rest of his night in the Ghost Zone. He didn't go to school the next day.

===

November 13, 2006

"Thank you for the opportunity to meet, Mr. Masters."

"Of course." Vlad set four mugs of coffee— with coasters— at roughly opposing seats of his dining table. He was getting a hang of this "unspoken social code" thing; in business, official meetings happened in the office, and the "personal" meetings where agreements were actually devised happened at restaurants. But in politics, though the official meetings still stuck to the civic buildings, the "personal" meetings were held in the home. In mayorship, at least. Perhaps it was different for higher up positions.

Others may have found the vulnerability of showing their own home to their peers upsetting. Vlad was always happy for a chance to look like he was being open without having to actually do so. The lab stayed sealed off, the offices only held documents that looked important, and even Maddie was taking a nap behind a locked door.

As far as he was aware, pitting three members of an interested party against one politician in their own home was bad form. The Garrison Irving Walker Commission were lucky that he was a match for them, and wouldn't need to speak about this elsewhere.

"We wanted to talk about the measures the city of Amity Park takes to keep its citizens safe in the face of high numbers of ghosts," said the leftmost agent, Robert something.

Vlad nodded because it was nicer than saying oh, really? I had thought you were here to talk about the quality of fishing spots in town.

"I do hope that you've all found the ghost alarm system and robust self-defense supply chain in town satisfactory, as well as our thorough emergency protocols and permit approval rates."

The center agent, David whatever, gave a polite smile. Vlad didn't even have to look behind the sunglasses to see that it didn't reach his eyes. "It's incredibly refreshing to find a place with so many well thought-out plans. But we were curious as to why the town hasn't implemented any new measures in the last few years."

"And," said the agent on the right, Rosalyn what's-her-name, "there is a large opening for preventative and passive anti-ghost measures in the town's infrastructure, especially given the constant return of the Phantom. That's much of what we wanted to talk through, since we have some ideas that can be looked through and altered."

Lovely! Ideas. They spent the next hour talking through the list, during which Vlad had to stay on his toes figuring out what he could and couldn't say was "worth thinking about". A live-updating webpage reporting ghost sightings in the town? Ooh, strong idea, David, he'd have to consider that! A high-frequency ectoenergy emitter that would annoy ghosts into leaving? Great start, Rosalyn, but that might need some more testing before the people in town would agree to it. These people were so dedicated, so convinced that they needed to put as much attention and care into Amity Park as possible, that he considered overshadowing them briefly, just enough to spark a little disinterest in his town. But they had a lot of protective equipment hidden on their persons. It wouldn't be worth the risk.

Not that he couldn't respect seeing an opening and trying to worm into it, it was exactly what he had done when he'd discovered the town, but the damned Guys in White had no idea what iceberg they were scraping against. If they knew, perhaps they'd just leave it to him and go about their days.

They left with a reminder that they'd be talking official proposals in City Hall next week— yes, Robert, I wouldn't forget it for the world— and a confident assertion that Amity Park and the GIW would be of great help to one another.

It was assertions like that that left Vlad wondering if they'd forgotten that he owned Axion Labs, the only current public retailer of ectotechnology. And that he funded practically all of the town's battle repairs. And that he was a significant donor to the GIW.

Little Maddie was impatient enough when he ushered the agents out and unlocked her door. She ran to the couch to bat at a toy she had left under it and ignored Vlad when he pet her.

He sighed. "For people seemingly so concerned with this town, they don't seem to have any respect for what the people in it want." He thought for a moment. "Oh, what do I care? I should be figuring out how to play this when we meet next week. Do you think…"

His thoughts drifted to Daniel like usual. Vlad's plan to become King had been invalidated last winter, when word had spread through the Infinite Realms like ink through water that Danny Phantom had been established as the Crown Prince. The Crown of Fire had disappeared from the safe in his lab without a trace. Though the boy hadn't been actually crowned, even the announcement that he would be was a simple truth, a fact that couldn't be disputed or undermined. At this point, if Vlad wanted the High Throne, he'd either need to defeat Daniel in an official duel, kill Daniel and be chosen as the inheritor, or get Daniel to give it up willingly.

The options were not ideal. Vlad had a reputation in the Zone, yes, but he didn't exactly have friends. Employees, business partners, and people in his debt, yes, but staggeringly few people who liked him. Daniel had been more than holding his own in unexpected fights recently, so Vlad didn't want to test his luck in a duel where the boy had time to prepare. Time to gather the support of all those ghosts who tolerated him better than Vlad. He couldn't ignore the likelihood that he would lose, and then… well, more than likely he wouldn't even be let close to the topic of the Monarchy again. It would be his last chance.

As for option B, Vlad had to put killing Daniel off the table for good. While his ultimate goal was the Throne, he wouldn't like to have to make himself alone again to get there. And if the boy did die in the meantime, Vlad had no illusions that any council that could be assembled would choose him as the replacement. See the, uh, "no friends" thing.

And option C… Daniel didn't like him. This was just something Vlad had to come to terms with. Despite his best efforts, the boy was too stubborn to let himself land on any of their common ground. But…

He looked back to the notes he had taken when the GIW agents were over. There were a lot of things in those notes that would disrupt Vlad's life, but even more that would make Daniel's that much harder. Some of those things would have them both toasted for good, but some would only push a little… if new GIW regulations went through, Daniel would have more stress going about his daily life, more trouble keeping up his relationships, more pressure to do something about it as King… he wouldn't know how to deal with it. He didn't have any experience with politics. But Vlad did. There Vlad would be, trying his absolute best to keep the GIW in check. But, alas, there's only so much he can do without the power of an official political position and the threat of the Infinite Realms behind him…

"Yes," Vlad said to Maddie, who had fallen asleep again. "I think I can work with this after all."

===

November 16, 2006

Danny had been shocked, last year, at how many of his allies were willing to spend time with him to help him prepare for the Crown. People he still regularly fought with had offered advice (though he didn't expect many of them would have anything useful to say, the sentiment was incredible). People he thought hated him had told him to at least ask if he needed help— Walker had handed him a business card with his preferred hours on it. Most surprisingly, actual political leaders had opened their arms readily to help Danny. Dora, Frostbite, Pandora… even Clockwork had been seeing Danny for their odd brand of "lessons" until recently. Sure, he didn't talk to them much about casual things because they all had him hard at work studying to bear responsibility or whatever, but nobody was as shocked as Danny that such a network had opened to him.

Today, since he was already running away from his problems in the living world, Danny had seen if Pandora was up for a chat. They were sitting under a golden tree behind her palace. The meetings had started more formal, but they had both gotten tired of it with time. Danny had been trying to ignore his problems in the living world by reviewing ethical and strategic lessons, but his thoughts drifted back, and here they were.

"…and now they've started moving more of their people to be based in Amity, so they can put even more, quote, 'defenses' into place where the most ghosts are."

"And these defenses haven't been approved for the wider state yet?"

"No. Not Illinois and not America. They're working on that, but it looks like they're trying to set a standard in Amity before they can even get started everywhere else."

"A good observation, Danny! I agree, it sounds as if the GIW are trying to use your city as a proof that their techniques would work on a larger scale. Like some sort of laboratory test."

Danny choked. "So, do… do you really think they're trying to escalate, still?"

"My little poplar, you already know the answer to that. The question is, what are they escalating toward?"

Danny swallowed. "They tried once to destroy the entirety of the Infinite Realms. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have worked, but they wanted it so badly. They might still think that's what they need to do. And even if they don't… some of my friends are missing. Wulf and Poindexter. And they keep coming out with new studies on ghosts. The GIW, I mean. I think they're kidnapping ghosts to experiment on them. I don't expect them to stop doing that."

Pandora hummed. "Those are both acts of war. Do you have any plans to respond to acts of war?"

Danny looked away. He really, really didn't want to think about things like that. But this was real, and there was no avoiding it.

Pandora waited for his answer. Eventually, he admitted, "I would like to let them know our perspective first, if there's any chance it would work."

Pandora nodded. "As Haides Polyxenos, you have the power of the Ghost Army behind you, both literally and socially. This creates an actionable threat against any army of humans, which gives you negotiating power. Even non-threats are backed up with the knowledge that, should it come down to sheer military power, you would be the de facto victor."

That was not what Danny meant. He felt that opening with "oh, and by the way, we could destroy you if we wanted, so, like, keep that in mind" was a terrible start for a peace discussion.

"Regardless of that, I respect your devotion to seeing if there is a peaceful option first. The blow to our people would not be insignificant, even with a guaranteed victory."

Danny played with the teal grass.

"…And I know that humanity means a lot to you. Even if they weren't your kin, you would have respect for them as another group that doesn't deserve war."

Danny nodded.

"All that considered, I think your idea to establish your people's perspective before doing anything else was very wise! If you research who you would need to contact and the etiquette behind doing so next time you are among the living, you could come back here and we could work on a script for your meeting them."

He smiled. "That sounds really nice, Pandora, thank you. Do you mind if I invite Frostbite? I think he'll add another good perspective to the mix."

Pandora stood up with a triumphant grin. "That is an excellent idea, Danny! Now, let's get you doing something with your body. Your archery still needs some work."

Danny groaned, but stood up too. Thoughts of his next step were already running through his mind.

===

November 21, 2006

"Mr. Masters, you've had some experience with ectology as a study, yes?"

Vlad had to force the smile when he replied, "yes."

The meeting at City Hall was stuffy, crowded, and— now, you'll want to be sitting down for this shock— boring. He had already fought through dozens of statements regarding technology that would disrupt Vlad's own connections, research projects that would bring humans far too close to true knowledge of ghosts, and legislative moves that took "guilty until proven innocent" to a degree even he balked at. He had made moves that would shift Daniel toward his arms, but not nearly as many as he would have liked. He was far more concerned at the moment with keeping the balance between his image and his safety.

He hadn't even realized that they had drawn up information on his past. Hmm.

"I looked into the field during my time in college. I enjoyed that time, but, eventually… I decided to leave to pursue business management." Close enough, yeah?

"We think you should see the interest behind our favorite project, then…" Rosalyn ("Dr. Ducharm", now) pressed a key on the keyboard wired to the computer at the front of the room. The projected slide on the wall changed to a 3-dimensional model of a square, concrete building with an impressive parking lot. It looked strangely like a larger version of the Axion Labs unit in town, except for a two-story glass dome on the north side of the roof. Painted next to the front entrance was "GIW" in massive white letters and the organization's circular seal.

"We would like to start a new operation in Amity Park, where we can employ ectologists from in and out of town to take advantage of the city's unique relationship with the Ghost Zone. We would have this building constructed as a base, and from there we could employ the talents of dozens of kinds of laboratory and non-laboratory workers, in an organized effort toward a safer future."

Now Vlad was trapped. There was that key word; employ. An operation of this size would spur Amity's construction and infrastructure sectors with something different than the usual repair jobs, and then it would employ STEM specialists from within the city, and then it would draw in dozens or hundreds of workers from the rest of the country, pulling outside money in. The city council would never pass it up. If they propagandized it well enough, the voters wouldn't, either. Vlad would look either malevolent or completely idiotic if he didn't express total interest now.

He let his eyes go flat lest they start showing red, and pulled the rest of his face into a plastic grin. "How exciting! Now there is a future."

Yes, a future where Vlad was watched from all angles by ectosignature-reading cameras.

Oh, well. Construction was an infamously slow process. He would have time.

===

November 28, 2006

…IN SUCH A SITUATION, OF COURSE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BRING FORWARD ANY GHOST YOU WOULD EXPECT TO HAVE INFORMATION ON THE EVENT. SHOULD THEY WITHHOLD IT, YOU—

Danny's phone chirped. Oh, thank God. There were only a few spots in the Realms where he got a cell connection (do not ask him how that worked), and he would take a late text over the bossy, traditionalist, very-poorly-hiding-their-hatred-for-him Observants any day.

He held up a hand directly in front of the indignant eye of the floating robe closest to him. Hilarious as usual. "One sec, guys."

He tuned out the sound of spectral sputtering as he looked through text previews.

Sam: (11:25) call when u get… Sam: (11:22) if u don't show… Tucker: (11:10) Read pls. Import… (10:54) Sam: what are you up… Tucker: (9:43) Missed you in ch…

So on and so forth for the last couple days. Nothing Danny wanted to see until he was ready to deal with that. He would handle it all at once, cleanly and nicely, when he went back home. There was too much in his brain for now.

He should probably glance at that "important" message before he lost service, though. He trusted Tucker's judgement on whether something was an emergency.

Tucker: (11:10) Read pls. Important. I get youre out for a reason but your parents have asked me where you are. I had to tell them I didnt know. Sorry. Theyll probably start getting serious about looking soon

Oh, crap. His parents had noticed he was gone. Four days must have been too much for them. He didn't know what to tell them he had been up to this time… or what to say next time he disappeared.

Whatever. That was future Danny trouble. He'd deal with that when he went home, and he'd go home after these eyeballs finished up with him.

He put his phone away and stopped tuning them out.

—AND WHATEVER MORTAL IS CONTACTING YOU AT A TIME LIKE THIS CAN WAIT UNTIL—

"Sorry 'bout that. Continue with the whole… 'inappropriate relations' thing?"

The Observants looked like they were each going to pop a giant blood vessel, but they switched tirades without complaint.

===

December 1, 2006

Vlad was in his study, admiring a knitting pattern on his laptop, when Valerie Gray knocked on his window. Quietly, he wondered why she bothered climbing through a window in her suit when she could have just shown up at his door in civilian clothes and saved them both the suspicion, but he let her in anyway.

"Miss Gray! Please, can I get you anything? It's chilly out there."

"Thank you, Mr. Masters! No, I just wanted to stop by."

Internally, Vlad rolled his eyes. "Stopping by" was for afternoons in his office, or emailing him beforehand, or civilian clothes at the very least. Still, Valerie Gray was a smart girl, and had a tendency toward making herself small when she wasn't trying to do the exact opposite. She likely had a real problem, and was just being demure about it.

"Well, sit down! Let's go into the living room. We're the only ones here, so no need to worry about your suit showing or anything." They started moving down the hall. "Speaking of which! How has it been faring? Anything new recently?" He had, as "the Wisconsin Ghost", tussled lightly with her for appearance's sake a few weeks back, and he saw that her suit was acting oddly up close. He had already done his own studies on it and determined that it was somehow sentient, or something to that effect, and much more ghostly than he had originally designed it. Lasting effects, he supposed, of a time that she got tied up with Technus two years ago. She still hadn't told him about it. Bold.

Regardless, he wasn't too worried. Let the girl become more ghostly. As long as she was putting that isolative pressure on Daniel, as long as she was giving Vlad that in on the human ghost hunting world, what did he care? But she really should be telling her innocent, human benefactor about these things. Imagine if he really did have her best interests in mind? She was as reckless as usual.

"Nope! Working just perfectly! I hope I've been doing my job well enough."

Vlad poured some coffee for both of them— he hadn't been lying about the cold night. "You absolutely have. You are, perhaps, the town's best defense against ghostly attacks."

When he handed Valerie her mug, she casually set it down without taking a drink. He admired her caution.

"Thank you! Seriously. But, Mr. Masters, that's sort of what I wanted to talk about. I've been trying to keep up on changes the Guys— sorry— the GIW have been trying to make here in Amity and Elmerton. I really like how they're trying to keep us stronger in the face of violent ghost attacks. But some of the things they want to try out here kinda make me think they're looking at us like a… like an experiment, more than people. People with lives, who are hurt by ghosts, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't be hurt by other things, you know?"

Ah. Vlad took a sip of his coffee. She wanted to put her word into this game, too? Figured she could get a little opinion in because she had business relations with the mayor? To Vlad, it was yet another force wanting him pulled a certain way. Luckily, he didn't need Valerie Gray's approval, not like he needed the trust of the GIW and Daniel. It was good to have her trusting him, yes, but she was low on his list of priorities. He let her keep talking.

"I just wanted to say, I know you're doing all you can to work with them for the best for the people in town. And… I trust you to make sure that they're not putting ghost defense above respecting the humans. I think you're a good mayor, Mr. Masters. Thank you for what you're doing."

Vlad was shocked. He was glad Valerie wasn't looking at him, because he couldn't keep it off his face for a second. She was sixteen and openly armed with the best in human-ghost weaponry, but she looked absolutely tiny, hunched over and entrusting him with keeping her and the people she loved safe.

Normally, Vlad liked to see people so vulnerable to him, but there was something off-putting about his strongest pawn, this teenager so full of rage and determination that it took only the slightest push to turn her into a living declaration of war, being so honest about her weakness. If there was anyone Vlad expected to be blinded into following the GIW from sheer hatred of ghosts, besides perhaps the Fentons, it would be her.

The look on her face was one he had seen on Danielle a few times before she had disappeared, when she thought he loved her. It wasn't begging. No, Valerie Gray expected him to pull through on these anti-ghost regulations for her, just because she thought he was a good enough person. She was thanking him for something he hadn't done yet.

She trusted him to handle this with grace. And he realized now, with the Red Huntress depowered and sitting on his formal living room couch, that he didn't.

===

December 4, 2006

People had been coming up to Danny when he was around the Ghost Zone. Really, he should have been expecting it, but he was sort of taken aback every time. Your average ghost knew that he was the Prince, and even before that he had enough of a reputation that sometimes they would approach him to ask for help on whatever superhero comic plot had come into their lives recently, but… really, shouldn't there be other options? Walker couldn't have been the only one upholding "laws". Johnny wasn't the only one going on adventures in the living world when necessary. There were other ghosts who handled this sort of thing. Why seek out some half-human two-year-old?

Especially when he couldn't even do what they wanted. At least thirteen ghosts had approached him in the past few weeks to report friends and fright members that had gone to the living realm for one reason or another and never come back. Captured by the Guys in White, shoved in some lab, and… who knows what, after that.

He had tried a few times. Logically, he should have a pretty good shot at getting in and out. Yes, they were looking for his ectosignature in particular, but he was human. He was skilled at hiding it. And he had links in the human world, ways to hide in plain sight, and a hacker friend for whom he was eternally grateful.

The first time, he had gotten the poor ghost out intact. The second time, he even got some hapless animal ghosts and blobs out too. After that, things got harder. Security got tighter, bases got put in stranger places, employees became even more ruthless at the sight of Phantom.

It hurt Danny inside every time he thought about it, but there just wasn't anything he could think to do without getting himself killed, and that wouldn't help anyone in the long run. The experimentation was legal, even on the more humanoid ghosts as far as Danny could tell. He couldn't physically attack the facilities if he wasn't sure nobody would die, and even then the newer defenses had a nasty effect of sometimes turning his own energy around on him.

And now, as he found himself surrounded by the desperate children and friends of a wolf-woman ghost who had been taken away while visiting relatives in the living world, that was what he tried to tell them. But he felt sorry at his own excuses, and he wanted more than anything to be able to do better for the people relying on him, and he saw in their eyes that they did, too, and Danny felt something in the air that said that everyone else did, too, and then—

He blacked out.

===

When Danny woke, he was sitting on a marble chair in a room where the floor was black tile and the walls glowed blue. Anything beyond that was blurry. Right in front of his face was familiar blue and red, and for a moment he worried that he had passed out in front of Plasmius before he noticed the scar.

He just had time to realize this was his first time seeing Clockwork since summer before his head was filled with pain.

It was terrible, and bone-deep, and from his mind as much as his flesh, but it did something to wake him up, too. Danny could see now that the far end of the long room held several ghosts, most of whom he had been studying under. He could see that the glowing on the walls was from tall stained glass windows in every color between ectoplasm green and ocean blue.

He could see that his marble chair was on a dais, and that Clockwork was looking at him with pity. It was an unfamiliar look on them.

Oh, Danny thought as the important people and the important room sunk in between throbs of pain. I am absolutely screwed.

Clockwork squeezed Danny's shoulder. The pain didn't go away, which he thought was incredibly rude since he knew they had some healing power. They turned around and said to the room, Daniel Phantom is here, and he will be King.

Fuck. Fuck. This wasn't supposed to happen yet. This was the coronation, and it wasn't supposed to be like this. He knew it was pretty different from European coronations, but there was supposed to be some kind of party involved, at least. Some kind of tedious ceremony, and it would be stressful and awfully final but it would be happy for a bit. There would be weeks of preparation and months of warning and everyone had told him it wouldn't happen until he was ready.

But here Danny was, on a throne in his own damn color scheme that Fate and Sam had chosen for him, alone except for a few ghosts who were very much not having a good time, in more pain than he'd felt at once since he died, and perhaps the least ready it was possible to be. He was a sixteen year old who was failing every class and avoided talking to his own parents.

He didn't want to see any of this. He tried to close his eyes, but the pain echoed somewhere in the back of his head and the back of his core and his eyes opened and his vision cleared. He couldn't move his eyes or his thoughts away when Pandora walked to the spot Clockwork had left. She opened a lapis lazuli box, and inside was the Ring of Rage, smaller than ever on its own in there. The last time Danny had seen the Ring, it had been locked in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.

She put it on the middle finger of his left hand, and he knew that if his unfading Lichtenberg figures were visible, they would start right where the ring sat. It shrunk and simplified. A band of white, a band of black, a pointed gem of the same blues and greens as the windows.

The pain spread below Danny's neck, to the rest of his body. Whatever kept his eyes clear kept him from doubling over and screaming, too. He didn't have it in him to fight.

Pandora stepped back, and Frostbite walked forward with the Crown of Fire. He didn't place it on Danny's head, he just set it in his hands and wiped a tear off of Danny's cheek.

It was Clockwork who came forward again and lifted the Crown onto his head. It electrified his skin where it touched. Hadn't Pariah Dark's crown floated? Why was Danny's sitting on him, feeling like it was about to topple but refusing to fall, burning a halo onto his scalp?

Why was any of this happening?

Danny was distracted from the pain when that place in the back of his core struck a chord like a symphonic bell and first the Crown, then the Ring, then everything else oh God every drop of ectoplasm in the deep ocean around him every space hidden between every other space the entire seam between this place and the other resonated with it. One massive echo, one frequency carried to infinity in an instant, and that which was within was without, just the same.

May his reign be perfect, said Clockwork from out of sight.

Danny was on the floor. Son of a bitch! The pain ran through him one more time with emphasis before disappearing.

Some of the attendees— Observants, mostly— left without another word. Some, those Danny had started thinking of sort of like family recently, came and tried to help him stand.

It was a struggle to get to his feet, but once he was there, he couldn't help but notice that Clockwork was gone.

"Alright, Danny," Frostbite said. Heh, that might have been the first time he'd used his real name. "Let's get you some sleep, and then we can have a chat about your new powers before you go home."

Danny made himself smile from where he was collapsed over the yeti's arm. "Do I get cake now?"

"Sure," said Frostbite, comforting as any good doctor. "You can have all the cake you want."

Danny laughed weakly. "Some party this was."

(And when word hit them that a small team of yetis had shown up at a grocery store in Amity Park to buy a premade cake with real money, Sam and Tucker decided to keep it to themselves.)

===

December 11, 2006

"No," Vlad hissed when he read the paper Dr. Robert Eldridge handed him across his dining room table.

"What's the issue? I'm happy with the progress we've been making here, and this is the only logical next step."

"It's too invasive. People will never trust a group that measures their ectoplasmic exposure every time they go out in public."

"Their daily lives won't be disrupted because it's passive once installed. Not intrusive at all," said Dr. David Reyes, who had a hidden camera in one of his shirt buttons.

"It doesn't matter, the knowledge that they're having statistics about them being read out to some other body at all times will be too much. H— people hate that sort of thing."

"It's all about awareness," said Dr. Rosalyn Duchart, who had never been in an ecto lab environment in her life. "Most people will be okay with their ectoplasmic levels being measured, because they'll be low anyway. Nothing to hide. It'll only upset those who would be spotted. Disguised ghosts, long-term overshadowings, hauntings and whatnot."

"I'm not so sure about that." Vlad's hand tightened around his mug. "People don't take so kindly to the idea that they might be hiding something. I've certainly never enjoyed being watched."

Maybe, if he had paid a little more attention, he would have found he didn't enjoy the way he was being watched in that moment either.

===

Voicemail from… (708) 112-4816 on… December 13 at… 4:19 PM. [Beep!]

Hey, Danny. It's Val. Um… I haven't seen you in a few weeks. Well, okay, I've seen you around town and at Nasty Burger once in a while, but we haven't talked. You know what I mean. Haha. So, I guess, if you're not at school, and you're not with your friends— uh, I asked them, sorry— where are you?

…You don't have to tell me, of course. It's probably none of my business. Unless it is, haha! Um. But yeah! I guess I just wanted to let you know that… I'm thinking about you! And I hope you're okay! And if there's anything you want to talk about with me, you can. I, uh, I even have homework you can copy if you want to get back on track with missed school.

Hey, call me sometime! I haven't had a chance to tell you about this dumb movie my dad and I watched last week. It was this 3-D animated Christmas movie? Yeah, it's as weird as it sounds, hehe. But that's all I'm telling you now! If you want the rest of the details you're gonna have to crawl out and talk to me.

Have a good day, okay? 'Kay. 

…End of message.

===

December 15, 2006

[A1 - BREAKING NEWS]

LANCE: GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

I’M LANCE THUNDER –

TIFFANY: – AND I’M TIFFANY SNOW.

THIS IS AMITY PARK 8 AT 5.

TONIGHT’S BREAKING NEWS, A LEAKED GARRISON IRVING WALKER COMMISSION RESEARCH PAPER ALLEGES MAYOR VLAD MASTERS IS ACTUALLY A GHOST.

[VO]

[B-ROLL: STILL OF COVER PAGE]

LANCE: PAMELA DEH-LEE-UN, AARON HAMPTON AND DAVID RYE-EZ, LONG-TIME RESEARCHERS WITH THE GIW, WROTE THE PAPER.

TIFFANY: HAMPTON DEVELOPED SUSPICIONS ABOUT MASTERS SHORTLY AFTER THE GIW BEGAN WORKING WITH HIM ON PUBLIC ANTI-GHOST MEASURES.

THE TEAM STANDS BY THE RESEARCH, THOUGH THE PAPER WAS UNFINISHED AND STILL IN REVIEW AT THE TIME OF THE LEAK.

[A-ROLL: HAMPTON INTERVIEW]

LANCE: THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED, BUT THE GIW’S MAIN CONCERN IS THE PUBLIC SEEING THE PAPER BEFORE PEER REVIEW.

WE CURRENTLY HAVE NO COMMENT FROM MASTERS OR CITY COUNCIL, BUT A PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD AT SIX-THIRTY PM.

TIFFANY: JOIN US AT TEN PM ON THE EVENING SHOW FOR EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE AND A MORE IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE RESEARCH PAPER.

UP NEXT, WE’LL HEAR FROM RESIDENTS ON A STRING OF BREAK-INS DOWNTOWN.