#i don't want him to look too much like Danny like more of actively trying to distant himself away from Danny look

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

Preparations, Danny soon realized, were very much useless. He'd spend a while just watching the vigilante, recording his habits and schedule, following him around and taking note of the little details. Call him a stalker, but he was just trying to make sure Nightwing didn't end up in an early grave.

Not like him.

Any and all preparations Danny had made could not ever fully gear him up for actually talking to the only vigilante he'd ever met. Sure, he knew the guy from afar, but actually speaking to him? Looking him in the eye? Having the other look back at him and actually respond? The closest he'd ever gotten to letting the guy know he was there was when he left food out for him and made sure he had water, sometimes coffee, within reach at all times.

Now that Danny was here, standing in front of the door to Nightwing's - Richard Grayson, he'd learned on day three - apartment, he was frozen. Was he actually about to do this? Could he really risk it? What if Nightwing flipped out?

No. He couldn't think like that. Nightwing's a vigilante, a detective, and an officer of the law. He won't attack willy nilly. Besides, it was too late to turn back now. Danny knew way too much about Nightwing's life to back off now.

Not allowing himself to hesitate any longer, he reached up and pressed the doorbell. He didn't hear the sound, but shuffling from inside alerted him that the man he'd come to see was now moving towards him.

'I hope this goes well,' Danny thought. Then, the door opened. "Good, at least you're taking care of yourself and actually eating proper foods. Now, I'm here to discuss your extracurriculars and how to time manage them properly without running yourself into the ground." He didn't mean to enter the apartment uninvited, but he didn't want to risk Nightwing closing the door on him or something. "I've brought my own board with an ideal itinerary that I expect you to follow." He turned to look at the man. "Any questions?"

Nightwing rook a second to process the words. Then, he said, "Yeah, just one: Who the fuck are you, kid?"

Well, he was in this deep, might as well dig himself a deeper grave. "I would say I'm your new legal guardian, but you're older than me and I can't exactly adopt a fully grown adult." Right? Yeah. Danny sat down stiffly, his bag on the floor and leaning against his leg. He pulled out the binder he'd cleared out and dedicated to helping the older vigilante and put it on the table. "I could say that you're my new legal guardian, but we run into a similar problem." Kind of. Being dead is a legal barrier, so adoption's off the table. Transferred custody on the other hand? Well, he's got that taken care of. Though, he had to wonder, "Could you adopt me?" No, he couldn't think of a way that would work. "No matter."

Nightwing, still standing by the open door, shook his head a bit as if to clear his mind. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Introductions? Yikes. "I'm Danny! Nice to meet you!" He had no idea how he's not completely bombed this yet, but he wasn't going to complain.

Nightwing didn't move from the door, let alone shake his hand. Danny put it back on his lap. "Likewise, I guess."

"What, no name?" Was that pushing it?

"I'm optimistic, not an idiot." Yeah, he'd towed the line a bit.

Shrugging to try and rid himself of the nervous butterflies in his stomach, Danny opened the binder to the front page. It was mostly so he'd have something to do with his hands, but it proved to be a decent distraction for Nightwing, too. Though, he pushed down a blush when he saw the glittery blue writing. It was the only other pen he had on him and he'd stolen it from Jazz.

The distraction didn't last. "How did you find this place?" Nightwing asked, the door still wide open.

"Doesn't matter." He didn't think the vigilante would take kindly to being stalked followed around the subject of a kid's curiosity.

Nightwing very much did not seem to believe him. "Why do you think I have a day job and a night job?"

Did he- Oh. The man was probably holding out some kind of hope that Danny wasn't saying what he was saying. Oops. Should he apologise? "I'm a realist, not an idiot."

Throwing the words back at him was probably not the best decision. Then, again, Danny hadn't made a whole lot of good decisions since he'd stepped foot in Bludhaven. At least here, there was a chance he could get away with it, relatively scot free. Imagine if he were in Gotham? With how violent Batman got recently? No thank you. He'd rather take his chances with his parents.

Danny did his best to not clear his throat as he flipped to the next page. "First thing's first. Why do you do what you do? Why go out at night to fight crime when, I assume, that's what your day job is for? Why hurt yourself to help other people?"

Those were all questions he'd had to ask himself before the portal destabilized. Why did he do what he does? Why risk himself to help the people who'd never thank him for his help? Why put his life on hold to do the job of adults?

He'd thought he'd had solid answers for them back then, but he wasn't so sure anymore. Regardless, this was a good place as any to start helping Nightwing.

If he could help just this one person, he'd be satisfied.

Part 3

Tag List: @flame-343

[ecto-stone]

idk i want to try my hand a bit at designing a post AGIT Human Dan.

[starry-bi-sky]

for clone Danny, Clone Damian

I give you

Edit Clone Talia as somehow Girlfriend of Danny, just think of the comedy

nah brO BECAUSE LITERALLY I HAVE THOUGHT BOUT THAT. Literally since the conception of Clone Danny, I have thought about it. If only for, as you said, the COMEDY of it all. Plus I love writing romance.

Literally my motto for my aus is: A) is it plausible, B) is it FUNNY (and a secret third option C) is it ANGSTY)

Clone Talia would be an offshoot au of Clone^2 because idk how she'd fit into the original timeline, bUT, she'd exist. And to avoid confusion I'll call her Nasra - I thought about Tameka (which means twin) but I like Nasra better. "Talia and Nasra" just flows so nicely doesn't it?

Idk WHY there's a clone of Talia running around -- maybe the LoA made her, maybe n unknown organization who hates Batman and knows he has romantic ties to Talia, and started making a clone of her to fuck with him and then she got nabbed by a portal when she was still Danny's age and in the middle of training. She might be like Connor (??) and have memories and thus her training is more proficient than baby Dames.

Either way, regardless of how she was made, I think it's hilarious if she, much like baby Dames, immediately attacks Danny on sight. She falls into his city and Danny only has a moment to go "goddammit not agaIN" before he's fending off a very confused, very violent Nasra. Fortunately he's able to actually try and talk to her and be at least somewhat successful -- Nasra knows english. although even if she didn't, Danny would still be somewhat successful since he knows Arabic.

Also Bruce and Danny are the battinson bat because i think that is also hilarious and 'wet rat' is STILL the perfect energy for Danny as Phantom - especially in the early days when he's running around in all but jeans and a hoodie. (and god watch me go on a rant in a separate post about his outfit and reasonings for being Phantom when he has no powers later on because it makes me go FERAL. and his active choice to look as inhuman and ghost-like through his behavior as phantom and the decision to wear such a creepy mask as possible)

(like seriously, imagine walking home late at night while danny was still in his early vigilante days (and even now when he's got damian and a better suit) and seeing a skinny figure in the shadows with sunken in black-and-glowing-green eyes, and a bone white, skull-like face, crouched on all fours like a wild animal about to pounce. THAT is the level of creepiness I was going for for clone danny)

In my head, Sam offers to house Nasra and Nasra stays with her. SAm is able to convince her parents to let her stay, or she pulls a Danny and just straight up smuggles her in and her parents are none the wiser. I also think it's funny if they have unspoken BEEF with each other. Only to later become like sisters. Nasra teaches Sam the martial arts she knows, and also Danny joins in too with Damian because goddamn he needs it even IF he's learning stuff from his mom (as per the most recent snippet post I made).

OH AND DAMIAN AND NASRA. I think it's equally as funny if they ALSO have beef with each other. Nasra is a clone of his mother (of whom he might have complicated views on due to being a clone but still is his mother) and Damian is a clone of Nasra's "son". This beef largely starts from Damian's own refusal to want to share his Danny with another clone, especially with a clone of his MOTHER.

Danny and Nasra don't become lovers for a good, long while I think. They're besties first before they even consider the idea of dating -- not only just because of the whole "uhhh our counterparts dated so it'd feel kinda weird and forced if we dated" and also because Nasra, with her newfound freedom, is busy trying to figure out herself.

A big theme here in clone^2: discovering your identity and who you are as a person when the only thing you own that's unique is your name (which isn't even the case for Damian), and figuring out if your choices are your own or because you're a clone and its something your original would have done. Nature vs Nurture and the illusion of choice and whether it really is one or not.

Also Nasra also becomes a vigilante. Danny appreciates the help but is also tearing out his hair because what the fuck is up with these assassins and becoming vigilantes?! Nasra goes by "Nesha". She's similar to Red Huntress at first where she kinda does her own thing, but is lowkey forced to team up with Danny about it because she doesn't have any proper ghost hunting equipment with her.

And then a duo becomes a trio, and Danny is spending more time with her. And they steadily become friends. Very snarky friends who are very bratty to each other, but friends. Damian still doesn't like her so Danny spends extra time during patrol keeping the two of them from making insults at each other.

"Nesha please stop fighting with a nine year old. Wraith, quit insulting Nesha."

Nasra also uses like, weaponry as Nesha which exasperates Danny a little because why are you using swords??? They're already dead its not gonna kill them,,,, If you cut off their heads its just gonna piss em off, its re-attachable. Let him ghost-proof it first too. But well, its still gonna HURT he supposes. He's still a little exasperated.

And MMM i'm sorry lmao im so focused on Nasra becoming her own person than the actual romance aspect of it all. Nasra cuts her hair short for the same/similar reasons that Danny keeps his long - to try and gain a semblance of autonomy and identity that's away from their original. Danny has his alternative rock-kinda geeky look and Nasra's got, from influence from Sam, a more alternative fashion style. Although she still leans into being feminine, which is a good challenge to Sam's belief that feminity = bad, and gets her to unlearn those bad habits since her new adoptive sister is feminine while still being an unapologetic badass.

And ykw I think Nasra gets into rollerblading and loves it. She rollerblades constantly. Damian is furious because skating is his thing (even if what he gets later on is a skateboard - skater boy damian ftw. i can see him wearing flannels and graphic tees as a teenager. very grungy/skater aesthetic. He also has a much more relaxed and teen-y speech pattern compared to DW's more formal way of talking. He also spray paints as his form of artistic medium.) and he refuses to have Nasra be a copy of him.

They will sort out their differences eventually. LMao.

Anyways they eventually do get together, but not before Danny finally has his run in with Mister Wayne. Which, they only meet because Danny starts destabilizing, and thus needs Bruce Wayne's DNA to help stabilize himself. Which that meeting in and of itself is pretty chaotic on its own, but then add clone Damian and Nasra? Bruce needs coffee.. or alcohol.

Because picture this: its late at night, you're on patrol with the rest of your family. It's like, two in the morning. You suddenly get a call in from your butler, Alfred, informing you that not one, not two, but THREE children -- two of them in their late teens and the other one not even ten yet -- showed up on your doorstep. One of them is unconscious. They are all clones.

The girl and the boy are twins - and are clones of YOU - and the girl isn't even technically YOUR clone she's a clone of your clone - and also this clone of you is your college friends' kid. And then the youngest boy is a clone of your youngest SON. Bruce is running across rooftops when he gets this call and does a literal 180 degree turn and touches the ground because he basically did a figure skating turn, and sprints back towards the manor because what the fuck? He needs to check this out.

And then half a day later a clone of your fucking ex shows up on your doorstep demanding to see the clone of you - the boy that is, not the girl - and then immediately gets into a verbal lashing with the clone of your son. Like what a fucking DAY. Your kids are equally as baffled but also laughing their asses off -- except your bio son, who is very unhappy about this turn of events and keeps getting the stink eye from his clone.

Like??? I'd quit right then and there.

While Danny recovers he's staying in Wayne manor and Damian is very reportedly not leaving his side. Ellie has to leave to help take care of Amity Park with RH, and then Nasra is also very determinedly not leaving his side either. This is her friend dammit. The first thing she does when he becomes lucid is insult him, and he insults her back - they're bantering. It's how they flirt later on. None of the Bats know how to deal with this situation.

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Calling All Bats

ai-less whumptober 2023 day 26- came back wrong fandom- dp x dc TW- none summary- Jason starts looking for Danny

ao3 ailesswhumptober23 masterlist part 5 of DLM

Danny found himself pleasantly relaxing with this strange liminal. Which he figured was why Gotham had directed him to that apartment. He had been surprised when he reached Gotham’s border and immediately felt the city’s presence. He had never encountered a living city before even though he knew they were possible. He had hesitated at first, not wanting to intrude on what felt like a haunt. But Gotham had assured him with feelings of temporary protection, she couldn’t do much. She was too weak from constantly being surrounded by corrupted ectoplasm from all the disasters. But she could offer temporary asylum and let Danny know when the GIW entered Gotham’s border. 

Of course Danny hadn’t known that Gotham would be sneaky and direct him to a liminal’s apartment. Danny had not expected a liminal to come in, usually he could sense a haunt, but with Gotham as contaminated as she was, he figured the criminal's presence was hidden. It was also probably because Jason’s ectoplasm was also corrupted.

He wished he could have stayed longer in that apartment. He might have even been able to help Jason. But when Gotham whispered to him that the GIW had come, Danny knew he had to leave before the agents found Jason. Hopefully Gotham’s corrupt ectoplasm would help hide Jason. It might even make it more difficult for the agents to track him down as well.

But he couldn’t risk it. He wasn’t sure where he’d go next. At least he had gotten his bandages changed and eaten a few cookies.

-------------------

Jason didn’t know what to do. The kid was just gone.

How was he supposed to look for him? Where even did he go?

And these GIW agents or whatever were clearly after him. Jason wasn’t about to abandon the kid.

Leaving behind his hot chocolate and cookies he walked over to his room and put his uniform back on. 

The kid was like him. They both came back wrong. Jason grimaced. He’d always described himself as coming back wrong, but thinking about the kid like that was wrong. The kid was fine. Who cared if he’d died before. And maybe, Jason wasn’t messed up either? Danny acted like all this was normal. And maybe it was. 

Whatever. Existential thought could wait till after he’d found Danny and beat the GIW to a pulp.

He left through his window and made his way up to the roof. He paused. He wouldn’t be able to search the whole city by himself. 

That meant he’d have to call in reinforcements.

Ugh. What a pain.

He activates his comm. “Hey, Oracle. Anyone out tonight?”

“Hood, I thought you were ending your patrol early today?”

“I did. Then I found something. I need anyone out to help me out with the situation.”

“Red Robin’s out right now, but Nightwing is still suited up if you need him too.”

“Go ahead and patch them both to my comm.”

“Will do.”

A moment later Dick’s voice came through. “What’s up, Hood?”

“I need your help looking for someone.” Jason said, grappling over to the next roof. “Who are you looking for?” Tim asked.

Jason hesitated before answering, “He’s a kid about fourteen or fifteen, he’s some kind of meta. I was talking with him and he just disappeared. But he mentioned he has government agents trying to hunt him down to experiment on him.” 

“What’s he look like?” Dick asked, voice serious.

Jason paused before getting it over with. “He was wearing jeans and had a black hoodie on. And he has black hair and blue eyes.”

There was silence for a moment before Dick started cackling. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know this is serious, but really Little Wing? You’ve found us a new brother?”

“Shut up. We need to start looking for him.”

“Of course.” Dick said, sounding serious, but Jason could tell that the man was still smiling.

“Do you know what agency is after him?” Tim asked.

“A group called the GIW. I don't know anything else.”

“I’ll look into them. I’ve also got my systems looking for any black haired, blue eyed kids.” Babs said.

“We’ll find him, Hood.” Dick said.

Jason hoped so.

[lovesickry]

- let the light in.

┈⋆⭒ lando norris x rival femdriver!reader [2.4k] ┈⋆⭒ part 3 !

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ find all parts here! .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ contains: 18+, smut, swearing, angst, handjob LOL .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ a/n: sorry for my little hiatus I was really trying to think about what im trying to do with this story. .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ comment if you wanted be added to taglist

by all accounts Spain had been...interesting. considering the close proximity in which you came into with a certain man by which you (or at least thought) certainly disliked.

A sense of unease followed you in the coming week, a kind of distrust. With yourself? It was an odd feeling, unlikely to be exactly pinpointed so it was more or less thrust far back into your mind, his lingering, burning touch hopefully soon forgotten.

You were eager to more or less throw yourself into training, it was Monaco after all, the race every driver wanted to win. You were not an exception.

-

You saw Danny for dinner on Tuesday and it was actually very refreshing, you had taken some convincing (done by yours truly) to actually attend, by in doing so you did actually have a good time. He was Danny Ric of course you were gonna have a good time. Anyway, you were walking around Monaco much too late, talking about the season and actively trying to avoid any talk about his current teammate. He mentioned he was worried about you. 

“Why?”

“Oh just you know, sometimes I see a bit of myself in you and I know how I can get.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed, he cared so much. Danny had never been your teammate but youd drifted together through one force or the other and he'd been nothing but nice to you. You understood where he was coming from, you guess you were similar, the same kind of persistent optimism, sarcasm, devotion, not knowing when to stop pushing, problems of burning out etc; 

“I’m fine”

He waits for you to continue, you do.

“I mean, I think, it's just all a lot. I've wanted to be in Formula One for as long as I can remember and now that I’m here, it's still like everyday I'm fighting to be here. And it's not all just about being a girl either, like most of it is but still. It's like there's something inside me that's almost contradicting my existence, like I'm not meant to be here. It's pushing me forward and also pulling me back. I don't know how to explain it.”

You take a deep breath and try to keep your voice steady as you continue.

“There's just so much that I want to achieve and I don't even think I believe I can do it.”

Your voice wobbles only slightly as you pause walking and look at him, suddenly breathless.

He looks at you with so much understanding you could break down into tears. He extends an arm and pulls you into a side hug as he continues down the street slowly walking. 

“I think when you first do this that's how everyone feels, like they’re lying to themselves or that they don’t deserve it, but believe me when I tell you Dylan you are so deserving, more than so many drivers and you will get there. The isolation will dissipate and your body will realign and you’ll know what to do and how to do it and you’ll truly believe in yourself and your life won't be pushing and pulling at you anymore, i know its hard and i hate to say it, but time is truly your best friend in shit like this.”

You don't know how danny seemed to always know what to say but the words he spoke resonated with you and made something click, the rest of the walk home was lighter as you reached your hotel just after midnight, saying goodbye to Danny and watching him walk off into the lit streets of Monaco, quiet, peaceful and picturesque. You were amongst the other drivers who didn't (yet) live in Monaco, but you loved every moment you visited. Yes it was a posh persons wet dream, but it was undeniably beautiful in every part and you loved the safeness as a woman too. Though you'd have to admittedly work on your french.

When Thursday rolled around and you had to go to the track, ending your period of peace, it was  gratefully uneventful, not once did you see who you had prayed you wouldn’t and that was enough to leave the paddock with a smile. Friday was less than satisfying however, achieving not even in the top 10 in either practices. Saturday and Sunday, were thankfully a different story, you had qualified well, pulling your car into P4. You were happy, the car was happy and you were focused, the chat with Danny had made you in some way looser? 

You had mixed emotions about the part of the day in which you would attend the drivers parade. On one hand you could argue that it was a bit of a break from the seriousness, a time where drivers genuinely just chat shit while people look on and occasionally get asked questions, but on the other you could also argue that its kinda pointless and stupid. Regardless all the drivers piled into the moving vehicle and settled into a chatter of conversation in their respective “groups”. Just by your luck, as you eased into a conversation with Danny and George, Lando decided to join in. You didn’t ignore the look up and down he gave you before swiftly intervening in the conversation. For some reason the minute Lando joined in you were mute, not cintrivuting to the conversation in the slightest bit, other than nudging Danny every now and again to point something/someone out. You spoke few words with Lando present and even fewer when prompted by him to speak. At a point George simply dragged you away and talked to you one of one to save the awkward silence that seemed to surround the you and Lando. You had never found George unattractive, but at the same time you werent attracted to him either, which you thought in the moment he wasnt understand, as everything he said he would lean closer, almost intimate. Not too obvious, not romantic, but obvious enough, atleast to you and the eyes that you felt bore into the back of your head from a certain McLaren driver. Waling through the paddock following the drivers parade was always an ordeal, fans were out and you signed caps and shirts and skin and took photos, before finally making it anywhere near your garage. That was a part of the fun honestly, you always thought: The fans. You hear familiar voices and try not to eavesdrop, though subconsciously straining to hear, it's muffled and you only make out. “Shes not” “Dude” “fuck” “embarassing” “gross” “come on?” “you jealous?” your spying however is put to an end when none other than George Russel and Lando Norris round the corner to where you stood or recently stood, because as soon as you heard shuffling you resumed movement so they didn’t know that you were really just standing there listening to whatever the fuck they were saying.

“Speak of the devil” Lando says with a smirk.

You don't fully register the meaning behind that line however, still relishing in the fact they didn't know of your habit to eavesdrop. 

“You're such a twat” George says, and more or less storms off.

You watch as he goes, still silent and then turn towards Lando. 

“You’re actually such a dickhead ”

Lando scoffs before continuing.

“I was the one defending your dignity, George was drooling at you, its embarrassing”

You raise your eyebrows at him

“George?”

“Oh come on you're not that naive, he's so into you it's disgusting.”

“piss off”

“No seriously Mr Russell was in a seductive mood” it's said with an air of humour and you nearly laugh. 

“George was trying to seduce me?” you let a deep breath out of your noise, nearly letting loose a laugh.

“And how exactly would he go about that huh?” you continue sarcastically.

‘Hmmm” his eyebrows straighten and his whole face looks as though it changes composition.

You move to go, sick of whatever the fuck Lando wants to play with you, you round the corner, reaching a small end of a hallway with no current people near and suddenly hes there too. Lips grazing the top of your ear. His body was against yours and radiating with heat, breath fanning your temple. 

“Like this?” his voice is too fucking low, too fucking delicious and your mind is begging for you to succumb, but you cant, you wont.

“Youre a fucking asshole” its said through your teeth and you dont make any action to move your body away from his.

He hummed in response, simply moving his breaths down your neck.

“You mean it?” a smirk paints his face

“I hate you” the words come out more breathless than you'd hoped.

He laughs into the skin of your neck, you're still not moving, unable to move. In fear giving into him. 

You close your eyes in hopes to centre yourself but it's impossible to ignore the heat that seems to surround you, your blood flows like molten lava through your veins and every breath is staggered and fractured. Opening your eyes was a mistake, Lando is looking at you with someone that could be moulded into admiration and his pupils are blown. You can't stop the way your back arches to meet him and suddenly your hands are in his curls and his mouth is on yours. It is so sweet, so filthy, so hateful. The way your mouths are moving against each other, his hands grasping at your back while you pull at his hair, you notice as you pull away the way he bites his lip, as if to not make any noise. 

Well that's rich, he doesn't get to pretend he hasn't been the one chasing after you, acting all shitty just cause you’ve been the only girl not to fall to your feet at the sight of him.

He deserved a taste of his own medicine, you moved your lips off his and his eyes widened slightly thinking you're stopping whatever this was. Not yet. You move your lips down to his necks and begin to kiss him until you reach where he tenses at, figuring that's your best shot. You find the spot just above his clavicle and he inhales sharply before biting his lip. You were getting somewhere, focusing on this singular spot had Lando more desperate than before, biting so hard on his lip you thought it might bleed and gripping your waist so tightly you thought it might bruise if he adjusted his grip anymore. 

The next idea that hit you was albeit self-indulgent but you thought would get your point across, or atleast suffice some of Lando’s infatuation with you just enough to clear your mind of him.

While one of your hands holds firmly his curls while you kiss his neck fervently, your other hand drops down further, trailing over the muscle that lay taut and hot underneath his fireproofs. His throat bobbed and he threw his head back only slightly, making an incoherent noise that made you smile against his neck, his control lost and gained so fast. Soon after your other hand left the back of his head, he dropped it onto your shoulder, still fiercely remainly quiet as you moved the other hand down his back, both hands reached under the material at the same time and his body was hotter than you had ever thought possible, retaining so much heat you are surprised there wasn't some kind of steam coming off of his skin. You pull his race suit down lower so it meets his middle thighs, his forehead still resting on your shoulder, keeled over. Pulling the material of his fireproofs up so you could actually see the muscle that was residing under there was fucking awe-inspiring, the small gap that you allowed yourself to see, breathing hard and fast, watching the muscle, the skin go out and in which each breath, you were nearly hypnotised. 

“Im not gonna fucking beg tait”

His voice is rough but fractured and static, not portraying the toughness you think he’d like it too. It's your turn to hum in response as you move your hands achingly lower to where he is painfully and unbearingly hard for anything you do. The minute your hand makes contact with the sensitive skin he gasps, you relish in the noise and you slowly move your hand around him, gathering the pre cum that coats the tip and focusing on it, slow moments make him shake and he's suddenly making small, consistent noises that only egg you on more. You hated to admit that the power in the movement was absolutely superb, enough to ignore the ache between your own legs. You twist your hand slightly causing a strangled groan to come from Lando followed by a “fuck you” though its not too aggressive. You speed it up and soon he's breathing too fast, his eyes are fluttering and he’s so close. You position your hand and fingers at just the right part of him and he's coming hard and fast and hot and heavy in your palm. Followed by a deep, long breath and then a swift laugh. Lando Norris just came in your hand in his fucking racesuit. If that wasn’t karma that while he sung the national anthem he’d have cum in his fucking pants you didnt know what was. 

“That's for the crash and all the shit in the press.” you know how it must sound, that you'd just jerked him off and now you're labelling it as payback, but to the relationship that you both held it was pretty much just that. You slip out from under him, smoothing your hair and wiping your hands on his race suit. His face has fallen and hasn't moved, though he moves his arm to steady himself. 

You don't look back as you finally walk out of the corner of that measly little hallway, grateful that nobody happened upon you two. 

“Fuck you” its quiet but loud enough to hear and its almost….whiny? 

The ache between your legs has dissipated by the time you climb into the car, eager to get anything else into your head than the one that had been resting on your shoulder that day. 

tag list:

@ssararuffoni, @eviethetheatrefreak, @fairiesdowntheroad, @landosgirlxoxo, @hiraethrhapsody, @hockeyboysarehot @mcmuppet @honethatty12 @darleneslane @formula1mount @borntogayz @kodzuvk @potatos-on-clouds @jullamy @taytaythirteen,@mrsmaybank13, @spiderrmoon, @giuliaabergaminii.@thenoblenomad, @luanemone, @spaceodd-ty, @aphroditeisamilf, @chonkybonky

[f4nd0m-fun]

So in a lot of these monster hunting fantasy webcomics, you have these things called monster cores. Imagine, if you will, an AU where the Justice League has always been in a world like this. Maybe an alternate earth, maybe the aliens are from different planes instead of planets, maybe you've got magic as the primary force and yet there's some who still manage to stick almost entirely to tech/magitech (like Bruce). These cores are essentially batteries, and the more powerful the monster the more energy you can draw. Also, I love the idea that, if you put it together right, you can technically recharge it.

Enter, the Phamily. Either they are from this world and the Fentons are monster hunters trying to find the origin place of the monsters, or this isn't their original world and they're trying to open a portal home.

Danny, Ellie, Dan, and Vlad if he's there, have cores. These can be considered batteries just looking at the way ectoplasm is used (imagine how much more potent the cores would be than the globs). Jazz, the parents, and Danny's friends if they're there too are liminal. This could mean that magic considers them part monster despite no cores, or maybe they're considered akin to warlocks or sorcerers, looked down upon but not actively hunted or something. Although the presence of the half monster kids and what seems to be a half monster dad... (yes this is probably a family breakfast ship, sue me if you dare) well, Vlad is gonna be determined to fight off the rumors with whatever he's got, there's no need for his darling Maddie to get worked up about idiots, aside from him and Jack of course. (I also love Vlad x Connie so this could either be Vlad is just an uncle or we get Connie in and call it Family Party or something - Party cause alcohol?)

Also not entirely sure on how I'm writing Bruce and Dick here, I want them to be able to access magic in some way, but sensing magic might be more of an Oracle/Barbara thing, I'm not sure, but also they can't do anything big or flashy with it, it's more tiny stuff which is why they rely on magitech. Also the idea that even if people can sense magic, usually they ignore changes aside from moving away from it if necessary cause usually it means a bunch of monsters are coming through a breach. Honestly, not sure how to run this but, eh.

The below segment is written with Native!JL and Isekai!DP in mind.

=====||=====||=====||======||=====||=====||=====

Bruce had been tinkering with his latest animaga, a monster core whose energy had been threaded through one if his favorite inventions, intended to allow him and his ward flight with the use of monster wings.

"B!"

He tensed but refuses to startle as his ward all but jumped on top of him. "Yes Dick?"

"The magic feels weird!"

Bruce paused, setting his tools down. He knew as a half elf, Richard was sensitive to magic, but wasn't nearly as strong with it as most full elves.

Of course, Bruce had always been considered... disabled in that regard, a full elf who could only feel the energy close to him, though it wasn't public knowledge that he knew of. "That's good to know, Chum, why don't you meditate on it and I'll investigate tonight?"

His ward seemed to understand the intent to leave him behind and started to protest.

"Chum, I was going out alone before you showed up, if the magic really has changed, it'll be safer for me to go out and use the radar."

Dick whined but didn't protest again.

Bruce hoped he wouldn't sneak out this time.

As night began to fall, a family of 9 was gutting a strange metallic ship. Well, the three elder ones were, while the younger ones worked together to scout out the area.

Bruce had just arrived to the location, but chose not to interfere just yet. Batman was the embodiment of night to many, a fearsome predator to others, and some even thought he was a monster himself. Reconnaissance was his strength, as was stealth.

"I don't know, Jazz, the energy here is weird. Muggy almost." His form gave off a soft glow, not unlike that of the whisps, though much larger in body.

The girl with red hair, Jazz he presumed, did not appear impressed. "Like you're the expert on energy. Maybe you should ask Sam when we get back to Mom and dad."

"And Vlad."

"Don't remind me."

The glowing one shuddered. "I know him and our parents have been buddy buddy again but why did he take you find along?"

"Because you're still in training, Daniel."

Both children shrieked.

"I see your core has accepted me into your Fraid."

Bruce froze a bit. Core? Thier energy was certainly strange but not entirely monstrous, hence his inactivity, but the presence of a core presented issues.

"Whatever, Fruitloop. Go back to camp."

"I don't think I will, you're being watched and I can't have my son or daughter being in harm's way."

"Give it a rest, Frootloop, we're not your kids." Despite their attitude, something about their reaction and stance suggested they were worried about being watched as well.

Bruce wondered how they knew about him, perhaps he should have asked Lucius for help with a dampening field to hide the energy of the animaga?

"Don't bother flying away, you'll be surrounded before you can think." Vlad placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Before Bruce could react, there was a flash of light that all but burned onto his retinas, but the light was all wrong, a deep black instead of a glowing hue. By the time he was back to his senses, Vlad was gone, and in his place was another strange Whisp. Batman didn't have to turn around to find there were identical ones behind him. Clearly, this was an opponent not to be underestimated.

[deadbydangit]

Going to an amusement park with them.

Mastermind, Hillbilly, Ghostface

Mastermind

No.

He will not go.

Wesker has far too much work to do.

Besides, isn't that rather childish?

Pick an adult activity, like a museum.

"I don't have time for your childish nonsense. I have work to do. Go by yourself."

His words are pretty harsh.

And if you do start crying, he'll feel really bad.

"I-I'm sorry dear. Let's go. We can go there if you'd like."

He won't even wait for an answer.

He's just going to take you.

Please don't be upset with him. Please don't cry more.

He didn't mean it.

Wesker isn't a fan of any of this, and it's obvious, and he's really trying to hide it.

Rides, unhealthy foods, crowds.

He's doing this for you.

But he wants you to have fun.

And he won't let you not do something you want to if he doesn't want to do it.

He'll even go on some rides with you.

Just nothing that spins too fast.

His Uroburos don't seem to like that.

And, he won't say it, but watching you eat cotton candy was really cute.

It was even cuter when you tried to feed him a piece.

He actually doesn't mind rides with a view.

He really likes the Ferris wheel since you can see so much from up top.

He bribed the ride operator to keep you at the very top longer.

Just so you two could see the fireworks.

"Not a bad view if I do say so myself."

But he's actually looking at you.

He'll do whatever it takes to see you smile.

Hillbilly

An amusement park?

What's that?

Oh, he's seen those on TV!

Max had been locked in a room for most of his life with nothing but the TV.

Therefore, most of what he knows about the outside world is from what he's watched.

But actually going to an amusement park?

Absolutely!

Start with some of the calmer rides.

Something that may seem childish to some.

People might give you two weird looks as you get on the ride, but you could care less.

Rides with bright pretty colors and music are his favorites.

It gives him a sense of childhood wonder that he never got to experience.

He's literally living out a childhood dream.

He's just so happy.

Next, try a ride that's a little faster.

A spinning ride, maybe a small roller coaster.

He might be shaken up at first, but he quickly adjusts.

If you ask him what snack he wants to eat, he'll look at the menu so confused.

What's cotton candy? What's a churro?

Get him one of each.

He'll practically shovel everything down.

You might have to get him something else before you two leave.

He doesn't like the fireworks.

If they were quiet, he would because he likes the colors.

But the loud booming is frightening.

Watch them from inside a store or something like that.

When the day is over and it's time to go home, he'll envelop you in a hug.

"Can we come again tomorrow?"

You'll have to explain to him that it isn't something you do everyday.

He'll understand, but he can't wait to go with you next time.

Ghostface

Huh? An amusement park?

Danny hadn't been to one in forever.

Sure! Why the Hell not?

Once you get there you can see him freeze up.

Memories of his childhood are flooding back to him.

He'll suddenly grab your hand.

"We're doing everything."

Before he runs you into the park.

Children's rides, roller coasters, arcade games, spinning rides.

You're doing it all.

And uh, he knows this is awkward, but he wants to feed you ice cream.

He's seen other couples do it and he kind of wants to try it.

That, and he wants to push ice cream on your nose.

On purpose but say it was an accident.

"Sorry babe, you're so cute I got distracted."

Just let him have it and clean your face.

And he absolutely wants to go on the haunted house ride.

He'll do the thing where is places his arm around you and holds you close.

"I won't let the monsters get you. The only monster you have to worry about, is me."

Wink.

So cheesy.

He wants to see the fire works too.

He'll purposely get behind taller people so he has to lift you onto his shoulders to see.

He knows what he's doing.

Before you leave, he won you a stuffed animal and hid it until now.

"It's a cute little teddy bear. Reminds me of you."

[wazzappp]

Im not fucking alright brother I'm too far gone for this. You're getting magical girl transformations with my attempt at character shit going on buckle up chucklefucks were going to flavortown (<- what).

Alright so I tried to make Robbies transformation subtly different by not having his face tilted down in the initial 'I am a being composed of pure magic holy SHIT' (<- need you to imagine that being said with a slight hillbilly accent idk why but this is necessary in my brain please please) phase. He's actively looking away from his Connection Gem because HES NOT DOWN FOR THIS. He hasn't given up on finding a way out of his contract (details are being discussed, trying to figure out what will deliver the most EMOTIONAL DAMAGE). He's not even wanting to fucking look at it because FUCK Sneli, FUCK the Connection Gem AND FUCK THESE GODAMN HEELED BOOTS (he has rolled his ankle 5 times. his healing factor has been used more for these horrible contraptions than fighting ghosts). His tried and true tradition of 'If I don't look at it, if I just ignore it then it might just go away'.

@cicada-candy bro your fucking johnny design. It fucks SO HARD.

So Johnny is FANTASTIC and like. Slay and everything but theres also some sadness behind that. Johnny hasn't been in control of anything for basically his whole life. He couldn't control his fathers death, couldn't manage (at least at first) his love with Roxanne so FUCK IT. If he cant control his own Fate or appearance anymore either then he is going to own it as much as possible. If he is assigned thigh highs and skirts for the rest of his existence then godamnit he's going to make it look fucking GOOD.

@rokhal YOU. YOU FUCKING DID THIS TO ME. YOU WERE THE ONE WHO MENTIONED DANNY USING HIS MAGICAL GIRL PERSONA TO ESCAPE FROM LIFE. YOUUUUUUUUU. Alright so Dannys whole thing is him shifting and gaining confidence as he does. He starts off facing the left and shifts to the right as he completes his magical girl transformation. He also starts off very curled into himself, like he's protecting his connection gem from something, then slowly starts to take up more space and becomes more confident as he progresses.

FRANK. YOU. WHY WERE YOU SO DIFFICULT. Frank is direct and over this shit. His poses are the simplest and he is ALWAYS facing the "camera". His magical girl transformation isn't something that he enjoys, it's more something that he ENDURES. He would really prefer to just get to the point (fighting ghosts).

Anyway, I hope this is mildly comprehensible. My brain is fuckging. Idk man something is going on and it IS enjoyable but I am afraid that the opening of my skull to the universe is having some negative effects on my ability to communicate. I'm gonna go. Drink some water.

[ellena-asg]

I love Stakeout (5x17) episode. I really do. You know, all these McDanno moments like sharing food, talking, confessing, arguing and of course being husbands (oh, I love Ruth).

But my favourite moment is in the end. Danny giving Steve a guitar? Yeah, it's great too. But the best is just after that.

When Steve sees the guitar he... Ohh. He says "Danny, Danny, Danny...".

Yeah, sure. It can mean just "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you" or "Ayy, you're unbelievable, boy" or "Oh, you did it, for me" or "ehh, you didn't have to, you know? but aww thanks".

But I also hear there "I love you, I love you, I love you". I love the tone of Steve's voice in that moment. It's so full of love and friendship and devotion. It's so soft, so warm. And so damn romantic. Yeah, Steve sounds like a lover in a fever. Like a man just kissing his beloved one (and asking for more). I mean, it's so passionate that I can't 😍 And I love that he says Danny's name not one but three times! Danny, Danny, Danny. It's like emphasis. And like mantra. Like a desire to say lover's name over and over again. Steve tastes Danny's name. He loves it. He always loves to call him Danno, Dan, Daniel, sir Daniel, Danny... But this time he says "Danny" in a different way. Like "Romeo, oh, my Romeo" (or should I say: Petruchio? cause sometimes it's like The taming of the Shmuck SuperSeal 😆).

(Has he seen THAT movie? Has he seen 10 things I hate about you and the "guitar scene"? Does he dream about such events, I mean: lovebird 1 buys lover 2 a guitar and lover 2 kisses lovebird 1? Does he dream about kissing Danny? 😉 Oh, Stevie, Stevie, you could then just say "I... I'm really grateful, you know. I wanted to thank you in a... non-neanderthal animal way, I mean... I wanted to be a gentleman" 🤭).

I know that he has been in love with Danny since he met him in his own garage. And yup, it's not a first time when one is doing something sweet and adorable for the other. But in this episode they were SO close. One flat, one room, one couch. No Ohana around. No activities. No danger (like in that episode with them being under the ruined building). Only spying (doing their job) and talking. There was a) we are sitting in the silence or b) we are sitting and talking. And Danny loves talking so... 😉 They were so close physically and also mentally. They were so intimate while confessing things. And Danny was right when he said that thing about Steve. Cause, yeah, Steve sometimes thinks that they're from two different worlds (ah, so romantic 😉). But Danny is right: they are not that different. They share many things, many pains (like losing a brother; Freddie/Matt). They feel each other so well. They're soulmates. And in that episode Steve is like "oh". He knows that Danny's words are true. And he knows that Danny is the best thing in his whole life. He knows that he can always share his secrets with him. But this time he sees it so damn clearly.

So they are so sweet to each other. There is very romantic mood around. There is SOMETHING. They share and share: that couch, food, secrets, feelings, thoughts about each other. And it's all more and more romantic. And Steve is so openhearted, he talks about his old fears and trauma and about the shame. And Danny tries to heal him. They both try - yeah, they don't need that therapy but I think that was a good idea to make them so close again. To make them talk in that intimate way.

So, all is so romantic and in the end boom! Danny gives him that guitar, Danny shows him "I feel you so much, babe and I wanna make you happy and free from traumas". Danny is so cute. So gentle. So gentle that it could make Steve cry. I can imagine that Steve is screaming inside. And that there are butterflies in his stomach 😉 It looks like... something happened. Like... another "something" in their relationship. So romantic something that... Danny, Danny, Danny. Bravo, Williams. More moments like this and this poor boy will finally confess more and more. Will finally confess THAT feeling.

Wow. One damn guitar and we've got McGarrett Romantic Mode On. McGarrett shining like the Sun. McGarrett being so gentle, so much in awe and being... courted by Danny 😊 Oh. My. Poor. Heart.

Ok, confession. You know, I'm not a native English-speaker. And maybe when I hear a word X and think "gosh, it sounds just like word Y" well, I'm wrong. Maybe you would tell me "nah, Ell, no way, two different words, no way". Ok, ok, confession: You know what? When I was watching that episode for the first time, I didn't hear Steve's "Danny, Danny, Danny". What did I hear instead? "Honey, honey, honey" 😁 And I was like:

[goggles-mcgee]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[cuccoamongdragons]

The Boy and The Heron Notes/Critique:

TLDR: LOVED the animation and it had some impactful themes, also strongly disliked several things.

(SPOILERS)

- War. Very common theme in Ghibli. Always animated with such a punch.

- Hold up, dad married his dead wife's SISTER??? Got her pregnant, and THEN decided to introduce his kid (Mahito) to her for the first time? As they were moving in with her??

- Mahito's aunt/stepmom decides her first-time introduction should be "I'm your new mom." and to grab his hand and make him feel her pregnant belly?

- This kid is so shut down all he does is say yes and keep his head low, trying to avoid conversation & confrontation. He's still clearly grieving and showing some signs of PTSD from the fire. None of the adults address this if they even notice.

- Dad continues to be tone-deaf by insisting on dropping Mahito off to his new, poorer & more blue-collar school, in a fancy ride. He showed up looking like a rich kid who's never worked a day in his life to a place full of children who work all day. Dad put a target on his back.

- Mahito self-harmed and pretended it was from the fight earlier. This is two-fold. It meant he didn't have to go back to that school, and it was an outlet for all the hard feelings he didn't have a safe place to express. Dad does what rich-kid/bad parents do: throws money at the problem, and takes it personally instead of focusing on the kid.

- 2/3 of the first things Mahito takes an interest in are scary or forbidden. The Heron is a horrifying creature, the tower is forbidden, and then there's archery. For the 1st time we get something Mahito could connect with his aunt/stepmom on as a shared interest. But they don't.

- Why did the Heron shit in his window?

- Aunt/Stepmom has a hard time with labor and everyone pressures Mahito to go comfort her. Everything in his body language and behavior indicates he doesn't know her, he's uncomfortable, and he doesn't want to. It's not his responsibility.

- One of the old ladies get some serious character fleshing out. Oh wow I ADORE her. A++ Development.

- The Heron not being voiced by Danny Devito feels like a crime. Bird discovers that sometimes even though you're mostly not a nice being, sometimes someone will still love you.

- Pelicans and commiting violence out of desperation, terrifying self-awareness of the impact on next generations.

- Mahito meets his mom through time shenanigans. They DID NOT have a rehash of the romantic issues around When Marnie Was There. His mom gives off mom vibes and is likeable. Feels like he never gets a full closure kind of conversation with her. (His original reason for going to the tower.)

- Implication that Great Uncle was the death that pulled Mahito's mom into the tower for closure. While for Mahito it was wanting closure about his mom, and then doing the right thing trying to save his aunt/stepmother.

- Haha big murder-birds parakeets.

- Telling a Great Uncle/ancestor that Mahito sees what is left to add to the legacy and it's corrupted.

- The only way to get Aunt/Stepmom home is to give her the unearned & undeveloped "crying for mom" by Mahito. Literally after she told him she hated him. An adult screaming in her stepkids' face that she hates him. And it was rewarded by him calling her mom. In front of his actual mother who he's had nothing but a good relationship build with the whole time.

- Letting a family legacy turn to nothing because it's become unhealthy. Breaking the cycle and the guts it takes to do that. Helping others (pelicans/parakeets) break the cycle in turn

- SO MUCH BIRD SHIT. On everyone, and they're calling it cute & laughing. (Also what happened to active labor??) Why is there so much bird shit in this movie???

- Door is open for Mahito to make his own tower with the stone he kept & talisman of the old woman but we're not going to think too hard about that.

- And then they all left to go back to the city.

[asjjohnson]

Part 4 of my poll adventure fic. Links: the beginning, part 2, part 3.

Hmm... I think I'll split this part up and add an extra poll. I'll have another post/poll Saturday.

I added a Read More thing but there is a poll under there, okay?

---

Vlad's eyes moved back and forth across Dan's face, his mouth open slightly in a stunned expression.

And then Vlad knelt before him. "My boy, what's happened to you?"

Dan didn't know what to think. He closely watched Vlad with suspicion and anger and uncertainty.

Rather than vocally deny Vlad's endearment, he focused what energy he had on recovery. The electric shock had left behind locked up nerves and muscles, like the first time around, and the sooner he could absorb the lingering electricity and heal the minor damage, the sooner he could move.

"I saw you yesterday— But you were locked away before yesterday... But why? And why would Clockwork—" Vlad scanned his face again, eyebrows furrowing in thought. "Of course... You're from the future. ...Oh. You'll follow in my footsteps?"

Vlad raised the small device in his hand, again pushing a button. Dan tensed—another shock already?

"Forget the plan," Vlad said as the collar instead clicked and fell off. "Tell me everything. I want to know all—"

Vlad cut off as Dan, grinning, locked the collar around his neck. "What?!"

Dan grabbed the small device from Vlad's hand. With a glance, he saw which button was which, and pushed the one to activate the collar.

Vlad screamed and collapsed to the floor. Then he lay still, other than ragged breaths and an occasional unconscious twitch. He stared up at Dan with an expression of surprise and betrayed sadness.

Dan stood and looked down at him. "That's your problem—you don't follow through with your plans."

Dan opened and closed a fist, and focused ectoplasm into his hand, trying to judge how much power he currently had at his disposal. "You're a coward. Easily swayed by human emotions." He looked back to Vlad. "Your heart has ruled you for decades, but did you ever act on it when you had a chance? Ask her out?" Dan sneered in disgust. "No. You were too afraid."

Vlad continued to stare with that pathetic expression.

"You wanted revenge on Jack Fenton. But you never did it. Always sending weak ghosts in your stead, always thinking up fallible plans—as though you couldn't bring yourself to kill him with your own hands.

"You want power, you want to rule the ghost zone and the human world. But you don't want to do the work yourself. You run into a little speed bump, and what do you do? Give up. Relinquish all responsibility."

Dan glared at Vlad, feeling his eyes glow brighter with his increasing anger. "You give up on everything. You can't even do one thing right!"

After Vlad had repeatedly tried to gain him as a son, he'd gone to Vlad willingly—but Vlad couldn't handle it. Vlad couldn't deal with it. Vlad had to take the easy way out. The shortcut. Vlad couldn't stick with it. Vlad couldn't live with him as he'd been.

Dan said calmly, "You're a coward, Vladimir Masters. A coward shackled by his weak human emotions."

And then Dan rocketed into the air. He swung his arms, sending a wave of ectoplasm toward the ceiling and walls, the house caving in as he punched through the roof.

He could finish what he started.

He would've broken out of that thermos himself, eventually. Just like he had eventually broken through Valerie's shield.

He didn't give up once setting his mind to something. He didn't let emotion change his mind.

He was Vlad's antithesis—his opposite. His mirror image.

Dan hovered in the sky for a moment, realizing he wasn't in Wisconsin.

That was why he hadn't recognized the room he'd been in—it hadn't been part of Vlad's castle.

He was in Amity Park.

---

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(if you want on the list, specifically ask to be alerted for updates in a tag or comment)

[underforeversgrace]

broken trust and the wounds hidden behind

title: broken trust and the wounds hidden behind

words: 4,352

Chapter 4 of 7

Story summary: Jack wasn't meaning to snoop in his son's room when he found a box of medical supplies and a USB with a tag that said IF I DON'T COME HOME. Danny’s secrets revealed, Jack is desperate to earn his son’s trust, to earn the right to this secret he stumbled across. After almost two years of unknowingly hunting his son, is Danny's trust too broken to heal? NO ONE KNOWS AU

@astatia-ghast

AO3

Tumblr Chapter One

Tumblr Chapter Five

Conversation fell to easier topics and then to comfortable silence as they finished their meal.

“Dad?” Danny asked, halfway back up to his room.

“Yes, son?”

“I love you.”

Jack’s face hurt from the size of the smile that drew across his face. “I love you too, Danny.”

The rest of the night went by without much fanfare, each of them retreating to their beds.

Though Jack was apparently the only one to get a full night’s rest, according to the ghost alert going off three times for low level specters - Phantom pinging for a moment then disappearing again each time.

The next day, Jack went out and purchased a burner phone like Danny had suggested, loading in only his number. He kept an eye on his ghost alerts, waiting for Phantom’s signature to pop up, but he never stayed active long enough for Jack to join. He kept a check on the narcotics under his son’s bed as well, breathing a sigh of relief each time no more were taken.

Days passed like this, Jack never catching Phantom active long enough to bring the burner to him, Danny pretending to be the same son Jack had always known, Jack pretending not to notice every time Danny favored one of his sides.

“You alright here if I go out a while?” Jack asked after over a week of this.

“Uh, yeah, I should be fine. What’s up?”

“There’s been a lot of low level activity recently, just wanting to get out of the house and keep an eye on it.” And run into your ghostly half so I can give you this damn phone already.

“Oh, yeah, have at. Trigger the ghost shield if you’re worried.” Danny shrugged.

That was exactly what Jack did later that night when he left, wishing his son a good night as Danny shut his bedroom door.

He rode around in the GAV for over an hour before Phantom dinged onto his tracker. Jack watched it as it went towards the local park and settled, not moving again as he cut a very illegal, very wide U-turn and headed to the park. 

Jack parked the GAV (again, very illegally, very widely, and now quite rudely if it weren’t the dead of night) and hopped out, grabbing the portable tracker. Phantom was still here, no other ecto signatures pinging. Jack pushed forward even as the tracker led him into the forest, which just grew thicker and more treacherous the further in he went.

He turned the tracker off when it said he was close, realizing he needed to focus on where he was stepping as the wilderness tried to bring him to his knees (or, more likely, his rear end).

Despite his best efforts, though, his foot caught a root and he face planted, landing with a huff as the wind was knocked from him.

He heard a startled gasp as he landed and looked up, taking in where he was.

It was a large clearing, surrounded on all sides by thick trees, though it had a good view of the sky and the stars above it. Sitting a few trees away was Phantom, back against one of the larger trunks, looking at Jack as though Jack were a ghost who’d scared him.

Jack chuckled at the thought. 

“Jack?” Phantom asked, slowly sliding away from him.

“I’ve been looking for you, Phantom! You’re one elusive ghost, you know that?” Jack answered, unhooking his foot from the root and drawing himself to his feet, wincing when his ankle did not take that well.

“…looking for me?” He squeaked, no longer trying to be subtle as he backed up, scrambling up to his feet and darting to the opposite side of the clearing.

“Oh no, not like that, kiddo!” Jack tried to reassure, taking a step forward. His injured ankle liked that even less and he quickly sat down before his ankle had the chance to give out on its own.

“Are you alright?” Danny asked, coming back closer to Jack, though not without continuously watching Jack’s hands.

“Ah, think I sprained my ankle.” Jack said, waving it off. “It’s fine.”

“Uh, here,” Phantom said, coming fully towards Jack and kneeling beside him. He sent Jack a cautious look then gently touched his hurt ankle, thick ice radiating from his hands and soothing the budding ache.

“Neat trick there! Can’t say I’ve ever seen another ghost with ice powers!”

“Uh, I’m an, uh, ice core ghost? We’re kinda rare.” Danny admitted, reaching around and rubbing the back of his neck shyly with one hand.

“Ohhhh, what other kinds of cores are there?” Jack asked. Phantom flinched back slightly. “Only if you want to answer! Sorry, I’m a little overexcitable sometimes!” He added on quickly.

Phantom gave an amused snort. “I think that’s putting it mildly, Jack.” He said, studying the ice on Jack’s ankle. “Is that too cold?”

Jack rolled his ankle some, feeling the twinge of pain dulled by the comfortable ice. “No, that feels great, actually!”

“Good,” Phantom said, pulling his other hand away as well before sitting down just out of Jack’s reach. “You said you were looking for me?”

“Oh, right!” Jack said, reaching to grab the phone from the seat beside him, only to remember he wasn’t actually in the GAV and had left the phone in the passenger seat. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands. “I forgot it.”

Danny’s laugh as Phantom was so odd, Jack decided. It was so definitively his son yet so eerily also not him with that echo. “You forgot why you were looking for me?”

“No, I remember that! I just… forgot it in the GAV.”

“Forgot what?” He asked. Had he actually forgotten or was he just really good at playing the part?

“I bought a cell phone for you and put some minutes on it - so you could contact me if you ever needed help.”

The shock on Phantom’s face told Jack that Danny had genuinely forgotten. “You bought me a phone?”

Jack nodded. “It was my son’s idea, actually. I was talking about how I wished I could check in on you to make sure you were okay, especially to make sure that you never… never went missing again without being noticed.”

“Really? You’re sure you aren’t overshadowed?” 

“You checked! Do it again if you want!”

Wordlessly, Phantom nodded and began pulling his left glove off. “Can you pull off your glove, too? I want to make sure your suit isn’t interfering somehow.”

Jack plucked his glove off as well and shoved his hand towards his ghostly son, who grasped it immediately, staring into Jack again.

At the contact, Jack jerked his hand away on instinct - his skin was so cold with no barrier, it nearly hurt in its chill. Phantom’s eyes narrowed and a blast began to grow in his opposite hand. “Wait, no, sorry! I didn’t realize how cold you were!” He apologized, holding his hand out again.

He was prepared this time for the deep chill, the nearly aggressive bite of the cold. Jack had lived in Illinois for years, lived even further up in the north a few years too, and this was still the harshest cold he’d ever felt against his skin. But he didn’t falter. Again, the short shock of cold through his entire body and a surprised look on Phantom’s face.

Phantom didn’t release his hand as he spoke. “I don’t understand.”

Despite the icy sting of the contact, Jack squeezed the hand he held softly. “I want to help you, but I can’t unless you let me. I’m sorry it’s so hard for you to believe me.”

When Jack squeezed his hand, Phantom quickly released Jack, apparently unaware he’d kept his grip. “I just… people don’t want to help me. They either want me to handle the problem and then go away or finish me off. No one’s ever wanted to help.”

“Well, people tend to want the same of me - the fix it and scram, part, at least. No one wants to off me.” A look passed over Phantom’s face at Jack’s words that made Jack think maybe someone did want him dead, but Jack continued forward. He wanted Danny to talk about himself, not Jack. Wanted to show as many times as needed that Jack Fenton could sit still and listen. “That looks painful.” He said, pointing to the back of Phantom’s still uncovered left hand, where the green lightning streaks wrapped up and around.

Danny looked down at his hand and grimaced, though didn’t move to hide it. Instead, he flipped it over, showing Jack his palm, where the worst of it was. In person, it looked worse. The circle seemed so dark it was nearly black, the green bleeding out of the black center more electric than his eyes. “Only sometimes.” He admitted.

Jack hesitated. He and Maddie had always speculated it would be an intensely bad idea to ask a ghost about their death, but the basis for that had always been on the theory that ghosts could neither feel true emotion nor remember their human lives. Clearly, this wasn’t true for Danny, maybe it wasn’t true for any ghost.

He had to have faith in Danny. “Do you want to talk about it?” He settled on.

“Thought you weren’t supposed to ask the dead how they died unless you wanted to join them?”

“You won’t hurt me.” Jack said with absolute, genuine confidence. “And you know you’re welcome to say no.”

Danny paused. Jack waited patiently. He had never been a patient man but this whole thing with Danny was turning him into one. He refused to push. Finally, Phantom pushed up the sleeve of his jumpsuit to his elbow, scooching closer and holding his hand out. Jack, pulling his glove back on, accepted his hand, Jack’s own dwarfing his teenage son’s.

“I was electrocuted.” He said simply.

“I assumed - these are very distinctive Lichtenbergs.” Jack answered, gently turning Danny’s hand over, studying the branches. “Is it normal for them to still hurt? Like, for all ghosts?”

“No, I’ve just got spectacularly awful luck.” Danny responded. “They… they flare up whenever I get hit by electricity.”

Jack grimaced guiltily. “Like the weapons we use?” He was absolutely demolishing the Fryer as soon as he got home.

He shrugged. “It’s not like you’re the only ones.”

“Can I hug you?” Jack blurted out.

“Huh?”

“Can I?”

“Uh, sure?” He answered, moving over and sitting so close Jack could feel the chill around him.

Jack pulled him into his arms, holding him against him. “I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry.” He confessed, feeling himself cry. “You’re just a kid.” Jack tacked on, to try to justify being so emotional. ‘You’re just a kid’ and ‘you’re my kid’ were close enough, anyway.

“Hey, I was sixteen! Practically an adult.” Phantom huffed, but allowed the contact, arms wrapping around Jack. 

“Still too young. Especially for what I’ve done. No one deserves what I’ve done.” Jack said, playing along with the age lie. After all, technically Jack shouldn’t have any reason to question the age he gave.

Jack held his son for as long as he could without it being awkward - Danny wasn’t his son right now. He wondered if he’d live the rest of his life with this guilt, with more guilt added every day. He’d been the one to notice Phantom’s aversion to electricity, after all. Maddie had never noticed - she may be the better shot, but that also meant she didn’t always see when the shot hit. The mental image of those green scars glowing blue with new electricity made his heart clench. Was there an award for worst father ever? Because he felt like he’d earned it.

“You aren’t planning on doing it anymore. That’s all that matters.” Danny said as Jack broke off the hug, smiling gently at the older man.

“You’re awfully forgiving, kid.”

Danny shrugged. “I’ve needed to be forgiven too.”

They fell into a silence that was surprisingly comfortable. After pulling his sleeve down and glove back on, Danny leaned back, holding himself with his hands behind him, staring at the sky.

Several minutes later, Jack began noticing the color of the clearing changing. It’d been bathed in white light this whole time from Phantom’s glow. Now, it had gotten darker and the light seemed to be shifting? He looked at Phantom to see if he saw it too, but broke into a stunned grin when he found his son was the source of the change.

The white of his aura had faded and the aura itself had grown larger - now a kaleidoscope of the rainbow shimmering around Phantom’s form. It reminded Jack of the aurora borealis in the way it seemed to move and breathe, though it had every color Jack had ever seen. It was genuinely beautiful. The freckles on his cheek glowed white and traveled across his face.

The whole family had gone to a planetarium a few year’s back. Danny’s favorite part had been when they’d gone into a huge, pitch black room. Darkness had been nearly absolute, barely able to see their hands in front of their faces. Then the room had burst into light, dots of varying sizes appearing on the ceiling. They’d begun to move and occasionally little lines would pop up, highlighting constellations then fading away before the next lines came up in a different one.

Jack smiled at the fond memory. Danny had been breathless, eyes the size of dinner plates, for the entirety of the show.

That was what Jack was reminded of as he watched his son. He wondered if Danny was unknowingly pulling from the memory as he watched the freckles turn and twist across his face, the same little lines appearing and fading.

The sight was a soothing balm to Jack’s soul, that he hadn’t even realized was inflamed. This was a side of Danny he recognized and remembered fondly. It was warming to see everything he had suffered hadn’t taken away too much from him, from who he was.

Danny, apparently sensing he was being watched, moved his eyes from the sky, smiling shyly at Jack, the colored aura brightening back to white. “I, uh. Like space.”

Jack laughed. “I’ll admit, I don’t know much about it. My son, Danny, knows more. He’s been trying to become an astronaut since before he could even pronounce the word correctly.”

Sadness pulled the humor from the smile across Danny’s face. “I hope he makes it. I’m sure NASA has some rigorous standards.”

“I believe in him. I think he just needs to believe in himself.” Jack said, hoping Danny would eventually understand the double meaning behind it. The faith Jack had in Danny Fenton, had in Phantom, had in the entirety of his son.

“Maybe you should tell him that sometimes.” Phantom said, then blushed green. “Just, like, as a kid his age. It isn’t always as obvious to us as parents think it is.”

Had Jack told Danny he was proud of him recently? He suddenly wasn’t sure. “I’ll keep that in mind. He has a hard time but I believe in him. Whatever he does, he will succeed at.”

Phantom smiled at the ground before changing the topic again. “You still wanna know about cores?”

“I’m a father first, but there’s no denying I’m second a scientist.”

He chuckled. “There’s a lot of types of cores. Ice, fire, water, electricity, and light are some of the rarer ones. Most ghosts actually have earth cores. They’re the ones with just basic abilities - flight, intangibility, invisibility, ecto blasts. The ones with other cores are the ones who tend to have more abilities. Do you know the names of any of the ghosts that frequent here?”

Jack knew more after seeing the USB files, so now he had to try to figure out which ones he should reasonably know. “Uh, a few of them? Technus, Skulker, Ember?” He decided - those were ones who liked to yell their names a lot.

“Yeah, those are some of our regulars. You may know more when I mention them. Anyway, Skulker and Ember are both earth cores. Technus is electrical. Plasmius - the Wisconsin Ghost - is a fire core. The Box Ghost, Spectra and Bertrand - who you met last week - are more earth cores. Some have even more specialized ones - there are some ghosts who are pretty much the basis of gods, and they are entirely unique. There’s one with a core of time.”

“A time core?” Jack asked, dumbfounded, though he hung to Danny’s every word. This entire time, he hadn’t even considered how much he could learn from Danny, he’d been entirely focused on gaining his trust. And while that was still his entire goal, it was nice that some of his curiosity could get tended to.

“He kinda controls time?”

“A ghost. Controls. Time?”

“He’s a friendly ghost!”

Jack remembered a listing for Clockwork in the flash drive mentioning time control capabilities but he’d been so thrown by his son’s confession he hadn’t even lingered on it. “That’s, uh. Interesting? So some ghosts are even more powerful than I’d ever thought. You’re already at the high end of our scale’s standards, after all.”

“Heh, yeah…” Danny said, rubbing his neck again. “I’m at the high end of ghost standards too. No one really knows why some ghosts are more powerful than others, it’s just something that happens.”

An odd sense of pride stirred in Jack at that. His boy, powerful among beings more powerful than most humans!

“Good thing you’re on our side then, huh?” Jack asked, nudging him with his elbow.

The smile that lit up on Phantom’s face was nearly blinding. “You actually believe that, don’t you? You really trust I’m not evil?”

“I do.”

“Thank you.”

Jack reached out and grabbed Phantom’s shoulder, shaking him gently. “You’re welcome, kid.”

“You had a phone you wanted to give to me, right?” Phantom said, standing up.

“Yeah, left it back at the assault vehicle, though.”

“Well, you probably shouldn’t walk on that ankle anyway. How about I give you a lift and you give it to me there? And I’ll melt the ice so you can drive okay. That ice won’t go away until I will it to.”

“Good idea, kid! You ready to go? I’m good to sit out here a little longer with you.” Part of Jack wanted to stay, to watch the nebula surround Danny again as he soaked in the stars, but Danny just nodded, hovering around and picking up Jack as though he were lighter than a feather, hooking his arms beneath Jack’s.

Quickly they rose in the sky, the ground rapidly disappearing further beneath Jack’s feet.

“You at the parking lot on the south end or the west?” Phantom asked as they floated over a hundred feet in the air.

“South end.”

Phantom didn’t say anything and veered them towards that direction.

“How fast can you fly?” Jack asked. He knew Phantom’s top speed was pretty high, though he assumed they were going pretty slow for Jack’s sake.

“I’ve never actually tested it? Don’t really know how. Pretty fast, though.”

“Well, if you ever want to test it, I’m happy to help. I’m sure I’ve got a speed gun somewhere. Nothing invasive or scary or more than you want to do, of course.”

“I may take you up on that. I’ve always kinda wondered, y’know?”

Jack was undeniably thrilled at that response. It wasn’t a yes or a no, but it wasn’t fear. They flew for several more minutes until the parking lot came into view and he gently dropped them towards the ground, phasing directly into the GAV and setting Jack into the driver’s seat. Danny glanced down at his ankle and the ice melted, taking the cool numb with it. At least it was his left foot that had gotten hurt and not his right, so he was still good to drive. Phantom grabbed the black phone and charger from the passenger seat, holding it for Jack to examine. “Is this the one you wanted me to get?” He asked.

Jack nodded. “It has my number in it already. Call me if you ever need me, okay? Don’t suffer in silence.”

“Heh, I’ll try. I don’t know how well a phone can survive some of the more, er, expensive property damage I tend to get thrown into.”

“Well, let me know if it gets damaged. I can replace it, but do try to be careful.” He said with a laugh. “But if it’s working and you get hurt, I expect a call, okay? And don’t try to hide it - I do have access to TV, after all, and news vans tend to love you.”

Phantom rolled his eyes. “You’re telling me. I swear, half the damage I cause is because I was trying to protect humans and defend myself at the same time. Amity Park’s citizens apparently don’t seem to care how dangerous being close to a fight like that can be!”

“I think it’s because they believe in you.”

“Huh?”

“They don’t get that close to me or Maddie - even when it’s just Maddie. They don’t get that close to the Huntress. But they believe in you to keep them safe.”

“I think they’ve just forgotten what common sense is.” He joked, but there was a thoughtful look on his face. “They’ve sure never said they believe in me, plus I’m still the one getting blamed.”

“Do you ever look for the praise as hard as you do the condemnation?” Jack asked, sitting back in his seat.

“Huh?” He repeated.

“You see the blame and the hate easily. But do you see the praise? I do. It may not be explicit, but it’s definitely there. When there’s a ghost sighting, it’s you that people wonder when you’ll arrive. When there’s a big threat, you’re the one they turn to, especially after the Pariah Dark incident. Try looking for the good things as much as the bad, kid. I think you’ve been looking at the bad for too long.”

Danny blinked a couple of times, mouth slightly ajar. “Maybe… maybe you’re right. I just need to look harder.”

“‘Course I’m right. You already said that it isn’t as obvious at your age when people believe in you.”

“Hey, did you just turn my words around on me?” Phantom asked, laughing.

“My daughter said one time that was a good parenting technique. I’m not your parent, but seems like you need some positive parenting, too. Or at least just some encouragement.”

“I’m not complaining.” He laughed, tucking the phone and charger into the jumpsuit pocket.

“You’re allowed to, though, you know. Complain. You don’t have to pretend to be perfect all the time. Not around me, at least, I can understand trying to be flawless with Amity’s normal citizens.”

Danny looked at him thoughtfully. “Your kids are lucky to have you, Jack. You’re a good man.”

“I try to be, even if I don’t always succeed.” Jack responded, though he felt his heart grip in on itself in his chest. He had trouble feeling like a good man, a good father, someone his kids were lucky to have. Would another kid have been so afraid of his own family he’d hide his death for this long? Or would another child have faith his parent’s love would transcend his death?

“No one’s perfect, Jack. All you can do is your best. Maybe you need to look for praise, too.”

“I’ll look harder if you will.” Jack semi-joked.

Phantom laughed. “Deal. You good to drive with your ankle like that?”

Jack tested his ankle, slowly rolling it. It twinged with pain but was manageable, especially since it wasn’t his dominant foot that he needed to work the pedals. He nodded. “I’m good, Phantom.”

“Then it’s time for me to get going, too. Even ghosts gotta nap.” He said, lifting up from the ground.

Before he had the chance to phase out of the vehicle, Jack stopped him. “Seriously. If you get hurt, you call me, understand? I know you said you know how to tend your own injuries, but you shouldn’t have to. Let me help, okay?”

“I promise - I’ll call you next time I get injured enough to need anything more than some gauze and duct tape.” He said, then disappeared through the roof.

Well. At least that explains Danny having the duct tape in his room. But why in the name of God was he using duct tape to hold gauze? They had medical tape! Jack sighed. Another mystery he needed to solve, another question he couldn’t ask outright. Well, not to Danny. Maybe he could ask Phantom next time he saw him because there was no way that didn’t hurt!

Then again, his son seemed to have a concerningly high pain tolerance.

Jack really hoped the pain tolerance was a side effect of being a ghost, not just from being in pain so often that pain had just become a fact of life.

As he drove home, though, he couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Danny had taken the phone, had talked to him. Had answered a ghost science question. Two full conversations with his ghost half (and a few pro-Phantom sentiments sprinkled into conversations with his human half) and Danny was actually talking to him.

Part of Jack hoped Danny would call him. Part of Jack hoped Danny never got hurt enough to need the phone.

All of Jack knew he’d get hurt enough to need his father within a week, though. Even without Jack and Maddie shooting at him, he had plenty of other detractors.

But now he had an ally who loved him and was not afraid to protect him with their own life.

When he went to bed that night, he dreamed of a planetarium with a Phantom cloaked in rainbows and stars in his face shining as he put together a model rocket.

[omegasmileyface]

a small kindness from one of Danny’s enemies

"Right," said Johnny. "So he's worried his résumé would suck?"

"Yes," said Technus. "He won't stop posting about how much he wants the internship but he won't apply for it because of the résumé."

Technus figured it wasn't wrong to look at Danny's social media posts because they were public, even if he wasn't exactly reading them in the publically accessible way. Even if he did think it was wrong, he wouldn't have cared all too much. He knew it was wrong that he stole the copy of Stupendous Splash Bros. Kerfuffle he and Johnny were learning to play, but they were having fun, which he figured was more important.

"Well that's stupid. Résumés are just lists of cool stuff you're good at, right? I've never written one but that time we were trying to get Jazz's body to Kitty, she had a few sessions where she helped other kids write 'em and it looked easy as shit."

Technus shrugged. When he was under employ, you could get a job just by setting up a shop and opening the doors.

"He's done all sorts of stuff, why doesn't he just put all that?"

"Well, he can't exactly put any of his ghost-related activities. Even outside of the way he's sticking with the 'secret identity' thing, I hear people who don't live around the portal still don't believe in ghosts."

"I'm not even talking about that! Kitty was telling me after she took a ride in that girl he was dating-"

"I don't know if that's accurate-"

"The kid knows how to fly these spaceships NASA uses! He simulates it or something. And he can, like, engineer electronics sometimes? 'Cause his parents have been doing it his whole life or whatever. They had him on some science magazine for working with a rare monkey! That's all stuff NASA would wanna hear, right? He should just write the stupid résumé if he wants them to make him an intern so bad."

"Maybe you should tell him that."

"...Huh?"

"Wanna go find the ghost child and help him write a résumé?"

"...That's fucking stupid. Let's go do it."

[ectokelpeigh]

No One Knows AU is so great for so many reasons but I have this one scenario bouncing around in my head and given today's DannyMay theme it seems like a good time to slosh it into the hellsite blender:

Phantom and Danny Fenton hate each other.

We're going with my favorite flavor: Sam and Tucker don't really know Danny Fenton and befriend Phantom separately/first. (Maybe the Fentons are new in town or something. Not important) Also @artistfingers's Undercover Phantom AU lives rent free in my head so if any of this looks familiar... yea

-Once Danny befriends Sam and Tucker as Phantom, he avoids them as much as he can when he's human. Less opportunity for them to make the connection, especially since knows he has the finesse of a baby giraffe in roller skates. Because Sam and Tucker are Good Guys I'd love to assert that "of course they'd see Danny sitting alone at lunch and invite him over!" or something. And I think they might! But it's not a given IMO.

-Anyway as Sam and Tucker bond with Phantom, it becomes more evident that there's some kind of connection between Phantom and Danny. Maybe something makes them suspicious of Danny. For example the Fentons come up in conversation and

Phantom: I'd steer clear of that family if I were you

Sam & Tucker: ok yeah if we were you we'd avoid the parents too, but the kids seem harmless? their son is actually in our grade and we can't tell if he's lonely or just tired

Phantom (because I love Danny but can be stoopid): No! Especially avoid their son!

Danny was trying to cover his own ass and they interpret it as Phantom being afraid of Danny and assume there's unsavory history.

-Sam and Tucker happen to ask their good buddy Phantom why he and the rest of the ghosts suddenly showed up in Amity Park one day when Danny happens to be in a terrible mood. Just had one of those days. His life is falling to shit because he's living two lives and even his two new friends can't support all of him, you know?

In canon he has a strong sense of duty to protect AP but IIRC they never make the connection to him triggering the ghost influx and any consequential guilt/blame. I think not having Sam and Tucker as a support system from the start would push this over the edge.

-So he's feeling down on himself. Inadequate. But he can't say exactly why he's requesting an 'F' in the chat for respeccs because it's all very human drama and he's not a great liar, so he just rants about his human self in the third person.

It's cathartic. Too cathartic. He gets a liiiiiiiiiittle carried away. He gets to admit to (perceived) responsibility without the pitying looks and cold comfort. Most people's automatic response to "I messed up" is "no you didn't!!", and sometimes that's not what you want/need to hear, you know?

-...remember how I said he gets "a little carried away"? By that I mean he reveals (as Phantom) that Danny Fenton turned on the ghost portal and let all the ghosts loose in Amity Park, and now he (Phantom) has been cleaning up his mess all by himself while Danny has done nothing.

-Of course the subtext here is that Danny feels like he's only useful as Phantom. He never felt particularly remarkable before the accident. Since then he's been struggling with grades more than ever, his family is worried because he's been distant, etc. And of course he finally makes friends but they don't like the real him.

We all know Phantom is also the real him, but to Danny the "him" that goes to school, lives with his family, has actual connections to society did not make these friends. And as you recall in this scenario Danny was actively avoiding Sam and Tucker once they became friends with Phantom. But. Y'know. Brains aren't always logical

-Back to the scene: Phantom barely lets Sam and Tucker get a word in through his rant, and then a ghost attacks and he has to fly off. That was... confusing, to say the least, and that's the last they see/hear of Phantom that day.

-So the next day at school Sam and Tucker sit at Danny's usual lunch table and Sam pokes him awake from his daily nap. They try to broach the subject with a smidgen of tact but of course Danny has a lot more context than they know.

-Danny's not sure how to deal with the situation he created for himself besides digging in his heels + it felt so good ranting the day before that he hardly hesitates before he (as Fenton) launches into a rant about Phantom.

-Even though he's technically dissing their buddy, Sam and Tucker actually walk away with some sympathy for the kid. They come to three conclusions: 1. Turning on the portal was an accident and 2. Danny's beef with Phantom is personal. He doesn't have his parents' animosity towards all ghosts and 3. He's... weirdly easy to talk to? It's like they already know him wow crazy ha ha ha hA hAH AHAH aha. (haha)

-Unfortunately this outburst happened in the cafeteria of a high school and people overheard this extremely juicy development wherein the local loner child of two mad scientists has a personal feud with the controversial town hero/menace. Word does not take long to spread because students and faculty agree that even in a town overrun with ghosts this is the most insane thing they've heard. And everyone has a theory. People spot Phantom patrolling the night sky and shout to him, asking if he'd like to comment on the latest rumor from/about Danny Fenton. Danny routinely forgets he can ignore them, fly away, turn invisible, anything other than dig himself deeper. But hey, it helps him keep his cover at least?

-Fun fact: Jazz knows they're the same person but Danny doesn't know she knows and she's freaking the fuck out over all this apparent self hatred but even she doesn't know where to start to break it down

-All the while Sam and Tucker have been making more of an effort to hang out with Fenton. Danny is... confused by this, to say the least. Figures they're taking pity on the kid since they triggered the blowup that made him look like even more of a freak, and/or they're mining him for more Phantom secrets. A small part of him is also petrified he'll slip and they'll find out he's been lying to them. But he likes them and self restraint has never been his strong suit. Even if they can't really like Danny (Fenton) that much they're nice to him and he has fun with them, and even if he has to keep track of which memories/info he should have access to as his human or ghost self it's nice to always have friends.

-If you want some extra layers of irony: Sam and Tucker keep it a secret from Phantom that they've been hanging out with Fenton, and they hide their friendship with Phantom from Fenton. But Danny can't call them out on it without revealing that he's been lying to them about being Fenton and Phantom. It's the Mexican standoff from the Ghost Zone hell.

-I'll let you all decide just how far the miscommunications go. Maybe Tucker lets it slip to Phantom that he and Sam are friends with Fenton now and instead of taking this prime opportunity to come clean himself, Danny panics and reacts hurt or outraged (and really sells it, even if the real fuel behind his distress is guilt). Orrrrrrr Danny loses track of the half-truths and references something Sam told Phantom as Fenton. Etc.

-Don't worry guys I'm all about the wholesome endings: One day Phantom is going off about Danny Fenton, and Sam and Tucker do their best to validate Phantom's frustrations, but Danny is totally blown away when they finally stick up for Fenton. To his face. They say that's it, they've heard enough, those two obviously have a complicated history but some of the things Phantom says about Danny are just unfair. As the only two people to know Danny and Phantom both personally, Sam and Tucker have concluded that they have the authority to declare neither are menaces, or useless, or have "stupid hair", thanks. ("Both your senses of style, on the other hand..." "Hey!") Opening the portal was an accident. Fenton doesn't need to be useful, he's a kid. A kid in a tough situation doing his best just like themselves, like Phantom, like anyone else. Sam and Tucker don't have powers, are they useless? No. And Danny and Phantom might even get along if they can just cool down (LOL) and talk it out. But he has to stop. Danny Fenton is their friend.

-Phantom's standing there with his jaw on the floor. They said everything he needed to hear, having no way of knowing it's what he wanted to hear. Quite the opposite, actually. His feet touch down on the floor, his voice has lost most of its haunting echo when he says, "I'm your friend?"

This confuses Tucker and Sam: yeah?? but that's not the point?? We're saying DANNY is also— OH FUCK

(Phantom just turned into Fenton)

[deadbydangit]

Hii! Congrats on 20 followers!

Could I request something masquerade themed in spirit of the event? Like, maybe the Entity throws a big party and the characters listed ask to dance with their S/o?

Something like that with Ghostface (I'm sorry I know you get sooo much Ghostface-), Knight, Trickster, Pyramid Head, and Oni?

That's so cute! I'm absolutely stealing this idea for the future. I'm going to make it where they come up and ask you to dance if that's okay. Please enjoy.

Dancing with the Reader. Killers.

Ghostface, Knight, Trickster, Pyramid Head, Oni

Ghostface

"Hey cutie. Those arms look lonely, would they want to meet mine?"

Every. Cheesy. Pickup. Line.

You might even gag they're so bad.

But he'll convince you.

You're dancing with him. End of story.

Slow dancing really isn't Danny's thing, but for you, he'll make an effort.

He'll even say that too, because it's an honor that the great Ghostface is asking you to dance.

He's a total show off.

Honestly, isn't too bad at it either.

Will he pretend to drop you?

Yes. Yes he will.

"I guess you're falling for me too, huh?"

That was planned.

He's the worst.

But, he's also the best.

Knight

No. No he will not.

Tarhos doesn't care if Alejandro and the others teased him.

He wasn't going to ask you to dance.

Doesn't matter how good looking you are.

Doesn't matter how much he admires how you carry yourself.

Doesn't matter- Okay fine.

He's going to trudge over to you and roughly grab your arms.

He won't say a word, you won't even know he wants a dance.

It isn't so much of a dance as him throwing you around.

And he's going to end up hurting you.

He'll bow to you after, chivalry and all.

He's still a knight.

Don't confront him about it later, he'll be even more irritated.

He doesn't like you, not in the slightest.

Okay, maybe a little.

Trickster

Aren't you lucky?

"My dearest, I'm humbling you with a dance."

You don't get to say no.

This is Ji-woon Hak

You know, he's kind of famous and all.

You should consider yourself blessed by the Gods for this opportunity.

He's a really good dancer.

Any kind of dance he just kind of picks up and masters.

And by God he knows it.

You probably won't be able to keep up with his dancing.

But he'll be leading anyway, so try not to worry about it too much.

At the end he's going to kiss your hand and wink.

"I'll grace you with another dance. If you'd like~"

Pyramid Head

Well, he can't exactly ask you to dance since he can't talk.

And he has no idea what he's doing, but the others were doing so.

He'd approach you, point to the others dancing, then to himself.

That's the only way he can ask.

By watching the others, he realizes you have to put your hands around his neck.

But uh... He's too tall.

And he can't put his hands on your waist without kneeling down.

He has an idea.

He just scoops you up and holds you in his arms.

Now you can reach him.

It's just him kind of holding you the whole song.

But he's really making an effort. Give the poor guy a break.

Oni

Well this certainly isn't normal for him.

It's actually something completely foreign.

He'd rather sit next to you and talk.

It's not you!

It's a cultural thing.

Instead, let's leave the party area and find some flowers.

That's the best he can do.

Touching someone before marriage and planning was frowned upon.

He's still set in his feudal Japan views.

Don't push it too much.

Maybe one day he'll understand the activity of dancing enough.

But for now, sitting and talking with you?

This is nice.