#i just got done with schoolwork and this was very much a pleasant surprise <3

[thetimecrystal]

hewwo mica i wanna share the latest in the swerve vs hangman saga with you cause they went hard in this story last night ough

oh. my god-

swerve is SO HUNGRY for this-

holy shit this match is gonna be interesting this sunday what the fuck

[omegasmileyface]

Not in the Job Description

heres a silly lil Danny Phantom concept based entirely off a half-awake sleep-vision that made me laugh :) my subconscious brain is a genius at coming up with things that make just enough sense to be worth writing

summary: Danny's job at a local restaurant is surprisingly fulfilling, even after being crowned Ghost King. Speaking of that job, however, there are some intricacies to it that are hard to keep in mind during everyday life.

warnings: descriptions of nausea and mild sickness

words: 2180

AO3 link

===

Honestly, life was going pretty well at the moment for Danny Fenton. He wasn't even worried that it was a false security or a calm before a storm, because this kind of semi-serenity had been going on for more than a year. It was a long-term stability brought about by adaptation and putting in effort to get help and accommodation. Jazz would be proud!

Sometime at the beginning of Junior year, the Observants had chased him down and crowned him High Ghost King (much to the chagrin of both involved parties). It certainly added responsibility to Danny's plate, along with some new sensations and a series of crises (what didn't these days?), but a little political discussion with some of the more powerful ghosts ended with Danny deciding that, at least at the moment, the position didn't require him to do much more than he normally did. More ghosts would seek him out for help and he would do his best, and some "paperwork" (though there was very little paper involved and it was a lot of talking and oaths and rituals and such) happened about monthly. Otherwise, though, the Zone didn't need much more help than that, having survived off an absent King for centuries. Well, and the ambient purpose of the King as a sort of core for the Zone, but Danny didn't have to put in time or conscious effort for that.

Eventually that settled into normalcy, and Danny was back to worrying about the balance of schoolwork, self-care, and fighting. He still hadn't given up on the prospect of someday becoming an astronaut, and he was determined to have the grades for it. Don't get him wrong, he'd gotten way better about that! He'd formed a practiced, if not entirely stable, system that kept his grades at a solid B- / C+, while getting a solid 5-ish hours of sleep most nights and not bottling things up too much. It was about halfway through Junior year that he realized, with some help from his friends, that his ghosts fights were honestly pretty civil, at least against the regulars. Civil enough that he knew they had some respect for him, and was willing to risk asking for help. So a few weeks and awkward but not bad conversations later, and he had agreements with almost all his regular "foes" not to cause trouble within Amity from 11pm to 7am, 3pm on weekdays. It was more than half the day off-limits on school days, and plenty of ghosts made up for it to a degree by making themselves more common during the "permitted" hours, but it greatly increased Danny's well-being and school performance anyway. "Rivals" like Skulker and Technus had enough respect for Danny and his Lair to abide, and plenty even cared that he was taking care of himself, even between frequent sparring. Maybe a few were really just in fear of his new crown, but he chose to cautiously pretend that wasn't a possibility.

After graduation — he made Senior year with all As and Bs! — Danny's parents had encouraged him to get a part-time job over the summer. He had been interning at FentonWorks (paid! His parents might not be the most attentive but they certainly weren't unfair) since he had accidentally revealed himself a few years back, and they had been thrilled to hear that he still intended to go into NASA if possible, and had done whatever they could to help. They recommended the job because, as good as a paid scientific internship was on a resume, it would help to have a variety of activity and the opportunity to get recommendations from employers who weren't liable to nepotism. After searching local businesses, Danny found a small sandwich shop founded by a middle-aged couple who had moved in and set up shop just before the ghost attacks began. Being close to the school but not far from the commercial sector and offering small portable food (no one wants to sit down for a meal when a spirit could come crashing through the window at any moment), the place got good enough business to pay the employees a proper living wage. Better yet, they were allowed to take home unsold food! Not to mention the owners were both very kind women who held smiling conversation with employees and customers alike. Danny was more than lucky to land such a nice job, even if it meant he had to get up at 7 five days a week.

All this is to say that it wasn't as surprising as it could have been that he was having a slow and pleasant day at work.

Both the owners were out for the day on some sort of vacation, so today it was just Danny and a short teenager named Casey manning the place. Most of their orders recently had been online due to an explosion causing road work near the restaurant and it was mid-morning, leaving work slow enough that they could afford to just have the two until lunch shift started. Danny was on cashier duty today, but unless the door bell sounded, he was helping Casey in the kitchen.

"Aw, man, we're almost out of tomatoes."

"Really?" Casey looked up to the shelf Danny was inspecting and indeed saw only 3 tomatoes. "Huh, guess they didn't restock yesterday. Well, we probably shouldn't risk needing more before the day's out, do you want me to go get more?"

Danny shook his head. "Nah, I can go. I think I could use the fresh air." He said that a lot, especially as an excuse when his ghost sense went off, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. He never had liked being confined.

Casey checked the monitor to see if they'd gotten any new online orders. Since there was a grocery store just a block away, any time someone needed a quick restock they tended to just walk.

They looked up to see Danny already had his jacket on and was looking them in the eye. "Would you take over my position until I come back?"

"Of course. Ten minutes?"

With a nod and a smile, Danny was out the back door.

===

After a moment of habitually wiping down the counters, Casey went up to the register in case a customer appeared.

It was even quieter than before for a few minutes, so they busied themself with mini restocks and organization. They were in the middle of stacking some paper coffee cups when they started to feel dizzy. There had been this subtle pressure on their chest since Danny left, which they figured was anxiety for working the restaurant alone for the first time, and now it had solidified into a warm nausea that flared whenever they exhaled.

With the disinterested panic that came from having strange things happen for years, they wondered if they had missed their medication this morning. A quick glance at their phone, however, showed the notification for it checked off.

Putting the phone back away, Casey noticed the tips of their fingers were somewhat translucent. Alright then, it was definitely something to do with ghosts. Great! Just excellent. The panic was less disinterested this time.

They weren't familiar with any sort of ghost illness that made humans translucent, so they definitely needed to call someone to make sure nothing bad happened. It would be best to call the Fentons' public number so they could go over and get looked over by then. In the meantime, they should call Danny and ask him to hurry back. He shouldn't be much longer anyway.

Casey didn't even get the chance to act on their plan, however, before a short humanoid ghost appeared in the dining area. They didn't look to be up to anything, but Casey reached for the emergency ectoblaster beneath the register anyway. The nausea was getting worse, along with a new chill, and they couldn't be sure this new ghost wasn't somehow causing whatever they were going through.

The ghost looked at them with an expression that was almost desperate. "Ah! Kind human, thank you for your time." The ghost... bowed? "I am Eurusid, from the Spoken Channels. There has been a dispute which damaged public meeting grounds in the center of the Channels, and both groups refuse to allow the damage to be repaired except by the other group."

Casey's eyes narrowed. It was becoming difficult to stand with the dizziness, and if not the ghost himself, then whatever he was saying was probably a hallucination. They didn't even think about responding beyond a detached "what".

It was then that Danny re-entered the back door with the new tomatoes. Good thing, too. At least with another person there, Casey could confirm whether they were hallucinating.

===

Placing down the grocery bag and shrugging off his jacket in one motion, a skill only gained by years of laziness efficiency, Danny called toward the register. "Back!"

Once he caught sight of the teen, however, all casualness shed itself from his body and he rushed over to hold them. "Man, Casey, you feeling alright? You look really pale." The realization that their form was slightly translucent, despite the firm human heartbeat beneath, was drowned out by him finally noticing the ghost standing a few feet away. The reaction of his ghost sense had been so minor that he had ignored it.

He was surprised to see that he recognized the specter's face, marred as it may have been from worry and confusion aimed directly at Casey. "Eurusid? What's going on?"

As the ghost, still confused but unwilling to act impolitely, gathered his bearings and began to bow toward him, Danny's coworker shuddered under his hands, regaining his full attention. He thought back through the day's events for hints as to the situation, before swearing, cutting off whatever Eurusid was about to say.

Danny backed up and said, voice as clear as he could, "I recall my position."

Casey's reaction was immediate, a gasp of air like they had been kept from breathing and a return of their skin's human opacity. Danny rushed back over and put his hand on their back to steady them as their eyes narrowed and went slightly unfocused.

Figures, doesn't it? One of the many intricacies that had come up at his coronation Junior year that just hadn't come up enough to keep at the front of his mind. One of the defenses of the High Ghost Crown was the ability of the King to temporarily give their duty to someone else. As long as that person accepts, during a specified time they substitute for the King in dealing with political matters, as well as taking over as much as their ability allowed of the King's function to process the energy of the Realms.

Danny had no idea that this ability could be activated with words as vague as "take over my position", let alone that it could be used with a human. That potential had never come up during the ceremony, so for all he knew, a full ghost in his position couldn't substitute with a human. A human certainly shouldn't be able to take over any part of the energy processing, though maybe in Amity Park the average person processed enough environmental ectoplasmic energy to make it possible. Regardless of residence, though, it could not be good for Casey's body, which had no Core to properly process energy and had no human equivalent except perhaps a small emotional center in the brain, to even attempt to filter and manage some of the inherent energy of a dimension.

Their skin was still clammy and their coordination was shot. Ancients, if this is what an accidental substitution did to a human, Danny would have to word things very carefully when asking for help in the future.

"King Phantom?" Danny looked up to see that Eurusid was still floating there awkwardly. Right. He had two people here to help.

"Sorry, Eurusid. One moment, I'll be right with you." He turned back to his coworker, who looked confused and less lucid than ideal, but probably still lucid enough to realize this ghost had just called him "King Phantom". Well, he'd deal with that once it came to it. "Here, Casey, let's get you some water." He helped them walk back into the kitchen and sat them down on a bench by the back door. There was a chair in the register area, but they probably didn't want to feel exposed to the dining area like that, even with nobody but the ghost there.

Once handed the water, Casey sighed and eagerly drank from it, eyes closed. Danny rubbed his hand on their back a bit and promised to be back shortly before walking back out to meet Eurusid. Whatever he was here about was probably worth immediate attention but Danny was sure there'd be at least a solid minute of apologies on both sides before the matter was addressed. Hopefully both the Spoken Channels and Casey would be alright before the next shift came in.

[chiimei]

A New Path - Chapter 13

I got now beta’s for my fanfic @chatlovingshipper and Tjikicew (of AO3), so I hope it would read more pleasant. x3 Also for those who didn’t know by now or to avoid disappoint later on. This would be a nathclo fic. I’m really sorry for those who doesn’t ship them. For those who won’t read my fanfic because of that, thank you for reading till now. 

C.1 | C.2 | C.3 | C.4 | C.5 | C.6 | C.7 | C.8 | C.9 | C.10 | C.11 | C.12 | 

FF | AO3

To think she, Chloé Bourgeois, had to sit next to this red-haired arrogant rude artist the whole day. This was pure torture. Not only that, even her phone was confiscated. Now she needed to do her assignments, but like Nathaniel said, she didn’t understand anything. Just looking at the first problem already gave her a headache. She glanced at Nathaniel who seemed to work seriously on his assignments. She didn’t want to admit it, but if she wanted to go, she might need his help. Or should she try to, fill everything out and make it look like she did her best. She could attempt to guess everything or maybe, even write something random.

“You seem to be troubled. Want my help, drama queen?”

Nathaniel grinned as he watched Chloé intensely. She on the other hand, pouted and looked at her paper instead. She won’t admit defeat, not to him.

“Stop that. At least leave out that ‘drama’ part. And no, I don’t need the help from someone like you.”

She would prove herself, she would make him go away. He would admire her if she finishes everything before him. With that mindset, she started to write whatever came in her mind when she read the questions.

Nathaniel was surprised how serious Chloé appeared. What do you know, she really worked on those assignments on her own. Maybe she could do it if she put her mind to it. Well, not that he truly cares about her. He would just finish his own work, hand in those assignments and get his sketchbook back before Chloé is done.

“Well, I’ve finished. So, I’m leaving. See you tomorrow, queen.”

He grinned one more time, just to show off he wrapped up the tasks this quickly. There was no way that Chloé would be done by now as well. So, he didn’t even glance back and just went down to deliver the assignments to miss Bustier. He did feel quite bad leaving Chloé alone, maybe he should wait for her or help her after all? Nah, Chloé said she was fine doing it on her own. She didn’t need his help, so hey there was no need to reach out to her and help her.  

“Wait! I’ve completed them too!”

Chloé had instantly risen.  She smiled brightly and proudly at Nathaniel.  Even though she might have made a lot of mistakes, she still had finished it. Her hand hurt excruciatingly, but she wouldn’t complain about it. It was worth it to see that dumbfounded face on Nathaniel.

“I told you I could do it. I’m Chloé Bourgeois after all. I only let Sabrina do all my work so she would get smarter and rest my brain. It’s good for her to learn new things, when I know everything already.”

Nathaniel was still speechless. He never thought she would be this fast. He thought she wasn’t but some stupid rude selfish spoiled evil queen, but maybe she wasn’t that stupid. The other characteristics would always be part of her though.

“Show me… Show me your assignments then.”

He held his hand out, so Chloé could hand them over. She might have just blurted it out, bluffed even, because she didn’t want to be left alone. However, that would be, strange. She might not want to spend more time with him, so maybe she didn’t lie this time. Though he still wanted to confirm it and check if she didn’t just answered it randomly.

“No way, you can’t command me, tomato boy.”

She almost hissed at him. There was no way she would hand them over. She was sure Nathaniel would check them and maybe even correct them. She got no time for that. So, she pushed Nathaniel aside and ran downstairs. Step by step, she would get closer to miss Bustier. She would hand those papers in and then, then she could finally get her hands-on Nathaniel’s sketchbook.

She could hear Nathaniel calling after her, but she ignored him. She would just run full speed to the teachers room. No one could stop her. No one. She will get her hands on that sketchbook, no matter what.

“Oh Chloé. Is there something the matter? Any questions to the assignments?”

Miss Bustier glanced up from her desk. She was checking the homework of her students. She was already in a good mood to see that everyone was doing well on their homework, even Kim improved. Maybe Max helped him. Max, Sabrina and Adrien were the top students in her class and she was very proud of them. However, she wished that everyone could do as well.

“No Miss, I’ve resolved all of them!”

“As in, solved, Chloé?”

Miss Bustier expression became as dumbfounded as Nathaniel’s had been, which offended Chloé immensely. Did they think she was that stupid? She was also smart, so smart she didn’t even know.

“Let me check.”

Miss Bustier smiled brightly, she was so proud of Chloé working so hard. Maybe she just needed a push to work seriously on her schoolwork.  She started to review, but soon her face fell. In the end, she sighed slightly.

“Chloé, I’m going to red pencil all your answers by tomorrow. I will return them to you and you should correct your mistakes. You can’t just write what pops up into your head. You should put some thought in those questions. And if you don’t understand, search it up in your books.”

What? How dare she talk like that! She did very well! At least she finished it on her own, instead of asking for Nathaniel’s help. She wouldn’t bent that low as to ask for help.

Miss Bustier quickly scanned all the papers and smiled slightly to Chloé. Every question was answered, so maybe she had worked seriously on this. She opened her drawer and took Chloé’s phone out.

“Well, you finished everything, so that’s good. You can have your phone back and go home, Chloé.”

As soon as miss Bustier held out her phone, Chloé almost snatched it out of her hand. She just missed her phone so much. Though, her phone wasn’t the only thing that caught her attention. She gazed down at Nathaniel’s sketchbook and smiled, in what she hoped to be a convincing way, to her teacher.

“Can I have Nathaniel’s sketchbook as well? I will return it to him.”

“There’s no need for that, Nathaniel is already here.”

Miss Bustier nudged her head towards Nathaniel’s direction and smiled kindly to him. Wondering why Chloé would be interested to have Nathaniel’s sketchbook. However, she understood the displeasure it would cause Nathaniel.  She doubted he’d allow her to hand the sketchbook over to Chloé.

“Are you done with your assignments as well, Nathaniel?”

Nathaniel smiled graciously back to his teacher and nodded. He placed the assignments on her desks and she glanced at them. Her smile didn’t disappear, instead, she seemed rather proud.

Just looking at the first few answers, she could already see that Nathaniel got the gist of the questions. He did very well. Maybe this time he would get a better grade for the test as well. She couldn’t stop beaming as she took Nathaniel’s sketchbook out of her drawer.

“Well done, Nathaniel. Here’s your sketchbook. You both can leave now, be safe going home okay?”

Chloé glared at the sketchbook before nodding. She would get her claws on that sketchbook.  After all this time, she didn’t want to give up. Even though she could just go to another artist, there are many freelancers anyway, she absolutely needed to see what’s inside the sketchbook.

Nathaniel noticed that Chloé was still gazing at his sketchbook. Even after they walked out of school, she kept ogling his schoolbag from time to time. He put his treasured sketchbook in his bag so it wouldn’t get snatched out of his hands. However, he was forever afraid Chloé would try to steal it. He sighed and pointed to the park. He didn’t want her irritating him again about this tomorrow. If he understood her well enough, she wouldn’t give up so easy. She was a crazy, stubborn girl after all.

“Let’s go to the park. I will show you my sketchbook. Only this once, okay?”

Chloé crossed her arms and glared at Nath, as if he said something wrong again. Then she averted her eyes by moving her head to the right while Nath was standing on her left.

“Hmpf, as if I want to thumb through your stupid sketchbook. However, since you’re offering it so nicely to me now, I will just peek a little bit. It will only happen today! I don’t need to see it again in the future.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes and walked to the park, without even waiting for Chloé to follow. He sat on the bench and got his sketchbook out of his bag.

“You know, I still don’t get why you want to view my sketchbook. Can’t you just tell me the reason without lying?”

“I’m not lying. I just want to see it okay.”

Chloé snatched the sketchbook out of his hands and leafed through the pages slowly. She was being careful when she flipped page to page. She didn’t want to rip anything after all… Not that she cared anyways.

“They’re… quite good.”

“Thanks, I never though you would praise me.”

Nathaniel smiled sincerely and was quite happy that even Chloé admitted he was good at drawing. That was a pleasure to hear. She always insulted him, so this was nice. If only she could be friendlier and do this more often, then people would like her more.

“So, what do you actually want? You don’t just want to browse through my sketchbook, right?”

Chloé blushed a bit, realizing how stupid she had been to praise this guy. Though… seeing his smile wasn’t so bad. It gave her a good feeling. She liked that.

She knew Nathaniel wouldn’t believe her whatever she said, which was quite annoying.  She rolled her eyes before sighing.  She got no choice but to tell why she wanted to view the drawings.

“Fine, I just wanted to request a drawing. I want you to draw Vulpino.”

“Vulpino? Why do you want me to draw him?”

Nath felt a mix of flattering and confusion. Why would Chloé want him to draw Vulpino?  Had she a hidden agenda?  He glared suspiciously at her and wondered about her intentions.  But could she be, his first fan?  That would be quite sweet, maybe… if Chloé stopped being clingy and just be kind to him, then he would be glad, very glad.

“Not telling you! It’s a secret and something personal. So, are you going to do it or not? Considering I want you to show the real deal, if you do draw him.  His abs, the different shades of his suit, his tail, his ears, ... all of what defines him!  What makes him, Vulpino!”

Did it really matter to him?  He might ask her as Vulpino. Who knows. Hopefully Chloé wasn’t planning any mischief. That had him a little worried, but drawing himself is a pretty funny idea actually.

“Well fine. You’ll stop bugging me if I draw it, alright?”

“As if I ever irritated you.”

Chloé crossed her arms again and gazed forwards, neglecting Nathaniel. She acted annoyed, but was actually quite happy to hear that he was willing to do it.

“You even gripe me now.”

Nath sighed and grabbed his sketchbook back. He would just try to finish it today, so Chloé would leave him alone soon. It was getting late though, he hoped he could finish it anyway.

“You should be honored that I spend my precious time with you, instead of treating me so disrespectful. Besides that, how much?”

“How much what?”

“How much do you want to get paid, you idiot. Nothing in this world is for free. You’re an artist, isn’t that some kind of a job or something. We’re not even friends, so I bet you weren’t going to draw for free. So? How much? I have enough money to pay you, poor tomato. Aren’t all artists broke? I will be your patron, so you can feed yourself.”

In all honesty, Nathaniel never expected to be compensated for his work. He hardly suspected that Chloé would treat him this seriously, all business-like when she talked money. Maybe she would become some bossy company woman in the future. Though she was still insulting him.

“I don’t receive pocket money, so you’re not wrong there. I also don’t work yet, so yes, I’m broke.  However, I’m still a kid and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to accept your payment, without my parents’ permission. So, it would be for free.”

“Age doesn’t matter when it comes down to business. Though you are right about getting authorization by your parents. However, as I’m Chloé Bourgeois. Your parents will consent after hearing my name. So, don’t worry. I suggest 30€. You’re fine with that?”

What?! 30€? That’s a lot. He never got money from selling his art, so he wasn’t sure if that was over- or underpaid. However, he considered it a lot of money. Should he just accept this? It was kind of a business agreement. He would work for Chloé, by drawing Vulpino.

“Okay, suck up and accept.  Regardless, I don’t take no for an answer. I’m heading for home now, I expect that drawing soon.”

Well, well, wasn’t she seemly today? Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. Though should he even consider this decent or professional? He didn’t know, but he’d bet that she must’ve handled some business or something? Or perhaps she just shopped a lot.

“I still wonder why she wants me to draw Vulpino…”

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