#jack daniels ff

[l0ngschl0ngking]

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Welcome to my Pedro Pascal masterlist!

pairings and light summaries are under each fic

fics rated 18+ contain NSFW content -  that means STRICTLY NO MINORS

Happy reading!

I want you to give in 18+

- f!reader. What happens after you find Javier at your doorstep?

Not his type 18+

-f!reader. You are helping at Chucho's ranch and Javier thinks you are still definitely not his type

Work for it 18+

-f!reader. Javier wants you. Plain and simple. You don’t fall for his charm so easily

Hold on tight, sugar 18+

- f!reader. Jack releases the pent up adrenaline he has...on you

Apology won't cut it 18+ 

- f!reader. Tim forgot about your anniversary...how can he makes things right?

Not the person I once knew 18+ 

- f!reader. Past lovers reunite after many years...and then what?

These hands were made for worshipping you 18+

- f!reader.  Frankie wants to show you exactly how much he adores you

Stupid mistakes that need to be fixed 18+ (on hold)

- f!reader. You are finally ready to tell Marcus how you feel…but life takes unexpected turn

I know your body as if it was my own 18+ (on hold)

- f!reader. Max is absolutely obsessed with your tits 

(Met) In the restroom 18+

-f!reader. Dieter looks too good. Good enough that you let him fuck you in the public restroom at Met Gala

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 35

PREV

"Andrew, wake up." Andrew felt a hand on his shoulder and he lashed out as he always did. He found himself rocketing towards consciousness as he heard Neil's pained grunt. Panic lances through him as he realizes what he had hit instead of the intruder and he's glad they compromised when he and Neil had started to sleep in the same bed.

Andrew pulls Neil in closer to protect him even as Neil groans at the sudden jolting movement.

He needs to get-

"I already moved your secret pillow knife Andrew." The intruder says as Andrew's hand grasps at nothing. He has a second one but the intruder is now armed and Neil-

"Erik and the Hans Moretti Sword Box are the only combination of me, another guy, and blades being stabbed at me that I will accept. Now, wake up." The familiar sounding intruder says.

Andrew blinks awake.

Nicky's frowning face is staring down at him.

"I need to borrow the Maserati, or you need to drive me to Abby's house. Right now." Nicky says without a hint of the fear.

Or, at least, not fear of Andrew.

"What's wrong with Smith?" he asks holding out his hand for his pilfered knife as he rubs Neil's side where he had lashed out instinctively.

Nicky looks at him for a long moment before handing the knife back to Andrew, "There's...I just feel like something isn't right. I want to be there with him, I shouldn't have left him there." Nicky says.

Andrew didn't disagree.

FF had been relaxed and at ease, drinking the disgusting smoothie that Kevin had forced on him, and Andrew had noticed a hint of a smile on his friend's face.

Then that fuckface showed up and FF had looked worse than when Andrew had stabbed him. He still remembered the garbage that piece of shit had spewed and Andrew hated knowing things about his friend that his friend hadn't told him.

Hated that his brain could piece moments that made a horrible amount of sense now. FF staring at his car the first time before climbing in, how he had requested that Andrew focus on the road, Nicky looking at all of them exasperated "Smithy was going to walk back", and-

“See, you’re still upset over what that guy did. Why are you clinging to the last name of the guy that did this to you?” Fuckface asks from behind them, “He almost killed mom and you. He did kill our two-“

"Stop."

Andrew makes himself stop thinking about it. It wasn't something FF wanted to talk about.

"The keys are where I always put them." he says because he thinks if he gets out of bed he might go hunt fuckface for sport. The thought of seeing fuckface's well fucking face as he hits him with the Maserati is not a bad one.

"Thank you Andrew. Sorry Neil." Nicky says and Neil waves it off having mostly drifted back to sleep as Andrew had rubbed his back mindlessly.

Nicky leaves without another word. Andrew settled back into bed hand still mindlessly rubbing Neil's back. He closes his eyes. He thinks about how FF had looked at those two kids a few weeks back.

He'd looked like a good older brother.

He holds Neil tight, focuses on the feeling of his even breathing on his neck, and listens to Kevin's snoring to think about a monster consuming Daniel whole.

******

Sometimes Matt feels like he misses out on things with his friends. It didn't happen that often and he doesn't regret the Thanksgiving he spent with his Mom and Dan. Not a single atom regrets making hand turkeys with Dan or holding Dan and his Mom's bags during their Black Friday spree.

He still felt ice in his stomach when he heard that some of Nathan's men had come for Neil and that FF had gotten hurt. FF hadn't seemed overly bothered by the injury and Matt was looking forward to having the freshman as a roommate once he was fully cleared by Abby.

FF was a good kid and Matt had a hard time disliking someone who so obviously looked up to and liked his best friend. He'd told Dan about the 'Captain Neil' title and the two of them had just about died talking about how sweet they both found it.

Which is why he feels a certain kind of way when he finds out his Skype date with Dan had him miss out on a face that, based on what he heard from an incensed Aaron, was in desperate need of a punch.

"Where's Nicky?" Matt asks.

"He couldn't stop worrying about Smiths, he doesn't have Friday classes so he mentioned something about sticking with Smiths." Aaron explains over his oatmeal and Matt turns his head towards the wall they shared with Neil, Andrew, and Kevin's room as he hears the blender going. Aaron shovels the remainder of his oatmeal into his mouth, "I gotta go. I'll see you later." he says.

Matt waves his roommate off and wonders what the sudden rush was but it was hardly three minutes later that Kevin Day was bursting into their room without knocking. "Aaron, I need your-" Kevin stops gaze settling on Matt. "Where's Aaron?" he asks.

Matt looks at him, "He just left." he says. Kevin looks to the ceiling in obvious frustration, "Anything I can help with?" Matt asks while at the same time cursing himself for asking.

"Have you had breakfast?" Kevin asks immediately.

"Uh...no?" Matt says.

"Perfect. Drink this." Kevin says shoving a smoothie into Matt's hand. Matt looked at the blue-ish smoothie in his hands and then back up to Kevin. "You asked if there was anything you could help with. Tell me how that tastes." he points at the beverage and Matt recognizes the distinct smell of one of Kevin's health shakes.

"I don't want to do this." Matt says setting the smoothie to the side.

"I'm trying to improve the flavor." Kevin says, "It was brought to my attention that it isn't very...good tasting." Kevin adds sounding like the admission costs him something.

"Just now? You just figured out they taste like butt, just now?" Matt asks incredulously.

Kevin flushes, "Smiths drank it without complaint!" he exclaims.

"Yeah, 'cuz Smithster is nice! Also I think his face is just stuck like that." Matt says.

"There was no way I could have known they were gross!" Kevin argues.

"Kevin, most people TASTE the things they're giving to others." Matt points out and Kevin only grows redder.

"Are you going to help me improve the taste or not?!" Kevin demands pointing at the smoothie, "that's phase one right there." he points at the beverage.

Matt considers it, "This is to make these god awful smoothies taste better for Smithster?" he asks finally feeling like there was something he could offer his friend.

"Yes." Kevin says.

"And you can't just taste them yourself....because?" Matt asks.

"I need multiple datapoints, it can't just be me." Kevin answers immediately.

Matt rolls his eyes but he was not one to deny the scientific process, "Fine." he agrees and grabs the smoothie, "You said this was phase one of improving the flavor?" he asks.

"Yes." Kevin says.

Matt nods and brings the smoothie to his lips.

Bitter. Slimey. Why is it spicy? So Bitter. It's liquid how is it chalky?

He immediately spits it out, "Why does it taste like that?!" Matt demands immediately. "You said it was phase one?!" he hisses.

"That's the control. I needed your opinion on where I was starting." Kevin jerks his head to the side towards the entrance of Matt's dorm, "C'mon, we've got work to do." he says leaving the room without taking his godforsaken smoothie with him.

Matt looks to the ceiling like Kevin had earlier. Honestly, the world had been a darker place since Kevin had to take the required science course last year.

****** There was no singular more 'freshman' thing that FF had done, in Nicky's opinion, than the fact that the kid had early Friday classes. Nicky had gotten to Abby's place late and hadn't slept before, too caught up in a conversation with Aaron.

FF had been awake when he'd gotten to Abby's, staring blankly into the fridge and based on how cold his friend's pajamas were he couldn't help but wonder how long FF had been there. So he herded FF back to bed and FF had pressed his face into Nicky's shoulder and hadn't let go. So Nicky had crawled into bed after FF had nodded his consent.

Nicky had slept terribly.

Still, he woke up with FF's alarm. FF's gaze was about a thousand miles away but he got ready for his two early Friday classes robotically. Nicky shot a text to Aaron and Andrew to let them know that he'd stick with FF for the day to make sure that if Daniel showed up he wouldn't bother FF.

FF walked into a wall as he was texting. "Aw, bud." he says and sets him on a new course.

Andrew texted to tell him that Neil was going to talk with Wymack about not giving Daniel a chance.

He heard another thud, "Oh, Smith don't run into that." he hears Abby say worriedly.

Nicky puts his phone away.

Focus.

He gets FF through breakfast and through the walk to campus. He takes a seat next to FF in his Math class and ignores the narrowed eyes of the person who's usual seat he has obviously taken. He turns in FF's homework, pays attention, takes some notes, answers the clicker questions for FF, and guides him out and over towards his next class.

He sees Daniel being shown around campus by Jack.

He texts Aaron for back-up. The two of them manhandle FF across campus just in time for his Japanese class and Nicky and Aaron swear up and down that they are just there to look in on the class. Nicky hands the clicker off to Aaron since the future doctor's handwriting left a lot to be desired.

Eventually it was done and Nicky and Aaron had to maneuver FF through a truly STARTLING amount of people who wanted to 'have a word' with FF. Nicky remembers that kid from months back. 'The Adonis of the Foreign Language Department'

Eventually through a combination of Nicky's polite declinations, Aaron glowering, and FF walking into another wall they managed to escape the Foreign Language department of Palmetto State University.

"I think we deserve a treat." Nicky says, "Everyone who agrees raise your hand." he adds and raises his own hand before lifting FF's hand up and looking to see Aaron lift his own hand up.

"Are we sure he's okay in there?" Aaron asks waving a hand in front of FF's face as they made their way to an ice cream shop that had excellent waffle cones and was the place that sold FF's favorite triple berry milkshake.

"Yeah, this happens sometimes." Nicky says even if it had never gone on this long with FF having to reboot his system. It feels like his friend may have blue-screened but Nicky's willing to wait it out.

"If you're sure." Aaron says expression giving away how unconvinced he is but he moves along, "Did you do what we talked about last night?" he asks.

"Yeup." Nicky says popping the 'p' at the end.

"Good." Aaron says as he opens the door to the ice cream shop.

****** Andrew is walking to Abby's with Neil, Kevin, and Matt to pick up his car. Nicky had texted Andrew that he and Aaron were hanging out at Abby's trying to get FF to snap out of whatever daze he had fallen into.

"We have to let him tryout and there will be someone from the university there making sure it's all fair." Neil spits the word out with obvious disgust. "Like any of this shit is fair!" Neil kicks a pebble on the sidewalk.

Andrew keeps his thoughts to himself that if Daniel just doesn't make it to the tryouts then there's no issue. This whole mess kicked off because he stabbed FF and Andrew wanted to make it right. FF may not blame Andrew and may still reflexively tell anyone who asks that Romero did it, but Andrew can't forget the moment he looked over and saw his knife in FF's stomach and realized that the blood on his hands was his friend's.

"He might be a good addition to the team." Kevin says.

"Kevin, if you say that one more time I'm going to dump phase 3 down your throat." Matt hisses.

Kevin recoils in visible disgust and notably keeps his mouth shut. Andrew will have to get the recipe off of Matt if it's that effective at shutting Kevin up.

They make the final turn onto Abby's street and Andrew's eyes narrow as he looks at Abby's driveway where there was only one car.

"Where the fuck is my car?" he asks.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

[momentofch-aos]

NEW POST - No-One Plots Murder Aloud

Prompt : murder

@agentcarterbingo

“What would you get away with, Peg?” Howard drawled as he strolled into the living room, glancing at both their discarded jackets, which looked slightly singed.

“Murder.”

*********************************************

Written in one night! look at me go, two uploads in 24 hours (just about)

hope you enjoy!

[lionlena]

☆MASTERLIST☆

Pedro Pascal

One Shot:

♡A kitchen disaster

♡Just let it go…

♡New job, new problems...

♡Just breathe

Series:

♡His Curls - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (completed)

♡Hate run, love speed - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (in progress)

♡We don’t love each other - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 - Final (completed)

Request:

♡A perfect day for a perfect girl (It's your birthday and Pedro makes you feel loved and special all day)

Headcanon:

♡What sleeping position do they most like when you are with them? (Pedro Pascal characters)💤

♡How will they react to your makeup? (Pedro Pascal and his characters) 👁️👄💅

♡Headcanon: How do they behave when you have a migraine? (Pedro Pascal characters)🩹😴   (+ Dave and Marcus)

♡Headcanon: How will they react if you tell them about CDD? (Pedro Pascal characters) 👰💔😱🤕  

♡Headcanon: Who will be ready to kill for you? From most willing to least... (Pedro Pascal characters) 🔪💀☠️🩸

♡Headcanon: How do they cook for you? (Pedro Pascal characters) 🥕🧑‍🍳🍓

Joel Miller

One Shot:

♡This is just a nightmare… (The Last of Us ff/ Joel/Ellie)

♡Strong for both of us

♡Trouble with ex

♡Dyeing your hair…

♡Together in happiness and depression… (no outbreak)

Series:

♡Unforgivable mistake, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, (in progress)

♡I can't be everywhere (No outbreak!) Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5... (in progress)

Request:

♡You need a better place (Joel loving a girl with epilepsy)

♡Blue dress (Joel Miller x plus size!reader)

Headcanon:

♡When Joel goes limp… (JoelMillerxf!reader)🤷🍆🩹

Javier Peña

One Shot:

♡I’ll protect you… (bc you’re mine)

♡I’ll hurt you… ( bc you’re mine )

♡I’ll leave you (bc youre not mine)

♡I'll stay with you... ( bc I love you)

♡You’re hot…

♡A girl from the street

Series:

♡Dancing With Your Ghost - Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Epilogue (completed)

♡Too many shadows behind you - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,  Part 4, Part 5 (in progress)

Headcanon:

♡Nicotine (JavierPeña and You)

Agent Whiskey (Jack Daniels)

Series:

♡Dynasty - Part 1, Part 2, (in progress)

One Shot:

♡Mean (JackDanielsxf!reader)

♡Llamas don't drink whiskey...

Headcanon:

♡What does Jack's ranch look like? 🤠🐴🐓🐮🧑‍🌾

Javi Gutierrez

One Shot:

♡Too hot

Frankie Morales

One Shot:

♡Lost cat

Marcus Pike

One Shot: 

♡"7.44 am"

Headcanon:

♡If Teresa tried to get Marcus back after years...

♡Marcus tells you about his meeting with Teresa...

Oberyn Martell

Series:

♡Red Viper and Fox - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (in progress, soon english version)

One Shot:

♡♕Queen's Milk

♡I Hold You

♡Remember me… (ANGST!)

♡Leave... (ANGST)

Headcanon: 

♡Headcoanon: Oberyn's finger kink... 🤤💦🤌

The Old Guard (movie)

One Shot: 

♡ Amira

♡ It hurts like hell    

[toriangeli]

I get the impression that the writers didn’t expect people to be that invested in Armand which is odd bc he’s a popular book character but. It almost seems to me like they thought everyone would be invested in Lestat and Louis only and they can do whatever with Armand. I still think he was well-written for the most part don’t get me wrong. However.

I think his motivations are muddled in this version of the story and it’s weird that he had no strong relationships to anyone all season. The Louis thing didn’t matter to either of them that much bc he was willing to let him die (weird), nothing with Daniel yet, didn’t seem very upset with the coven members dying and didn’t even seem to hate Claudia all that much?

I feel like they didn't think we'd love him if he was as much of a maniac as he was in the books? Crazy time to start worrying about what their audience thinks. ffs, Rolin talked about how bad they felt for Armand upon rereading the second half of book 1 and then didn't even quote the line that made them feel so bad for him in the first place (the thing about how he's done everything for Louis and Louis doesn't love him and seems totally dead to him).

He was definitely very attached to Louis, but Louis' lack of attachment to him and Daniel's utter contempt guided the audience's opinion a lot more than the softening of his terribleness. Even if it's not their intent, he comes across as the least favorite child. Lestat dropped Louis from the sky and gets a pass, but Armand did...what, exactly? Louis forgave him for playing a part with Claudia's death, but being willing to let Louis die was unforgivable, even after he pulled Louis out of the sun? And Rolin talked about how these were genuine attempts from Armand to be better, to be good to Louis, only to be met in 2.05 with the bleak understanding that none of it meant jack shit to Louis, it was all just a sign of Armand being a boring person who did boring things. "As empathetic as possible," says Rolin, but the actual audience is taking its cues from audience surrogate Daniel, whose opinion isn't based on Armand's experiences or even Louis' experiences, but his own. His entire take on the situation is centered around what Armand did to him, so he ignores anything that could actually make him see where Armand is coming from. He even calls his tragic backstory into question. And don't tell me Armand lied so much he deserved that. Nobody deserves it. Anyway, according to Rolin, Armand lied about two things: who saved Louis at the trial, and how involved he was in the trial itself, and all subsequent lies were covering up those two. Do you ever see Armand bringing up his tragic backstory when he isn't asked to do so? He plays victim about other things, sure, but never about that.

And frankly, some of the things he plays victim about, he has the right to be pissed about. It feels like nobody really grasps 2.05 with any sense of compassion for both Louis and Armand--it's always one or the other of them in total wrong. Either Louis is emotionally abusive during their fight, or Armand tortured and neglected him and made the whole situation about himself.

What if both things can be true, but we understand where they're both coming from? That's the thing about dark fiction: we can actually look critically at relationships like these and see nuance. It's not safe to do that in real life unless you're the therapist involved, but in fiction? We can actually look and see and think. Don't do that if you're in a toxic relationship irl, just get out.

Louis is using drugs to run away from something Armand could have prevented. There's kind of a karma in Armand being forced to be his caretaker. At the same time, I know what being the codependent in a relationship feels like, so...yes, Armand making the situation about himself makes a lot of sense because no situation is ever about himself. He drags Louis out of the sun, and we never talk about how traumatic that is for both of them. Rightly, the focus is on Louis, because Louis is the primary victim in the situation, but he's not the only one traumatized by his own suicide attempt. We, the audience, have the capacity to have empathy for them both, but we seldom do. Instead, we see Armand doing something wrong--the secondary victim demanding understanding from the primary one--and focus way too much on that instead of why.

People feel sorry for themselves because they're overcompensating for the fact that only they ever seem to validate their own experiences. Judging by some of Sam's attitude, I suspect the last person who told Armand "you went through something fucked up and it's okay to not be okay about it" was Marius. Right before the attempt, Louis actively invalidated some of the worst shit Armand ever went through, so sure. I obviously don't agree with Armand's actions in the aftermath, but the important thing is, I'd consider it shitty, shitty writing if the writers decided everyone should immediately be able to act rationally about this. That's not how people work. It's the opposite of how Armand should work. Armand is so poorly socialized, he doesn't know the unwritten social codes, or even why he does what he does. And any time someone calls him out, they can't seem to do so without invalidating completely unrelated traumas he's had.

You can say, "Oh, well, this season was Louis' story, so of course they focused on Louis' perspective," but here's the problem with that: we are not getting a The Vampire Armand season. It wouldn't make sense. The only two main characters who are in those flashbacks are Armand and Marius. That means sidelining almost every series regular for an entire season if they did a TVA season. If every POV character (Daniel, Louis, and Lestat) has total contempt for Armand, exactly when is the audience supposed to have things cleared up for them?

[f1-obsessed333]

Karun Chandhok saying this to Jack Doohan makes my blood boil 🤬

“He (Daniel) should talk to your dad and get some tips because he’s an expert at just getting on with it”

This is such a desctuctive mindset? Does Karun think that Daniel only has a little ouchie?

He broke his hand in SEVEN places ffs🤬

[mermaidsirennikita]

I’ve started watching The Artful Dodger and loving it, it’s far better than Bridgerton at actually capturing the essence of a romance novel (my first thought upon seeing Jack and Belle interact was that it could’ve been ripped straight from a romance novel). Do you have any recs for tv shows or movies that have the vibes of a romance novel?

Ooh yes!

Oldie but a goodie and if anyone hasn't seen it they should (and really, the whole trilogy--the second movie gets a bad rap, but I personally so enjoy it, and I love the third movie for a lot of reasons but the "REIGNITE. OUR. LOVE." sequence is absolutely one of them, the "we are gonna FUCK THIS SHIT OUT" vibes are sooo romance novel for me). Bridget Jones's Diary. Mark Darcy is just an amazing hero. Bridget is a legend. Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver is PEAK Hugh Grant, and his introduction in that film is one of the greatest character intros I have ever. Seen in cinema. I see some people knock on it because of things that have aged--Bridget worrying over her weight because it's the early 2000s and super skinny was the trend, the workplace harassment. I don't give a fuck. If you haven't seen Bridget Jones's Diary, you are doing yourself a disservice.

(It is based on a book, but that book is not a romance novel. The movies are.)

Ummm speaking of Hugh Grant, Music & Lyrics is an underrated BANGER and absolutely fucking reads as a romance novel. A washed up has-been pop star begins a creative partnership with the messy neurotic woman who waters his plants? He does a flop attempt at defending her honor to do the guy who did her wrong. There's a grand gesture/grovel moment ffs. It's GREAT. The music is AMAZING. POP! Goes My Heart!

This one is borderline because it is more of a girls trip comedy, but the romance is truly centered so well and is a swoony romance and it features peak Richard Madden and it is again, so underrated. Netflix's Ibiza, dude. Buttoned up marketing girl goes on a business trip to Spain, her two best friends (who are both much wilder than her) accompany her and they go to the club one night and see DJ Richard Madden (LEOOOOO WESSSSST) and he and the main girl have this amazing meet cute that involves someone drawing a dick on her face in glow in the dark marker and him coming to the rescue, but then he has to go to a gig in Ibiza and she and her friends decide to track him down because some people are destined to go to the moon, but her destiny is to FUCK. THAT. DJ. But Harper and Leo's connection is more like love at first sight than pure horniness? I just miss movies that like, unabashedly capture zany happiness and the flutters of first love (and the sex scene is so good???). This movie is amazing and I adore it.

Bros. Look dude. I know Billy Eichner fucked up the marketing for this one. I know he's annoying as hell. Bros is objectively a romance novel movie lol. It's not as inclusive as it could/should be, I will agree with that always--but the romance arc is so good, and it is legit funny, and it has a FAILED GROVEL which we all know is one of my favorite things. And I do think it has a deeply true heart and soul and is really amazing.

Brown Sugar. PEAK Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. It's a slow burn friends to lovers movie in which there is sooooo much sexual tension and so much angst and so much follow the fuck through. Also, Taye Diggs has one of the most magnificent line deliveries of all time with "riCHARD LAWson".

Imagine Me and You. The sapphic romcom we deserve. A bride falls in love at first sight with hot florist Lena Headey while walking down the aisle to marry her groom, as you do. What follows is a woman desperately trying not to cheat on her husband while experiencing extreme sexual tension with Lena Headey. Surprisingly soft and super romantic.

Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022). Required viewing for historical romance novel fans. Obviously based on a book, but again, that book is not a romance lol. The movie is. And it's one of the hottest movies in recent memory. Jack and Emma did the WORK. The kiss right before he goes down on her is maybe my favorite movie kiss of all time.

Obviously. Pride and Prejudice (2005). I shouldn't have to include this, but to be fucking clear lol. I will always maintain that while P&P (the novel) is a predecessor and a shaper of romance novels, it is not a romance novel. It is a contemporary novel with a lot of social commentary and a good love story. This movie? Makes it a full, sweeping romance with some of the best tension ever committed to screen.

Faraway. Omg, an amazing slept-on movie that is a rare romcom featuring a middle-aged woman! Basically, right when her mom dies she finds out her husband is having at min an emotional affair with his younger employee, and she also discovers her mom had a secret property on a Croatian island. She goes there, and is immediately courted by this younger real estate developer guy, but why is she constantly butting heads with the gruff guy who's been living in her mom's house????

Far and Away. Hate to recommend a Tom Cruise film, BUT it is is very romance novel, and it does star Nicole Kidman as well, and I hate to say it but those two did have bomb chemistry when they were married. The Irish accents are rough, but the plot is delightful because he's a poor guy who ends up getting roped into her scheme to leave for America (after his harebrained revenge scheme against her dad fails lol) and they live in a boarding house together pretending to be brother and sister... But like, everyone can tell they aren't because of their extremely obvious sexual tension lol.

When Harry Met Sally. Cliche, but it is a classic every romance lover should see. I'm not a big Billy Crystal fan, but his chemistry with Meg Ryan is MAGIC in this, and you really do get the sense of two people slooowly falling in love without even realizing it until suddenly they do all at once.

[arisu-artnfics]

“A trip to Paris” 2

Notes: Future art piece by: @k-beckerart on Tumblr. Preview art. 

Chapter: 2/12 Previous Next (First). Versión en Español

Also on: A03 || FF || DeviantArt || Facebook.

Chapter 2: “Allies come in all forms”

It took a couple of days for the Fentons to calibrate the scanners as well as double and triple check that they were safe to use without hurting Danny. After that, Jack and Maddie worked diligently to create a stabilising agent to help Danielle. Danny couldn’t believe that they were finally going to have some closure with Dani and actually help her in the right way. Then, just as all their planning and preparations were coming together, it was time for Danny and Jazz to go back to school. 

With the whole end-of-the-world thing, plus the investigation into Vlad, and the Fentons subsequent partnership with the FBI, suffice to say the kids had been allowed to take a couple of weeks off from school. This gave the young ghost hero and his family plenty of time to adjust to their new norm. Even though some people knew Danny's secret identity now, not everyone did and the family as well as the FBI preferred to keep it that way– both to give Danny some semblance of normalcy, and to prevent excitable members of the public from acting foolish. 

The Casper High administration knew that because the family had been involved with the Disasteroid task force, the kids were approved for the time off ‘recommendation’ made by the government. The next Monday both kids would be returning to school. For Danny, that meant it was time to accept the fact that he was going to tell Mr. Lancer his secret.

Although the plan had been to keep Danny’s identity top secret, Maddie suggested that they at least tell Mr. Lancer. Not only was he the teacher that sent Danny to detention the most often, he was also the vice principal. As such, he had a big impact on Danny’s grades. Getting him on their side would surely be a big help.

Jazz wasn’t so sure about that, and Danny agreed. Lancer knowing wouldn't change the fact that he was still going to have to skip class to fight troublemaking ghosts all the time. 

It was surprisingly Jack who reminded them that their parents were in fact ghost hunters. They could compare their information with Danny’s and update their techniques to hunt ghosts correctly, especially the ones that appeared during school hours. Maddie added that it was okay to ask for help and sharing some of the work would help Danny learn to manage his time better in a way that would aid him not only in school, but in life as well. 

After a lot of back and forth, in the end even Jazz saw it as a good solution. When Danny told Sam and Tucker, at first they were sceptical of the plan, just like he had been, however, with a bit of explaining, they understood why it was a good idea. They knew their friend needed better time management skills after all. 

Now, the night before the first day of school, the Fenton family was once again sitting at their kitchen table planning something. It always seemed like the best time for these conversations was over dinner.  

“So, just to be clear,” Danny began his summary. “You guys are going to drive us to school in the morning so you can meet with Lancer after first period –which I do have with him. And if anybody asks why you’re hanging around the school, you’re going to say that you’re tracking ghostly activity, right?” “Yeah, that’s the plan, son. It’s that simple!” Jack replied confidently. “You know, you two still need to say that you and ‘Danny’ have finally decided to work together.” Jazz’s air quotes around her brother's name let their parents know she was specifically referring to Danny Phantom. “What are you talking about Jazz? I think just about the whole world knows that...” Danny trailed off when it hit him that she meant Phantom, not Fenton. 

“Well, technically, they know that we as a family–and the rest of Amity Park, for that matter–worked with you, Little Brother. But Mom and Dad haven’t exactly said anything official about a permanent truce, or anything else really…” Jazz clarified. “I mean, the people that know, you know… they, well, they know that’s not entirely true, but it’s also not a lie… I mean, they are working with their son...” 

“I see what you mean, darling, and you’re right…” Maddie rubbed her chin in thought. “We could mention it at the school before we meet with Mr. Lancer–if anyone asks, that is–that the Fentons are working permanently with the ghost boy. And once we explain your… situation to Mr. Lancer, well, he would understand why we were telling people now.” 

They hadn’t thought about how it would look, working with Danny Phantom out of nowhere. They hadn’t thought they needed to make some sort of announcement, but they did. In order to keep people from wondering why, in order to keep Danny’s secret safe.   “Your Mom is right! That would also help to keep your secret, well, secret… wait...” said Jack, getting confused with the whole conversation. Danny sighed, “I guess, you guys are right… but please… don’t overdo it… I can handle it, I have been handling all of it fine.” He was beginning to worry that if their parents allied themselves with him, they were going to be in danger, or something along those lines. 

“Don’t worry Little Brother, I have anticipated the most likely questions that people might ask after they hear that our parents are working with Phantom and written them down on these cue cards,” at this she pulled a small stack of cards out of thin air and handed them to their parents, “as well as some pre-planned answers. Stick to these and you won’t overdo it.”  “Oh, that’s great, Jazzy–pants!” said Jack, with a big smile. His children never ceased to amaze him with their ingenuity. He was so proud.  

“We’ll read over these, don’t worry Jazz. And thank you,” Maddie added, smiling proudly as well. “Okay… I guess that’s it then,” said Danny feeling a bit defeated. There was nothing he could really do to dissuade his parents.  “Yes, and now it’s getting late, so… kids, bedtime!” Maddie clapped her hands together with cheerful authority. The two teens nodded, said their respective ‘goodnights,’ and went upstairs. 

Maddie could see that Danny was still nervous about tomorrow, and she didn’t blame him. Since finding out the truth and helping with the cure for Dani, they had gained a better understanding of how difficult things had been for their son. None of it was easy, but now they had a better idea of what it meant to be a halfa. Although Danny and his parents had learned a lot more about him and what he could do, they also knew that just like Vlad, Danny would continue to grow and develop more powers. Powers that they now knew they were going to be prepared and ready to help him with. After all, they had already managed to isolate Danny’s ghostly signature and alter their weapons so they wouldn't affect him, or Danielle for that matter. Now they only needed to wait for the weekend to finally find Dani. 

While Maddie and Jack cleaned up from dinner, the kids met in Danny’s room. Jazz knew her little brother well enough to realise he wasn’t going to just tell someone that he was scared, even though he was. Not that Lancer wouldn’t believe it, but of how he would react. For that reason, for the day that awaits him tomorrow, and the fact that the family had agreed to postpone finding Danielle for the weekend, and knowing that Danny probably wouldn’t sleep well tonight, she went to her brother’s room. There Danny confirmed Jazz’s suspicions, she gently coaxed him into talking out his worries and she did her best to reassure him. Jazz promised that her cue cards would work and that he should give Mr. Lancer more credit. Even though he doesn’t always seem fair –showing favouritism to the football players or occasionally turning a blind eye to Dash’s bullying– she knew that he had helped Danny with his grades, and cared about him as his student; being a half ghost wouldn’t change that. 

When Jack and Maddie finally went upstairs to get ready for bed, they overheard part of their children’s conversation. While Maddie was a bit upset with herself for not noticing just how nervous Danny was, she was grateful that Jazz had. Jack also noticed that some comfort was being passed around and he felt a surge of pride that his kids had become such kind and sensitive people. 

When the next day arrived, the Fentons set their plan into motion. Jack and Maddie drove their kids to school, right on schedule, although their plans took a slight deviation after that. Rather than waiting in the parking lot with the excuse of ghost hunting, they ended up exchanging insurance information with some of the other parents. As usual, Jack’s driving was… enthusiastic. Sorting things out took them the whole first period, and by the time they got to Mr. Lancer’s office, Danny and Jazz were already there waiting for them.   

“Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Fenton,” Mr. Lancer greeted them. “So glad you could join us.” “Morning!” Maddie and Jack replied at the same time, sharing a smile at the coincidence. “You two said that you needed to discuss something with me, but I’m still not entirely sure why these two,” at this Mr. Lancer gestured to where Jazz and Danny were sitting in front of his desk, “need to be here. All Jasmine would tell me is that it's a family matter, and Daniel here seems to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown.” 

He looked back and forth between the kids and the parents appraisingly before closing the door to his office and offering them a seat.  With the whole family finally seated in front of Mr. Lancer's desk, Maddie began the explanation, “Well, Jazz is right, this is a family affair. And it’s about Danny...” She checked on her son who seemed to be calming down now that his parents were here. “I see...” said Mr. Lancer, pausing at his desk. “Is this because the school year is about to finish and you’re worried about his grades?” He glanced suspiciously between Danny and his parents. It wouldn't be the first time he’d seen a family rally together to help save a struggling student from being held back a year.

“What? No!” Maddie spluttered. “Well, yes… we are worried about it, but that’s not why we’re here today.” It wasn’t hard to understand why he’d come to that conclusion. It was in part why they were having this conversation, after all.  “Please, Mr. Lancer, wait until after my parents finish. Then you’ll understand what this is all about.” Jazz pleaded, hands clasped in front of her. “It’s all right, Jazz.” Danny murmured, giving her arm a calming squeeze before directing his gaze to his teacher “I kinda figured Lancer would bring that up… I mean… this whole year has been...” “Unprecedented, nightmarish, messy, crazy, ect., ect.?” Mr. Lancer supplied with a raised eyebrow, finally taking a seat at his desk. He seemed like he just caught up with the fact that he was still standing up unnecessarily.

“Yeah. All that. And ghostly…” Danny muttered the last part under his breath, avoiding eye contact with Lancer.

Maddie cleared her throat softly, “Mr. Lancer, if I may… please?” She had noticed that Danny was starting to feel bad and decided it was time to intervene. His grades were as important to him as fighting ghosts, even though it might not look like that from the outside. “Yes, of course, Mrs. Fenton. By all means, please tell me what this is all about.” Mr. Lancer had also noticed Danny’s change in attitude and decided to focus more on the parents, mainly on Maddie seeing as she was the one taking the lead. Jack sat next to her in silent support, but his worry for Danny was plain to see. “Well...” Maddie began, glancing back at Danny who nodded. 

Mr. Lancer took notice of the exchange and was about to comment when Maddie finally spoke, interrupting his thoughts. 

“Danny is ‘Danny Phantom.’” she said.  “What?” Mr. Lancer spluttered, caught off guard. “What in the name of the Scarlet Pimpernel! That doesn’t make any sense… What’s really going on here? I would have believed something like this from young Daniel…” he stopped, noticing that Maddie seemed to sincerely believe what she was saying. 

“Danny,” the boy murmured under his breath. He was a bit annoyed that Mr. Lancer still called him ‘Daniel,’ even in moments like this. Especially in moments like this. “It’s Danny.”

Mr. Lancer looked back and forth between Maddie and her son. He began to worry that something else might be happening, something that the family either doesn’t know about, or doesn’t know how to explain. Because although his student being a ghostly superhero would explain a lot, it was impossible. Wasn’t it? 

“Just show him,” Jazz suggested in a loud whisper. She knew that Mr. Lancer would believe him if only he saw it for himself. Knowledge of halfas was global now, so it wouldn’t be hard to make the connection. If they just told him without showing him, he might just think Danny was faking it, using Vlad’s revelation as inspiration.  Danny looked up at his parents who gave him an encouraging nod. “...Fine.” He sounded a bit annoyed to be put in this situation, but proceeded to stand up anyway.

“What are you doi–” Mr. Lancer began to ask. He was getting worried as to why it seemed like everyone knew something he didn’t, because show him what? “Going ghost,” Danny quietly said his catchphrase, transforming into Danny Phantom in a bright flash of light. Mr. Lancer blinked the spots from his eyes, using the silence that followed to process his thoughts. It would seem that their former Mayor wasn’t the only halfa in Amity Park. He had anticipated a few of the more creative kids would probably play pretend at being a ghost and a human at the same time, but never in his wildest dreams could he have anticipated one of his students actually being one. 

A single, quiet, “Oh” was all the stunned teacher managed to say.  “Are, are you okay, Mr. Lancer?” Danny prompted, changing back into Fenton and retaking his seat. Maybe that had been a bit too much for him after all.

“You know what Mr. Fenton, that makes a lot of sense...” Mr. Lancer finally said, looking across his desk at Danny. He gave the boy a small, sad, smile, because it did make a lot of sense. “Wait, what?” Danny said, confused. He hadn’t really been expecting that reaction, even though he had assumed that Vlad’s precedent might either help or hurt his situation.

“Well, it does… The skipping school every time there’s a ghost attack, the slacking on your homework, the sleeping in class… All starting around the same time as the ghosts showed up, it makes perfect sense. I’m assuming your whole family knows, and I hope that your parents didn’t know until recently...” Mr. Lancer gave Jack and Maddie a stern look. Just thinking about the hundreds, if not thousands, of times that he saw the Fentons hunting Phantom… it couldn’t be possible, right? 

“Of course, we didn’t!” said Maddie quickly. Neither she or Jack wanted this to be like their interrogation with the FBI, they didn’t want to have to defend themselves again. They love their kids, and would do anything to protect them. If they had known it all from the beginning, maybe the thing they needed protection from wouldn’t have been them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The possibility of losing their kids to child services like the FBI threatened them with at the start had been a rude awakening. “We would never have knowingly hunted our son,” said Jack, the normally jovial man deathly serious. He felt the same as Maddie, remembering how bad the interview with the Feds was, especially at the beginning. “Oh, for the love of… you know what, never mind.” Mr. Lancer shook his head defeatedly. “I’m not going to think about it. I am assuming that isn’t all?” 

“You’re right about that,” Maddie sighed, her face serious. “Do you remember when the FBI interviewed our family and practically everyone around us?” She knew she had to say something about it regardless, he would need to understand the conditions that he was bound by now. 

Mr. Lancer nodded, allowing her to continue her explanation. 

“Well, they know. About Danny... Mr. Lancer, this is highly classified information we’ve just shared with you.” Her eyes pierced his, impressing on him the gravity of the situation. “They said we should keep it secret, only those who already knew and no one else.” “Oh. I see…”  Mr. Lancer’s voice was solemn with understanding. The situation was more serious than what he had originally thought. “So, your friends, Samantha and Tucker...” he raised a questioning brow at Danny. “They know. They’ve known since the beginning, actually.” Danny said with a small shrug.  “Oh, and Valerie knows… Valerie Gray. She found out while we were working on the intangibility transfer device. Well, while her father was working on it, but you know...” he shrugged again.  

“I see…” Mr. Lancer nodded. “I understand.” His hunch had been correct, Danny’s friends had been covering for him in class for a while now, and he finally knew why. The mention of Miss Gray was a bit of a surprise, but it made sense if something had happened to reveal Danny’s identity while she and her father had been working on the device. That also meant that the other people who already know are those who were involved with the task force in Antarctica. 

“With all that being said, Mr. Lancer,” Maddie called his attention back to her, “while we’re here, we would like your help with Danny’s schedule. I’m sure you’ve noticed that his time management skills could use some improvement.”

“I can agree with that,” Mr. Lancer said, giving Danny a faux stern look.

At this, Jack chimed in, “Now that we know what’s going on, we can help fight the ghosts that appear during school hours. We’ll probably still need to pull him into the field some, though, especially while we’re still getting used to things.”

“Very well, the three of us can continue to discuss a plan, but,” Mr. Lancer glanced up at the clock on the wall, “I think it’s time for Jazz and Danny to go back to class.” 

He began to pull some papers out of a drawer in his desk while the Fentons stood up from their chairs. “All right then, I guess we should get going…” Danny said, stretching his arms above his head. He was feeling very relieved that Mr. Lancer was taking it so well and seemed eager to help. He couldn’t stop his smile as he addressed his teacher, “Thank you, Mr. Lancer.”  “Why, whatever for?” he asked with a smile. Mr. Lancer wasn’t exactly sure as to why Danny suddenly seemed more relaxed, but he couldn’t be more proud. He knew that a topic like this one must be hard for the whole family, especially Danny. “Never mind, just… Thank you.” he was still smiling as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. 

“Of course,” said Mr. Lancer. He handed Danny and Jazz the papers he had just signed, “Oh, don’t forget these, your hall passes. Just give them to your teachers and your tardiness will be excused. And if there’s anything else I can do… just let me know.”  “Oh, right… Um, thank you,” Danny stuttered out, caught off guard by the kind offer. 

Maddie, Jack, and Jazz watched the scene unfold, the three unable to keep the grins off their faces, they knew that all Danny needed was a little understanding and guidance. The three of them exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to each help him in their own ways. 

“Let’s go, Little Brother,” Jazz looped her arm through Danny’s and pulled him towards the door, making sure they both had their hall passes. “And thanks again, Mr. Lancer! For everything! Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!”

“Bye, Sweety!” Maddie called back, “We’ll see you at home later!”

Jack waved, voice booming as he called out, “Bye, kiddos!” 

After the kids had gone, the three adults returned to their seats, they had planning to do, after all. Once sitting, Mr. Lancer pulled out a notebook and together they started brainstorming different ways to help Danny, both with school matters as well as ghost fighting activities–because they all knew he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. They began with an easy schedule that could help Danny better make use of his time. At one point, Lancer proposed to let some of the other teachers know about Danny’s secret, but the Fentons reminded him that the information was highly classified. It’s not the sort of thing you can just go around telling people. They had to fill out so much paperwork with the FBI in order to get approval to tell just him. That’s how Mr. Lancer knew that the issue was very serious. He asked how the FBI was keeping it a secret, but all the Fentons could say was that it was classified, and no, they didn’t know either. 

They had been at it for quite a long time when they heard the unmistakable sounds of a fight in the hallway. Mr. Lancer rushed to the door, the Fentons hot on his heels, thankfully, because this wasn’t your average school fight, this was a ghost fight. The three adults arrived at the scene just in time to see none other than Danny Phantom flung into a row of lockers.  

Jack and Maddie decided that it was about time they joined in the hunting, that was a big part of their plan, after all. They really needed to be more alert to ghost activity during school hours so Danny could concentrate more in class. Class that Danny certainly wasn’t present for right now, for obvious reasons. 

While his parents had stayed to talk with Mr. Lancer, Danny had made his way to his next class. Everything was going well, that is until Danny’s ghost sense went off. He had run out of the classroom, calling a lame excuse to his teacher on the way.

Danny found the ghost in the computer lab, it was none other than Technus. Danny had lost count of which ‘version’ he was supposed to be at this point, and he didn’t really care. Danny only knew that he was up to no good.

Every time Danny fought Technus, he boasted that his plan was better than the last and that he wouldn’t be shouting it out, and each time he failed. This time wasn’t any different. They started in the computer lab, but Danny managed to lure the ghost outside, away from all the technology in the building, only denting a few lockers on the way. Once they were on the lawn, Danny was able to create a distraction and it was in that moment that his parents attacked Technus, weakening him enough that Danny could capture him in the Fenton Thermos. 

While the Fentons joined the fight, ecto-guns blazing, it was time for Mr. Lancer to play his part. Danny had probably used an oldie, but a goodie: the Toilet Excuse to get out of class, but it wouldn’t be enough for how long this fight was going to take. He knew which teacher Danny had this period, so he just needed to find a place near that classroom to wait for him and walk him personally back to class. Perhaps he could say that he’d needed the boy’s help carrying some extra textbooks or something. Danny would likely need a place to transform back–something that it would take Mr. Lancer a bit of time to get used to–but he did manage to find a good spot for that. 

Once their battle was over, Danny handed the thermos to his parents so they could put Technus back in the Ghost Zone. In turn, his parents gave Danny encouraging nods and proud smiles. It was nice to be appreciated, but Danny really needed to get back to class. He was surprised to find Mr. Lancer waiting for him just inside the school to walk Danny back to his class, fake thanking him for helping with something in his office. When they reached the classroom, Lancer mentioned to Danny’s teacher that he had found Danny just outside the bathroom, and remembered something that he needed help with and Danny was perfect for the job. That explanation to Danny’s teacher was enough to avoid detention again, but it gained him snickers from his classmates. While being the butt of a joke wasn’t ideal, it was a whole lot better than detention. This whole situation might just work out after all.  

Danny took a seat at his desk and decided to concentrate as much as possible on today’s lesson. Sam and Valerie tried to ask what happened, but Danny only gave them a quick thumbs up and a smile to let them know it went well. He would give them a more detailed explanation after class or during their lunch break. It was times like these that they really missed Tucker, but they knew that with him being the mayor, private tutoring was the best option for him. 

At least for the rest of the day Danny wouldn’t need to worry about getting detention or fighting ghosts. He knew that his parents were going to be patrolling around the school, Lancer had his back at school, and the ghost of the day-or at least for the time being- was trapped in the Fenton Thermos. He could just relax with his girlfriend and Valerie, and he would get to do a video call with Tucker during the lunch break. 

Things were looking good, after all this time, even though it had been a lot of new things to get used to. Danny never thought –even when he had seen it before– that it would feel so good telling people his secret. Of course, he wasn’t just going to go around telling people left and right, it had to be to select people. Letting Mr. Lancer into the fold had been more strategy than anything else, but it was still nice to have him on the team. 

The day ended without further incident. Team Phantom enjoyed talking with their mayor friend during lunch. They caught him up with the situation at the school and told him how Lancer had reacted to the news. Tucker, likewise, updated them with the news of his personal proposal. 

Because the last mayor had been a crazy halfa, and his teenage ghost hunters were fired and dismissed, the whole town had been under siege by ghost attacks. Something needed to be done, and it was going to take a lot of work for the city to recover. Tucker, as the mayor selected after a major disaster like this, would have to step up to the plate. It would be a full time job, with no time to go to school. So, the rest of the politicians and personnel of the city council decided that the best course of action was that he should have private tutors, since he hadn't graduated from high school just yet. Tucker, since winning the election and realising, or rather learning, that he wouldn’t be able to go to Casper high any longer, began working on a proposal. It was as follows: he would serve as mayor until the next election, at which point he would leave his position until later in life, should he wish to run for re-election. With his parents' help, Tucker had proposed his return to Casper high in the next school year to the city council. They had approved it, but in the meantime, Tucker had to pass his classes and learn more about politics, especially those of Amity Park. He was allowed to communicate with his old friends only during breaks, however his private tutors made sure that his schedule was similar to what he was used to. Those tutors also knew about his friends and about Danny’s secret identity, but they wouldn't say a word, not only because they got a ‘friendly’ warning from the FBI, but because they had always considered him a hero, even before he had become recognized as both a local and global hero by everyone else. 

Danny Fenton was happy with how everything seemed to be working out. His parents and Mr. Lancer had come up with a good plan to help him out during school hours. They helped him to create a better way to manage his time after school that not only would allow him to keep fighting ghosts when needed, but to also just be a teen. He would have time to take care of his responsibilities, homework and chores and the like, as well as to have fun with his friends. Danny never thought that all he needed was a little help with time management. His grades were already improving, and with the rest of the school year to go, he knew he would pass his classes.

Just like that, the time flew by and the week turned into the weekend. It was finally time to look for Danielle. To be continued :D :D

[ladylynse]

Chapter 14 [FF | AO3] of Revision: Maddie can’t deny it any longer. If ectoplasm can become blood, there’s more to this story than she ever realized.

Beginning | Previous

-|-

“What could she have possibly meant by that?” Maddie said to Alicia as she paced around the kitchen. Alicia was sitting at the table with her cup of coffee, watching Maddie’s antics with a long-suffering expression on her face and using silence for the deadly weapon it was. “She’s important to Danny, and I doubt it’s a stretch to say that he’s important to her, so if she had something important to say, why wouldn’t she have told him earlier?”

Alicia took a long sip from her coffee. Or she pretended to, anyway. Maddie wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t have burnt her mouth if she’d really done that, considering she’d just made it. Much as Alicia pretended (however poorly) to be above drama, she did love her theatrics. And making a point. And watching her sister stew, which Maddie was, which only made this worse.

“Don’t tell me I should have asked her,” added Maddie, “because you know why I couldn’t ask her.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You were thinking it.” Alicia hummed a noncommittal note that had Maddie scowling. “You were.”

“If you’re so sure of what I’d say to you, why are we even talking about this?”

“Because it doesn’t make sense!” Maddie stopped and turned to Alicia. “Think about it. What does my being here possibly change that makes talking to Danny suddenly more important than it was before?”

“It was you being you, if I recall correctly,” drawled Alicia, “which is a turn of phrase I’m assuming means a mite more to you than it does to me.”

“It should,” groused Maddie, “but instead, everything is making less sense.”

“Because everything in your life makes so much sense.”

“It used to! Or at least— At least I thought it did.” Maddie pulled out a chair and finally joined Alicia at the table. She rested her head in one hand, pushing back her hair as she looked over at her sister. “How are you just—accepting all of this? You were never drawn to the paranormal like I was. Doesn’t this unnerve you?”

“You know what I’ve been through and you think this is going to unnerve me?”

“It unnerves me,” admitted Maddie as she straightened up to lean back in the chair, “so sue me if I’m a little surprised that you seem to be taking to this like a duck to water.”

“Not sure I’d say that myself. I don’t have a nose for this kind of thing like you do. For me, it’s the reality right now, so I’ll deal with it. I’ll take whatever’s thrown at me and roll with it before I crumble in front of those kids when they need me.”

There was a familiar stubbornness in Alicia’s voice as she said the words, and Maddie realized that Alicia was simply refusing to acknowledge the possibility that this might ever get to be too much because she simply wouldn’t let it. She’d been Maddie’s rock for ages, she was a beloved pillar of her community, she was going to be there for Danny and Danielle in whatever capacity they wished—

That mindset would take her far, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t crack under the pressure eventually.

“You don’t need to take all of this on yourself—” started Maddie, but a bark of bitter laughter cut her off.

“I’d decided to take on everything by myself long before the ink was dry on that divorce paperwork. I’d been doing it for long enough by then already, and I’m not about to change now. You might be happier facing things with Jack by your side, but I’m better off now than I was.”

“I know, but—”

“But nothing. The kids need me, so I’ll be here for them. That’s that. Why do you think Danny came to me in the first place?” Alicia’s tone made it clear she wasn’t going to wait for an answer, so Maddie didn’t try to get a word in. “You’ve all visited me often enough that he decided he could trust me. Do we need to go through this again?”

“No, no, I just— It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about you.” Maddie chewed on her lip. “But I can’t see how I’m supposed to factor into this, either. What changed?”

“With Danielle? Might’ve been you staying and not shooting. Far as she’s concerned, that’s a change.”

Maddie winced. “That’s not what I mean. I— You’re you. Meaning she knew just by being in the same room as me that I’m not a ghost and I’m not being overshadowed. But if that were even being called into question and she could determine who I was on sight, why wouldn’t she have done that in the first place?”

Alicia hummed, took another sip of coffee, and then said, “Maybe she didn’t want to risk being wrong as much as she didn’t want to risk being right.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Which should fit right in, considering you’ve been saying how much sense this whole situation makes.”

Maddie huffed and crossed her arms. “Don’t pretend like you understand everything.”

“I don’t. But I can accept that I won’t understand everything, ‘specially not right away, unlike a certain someone I know and love.”

“But it still— I didn’t do anything differently!” Maddie threw up her hands. “I don’t understand what changed. Why she really wanted to see me when I don’t think she wanted to see me at all. Why that confirmed whatever it is that she has to talk to Danny about.”

“Have you considered that maybe she didn’t want to tell him?”

“What?”

“You know how protective he is of her. Maybe that goes both ways where it can. Maybe she wanted to protect him from whatever this is and now she realizes she can’t, so the best she can do for both of them is loop him in.”

Maddie frowned. “Even if that’s the case, she’s in no state to protect anyone, and she must recognize that. I know why she wouldn’t have said anything to me, but would she trust you enough yet to ask you for help on it if she wanted to keep it from Danny?”

“Would you trust someone that much if you only met them two days ago, even if they’ve been helping you?”

“In these circumstances? I would if I knew I couldn’t handle it myself. Which is why I’m worried. There’s something else going on, and we’re going to misstep if we can’t plan for it, but— I can’t even broach the subject with her. I know she doesn’t trust me, and I don’t expect her to trust me, but I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of what she knows and we don’t.”

“So is now my cue to tell you—”

“I’m not going back upstairs to ask her! If you’ll recall, I just said I couldn’t.”

“I was going to say, ‘Is now my cue to tell you Danny’ll fill us in if we need to know?’”

“But if it’s important, we will nee—”

“If what’s important?”

Maddie startled and turned to see Danny standing in the kitchen entrance. “Whatever Danielle has to tell you.”

Danny grimaced. “Yeah, I talked to her before coming down here. I’m not entirely happy that you saw her when I wasn’t there, but it was her choice, and she made it for a reason, and we can talk about that later. But it’s….” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Can you just, like, not question everything I say for two minutes?”

“Oh, sweetie—”

“She can if I duct tape her mouth shut,” Alicia offered, and the smile on Danny’s face at the prospect was the only reason Maddie didn’t snap back a retort.

“No tape necessary, I promise.”

Danny joined them at the table. “Okay. Here goes. I thought Vlad had given up on the whole cloning thing—”

“Cloning?” Maddie exclaimed, only to let out a yelp as Alicia kicked her under the table.

“—but apparently he hasn’t,” Danny continued without acknowledging her outburst, “and apparently Dani hasn’t been travelling the world as extensively as I’d assumed. She’s been staying off Vlad’s radar because she knows how to do that better than me, but ever since we stabilized her, she’s been growing into her powers and— I don’t think that part matters. Point is, you didn’t catch her because she just happened to be passing through town.”

Maddie opened her mouth, but the roiling dread inside her drowned any words she could think to say.

“I don’t think Vlad’s original plan matters at this point because he’s going to be making things up on the fly, but you need to believe me when I say he’s up to something. And if you can’t do that, I’ll just— I’ll ask Dora if you can stay with her until this is sorted out because at least Vlad can’t track you there.”

This was not the time to ask who Dora was (though the name was vaguely familiar) or why Vlad wouldn’t be able to track Maddie—or anyone, presumably—at her place.

Clearly, though, Danny did not think it was the time for her to question everything else he had said, despite Maddie very dearly wanting to question it.

Cloning? That alone opened up a terrifying can of worms, mostly because she doubted Danny was talking about cloning bacteria—or a ghost’s ability to duplicate themselves. And the rest of it….

Danielle knowing enough about Vlad’s methods to stay off his radar—not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination, she was realizing—and being in town because she was trying to counter whatever he’d planned now? Something Maddie had apparently interrupted? Something that Danielle had still thought—somehow—she’d had handled until she’d seen Maddie herself?

Or had Danielle not thought that she’d handled it but thought she’d still have time to handle it, whatever it was, only to now realize she didn’t?

That seemed more likely, though that possibility brought Maddie no closer to determining what was actually going on.

“I believe you,” Maddie said, since she’d be a right fool to deny Danny now when she still had proof of Vlad’s plan, whatever it truly was, tucked away in her pocket, “but I would like more details if you have them.”

Danny blew out a breath. “Jazz basically pushed a kill switch on anything Vlad had in the field, but obviously that didn’t work. I’m not sure he’d have been able to counter that without Jazz noticing, so maybe he divided up his resources and set up something Tucker hasn’t found yet to deploy all those beetles. Both sets of them, I mean. Not just the ones that were attacking Dani.”

“So you and Tucker—and Sam—check up on him routinely to keep track of what he’s doing?” Maddie asked carefully, hoping Danny wouldn’t take the question the wrong way. She didn’t mean to question their competence or the necessity of it, but the ease with which he said it….

It was like he was talking about a long-running family prank, a game in which the warring sides had gleeful fun with each other, not something as terrible as what was apparently the reality.

How bad had things gotten if he could say something like this so offhandedly, as if it weren’t an absurd thing to do, to need to do? As if doing so carried little to no risk? For it to be so commonplace as to be routine—

“We try, but at this point, I’m wondering if he struck a deal with Technus and set up something in the Ghost Zone to work on all the shady stuff where we wouldn’t immediately know where to go to trash it. Dani hasn’t found it if he did, but….” Danny shrugged. “He’s got something somewhere, even if it’s just farther underneath his mansion. I mean, if he was working with you to find me, he must’ve let you on his computer at some point, and there’s no way he’d risk letting you find that stuff yourself. Plus whatever the deal with Dad is. You might want to think it’s coincidental, but Vlad has to be behind Dad going missing in the Ghost Zone or someone would’ve found him by now. Assuming Dad’s still in the Ghost Zone.”

“You’ll find Jack before anything too terrible happens to him,” Alicia commented. “Man might not have the memory of an elephant, but he’s certainly resilient as a cockroach.”

Danny’s lips twitched. “I hope so. But Vlad doesn’t just want Dad out of the way, he wants him out of the picture completely. And if he can distract you….” Danny hesitated. “Look. I don’t know how to put this delicately, but you remember when I said Vlad tries getting my DNA all the time?”

“I really don’t like where this is going.”

“Yeah, it gets worse.” Danny made a face. “Vlad’s been relatively quiet for a while. He stopped sending Skulker to kidnap me and played at being the dutiful mayor and everything—”

“Kidnapping?” She and Jack were well aware of the possibility, of course, because Jazz and Danny could both be targets of a particularly stupid ghost, given that they were the children of ghost hunters, but she hadn’t—

“Just— Ignore that for now. It’s not important. Point is, I let my guard down, Dani let her guard down, and Vlad got the better of us both. Dani feels rotten because she’s convinced this is her fault since she didn’t figure out what Vlad was doing until he’d mostly done it, and then she tried to deal with it herself and—”

“None of this is her fault,” Maddie interrupted. “And if you’re thinking it, this isn’t your fault, either.”

Danny sighed. “I know that, and you know that, but put it aside for now, okay? That’s just context for this next bit.”

“All of this is just context?”

“Vlad’s experimented with human cloning,” Danny said bluntly, “and I don’t mean stem cells or whatever. And when he gets what he wants, he’s got some way of accelerating aging. I dunno how he does it, but that always messed with his clones. Pretty much one wrong move on their part and they’d start turning into goo. But now he’s figured that part out. They don’t destabilize anymore.”

Maddie stared.

Alicia didn’t move, her coffee cup frozen halfway to her mouth.

Danny, apparently, was through pulling his punches. “I know he didn’t get a mid-morph sample from me, but maybe he decided his clone didn’t have to be a perfect clone of me and instead could be a chimera and he stabilized them with his own mid-morph sample. Except Dani thinks he didn’t just stop at me this time, because I’m not the only one he’s ever wanted.”

Maddie opened her mouth again, but words still failed her.

“Look. There’s no sugar-coating it. It’s as horrifying and straight up gross as it sounds, and I’m not one hundred percent sure of Vlad’s endgame, but I know he won’t settle for an inferior copy if he thinks he can manipulate his way into getting the real thing. Which always used to involve getting rid of Dad and then swooping in and marrying you, except now that you know, well, enough, that’s a harder sell and he knows it.”

But Jack was in the Ghost Zone. Missing. Going in had been his idea, but Vlad had encouraged the idea of him going alone, and now—

Danny must have told Danielle about Jack.

Had Danielle thought that Maddie might not be the person who’d terrorized her but might instead be another tool of Vlad’s? And something about seeing Maddie had tipped her off that Maddie hadn’t been replaced even if she’d suspected Vlad might make such an attempt? Had Danielle agreed to see Maddie in order to verify her suspicions? Had Maddie’s persistence in wanting to see her been what had made the difference? Had it been the fact that she’d traded in her usual HAZMAT suit for casual clothes—and then burned those and found herself in an old set of Alicia’s?

Alicia huffed. “Regular bullets won’t hurt him, I’m guessing? Gotta be those special ghost ones?”

“Alicia!”

“Just saying, if you need anything, it’s all still stored in the same place. Broom closet and corner cabinet in the back room. Trigger lock on the gun’s got the combination you think it does.”

“We are not going to shoot him.”

“Mom’s right, it wouldn’t help,” Danny said, as if that were the problem and not the fact that she’d very recently learned that having all the appearances of a ghost didn’t mean one had no humanity. Alicia hadn’t been joking—Maddie wasn’t sure if she’d meant shoot to kill or shoot to maim, though admittedly she had her suspicions—but as sickening as the situation that Danny described clearly was, there had to be proper channels for them to go through, hadn’t there? On the ghost side, if not the human one?

Not that a human cell could hold a ghost without modifications.

Not that very many humans outside of Amity Park would believe any part of the story.

Did ghosts have their own laws? Their own legal system? Was there a ghost jail?

Could a ghost jail hold a human or would it be as effective as a human jail trying to hold a ghost?

“He’d just go intangible,” continued Danny, “steal it from you, and turn it on you. Way safer not to pull any weapons on him. Unless Mom thinks she can make something out of the broken tech she scavenged. That would work. Or at least distract him. But I don’t know how much time there is to do that.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Maddie said. She pulled the beetles—whole and pieces—from her pockets and took some small comfort in the weight of the metal in her hand. Weaponry was familiar ground for her. She and Jack had made do on scraps before; she could do so again, even on a time crunch, now that she had something concrete to start with.

“I’ll go grab one of my toolboxes,” Alicia said as she stood. “You two keep talking; I’ll catch up.”

“There’s not a whole lot more to say,” Danny admitted as Alicia walked out of the room. Maddie knew Alicia had a supply of commonly used tools in the kitchen, meaning she rightly suspected Maddie would need a wrench to get into the guts of this particular invention. “This is who Vlad really is. It’s one of many reasons Jazz and I hate his guts.”

“Danielle, too, I’m assuming.” If she didn’t, she’d hardly know to keep an eye on him in the first place.

“Yeah, but it’s complicated.”

How?

Maddie bit back the question. With everything Danny had just told her, if he’d wanted to elaborate, he would have. If she asked, he wouldn’t answer.

Right?

Was she respecting his boundaries if she didn’t push him for information or was she giving him the impression that she didn’t care and had only been pretending, be it for well- or ill-intentioned reasons? Was he giving her an opportunity that she wasn’t taking or would he be grateful she didn’t ask for a story he didn’t think she deserved to know? Was there a way to ask any of that without it reflecting poorly on her?

Maddie asked the important question instead: “How do we protect Danielle?”

“You do that,” Danny said, waving vaguely at the broken technology on the table. “I can charge up your final project if it doesn’t work on its own like I do with the thermoses.”

Maddie blinked. “Wait, you’re the reason the Fenton Thermoses work after sitting in the lab for a few days? It’s not that they’ve absorbed enough residual ecto-energy to maintain a constant level?”

A sheepish smile crossed Danny’s face. “There might be a few things I should probably tell you guys about your inventions. They’re, um, not usually as broken as you think they are.”

“I can imagine,” Maddie murmured. Then, because she couldn’t think of a way to put it delicately, she asked, “Is there something of ours I should try to mimic with this?”

“Not really. Based on what they were shooting earlier, your max output is probably going to be somewhere between a lipstick and a wrist ray. I kinda doubt you have what you need to build a Spectre Deflector or a Plasmius Maximus.”

“A what?”

“It’s what Vlad used on me when he stranded us at his cabin in Colorado. It shorts out ghost powers.”

When Vlad had stranded them—? No. No, now wasn’t the time to ask about that. She needed to know about this invention. “How?”

“I dunno. It looks like a taser. It shocks you. It hurts. It takes a few hours to recover. I didn’t take the thing apart before I destroyed it; the last thing I wanted was to get caught with it and for you to get ideas.”

Maddie pursed her lips. For someone like Danny—like Vlad, like Danielle—a shock to the system at a high enough charge might indeed be enough to scatter their ghostly energy. She knew from earlier experiments that ghosts could be destabilized and reform into the same ghost—or at least a new ghost with the same ecto-signature as the old one—as long as the initial spark of their core wasn’t completely destroyed.

Well.

Destabilized was the wrong word, really. Destabilized implied that it couldn’t reform. Dispelled or dispersed were better ways of describing it.

Depending on its strength, a ghost could ignore or be weakened by a mild shock, knocked out by something a bit stronger, dispelled by something stronger still, and only completely obliterated at levels of coulombs she and Jack had deemed too dangerous to build into their weaponry. Unlike with their ectoplasmic-based weaponry, a human could be hurt just as easily as ghost with that sort of weapon, and the current levels of a stun gun wouldn’t cut it when it came to destabilizing ghosts that were more advanced than the blobs they’d typically trapped and studied. The ectopus Jack had caught the one time had been entirely unfazed by something that would stop a human in their tracks.

She and Jack still used electrical discharge in some of the weapons—she rather favoured the compromise she’d settled on with her staff, even if it did operate at non-obliteration levels—but they’d been coating their syringes in Fenton Anti-Ghost Goo long before they’d been filling them with ecto-suppressants. The chemical suppressant hadn’t come until after their experimentation with electricity. They weren’t the equivalent of tasing a ghost but did contain elements of phase-proof foam.

Jack’s first attempt at Ecto-Dejecto had been a failure, strengthening ghosts instead of weakening them, but further trialling had allowed them to realize they could achieve their goal by hampering a ghost’s ability to control its own ectoplasm. Ectoplasm that came in contact with their phase-proofing formula was rendered inert, temporarily losing its ability to turn intangible, so taking elements of that formula and tweaking it into something less viscous, something they could more easily inject into a ghost to the point that it couldn’t escape—

That they couldn’t escape.

That a ghost like Danielle wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Mom, are you listening to me?”

Right.

The problem at hand.

Danny could have been giving her important details before he’d noticed that she wasn’t giving him her full attention—or any attention, really.

Maddie felt her face warm as she realized Danny’s reprimand had come with Alicia’s return. “Sorry, honey. I’m afraid I got distracted thinking about our ecto-suppressants. I can’t mimic the formula—I don’t have the right materials—but I might be able to deliver a strong enough shock to Vlad to disrupt his ghost form.”

“Shock?” Alicia echoed as she dropped a toolbox and two cases of wrenches on the table by Maddie. “Do I need to run to Johnson’s for a cattle prod?”

“That might help,” agreed Danny. “It would be easier than booster cables and a car battery. I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to rig something like that up without, uh, bad things happening. It would be safer for you guys, too, since that won’t kill you even if Vlad does get his hands on it.” He paused. “I think.”

Maddie sighed and pulled the set of Allen wrenches towards her, hoping Alicia had a small enough set buried inside the larger case to be useful. “Please let me try talking to him before you attack.”

“Talking doesn’t work,” Danny said. “If anything, he’ll just use it as an opportunity to make you hesitate. Or doubt me. Again. Despite ample evidence. Believe me, this is not the first time he’s done it.”

“I know more this time. It’s not going to be like other times.”

“Only if you don’t let it be like other times. Trust me, okay? I’m not saying you have to shock him or blast him with whatever you can make the second he shows his face, but don’t stop me when I do it.”

Maddie looked to Alicia for help. As far as the law was concerned, Vlad wasn’t a ghost. A premediated attack would hardly reflect well on them if this went poorly—which it may, given Plasmius’s strength as a ghost and Vlad’s fistful of strings he could pull to get some human help. Alicia might joke about using weapons not meant for ghosts, but surely she would realize what crossing that line would do if she thought about it?

“You hate the idea, huh?” Alicia didn’t look surprised—but then again, neither did Danny. “You forget that he already attacked Danielle? We’re back on my property, and I’m more than willing to protect her from someone like him.”

“I didn’t forget. I’m simply….” Maddie worried her bottom lip as she tried to gather her spinning thoughts. “Vlad’s powerful. From the sounds of it, he’s perfectly happy to use his wealth to get exactly what he wants. If he goes after us, we can’t defend against that. Neither of us have the funds to cover the cost of going to court to fight this if it goes wrong. Jack and I would have to sell off our lab equipment and patents just for lawyer fees, and you….”

“Okay,” Danny said, “I’ll admit Tuck and Sam and I are still working on gathering evidence of him infringing on your patents, but he’s done enough that we’ve gotta be able to get him on something.” His pause was too short for her to formulate a response, and he’d continued before she had a chance to open her mouth. “I’m assuming Jazz told you he’s supplying the Red Huntress with all her stuff? Second suit aside, since that was Technus? Anyway, we’re trying to gather solid evidence for all the other definitely illegal stuff, too, not just the creepy stuff. So, if it’ll make you feel better, fine, you two can fight solely with weapons meant to target ghosts. Doesn’t mean you can’t break apart a cattle prod and use it for parts.”

He had a point.

“Would Johnson’s even carry cattle prods?”

“Wouldn’t suggest it if they didn’t.”

Maddie still didn’t like this—didn’t like any of it—but Danny had a better handle on the situation than she did; pretending otherwise was foolish.

And having a few more functioning parts to work with would help. She doubted Alicia would have been keen on replacing half her kitchen appliances after Maddie was through looking for things she could use.

“All right,” she said, trying to muster up a smile for Danny’s sake, “let’s see how much we can get done before….” Before Vlad shows up. Before everything turns on its head again. Before the mistakes of the past come back to haunt me. To haunt us. Because I never looked for the signs or acknowledged them when they were right in front of me, because I kept making assumptions and mistakes and not listening and—and—

“Before— What’s your polite way of saying it, before crud hits the fan?” Alicia suggested dryly.

Danny smirked. “That’s one way to put it.”

-|-

Continued on FFN | AO3

[world-peace-and-neebs-gaming]

"I had a beer and a shot of Jack Daniels before I came here...I should not have had an 1/8th of shrooms, I'll tell ya that much right now..."

-DORA FFS

[l0ngschl0ngking]

last updated: 02.05.2023

Hi there!

And welcome to my masterlist :)! Here you can find all of my works.

fandoms and their masterlists are listed below - though I mostly write for Pedro Pascal characters.

you can find light summaries and pairings under each fic title. Works with NSFW content are rated 18+ and noted next to each fic title too.

comments and reblogs are much appreciated :)!

Characters I write for:

Javier Peña

Francisco “Catfish” Morales

Jack “Agent Whiskey” Daniels

Marcus Pike

Max Phillips

Joel Miller

Tim Rockford

Dieter Bravo

*more characters will be added over time, these are just the ones I already wrote for/have works about them in my drafts

MASTERLIST HERE

Characters I write for:

Harwin Strong

Aegon II Targaryen

Aemond Targaryen

* I am on a kind of hiatus (?) when it comes to HOTD characters, however I do plan to finish the works (2) I have of them in my drafts eventually

MASTERLIST HERE

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - 38

PREV

If it weren’t for the fact that he and Riko had stumbled across a truly traumatizing video of his birth that they had watched secretly in Tetsuji’s office when he was away on a business trip one weekend Kevin would believe that he was born with an Exy racquet in his hand. But the image that is seared into his retinas to this day has proven that he came into this world empty handed.

That doesn’t change the fact that Kevin has spent the majority of his life utterly and completely submersed in Exy. He was trained as a Raven, he was court, he was a champion as both a Raven as a Fox and if he had his way he’d leave college with more Championships under the orange and white than the black and red.

Exy was everything in the world to him.

He could overlook many personality defects if someone brought something to the Court.

Apathetic five foot nothing who was more likely to stab him than shake his hand? Well, he’s the best goalie that Kevin had ever seen in his entire life (and that was saying something).

Tight ass who has anger management issues and will not shut the fuck up about his girlfriend now that he’s not even allowed to have? Well, he is a very solid backliner who has excellent ball handling skills (even if Aaron keeps telling him to stop saying it like that or why he keeps yelling that he’s straight).

Overly touchy, too emotional, will not shut the fuck up about his fiancé in Germany? Well, he is a very solid backliner who is great at rebounds (Kevin doesn’t get why Nicky gets mad when he says that or why he brings up Erik).

Guy who actively dislikes him and is dying for any chance to punch him and also being overly attached to his friends? He’s a great enforcer on the court and had the stamina to play far longer than the other two backliners (Why Dan always said “yeah he does” whenever Kevin commented on Matt’s stamina he will never understand, and he also doesn’t want to.)

Suspicious kid from Millport with a mouth that could strip paint and a past so shrouded in mystery that it even had Andrew perking up in interest? Well, he’s the fastest Striker in the game and the only person that has ever kept up with Kevin’s obsession with the sport. (There was the minor downside that he was the son of the Butcher and almost died before the championships, but Neil pulled through.)

He tolerated all of them and now they’re his best friends.

There are some who he does find personally objectionable but so long as Jack and Sheena manage to continue to be good on the court he doesn’t care about the many many faults in their personalities. They’re his teammates, they aren’t his friends.

He accepted that he might not like any of the others that came onto the team. For the most part he had never given a shit about before the Foxes, content with his brotherhood with Riko even if it wasn’t…perfect. Then he became friends with FF and FF had done him a truly large favor and Kevin wanted to pay that back the best way he knew how. Through his truly infallible health advice and through perfectly crafted smoothies.

Then Daniel appeared with the truth that FF truly met all requirements to be a Fox and Kevin tasted his own smoothie for the first time.

He considered both revelations to be equally upsetting.

Still…

FF was one of the best dealers Kevin had ever had the pleasure to be on Court with. The man knew his position well and interrupted offensives with an enviable ease that made Kevin wish to possibly strap some sort of device onto him and figure out how he did certain things.

It wasn’t that far off to believe that a man raised in the same environment as FF could possibly have similar talents and since Lisa fucked off back to some small town cult they really did need a good sub. Sheena was a good offensive dealer but they had games coming up where defense would be imperative and FF did not have the stamina for a full game and likely would not for quite some time considering he’d be recovering from being stabbed.

So, he’d defended Daniel’s right to try out.

At first, he had felt vindicated. Daniel kept up quite well during the initial warm-ups. Kept pace with Jack, Sheena, Aaron, Andrew, and Nicky. Kevin had been bringing up the rear mostly to make sure that Andrew didn’t stab the guy during warm-ups.

Then it was time for the first precision drill.

The other thing about how Kevin was raised is that he was raised surrounded only by the best of the best. The Ravens were at the top of the Collegiate hierarchy. The National Court used their stadium for practice.

The worst Exy that Kevin had ever seen in his entire life up until the moment that Daniel took hold of an Exy racquet was still only the worst team in Collegiate Division 1 Exy.

Then Kevin watched the ball go so wide that the entire court went silent.

All of the drills that followed were as bad, if not worse.

Kevin felt himself start to vibrate with anger the longer it went on. He started to shout corrections at Daniel but the younger man merely rolled his eyes, “I think I know what I’m doing.” He would say before pointedly proving that he did not.

Kevin only realized nearly an hour in that he had wasted his entire practice shouting himself hoarse at the actual waste of human life that was Daniel Stanton.

Kevin could accept being bad at Exy and having an inoffensive personality. Kevin could accept being good at Exy and having a bad personality.

Kevin could not accept being bad at Exy and having a bad personality.

Coach Wymack called the practice to an end and Kevin thought that he’d manage to keep his anger mostly inside (he is ignoring the near hour of practice he spent screaming directions) when Daniel decided to deliver the Coup de Grace.

Sweat soaking his bangs, panting, and without a single thing done correctly (even the way he was currently holding his borrowed Exy racquet set Kevin’s teeth on edge) the man had the gall, the gumption, and the absolute AUDACITY to come up to the coach.

“So, where do I sign?” he asks.

Kevin sees red and unleashes hell.

***

This was the most fun Andrew has had at a practice since he started having to come to them.

The look of embarrassment on Daniel’s face as Kevin accurately tore into everything he did wrong on the Court and every personal failing that Kevin could home in on. His attention shifted away to FF sitting in the stands near the University official who was shaking her head at the obvious poor showing. The University may have wanted Daniel around to spruce up the Fox’s marketability but even they couldn’t let someone so obviously awful onto one of their few Division 1 teams.

FF was sat sipping one of Kevin’s god awful smoothies looking completely unshocked by Daniel’s showing.

Kevin turned his attention to FF, “You said he was good!” Kevin points at the freshman as he continues to sip the drink.

Andrew interrupts, “He never said he was good.” He remembers the conversation so exactly and there are few things he loves more than having the opportunity to rub it in Kevin’s face when the man is wrong, “He said ‘Daniel has always been athletic’ never anything about him being good.” Andrew reminds.

Kevin whips back around to Daniel, “Have you ever even played Exy?” Kevin demands.

“I didn’t think it’d be hard to pick up.” Daniel argues crossing his arms defensively.

It sets Kevin off on another furious rant.

Andrew had thought that FF didn’t have a mean bone in his body and he’s quite pleased to have been proven wrong. The thought that FF had let Daniel get all the way into embarrassing himself in such a way?

Andrew had to give him props.

“How does it feel getting to watch this idiot crash and burn?” he asks coming to the glass.

“Really thought he could manage it if I could.” FF says with a shrug that has Aaron bark out a laugh.

“You really figured?” Aaron asks coming to stand next to Andrew.

FF just shrugs again, “I mean I also started not knowing how to play and now I’m on a pretty good team.” He says as if FF starting as a child not knowing how to play is the same as someone walking in demanding a spot on a college team.

Nicky lets out a laugh.

“Oh, Smithy I could kiss you.” Nicky laughs and makes his way towards the Court entrance to likely do exactly that moving past a Daniel who was so red in the face with embarrassment and anger that he looked as if he was about to turn purple.

Andrew tuned in.

“…small pond. The only reason you ever felt like you were worth anything is that Smiths was too nice to put you in your place before now!” Kevin was probably talking about medium-sized fish in a small pond but Andrew didn’t really care to know.

“Are you going to let him talk to me like this?!” Daniel finally turned to Wymack.

“Kevin, you shouldn’t talk to the public like that.” Wymack says without a hint of chastisement in his voice.

Kevin still straightened at the reminder, “You’re right. Sorry coach.” Kevin sneered at Daniel, “Get off the court before you taint it.” He hisses.

“You’re really not going to sign me?!” Daniel demands.

“Why would I?” Wymack asks with a raised brow.

“You took a chance on John!” Daniel points towards FF.

Andrew watches as Wymack’s face does something he’d rarely seen it do, it goes utterly and completely cold. “I don’t take chances with my kids.” He spat, “I give my kids a second chance. Get the hell off of my court.” He hisses.

Daniel’s face purples further before he stomped off of the Court.

“Don’t you dare walk off with that racquet! It’s worth more than you!” Kevin shouts after him and Andrew in that moment realizes that Daniel is going to do something stupid.

And FF is on the other side of the Plexiglass with only Nicky at his side.

It’s like watching a train crash.

Daniel might say something, but Andrew doesn’t know. He sees Neil rushing as well, his sense of danger always well-honed but Neil had been in Captain mode in the moments before walking some of the sophomore and freshmen through what they had done wrong.

Neither of them will make it in time.

Daniel throws his racquet, and he throws it right at FF barely 5 feet away in the stands.

The Racquet blows past FF’s head and Andrew lets out a breath.

Then before it could crash into the seats behind him and break FF’s hand wrapped around the shaft of the stick and stopped it’s trajectory.

“Your aim really isn’t getting any better by not listening to Kevin’s advice.” Smith says as he twirls the racquet in his hand so that the net was on the ground. “Also, don’t break the equipment, like Kevin said it’s pretty expensive.” He says.

Daniel let out a primal scream but where Andrew had stalled out to watch the miraculous catch Matt Boyd had not. Daniel was tackled to the ground by the backliner, “Absolutely not.” Matt said with a scowl.

“Smithy are you okay?” Andrew hears Nicky ask.

“Yeah, why?” FF asks as if he hadn’t just been attacked but considering everything that Andrew had seen it wouldn’t shock him if Daniel’s attacks were just par for the course back home for FF. “The racquet looks okay too.” He adds.

“Coach Wymack,” The University representative made their way down looking flustered at the outburst of violence.

Obviously not someone who regularly watched Exy or paid attention to their team.

“This is why I wanted absolute control over who does and who doesn’t get a shot here.” Wymack hisses pointing at Daniel as he struggled under Matt.

“You have our sincere apologies for this.” She says looking at Daniel, “He didn’t… we thought he’d be good for the team’s culture but it seems like we may have misjudged-“

“That guy just tried to take Smithy out!” Nicky interrupts.

“I told you he was dangerous.” Neil adds.

“Can someone call campus security?” Matt asks from the ground, “This jackass keeps aiming for kidney punches and I would like to not be pissing blood during winter break.” Matt requests.

“O-of course!” the University representative says fumbling for her cell phone.

Andrew looked at Matt and figured that the backliner had a handle on that particular mess at the moment.

He made his way over to FF and Nicky who was checking over the freshman.

“Nice catch.” He says.

FF shrugs, “It’s my racquet he was borrowing.” He says, “I didn’t want to get a new one.” He adds.

***

FF watches as campus security took custody of Daniel as he continued to spit and scream. There are talks about pressing charges, but FF just wants Daniel off of the campus and away from him. It’s Jack of all people who says that getting a restraining order is a great way to make sure Daniel stays the hell away from him and FF nods consideringly.

Honestly, he’s still mostly in shock he managed to catch his racquet the way he had. His reflexes weren’t quite up to snuff since he’d been trying to catch the netting, but his hand only closed around the shaft.

Embarrassing.

He really hopes no one teases him about his slower reflexes.

“He needs to be charged for assault at least.” Kevin hisses as they watch the security officers take Daniel away.

“It’d be attempted assault.” Aaron corrects.

“He assaulted my eyes with his Exy.” Kevin insists.

“If that counted as assault, don’t you think I would have pressed charges for all the times I have had to see you dance at Eden’s?” Neil asks. “Also, you’re the one that insisted he try-out.” He reminds.

“Smiths told me he was good!” Kevin screeches.

“No, we’ve been over this Day. Smithy said he was athletic.” Nicky reminds. “Are you going to do what Jack suggested?” he asks turning to FF.

“I’d like to see significantly less of Daniel.” FF admits.

“You know he did actually commit assault, if I pee blood I’m making Kevin go buy me pads.” Matt says.

“Whatever.” Kevin says as they continued to make their way back to the dorm to get ready for the day.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

[lionlena]

JackDanielsxf!reader ff WIP

Eggsy left with the girl, and Jack had to swallow the bitter pill of rejection. And he decided that a glass of something stronger would help him a lot. He walked over to the bar and shouted, "One scotch with ice!"

The barmaid turned to him, a grimace of displeasure on her face. Jack smiled and licked his lips.

"Well, well, who do my tired eyes see?"

"Fuck you Jack!" you hissed and he clucked in displeasure.

"I'd love to, but do you really want to do this in such a public place?"

You wanted to punch him in the face to wipe that cocky grin off his face, but then you'd probably lose your job, and... You weren't a rich girl anymore. You stepped closer and growled, "What do you want dick?"

"I already told you, sugar. Scotch with ice," he repeated, and your blood boil.

You had to swallow your pride. You handed him a drink, but you hit the glass too hard on the table and part of the liquid spilled onto the counter. Agent Whiskey shook his head.

"I don't understand why you're so angry?"

"What?!" you choked out.

You couldn't believe he was even asking that question. Was he a complete idiot? Did he have memory loss? Was he a clone of Jack who had only part of his memories implanted?

"Did you hit your head earlier?" you hissed. "You used me. You and your fucking agency! You were only with me because of my brother. You wanted to get him and..." You felt tears stinging your eyes. "You did it."

Jack sighed heavily. "Yes, it was just a mission, but the time spent with you was really nice. And your brother, he was not a good man and he deserved..."

And you lost your nerves. Fuck this job! You grabbed a glass with scotch and splashed it in his face. Whiskey jumped back and looked at you furiously.

"You should thank me! If I hadn't stood up for you, you'd be rotting in jail right now!"

"Should I thank you?!" You came out from behind the bar and pushed him. "I'd rather be in prison, or better... I'd rather be dead like my brother!"

There was something other than anger in Jack's eyes for a moment. A kind of worry.

"Don't say that, sugar. You don't deserve to die."

You snorted and smiled sadly. "Tell that to my family. Tell that to my mom and grandma. I lost everything because of you. Brother, family, home, money, and faith in love. I hate you Jack and I hope you die."

Then you turned and walked away. Leaving fucking Jack Daniels behind.

*

This is just a WIP and I don't know when or if I'll write more. But I had to put it somewhere so I wouldn't forget it ;)

[sk3l3t0n444]

the stages of a breakdown

i feel nothing

why am i sad

wdym its 5 hours later?

im better than all of you eat my dust you stupid fuckers

who am i kidding i fucking suck

yk what sounds good rn...enough jack daniels to get an adult man blackout drunk

FUCK IT IM THE BEST BITCH IN THE WORLD I WANNA DO SHOTS

i never asked to be born into this

ooh dr. pepper with cherries :D

im bored as hell

leave me alone ffs

AGHHHHHHHHHHHH

why arent you paying attention to me :(

go away im gonna bash my skull in

wdym its 7 pm???

its music time :)

how long would it take to suffocate myself in a pillow

why am i like this rn i didnt even do any shots

whats the meaning of life

what happens after death

does anything really matter

im bored x2

every minor thing makes me want to rip out my hair

i have no motivation to do anything anymore...whats wrong with me...

sleepyyyyyyyy

ooh wait dr pepper with cherries!

AND ANIMAL CROSSING FUCK YEAH

HAPPY TIME :D

[thedeadliestdeathtoeverdie]

I remember reading this fic, a amerrit McKinley/J Daniel Atlas/Jack Wilder/ Henley Reeves soulmates, where the name of your soulmate appears as a name on your skin, Daniel was autistic, Lula May was his half sister. I scoured through all of ff net and ao3, and I can't find it

Help me? If you know the name of the story, or if you have a link, or you have file, anything

[luckyxcharm]

1. Despicable Me. GG - Gru 2. Creepshow. W - The Crate 3. American Werewolf In London. G - David Kessler 4. Nightmare On Elm Street. A - Freddy Kruger 5. Alice in Wonderland. HH - Queen Of Hearts 6. Phantasm. Y - The Tall Man 7. Bride Of Frankenstein. E - The Bride 8. The Ring. L - Sadako 9. Halloween. B - Michael Myers 10. The Shining. Q - Jack Torrance 11. It. X - Pennywise 12. Frozen. AA - Prince Hans 13. Candyman. N - Daniel Robitaille 14. Hellraiser. J - Pinhead 15. Portrait Of A Serial Killer. K - Henry 16. Misery. T- Annie Wilkes 17. 101 Dalmations. Z - Cruella de Vil 18. Psycho. P - Norman Bates 19. Se7en. S - John Doe 20. Beauty and the Beast. II - Gaston 21. The Addams Family. I - Morticia 22. Sleeping Beauty. F - Maleficent 23. Hocus Pocus. O - The Sanderson Sisters 24. The Silence Of The Lambs. C - Hannibal Lecter 25. Child's Play. H - Chucky 26. The Creature From The Black Lagoon. U - The Gill-Man 27. The Lion King. DD - Scar 28. Saw. D - Jigsaw 29. Aladdin. BB - Jafar 30. Friday The 13th. M - Jason Voorhees 31. The Little Mermaid. FF - Ursula 32. Peter Pan. CC - Captain Hook 33. The Invisible Man. V - Dr. Jack Griffin 34. Sleeping Beauty. EE - Maleficent 35. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. R - Leatherface