#so they live a state away from each other and danny flies over to duke every weekend

[luxaofhesperides]

(yourlocalcorviddad)

Wait wait wait, can there be more written about the one with Duke going on college tours with Danny??? If it's not too late?!??

(part one)

Danny’s been in love with Duke for years now. It’s always been kept a closely guarded secret, buried under as many wraps as he could get it. He tried to chase after other fleeting crushes in the hopes of moving on from his feelings for Duke, sure that they were never going to go anywhere.

How could they, when they lived states apart? 

The Danny back then would have never believed that he would one day be waking up in Duke’s arms in a hotel far away from home, traveling around the country to figure out a future together. 

Or rather, planning their own futures by each other’s sides, rather than planning to be together throughout college. Danny knows they’ll be spending even more years apart, chasing after their dreams, but it’s a gift just to a a summer together again. So what if it leads them to living on opposite sides of the country? They’ve managed to survive a long distance friendship for this long, they can keep it up for another few years.

And if it comes to it, Danny can just fly to wherever Duke is. He’s only gotten faster over the years, settling into his powers and practicing them so often. 

The future is daunting, but all his nerves are chased away by Duke’s smiles. 

“Can’t believe we’re almost done,” Duke says as they get settled at a restaurant in Massachusetts. They’re both tired, but the giddiness of getting together, of knowing their feelings are requited, keeps them energized and happy despite the long drive across state lines. 

“One state left, yeah?”

“Yeah, and I got Harvard first on the list so we can visit Jazz.”

“You’re the best,” Danny grins, stretching his legs out under the table to lightly knock his foot against Duke’s. 

This entire trip has felt like a daydream to him. It’s one thing being able to travel around the country with Duke, but to be able to kiss him wherever they go? Even now, two weeks later, Danny can’t believe how happy he is.

It makes the uncertainty of his future less scary. It helps distract him from how much he wants to escape his parents, despite how much he loves them.

Their conversation comes to a brief pause as a waiter comes by to take their order, writing everything down before hurrying away to keep up with the rush of activity in the semi-busy restaurant. 

“Oh,” Danny says, suddenly remembering the third person in their group, “Is Peter going to be joining us?” 

Peter, Duke’s chaperones, is odd but funny. He disappears and reappears like a magician, always carries a gun on him, and treats Duke like a little brother the rare moments he’s around. He’s mostly only been with them to act as transport, driving them around from university to university. 

Duke’s face does something strange when he hears Peter’s name, but it’s gone before Danny can figure out what that’s all about.

“Nah,” he answers, “He’s off doing his own thing. You’ve seen how he likes to follow his own plans.”

“So I guess we’re stopping here for the day?”

“Yeah. I’m sure we can find somewhere nice to spend the night, and until then we can explore—” Duke takes a quick moment to check the name of the town they’re in, helpfully stated on the restaurant’s wall of five star reviews “—Baldwinville. I’m sure there’s something for us to do around here.”

“I mean, we don’t have to do anything special, you know. I’d be happy to just to spend the day with you.”

Duke smiles softly, reaching over the table to take hold of Danny’s hand. “I’d like that too. Maybe we should just take some time and explore the place together. Have a relaxing day before we head to Cambridge.”

“That’ll be nice. I feel like it’s been forever since I had a quiet day.”

“Same!” Duke laughs. “Gotham’s wild, man. Did I ever tell you the story of having a barbeque with Killer Croc?”

“No! I can’t believe you kept that from me!”

Duke launches into the story as if it’s any other day, just the two of them hanging out. Danny’s enraptured as he always is when Duke shares his Gotham Stories. He doesn’t falter even when their food is brought out, and Danny tries not to blush too hard when Duke feeds Danny some of his meal, just so he can try it. 

There’s a reason Danny sometimes daydreams about what his wedding with Duke will look like, and it’s because of this.

But that’s getting way ahead of himself! He shoves the thoughts away and focuses on the story, enjoying their lunch together. 

Duke pays when they’re done, as has become routine; Danny had fought him about the first few times before Duke told him that it was all ‘Bruce fucking Wayne’s money so they don’t need to worry about costs.’ It’s a gift from the man himself to Duke, and rejecting it would be rude. 

That hit Danny right in his midwestern politeness and he could do nothing but let it happen, already planning thank you gifts for Bruce Wayne. 

They walk out into the quiet streets of Baldwinville, hand in hand. Summer has the air humid and full of buzzing insects, and the sweet scent of flowers surrounds them as they head down the sidewalk, idly looking into the display windows of each store they pass. The buildings are old, mostly made of brick, and carry a charm that’s lacking in the urban sprawl of Amity Park.

He likes it here. 

Honestly, he’s been liking a lot of what he’s seen in Massachusetts. 

He wouldn’t mind spending a few years here as he gets his Bachelor’s degree. Of course, it all depends on if he gets into the colleges of his choice, but he’s feeling hopeful about his future. He’s worked hard to bring his GPA up after his freshman year, and his ability to juggle and extreme workload has made him a master at getting things done before deadlines and adapting to things at the last minute. 

Danny idly swings their clasped hands between them as they walk, savoring the time they have together. 

The end of their summer trip is creeping up on them and Danny can feel the distance between them start to pull tight. 

They don’t speak until they wander into a park, just a large grassy field filled with wildflowers and bees. There are a few benches placed beneath large trees and Duke leads them over to it to take advantage of the offered shade.

“I can’t believe we’re almost done,” Duke says, sitting down with a sigh. He tugs Danny down after him, and Danny goes willingly. He swings his legs up to drop them across Duke’s lap, leaning against him, his heart fluttering when Duke gets a hand around his thigh to keep him in place. 

“I don’t want this summer to end,” Danny admits. “I’m not ready to leave you again.”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out. I’m not going to be away from you any longer than I have to.”

Danny can’t resist the urge to lean over and kiss him, so he doesn’t. Duke meets him with a smile, keeping the kiss slow and sweet, though the way his hand skates up Danny’s thigh sends molten heat through his veins.

He pulls back before they can escalate any further (one time in public was enough; he’s still embarrassed by it and can’t look Peter in the eyes) and leans his head against Duke’s shoulder. “It would be nice if we could live together.”

“Planning out our future already? Well, in that case, I want a dog and a pet snake.”

“Why a pet snake?”

“Just feel like it.”

“A dog would be nice,” Danny says, “As long as it gets along with Cujo. Not sure about the snake, but if you can take care of it, I’d be fine with having it around.”

“Think you’d ever live in Gotham?”

Danny considers, then shrugs. “Maybe. I dunno, it sounds like a lot and I already dealt with so much just with the ghosts in Amity Park. But I don’t think I’d mind if I was with you.”

The smile that crosses Duke’s face is soft and Danny wants to see it all the time. He loves when Duke gets flustered; Danny just turns red and shy, but Duke becomes soft and adoring in a way that makes Danny feel like he’s holding sunlight, all warm and happy.

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Duke says, not yet able to bite back his smile. “Now that we’ve visited most of the places on our list, do you know which ones you’re going to apply to?”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” Danny answers. He’s been thinking about where he wants to go since summer started and he left school with Mr. Lancer reminder everyone to think about college and preparing their applications. 

It’s been a topic that’s never left his mind since for the past couple months, wondering about what the future holds for him. He honestly never thought he’s get this far, having died at 14 and struggled to adapt to how his life changed after. But he’s gotten back on track with school, has a handle on the ghosts, and the support of his parents to go anywhere he wants. 

For so long he’s been stuck in the routine of school, fight, struggle. There was never any time for anything else, much less planning for the future, and now it’s hanging heavy over his head. 

At least he gets to be with Duke as he figures things out. It’s like going back to their childhood, spending summers together, but they’re both grown up now, walking ever closer to the next stages of their lives. 

He’d love to get into MIT, but he knows the chances of being accepted are insanely low. He’ll apply anyways, just in case, but Danny’s prepared to go somewhere else. Maybe somewhere else in Massachusets. Or maybe go to New York. 

“I really liked the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. If I get in, I think I’m gonna go there,” Danny says, putting his hopes for the future into words.  

“Yeah? I think I might try to get into a college up here too,” Duke replies. “If things work out, we won’t be so far from each other.”

“And even if we do end up far away again, we can make long distance work. Right?”

There’s a worry in the back of his mind that Duke won’t like a long distance relationship, that he’ll be off in college falling in love with someone else, but there’s barely a second before Duke says, “Of course,” as though it’s obvious. Like he hadn’t considered any other option. 

Danny’s heart settles and he shoves away the rest of his general anxieties. There’s no time for that now! 

He intends to enjoy the rest of his summer trip with Duke to the fullest extent possible, which means all of that is a problem for Future Danny.

“Should we go find Peter? We’ll need to figure out where we’re staying tonight.”

“I think we can go a few more hours to a bigger town,” Duke says, “Not that this place isn’t nice, it’s just too quiet. It’s weird.”

“Alright, city boy,” Danny says, standing up from the bench. He pulls Duke up after him, leaning over to kiss the exaggerated offended expression off his face. It’s not like he’s wrong, anyways; Gotham is a big city, and Duke is an urban boy through and through, especially compared to Danny, who comes from a large town and has family living in reclusive rural Appalachia.

“Small towner,” Duke returns, nipping lightly at Danny’s bottom lip and laughing when he squeaks in surprise.

He pulls away before Danny can retaliate, and Danny lets him go, saving his revenge for after they get to their next hotel. 

Their time together is coming to an end soon, and as much as the future terrifies and excites him in equal measure, knowing Duke will be with him, one way or another, gives him the courage to keep going.

He hopes Jazz will be happy that Duke’s dating him now. He’s already hoping to ask her to be a bridesmaid for him.

[dukereviewsxtra]

Duke Reviews Xtra: Alice In Wonderland (Tim Burton)

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Another Duke Reviews Xtra Where Today We're Continuing Our Look At The Movies Of Disney...

Where Last Sunday On Duke Reviews, I Looked At Walt Disney's Animated Version Of Alice In Wonderland, So On Today's Duke Reviews Xtra We're Going To Be Looking At Tim Burton's Version Of The Tale...

In This Remake/Sequel To Lewis Carroll's Tale, A Now Teenage Alice, Returns To Wonderland Or Underland As It's Called In This Movie (It'll Be Explained Later) To Save It From The Tyranny Of The Red Queen By Slaying The Jabberwocky...

Will Alice Win?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland..

The Film Starts As Alice's Father, Charles Kingsleigh Trying To Sell The Idea Of Creating Trading Posts In Asian Lands Including Bangkok To Some Of His Men When His 6 Year Old Daughter Alice Wakes Up And Tells Him About Her Adventures In Wonderland...

(Start At 0:46, End At 1:06)

Of Course, Dear Dad Eventually Dies As We Cut To A Few Years Later Where A Now 19 Year Old Alice Is Attending A Party On Former Friend Of Her Father's Estate As She Faces Not Only The Stifling Expectations Of The Society She Lives In But A Marriage Proposal From The Friend's Son Named Hamish, Who Alice Dislikes...

But During The Proposal, Alice Sees A White Rabbit Which She Chases And Falls Into A Large Rabbit Hole When She Follows The Rabbit To A Large Tree...

Crashing Into A Large Room Full Of Doors, Alice Drinks A Bottle Marked Drink Me Which Causes Her To Shrink Out Of Her Clothes...

And Yet She's Wearing Clothes For Some Reason, You'd Think She'd Be Naked When She Shrinks, Yet When She Grows Out Of Her Clothes In The Queen's Garden She Does Rip Them And Is As I Said Basically Naked With Flower Bushes Censoring Things...

But Like The Animated Version, She Left The Key Up On The Table So She Has To Eat A Cake Marked Eat Me Which Causes Her To Grow...

However, Unlike The Animated Version Where She Cries Creating A River Of Tears Before Drinking From The Drink Me Bottle Again, She Just Drinks All Of The Drink Me Bottle And Just Unlocks The Door So She Can Enter Into A Vast Garden Residing In Underland...

There, Alice Meets The White Rabbit (Voiced By Michael Sheen), The Doormouse, The Dodo (Voiced By Alfred) And Tweedles Dee And Dum (Played By Nardole From Doctor Who) Who Take Her To See The Caterpillar (Voiced By Severus Snape) Who Goes By The Name Of Absolem..

Once There, They Show Alice A Calender Called The Oraculum, Which Details Each And Every Day In Underland Since The Beginning Where They Reveal That On The Frabjous Day, She Is Supposed To Slay The Jabberwocky With The Vorpal Sword...

But Having No Interest In Doing So And Believing This Entire Thing To Be A Dream (Throughout Most Of The Movie) The White Rabbit Asks If She's The Alice Of Legend Only For Absolem To Tell Them Not Likely...

But Before They Can Get Alice Back To Her World, They're Attacked By The Cards Of The Red Queen And A Creature Called The Bandersnatch...

(Start At 0:31)

Alice Walks With The Tweedles For A While Until They're Captured By A JubJub Bird...

Meanwhile At The Castle Of The Red Queen (Played By Mrs. Lovett From Sweeney Todd) The Red Queen Screams In Anger Over Someone Stealing One Of Her Tarts, After Discovering That It Was One Of Her Frog Footmen, She Has Him Beheaded As The Knave Of Hearts (Played By..)

That...

Tells Her That Alice Has Returned To Underland, Which Leads Her To Assign A Bloodhound Named Bayard (Voiced By Peter Pettigrew)...

Which Actually Surprised Me, As Timothy Spall Has One Of Those Voices You Could Pick Out Of A Lineup And Instantly Know His Voice From His Work In Both Harry Potter And Sweeney Todd But Here I Could Barely Tell It Was Him...

As I Was Saying, The Queen Recruits A Bloodhound Named Bayard To Find Alice In Exchange For The Freedom Of Him And His Family...

Wandering Through The Tulgy Woods, Alice Is Soon Met By The Cheshire Cat (Voiced By Stephen Fry) Who Bandages Her Arm Before Taking Her To The Tea Party, Where She Reunites With The Doormouse Before She Meets The March Hare And The Mad Hatter (Played By Johnny Depp)

And Whether You Like Or Hate His Mad Hatter, He Still Is Pretty Good...

But When The Knave Of Hearts Crashes The Party, The Hatter Quickly Shrinks Alice To 6 Feet Tall And Hides Her In A Teapot As The Knave Talks With Him...

(The Knave) Don't Make Me Fight You, Depp Like I Did David Letterman...

With Bayard Finding Alice In The Teapot, The Hatter Persuades Him Not To Reveal Alice's Location, Which Leads Bayard To Lead The Knave And His Troops Away...

Travelling With Alice, The Hatter Reveals How The Red Queen Rose To Power On Horunvendush Day And How Not Only Did He Lose His Family (Which We'll Discover More About In The Sequel) But The Vorpal Sword...

With The Queen's Cards Quickly Approaching, The Hatter And Alice Race To A River As The Hatter Places Alice On His Hat And Tosses Her On It Across The River As He Is Captured By The Knave And His Cards...

Found By Bayard, Alice Persuades Him To Take Her To The Red Queen's Castle To Rescue The Hatter As She Crosses A Moat Of Severed Heads...

To Get There As Bayard Throws The Hatter's Hat Over The Wall While The Queen Is Playing Croquet. Found By The White Rabbit, He Gives Her A Piece Of Upelkuchen Cake To Make Her Grow Again. However, She Eats Too Much And Not Only Grows To 8.5 Feet High, But Grows Out Of Her Clothes (Like I Mentioned Before).,.

Introducing Herself As Um From Umbridge...

Is That A Town Run By Dolores Umbridge?

And Saying That Everyone Makes Of Her Over Her Height, Alice Avoids Suspicion As The Red Queen Accepts Her Into Her Court...

Being By The Red Queen's Side, She Watches As The Hatter Is Brought Before The Queen...

(Start At 2:30)

Retrieving The Hatter's Hat Later, Alice Returns It To Him As Bayard Informs The White Queen (Played By Princess Mia Of Genovia) That Alice Is At The Red Queen's Castle...

Asking The White Rabbit Where The Vorpal Sword Is, He Tells Her That It's In The Domain Of The Bandersnatch...

(Start At 1:06, End At 1:10)

So, Getting His Eye From The Doormouse, Alice Goes To Face The Bandersnatch Only To Run Into The Knave Of Hearts Who Tries To Seduce Her...

Wow! Who Knew George McFly Was An Asshole?

Eventually Escaping The Knave, Alice Gives The Bandersnatch Back His Eye So She Can Get The Vorpal Sword From It's Case But Unfortunately It's Locked...

But That Doesn't Stop The Bandersnatch From Healing Her Wound That He Gave Her Which Is When She Discovers That He Has The Key To The Case Around His Neck...

So As Alice Gets The Vorpal Sword, The White Rabbit Grabs The Oraculum While The Red Queen Hears About The Knave Coming On To Alice...

Knowing That The Knave Would Never Betray Her The Queen Orders Um's Capture As Alice Returns To The Hatter And The Doormouse To Free The Hatter But She Is Confronted By The Knave Who Orders The Cards To Arrest Her For Seduction....

The Hatter Tries To Hold Off The Knave And The Cards As Alice Tries To Get Away But When The Doormouse Accidentally Says "Run, Alice", The Knave Now Knows The Truth That Um Was Actually Alice....

Running Into The Courtyard, Alice Is Ambushed By Cards But Luckily She Is Saved By The Bandersnatch Who She Rides Off With To The White Queen's Castle...

Once There, The White Queen Shrinks Alice Back To Her Normal Size, Before She Has A Talk With Absolem Who Now Says That She May Not Have Been Alice When They First Encountered Each Other But She's More Like Alice Now...

Held In A Cell Next To Bayard's Wife And Pups, The Cheshire Cat Appears To The Hatter And Asks If He Can Have His Hat After His Execution Today,

However, When The Execution Happens, It's Revealed That The Hatter Was Actually The Cheshire Cat...

(Start At 1:39)

Arriving At The White Queen's Castle, The Hatter Is Glad She's The Right Size As The Cheshire Cat Gives The Hatter Back His Hat Before Asking Alice How Her Arm Is..,

The Next Morning On The Frabjous Day, The White Queen Tries To Find A Champion As Many Come Forward But Of Course, The Prophecy States That Must Be Alice Or No One At All....

But Still Not Wanting To Fight, Alice Runs Into The Castle Where She Once Again Encounters Absolem As He's About To Go Into A Cocoon So He'll Become A Butterfly..

(Start At 1:38)

With Both Armies Meeting On A Gigantic Chess Board, The Jabberwocky Finally Reveals Itself To Alice...

(Start At 1:21, End At 4:05)

With The Red Queen's Guards Following Her No More After The Deaths Of The Jabberwocky And The JubJub Bird, The Cheshire Cat Crowns The White Queen As Queen Of Underland As She Banishes The Red Queen And The Knave To The Outlands...

But Unable To Live With The Red Queen, The Knave Tries To Kill Her Only For The Hatter To Stop Him By Throwing A Knife Out Of His Hand As They're Carried Off...

Collecting The Blood Of The Jabberwocky, The White Queen Gives It To Alice Saying That It Will Send Her Back To Her World, So Saying Goodbye To Her Friends, Alice Drinks The Blood And Is Sent Home...

Climbing Out Of The Rabbit Hole, Alice Returns To The Party Where She Refuses To Marry Hamish (Only For Him To Become A Minor Bad Guy In The Next Movie)

And Instead Becomes His Father's Apprentice, Voyaging To China To Place A Trading Post There. Saying Goodbye To Her Mother, A Blue Butterfly Lands On Her To Which She Believes To Be Absolem As It Flies Off Ending Our Movie....

And That's Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland And Why Do People Hate This?

Yes, The Changes Can Be Upsetting And The Girl Who Plays Alice Isn't That Great. But The Story And Characters Are Interesting, Both Johnny Depp And Helena Bonham Carter Are Good In Their Roles, And The Environments Are Amazingly Designed So I Say See It..,

Tune In Tomorrow As We Look At The Burtonless Sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Till Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...