#using Dash for a convo like this made it soooo interesting

[kinglazrus]

i saw that post and thought of this yesterday but my brain was unreasonably shy but here it is now usdygbhjn: “It’s three in the morning.” danny @ dash

Milky Way

Sometimes Danny hates living in the city. Actually, most of the time he hates it. Not because of the noise, or all the people, or even the ghosts, but the stars. Or the lack of them, at least.

Danny was ten years old when he realized the sky he saw every night was a lie. He had seen plenty of pictures of the night sky taken from different parts of the world. At that age, he just assumed that’s how the sky worked. Some places had less stars than others, he was unfortunately born in a place with very few stars overhead.

Until his sister got him a big astronomy textbook for his tenth birthday and he learned the city was to blame. All the city lights polluted the sky and kept him from seeing the sky for what it truly was. For weeks, he tried to convince his parents to move, to pack up all their things in the RV and drive out far away into the middle of nowhere, where there was no people and no light pollution, and he could see the stars in all their glory every night.

He never got that wish, but nowadays Danny doesn’t mind it so much. Now, if he wants to see the night sky as it should be seen, all he has to do is fly up, up, up beyond the clouds, just past the edge of the mesosphere.

There, he floats along the Kármán line, the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space, and he can see everything. It’s beautiful. He can’t help but think of every childhood drawing he made of the stars and how wrong he was.

The sky isn’t an endless expanse of black peppered with bright white spots. It’s a gorgeous mix of blues and purples, and even some pink in the Milky Way itself. Every inch of the sky is covered in stars. There are so many he has trouble picking out the constellations he knows better than his hometown, but he manages.

The familiar cup of Ursa Minor, Draco’s lithe body winding past, Hercules’ crooked form by the dragon’s head.

Danny traces the familiar lines with his softly glowing eyes and feels as empty as the space between the stars. Even though that distance looks so small from here, he knows how vast it really is.

Tipping back his head, he stares back down toward Earth. Cities make their own constellations across the dark surface. The sixty-two miles between him and the ground right now is not enough. He wants to fly higher, way out into space, and get lost in its cold comfort. But he can’t, because he has a city to protect, friends who depend on him, and a family who loves him.

At least he thinks they love him.

Danny reaches for his phone and goes to check the time, but the screen doesn’t turn on. He frowns, tapping the screen, and even shakes the device a few times. And then he remembers how cold it’s supposed to be up here, something he can’t really feel anymore, and it probably killed the battery.

He’s just lucky it isn’t iced over. At this height, it should be, but he probably has the radiation from his ectoplasm to thank for that.

Grudgingly, Danny tells himself he should probably head home. He flips over, head to the ground, and starts flying.

He takes his time, it’s still barely more than hour before he’s back in Amity. Just before diving through Fenton Work’s roof, he looks back up at the sky. It’s empty and sad.

The first thing Danny does when he’s back in his room is plug in his phone. He considers transforming; it’s dangerous to stay in ghost form while his parents are home. But after staring at his blank phone for a few long seconds he decides against it. He doesn’t really want to be human right now.

Curled up on his bed, head against his pillow, knees pulled up to his chest, he waits for his phone to charge enough to turn on. Those five minutes feel infinitely longer than his flight back from space.

“Screw you, Clockwork,” Danny mutters. It’s not really Clockwork’s fault, but it feels good to have someone to blame, and the ghost of time is a ripe target.

The moment his screen lights up, Danny reaches out and snags it off his bedside table. He notes the time, quarter to three, then goes through his notifications. Some spam emails, a couple game notifications, but no texts or calls. Which makes sense, it’s the middle of the night, who the hell would be up right now besides him?

As soon as Danny thinks that, his phone buzzes and a message appears at the top of his screen.

From Dash: [image]

Another quickly follows.

From Dash: was that u?

Eyes heavy, Danny stares at the texts for a long moment before clicking them. The messaging app is bright and glaring compared to his dark home screen and he squints when it lights up his room. He clicks the image Dash send, feeling instant relief when his screen gets significantly darker.

It’s a shot of the sky from Dash’s bedroom window, the corner of the next building over cutting through the image. Just above that is a bright white speck. If Danny didn’t know better, he might have mistaken it for a star or a planet.

Closing out the image, Danny types back: yeah, it’s me.

He hits send, turns onto his back, and sets his phone down on his chest. He’s not expecting a reply, although he has no reason not to, so it startles him when his phone buzzes not even a second later.

From Dash: thought so. What were…

From Dash: Patrol?

Danny pulls himself up, opening his phone once again, and reads the full messages.

Dash: thought so. What were you doing so high up?

Dash: Patrol?

Hunched over his phone, Danny doesn’t so much stare at the screen as he does zone out in its general direction. He knows what he wants to type in response, but he can’t seem to get his fingers to move.

The phone sits cradled in his hand, his thumbs thick silhouettes against the white screen. The longer he looks, the more he thinks they aren’t his thumbs but just thumbs. Anyone’s thumbs. They didn’t belong to him. He was a hundred miles away, out in space.

Before he can decide if this is a good or bad idea, he hits the call button.

It gets through half a ring before Dash picks up.

“Hey, Danny.”

Dash’s is voice is rough and dry, but it isn’t thick with sleep, reassuring Danny he hasn’t dragged Dash out of partial slumber.

“Danny?”

The call time says it’s been going for over a minute.

Danny swallows. “Hey.”

“You okay?”

“Dash…” Danny trails off. He rolls his neck. It pops in a way that probably isn’t healthy, but is also so familiar he doesn’t think twice about it anymore. He licks his lips. “Why are we friends?”

That isn’t what he meant to say. He doesn’t know what he really wanted to say, but he knows that wasn’t it.

The call is at five minutes.

“Because Paulina and Sam are dating.” Dash chuckles.

Danny thinks he should be chuckling too, but the sound doesn’t come. It’s a joke they’ve made a hundred times, as familiar as the crick in Danny’s neck, but it’s not the answer he wants right now.

“I’m friends with Tucker because… because we’ve always been friends. I can’t imagine not being friends with him,” Danny says. He takes one the hands—his hands, he has to remind himself—away from the phone and turns it over. Is it really him doing that?

“Sam kind of made herself friends with us. But we always thought she was cool anyway, so, we wanted her.” Danny rubs his hand on his thigh, stopping to grip his knee. He can feel the pressure, but he can’t really feel it. “We hate each other.”

Ten minutes.

“We used to, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t think I ever really hated you. Just, stupid high school stuff.”

“Stupid high school stuff,” Danny repeats. He glances at the time at the top of his screen. “It’s three in the morning.”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you up at three in the morning?”

“Why are you?”

Danny sucks in a sharp breath. “Just. Couldn’t sleep. Yeah.”

“Yeah? Same.”

This time, Danny chuckles. He can’t figure out why it’s funny, but it is. Dash? Having trouble sleeping? People like him aren’t supposed to have Danny’s problems. They’re supposed to date the head cheerleader, and have tons of friends, and get some big football scholarship that carries them through college, and be famous. Or something.

But the head cheerleader is dating Sam. Dash only has a handful of people he talks to regularly. He told Danny last month that he doesn’t want to play football in college. He wants to be a social worker, like his mom, and not be famous.

Danny laughs again.

“What’s so funny?”

“S-Sam,” Danny says between giggles. “Sam stole your girlfriend.”

“She really didn’t.” Dash sounds amused, a humorous lilt in his voice.

Danny can’t figure out what he finds so funny. It’s Dash’s life that isn’t going how it’s supposed to. Sucks to be him, thrust into a set role the moment he became quarterback in freshman year, stuck with a path he doesn’t want, that he doesn’t quite seem to fit. What kind of high school king is he?

The next time Danny laughs, it sounds closer to a sob. He sniffs and rubs his nose on his sleeve, the thick, rubbery material of his jumpsuit irritating his nose. The suit smells vaguely of burnt flesh and sulfur. No matter what Danny does, he can’t seem to wash it out.

Twenty minutes.

“Danny, I think you should go to sleep now.”

“’M fine,” Danny insists.

“You’re really not.”

“That’s kind of rude.” Danny drags his hand through his hair. It never feels like normal hair in his ghost form. Too wispy and light, like a silk veil.

“I can call you in the morning if you want. Or I can get Paulina to text Sam, or Tucker. I think I still have Jazz’s number somewhere.”

“Don’t hang up,” Danny says softly. He fells forward, curling onto his side around the phone, sticking his feet under his pillow.

They’ve been on the phone for well over half an hour now. Danny’s pretty sure they haven’t talked enough to fill out all that time. He wonders how much of it Dash has spent just sitting there, waiting for Danny to answer. It makes him feel like a bit of a prick.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Danny can tell Dash doesn’t know what the apology’s for, but he appreciates the acceptance nonetheless.

“You won’t hang up?” Danny asks.

“I won’t hang up.”

Danny nods, even though Dash can’t see it. He wishes he could. He wants someone here right now, but not Sam, or Tucker, or his sister, or his parents who maybe hate him, but he can never be too sure because they don’t know they hate him and he’s too afraid to tell them. Without all those other options, he supposes Dash will do.

He falls asleep, eventually, and wakes up human and cold, his phone still on beside him.

[oddyssea-a]

RPC POSITIVITY WEEK DAY 1 & 2

DAY 01: favorite portrayals of a character in your fandom [ Since I’m technically fandomless I’m just gonna do this for muses who fall into the ‘adventure’ category or fall into the ‘Greek Myth’ category uvu ]

@baagha ( Ajay Ghale / Far Cry 4 ): OK! SO listen I’ve only seen glimpses of the Far Cry characters, primarily because I’ve never had the chance to come around and play it myself but from what I have seen of Far Cry 4 & what I’ve heard about the game itself I THOROUGHLY enjoy Ajay ok?? Like it’s always so tough to write muses who are the player controlled character because it could be really tough to make them your own still but I absolutely adore this portrayal. Ajay has a really great personality and he strikes me with that adventurous spirit that I think really fits the Far Cry Franchise ( mostly 3 & 4 as I recall ) and I just love how well Ajay seems to fit into the adventure scene <3. He meshes excellently with Karter and over all he’s an awesome character who I am thoroughly enjoying seeing on my dash

@storyfound ( Elena Fisher / Uncharted Franchise ): I want to first point out that I absolutely LOVE Elena Fisher in literally every sense of the word. She is the kind of character who is still a bad ass but manages to be a relatable kind hearted person. I’ve always enjoyed Elena’s excellent chemistry with the ENTIRE cast of Uncharted and finding someone who does her justice is honestly wonderful. Elena is also amazing because I always believed that motherhood suited her! This portrayal genuinely makes me happy for all the best reasons. Elena maintains her quick wit & skill that made her strong but also manages to capture her more endearing and motherly side without having to sacrifice either one for the other. It’s a wonderful balance and I adore seeing her on my dash to be honest.

@vindictiveolympianqueen ( Hera, Queen of Olympus / Greek Pantheon ): Now HERA is especially wonderful in my opinion because of a GREAT DEAL of reasons. The first of which being that she, I’ve found, is rather under appreciated by general media. Thus far the only two instances I’ve seen her is in the game ‘God of War’ which likely falls more akin to her ACTUAL personality & behavior in Greek Mythos, and then we have Hera from the ‘Hercules’ Movie by Disney which admittedly IS a children’s film thus she’s sorta watered down I feel? Either way, this blog makes me so SO SO Happy because you get the best of both words with this portrayal. She’s got her VICIOUS and ‘vindictive’ side but she’s not just CRUEL like I feel God of War made her, she is still that MOTHERLY figure that we got in Hercules and it really makes her an all around more well rounded muse I think and I thoroughly pleased to see someone giving Hera the justice & attention she deserves :)

@maourljoss ( Apollo / Greek Pantheon ): The thing I’ve always loved about Greek Gods is that with a modern touch on them there’s a lot of creativity to be had especially since MANY gods are often left out of media due to the focus being on a set few! That being said Harley’s interpretation of Apollo is perhaps the only one I’ll EVER really love to be honest considering she maintains a lot of APOLLO as a character while still giving him twists that make him interesting and unique feel to him when writing with him. He feels NEW but still familiar and I think that’s what I honestly love most about him! 

DAY 02: favorite portrayals of a character in another fandom

@seesgood ( Caroline Forbes / The Vampire Diaries ): When I was still into TVD I remember vividly ADORING Caroline for the sole reason that both as a character & as a person she made SENSE! She had valid reasons for many of her reactions and in general she just made more sense to me than some of the other characters in the series ( albeit that was more of a personal opinion than anything ) but LIA does such an amazing job capturing every essence of Caroline right down to the simplest of quirks. Caroline is a genuinely complex and interesting character because she was ‘human’ in MOST senses of the word ( obv she’s a vampire soooo LOL ), but she felt real and Lia is literally ASTONISHING with how well Lia manages to bring all those fantastic elements and even some added ones to give Caroline that same GENUINE feel and I just cannot express how much I love this blog ok!!

@southsidelover ( Toni Topaz / Riverdale ): From the moment Toni Topaz made her first appearance on Riverdale I have ADORED her to absolutely no end. She’s genuinely my favorite character on the show and Z is like some sort of Toni Topaz master since everything about this portrayal SCREAMS genuine true blue Toni. I adore her so much because she’s smart & witty but is a genuinely kind and caring person and stands as a DIRECT antithesis to the idea that the Southside Serpents or South Siders in general are LOWLIFE CROOKS. Toni is the type of character that I would kill to have on EVERY show because she’s so excellent! She has her flaws but she is a genuinely well rounded character who even manages to add representation in a graceful and meaningful way! I LOVE TONI TOPAZ guys seriously like this blog is a fave.

@ofangelicblood ( Jace Herondale / Shadowhunters ): So I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know a whole lot about Shadowhunters ( I could never really get into it whole heartedly tbh ) BUT I am already enjoying this blog thus far! From the convos I’ve had with KC & what I’ve learned about him I am thoroughly enjoying the depth that is being given to him thus far! I really enjoy the sort of internal conflict that seems to come out in each reply, as though he’s fighting an internal battle which always add a sort of extra sense of conflict from the character that makes them a lot more interesting to see / interact with! On top of that his personality is one that staunch & disciplined which is A BEAUTIFUL complement to Karter’s chaotic & otherwise dubiously aligned personality which has made out chats / interactions SO FUN thus far and I absolutely cannot wait for more stuff between us!