#vlad: bet

[mikami1992]

Crazy idea No. 10

Tucker: Seriously, with this last plan now Vlad really went too far.

Danny: Don't even tell me, I haven't slept for 5 days, all to prevent mom from being a widow and fruitloop from being my stepfather.

Sam: Here, extra strong coffee with a double dose of Ecto.

Danny: Thanks Sam.

Tucker: at this point the only thing that can take away his madness is that he starts dating a man, I mean, I think he had a girlfriend before and not even the cat worked.

Danny: How I wish Vlad would only be interested in men and get a boyfriend...

Dessire: Wish granted...

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 275

Pokemon crossover? Indeed. Because there’s so many ghost pokemon, and many that are specifically stated to be dead children that I bet? They would absolutely adore the Dannies. In fact? They adore the entire Team Phantom. 

Who are in fact on vacation, taking a summer to not have to deal with ghosts. Do they know what Fright Knight is doing back home? No, but they’re on vacation and don’t care. Look at these lil guys! Tucker, don’t steal the rotom- oh they’ve adopted you? Okay. Fair enough. 

Now their world? Pokemon doesn’t exist. And by that I mean not even as a game or series or anything. So it is new and fun and like exploring the zone all over again! 

They’re having fun, making friends with people and pokemon alike. Danny has discovered that pokepuffs don’t become violent if revived and many of his new friends love having snacks they can chase after. Dan absolutely delights in taking care of more than a couple of the evil organizations- and there might have been a cult form, no one asked. 

They had to drag Tucker away from several bits of technology, quite literally drag him. And they had to carefully drag several pokemon away from Valerie because they adore her and her suit. Sam- erm, where did Sam and Ellie- oh there they are. Oh Ellie found a clone friend and Sam. Sam that’s a legendary. 

…

That’s so cool! But like, they do have to go back home- oh, oh they’re coming with. That’s a lot of pokemon. Oh well, it’s fine. They brought souvenirs for their friends and family and plenty of plants- like Sam would let them not do so. 

So now they’re home and with… okay that’s way more friends than they thought, but it’s fine! Let’s go see- oh hey Frighty, erm, what do you mean heroes arrived?? We don’t have much of an issue anymore???

Fright, teacher of theirs, where are the heroes, did you toss them out- FRIGHT-

[faeriekit]

I've been thinking about Bad Parents Jack and Maddie, and how they aren't great even in canon. So like, Vlad actually interacting with them more, as his obsession switches Danny, and just...eyes opening nd falling out of love with Maddie. So he realizes he needs therapy, but as he is what he is and what he has done, well, that makes things difficult. So, Harley Quinn?

I basically almost answered this with a mini rehash of "the Fenton family safety situation is often misrepresented by newer fans who haven't seen a lot of the show" but I mostly realized that wasn't the point, so let me get my act together.

You have activated my trap card, which is "I used to do psych stuff as my main field before I did library stuff", and I can't believe that Harleen Quinzel, known criminal and incredibly visible villain, would still have her license. Like. Even excepting the crime stuff, having her license revoked due to breaking the Hippocratic oath, or straight up having an ethics board boot her personally, I don't think Harley Quinn would have prioritized the NJ medical license renewal. That has to be attended to once every two years. Failure to keep up to date means no practicing in the state of NJ, baby.

If this is happening, Harley is offering services Under The Radar.

Like...probably this is through a service like Betterhelp. Almost no one tracks the actual paperwork for the advisors on Betterhelp. I can see Harley signing on in her pajamas eating ice cream as she gets nostalgic for the life she led when she had stuff going for her career-wise. Vlad, meanwhile, saw a youtube ad and is flinging spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.

Anyway, Vlad and Harley sharing illegal psych sessions over Betterhelp while eating ice cream and talking shit is such a visual. I wish them all the best.

[mfdragon]

They made him his own jumpsuit! 👍🏻

TIME TO HUNT GHOST!!!

[playedcrowd5610]

Vlad is Basically Batman

Tucker:  Guys I’ve been thinking... Vlad Masters is Batman.

Sam, Danny, Jazz:  “WHAT?!”

Tucker:  “Wait hear me out, Vlad is a millionaire who lives in a secluded mansion in the middle of nowhere, and has a killer jawline just like batman’s.  And he could totally teleport or fly from Wisconsin to Gotham easy.”

Danny:  “So you’re telling me that you think my arch nemesis is flying all the way from his haunt to dress up as an emo bat to go and punch crime?”

Tucker: “Well...”

Jazz:  *hand on her chin* “He does have a secret basement which he uses more than his public home where he has a bunch of ghost themed tools and gadgets...”

Sam: And he is basically a vampire, and you know who is also like a vampire...”

Tucker: “a Bat-MAN” *waves his arms in-between them* “And news is batman can fly, and disappears at random times, like a ghost!”

Danny:  “But like Vlad tries to kidnap me all the time and make me his son and basically sidekick it’s not like batman would ever...”

Jazz, Sam, Tucker:  *Deadpan faces*

Danny:  “Holy shit.”

[tricoufamily]

no supernatural elements in new villareal so as a concept: human vlad

[vladdyissues]

https://www.tumblr.com/vladdyissues/736509066178854912

Vlad: Ah time for my favorite show, The Danny Fenton Hour. Hopefully today's another shower scene!

QUICK, GRAB THE POPCORN

[tachvintlogic]

Danny and Damian Twin AU, except not really

@stealingyourbones this is story premise that I think would be really funny.

Danny and Damian meet and notice they are identical. This is not a doppelganger situation; they are definitely related.

Danny thinks Damian is a clone. Damian thinks Danny is a clone. Their arguments over who's the clone go nowhere.

They bring in their parents.

Talia is very confused because she only had one son and didn't make Danny. The Fentons are also confused because they assumed that Danny was their biological son. Bruce is just confused in general.

After some discussion, it turns out that Talia went to a fertility clinic to have Damian, and the Fentons used the exact same clinic, so it was the clinic that must've fucked up.

But now no one knows who Danny and Damian's biological parents are. Is it Talia and Bruce? The Fentons? Talia and Jack? Maddie and Bruce?

After some shenanigans getting a sample of Danny's DNA that can be tested despite his ecto-contamination, they order some paternity and maternity tests to find out the truth.

And the results are....

[britcision]

Y’all I totally forgot it was Wednesday, but I didn’t come empty handed! No answers, of course, just a peek back into dinner while Danny’s off committing Crimes 😏

————-

Jason really wished he could just focus on having a good time with his family. The food was, as always, exquisite, and Sam and Tucker were moaning happily along with the others.

It smelled great. It looked great. It tasted great, but something in the back of Jason’s head just wouldn’t switch off.

Not until Danny came back.

Even the thought that Danny might be in danger while he just ate dinner sat like a lead weight in his stomach.

The expanded aura… well. It kind of helped? Being practically choked by Danny’s presence, aware in every pore of his skin that Danny was there, was fine, wasn’t hurting, did help.

It just. Made it impossible to really think about anything else.

He was barely following the conversation, just reading the intricacies of Danny’s mood changes and losing track of sentences as people said them.

Finally, finally, Danny’s aura shifted again.

<<Done-got him-no big deal-coming back>>.

Jason almost sagged in his seat, shoulders unknotting marginally (they probably wouldn’t finish until he could see Danny and prove he was fine).

Sent <<impatient-relieved-happy-hurry back>> as well as he could, and nearly dropped his fork at the warm swell of <<affection> he received in return.

Well.

<<Affection-amused-teasing>>.

Clearing his throat, Jason did his best to will away the heat along the back of his neck. Nope, he wasn’t gonna blush when Danny wasn’t even here to look at him while smothering him in those feelings.

And it was definitely just the pit curling up into a little buzzing ball of happiness in his chest. Definitely not actually Jason melting like snow under a blow torch.

Whatever.

Danny was fine, he’d be back soon and Alfred had saved them both plates. And sure, maybe something in Jason wouldn’t unclench until he could see Danny in person, but letting Alfred’s cooking go cold was a sin.

He dug into his still steaming plate, forcing his shoulders to relax a little. Tucker and Tim were still talking about tech, currently disparaging what GIW thought were elite security measures.

Harley had lured Sam, Duke, and Cass into a discussion of her new place in Coney Island at the other end of the table, and yeah, Jason could get interested in that.

Someone might have already asked, but hey. He waited for a convenient pause and leaned in.

“Didn’t Croc move down there with you? He and Riddler attacked the gala last night,” he explained when Harley made a curious noise, head cocking to one side.

Her brow furrowed, so apparently the others hadn’t gotten this far yet. Not sure if he was glad or gonna tease them mercilessly later.

“He what? Yeah, he moved in, but he came back this way ta keep me company as I came up here. Someone’s tryin’ ta give me a hard time cuzza my criminal record, an’ they’re gettin’ intel from one of your local problems,” she added with a shrug, waving her hand.

Cuz yeah, that was also on the list; she’d been up with Ivy, neither of them noticeably causing trouble before apparently Ida Manson got them out of town.

Cass made a small noise of concern and Harley patted her hand, grinning.

“Oh, don’t you worry about me doll, it’s all under control. Thought it might be Pengy havin’ another go at my spot but he burst into tears when I walked in so it’s prob’ly not him,” she said with a very self satisfied smile.

Jason chuckled softly because… yeah, he could picture that. It tracked.

“Smart man,” Duke agreed with a snicker and Harley gave him a fist bump.

“Yeah, I’ll run ‘em down. But why was Waylon at the gala? He jus’ said he was gonna look inta some shit while I was gone,” Harley asked, looking around the table for an answer.

Jason shrugged.

“All their demands were for Harvey Dent. Apparently he was planning to make a run and they beat him to the punch,” he explained, in as much as he understood.

If no one else had a hand on Dent by tonight, he miiiight stretch one of his Red Hood patrols out of Crime Alley to go for a look see.

The man missed his party. The least Jason could do was pay a personal visit.

“Croc mentioned Jason,” Cass noted with a small frown, looking up at him with concern.

And, yeah, that was the other reason he was thinking of getting involved. He couldn’t imagine what the fuck he’d done as a civvie to annoy Dent.

Harley huffed, blowing blonde bangs off her face and lacing her fingers, pointing at Jason.

“Okay, so we gotta go talk to Waylon tomorrow and find out what’s goin’ on. He’s comin’ with me back to Coney when the time comes so he ain’t got time for Arkham,” she said firmly, and something settled in Jason’s gut.

Waylon had so badly wanted the Red Hood not to turn out like he had; another criminal permanently trapped in the system. Yeah, he’d like to return the favour.

Of course, not everyone in the room was up on all the secrets. Sam leaned forward, breaking her quiet streak that as far as Jason knew was her longest ever.

“Wait, you’re going to break that guy out of jail? He wanted to strap a bomb vest to Jason,” she said harshly, finally snapping Tim and Tucker out of their little happy world.

Jason raised both hands.

“He didn’t succeed.” Much as Danny had freaked out about it, Jason wasn’t gonna complain about things that hadn’t happened.

Too much like it actually happened every day, he’d never be done.

Oh. Maybe that was kinda why Danny had freaked out. That probably wasn’t good.

His personal revelation was dampened by Harley waving a hand easily.

“Nah nah nah, we’re not gonna break ‘im out tomorra. He’s gonna tell us what the fuck he was thinkin’, I’m gonna break Dent’s kneecaps, and Batsy’s gonna give a character statement an’ get ‘im released to me for community service.”

And if any of that didn’t work, they could still just break Croc out the next day. Jason knew the unspoken corollary.

Tucker’s eyebrows raised and he said the very stupidest thing that Jason had ever heard from a genius, and he’d seen Tim on 72 hours of no sleep.

“You know Batman?” He asked incredulously.

Harley stared at him for a long moment. Then snickered.

“Yeah, we know each other from work,” she said dryly, waving her fork, “we go way back.”

The assorted bats snickered to themselves and Tucker sunk back in his chair a little, grinning sheepishly around the table.

“Yeah… sorry.”

Sam rolled her eyes, arms folded as she frowned down the table. She clearly had a bigger question, which was probably fair for anyone who didn’t know the combined Harley-and-bats history.

“And you think Batman will do you a favour? He’s not exactly known to listen to reason,” she pointed out half sarcastically. Not that anyone in the room would argue.

There was a reason Jason loved her.

Harley weighed her up for a moment, then grinned, leaning forward.

“Y’know, kid, I don’t think we were introduced. There’s somethin’ real familiar about you,” she mused, folding her arms on the table and leaning over them, plate slowly nudged aside.

Sam smirked and shrugged. They were meeting a lot of new people these past couple days, but if she’d been doing the gala circuit her whole life?

Yeah, this probably wasn’t the worst. Harley was better than Jason had ever met at a party.

“Sam Manson. Friend of Jason’s through Danny,” she added with a nod to the empty seat still between her and Jason.

Harley beamed, hiking forward onto the table a little more.

“Oh, you’d be Ida’s granddaughter then?” She asked brightly, clearly pleased to have been right. “Your granny’s a real doll, sent me and Ivy on a real sweet vacation this week.”

Sam chuckled softly and nodded, giving Harley a half apologetic half cocky smile.

“Yeah, that’d be my fault. I’m not allowed to come to Gotham if there’s a chance Poison Ivy is in town,” she explained, fingers on her left hand tapping against her right arm.

Both of Harley’s brows went up.

“Oh? Are they scared somethin’ might happen to ya?” She asked, tone already very firmly suggesting she knew the answer.

So did most of the rest of the table, though Duke hadn’t actually heard the explanation last night. Not like he needed to, having met Sam for more than five minutes.

Sam didn’t disappoint. She gave another elegant half shrug, her smile turning fully dark.

“Oh, more the opposite. They think I’ll run off and join her if I see her,” she said innocently. Across the table, Tucker snorted most of a laugh.

A moment later Harley joined him, tossing her head back and laughing.

“Yeah, that sounds like Ida’s girl,” she agreed, wiping a dainty tear from her eye, “she was a real spitfire in her younger days, the stories she told Ivy when they were protestin’ together were wild.”

Sam was practically glowing with pride, and Jason had to admit that he would kinda like to meet her grandmother. He’d met her parents, and… well, maybe awesome skipped a generation.

Harley suddenly stopped, head cocking as she noticed something, a sly smile creeping across her face.

“So if they think you’ll run away with Ivy… whadda they think’ll happen if ya run into me?” She asked with a delicately studied innocence, examining her nails.

“Only good things,” Cass offered, grinning past Jason at Sam. Sam grinned back, giving Harley a shrug and a similarly innocent smile.

“Y’know, they’ve just never mentioned it. Clearly there’s no concerns there,” she agreed, and Jason snickered, raising his glass in a toast.

“None here,” he noted and Sam laughed, clinking her glass against his. Dick raised a hand, fighting a laugh.

“One concern for the integrity of Bruce’s skull?” He offered innocently, and laughed when Jason threw a napkin at him.

“If Bruce’s skull was gonna break it’d have done it years ago,” Steph opined as the voice of experience. Jason raised his glass to her too, but she was a little far to clink.

She grabbed hers up and raised it back anyway, and Sam filled the gap, clinking hers to Jason’s and then to Steph’s to pass it on.

“It’s good for him ta get his eggs scrambled,” Harley agreed from the other end of the table, raising her glass too, “and I’m gonna guess you did some percussive maintenance too that I’ll ask about later.”

“Bruce might still have a concussion,” Duke offered, not completely certain where he sat with this kind of joking, but the kid was new.

You had to watch Bruce try and kill himself going out on patrol with more bones broken than whole a couple times before you gave into his indestructibility.

Shit, maybe he should ask Danny if Bruce was liminal. For all the guy was technically a default human, Jason knew literal aliens with a better grasp on humanity.

And ghosts, now.

Harley gave him a nod anyway and patted his hand.

“I’ll aim low then sugar, don’t you fret. But to answer yer other question, Sam, Batman’s gonna get Waylon out for me cuz he doesn’t want ‘im in Arkham any more ‘n we do. Bats wants us all ta get better, and Waylon does best left alone,” she explained with a shrug.

“Until you leave him unsupervised and he teams up with Riddler?” Tim asked with a slight smile.

Jason shook his head, leaning forward on his arms too.

“He wouldn’t do it for no reason. He asked what I’d done to upset Two Face, but I can’t think of anything.” They didn’t even cross paths often.

Dent had taken Red Hood’s claim on Crime Alley as a given, learned quickly that Jason didn’t give a shit about playing nice, and minded his business.

“You sound like you know him pretty well,” Tucker said with a slight frown, and Jason shrugged.

Yeah, Tucker wasn’t in on the Robin thing yet. Luckily there was an easy answer.

“I grew up in Gotham. You guys keep coming back and you’ll get a feel for most of ‘em too.”

Tucker hesitated for a moment, probably thinking back to Amity and their own ghostly rogues. Then he nodded, settling back to poke at his mostly finished plate.

Tim still didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t know Waylon the way Jason did. They’d never had the chance to talk beyond the usual Robin-and-Rogue.

Jason could prove his point tomorrow. Maybe bring Danny along.

And like the thought summoned him, Jason’s phone buzzed to a text from Danny.

‘DannyP: who tf is Constantine??👀👀🤣’

————

Tag List: @welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @trickerdi @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @idkmrpianoman @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof @eonic @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @idfk-man10 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear @magic-pincushion

(I see some of y’all got your search problem fixed hello!!!!)

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Dazai, smiling a little too wide at Charles: Underestimate me. That'll be fun.

[heyheyitsstillgay]

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 2:17

Everyone stfu, I'm a genius, I'm an innovator, I was born before my time, this is the first step in achieving world peace imo. Are you ready? You're not ready.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 2:23

I'm gonna start sending all my parcels. In hamster balls. Their spherical coloured plastic will confuse & disorientate the box ghost. No one will steal my mail again. I'll have the fastest postage of any company in Amity, even Alvazon.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 8:27

AHSJFHAHFISJHDUSUHDKAHFSJSK HELP

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 8:30

The fucking hamster ball ghost reading this over my shoulder. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 8:31

HES SO SWOLE TOO AND FOR WHAT??? SO HE CAN CRUSH MY DREAMS BETWEEN HIS THIGHS?? STOP STOP IM ALREADY GAY

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 9:26

I have negotiated a truce with the hamster ball ghost. He's gonna work at my pet supply shop in exchange for hamster balls ayyyy. Nobody hit on him he's trying to do his job n I have dibbs.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 10:06

Oh god he found the storage room behind the break room. There's so many fuckin hamster balls everywhere you guys.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 10:07

Listen,, I have deliveries to make today. I'm about to change ghost town life as we know it. You'll get your fair share of balls big guy dw :)

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 10:39

He took all the hamster balls and left! Come back my ghost boyf blease I cannot simply write off that much stock 😭😭😭

[nonbinaryphantom]

im anti mom friend jazz. i think she also thinks about killing and danny has to be the voice of reason from time to time. shes reasonable only because she wants to look as normal as she can but there is something up with her

[gumdropgamespot]

October 7: Noir

Day 7 of Not-So-Simstober

Pose:

Male Model Pose Pack #5 by @nell-le 🕵🏻‍♀️

[unofficialadamtaurus]

Adam could've been a personal enemy to the entire team, not just Blake and Yang. He has the color motif and mask that implied a connection to Raven. The Schnee company logo literally branded on his face. But noooo he exists as a catalyst for the bees and nothing more. What a fucking waste.

What a fucking waste indeed.

[minty-bunni]

AU where Vlad is this fiercely competitive PTA parent for Elle who fights other parents at bake sales.

Mainly because the stereotype of aggressive PTA moms on tv is made funnier if you toss a supervillian with OP powers into the mix.

[inthememetime]

Friend, you inspired a whole entire Ghost Riders in the Sky themed fic.

She was flying low over the plains of Texas when she heard them- hoofbeats. Her ghost sense flared up just before she caught the sound of low whistling, the lowing of cattle, and oddly metallic hoofbeats.

A dull red glow began to brighten in the west- the wrong time and direction for sunrise. Her first thought was 'wildfire', but the wind didn't bring smoke or heat.

Well, she wouldn't be Dani Phantom if she didn't at least check it out! She darted up until she started to see the makings of a glowing red herd of cattle galloping northwest, chased by faintly glowing figures on horseback.

She turned to chase them down and found they were going almost too fast for her- she wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

"Hi!" She shouted.

The ghost nearest to her, a skeleton in tattered cowboy clothes with a dull orange glow on the back of a horse made of bones and shadows, looked at her briefly. "Where's your horse, rider?"

"I don't have one! Why are you chasing the cows? Won't humans see?"

It grunted but made no other attempt to reply. After a few unsuccessful attempts to speak, she flew straight up to take a quick break, then darted forward to speak to the next rider, this one on a horse made of burning coals with a bright yellow glow.

"Hi! What are you doing?"

"We ride to catch the herd, little lady," it rasped, "been a century at least, but we ain't caught 'em yet."

"Can I help?"

It laughed- but not meanly, she thought. It was hard to tell when it didn't have a face. "Yer pretty quick, little lady. Get ya a horse, 'n maybe. Don't count on it though- these cows ain't meant to be caught."

"So why do you chase them?" She pushed past the sensation of breathlessness- she didn't need to breathe, after all.

"We swore solemn oaths, and broke them," shouted another skeleton, clad in a ladies' riding frock and legging astride a horse of steel. "Any of us who catches one of the devil's herd will be granted a wish- rest, freedom, or anything else."

That was interesting, but- wait. That gave her an idea. "Do you know if catching one of the cows lets you wish to be independent of a ghost parent before aging out?"

"Yes, it certainly do!" The skeleton on the coal horse agreed. "Anything you want. Gonna be a rider?"

Might as well- it would at least be a little fun. "Know where I can get a ghost horse?"

"Ask the whistling wind!"

As the sun rose, the riders and herd faded out of view, then sound. Huh. The whistling wind.

After a few days of mindless wandering, she'd realized the cowboys (cow people? There was a girl, maybe) were having a laugh at her expense. "Ask the whistling wind," she grumbled, "I've just been talking to myself like a moron."

She kicked a rock only to find it was more solidly placed than she thought and winced. "Stupid cool-looking cowboys on stupid cool horses."

"Having boy troubles?"

Dani jumped and spun. Somehow, perhaps due to the sharp sounds of the storm brewing through long grass or the traffic from the highway a few hundred feet away, she hadn't noticed the woman sitting on the brown fencepost of the barbed wire fence.

The seemingly normal woman set off her ghost sense- in a big way. The way only Clockwork or Pandora did. Danielle took a step back. "Something like that. Sorry to disturb you, I'm just going to go."

She tilted her head, and Dani saw her eyes were bright red. The noise from the highway disappeared.

"But you've looked so hard for me," the ghost began gently, "I've heard you speak to me in every breeze for three nights. It was only now that you thought to address me during the day."

"But ghosts only come out during the night," Dani asked, "At least, outside of places with a ton of ecto. Right?"

The woman smiled, showing no teeth. "Indeed, dear girl- but I am the spirit of the Whistling Wind. I ride with those who charge the open plains, who sing to me in day and night. I am a spirit of the Wild Hunt- I don't follow all of your rules."

Wild Hunt. She racked her mind and swallowed when she realized she'd invoked one of the fae. Their rules were almost, but not exactly, the same as a ghost's. "Um. Whistling Wind of the Wild Hunt, I greet you," she said politely. Manners were everything with the fae.

"And I, you," she said. "What is your name?"

"Dani-" she began, only to cut herself off. At least that was only a nickname. "Everyone calls me Dani."

"Dani," she said, "a novel name for a girl. I'll take that from you if you make a deal with me," she warned.

"It's only a nickname, not my real one," she said in confusion. Didn't fae always want the real one?

The Whistling Wind grinned wolfishly. "I know. Someone related to you has upset another member of the Hunt. But if you give me that name and take a new one, you'll be off the hook and I'll have won that bet with Loptr."

She couldn't help but grin back, but steadied her face. "Um, are you sure it'll be a fair deal? I'm asking for a ghost horse, and to be one of the riders with the same wish if I catch a cow," she said, then quickly added, "but I don't want to be trapped like them, of course."

The ghost nodded solemnly. "Making you a Ghost Rider- that's easy enough. But with your freedom is the tricky part," she said. "What would you wish for, if you won?"

"Um. So do you know how ghosts have ghost parents until they're a few centuries old?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "Though it's been a very long time ago for me."

"Well, mine is kind of horrible and evil, so I want to be free of him. But I don't want to trade him for someone just as manipulative, which is hard because he doesn't fight fair."

"Ah," said the spirit. "A desire for freedom I can respect. Very well. Give me the name of Dani, which you'll never be able to use to refer to yourself again, and your service for the yearly Wild Hunt for 10 years. Do this, be bound by it, and I shall give you a fitting horse and make you a Rider without their curse, and allow you to make a wish should you succeed,"

"Our agreement cannot be broken or adjusted. Are we of an accord?"

Dani thought carefully. "Yes," she eventually agreed, "I, D-"

She couldn't say her name, and she didn't want to risk saying her full name. Dani just wouldn't come out, for some reason. "I, Phantom, agree."

"Then walk on your own legs due East until the sun rises- in either form. There, you will find your horse and your fellow riders. Good luck, Phantom."

She nodded, remembering at the last moment not to thank her. "Hopefully, I'll see you soon!"

Filled with hope, she started at a quick walk (it was best to be literal with the fae) east.

-

The hope lasted about two hours. The curiosity remained, however, as she trudged on at a steady pace. It was a good thing she was experienced with stealing Vlad's cash or food and filling up her large hiking bag and the pockets of her cargo pants; it meant she had plenty of easy-to-eat snacks and plenty of clean water and other drinks.

After four hours, she shifted into her ghost form to cool down- even in October, the heat was no joke. The sun set, and she yawned, exhausted.

"Pretty sky," she said to herself and, despite her pained legs, kept on.

At sunrise, she'd never been so tired- not even when she'd been destabilizing. Finally, she stopped and let herself sit, easing her cramped legs. Ellie dumped the remains of her water over her head and leaned back against a tree.

An hour or so later- it was hard to tell, as she'd been dozing- she was woken by her ghost sense, a sharp chill up her backbone. She opened one eye and saw, to her muted delight, a skeletal horse clad in what looked like medieval heavy armor. Its' eyes burned bright green, just like her own.

"Hey, big guy. Or girl. What's your name?"

She didn't expect an answer, and so was doubly surprised by the sudden influx of images and sounds that invaded her mind.

Charging onto a battlefield. Screams of horses and men alike. Arrows caught on armor plates, lance in the side. Shieldbreaker. Wraith of the battlefield, pestilence, venom of a snake, infected wound.

She gagged a little. "So that's a little bit long. How about just...Shieldbreaker? That's pretty cool, right?"

It huffed and nodded with the clanking of metal and harnesses. "Well, I'm-"

She thought for a moment. "You know, Phantom technically belongs to someone else, and I just sold my nickname. How about I be Wraith for now?"

It nodded again and patiently gnawed on some grass nearby.

Shieldbrraker sent her more mental images. Rest. War begins tonight. Campfire. The chase. Breaking of shields and battle lines.

"Sounds good. Wake me up at dark, please?"

The ghost horse flicked its bony tail in response, and she dozed off once more.

-

Her deal with Whistling Wind didn't include being automatically able to ride, she discovered the third time she fell from Shieldbreaker's back. Still, she climbed back on, and they chased after the so-called Devil's Herd, their steel hooves ringing loudly whenever they hit asphalt or stone.

The ride, she discovered, began at sunset and ended at dawn. Once the sun rose, the cattle were gone, and she and the other riders appeared in some sort of liminal space.

Her phone still showed October 28, 3 PM. It hadn't lost any charge, but it had lost all service. Over the next few days, she learned about her companions; some, like her, made deals to chase the herd. Others were oathbreakers or made deals with evil beings.

Slim- the talkative cowboy from the other night- introduced himself as hailing from the territory of Kansas, while Horace was from the nation of Texas. Highnoon- the woman in the riding dress- said she was from the California territory.

They hadn't been kidding when they said some of them were centuries old! The three ghosts gave her lessons in exchange for stories about what the world was like now.

Slim wanted to know about new guns, mostly, while Highnoon, who'd forgotten her name, wanted to know about everything from women's rights to the Temperance movement. Horace asked only for myths, tales, and legends- he was still as quiet as the first day, but like many of the Riders, wasn't hostile.

Most of them didn't care who she was or what she did- they wanted to catch the Devil's Herd, and as long as she didn't get in the way, they were fine with her.

It was impossible to tell how many days, weeks, or even months she'd spent away; sometimes the sun moved West to East instead, or there were two moons, and again- she had no way to communicate. She couldn't even judge by the state of her supplies, as she never became hungry or thirsty, even in human form.

Every night at sunset, they'd howl and scream as they charged after the herd, and every sunrise, nothing would happen in their dim world with eternally rolling storm bands.

Ellie talked to her new friends and Shieldbreaker, chased the herd, practiced, and chased the herd over and over. She thought many times about using the escape clause Whistling Wind had given her, but knew that would lead to breaking their deal.

And, likely, gaining the full curse of the riders.

So she rode every night, slowly growing a little faster, riding a little longer. And rode. And rode. And rode again.

Until one night, roughly a year or so after she came- it was hard to tell, as the little marks on Shieldbreaker's saddle didn't always stay there. At least a year and a half. Maybe longer.

It had been chance, pure and simple, or maybe fate, that caused the bull to trip- but trip it did, and she took the opportunity by the horns. Immediately, before she could shout a goodbye, or maybe a question, she was in the middle of a dry valley, a black horn still in her hand. To her relief, Shieldbreaker was under her as usual, though the warhorse was clearly confused.

And then it happened- a buzz on her phone. Just one vibration, then a flood as the device searched for data and updated.

She pulled it out- October 28th, same year, same time. But she was in Montana now. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"Chasing the herd," a voice she'd heard once said. She urged Shieldbreaker around and found herself face-to-face with Whistling Wind. "They'll remember you, and perhaps when they catch one, will find you as a friend. Or not. It depends on the wish."

"I almost forgot the wish," she said.

The spirit smiled. "I did not. Be free from your old ties," she said, and the part of her core attached inextricably to Vlad's broke off, becoming wholly her own. "Remember your promise, Rider of the eternal plains, and I will see you next year for the Wild Hunt."

Ellie laughed brightly. "I feel it! It's gone!"

"Ride like the wind, then, wherever you go. May the breeze always favor you, once-Dani."

"I will! It's Wraith, now, I think."

"I'll see you soon- or late. Time is such a tricky thing."

And she was gone, leaving Ellie with Shieldbreaker- now a large black horse- and an eternity being her own master in front of her.

(Image sources: here, here, here, from the Same Energy site)