#The question is whether Danny knows he was being checked out

[call-me-strega]

Dc x Dp Prompt #14: The Valentines Day Debacle

“debacle • \dee-BAH-kul\ • noun.

1 : a tumultuous breakup of ice in a river 

2 : a violent disruption (as of an army) : rout

3 a : a great disaster b : a complete failure : fiasco.”

~ It was Valentine’s Day and Jason regrets agreeing to go on this date.

Weelll, kind of, but not exactly.

This “date” was actually a covert-op with three caped chaperones because he, Steph, Tim and Cass were all on cases that ended up being the same case.

Steph and Tim had caught wind of some allegedly magic potions becoming popular among college students used to help students score dates with their up coming Valentines. There weren’t any outright love potions but confidence boosters, things to increase your attractiveness, luck boosters, thing to get people in the mood. They had been investigating into it to make sure this wasn’t secretly a drug ring but found it to some real magical bullshit. They’d located the source’s lair/lab where they brewed the potions but not the potion brewer themselves.

Cass had been in Hong Kong when she caught wind of one of her targets following rumors of a witch who specialized in potions to grant small boons and bewitching charms. After dealing with her target she started tracking down the witch to find out her goals and intentions. She followed her trail across Asia, Europe and a good portion of the eastern seaboard before her path led her to Gotham.

Jason was investigating some upper middle class chick that started hanging around the alley trying to get in with the prostitutes and drag queens(and only succeeding in making them suspicious). She met several young men who abandoned the gang allegiances too trail after her like puppies. His investigation showed she was also circling Gotham elites and was in search of gossip on two things: people looking for love and a beau for herself.

They had been going over their cases at a team meeting when they realized their 3 targets were all the same woman. Between the four of them they pieced out she was some new age witch, descendent from an older family line looking to get rich and in a relationship. Her potions weren't really actively harmful but her use of them to gain the upper hand in business deals and amass a following of boytoys she decided weren’t hunky enough for her but would do as muscle was.

Tim and Steph knew she was planning on selling her potions at the Valentine’s/Winter market place in Robinson Park coming up. Jason and Cass knew she was looking to net some more followers while they were there so the plan was simple. One of the guys would go undercover to try and get recruited while the others stayed nearby for back up. They’d try to get some information out of her and if the need for it arose, to take her into custody and hand her off to the Justice League Dark. They’d already talked to Zatana to have her ready to come to Gotham should things go awry and gotten a charm from her to prevent them from getting put under her control.

Oh if only this didn’t go so wrong.

Unfortunately for Jason, he matched their little witch’s tastes to a tee. Thus, he was the one stuck being dragged around market under the guise of having agreed to a date with her. She dragged him around, made him pay for her things, tried to use his stature to intimidate others and was generally rude to the other patrons and staff. Oh, Jason despised her but grit his teeth and pretended to play nice. Cass was investigating her stall and Steph and Tim were tailing them.

Finally over the comms he heard the team confirm Cass had found the info she was looking for and he could finally ditch little miss witch. He broke it to her that he thought this wouldn’t work out and her eye just twitched. She must have tried to charm him because she asked him to stay with her and become her main beau, which he soundly refused. This set her off on a rage as she screeched over how her charm didn’t work and how Jason would have been perfect if she’d been able to get him under her thumb. He tried to back off when she lashed out with a magic rope insisting once she captured Jason he’d be the perfect leader to her adoring little boyfriend army.

So yeah she was more psycho than anticipated.

Spoiler and Red Robin began to swoop in for the rescue which only served to enraged her further. That’s when the team learned that she was talented in more than just potions. She used her magic to start awakening magical creatures in the park surrounding them. Nymphs shed from trees and little snow golems formed and began attacking RR and Spoiler.

Black Bat had run over to extract Jason when the witch noticed her. She shrieked in outraged proclaiming if she couldn’t have Jason no one else would and that he could become fish food for the frost creatures of Far Frozen before picking him up with a spectral vine and slamming him through the frozen lake into a swirling blue portal. Cass tried to go after him but the witch quickly engaged her with too much feral rage to realize she was outclassed in hand to hand against Black Bat. By the time Steph and Tim fought off the nymphs and golems it was too late. Whatever whirling portal had been in the lake closed and Jason was no where to be found.

As Jason pushed through the ice he had one final thought before he felt himself black out: ‘Worst Valentine’s Day ever.’

~ The first thing Jason felt when he came to was cold. He was still submerged under icy water. It was chilled him to the core but was almost soothing in a way. As if cooling of a burn. As is opened his eyes the world seemed to move in slow motion. He was still underwater surrounded by chunks of ice. He could make out sounds of distorted yelling as the world seem to get even slower.

Suddenly he felt something grab his collar and place itself under his arm. Jason was unceremoniously hoisted out of a frozen river and laid out on a river bank. He let out a harsh cough and his head got dizzy. He tried to regain his wits long enough to see who pulled him out.

It was large figure, maybe an inch or two taller than his 6 foot, with the bulk of a viking and the looks of one too. The man appeared to be around the same age as Jason, possibly older, and very concerned. He had messy white hair that was tied(or braided? Jason’s vision was still blurry) in the back. He was wearing armor made of some sort of hide leather and a dark gray metal (iron?) and covered in snow-white furs.

Jason stared at his savior trying to get his wits about him, willing his vision to clear. That’s Jason felt a warm fur cloak wrap around him as the man said something Jason wasn’t able to comprehend. He let out another harsh cough and felt himself being picked up in a princess carry. His rescuer moved incredibly fast for someone carrying a man of Jason’s stature. However, the motion did not help with the dizziness or the cold. Jason shivered, curling towards his “heroic knight” and pulling the cloak tighter around himself. This spurred the man to go faster.

Finally, everything stopped moving and Jason felt himself encompassed in warmth. Several more furs were wrapped around him and he was laid down to rest. At last Jason’s vision cleared enough to see the other man’s face properly. He had a rugged face and a strong jawline. He had a small scar near his eyebrow and round eyes with light eye bags beneath them. He had a straight nose and bow-shaped lips.

Jason felt the world slow down again and realized he’d soon pass out from the cold. The man lifted Jason’s head and slipped a pillow underneath. A rough hand gently pushed the wet hair out of his face and caressed his cheek. Jason stared into the man’s eye. They were kind, gentle, and such a vibrant green they seemed to glow. The man gave him a small smile and the last thing Jason heard before falling asleep was a soothing voice telling him “Rest, we will take care of you.” And with that Jason felt himself relax and fell asleep.

~ When Jason came to the first thing he saw was a 20-something-foot tall yeti with an icy cybernetic arm looming over the foot of his bed.

He promptly screamed and fell out of bed.

A vaguely familiar voice called out from another room.

“ FROSTBITE! I thought I told you not to scare him!”

In walked the man that had saved Jason from an icy death. Upon closer inspection now that he wasn’t dying the man seem 10 times as beautiful than Jason remembered. He almost seemed to have this ethereal glow to him. The man continued to admonish the yeti who just laughed heartily and continued on with whatever task he was trying to complete. The man turned his attention to Jason, smiling at him in apology and lifting him back into the bed.

“ I’m sorry about Frostbite. He won’t admit it but I think he gets a crack out of scaring his patients,” He said with a placating chuckle. His mirthful eyes met Jason’s puzzled ones and he continued on as he began to fiddle with few thermoses, seemingly searching for one in particular.

“ You must be quite confused. I don’t exactly know how you ended up here but this place called the Far Frozen. I felt a pulse of magic near the river and went to investigate and ended up fished you of the water. You were nearly frozen so I brought you back to village where you could get warmed up and medics like Frostbite could help you before the actual frostbite set in.”

He chuckled at his own joke before placing a cup in Jason’s hands.

“ It’s soup, drink up. It’ll help you get warm.”

Jason hesitantly took a sip of his soup. It was surprisingly good! He continued to sip his soup and Jason observed the man. He had a rather muscular build Jason noticed, staring at the man for no other reason than assessing if he’d be a potential threat (and for absolutely no other reason). Danny finished closing up his thermos and continued to speak.

“ I promise once Frostbite treats you for any illness or injury. I’ll help you get home. -Oh where are my manners” he held his hand out for Jason to shake. “You can call me Phantom.”

“ Call me Jay,” he replied, taking Phantom’s hand and a glance at his biceps. Phantom pulled away and stood up.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to resting. I’ll come back later when Frostbite gives you a check up and we can talk about how you got here and how to get you back” He turned and began to walk out before turning his head back one last time and waved. “I’ll see in a bit Jay.”

Jason watched him go and fell back into bed having finished his soup. As he pulled the furs and blankets back over himself he thought ‘Well maybe it’s not the worst Valentine’s Day ever.’

#dc x dp #long post #dead on main #dead on main ship #jason todd #danny fenton #danny phantom #Jontun Danny Fenton #Frostbite is Danny’s ghost guardian #Cass Tim and Steph are freaking out trying to find Jason #They got Zatana on board #Time works differently in realms so it’ll be longer for Jason than for the team #Jason was totally checking Danny out #He’s suspicious but saving his life and being hot earns Danny some brownie points #The question is whether Danny knows he was being checked out #Danny is bigger than Jason in this bc Fenton genes #and also bc Jason deserves to be held and protected like a baby or a couple of grapes #The Valentine’s Day Debacle au #Happy Valentine’s Day! #Strega’s dc x dp prompt

[thekitsunesiren]

mind if I give a dp×dc prompt?

Constantine means to summon the ghost king but instead summons the ghost prince who is currently has a fork hanging out of his mouth.

Damian just wanted to eat lunch with his adoptive father king phantom, in peace.

I just want to put that I love this prompt, and will enjoy writing this so much!

Now, onto the big question: How did Damian become the Ghost Prince of the Infinite Realms in the first place?

And of course, the answer is obviously because of Ra's al Ghul. I could think of it as two ways.

One would be Ra's summoned the Ghost King and offered his son in exchange for immortality. Danny not only denies him, but still takes Damian with him because he's obviously better off anywhere but there.

The other way would be Damian would be forced to watch the summoning as Ra's possibly wanted to show him his ascent into being immortal. Though, when summoning Danny, he just looked around, saw Damian, grabbed him, and disappeared back through the summoning circle while flipping off Ra's al Ghul.

Now, what's the Ghost King supposed to do with the human kid he just kidnapped without a second thought?

Sure, the kids previous living conditions probably wasn't the best. I mean, how would it when the man had an entire pit of rotten ectoplasm? But Danny was pretty much still a kid himself. And he had his kingly duties on top of that. But that doesn't mean he was just going to dump the kid somewhere else and hope for the best.

So what does Danny do? He goes to his sister.

Jazz is conflicted about the whole ordeal. On one hand, it was good for Danny to rescue the child from the possible dangerous situation. On the other, they had a whole child that they didn't know what to do with.

Damian was confused about the entire situation. He was there with his grandfather (whether by force or his own accord depending how he got there) to watch him summon the King of the Dead in order to establish himself as one of the higher beings in this world to rule it. Instead, the King, who turned out to be no more older than him, denied his grandfather upright before grabbing him and vanishing back into the same portal he was summoned from.

Now, he was sitting between the Ghost King and an older teen. Sister, maybe? Either way, he was unsure as to what to do now. He had no idea how far he was away from the hideout of the League. And if the King was as powerful as legends told, he doubted he would make it far if he were to run anywhere before he was caught.

So, Damian believed that the best thing to do in this situation was to try and get onto the Ghost King's good side until he could find what would be the next step. So his next words shocked both him and the woman he was talking with.

"I want to stay with you, Great King of the Dead."

So! Damian decided that staying with the Ghost King, or Phantom, as he preferred to be called at most, would be best. Of course, his request threw the king off guard along with the girl. But it was all he had up his sleeve and he was going to use it.

And now that that was settled, a lot of things followed suite:

Danny, with the gain of a new charge, called in Sam and Tucker for a full on meeting on what to do with the kid along with Jazz.

Of course with Danny officially kidnapping him, he was under Danny's care. The Ghost King's care. That was basically signing some sort of second death wish.

With all of his friends and family being alive, they decide the best place for him to leave was in his castle in the Ghost Zone. There was plenty of room there! And he was sure that it would be safe. Maybe. Hopefully. You know what? He'll probably have to do a quick check before he officially brought to the castle.

That being said, he would also have to warn those who stayed in the castle the arrival of his....guest? Kidnappee? Ward? A kid that he took from the environment that was not safe for him!

Surprisingly, the ghosts were excited about the development. So excited, in fact, that when he returned to the castle with Damian in turn, there was already talk about the Ghost King's heir was already going around of all the realms. That was fine though. If the word spread around fast enough, hopefully that that meant he would be easily protected against any possible attacks.

Danny introduces to some of those he can. A few members of his Rogue Gallery who he gotten closer to over the time, Ellie ("It's big sister Ellie, now! I can't believe you just kidnapped a kid like that!")

Others were introduced to him as well. Especially Frost Bite and Fright Knight. Both of which were interested in meeting his sudden charge. (But with the way he saw the kid eyeing Fright Knight's sword, it's best their unsupervised interactions were kept to a minimum.)

And seeing that he was a kid himself, it was going to be weird raising one that's probably not much younger than him. Clockwork sure did get a kick out of it though.

Here is a list of possible outcomes that come from Danny and his friends & family raising Damian:

He doesn't grow up to be as stiff and cold as before. With Danny and the others around (especially Jazz's "Aunt Jazz, Damian," Aunt Jazz's mandatory sessions about his life with the League of Assassin's) his formality is more royalty like instead of an assassin waiting to strike. Though, there is a bit still there.

Training. As being accepted as the ward and possible heir of the Ghost King, it meant that that Damian would have protection and would have to learn the ways of the Infinite Realms. Both its politics and ways of combat. That was fine, Damian was sure he could handle it. He was raised by the League of Assassins after all. But he was wrong...so wrong. His first training session showed how he fared as a human against a ghost. But he wasn't deterred and continued fighting. (It was alright in the end, because he got his own ghost sword. Of course, it didn't send the opponent into a realm of neverending nightmares, but it was still good. Danny was sure he heard Damian cackle madly when the sword was presented to him.)

Bonding time with Danny and his friends. He would most likely learn about Danny about how he became Phantom and King of the Infinite Realms, as well as a bit of his friends and family that was with him the entire time.

Even if he is Danny's ward, that doesn't mean that he keeps him in the Infinite Realms the entire time. He often took Damian out to various spots that he deemed alright for some bonding between the two to get to know each other a bit more personally.

He would even allow Damian some time alone in the human realm if he wanted it. Of course, he would only leave him for about an hour or two before picking him up again. During that time he would simply work on some kingly duties he couldn't do with Damian around.

Overtime, Damian would become more liminal than most due to all the exposure in the realms. Of course he wasn't a full on ghost, but the most he could do was float, fly and even turn invisible. But even that would take a lot out of him for too long.

After a while, Damian would be referred as "Little Prince" or "Prince of the Infinite Realms".

All. The. Animals. With all of the ecto-based animals along with the blob ghosts, he would be in absolute heaven.

Now, I want to bring something else up to this prompt: How would Bruce react?

Depending on how Danny kidnapped adopted Damian, there are two ways that Bruce could find out.

Bruce gains word from Talia after a League of Assassins member finds her and tells her of the passing of Ra's al Ghul and the kidnapping of his grandson. Both of which happened by the hands of the Ghost King.

Words gets out that Ra's failed to get the Ghost King under his control to grant his wish of immortality and that the Ghost King took his grandson as well.

Either way would be how Bruce managed to have a biological son that he was unaware of. Which could also lead to him digging into anything he could find about the King of the Infinite Realms, even seeking JL Dark for any information. Of course, their information isn't up to date and he think that Damian has been kidnapped by the cruel Ghost King Pariah Dark instead of Danny Phantom: The King who can't say no to a kid with a sword bigger than his own body.

So yes. This whole ordeal would just be chaos from beginning to end.

#ghost king danny #dp #dpxdc #dp x dc prompt #dp x dc crossover #danny phantom crossover #dp x dc #dc x dp #dp crossover #dcxdp #Kitsune Kounters

[new-revenant]

Okay, this is a DP x DC AU idea, but it could also work for a regular DP AU. The main premise is that Danny (Phantom or Fenton but I prefer Fenton) pretends to be magic user.

Normal DP AU idea first-Danny accidentally uses his powers in front of his parents and claims that it’s just magic because he thinks that his parent would be more accepting of him using magic rather than being a ghost. Surprisingly it works, but now they want a scientific explanation for it while Danny is being very defensive about it. They want to respect their son’s wishes, but being able to science magic is very appealing.

Now onto a more dc exclusive idea-there may be a no-meta rule in Gotham, but I’m pretty sure there’s not a no-magic-user rule there. So, in the case of Danny needed to use his powers, he could come up with the excuse that he just has magic.

And since Gotham is cursed to all hell and-I think this is a somewhat popular hc based on my semi-occasional lurking of the batman tag but take that with a bucket of salt-magic users don’t want to touch it with a ten foot pole. So when Danny’s asked, “then why are you here?” he can say “I don’t like dealing with other magic users they all suck.” Idk that’s just the most believable thing I can think off that Danny would actually say as an reason. I’ll be going more into this idea under the cut.

Now the actual reason for why he’s in Gotham can be anything. If he’s on a school trip he can just say “I’m on a school trip” if he uses his powers as Danny Fenton. He could be on the run, whether it be from his own parents, the GIW, Vlad, or something else. Sky’s the limit with this.

If he’s using his powers as Phantom, however, then that excuse probably isn’t going to work since he is obviously glowing and has an echoy voice, not to mention he’s also wearing a hazmat suit and definitely looks like a child who died in a lab accident, yet oddly looks completely untouched by anything that could’ve hurt him. So that wouldn’t work for my idea, so Fake-Magic-User!Danny Fenton.

Now Danny can’t keep this up forever, Batman-and the rest of the batfam-going to see some holes in his scheme(i know it’s not the right word but I can’t think of something better)and would try to get an actual magic user’s opinion. Now let’s get out what I think the five magic users I know of would react to the being asked to check this out-but also take this with a bucket of salt since my knowledge of dc is surface level at best;

Dr. Fate - It would funny if he was just, busy doing who knows what and no one could contact him. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that in a fic once so :). But the best part would be that he appears once Danny reveals that he’s in fact not a magic user. Dr. Fate would float down from somewhere in the sky and say something along the lines of “You are Daniel [middle name] Fenton, the ghost hero known as Phantom,” I don’t know how he talks exactly, but it’s something like that. Just completely pulls the rug under Danny and just summarizes everything. Danny’s secret identity would’ve also been slightly revealed but Dr. Fate would put a nice little bow on it. Or maybe I have no idea how Dr. Fate acts so I would love for someone who did know more about him to put out their own ideas for this. Same goes with the other magic users I’m going to talk about.

Constantine - He would be like “Eh, he’s not hurting anyone other than himself, it’ll be fine. Come get me when he start tearing fabrics of reality.” Okay, not exactly like that but he would just not want to go to Gotham and the whole situation with Danny. From the Bat’s description, Danny wouldn’t sound worth his time/it would something that the batfam could easily handle. And he would just direct them to Zatanna for magic questions/suggest for them to just ask Zatanna and leave him alone. Speaking of Zatanna-

Zatanna - I have no idea on how she would act. The only reference I have for her is from the YJ cartoon so based on that she might go check it out immediately but Danny would try everything in his power to evade her until she gives up. He would definitely be able to do so unless Zatanna does some dues es machania(can’t spell that) that teleports her right next to Danny. Even her being able to track him he can still run away for days.

Raven - I’m pretty sure she’s a magic user, I don’t see why not. But like with Zatanna, the only reference for Raven is from a cartoon-Teen Titans(not go). So she probably wouldn’t care if Danny wasn’t a threat. Yeah I don’t have much to say I should probably rewatch TT.

Captain Marvel/Shazam - He is a magic user right? Anyhow, I’m pretty sure that he’d be the only one to actually meet Danny. But I don’t think that he would instantly go “yeah this guy’s not a magic user” but would instead be like “huh, this guy’s vibes are weird. maybe he just has weird magic?” But, I also like to imagine that by some twist of fate he’s the first dc character to meet Phantom and would be able to put two and two together(thanks Wisdom of Solomon). That doesn’t automatically mean that Billy would spill the bean though, depending on the impression Danny leaves, he would 100% help him out with his charade.

Basically, Danny would be able to keep this up for a good few months to weeks at best lol depending on how much of a threat he seems to be and how much he would actually use his powers.

But yeah, that’s about all I have on this idea for now. I hope y’all like it as much as I do :)

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dp crossover #danny fenton #danny phantom crossover #dp au #danny phantom au #revenant rambles

[half-deadmagicperson]

Phight '24 Phic 3

For @phicphight (I keep forgetting to tag them lol)

Title: Casper High Class of '08

Words: 1282

Warnings: None

Rating: G

Prompt by @coyotecrackers : Ten years since Danny graduated high school, and fourteen years since his accident. The former A-listers are organizing a high school reunion, and somehow both Danny AND Phantom got an invite… Seriously, how are these things still happening to him?

AO3

“You could always decline as Phantom,” Sam mentioned. Danny was currently on the phone with her and Tucker staring down at his recent piece of mail.

“I know, but they’ll be disappointed.”

“Well, Phantom never was officially a Casper High student, and he’s probably too busy with his position as ambassador,” Tucker chimed in.

“You’re right. They’d probably understand if Phantom couldn’t show up. Besides, I’d like to enjoy or at least stand in boredom without being gawked at. I’ll call Paulina, as Phantom, and let her know.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Paulina was understanding, if a little guilt-tripping, and told Danny if he ended up being free he was still welcome to come. Danny agreed before letting her go. He contacted his job to let him know he’ll need that night off before heading off to work.

Ever since he was a child, Danny has always had his eyes set on NASA. After the accident, he was a bit concerned over whether or not his dreams would be attainable. After the ghost problems started to settle down, Danny pulled his grades back up and went to college for engineering and astronomy.

He knew that with his ‘medical condition’ being an astronaut was out of the question. However, he still got to work with spacecraft and educate children on the different planets.

Sam and Tucker went on to become an environmentalist and a computer scientist respectively. The trio decided after highschool to room together and save money. They still live together, but with their conflicting work schedules, they often don’t see each other until night.

Cujo, the ghost of a guard dog from the old Axion Labs, decided to take up residence in their tiny apartment as well. Although, he tends to come and go as he pleases.

Overall, Danny’s life has been pretty good now that things have settled down. He did tell his parents about his alter ego, and they took it well! Jazz was doing amazing things as a psychiatrist. Even Vlad has started to patch things up with Danny’s parents.

Now if only that reunion would have run as smoothly.

~~~~~~~~~~

The night of the reunion approached, and the trio found themselves getting ready. Danny decided to ditch the tie after several failed attempts at tying it. Sam donned on a professional looking outfit that still had touches of her gothic aesthetic. Tucker had rented a tux and switched to his ‘special occasion’ beret, which was just the exact same hat except cleaner.

The three of them piled into Sam’s Nissan LEAF (not sponsored lmao) and drove towards their old high school. After about 30 minutes, the familiar sight of Casper High greeted them. Sam parked her car, and the three headed inside.

“Hey guys! Glad you could make it,” Star, one of the former A-Listers, sat at a check-in table with name tags. The trio walked over to grab their tags. While picking up his ‘Danny Fenton’ label, Danny noticed one of the stickers labeled ‘Phantom’. Star must’ve noticed his brow quirk because she spoke.

“He said he was busy with his ambassadorial gig, but we decided to make a tag for him just in case.”

Danny smiled and nodded, ignoring the pit in his stomach. The trio made their way into the gym.

“Holy shit! Fenton is that you?!” Danny turned around to see a shocked Dash Baxter, who was noticeably shorter than him. Danny grinned.

“Sure is! How’s it going, Baxter? I hear you landed a spot on the Packers.”

After freshman year, Dash started to mellow out. He decided that his school work and friendships were more important than bullying some nerd. Danny also suspects that he got some counseling, but that is not really his business.

“Sure did! In fact, Preseasons are starting up in a couple months. If you want to come I’m sure I could score you some tickets.” Danny chuckled.

“I might have to take you up on that.”

After their conversation, Dash spotted one of the other football players and bolted. Danny was pulling a can of pop out of the cooler when he noticed someone approaching.

“Hey, Val! Long time no see!” Valerie Gray rolled her eyes.

“We literally saw each other yesterday,” she stated.

“Well, yeah, but that was different because it was for business.”

“You were playing that new Zelda game for half of patrol.”

“Listen, Breath of the Wild is really fun, okay?” Danny retorted with mock hurt. Valerie giggled.

“Whatever you say, Fenton.”

The night continued forward. Danny caught up with several classmates he hadn’t seen in a while. The DJ was playing absolute bangers. It was fun to relax and socialize for a little bit. Danny was dishing out round two of Puppy Chow when he felt the familiar cold sensation in the back of his throat.

The blue mist of his ghost sense escaped Danny’s mouth. The man started glancing around the gym, trying to figure out its source.

A distinct cracking noise came from the ceiling. Fractures spread their way down to the walls. They needed to get out of there. Guests started running towards the exits until they were blocked by falling debris. Danny stared up at the fissures. The roof was going to collapse, and there was still no sign of a ghost!

Without thinking, Danny started pulling chunks of debris away from the doors. Dash, Val, and several other people joined in. Danny felt his ghost sense go off again and whipped his head around towards the gym. A large piece of the roof started falling with one final break.

The people in the middle of the gym braced for the impact or tried to run, but the impact never came. Floating above the crowd, one Daniel James Fenton held the massive piece of debris and gently set it down in an empty corner of the gym.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked and was met with quick nods. Looking through the new skylight in the gym, Danny spotted a very guilty looking ghost. The man floated up to meet their gaze.

“One night! I asked for one night off, and you decided to come and break regulations!”

“I’m sorry Mr. Phantom, sir, I didn’t realize you’d be here!” the ghost’s voice came out rather meekly.

“Whether or not I was here shouldn’t matter! We have rules for a reason,” Danny sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Look, can I ask why you thought attacking a highschool reunion was a good idea?”

“I just wanted to test out my new earthquake powers!” the ghost responded. They must be pretty young if their core is still developing.

“Well how about this, you apologize to the people down there, and tomorrow we can find out a way to train your powers safely with less property damage.”

The ghost nodded and accompanied Danny down to the ruined gym. They made their apology before flying out the roof. The people watched the ghost fade from view before turning their attention to Danny. The man rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ah, yeah, I guess I’ve got some explaining to do,” and so the rest of the night was spent sharing the stories and adventures of Team Phantom, as well as other ghost related shenanigans.

After the night was over, Paulina caught Danny on his way out.

“Well, it looks like my invite worked out well after all,” she said before picking up the last name tag left on the table, “Here. We hope to see you and Phantom at our next reunion.” Danny smiled.

“I’m sure Phantom would love to make an appearance.”

Danny turned and rejoined his group. This was certainly a night to remember.

#danny phantom #dp #danny fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #phicphight #phic phight 2024

[goldenbloodytears]

imma pose you a question! what is your most out there ghostface headcanon? the one that has you like this

trying to explain your thinking and reasoning if there even is any

Hi! Thank you for the ask! If you had asked me this back in 2019 I probably would have answered with either my headcanon (now canon) of his dad being a military man or the other headcanon where he’s an ex-Mormon/uses being Mormon as a cover.

I’ll talk about the Mormon one, since while it’s not exactly “out there” the way believing in Bigfoot is, it’s not a headcanon I see come up often (like at most its jokes about him being from Utah).

In 2019 and 2020 I fell down a rabbit hole of Mormon true crime thanks to Netflix. The documentary about the Salt Lake City bomber was a particular inspiration due to the focus on document forgery. It made me consider whether Danny might have some loose links to the ‘subculture’ if you will, as either personal knowledge or connections would help him when it comes to forging a fake identity.

As it stands I don’t think Jed Olsen is the only identity he’s used, I think he’s used others. I also don’t think he just uses completely falsified documents, but probably steals actual identities sometimes.

Back to the Mormons. There’s a big survivalist culture, like, if you actually check the LDS church website you can find resources on making survival kits/bug-out bags. There’s a lot of fascinating quirks in the culture of the church like this. I felt like the survivalist aspect would build nicely into the fact he’s a drifter. He knows how to pack and he’s ready to go at a moment’s notice, if he needs to ditch his car he can easily do so and make an escape on foot.

I’ve generally tweaked this headcanon over time to where Danny himself isn’t a church member, so he’s no longer ex-Mormon in my headcanon, but I feel like it makes a lot of sense that he would still have picked up elements and some of the quirks. I like the idea that some of his family are Mormon, and through this he learned that a lot of people won’t question those who act “godly” and “righteous” especially if they’re religious themselves. A funny quirk he’s retained is that he doesn’t drink coffee, instead his apartment and desk at work are littered with cans of cola.

Another quick headcanon that is funny is I like the idea that he carries a VHS player with him. It’s one of the first purchases he got as a young man and he paid a good amount of money to get it so it moves with him. He tends to sublet properties that already come with furniture, which suits him just fine, but not everybody owns a VHS player. If a current property already has one, you’d likely see two VHS players, which would be pretty weird to see if he had somebody over. Good thing he doesn’t usually lol

#danny jed olsen johnson #headcanons #I could write a lot more about his politics and worldview haha #ghostface #dbd ghostface

[asleep-in-the-keep-sideblog]

Asleep In The Keep: A DP x BNHA fic

Summary: The Hero Commission hosts another meeting to discuss the Phantom threat

Word count: 4758

Chapter 24: Meeting: Exposition

Shouta was shaking, a bitter cold settled into his chest. He couldn't help Phantom. The boy was right there but it was as if he couldn’t reach him. Shouta was the same when he was his age. He always had difficulty with letting people in, and when he finally did, one of them died. He knows it wasn’t his fault, but even now the guilt hangs over him like a heavy blanket. 

He doesn’t know what Phantom has been through. Whether he was truly All For One’s son (a theory that's looking to be even more true) or not, the boy had clearly been abused. It made sense that he would be distrustful. He might not have ever had someone show him any kindness. 

Where was Shouta supposed to go from here? 

Shouta sighed and his breath frosted, despite it being almost summer. Was he doing the right thing? He wanted to help the boy, and he truly believed that UA would be the best thing for him, but he felt wrong for being underhanded. Shouta barely knew him, but Phantom deserved better than that. 

A part of Shouta took over, the part that he sinks into after a hard day and leaves him raw. He was so determined before. He swore he would drag Phantom to UA even if the kid kicked and screamed. He barely knows this kid and he already feels so strongly about him. But now? Phantom needed to be the one to make that choice, otherwise he would just be a prisoner again. Freedom means the most to people who just got it. 

The question rattled in his brain again, where was Shouta supposed to go from here? Back to the café. Again and again, until Phantom made his choice. If he decides to be alone, he will help him to the best of his ability. It had to be Phantom’s choice. 

However, now wasn’t the time for that. Shouta checked his watch, a quarter till 3pm, just enough time to get there. He walked the familiar street to the Hero Commission headquarters. Another emergency meeting was called after the fight from last night. The topic was kept under wraps of course, but it wasn’t hard to guess. Whispers on the street say they’ve been having meetings all day, officials walking in and out in hurried groups with tightly held briefcases. 

Shouta had no idea what was in store for him, or why he was called. Since Shouta had been posing as more loyal to the Commission than UA, he was able to get pieces of information here and there. He was kept on a tight leash, of course, but it did serve rather useful. The fact he was included however means they must have been desperate. 

He allowed his body to go into auto-pilot mode, recalling everything that happened in the last two hours. He turned over the conversation in his head, finding anything he could’ve done differently. He couldn’t get the boy's face out of his mind, how scared, no- how angry he looked. He might not be able to recall his features, but he remembers his eyes and how electric they felt. Shouta stopped in his steps, half tempted to go back. If he did go back, he wouldn’t know what he would be able to do. Phantom was almost a force of nature in himself, who knew how he’d react if Shouta did something wrong again. An image popped into his mind, it was him holding Phantom when he was as wild as a star. Shouta had a suspicion that it wasn’t the warmth that helped him. 

Shouta was at the steps of the headquarters. Dozens of personal; heroes and suits alike, walked in and out frantically like ants with a job. Shouta looked down at his watch again; 5 minutes left. Shouta rubbed the bridge of his nose, already feeling the headache that would come from such events. After preparing himself, he walked in. It was rude to be late. 

 👁️🗨️

Mirai Sasaki sat in the meeting room. It was last minute- the summons being sent out only a few hours ago. Mirai, unfortunately, had no idea what the topic was about as he had already used his quirk on Lemillion. He trusted Bubble-Girl and Centipeder to look after him, but that wasn’t always enough. 

Mirai had kept him on a tight leash since the Phantom incident, not allowing him to go on patrol without someone present. Phantom. The vigilante, or perhaps villain, knew about him somehow, or at least his quirk. When he was first spotted with Fat Gum, he posed as Lemillion to get closer to the heroes. Whether it was to help or cause destruction was left to be determined. 

Mirai could see both sides. Phantom could’ve been posing as a helpless kid, a distraction to get closer. He was following Fat Gum for a reason, and unfortunately he vanished before they knew why. However, if the villain were truly All For One’s son, like Gran Torino suspected, it would be logical to look for heroes to protect him, especially if he used the Nomu attack as a way to break out. Mirai also had to take into consideration that the “vigilante” had been witnessed saving people throughout the night, even All Might’s protege. But the fact he used Lemillion, Miro’s identity did not entice the hero to trust him. 

Before the night blew out, Fat Gum had contacted him to check on his sidekick. At the time, Lemillion was also out in the city, keeping people safe and directing them along his patrol route. Mirai had no way of knowing if the boy was safe or not, and he had not used his quirk on him that day. At first, Mirai had feared the worst. He wasn’t able to get in contact with Lemillion and it certainly didn’t help matters when Gran Torino informed him of the possible villain spawn. If Phantom was truly All For One’s son, he could have found Miro and taken his quirk. 

In the end that wasn’t the case, but that didn’t ease Mirai’s panic. There was a reason Phantom had chosen Lemillion. It couldn’t have just been based off their shared quirk since apparently, Phantom had an arsenal at his disposal. So why Lemillion? It was a question that haunted Mirai as he slept. 

Mirai fiddled with his tie pin. It was a smiling All Might chibi that was closer to a pin from a game shop than one used for ties. Miro had gotten it for him a few months into his internship. He said it was a thank you for taking him in and giving him a chance. Of course, Mirai already had this one; it was one of the more basic and mass produced designs of All Might’s Silver Age. Still, he wore it like it was the only one in the world. 

It was important to Mirai to do what makes you happy, laughter was one of the best ways for that. Taking Miro in, although started off as a way to help All Might, helped Mirai more in the end. It was strange, knowing when you’re going to die. You start to let go of the big things and focus on what’s in front of you. He felt a strange sense of peace in between the panic that everything he knows will be gone. He didn’t want to die. For the first time since All Might left, he was happy. He still wanted to see the world Miro would bring in and achieve his goal. 

Mirai checked his watch again. It was one minute before the meeting was set to begin. He looked around the room trying to find a pattern to the gathering of heroes. 

It was quite the menagerie. There were less than 5 of them in the room, but most were too highly ranked for this to be an ordinary meeting. A few seats were left empty, either that be by tidiness or leftovers was yet to be revealed. 

Most of the heroes sat with bored expressions- Rag Doll, and Endeavor being the exception. Rag Doll always had a smile on, she must’ve taken inspiration from All Might, as many other heroes did. Endeavor however- Mirai doesn’t think the man would smile even at the birth of his child. He looked angry- angrier than usual. The room was filled with an intense heat and tension radiating from the man. It could be he knew what the meeting was about.  

At precisely 3 PM, Eraserhead walked through the door and took a seat. That seemed to be the signal to get the meeting started. A woman with blue hair and tired eyes stood at the front. Another woman sat beside her with a notebook, clearly ready to take notes. 

“Good afternoon.” her tone was even, monotone, “Thank you for joining us today, despite the late notice. I am Jin Makoto, and will be directing this meeting.” Mirai thinks he’s heard that name before. While being relatively new to the Hero Commission, she was able to get promoted quickly. Despite her accomplishments, she had a bit of a temper and got annoyed easily. 

“I’m sure many of you are curious as to why you were called here today, that or you’re just waiting for confirmation,” she eyed pointedly Endeavor, “I’m sure all of you are aware of the growing threat of the vigilante group, ‘Phantom’. Just last night, they attacked 3 pro-heroes unprovoked, causing several broken limbs.”

None of the heroes looked shocked, already knowing about it through the Hero-Network. Hawks played with one of his feathers, running his finger back and forth, watching the fibers separate and reform. 

“They weren’t as high as a priority before due to them being only vigilantes,” That was a lie and everyone knew it. The Commission has been trying to catch him since he first appeared. This whole speech was a flimsy front. “-But now that they’ve attacked, not only one but three heroes, they have revealed their true colors.”

“What does this have to do with us?” Mirko asked, sitting up straight. 

“Isn’t that obvious?” Hawks quipped, “They think we can take them down.” he pointedly looked at Ms. Makoto.

Despite Hawks being the #4 hero, not much was known of the young man. He came out of nowhere and set up his own agency near instantly. He seemed to have an easy going personality and was approved by the public, smiling and laughing with fans. However, the way he spoke, it was like there was a hidden joke that people hadn’t got yet. Mirai supposed that was a part of his charm- the cool boy act with a secret past. 

“Hey, you didn’t have to give lip, it was a genuine question.” Mirko rolled her eyes, not offended in the slightest. She crossed her arms playfully. 

“Hawks is correct. You each possess a quirk that the Commission believes would be greatly useful to track and take down Phantom. We have been trying to track them down, but one of them seems to have some sort of ‘flight’ quirk, and they move with striking efficiency. Thanks in large part to the sacrifice of the heroes last night, we finally have their location honed down.”

Eraserhead caught Mirai’s eye. His cold and always bored face cracked for just a second, his eyebrows furrowing.  

“If we know where they are, why can’t we take him down now!” Endeavor exploded, pounding his fist onto the table, his flames waving around his face erratically. 

Endeavor slipped, but from looking over the room, no one noticed. It was a guarded secret that Phantom was not a group, but a single person. If the public, or even heroes knew the extent of his power, panic would set in and they would turn against each other (or more importantly, the Commission). 

Ms. Makoto shot him a poorly disguised glare. “It’s not that simple.” She reached her hand down to the other woman, who handed her a manilla folder. “After their fight with one of the Nomu’s, the ice that was left there couldn’t be melted by either natural heat or antifreeze,” heads all snapped to Endeavor, who’s beard got patches of blue, “In the end, it had to be chiseled out and the road had to be fixed.”

If that was the boy’s only quirk, he would be a danger in itself. That was on par with the Himura family, Endeavor’s own in-laws. Mirai had been reading reports of the group's stints, and it was clear it wasn’t his only quirk. The vigilante was the most successful Nomu, one of those things almost took out All Might. A chill went up Mirai’s spine. He had no way of knowing what the boy was capable of until he could use his quirk on him. 

“What’s that have to do with finding his location?” Eraserhead spoke up for the first time. There was no waiver or hesitancy to his voice, but Mirai sensed there was something else in it. 

“I was getting to that-” Ms. Makoto gave him the same glare as she did Endeavor. “You see, after they were extracted, it was sent to the Commission’s labs. There it was discovered that the ice, despite its temperature, was closer to a crystal or element and was bioluminescent. The sample also radiated a unique signature that matched something in our archives. Using this, researchers were sent out to find any matches. They did.” She smiled like a cat. She stepped off to the side and a holographic map was pulled up.

“The first and weakest sample was found here,” she pointed to a section on the map and it zoomed in to show a large warehouse with a broken roof. “This is just outside Musutafu. Here, we found a small patch of the ice and traces of radiation. They matched.” Her smile got bigger. “The sample was small since we assume it's from before the Hosu Nomu attacks, possibly hours.” The map zoomed out and she scrolled quickly to a section of Hosu. “Here is where the ice was first collected and it has the second largest signature. There were also a few other key areas in Hosu like an alley.”

They waited for her to show the alley but she simply moved along with the presentation. “The trial resumes back in Musutafu. It took some time, but the biggest signature was found a few hours ago,” She zoomed in on a shack, smaller than the warehouse but no less run down. “More ice was found at this location, not just patches, but in the very walls. We also found a few nick-nacks suggesting that this is where they have been residing since Hosu.” 

Heroes faces around the table were shocked. Eraserhead in particular looked pale, but he tried to school his expressions quickly. Hawks was the only one not affected by the information. Mirai wasn’t free from its influence. So much information was revealed just now. While radiation wasn’t uncommon with emitter or some mutant quirks, it wasn’t on the scope that it could be used to track down a specific person. Not just that, but it seemed that Phantom was constantly emitting this radiation or signature even when the quirks are not in use if it's in the foundation of his house. 

“Is the radiation dangerous?” Mirai asked. Even if Phantom himself wasn’t a threat, his very existence could be. 

“Only in large doses, which is nowhere near what we’ve been able to find. The most effect it had on subjects who were overexposed were increased appetite, emotional dysregulation and a short burst of quirk power, similar to drugs. 

Mirai froze. He’s been investigating the yakuza organization, Shie Hassaikai, for the past few months. They deal mainly in quirk boosting drugs called triggers, and they have been getting more and more violent as of late. 

“This brings me to the final location and largest sample,” she zoomed in on an alley. “As I said, we were able to narrow down the location thanks in part to the heroes of last night. This is the alleyway that they encountered Phantom and it has the largest signature. Unlike the others where researchers experienced no ill adverse effects of the radiation, when left to marinate in here for too long, they started reporting the previously explained symptoms. Heroes who came to the scene after the fight also reported similar symptoms, but not on the level of the researchers since they were there longer.”

Hawks let out a low whistle. Everyone turned to him, taken aback by his disrespect.

“Gotta say, the kids sure do have some quirks. ” His voice had a sing-song quality. 

“Hawks, if you cannot be respectful during the meeting, you will be asked to leave.” There was an edge to her voice that went more than just the surface level threat. 

“Whatever, whatever.” He put his hands up in mock surrender and leaned back into his chair. 

“Tell me again, why does this means we can’t go after him?!” Endeavor once again boomed over the table. 

“Because you need to understand what you’re up against. Phantom must be taken down quickly and quietly. Their array of quirks leave too much unpredictability, and we don’t know for certain if they’re working with the League of Villains.”

“I say we should give them a chance.”

“Hawks, I will not ask again.” Ms. Makoto rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

“What, come on. They’re just kids, right? What harm can they do?” His body language was open and playful, like he was making a joke about an annoying teacher. “In fact, I think we should extend an invitation to become a hero. I’m sure the Commission would be able to benefit greatly from that. Just think of the approval ratings.” He closed one of his eyes and looked at Ms. Makoto. She looked ready to burst.

“You may leave the room, Hawks.” She pointed towards the door, but the other woman reached up to touch her hand. Ms. Makoto looked down at her, but the woman just shook her head. “Very well, Hawks, you can stay. Just don’t push your luck.”

“Sure.” He smirked. 

Ms. Makoto breathed in deeply and counted to three before she started again. “Okay, back to the map,” She zoomed out of the map so you could see both cities. Red lines were drawn over it in seemingly random patterns. “This is the trail of the radiation. As you can see, it starts from Musutafu, then Hosu, then back to Musutafu.” Most of the lines were in Musutafu and seemed to be around a 20 mile radius. “We compared the locations of radiation and overlaid it with Phantom sightings,” A green line popped up and sat perfectly over the first. “They’re the same, confirming the link.”

The second woman reaches for a briefcase on the ground. With a few clicks it opens, and she turns it around revealing a blocky machine. It’s a little larger than a cell phone with a screen and knobs.

“This is what you will be using to find Phantom. The light goes to green when it reaches 0.8, meaning that he may have been there. It only works in a radius of 10 feet, so it will mainly be used to map out their behavior or routes. There is a margin of error of course. The thing seems to spike when around large clusters of mutant holders or places where quirks are used a lot. The researchers kept being led to UA for example.”   

Everyone looked to Eraserhead to comment, but he just remained silent, seemingly hyper focused on the map. 

Instead, Mirko spoke up, “Is there a reason it flashes at 0.8 rather than 0.1?”

“There is actually, aside from when Phantom is in the area, the radiation is naturally reoccurring.”

“Why not just have it set to 0.1 then…” she mumbled. 

“This machine is very crude, but the researchers are working on the samples to create any devices that could be used more efficiently against Phantom. They also believe it will help with the Nomus, should they attack again.”

“You each will be given one, and should anything happen to it, you will be responsible,” The other woman grabbed more brief cases and slid them across the table to each hero. 

“Also-based on this map, it’s clear that Phantom is sticking close to Musutafu. We believe they’re trying to find something. The Commission trusts me telling you this because we want you to find out what. That is the second priority to finding Phantom of course.”

“As we saw during the Nomu attacks and again last night, if you do encounter any member from Phantom, call back-up. If you see one, the others are around.”

“Why all the fuss? We’ve each taken down several gangs by ourselves, and not to be mean, but Mt. Lady’s quirk isn’t suited for their quirks, and isn’t Kamui Woods still green?”

“While it's not that we don’t trust your abilities, the group still has a lot of unknowns about it. We haven’t confirmed if they’re working with anybody yet.”

“If you really trusted my abilities, you wouldn’t take issue with me sorting out the problem myself,” Endeavor stood up, graphing the briefcase with force, “If any member from the League shows up, then I’ll call for back-up. Otherwise, I can take care of this pest myself.” He glared down at Ms. Makoto in challenge. She met his gaze and held it. She looked like a chihuahua staring down a much larger dog. 

Endeavor walked out of the room, a final glare and door slam left behind him. There was nothing she was able to do. She sucked in a growl.

“I think this concludes the meeting.” Her face was tight with a forced smile, like she just bit into a lemon. She bowed and rushed out of the room. The woman beside her gently gathered up her stuff and bowed to the rest of the heroes, but followed after.

“Ha!” Hawks let out a laugh, “I guess it's true that you should never meet your heroes.”

“He’s such a man,” Mirko rolled her eyes and tsked. “Just because they took two Nomus down in the time for you to get one, doesn’t mean it’s an insult to your pride.”

“Do you really think that's it?” Rag Doll cocked her head, “I thought it seemed more personal than that.”

“Nah, the old man’s always been like that,” Hawks agreed, “A hot head who’s flames can’t compare. He might not have the best approval ratings, but the fact that he’s so highly ranked proves his skill. I think that's a good thing. Getting too caught up in approval can slow a hero down.”

“What, not like you? Is that what you’re trying to say.” Mirko teased, “Careful Icarus, if you get too close you’ll melt.”

“I can’t tell if you’re referring to my ego or Endeavor,” He laughed back. “Still, I think that would be good for heroes. Not getting caught up with public appearances or drama gives us some free time.”

“Is that why you’re rushing everywhere, to save time?” Mirai  wasn’t sure if they were flirting or not. 

“Of course,” He winked at her and she laughed and waved him off. 

“I need to leave,” Eraserhead suddenly stood up and marched towards the door.

“Come on Eraserhead, stay” Mirko called him back, “If anything we could work out a game plan to get these fuckers. I know they’re kids, man, but they could get themselves or hurt.”

“I still think they should be allowed to become pro’s, or at least one of them. Imagine how popular they would be?”

“They’d give you a run for your spot, oh great #4 hero.”

Eraserhead didn’t listen to them and just left.

“What a buzz kill,” Hawks wined, “whatever, we can always work it out ourselves”

“I think it’s time I take my leave as well,” Mirai excused himself and bowed.

“Not you too. I was excited to talk to you. I bet you got some pretty good stories about All Might” There was that look in his eye again, and Mirai had to work to ignore it.

“Another time perhaps.” And he left. He heard them still talk behind the door.

“Parties over I guess. Hey, you wanna get something to eat? I know a good chicken place.”

“As long as you’re buying bird-brain.”

“Uhh, am I invited?”

Mirai didn’t stay to hear the rest of it, he had a plan to make. Firstly, now that he had one of his own trackers, he could find Phantom before either UA or the Commission. He could find out for himself if the boy could be trusted, and then decided the best outcome with his quirk. Doubt swirled in his head since he didn’t know if he would be damning the boy or the world with this plan. What if his quirk shows him that Phantom was evil, but it was only by looking that it caused it. He couldn’t let that sway him. In this case the risks were greater than the maybe. Only problem with that plan was that he didn’t have enough sidekicks to delegate to Musutafu, not that he would ever send Mirio close to Phantom. 

He also had his own investigation to take care of, although he could see how Phantom could become important in that. If Shie Hassaikai were to find out about the boy’s radiation, they could harness it into a more powerful drug. That was wrong. Using a human to further quirk drugs, regardless of their possible alignment was immoral. 

He also had All For One to consider. If he was truly the villain's son, there were two outcomes. Outcome 1, If Phantom truly escaped with the Nomu’s, the League were sure to be looking for him. That would result in a lot of fighting and even death. If UA got him, it would put their students at risk. Class 1-A had already fought them before and succeeded, but that wasn’t going to be a certain every time. However if Phantom were to be captured by the Commission, they would be able to handle the League, but Phantom would not be in a world of good. Mirai had heard rumors about how they train heroes.

Outcome 2, is that Phantom was still affiliated with the League and it was just an act. If he joined UA, he could be using it to get closer to All Might and take him out, resulting in the loss of many children as he escaped. If he were to be captured by the Commision, the least harm would come to anyone. 

Then they’re was the less likely 3 outcome that Phantom has no relation to the League or All For One and is just a phenomenon in nature. That would result in an unpredictable outcome. He also had to consider what it was that Phantom was looking for. It could be something as benign as a lost pet to something as major as a weapon.

Based on these, supporting the Commission is the most logical stance. He just didn’t have the resources to pursue Phantom himself, and there were too many risks in trusting UA. Still, would Mirai be able to live with that decision if Phantom had truly escaped All For One? He would be handing the kid from one abuser to another. He had too. There was too much at stake.

A thought flashed into his mind. The work studies. They were on track to happen in a few weeks, that would give him time to get a few sidekicks and possibly seek out Phantom himself. No, that would just be putting more children in harm's way. Mirai could always set up a task force of his own through the hero network. He’s done so before with equally risky missions. The only problem then was that he wasn’t allowed to inform other heroes of what he knows, otherwise he could lose his hero license. 

A decision was made. They can’t afford Phantom being on the loose in case something happens, whether that be the League or other villains find him. Mirai had to support the Commission to protect the most lives. If UA were to capture Phantom, Mirai would offer his services to see the repercussions. 

He only hopes that's the right choice.

#danny phantom #dp #dp fic #dp crossover #dp x bnha #dp cross #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #sir nighteye #hawks mha #hawks bnha #mha hawks #bnha hawks #Mirko #Mirko bnha #mha Mirko #my hero academia #asleep in the keep

[picklefics]

Benefits of Camping, or How to (not) Hunt Bigfoot With Your Parents

This was originally posted on Ao3, but I decided I'd see what posting on Tumblr was like for fanfiction :) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/47138986/chapters/118767895)

I already have chapters 1-5, just not gonna put em all up right now as I'm at a coffee shop and need to work on heading home.

Summary:

It could've been a great vacation. Probably. Except there's one tiny issue: Danny's parents have decided to take a break from hunting ghosts, instead supporting their fellow cryptobiologists in hunting Bigfoot. The big problem? They do find Bigfoot. And Bigfoot can talk. (...and has a PhD?)

Chapter 1: Benefit 1-New Cooking Skills

Danny’s folks are usually ghost hunters, but that doesn’t mean they don’t branch out. After all, they’d spent almost 20 years of their life studying a science practically everyone thought of as a paper house in a rainstorm. Surely one of those droplets of evidence would disprove the science as a whole.

Really? Entire beings made of one substance? Supernatural entities?

Absurd .

Maddie and Jack have a great deal of sympathy for cryptobiologists. They also have a tendency to suspect that ghosts are involved every time someone spots Bigfoot or some other being. But really, they’d be happy with either the discovery of a ghost or a new animal to dissect.

Danny, on the other hand, is not in love with either of those two discovery options. He is having a great deal of fun tormenting Jazz, who’d been forced to come along on a trip to the red cedar forests of California. He’d tried to bribe Sam and Tucker into coming along. Sam, with the lure of a new animal (maybe) to check out, and Tucker with peer pressure and lots of grilled meat. Unfortunately, after the reality check that was another fight with a new ghost named Fortuna (self-proclaimed follower of Fortuna, Goddess of Fortune and Misfortune, and with luck-related powers), they’d been forced to concede that having people at home who could fight ghosts was too important to have all three of them on a camping trip.

Thank fuck that Val wasn’t in school right now and that she’d gotten less extreme about ghosts since meeting Danielle. One day Danny might even consider telling her about him, if she doesn’t figure it out first. As a result, there are three competent ghost hunters in Amity Park who don’t actively hate ghosts while Danny is on vacation.

At any rate, Danny is trapped with a bunch of adults who are way too enthusiastic about hunting down rare animals and (in at least one case) killing and taxidermy-ing them. The guy in question keeps tracking new hunters down and showing off pictures of his living room and business, covered in eerie deer, bear, and alligator heads, among other things. There’s even a snake wrapped around a driftwood piece on the table. It reminds Danny of Skulker, and makes him consider yet again whether ghosts might be more likely to form out of these kinds of people. He’s pretty sure his parents were obsessive before they started regularly working with ectoplasm, and after?

They grew much more extreme.

And who knows? It could be due to exposure to ectoplasm, or maybe the obsessiveness causes ectoplasm to accumulate near them. He’s heard theories going both ways.

This guy, Danny could easily imagine dying and becoming a ghost.

At least he helps with setup. The camp takes a while to go up, yellow and beige tents popping up like gophers among the trees. His parents’ tent is a green dome, one of a few splashes of color in the group. Another guy sets up a big grill and a solar panel in a little clearing, one of the few places with sunlight. His incredibly buff partner totes a bag of backup coal to the grill like Mom would carry a sack of flour.

All around the area, people bring up folding chairs and situate equipment. In a big, waterproof, black container, they all put their tech away. The container is anchored with thick ropes to be absolutely certain that nothing can drag it away. It’s flash-flooding season in the area and there’s a river nearby, so they’re concerned that the container could float away, but they had wanted to make the equipment available to everyone, so they aren’t keeping it in anyone’s vehicle. 

A cage goes up towards the far west corner of the camp, away from the fire pit, because they’re worried anything they capture might be unduly frightened by said fire.

With that, a few people sign up in rotation to monitor the grill, planning to bake some potatoes and apples in the fire pit and grill weenies. It’ll be about three hours before supper, but the planning, and a snack, are needed. As the only kids present (apparently many of the others’ kids are nonexistent or at summer camps), Danny and Jazz are put on apple coring and potato poking duty involuntarily. 

Matthew Kapp is their instructor. He practically drags them to the fire pit and tells them how to make the food like he thinks they have infinite memory space for commands, no matter how long the list is.

He explains that potatoes explode when in the ashes without holes, then shows them the basic steps to prepare the food. Essentially, they’re supposed to stab the potatoes with a fork “until it feels right”, wrap them in tin foil, and then yeet them into the fire. Then they have to be surrounded by the ashes and dug out later. Jazz and Danny both work on this, quietly chattering.

Danny grins and with particular emphasis stabs a potato old enough to have green sprouts studded all over its surface. He has to use his right thumb to put enough pressure on the sides of the sprouts that they fall off. He jokes, “If I were Skulker and this potato was me, I’d be so happy right now…”

Jazz raises her eyebrows at him. “Sometimes I worry about the normalization of violence you’ve experienced, Danny.”

Danny is like 90% sure she’s saying that mostly to get on his nerves, but he’s not 100% sure. Ah, the delights of a sister who adores psychology and tormenting her little brother. He rolls his eyes. “Literally everybody in town probably has that. The school has at least one attack every week.”

Jazz retorts, “That’s really not normal.”

“Well it’s normal for me.” 

At that, Jazz changes topics. “Did you remember to bring our tent?”

Danny gives her a thumbs up.

“Great. We don’t have to listen to their snoring!” She cheers. Granted part of the reason they have the tent is because of Danny’s nightmares and occasional power use. Particularly, he’s prone to leaping out of bed and turning intangible the second he gets startled awake because of the sheer number of times ghosts have woken him up.

“Thanks for suggesting it,” Danny offers. Then he adds, “Stabbing the potatoes until it feels right is so…imprecise. How do we know when it feels right?”

Jazz groans sympathetically. “I know, right? I get it for people who’ve baked campfire potatoes before, but we’ve never done this. Mr. Kapp is a scientist, isn’t he supposed to know to be exact for beginners?”

Danny tosses his potato back and forth. “This potato better be good. It’s very hole-y now.” He sets it in the metal bowl to his right and adds, “It’s starting a cult.”

Jazz raises her eyebrows at him. “...why?”

“Holy? Y’know, like saints or whatever?”

Jazz snorts and grabs the tin foil roll. She starts unwrapping it to the familiar crumbly crackle of ripping metal, tearing off pieces big enough for each of the potatoes they’ve prepared. Danny snitches some of the squares and starts wrapping them around each potato as fast as he can. For this part, they don’t talk. The aluminum is too loud anyways. It covers speech pretty well.

After all 14 potatoes are wrapped, they toss them into the fire. Sparks flash into the sky and drift away, and one of the logs collapses into the pit with a soft thud. The white ashes have increased in number, but there aren’t many yet, so they wait to bury the potatoes in the ashes. While they wait, they move on to the apples.

Danny mixes the cinnamon and other spices together and Jazz cores the apples while grumbling about how hard it will be to work on her paper out here. She brought paper so she could handwrite some of it, but out here there isn’t any internet so the most she can do is type on her phone. She isn’t doing that because she’s worried about running out of power and not being able to call if there’s an emergency.

They both stuff the apples with the mixture and then wrap them and toss them in the fire in the same way as the potatoes but to the side. About 15 minutes later, they use sticks to roll the apples out of the fire. The potatoes are saved for later since it will be a few hours before they’re done, while the apples are served as a snack/dessert immediately. 

Having had a long drive and therefore possessing a strong craving for sweets (or any sort of snackage really), everyone swarms the apple pile and as a result only gets one each. Danny plots to sneak another apple into the fire later so he can have seconds, and Jazz wholly supports him. He forgets to eat, and she has to remind him far more often than she’d like.

After the apples are all eaten, some of the people sit down to rest (those who weren’t already asleep) and some of the others begin prowling the area, including Taxidermy Guy (Oscar Polson) and his wife Paloma.

When the two of them come back, they have a map of the area filled with markings denoting where they want to put various kinds of traps. The Polsons are the experts on trap-setting and location, and they’re responsible for deciding which places to put the traps each person brought. With the locations for each trap decided, everyone fixes the last few supper items and sits down for supper as the sun sets, mostly because there’s not enough time to set up the traps that evening.

Next Chapter:

https://www.tumblr.com/picklefics/730299785376104448/boc-chapter-2?source=share

#dp x xm #dpxxm #phandom #x men evolution #bad camping trips #danny phantom #hank mccoy and his very own series of unfortunate events

[nonbinary-disaster]

I just had an idea!

Danny is already an incredibly powerful individual, even if you just include the base skills of invisibility, intangibility, ectoblasts, shields and healing. Add the wail and core and everything else, he is majorly overpowered. So is his rouges though. BUT! What would happen if he also happens to be a meta as well. Like ok in the DC universe some humans have a gene called the meta gene which activates when someone with the gene goes through extraordinary physical and emotional stress. The gene then activates a process that allows the body to use whatever caused the stress , such as chemicals or RADIATION, to change the GENETIC makeup of the individual. This can be used two ways in a fanfic:

Danny has the meta gene and THAT is what allowed him to survive the accident somewhat, making halfas even more rare as the meta gene has to be present for someone to survive.

The accident did NOT activate the gene but something ELSE did. Boy has ghost powers and something new to deal with. People assume that all the ghost powers are because of meta gene.

The previous options can lead to many things

Something prompting someone to check his dna and finding not only the gene but that it is also active (can that be seen in a dna test? I assume so because of people knowing that they are carriers then again that may be shown differently) thus telling them he does in fact have powers.

Danny being outed as phantom and a debate starts on whether or not he is protected by being a meta or because he produces his own ectoplasm he is not human and can be captured and experimented on by the GIW because of the antiecto acts. Also is it a federal vs state law situation? Is GIW actually a government agency? Bonus: is Danny free or currently being experimented on? Does the GIW even honor the results if it’s decided he’s meta human? EXTRA Bonus: debate actually starts because GIW experimentation either tests show Danny is actually a meta human and someone within tips off the heroes or heroes find him because of something else and they find he has meta gene and fights on his behalf

Either Danny is outed to someone or to everyone and that leads to people realizing that for the gene to activate something BAD had to have happened to him. Cue investigations.

And lastly, Danny is outed to everyone and everyone begrudgingly has the admit that Wes was actually somewhat right. If the accident didn’t activate the gene and it was something else that did, Wes is going to be going crazy! He has people telling him that yes he’s right about Danny being phantom but no that he’s wrong and Danny is not actually dead. Does he actually know that Danny is in fact dead and the gene thing is new or does he question what he thought he knew?!? lol

Hope you don’t mind if I tag you @wolfeyedwitch I see you like DC/DP stuff and I wouldn’t mind seeing your thoughts.

#danny phantom #dc #dp x dc #young justice #metahuman #metas #fanfic ideas #fanfic prompt #pls write this someone #thought of this while working on another dc x dp fanfic #chase scenes are horrible #at this point I have almost three chapters already written around the chase scene #but the chase scene is the setup so until I get that done I can’t post!

[softpine]

battery % character questions answered:

thank you to anyone who sent in questions!! i combined them all here, sorted by character so it’ll be easy to read :)

31%. What is guaranteed to make this character smile?

a cool breeze on a warm day, waking up to the sound of birds chirping, making wishes on dandelions, and finn. always finn 💖

76%. If your character could "unmeet" someone in their life, who would they choose?

+ anonymous said: I got sad thinking about what if Asa never met Finn but now I’m super curious how much that would have changed things?

omg if asa never met finn, there would be no story at all because finn is the reason why asa is even able to see ghosts! his life would’ve been so normal without finn, it’s kind of funny to imagine. but if you asked asa, he would of course want finn to be in his life no matter the cost. he can’t bear the thought of never knowing him :(

but to answer the question directly, i think he would choose to “unmeet” his grandparents on danny’s side. they’re not really in his life at all, and they’ve always disliked caroline, so a lot of that treatment gets unfairly pushed onto asa. they still feel like caroline “trapped” danny by having a baby like it wasn’t both of their decisions lmao. danny has tried to get them to be more involved many times, but even danny himself doesn’t talk to his parents often anymore, so asa isn’t too mad about it.

7%. What's one flaw about themselves that they hate the most and wish they could change? (asked by @morrigan-sims​)

hmm this one is tricky because the thing is, asa is not self-aware of his flaws at all. in fact, he doesn’t even think many of his flaws are actually flaws at all. he should probably feel guilty for putting his family through hard times every time he impulsively goes time traveling, but he really... doesn’t. when he gets an idea, he’s not letting it go until he sees it through. he gets so wrapped up in his own mind that he doesn’t do a great job of checking in on other people unless they come to him first. this is not to say he’s not a compassionate person, because that couldn’t be further from the truth, but he spends most of his time locked in a daydream or hiding away with finn. but asa doesn’t see any of the aforementioned things as flaws. i think if someone offered him the chance to change anything about himself, he’d say he likes himself just the way he is :’)

96%. A typical weekend for your character is like… (asked by @maturation​)

weekends are danny’s time with asa, so normally asa goes to the farmhouse and helps out with the animals or runs the roadside vegetable stand. he’s there less often now that danny is on tour and casper is at college, but he still keeps mikaela and sadie company for at least one day of the week. other than that, asa spends most of his weekends somewhere outdoors, whether it’s in the forest or at the cemetery. lately, it’s only the cemetery to tell finn he hasn’t forgotten about him, and then he spends the rest of the day in bed :(

78%. If your character could choose different parents for themselves, who would they choose and why?

this is such a sad question omg but the truth is, finn wouldn’t pick anyone else. he loves his parents deeply. he spent every second of his time (while he was alive) trying to be perfect, to ease his family’s strain (financially, emotionally, you name it), trying to get his dad to quit drinking, trying to be a “good enough” son that was worthy of being treated right. he thought a lot of things were his fault, or at least were not his parent’s fault. he wanted them to be better, but he didn’t want them to be someone else :(

49%. Are there any behaviors that your other characters do that irk your character? Is your character ever vocal about their annoyance?

one of the biggest things that bothers him is when asa or even stevie, sometimes, complain about their parents. unfortunately because of the way he grew up, his measure for “good parenting” is very different than most people’s. to him, if your family provides a home & food for you and doesn’t physically abuse you, they must be good parents. it’s harder for him to see gray areas there. so he has to really reign himself in when either of them, but especially asa, seem ungrateful for their parents. but he’s gained a lot of perspective from talking to stevie and seeing how deeply affected by her parents fighting that she is. he may not understand why it’s so upsetting, but he can relate to the feeling of pure panic and heartbreak that comes with it.

35%. How does your character look and feel when crying? (asked by @catharsim​​)

fjskdjs this is so applicable to her, she cries more than any of the other characters. she gets easily overwhelmed by emotion. even if she’s not full-on crying, sometimes she’ll just tear up a little. unfortunately for her, it’s really hard to hide when she’s been crying because her face goes beet red and stays that way for way longer than she’d like. also i made this lmao

78%. If your character could choose different parents for themselves, who would they choose and why?

she would’ve loved to live with her aunts caroline and beth. she and asa were already like siblings growing up and she spent so much time at their house because she didn’t want to go home. also, if you remember when jo was pregnant with stevie, she used to live in a big city, but she moved back to brindleton to make things work with owen. stevie often wishes that her mom would’ve just stayed where she was, and owen could’ve been the distant yet loving father who she spent fun summer vacations with, but she never would’ve had to see her parents get together.

14%. Who or what influenced your character's personality? Did they pick up any mannerisms or traits from someone?

it’s hard to tell what kind of influence her parents, specifically, have had on her, because she tries so hard to not be like them in many ways, that sometimes it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. she wanted so badly to not be noncommittal that she ended up clinging onto a relationship she never saw much hope for. she never wanted to become an argumentative person, so instead she becomes a person who will let things go when really they need to be talked about. etc. but despite all her efforts, she’s a lot like her dad. they make the same facial expressions (especially when they’re annoyed) and when they’re on good terms, they can communicate with just a simple look.

82%. What was your character like as a baby? As a child?

she was a really fussy baby 😭 she loved to be held and HATED being alone. her parents would run the vacuum and bounce her for hours just to make her fall asleep. but if they tried to set her down, she would wake right back up again :’) and we know how she was as a child for the most part, but basically she was really loud, always doing something to fill her time, was definitely the class clown, had lots of friends, etc. but she was also really sensitive and wore her heart on her sleeve even more than she does now.

96%. A typical weekend for your character is like…

she works on weekends! she usually works friday through sunday for as long as she’s legally allowed to, because obviously she’s still in school and can’t work very long on week days. her friends (but usually just elaine) will often keep her company at work. it’s a gas station mostly used only by truck drivers, so it’s really not busy and stevie spends most of her weekend just killing time.

79%. Does your character feel guilty about anything in the past?

oh my god yeah, she feels STRONG guilt over many things she’s done in the past (hell, she feels guilty for the things she’s doing in the present and will do in the future). she’s always wanted to be the kind of person who lives without regrets because every decision makes you who you are, after all, but her brain just doesn’t work like that. she’s never forgiven herself for anything and she probably never will :(

71%. What are your character's three clearest memories?

i chose to answer this question for coco because she doesn’t have a very good memory. even big events in her life don’t seem crystal clear to her when she looks back on them. there are entire years that are a complete blur to her, and her childhood went by too quickly in her mind. but the memories she remembers the easiest are: 1) the day she met her best friend / favorite person, liam, when they were kids. 2) when she moved into her first apartment which she pays for all on her own; it was a huge deal for her because self-reliance is one of her biggest goals in life. 3) when she was arrested for the second time (she doesn’t remember the first time)... lol

23%. Are there any emotions your character is particularly afraid of, or really resents having to feel?

she wishes she wasn’t so irritated all the time. it’s not that she’s angry more frequently than other people, she’s just... annoyed. it’s sorta like, you know when you’re already having a really bad day and it seems like everything is going wrong? but nothing is going more wrong than usual, you’re just more aware of it, so suddenly you’re getting pissed off because your shirt got caught on the doorknob for a few seconds, when normally that would not be an issue at all. that’s how coco feels most of the time. she’s just soooo beyond overworked and stressed that any minor inconvenience becomes catastrophic to her. she’s aware of this and she wishes she knew how to stop feeling this way.

25%. Can your character easily hide their emotions?

it really depends! in her day to day life, she can’t hide it when she’s annoyed or angry. but when she’s working, she has to keep ALL her true emotions hidden. no matter how coco feels, cherry has to always be happy and playful, has to giggle but not truly laugh, has to be attentive to everyone else’s needs, has to be thankful and considerate even when others don’t give her the same in return, has to pretend to enjoy things she really doesn’t, etc. she’s an actress that never really gets to finish playing her role, because anyone who knows her as cherry will always know her as cherry, not coco. it’s why she tries so hard to separate her personal life from her work life, although there’s only so much she can do. that’s why she started working as a waitress on top of sex work, because she needed an avenue to make money that didn’t involve changing her personality so drastically for so long. it’s exhausting for her.

96%. A typical weekend for your character is like…

she works now, but not as much as stevie. jada doesn’t really need the money, she just wants to fill up her resume and keep herself busy, so she’s not taking it too seriously. on days she works, she’ll finish her shift and go visit elaine or stevie (or asa, but these days he mostly wants to be alone). on days she doesn’t work, she’ll paint and read most of the day!

18%. If your character suffered amnesia and lost all their memories, what would they be like?

a lot less guarded, a lot less quiet, a lot less judgemental. so much of her personality was only developed after she lost her mom in the way that she did, and she’s never gotten to recover because she’s constantly being reminded of all the people she can’t save. if she never had to worry about any of that... i can’t even imagine how different she would be, honestly. as a kid, she was still quiet of course, but she had no trouble connecting with people and she had no reason to expect the worst case scenario to come true at any given moment :(

62%. What is your character’s first memory? (asked by @itsalwaysgonnabeher​)

aw this is a cute one ;-; i want to say when her parents got her one of those little kid jeeps for her birthday and she would drive up and down the street, making all the other kids sooooo jealous lol but she would always let them have a turn too, as long as they promised to be careful!

98%. Would your character have a social media account? Do they? Why or why not? How often do they update their status? How many friends do they have?

elaine is the only one of my characters who i can imagine having a social media presence on purpose. like i can see stevie’s twitter getting somewhat popular by accident, but elaine actually curates her profiles. she mainly posts her makeup looks on instagram and tiktok. i wouldn’t say she has a ton of followers (i don’t use either so i have no idea what “a lot” would even mean fjksjds) but she’s trying!

13%. How has your character's personality changed from childhood to adulthood? (asked by @alltimefail​)

i feel like caroline’s gradual change is the most obvious of all the adults, so i won’t go too much into it for her, but the biggest thing is her ability to regulate her emotions. as a kid/teen, everything felt like the end of the world. she thought she would never feel okay again. she’s much better at recognizing when she’s feeling a certain emotion and being able to handle it accordingly!

19%. How does your character's living space reflect their personality? (asked by @townie-trait​)

though her current living space is a far cry from the absolute chaos that her teenage bedroom was, i still think it shows her personality really well. she always has tarot cards on the floor because that’s part of her morning ritual, after she does her makeup (does anyone else do their makeup on the floor??), she loves moon-shaped stuff so there’s a bunch of that around the house, along with all the dark jewel tones. the bathroom is permanently stained with all her various hair dyes. there are cat toys, beds, and climbing stuff absolutely everywhere because she spoils mac so much. if she lived alone, her house would be messy as helllllll, but she cleans because she knows it’s important to beth!

71%. What are your character's three clearest memories?

+ anonymous said: i feel like i can guess some of these because we’ve followed ur characters for so long, but maybe there’s some i didn’t expect or don’t have a post associated w/ them?

i feel like i can do this one for beth too because, while she was obviously a major character for a long time, we didn’t see her day-to-day life as much as we saw caroline’s. 1) getting engaged, getting married, asa being born, etc. but i’m combining them because that would be lame if i just listed all of those lmao. 2) her first ballet recital; the moment where she realized she wanted to be a dancer, not just do ballet as a hobby. it’s the same moment where she realized she’d have to commit to having a strong work ethic and lose her fear of failure. 3) finding out that caroline and danny broke up, but they’d all drifted so far apart that she was only hearing about it over the phone, days later. she couldn’t help but imagine how different things would be if they’d broken up just a few months earlier. she never thought there would be a day when caroline wouldn’t rely on beth for support, but it hit her all at once that that day was here. it was a gut punch moment for her.

13%. How has your character's personality changed from childhood to adulthood?

she’s become a lot less concerned with what other people think about her. she’s gained so much confidence in every possible way. unfortunately, i think she lost a lot of her optimism along the way, but she hasn’t gone full pessimist either. becoming a parent has given her a sense of fulfillment and greater purpose, but it’s also another thing for her to stress about. she’s very good at stressing about things lmao. she’s less anxious than caroline, but she’s a lot more high-strung, if that makes sense.

13%. How has your character's personality changed from childhood to adulthood?

ironically, i think danny had a stronger sense of self when he was younger. he always knew he wanted to be a musician, live in california, and be a dad. well, then he got all 3 of those wishes granted, and yet there was always something in the way. since he’s become an adult, he hasn’t felt fully present in his own life, but he doesn’t know what to do about it. whenever he’s working, he wishes he could spend more time with his family, but when he’s spending time with his family, he wishes he could further his career. both sides of his life have a time limit that’s ticking and ticking and reminding him of how much older he’s getting. and he’s starting to wonder if he’ll ever feel like he’s actually living his life rather than just letting it happen to him.

45%. What's something that turns this character on? And what's a definite turn-off?

he loves half-ironic roleplay (silly costumes are a bonus). he just thinks it’s really hot when you can laugh with somebody without it taking you out of the moment, and luckily mikaela feels the exact same way. they’re just silly goofy people so of course that translates to their sex life :P big turn off is anyone who isn’t mikaela fjksdjs

13%. How has your character's personality changed from childhood to adulthood?

as a kid, she was always such a goody two shoes, never disagreed with her parents (but especially her mom) about anything, and she tried to be a good example for olivia. but mikaela got the brunt of the criticism and it started to wear her down when she was a teenager. she was supposed to be thinner, quieter, more pious. she was friends with the “wrong” people (ie. normal people, not socialites). her hobbies were not beneficial to the family, therefore they were a waste of time. eventually she realized she wasn’t good enough, because no one could possibly be good enough for her mom. she became a lot happier when she figured out who she really was, beyond what her mom wanted her to be. she loves doing hands-on farm work, although it doesn’t come naturally to her, and she spends every second she can with her kids. she doesn’t expect things to just be handed to her anymore, she had to work for what she’s got. it’s made her appreciate everything so much more.

30%. What would hurt your character so badly they couldn't even breathe? (asked by @bitchyybabyy400​)

EASILY it would be if any of her kids no longer wanted her to be in their life. she has actual nightmares about it. her mom kicked her out and cut her off at 16 years old, so she never had a great example of good parenting, and it terrifies her to think she could do something that would push her kids away from her. she would genuinely not be able to go on.

94%. Your character is falling in love. Do they take things slow or fast? Do they make decisions or do they make a lot of compromises? How secure are they? (asked by @minamill​)

she’s never been in love and she really has no idea how she would act if she was. she’s had some... idk, crushes? more like she’ll take an interest in someone, but not necessarily in a romantic way. she finds certain people fascinating and wants to spend all her time with them, to learn everything about them, but once that feeling fades, she can’t recapture it. she worries that if she ever did fall in love someday, she would fall out of love just as quickly. i believe that if she did fall in love, she would instantly talk herself out of it :/

60%. Are their interests and likes socially appropriate? 

i chose alisa for this question, because no they are not fjkjdsj she’s always been into morbid things that were inappropriate for her age. she looks for roadkill every where she goes and takes pictures of it – she’d never hurt anyone or anything on purpose, but she finds the aftermath very interesting. she started telling people she wanted to be a mortician at the age of 10 and it’s still a dream of hers. she’s generally just really interested in the macabre, especially if it’s historical.

#that was super fun thank you!!! <3 #not a single question for casper lmaooo it's fine he's not even mad! really. he's not upset either. he's fine. he understands. #why'd that sound like hobo johnson #camellia ask

[icos-3]

Chapter 6 - The Kidnapping of Danny Fenton - Tumblr Edition

Since AO3 was down, I might as well post the chapters of my fic here. This is not a rewrite of the story. It will contain fixes/edits for problems that initially went unnoticed by me. These edits are being added to AO3.

5 - 6 - 7 Index

- - - - - - - - - - - -

After Danny went missing 6 months ago, Dash's perspective began to change.

Since his disappearance, Amity Park just got... strange. Stranger than it had always been. But, also much worse than any other time in Dash's recollective memory.

The Fentons began focusing less of their time and attention on ghost hunting, and more time on trying to find their son. That meant that they spent less time protecting Amity Park, and more time shutting themselves in that large, chaotic tower of theirs, or driving recklessly along the outskirts of the town.

This would have been fine, if the town's protector, the Phantom of Amity Park (shortened to Phantom), hadn't gone missing around the same time.

Without anyone keeping the aggressive ghosts in check, Amity Park devolved into chaos. 

Until the Guys In White decided to show up with new fancy weapons and tech, at which point, the chaos grew exponentially.

To say they were aggressive would be an understatement.

They implemented strict curfews that, if you accidentally or purposely broke, either because you were busy and forgot, or had to go do something for an emergency, would lead to you spend the night in sealed decontamination rooms to be questioned and observed.

They began confiscating and removing pro-ecto materials from around Amity, whether it was in support of Phantom, or just the peaceful ghost population in general, and replacing it with their own flashy imagery, which showed that their egos and thirst for power and control was near limitless.

And to top it all off, they began removing friendly, non hostile ghosts from the streets and abandoned buildings of Amity Park. 

Unbeknownst to Amity, these ghosts had been making sure that obscure and difficult to maintain infrastructure was kept operational. Infrastructure that, were the city to begin upkeep, would have bankrupted the local municipality.

Without the local spectral plumbers, electricians,  architects and sanitation workers, life in Amity soon began to quickly devolve into a much worse state than it had been in decades. Or, that's what Dash had heard when listening in on some of the adults occasionally.

This was no longer a safe place where people his age could go to the mall alone with friends, or go out at night. Everyone could be a victim.

Everyone was a suspect. 

Everyday, normal people began to turn on each other, throwing accusations around, playing hot potato with each other's claims. Some of the rich began hiring body guards to walk their kids to school and look after them, while the others opted to walk or drive their kids instead, being unable or unwilling to trust a stranger to look after their children. 

It seemed fun at first, having a personal guardian, but soon, he had discovered how cumbersome and limiting it really was. 

He could no longer play football with his friends till sundown in the school field unsupervised.

He could no longer watch his beloved romcoms without feeling judged in his own home.

He could no longer sneak out at 9 to expand his teddy bear collection.

He couldn't slack on his school work anymore.

It was all getting too much to handle.

.

|

.

After all the time they spent around each other in school, Dash didn't really know Danny that well.

Most of their high-school dynamic was centered around Dash being the top jock, and Danny being the weirdo that's weirdly good at getting stuffed into lockers.

Out of the all the nerds and unpopular kids, Fenton was the only one that made Dash truly feel in control. 

Sure, the other nerds were just as fun to stuff into lockers, but Danny was the only one that gave him a challenge. The way he squirmed as Dash pushed him into lockers, the way he yelped when he gave him wedgies, the way he scurried off when his pants got pulled down, it all gave him a deep satisfaction. Knowing he had power over him.

But it wasn't because he disliked Danny, or actively had a grudge against him or anything. At least, that was mostly the case. He couldn’t recall that he’d been wronged by him in some way, but whether it was because he let him do those things because he was scared of him, or because he simply didn't care enough to stand up to him, it always made Dash feel more secure with himself. That HE was in control.

That he wasn't powerless.

It had only recently become apparent to him how much he relied on those quick bursts of adrenaline, those quick bursts of admiration and adoration of his classmates, to keep himself together. To distract him from his own problematic life. The one he hid behind facades of power and money.

The one he couldn’t escape from when he was at home.

.

Pretty much everyone in school had noticed his gradual descent.

At first, he’d try and pick on the band geeks, but after the 4th time of stuffing them as tightly together into a locker with no gratification or praise from his peers, he simply started lashing out at anyone who opposed him. And eventually, even that died out. He could only yell at math nerds so many times before it also got too tedious to continue, rather than fulfilling.

It wasn't immediately obvious that he had been on a downward spiral, but Dale had definitely noticed, and began picking the slack for him. Unlike Dash, he reveled in making others lives horrible. He didn’t want to feel powerful or strong, he wanted to make others miserable for the sake of it. For the most part, Dash remained in Dale’s group of torment. But after the 7th spat between the two, he didn't even bother to do that anymore, simply choosing to diffuse any conflict he was a part of, simply to spite Dale.

He was so lucky to have such a good friend like Kwan who would stand by him and defend him, but even he had begun to change in ways Dash didn't think possible at first. They weren't drifting apart, but he had noticed that Kwan had picked up a few new strange interests over the weeks that passed. The painting wasn’t that weird of a hobby all things considered, but even Dash had to admit that the gothic poetry was a bit much, even for him.

Over time, he regularly amazed himself with how much he himself had changed in such a short time.

But he could never truly shake the memory of what had brought up these sudden changes.

.

During lunch, he'd regularly glance towards where the three of them would usually sit, only to see two of them making missing posters and drawing on maps for spots they hadn't looked yet.

He saw how worried the corner bench freaks were that the third wheel of their tricycle vanished. He saw how they rushed out of class to go search around Amity after school, risking getting captured to look for their friend, only to come back to school more dejected the next day.

One time while going to his locker to look for a change of clothing after PE, he saw Tucker crying over Sam’s shoulders just outside the bathrooms when they thought nobody was around.

He never got close to the two of them, but everytime he saw them, he couldn’t help but think of how they used to be when compared to now. When Danny was with them, they always seemed to be happy, no matter what situation they were in.

No matter what situation HE put them in.

gosh... I am such a jerk…

.

Over time, it lead to him to really think about his situation. About what he had done to them. And to Danny.

was everything I did to him really... worth it..?

Thoughts like these usually kept him up at night. Right after he just got comfy under his sheets, ready to drift off to sleep.

No matter how hard he tried, they always seemed to pop up again. When it happened, he tried distracting himself by rewatching his favorite romance drama, he tried rearranging his teddy collection, he even began trying to do his own homework, all to try and distract himself from thinking about it. But no matter what he did, his mind always tended to wonder whether or not it was worth doing to others what he had done to Danny.

did I really depend on Fenton so much to keep myself together?

Sure, it made him feel in control, but how much was that worth ruining someone's life over?

was it really worth it?

ruining his social life… making his life miserable...

only for him to go missing...

and possibly lose said life...

.

.

.

One day, while in conversation with Kwan about his new hobby, photography, he noticed that Sam and Tucker were a lot more high energy than they usually were on days like these.

"Hey, Kwan"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what they ate to give them that sort of energy?"

Kwan turned to share Dash’s gaze at Sam and Tucker, both of which were staring at one of those high tech geeky gadgets. He thought he'd heard them call it a PDA but in actuality, he didn’t know whether it was a glorified cell phone or something else.

"I dunno dude. You think we should go look?"

Dash hesitated, but something at the back of his mind told him it could be important.

"Maybe they found something. About... Fenton..."

Both of them stood up and walked towards where the two across from them sat in silence. Kwan, being seen as the friendlier of the two jocks, was the first to speak when they reached the table.

"Hey guys, what're you looking at?"

The two on the bench jumped, and hurriedly fumbled to try and hide the device.

Both of them had a look of horror hidden behind the looks they usually wore when talking to Dash and his friends. Sam’s was a mixture of disdain, and Tucker’s was the brave face he usually put on when not trying to be intimidated.

"It's none of your business, Baxter!"

Manson had always had a kind of fire in her words, but today, she seemed shook. But Dash wasn't going to back off so easily today.

"If... if it's about Fen..."

Her stare went straight through Dash. Was it always so hard to speak to them?

" uh... Danny... I'd... like to help…" he said after correcting himself.

He didn't usually stumble like this, but he had to admit, he wasn't usually the one to offer help.

The two on the bench shared quick glances at each other, which then turned into full on stares. He had to wonder if these two were psychic or just very good at charades because it felt like they were having entire conversations with only their faces.

Eventually, Tucker sent Sam a wide eyed head bob, to which, she tilted her head backwards and let out a deep sigh. Tucker was the first one to speak this time.

"So... we think we may know what happened to D- Phantom..."

.

Somehow, Tucker, found a way to get into the Guys in White's security camera archives. "It was almost as if it had been left open just so that someone could find this," Dash heard him say at one point.

As the video played, he saw a small figure being brought towards a long cylindrical machine.

After realising who it was in the video, he let out an audible gasp.

That is Phantom... What were they...

Almost as if to answer him, Tucker fast forwarded to something that happened later. To something horrible.

From the low volume on the PDA, he could hear multiple layered screams, before something began oozing out of the machine.

A sickly yellow and black slime. mixed with... body parts... human... body parts... growing... twisting in unnatural ways...

Dash had no choice but to empty his stomach onto the grass next to the bench.

When he looked up, he saw he was not the only one. Not only did he and Kwan have the same reaction, but so did one of the people in the video.

Then, he saw him...

Phantom...

The hero of Amity Park...

His hero, covered in a bubbling, boiling mess, with a dismembered limb clinging by a thread of goo to where it had been severed, slowly reassembling itself till the wound got closed.

He saw the people in hazmat suits removing him, before being ordered to take him away.

"We need to do something!"

The words bubbled over. He didn't even have a chance to think about what he was saying.

Everyone was surprised when something not even Tucker expected, happened. The PDA beeped.

Tucker wondered whether or not he'd been hacked, but then, a box with a message appeared over the video. It read: "If you want to help him, meet me at behind the Nasty Burger at 9 AM on Saturday"

Dash looked at Kwan, then to the other two. They didn’t need to say it, but he was sure everyone at that table knew what they had to do.

He knew what HE had to do.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #ao3 fanfic #fanfiction #dp au #The Kidnapping of Danny Fenton #ao3 was down #dash baxter #kwan ishiyama #sam manson #tucker foley #I need better chapter names #so if you have any ideas #please let me know if you'd like to help!

[ciaossu-imagines]

I kept with the same prompt and let the wheel choose the five characters I created reactions for! I had fun with these and hope any of my Disney’s Ultimate Spider-Man fans do too!

Send ‘You, my bed, NOW’ for the character’s reaction of your’s wanting to sleep with them.

Danny

Danny’s intrigued and he does admire your confidence but he’s also a little put off by the forcefulness. It’s not that he doesn’t like you trying to instigate something because he will like the fact that you are showing your emotions and wants so openly. It’s just that he’d prefer a little bit more effort be put into something that Danny considers to be an almost spiritual thing. He doesn’t want sex to be an order that he follows. Like, even just adding a please to that statement to make it a question would have softened it enough that Danny would be more content with it and he’ll probably say something along those exact lines, just reminding you that please goes a long way.

Jack Russell

It would really depend on if you said it around others or if the two of you were alone together. If there are others around, even if they couldn’t hear the words you said to him, he’s definitely getting turned on by such a blatant invitation but he’s likely to just grin and laugh and say something like ‘there’s a time and place, honey, but when that time and place comes, definitely’. If the two of you are alone together, it’s a completely different story and he’s mostly just going to make it clear that, getting to a bed? Kind of a waste of time and really unnecessary for something that can be done right there and then.

Ben Reilly

His first reaction is to really just snap at you. He doesn’t take kindly to orders and while, yeah, you being so forceful is really fucking hot to him, he’s also not going to make things easy on you. He’s going to make you work for it or is just as likely to try to almost compete with you. I could see him saying things like ‘Who said you could give me orders, punk?’ or ‘No, you, MY bed, NOW’.

Adrian Toomes

It doesn’t matter how long Adrian has known you or how long you’ve been his partner. He could have been with you before so many times and he’ll still have the same reaction to a line like that as he would if you’d never shared a bed before. He goes quiet for a moment, and he does blush. He can’t look at you directly for a second and then he just mumbles out ‘are you sure?’. Because he really does have to check. He’s always so disbelieving of the fact that, despite there being so many better (at least in his mind) people you could have, that you really do want him. Please let him know that you’re sure, preferably through words, and he will happily decorate your bed.

Norman Osborn

Norman is never submissive. Not in his daily life, not in his business life, and not in his sexual life so this sort of blunt forcefulness and the hint of being ordered around is actually almost certainly not going to appeal to him and it’s not behaviour he wants to encourage in a partner. His reaction will largely depend on whether or not he’s in the mood for sex or not. If he’s not, his partner will just be met with a hard, almost disappointed gaze and a quiet ‘I’m busy right now’. He’d make it abundantly clear that he was not having that sort of bossiness in his life with just his tone, his facial expressions, and his body language as he let you know that any sexual needs you had at the moment were a you problem and that you should leave for then. If he was in the mood, though…let’s just say that his partner ends the night with a very red ass and a refresher on using your manners when asking for something.

#disney's ultimate spiderman #headcanons #spicy headcanons #norman osborn #adrian toomes #ben reilly #danny rand #werewolf by night ultimate spider-man #jack russell ultimate spider-man

[xxruinaxxmcu]

Jack Thompson x Reader

What Lies Before Us 

Masterlist (Book 1 and previous chapters) 

Chapter 10

“You don’t really think they want to pull a Lincoln on Truman?”, Jack asked, visibly irritated after hearing Y/N’s explanation about the meaning of the 5th of November.

“I have no idea what it means, if it’s literally or figuratively”, she shrugged, “But it means meddling with politics, that’s for sure. And if Peggy’s intel is right, they already killed a president once in 1901.”

“And you think they work with the mob for that?”, he questioned sceptically. Again, Y/N wasn’t sure about it – after all, all she had to go on was a piece of paper.

“I don’t know”, she replied, “but if you would want to kill someone, having the Mafia do it is arguably the best way to do it. The public can easily be fed an alternative explanation as to why they targeted the person in question, whether that is Truman himself or some other guy in a suit.”

Though they had very little to go on, Thompson decided to inform the Secret Service about it, in order for them to make sure that they did thorough background checks on their members, and to make sure no actual assassination plot would be successful. They needed more time to figure out what the actual plan was, and he really didn’t want it to end with the Commander and Chief being killed.

Y/N attempted to make contact with Lorenzo, but she had to make sure that it would not be seen as a meeting with federal agents, and she didn’t exactly have his phone number. She did remember a restaurant he often frequented when she initially met him, so she hoped his taste hadn’t changed. She pretended that she had found his wallet in the establishment, asking for an address or a number so that she could return it to him. She was lucky – they did have an address left behind, so she went to check it out, making sure she wasn’t being followed or observed by anyone, to verify that it was actually his address. Rather than waiting for him there, which she found too risky in case he came home with another mobster, she decided to disguise her note in a letter that looked like an electricity bill. Which was technically forgery, but who’d check that?

She left behind a post box address to which he could post a letter to, which, again, she found safer than meeting him in person. It would take considerably longer, but then again, it was for his own safety, too.

Jack was still figuring out how he was supposed to have a life next to his job – during the war, combat was all that really mattered. Sure, he had his friends to worry about, to have fun with when they weren’t in action, but essentially, there was no past, there was no future. Everyone knew that they could be dead the next day if they were in the field. But that also meant that whenever he took up his weapon, that was all that mattered – getting that next mile of territory, securing the next position. He thought a lot about home, never getting to see his family until the war ended. Or Y/N. In the first months at the SSR, actually, until he was shot, that’s how he continued. It was always about work, about closing the next case, and it felt like he couldn’t stop for one minute because the world hung in the balance.

Unfortunately, he realised, the world would almost always hang in the balance. If he waited for ‘things to pass’ to have a life, he’d be dead before he’d know it.

“Sousa, SSR.”

“Couldn’t make it any shorter, Danny-boy?”, Jack asked with a grin, placing his feet on his desk.

“Jack. Anything on the Arena Club? Peggy mentioned something about ‘5th of November’.”

“Yeah, apparently it’s some English poem about a guy who wanted to kill the king, but failed”, Jack explained, “it could be what they’ve got in mind. Just that we’re not a monarchy.”

“They’re after Truman?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, genius.”

“Right”, Daniel exhaled audibly, “If we find anything on our end, I’ll let you know.”

“You nervous?”

“What?”, Daniel asked, obviously confused, “Why should I be? It’s politicians and mobsters, Jack, by now, that’s our most common gig.”

“I didn’t mean the case”, Jack specified, “I mean your future.”

“The wedding?”, Sousa asked to confirm, “Uhm, no, I mean, it’s just a change of formalities, essentially. Why’d you ask? Terrified of asking yourself?”

Jack grit his teeth. It wasn’t that he was afraid Y/N wouldn’t say yes, he was just… unsure about the circumstances. “Don’t you wish for your life to be, ya know, less dangerous before tying the knot?”

“Then I should’ve set out to marry someone very different to Peggy, Jack”, Daniel stated amusedly, “a boring life and her don’t really go together.”

Rubbing his chin, Jack nodded, remembering after a second that Sousa had no way to tell that he was, so he added: “Yeah.”

“Look, we might never get a month off, but you’ll be able to find one day to get married. It doesn’t take much. If you’re lucky, your girl won’t drag you half-way across the world to do it, too.”

“Ha, I bet you’re ecstatic to meet Family Carter”, Jack grinned.

“You kidding?”, Sousa shot back, “I couldn’t imagine something more terrifying than that!”

“You’ve probably never been disliked by anyone in your entire life, Danny-boy, so I don’t think you’ve got reason to worry.”

“There was a time I was pretty sure you hated me.”

“Yes, Sousa, I think there was a time where apparently everyone thought I hated them”, Jack retorted, both sarcastic, as well as intently self-aware.

Sousa seemed to think for a second what to say, and eventually he replied: “I’m sure Y/N never hated you.”

Jack scoffed: “You’d be surprised. I’m quite sure the one time I almost knocked a guy’s tooth out because he’d groped her back in high school, she did kinda hate me.”

“You’ve always had a charming temperament, then”, Sousa said and Jack could picture his grin by the sound of his voice.

“My most winning attribute, I’m sure. Had to practice throwing a punch somewhere, I guess.”

“Thompson, you better get your act together after basically arranging my ceremony”, Sousa urged, “And don’t you say ‘when it’s quiet’, because that’ll never happen, clear?”

“Cristal.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Eventually, sure”, Jack evaded, now very eager to end the call. “Well, Danny-boy, I’ve got to come up with a speech for your day. And call me if you find anything on our case.”

“I’ll beat your ass with my crutch if you don’t get your act together by my first wedding anniversary, I swear to God, Thompson!”

Jack grinned before ending the call. That gave him at least more than a year to play with. Though he doubted that his nerves would dramatically improve over time.

…….

With their plane currently somewhere over the Atlantic, Y/N eyed the water intently. It felt strange heading back to Europe after a few months away, it felt like returning to something one wanted to leave behind for good, but which was a different place already since her last stay.

“You’re fidgeting.”

She looked at Jack, who apparently had woken up to provide her with an analysis of her gestures.

“Didn’t think I’d be back so soon, if I’m being honest”, she remarked, though she was grateful that they’d be headed to London, rather than Paris or Berlin.

Jack tilted his head back, closing his eyes. “Tell me about it.”

“About what?”

“About London. What did you do there? I’ve been there once, for virtually a day, to get Peggy’s – or not Peggy’s – file. What’s it like?”

Y/N didn’t really know how to answer that, it was hard to describe a city.

“It’s… old. I mean, for us, from America, it’s just an old city. They’ve got castles from the Middle Ages everywhere”, she began, and trying to recount the city made her feel less on edge, “they’ve got these very typical townhouses, most, I think, from the Victorian period. They’re drafty as hell, though.” She laughed at the memory of the tiny corridors of the houses, where, for some reason, it always felt like an air current was present. “The river Thames is pretty muddy, I have to say. But they have beautiful bridges everywhere, London Bridge most famously. It has a lot of parks, but be careful. The squirrels inside are so used to humans, they practically want to sit on your shoulder. Otherwise… a lot of the city has to be rebuilt. The Blitz definitely scarred it.”

“How long were you there?”, he inquired, noticing how talking about it took her stress away.

“Several months, for training purposes. It was rather odd, though, considering we were training for something without having expertise to go on. There were no veterans for us to ask about technique”, she shrugged, “We had to make it up on the fly.” She paused: “And then, at the end of the war before being discharged. Was strange to go back there, seems like so much had changed in relatively short time.”

Opening his eyes to take a look at her, Jack continued his questionnaire: “What’s your favourite spot in the city?”

“Not really original, but Hyde Park. I loved spending time at the pond that they built there”, she said with a smile, “It reminded me of Central Park.”

“I bet you sat there reading”, he guessed – and her laugh told him that he had guessed correctly.

“In all fairness, I had to become perfectly fluent in a language. I had to read Goethe somewhere. Da steh’ ich nun, ich armer Tor und bin so klug als wie zuvor, and all that.”

He huffed amusedly. He half-remembered that line coming from one professor way back when, and he was fairly certain that it was in Faust. A book he never bothered to read, even with an English translation available.

“Right, your turn”, she said, “Tell me about your time outside of combat.”

He pulled a face: “A lot less scenic, I’m afraid. In early 1944, we were brought to Camp Pendleton. It was hot and humid, like California is. Were damn glad when we could leave that place, or at least I was. But I guess it helped me in the long run, the weather in the pacific was also hot and humid.”

“Just what you love”, Y/N commented with a grin.

“Yes, so next time Sousa and Carter ask us to fly to L.A., we meet them halfway in – whatever – Kansas.”

“Nothing’s in Kansas.”

“I’m sure we’d find some case there”, he remarked with a shrug.

“You think the Mafia has a new offshore company in Wichita?”, she asked amusedly.

Again, Jack only shrugged: “Maybe they’re interested in planes, too.”

After all the talk of humid and hot weather, London posed the exact opposite. It was mid-November (and yes, the 5th of November came and went without an assassination, confirming Y/N’s suspicion that the riddle was more a hint than a plan), and the weather in England’s capital was windy and chilly – so not that different from New York, to be fair.

And, of course, for good measure, it was raining.

“Merry old England”, Y/N announced when stepping off the plane and pointing to Jack’s hat, “Hope that sits tight, ‘cause otherwise it’ll end up in the Thames, for sure.”

The actual ceremony would be near Green Park, at St. James Church, which was a small, but picturesque church in the city centre. They had flown in with only a night to spare, the next day, they would have to be ready – well, especially Jack had to be ready with his silly (or so he thought) speech that Sousa had asked him to deliver. Why, he still wasn’t quite sure. There had to be a thousand more qualified men in Sousa’s life for such a role, whether from his time at school, or even from his time in the army. Did he really think his best choice was him? Jack Thompson, who called him ‘our biggest yo-yo’ after Krzeminski’s death?

If so, Thompson felt a bit sorry for the guy. But, he was a responsible man, nonetheless, so naturally, he tried to muster up a speech that would at least be considered okay-ish.

“Can I see it?”, Y/N asked once they were in the hotel room as she watched him go over his lines again.

“No”, he replied with a small smile, “I think these types of things are supposed to be surprises to everyone, no?”

“To the groom and the bride, maybe, but not to me!”, Y/N protested, but for once, she was unsuccessful at getting him to falter. Instead, she faltered to his invitation for a kiss.

“Why me?”

“Why he asked you to give that speech?”, Y/N asked back, guessing what he meant, “I suppose you’ve worked together on saving the world, that’s something.”

“No, I meant you”, he sat down on the bed behind him, his gaze interrogating her, “why’d you stick with me?”

“What?” Y/N wasn’t sure if she heard correctly – sure, Jack Thompson was often harsh, and pushed people away, and rude, and conceded, but he was also – well, he was Jack. Why wouldn’t she have stuck with him, when she knew what he could be? “Why are you asking me this?”

He shrugged, as if the question wasn’t weird at all: “Just tryin’ to understand your rationale.”

“I don’t really think about it”, she confessed with a scoff, “I mean, when you do something particularly reckless, like getting shot, then I might think to myself – why did I fall in love with a madman? But on normal days?” She shrugged: “I guess I don’t. I didn’t have a particularly cordial relationship to my parents since adolescence, and being a spy makes any real relationships impossible. I guess you’ve been the closest to a constant I’ve had, and yeah, we argue, but we both love to argue.”

She expected a sarcastic remark back, but was greeted with nothing but a nod. A bit irritated, she sat down next to him and took his hand with a dry smile: “And if it means anything, as much as I stuck with you, you stuck with me for some reason, too. I try not to think about your reasoning, either, otherwise, I’d just terrify myself.”

Now, that was something Jack could really not understand. Because Y/N was Y/N – not only was she quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, though his metrics might have been off, given that ever since high school, he had believed no woman could compare with that. But it wasn’t just her beauty, she was brilliant, which was both impressive and frightening, brave, which was definitely terrifying, strong, arguably even more stubborn than he was, and despite everything she’d seen, been through and even done, she was still kind.

And there he was, the bogus Navy Cross winner with the nightmares he couldn’t shake, with the inability to let people close, the medallist who was rewarded for his cowardice, and the idiot who repetitively trusted the wrong men, getting Dooley killed, getting Krzeminski killed, and nearly causing the Second Coming by siding with Vernon. This really was no competition, and he had no idea why he was still in the game.

……

The two of them left Piccadilly Circus station, and unfortunately, Jack was not yet used to the traffic being on the wrong side of the road, so when checking for traffic, he looked in the wrong direction and was greeted by a very annoyed Brit honking at him and Y/N.

“Why the hell did they think it was smart to drive on that side of the road?”, he complained annoyed.

“First of all – I think they were first, and I doubt your rant will make them switch”, she replied with a grin, “so you might be better off just looking in both directions next time. But don’t worry. Happened to Churchill too, when he visited America.”

The church was already decently filled, most people, neither Jack nor Y/N knew – Angie aside, together with the Howling Commandos, who Jack vividly remembered. Some others, given their accent, Y/N guessed were friends of Sousa’s, possibly from his time in the army. And somewhere in the mix were the parents of the soon-to-be-weds, too.

The two of them were ushered into the front part, as Jack would have to make his way on stage for his speech at some point.

The proceedings began with the onset of music, which muted the talking of all the attendees. Jack, to be completely honest, paid very little attention to the pastor leading the service – in hindsight, he realised that his mother would have been appalled. But he was too busy staring at his notes, eventually earning an elbow to the side by Y/N.

“You’ve done it for Stark with like five minutes’ notice, you’ll be perfect”, she whispered barely audibly.

He only clenched his jaw – these two things could hardly compare. Besides, the speech he had given for stark might just have been the Oxford Dictionary definition for awkward.

What brought him back to reality was seeing Sousa standing in front, obviously nervous, too. So, to be a good friend, Jack tried his best to appear calm.

Peggy looked beautiful. Her dress’ skirt was loose, the top had a beautifully embroidered neckline and bust, and the sleeves were cut just below the elbow. She looked fantastic. Jack knew when the vows were exchanged, though he paid so much attention. And for a moment, it wasn’t that he was thinking about his stupid speech, no, he was thinking about Y/N. Would she be willing to do the same? Did she want it?

He glanced to the side, meeting her eyes and she gave him a bright smile. Did that mean yes? Did she read his thoughts yet again? Or was she just happy for Sousa and Carter?

Then, he had to go. Luckily for him, it was a bit like turning a switch. He might be nervous before, but once he knew he had to run, he’d run. No point in being nervous anymore.

Standing in front of the gathered, in front of the newly-weds, and in front of Y/N, he cleared his throat.

“When I was asked to deliver this speech by Daniel, I have to say, I pitied the guy”, he began with a sarcastic remark, which Y/N could only scoff at, “As our work together doesn’t really leave much time for cordial exchange. But possibly, it’s exactly these moments that test a person’s true character. Repetitively, Daniel has proven to be the man you want on your team when catastrophe strikes, and the man who’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep everyone else safe.” He paused for a moment, looking at Carter: “It’s – unfortunately – a quality Margaret shares, which ends more often than not in a competition of sacrifice. Both of them have saved countless of lives, mine included. There’s very little about either of you that’s conventional, and I’m sure, that’ll be the tale of your marriage, too. Margaret, Peggy, I doubt you’ll ever be what your grandmother might have envisioned her granddaughter to be. It won’t be easy for some to accept that. But one thing, I can say, both as your former boss, as well as – if I may say so – your friend. The US, and the world, can only be grateful for your unorthodoxy.” He gave her a lopsided smile, as she pulled a sarcastically surprised face when he called himself her friend. “Sousa”, he then continued, “we’ve had our share of disagreements in how to run operations, but I’ve never doubted that you’d one day be a great husband. I’m not sure if you’ve gotten lucky, or if I should warn you, probably both, but you know Peggy better than I do – if you expect her to agree with you on everything now, just because she wears a ring, you’re sorely mistaken. In any case, it has been my upmost pleasure to work with the two of you, and despite the name-change, I hope, for the sake of country and president, that we will continue our cooperation into the future. Thank you, and, Peggy, Daniel, good luck, and congratulations.”

He had forced himself to not lose sight of the two, because he suspected that if he had looked at Y/N during his speech, he would have forgotten his lines. Returning to his seat, Y/N gave him a reassuring smile: “See? You did great.”

He returned her smile, though he was curious to know if she had figured out his reason for being nervous. He hadn’t been afraid to screw up his lines and mess up Sousa’s and Carter’s big day, though, if he could avoid that, that’s obviously preferred. No, he was afraid because he knew what he had to do next, and it had nothing to do with his friends’ wedding. Did she suspect anything? She’s a spy, theoretically she could’ve gone through his things without him noticing. But she wouldn’t do that, right? He noticed he was fidgeting with his hands – she had even told him that she knew that he did that every time he was uncomfortable. So he forced himself to stop, spending the remainder of the ceremony being incredibly self-aware of every fibre in his being.

…….

Y/N was a bit confused that Thompson had scheduled their return flight for about 48h after the ceremony concluded, which left one day with hardly anything to do – it wasn’t like they could hunt down leads on the New York Families in London, albeit the crime levels were high in this city, too.

“And you’re sure you don’t want me to call the airline to check if they have an earlier flight?”, she asked the next morning whilst brushing out her hair, “I’m sure Stark could get us on a different one.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure I don’t want Stark’s help”, he scoffed, “he’s the last person I want to be indebted to, and I’m sure McKinley and the rest can handle another 12 hours without my in-person supervision. They know how to reach me, I left them the hotel’s address.”

Y/N shrugged, accepting his decision.

She liked London, despite it feeling incredibly self-indulgent to her spending time here, knowing that they had an open, incredibly important case on their desks back in New York. But she also didn’t want to fight with Thompson over workload, considering he hardly had a life outside of work. His overtime alone would probably be sufficient for a month of holiday, so she kept her mouth shut.

“Thinking about Mr. Hayes and the rest of the goons in suits?”, Y/N guessed during breakfast, noticing Jack’s tense stare into his coffee cup.

He blinked, as if he had barely heard her, but then replied: “Yeah.”

“We’ll figure it out”, she said positively, “I’m sure of that. I’m less sure of how that will affect our company’s reputation, though, considering some of them are basically our employers.”

Thankful that she had went with his half-hearted response, Jack had now paid attention to her and decided to go with it. “That’s true, but I doubt they’d have the leverage to get to us. Unlike other agencies, we actually found our moles. And we brought down Underwood, that should count for something.”

“I hope you’re right”, she agreed with a small smile.

Jack grabbed for his coat and hat, having made peace with his life in that moment. He’d just have to get it over with, because he was in no shape to continue this mental game with himself for longer. And the big downside of dating a spy, so he realised, is that it was incredibly difficult to keep secrets – well – secret. “C’mon”, he said with a grin, “You’ve got to show me the city. All I know so far is a church and a pub.”

“Then you’ve got the top experiences down already”, Y/N replied sarcastically, getting her own coat and hat before leaving the establishment. They were lucky – today, it wasn’t raining, and for it being mid-November, it wasn’t even that cold. They spent the morning around Covent Garden and Strand, before, after lunch, they were approaching Marble Arch.

“That over there, that’s Hyde Park”, Y/N said, pointing at the large park behind the monument.

“The Park you went to?”, he asked, though, in all fairness, he had memorised the name. after all, it wasn’t a long one, and he was cultured enough to know Jekyll and Hyde, so he could easily remember the name.

“Exactly. Practically learnt German under these trees.”

For a while, they walked quietly through the park, headed towards the pond that was built within the park.

“Can’t say life has exactly gone as I would’ve imagined it in High School”, Jack eventually scoffed, “Neither being shipped off to war and fighting an unknown dark matter, nor having to travel to a different continent for a wedding, nor having to hunt down some shady mafia connection of some American millionaires.”

“That last part is arguably the least surprising”, Y/N replied with a grin. “And yeah, neither did I. But here we are”, she sighed slowly, “and with all the drawbacks and the dangers, and all the nightmares… I don’t think I’d change a thing if I could. I don’t want anyone else to do it in my stead, and to be honest, I don’t think I could do anything better than I can do this. Whatever that says about me.”

“Probably that, by all your talk about me being reckless, you’re probably not the most risk-averse person, either.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow: “But at least I try everything I can to minimise it. You, on the other hand, have a tendency to barge into a room of people with the intention of killing you without a bulletproof vest.”

“Now you’re grossly overstating it”, he smirked.

“Nah, I find it a pretty accurate representation.”

She heard him huff in response. “You wouldn’t change a thing?”

She thought about the question for a while, watching the pond in front of them. Sure, there were many things that she messed up on the way, that would have been nice if they didn’t happen. That would have saved her from pain, or that would have saved someone’s life. But she was too realistic to know that even if she hadn’t made a single of the mistake that she did, other mistakes would have happened, and some people still would have been hurt. Possibly, the outcome would have been even worse.

She shook her head: “…No, actually. I think I have made peace with most of my mistakes. And every decision, good or bad, every time I managed to save a life, every time I failed to do it, every time I took a life, it all led me to this place. And I’m content with that.” If she hadn’t made these choices, if she hadn’t entered the SSR – if she hadn’t gone to L.A., then he would be dead. So even if it was irrational, but every mistake was worth it if it got her here. They had given her the chance to save him.

Lost in her thoughts, in memories both painful and joyful, she had completely ignored Jack next to her. Granted, she had seen him move from her peripheral vision, the pattern closely mirrored someone bending down to tie one’s shoelaces, so it didn’t get her to turn her head.

“Well, I would change something.”

“Huh?”, Y/N was brought back to reality, turning her head around – and freezing mid-way. All she could see was Jack on one knee in front of her, grabbing a box from the inside pocket of his coat whilst clearing his throat. She could see his hands shake – funny, why she noticed these miniscule details, even though she herself was in complete shock, she couldn’t say. Perhaps it was that it had become second nature to her by this point.

“I thought of what to tell you, and nothing came to mind. You’ve been with me every step of the way, even on the beaches of Iwo Jima. You know me better than anyone, and to be completely honest, that is actually terrifying”, he cracked a nervous grin, “(Your Full Name), will you marry me?”

Pedestrians had stopped in their tracks to watch the scene. Yes, that was the downside of a proposal in public, but good for them – no one knew them, so at least they’d never run into these people again.

Y/N worked quickly to overcome the initial shock, knowing that she had to say something. She felt a burning sensation in her throat, but she didn’t feel the need to cry.

“Yes”, she croaked – at least, she thought she did, though it wasn’t as bad as she had imagined it – whilst feeling an urge to laugh, “Yes, of course!”

The little gathering of pedestrians that had waited for her response started clapping, which both Jack and Y/N found quite embarrassing, but also somewhat charming as Jack forced his hand to remain still to put his mother’s engagement ring on Y/N’s finger.

Standing up, he kissed her, albeit fleetingly, as he really didn’t want to give the British public a first-row seat into their intimate relationship, but despite the circumstances, he felt like the weight of the world had just fallen off his shoulders.

Y/N had reached for his hand, sliding up to his wrists, and laughed before she whispered: “Why were you that nervous? Did you think I’d throw the ring into the pond?”

“Trust me, I’ve been through every possible reaction in my head at least ten times, and that would not have made the top ten of the worst outcomes”, he replied with a grin.

The crowd started to disperse, until only one elderly man remained behind who walked up to them, sternly looking at Jack before saying: “Good sir, you do understand this was a decision for a lifetime?”

“Yes, sir. I do intend to make it last just as long, too.”

The old man started to smile, before tipping his hat and walking away.

Jack turned around, looking in awe at Y/N – in awe for many reasons. He didn’t quite understand how he got so lucky in life. Sure, he did a job that should count for something, tried to fight the good fight, but he was far from perfect. In some sense, he was above and below average at the same time – his brilliant moments were far above what normal soldiers or agents usually did, but his worst moments were far worse than just little hiccups. They got people killed, or even worse, he killed people that didn’t deserve it. He was moody, and had a short temper, was quick to judge, and stubborn beyond belief. He was quite certain that Y/N could have easily gotten a better deal in marriage, not just in terms of personality, but also in terms of prestige and stability. He hardly exuded luxury.

Nonetheless, he was also just in awe from her reaction.

“I think that is the first and only time I will ever witness you at a loss of words”, he remarked with a grin before leaning in to kiss her again – now, without an audience, it could be just a bit more than a fleeting kiss. But, regrettably, they were still in public and open display of affection was, in Britain as in the US, scorned upon.

“I expected a lot, Mr. Thompson, but I must admit, to my shame as a spy, I didn’t expect this!”

“I have to say, it was also something in between having it planned for a while and a split-second decision to actually do it, because if I had planned it more in depth, I was fairly certain you’d figure it out”, he replied sheepishly, causing her to laugh.

“When did you even find the time to buy the ring?”, she inquired whilst looking at it.

“Didn’t have to, pop gave me the one ma once wore.”

Y/N stared at him wide-eyed – first, she was touched by the sentimental value of the ring, but she also wanted to know when that happened: “What?? But… when? You only saw him that once during dinner!”

“Yeah, and apparently ma should have been a spy, too”, he shrugged, “Cause she wasn’t at all convinced by that co-worker story. So she gave him this to give to me when you two left the room.”

“I can’t believe it”, Y/N laughed, “she didn’t even truly know we were more than friends!”

“She’ll probably be over the moon”, Jack guessed, knowing how often his mother had historically asked him about girlfriends and family plans.

“And they’ll never know that you ended up proposing to the one ‘fishing a bullet out of your sternum’, which is truly unfortunate”, she lamented jokingly.

“Maybe if you’d held on to the bullet, we could’ve made our wedding rings out of it.”

“Thompson!!”, Y/N elbowed him, not mentioning that she, in fact, did hold on to it, “That would have been macabre and probably bad luck! I don’t want a thousand diamonds, but I don’t want to have a constant reminder of death around my finger, either.”

He chuckled, finding her outburst rather amusing. “I’m sure we’ll find something less traumatic.”

……..

The two of them walked into Peggy and Daniel in the hotel lobby, who were just as confused as Y/N had initially been that they were still here, rather than having left right after the wedding.

“L/N, Thompson, what are you still doing here?”, Sousa asked, brows raised, “I would’ve bet you left England as soon as possible.”

“Why, do we seem so partial on New York?”, Y/N asked back, “Of course, no city can truly compete, but still.”

“Oh my God.”

Y/N had been too focused on Sousa to notice Peggy investigating her from head to toe – though her investigation abruptly halted when she had reached Y/N’s hands.

Sousa followed his wife’s stare, only for Thompson to take Y/N’s hand to practically hold it up to their eyeline.

“There you go, Danny-boy.”

“You two”, Y/N said with a laugh, “Are absolute idiots.”

“Agreed”, Peggy chimed in, and all four of them laughed, knowing that both of them weren’t too serious.

“But hey, at least you’ll get to visit the wonderful city of New York at some point in the future”, Jack remarked, picking up on Y/N’s earlier comment.

“Oh, yes, I already started to miss the unparalleled friendliness of New York”, Sousa retorted.

“That’s why we work there and it’s Jack’s office”, Y/N said with a dry grin, “that’s exactly our kind of crowd.”

A/N: First of all, I hope you enjoyed this rather different type of chapter!! Also, yes, all the details about the location in London is the product of first hand experience, as I walk past this church every single day! We’ve reached about the half-way point of book two, I think! So still approx. 10 more chapters to look forward to. I’m so excited for you to read the next - let’s just put it that way. England’s not the only foreign location this story will take Y/N and Jack! As always, every comment, heart and reblog is extremely appreciated!

Tag List

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#jack thompson #jack thompson imagine #agent jack thompson #jack thompson x reader #agent jack thompson x reader #agent thompson #agent carter #marvel's agent carter #mcu #marvel

[twoidiotwriters1]

Copycat: Cryptomnesia —(Marvel Fem!Oc)

A/N: Well let’s see how this goes for out favorite dumbass -Danny

Words: 1,190

Phase Five Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘Special Girl’ -by Dodie

xii: Birthday Surprise

Back in New York, Cat was showing a healthier skin color than in the past few months, but she was just as miserable. Perhaps even more.

One good thing at least was that she wasn't an Avenger, the danger of having their name dragged through the mud was not possible. She had to make sure no one could link Zero and Copycat together though, and that was proving to be more complicated than expected.

"Mouse, can you hack into a network without being noticed?"

"In theory, yes. But it would take a while."

"How long?"

"I might be able to give you a stat if you tell me exactly what you want."

"My S.H.I.E.L.D files erased from existence. Can you check if any copies have been made? On paper and online."

"It would take me a while to track down all the places that file's been. From there it depends on what comes out to tell you whether it's possible to erase it entirely or not."

"Get to it, then."

Harley would not believe her if she said she was happier, but he would also be sad to hear it hadn't done anything to cheer her up. The one thing he'd asked, she couldn't do it: to stay away from trouble. In her defense, trouble had walked up to her.

Her eyes landed on her phone, it used to be a picture of her and Matthew but after they broke up she figured it was time to get rid of it so she put Pietro. The young woman looked at it wishing it could speak.

"You always knew how to handle me, not even I know how to do that... and I'm supposed to be an adult!"

Cat stared at the screen, Pietro's smiling face was looking at her, he was full of life... back then she was too. She used to be able to see the good side of things, at least to find them amusing in their irony, but now...

Nothing could've changed her life for the better had she done it differently. How did she survive all those years with no hope in sight? All thanks to her brother, Harley, and Kurt, bless their hearts, always checking on her. Matthew wasn't out of the list, but his name had a question mark and it was starting to vanish.

Cat couldn't forget the way he'd acted the last time they spoke. She'd hurt him when all he'd tried to give her was home. "Home" was not a word she could recognize as a feeling. Matthew couldn't get to her. How can you tempt someone with something they don't know? You're supposed to give it, and then you take it away. That's how you win.

"But he wasn't trying to win, was he?" She asked at her brother's picture, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I thought he'd know... I wanted to stay..."

Cat put on her heart-shaped sunglasses and left the apartment with Sharon's envelope. She had no interest in seeing what was inside, the only thing she double-checked was the money.

She put on Pietro's old leather jacket, which was falling to pieces, and walked out of the building. It'd never been a big deal, but today was supposed to be her birthday. Cat tried to remember why on earth she'd celebrated her birthday last year. She could hear young voices if she focused for long enough, but that was it. A little frustrating and worrying.

She got to Steve's old bike and turned the ignition. "Mouse, give me an update."

"About your file or the world?"

"The world."

"There's been a sighting in Egypt of two new superheroes— a woman and a man. Few men died but they were part of some kind of cult."

"What about the giant thing that came out of the sea?"

"It's just a rock, hasn't changed since it came out."

She turned right at the end of a street, barely missing an old lady. "Tell me the updates on my files, then."

"Power broker's system is strong."

"Can't go faster?"

"Not if you want me to go unnoticed. Should I remind you there is a possibility Sharon has printed a copy of your file?"

Cat drove faster. "I'll take care of it if I need to."

"Boss."

"Yeah?"

"You missed your stop."

She pulled the brakes abruptly, making a rubber mark on the pavement. "Fuck!" The mutant parked next to the sidewalk. "You could've let me know sooner..."

"I'll do it next time."

Cat approached the restaurant and tried to determine if it was a good idea to take off her sunglasses. She decided it was not. The host watched her appearance with apprehension.

"Is Mr... Jigsaw here?" A security guard approached her, she eyed him with disinterest. "You don't look like a 'Mr.' to me."

"Give us a minute, ma'am," the host said, glancing at the envelope in her hand before walking away.

A minute later he was back, she felt the security guard following her tail and she smirked, she could've taken care of the guard if she wanted to, but she wasn't there to fight. When she got to the table the older men looked at her with loads of interest. Horror washed over Cat at the sight: Billy Russo was there.

"You're one of the gorgons," she couldn't deny he was still handsome, but there was a clear difference in his face: it was covered in deep scars. "Where's your other half?"

"I'm not missing any parts," she replied, but it came out quieter than expected. To make up for it, she added: "Unlike others."

Two of the men moved but Billy raised a hand to stop them. "We have to make allowances with a lady like her," he tilted his head. "Are you here to get rid of me?"

"If I were here to kill you I would've done it by now," she threw the envelope on the table. "They have a message for you."

Billy grabbed the papers. "I'm listening."

"You can't go back to Madripoor unless you get your shit together," she seized a man's drink and sniffed it a little. "They'll send someone worse next time. I'm reasonable, you don't wanna be stuck with him, he's the bad kind of hugger."

Russo watched her down the guard's drink without making a single comment, she poured the remaining droplets on the other guard's crotch and placed it back on the circular table. This had been a warning for her as much as it was for Russo. Sharon could give away Copycat's identity to the guy that wanted her dead the most.

"I have a question," Russo said at last. "Do you work for the Power Broker?"

"I work with the Power broker sometimes. But mostly for myself, and occasionally, my cat."

"What's your name? I doubt you chose the name Gorgon."

The woman sighed deeply, she managed to sound bored. "I don't care how any of you pathetic rich guys call me as long as you pay. Zero's good enough."

Billy raised his glass and winked at her. "Zero."

"See you never, if you're lucky," she smiled, briefly waving at him in a flirty manner before exiting the place.

By the time she climbed on her bike, Cat decided to quit working for these people no matter how petty she felt, would rather eat her own foot before helping any of Russo's friends.

Next Chapter—>

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[sixth-light]

Amongst Our Weapons

Yes, it came out three weeks ago; no, I did not read it before today because I knew it would eat my brain (which it did, I sat down to read a chapter before doing some other things and then got up two hours later).

No spoiler take: I enjoyed it! The series has now settled pretty firmly into its new shape as a much more conventional procedural with less worldbuilding weirdness, and it’s doing a good job of keeping the pace on existing plot while having a self-contained story. I think I liked it more than False Value but FV happened at a very specific emotional time in my life so I probably need to re-read it to check whether that’s really true. I am SO stoked that [SPOILER] is back on the scene. I can’t believe Peter is still living in a pre-Brexit world, the lucky bastard.

(full-book spoilers below the cut)

First up, the ending scene: I was vaguely spoiled for this by my dash but I’m neither surprised nor that worried about it? It makes perfect sense for Nightingale to want to retire, he’s been on the job for over a century, and they’re finally at a place where he’s tactically useful but not strategically necessary, as it were. Also, it’s been firmly established that his conception of himself as the last wizard in Britain wasn’t even close to being true. From a Doylistic perspective, this is a great way to ease out of the question of ‘why doesn’t Nightingale save the day’ every time Peter is in trouble. Besides, at the rate the books are going it probably won’t happen for another five or ten anyway. 

Taking down the Folly wards and physically damaging the building feels very Symbolic in terms of where the series is going. 

I liked Danni but I’m not sure I got a strong sense of her as a character - she seems a good foil for Peter and flexible enough to handle the Folly. 

I’m so glad we got to see the twins being born! Fatherhood is something Peter has wanted for a long time. 

Also so glad Peter is in ongoing therapy because Jesus Christ does he need it. 

All of the Lesley stuff fed my addiction to the whole Peter & Lesley BEST NEMESES dynamic perfectly, loved it. She’s smart but Sahra is right: Peter always overestimates her, she’s not as smart as she thinks she is or as Peter has convinced himself she is. I would like her to stick around as a supervillain for ages. Chef’s kiss. 

CAROLINE CAME BACK WITH A BLACKSMITH GIRLFRIEND, A+, NO NOTES. 

I can’t believe the central plot was about the Spanish Inquisition, even given the title & chapter titles I was still not expecting the Spanish Inquisition. Yes, I know that’s the joke. 

There’s something there about the metaphysics of allokosmoi and ghosts and the Mary Engine but I am definitely going to have to read False Value again to get my thoughts on that straight.

The whole sequence with the dead airmen was really beautiful. 

I really want AOW!Peter to time travel back and tell RoL!Peter he’s going to sleep over at Seawoll’s house one day. 

This book leaves the vague impression that at least half of Peter’s friends are queer women. Again, no notes. 

We all saw the line about the coach house being a retreat for “gay young wizards” in the 20s y/y? Lol nice. 

I did spot one minor error re timing - Peter talks about Alistair McKay not having been “me too’d” but that parlance didn’t take off until 2017, whereas Peter is still in early 2016. 

Which leads me to reflect that I am very glad the books are going in the direction of Peter’s relationship-building, especially with Caroline and Grace, because I am more and more uneasy about a series that is going to follow Peter as a police officer through the RL events of the UK 2016-2022 (and counting), because jesus there’s some grim stuff coming up. No matter how good Peter is at institutional juggling and bureaucratese (which is so good it’s catching) he’s not good enough to not be an agent of the system. His fear over killing Francisca in this book is a small reflection of that. It felt...relieving...to know there are other people out there, doing their own things. Not because I don’t like Peter as a character but because between False Value and now I’ve lost any personal belief that the structural problems with the police can be fixed from the inside. 

I realise I haven’t mentioned Bev and that’s because she didn’t really DO a lot except provide light domestic entertainment, but she seems to be living her best life so good for her? 

I remain very amused that Peter, when being questioned about his religious beliefs or lack thereof, did not drop his partner’s divinity on Danni. I guess that’s waiting for a later lesson.  

#rivers of london #amongst our weapons #aow spoilers

[midnight-dreamerness]

Savior

Chapter 1: Brother’s Best Friend

(This is NOT my gif. Credit to the creator <3)

series summary: when your protector returns, he finds you broken and abused and helps you climb out of the darkness

chapter summary: you never thought you would see him after the funeral, but here he is.

pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

warning: small mentions of smut(nothing major), mentions of abuse, mentions of death, mentions of blood

word count: 2.3k

A/N: Not sure how I feel about this first chapter...let me know what you think! Also some of this may be confusing but it will get cleared up as the story goes on. Also I barely looked over this for mistakes, so sorry in advance <3

~

You met him in college. He was the popular football player, wanna be NFL. You were the book work that didn’t need any distractions. He was sweet and caring but cocky. Somehow he convinced you to go on a date with him. Everything was going great, but then he hurt his knee during a football game. Then he changed.

At the beginning it was just a couple of harsh words here and there. He would apologize after.

“I’m sorry, honey,” he would say, pulling you close. You got used to it, to the words, the hateful glances he would send ever so often.

His future as a football player was no more. He ended up working in an office, but it wasn’t enough for him.

The first time he hit you, he had come back from the bar, drunk and angry. He had met up with his old teammates, got plastered, made a scene, and got kicked out of the bar. He apologized that morning, crying for forgiveness. And you forgave him. You stayed, even when the abuse continued and got worse.

The worst part is, you blame yourself.

I shouldn’t have tested him and I wouldn’t have to cover the bruise on my jaw with a pound of makeup.

And now, almost 3 years later, you're still making excuses for him. Every hit, every slap, every kick to the ribs, every busted lip or bruised jaw, it was always your fault. It didn’t matter that you did everything he asked. He always found something to punish you for whether it was leaving a dish in the sink, not having dinner ready for him when he got home, forgetting to pick up something for him at the store, or something simple like not making the bed. It was always something.

Kade wasn’t always beating you. He had good days too. You glance down at the ring on your finger, finding it out of place. It didn’t fit right anymore. It didn’t look right on your hand. Truth be told, you didn’t want it there anymore. But what were you going to do? He had mentioned time and time again that if you were to ever leave, he’d kill you.

The elevator dings, indicating someone had come up. It gains your attention, pulling your eyes from the files you were currently going over familiar. His familiar face pulls at your heart and your mind flashes with memories. You couldn’t believe your eyes. Your brother's old best friend is walking right up to your desk, a smile that somehow still makes you weak at the knees, stretched across his face. His eyes shimmer with glee, like he recognized you the instant your eyes met. The familiar ocean blue pulls you in and you're drowning in them all over again.

The gold star hanging from his neck has your attention, a grin appearing on your face. He’s always been a protector. You remember when Danny, your brother, had left, leaving you behind while he fought wars overseas. Jay was a year younger, so Danny had made him promise to look after you. He made him promise to protect you. And he did, until ultimately the year following, he left too.

He approached the desk, shaking his head while letting out a laugh.

“I couldn’t believe it. Miss Hawkins, secretary to the multimillionaire Reese Connor,” he teases, placing his elbows on the counter, intertwining his fingers together. You shift your weight from one foot to the other, trying to ease the pain from your side. He’s bigger since the last time you saw him, it must be four years now. You were barely 22 when he showed up to your front door, holding your brother's dog tags in his hand and tears in his perfect blue eyes.

“Me? Let’s talk about you, Mr. Detective. I heard you’ve been kicking it in the Intelligence Unit.” You laugh, leaning over to shove his arm. He chuckles but something catches his eye. There’s red marks around your neck. You didn’t notice where his eyes trailed, so busy looking over what you could see from your stop behind the counter.

His shoulders were broad, more so than last time it seems. His jaw, not as sharp as it once was and he was no longer clean shaven. His five o’clock shadow runs across his jaw and the lower part of his cheeks. You remember all the complaining he did when he was younger about how he could never grow it out probably and opted just to shave it so your brother would stop teasing him relentlessly.

There’s still freckles running over his face in the most perfect way, trailing down his neck and down under his shirt. There’s a scar leaking out from his olive green shirt that is partially covered by his leather jacket.

You shake your head, looking back into his eyes that hold a different emotion you couldn’t pinpoint, and sigh. “What can I do for you Detective Halstead?” You grinned teasingly. His smile reappeared in a matter of milliseconds.

“I need to speak to Reese involving a case I’m working on. Is there any way I could speak to him?”

You purse your lips, looking down at your watch before replying, “He’s currently in a meeting, it should be over in about ten minutes if you wanna sit and wait?” Jay nods. You smile, pointing towards the chair behind your desk.

He rounds your desk and takes a seat only a couple of feet from your chair, which you sit back down in. You try to ignore the burning in your cheeks. This feeling takes you back to when you were fifteen. A young and naive teenager who thought she was in love with her older brother's best friend, who was 4 years older than you.

“I can see your cherry red face and your facing away from me.” His comment only made it worse. You groan, closing the file and turning to him.

“You haven’t changed have you?” You ask, crossing your legs. It gains his attention immediately. His eyes trail down to your ankle, a large bruise covers the area.

“Well it seems you got more beautiful since the last time I saw you,” he stares, leaning back in his seat. A sting punctures your heart, sadness attempting to creep over you. You push it away, laughing.

“Yeah well it’s been a while since then.”

“You know, I can still remember those boy band posters hanging in your bedroom. And those pigtails you wore everyday in middle school.”

Groaning, you reply, “I hope you don’t still see me as that clingy preteen.”

“I think you know I don’t see you that way anymore.” You knew exactly what he was hinting at, and if it could get any worse, the burning in your cheeks intensified, the ache between your legs reminding you of how good he made you feel and how no other man, even Kade, could make you feel the way he did.

You suck your lips into your mouth, trying to hide your smile.

“What are you here for?” You find yourself asking, picking at your nails, attempting to change the subject before you say something you shouldn’t.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

Jay lets out a chuckle, making you glance back up to him. He’s shaking his head with a grin. You pout, turning back to your desk.

There was a slight pause as you tried to focus on your work, but you could feel his eyes on you, like he was trying to figure you out after all these years.

“Those are some nasty cuts on your hands, butterfly. What happened?” The nickname brought back so many memories of you and your brother. Tears welled in your eyes but you forced yourself to focus on the question, nervousness sitting in your stomach.

“I broke a plate washing dishes.” The lie fell smooth from your lips, dripping with innocence. A sound leaves his lips, like he didn’t believe you.

“Your eye?”

“Walked into a wall.”

“What about that bruise on your leg?” Looking down, the bruise now visible on the back of your leg you hadn’t noticed this morning while getting ready. You whipped around in your chair to look at the detective coldly.

“I fell.”

“I know you're clumsy, sweetheart, but not that clumsy.” Jag leans over, his forearms leaning against his thighs. “What about the red marks around your neck? Or the bruise on your shoulder that I can see through your white blouse.”

You curse yourself for being so careless. If Kade found out someone was questioning you, a detective and a friend no less, he’d kill you.

“Are you interrogating me, detective?” You ask, looking at him sternly. You intertwine your fingers and sit them in your lap. You watch him cross his arms over his chest, his muscular biceps, bulging through the sleeves of his jacket, gaining your attention. Gulping, you adjust your crossed legs desperate for the little pressure it gives. You hated that he could make you this desperate. Despite being angry, you could tell he knew the effect he had on you. He was going to use it to wiggle the information out of you.

“Does he do it when he’s drunk, sober, or both?”

You narrow your eyes, recalling the times you could smell it on his breath and the times you couldn’t. It seemed like it was worse when he was sober, when he was drunk he was sloppy. You glanced down to your lap, trying to keep the tears at bay. You didn’t need his sympathy. You didn’t need his help. You were a grown woman and you didn’t need your dead brother's best friend looking out for you anymore. You no longer needed his protection.

Luckily you're saved by a man approaching your desk from the direction of Mr. Reese’s office.

“Thank you, Miss Hawkins.” The man slaps the desk before continuing towards the elevator. You rise from your chair, motioning Jay to follow you down the hall towards your boss's office.

“That’s a pretty bad limp. You should get it checked out.”

You stop in the middle of the hall and turn to him, annoyed at this point.

“Detective-“

“What happened to JJ?”

Your eyebrows pull together as you run your hand over your face, a sigh escaping your lips. “Jay, I know you promised my brother you’d look out for me, but I’m fine.” You try to reason, even grabbing his arm and giving him a smile.

“I’m not doing this because of Danny, sweetheart. Believe it or not, I care about you,” he says, stepping closer to you. You gulp, pressing your hands to his chest. He had you against the wall now, his arms on either side of your head, trapping you.

“Jay, please. I’m engaged.”

Jay pulls back abruptly, giving you a shocked look but there was anger in his eyes.

“You're marrying that bastard?” He lets out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head. You move to touch him, but he moves from your grasp.

“Take me to Reese.”

You look down, nodding before continuing on towards your boss's office. You knock on the door, waiting on the okay before walking inside. Your boss sits at his desk and was previously focused on his computer but his attention is turned to you.

“A Detective Halstead is here to see you.”

He flashes you a smile before motioning him inside. You let Jay pass, taking in a sharp breath as his body brushes with yours.

Once you're outside and the door is shut behind you, you lean against the wall, trying to calm yourself down. Ever since he came back from his first tour, to spend some time with his family, your feelings for him became much more than some school girl crush. You saw him in a new light. He was more than your brother's best friend, more than that guy who looked after you ever so often. He was a man and you, you were a woman. You had hoped for so long that he would see you differently. He did, but the time for you and him had passed.

Your little moment was ruined by the sound of a voice, “Who the hell was that?” Your head snaps towards the end of the hall. Kade’s friend Nathan stands there, a glare set in his eyes. You can hear your heartbeat in your ears as your breathing becomes unsteady. You're stuttering out incoherent words but he’s already pulled out his phone and dials a number while walking in the opposite direction of where you're standing.

Although filled with fear and worry, you continued working, distracting yourself and praying that he’ll let it go, or at least listen to you when you tell him you didn’t say a word to Jay. He knows Jay, and when he finds out that it was him who you were talking to, it’s going to be ten times worse.

Your attention is once again drawn to him as he walks up to your desk from the direction of the hall. He slides a card onto the table towards you.

“I wasn’t there for you like I promised you that day. I failed you, and I failed him. I know the signs. When you're ready to get out, call me. I won’t let you down, not this time.” You watch him walk away, heart sinking into your stomach. You want him to come back, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to call out to him, or to trust him again.

Before he enters the elevator, he gives you another look and adds, “You’re strong. Remember that.”

He gets into the elevator and he’s gone. You picked up the card, looking it over. He reminds you that not every man is as awful as Kade. But he has his claws dug into you so deep, you can’t even trust Jay, the man who protected you when your brother was away. You don’t know what to do without Kade. You love him.

He’s going to change, you tell yourself. You only hope you’re right.

_

A/N: Okay can i just say how sorry i am for how long it took me to post this story :( Not gonna make any promises but chapter two should be out Friday or Saturday. Thanks for the support. If you want to be added to my taglist let me know!

#chicago pd #chicago pd imagines #jay halstead #jay halstead imagines #jay halstead x reader #one chicago #detective jay halstead #jay halstead one shots #chicago pd x reader #dom jay halstead

[bubblegumbeech]

Haunted Towers and Hidden Truths

Phic Phight prompt by @lexiepiper

Write a more traditional ghost story. How would things change if ghost powers weren’t super powers, but closer to old horror movie tropes?

“We shouldn’t do this Danny,” Sam said, ever the voice of reason. “This place isn’t like our usual haunts.“

But Danny shook his head, “No Sam, I have to do this. I have to know what that dream meant, if it was really a dream or something else.”

He moved to take a step forward when his other friend, Tucker, grabbed his arm, “I don’t know man, I think she’s right. There isn’t a possessed item to destroy, or an overactive ghost to try and calm down, heck even Vlad has a weakness we can exploit, we don’t know anything about this place. What if we don’t make it out of this one?”

“Come on Tucker,” Danny argued, his own confidence nothing but a mask, “It can’t be as bad as the haunted video game right? You die in the game you die in real life!”

Tucker didn’t laugh, “this is serious Danny, I know that dream had you messed up, but what if it was just that? A dream?”

“Or,” Sam cut in, “What if it’s a trap? Remember how Desiree tried to get us with that monkey’s paw when she realized we were getting involved with every scary story and urban legend in town and she didn’t want us to find out about her?”

There was also the time a ghost discovered Danny’s secret and decided to haunt him personally and make his life a living hell until he and Tucker were able to exorcise it. It had involved a gorilla, a lot of research into dead safari hunters, and one of his parent’s inventions that they rigged to do what they needed before destroying it so it couldn’t be used against Danny himself. 

“We made it through all of those things together, remember when we first saw Cujo? And we thought he was to blame for Valerie’s mother?” Danny said.

Sam deflated, “and then we did research and discovered that Cu Sith only foretell death, not cause it… But Danny, we tried to research this place, remember? We found nothing. It’s like it doesn’t exist.”

“Yeah man,” Tucker scratched the back of his neck uncertain, “I couldn’t find so much as a blueprint. No building plans, nothing. The only thing we have to go on are stories from reckless kids trying and failing to spend the night.”

“You don’t have to follow me, the last thing I want is to put you both at risk. Especially after last time.” 

Tucker groaned, “Danny you know we aren’t going to let you do this alone right? Especially not after Walker’s prison. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t come in and save you?”

Danny smiled, “I probably would have starved to death to be fair, but yeah, I’ll try to avoid getting locked in any metal cages, deal?”

“To be fair,” Sam said, returning his smile with one of her own, strained though it was, “you probably would have died of thirst first.”

Chuckling at his friends' attempts to lighten the mood once they realized his mind wouldn’t be changed, Danny finally let himself look up at the place in question. It was a tall, crooked looking clocktower with old, brittle wood and peeling paint. In the low light of the evening it looked almost purple and with the dust and cobwebs covering it, it was clear no one had been inside for quite some time. 

The Clocktower was a recurrent presence in his dreams, the ones he’d started having since the accident that made him the way he was: different from any person, but not quite anything else. It was always there in the background, but he’d never gone inside. 

Once, during a particularly dull recurring dream where he relived the life and consequent death of a warehouse worker, he’d walked away from the endless piles of boxes and tried to go inside the clocktower instead. But no matter how far he traveled, it was always the same distance away. He just couldn’t get to it. 

Danny couldn’t shake the feeling though, that something inside might have the answers he’s been searching for. So he stepped forward, and knocked on the door.

There was no answer, of course, and  Danny almost felt foolish doing it, but also, ghosts and spiritual beings all had their own rules and perceptions of what is or isn’t polite, most of which Danny had stumbled into learning the hard way, and it really didn’t hurt to check.

“No answer,” Sam said and Danny nodded, turning the handle. It was old and brass and when it turned it made a loud grinding noise that vibrated along his arm. But it did open, and without Danny needing to persuade it, so that had to be a good sign right?

Unless it really was a trap. 

“Maybe we should leave someone outside, in case it really is like Walker’s prison.” He offered, but both of his friends shook their heads and stepped past him. It was dark, musty and smelled in a weird way, like a library. If a library had locked its doors and not let anyone enter for a good century or so. 

Sam took the lead, her flashlight catching on unfamiliar shapes and shadows. “Do you know what we’re looking for?” she asked, her voice uncertain. 

Danny shook his head, “Not really, just… answers.”

They looked around the ground floor at first, but if it held anything particularly supernatural or important, it wasn’t going to be found. “This just looks like my grandma's living room.” Tucker complained, taking the sheet off of one of the couches, “we need to go further in if we want to actually find something.”

He wasn’t wrong, Danny looked over to the spiralling staircase in the back of the room, and then to the other doors that surrounded it on the first floor. “It’s probably better to do this systemically right? Go through every room on each floor and move our way up?”

“You mean like in a video game?” Sam asked, “sure, we can do that.”

They started on the left, but that room wasn’t much better when it came to finding any kind of clues. It held a kitchen, a very old kitchen, with a stove and oven that Danny had only ever seen in period movies. But…

“Why does it smell like cookies?” Danny asked, turning to his friends who both looked at him like he was crazy.

“Cookies? Yo, Danny this place smells like straight up death. Not cookies.” Tucker said, backing away from the oven and starting to open up cabinets. 

Sam rolled her eyes and did the same on the other side of the kitchen, “it doesn’t smell like death you dolt, it smells… like a graveyard.”

Danny walked to the middle of the room, towards the oven- he always made sure to be the one seeking out the more dangerous or suspicious things in the haunts they went to- while the two of them bickered. They tended to start these smaller, petty arguments when they were scared, it took the edge off. 

“Duh?” Tucker said, and Danny heard him slam one of the cabinets shut, “graveyards are death? What does it smell like to you? Your Mom’s perfume?”

“No, it smells like someone dying, you know all hospital chemicals and gross stuff.”

There wasn’t anything in the oven, but oddly, Danny had felt a wave of warmth when he opened it. Almost like it had just been used. But, ghosts didn’t need to eat, right? And there couldn’t have been a person living here, they’d notice that. At least, Danny hopes they would notice that. After being in dozens of life or death scenarios hinging on whether they noticed important but minute details, they’d become pretty good at that kind of thing.

“Ugh! Don’t talk about hospitals, I’m still not over North Mercy, that was horrible,” Tucker turned to Danny, leaning on one of the counters and ignoring the cabinet he opened right behind his head. “What do you think death smells like Danny?”

Danny walked over and closed the cabinet, he didn’t want something to suddenly appear inside of it all twisted limbs and empty eyes or for something to crawl out and scare them, or even have it slam shut on Tuckers head, like some ghosts were known to do. He didn’t have to put much thought into his answer, “It smells like burnt flesh, electricity, and polished wood.”

Tucker paled, “oh… right. Sorry.” 

He shrugged, “anything yet?”

“Not unless you count cobwebs, dust, and deteriorating cooking books,” Sam answered, walking over to both him and Tucker. 

Danny looked around at the kitchen, it looked normal, even some dying light shone in from the one window along the outer wall. The only thing weird was the shape and that was because it was at the bottom of a spiralling clocktower. There was nothing particularly scary about the place, and frankly Danny didn’t know what to do with that.

“Let’s move on, this place is giving me the creeps,” Sam said, crossing the room and going to the next door. 

Danny and Tucker followed, unwilling to be left behind, or to let her go on her own. The next room was the same size as the other two, but it had an extra window and was crammed absolutely full of books. Just books. Stacks and stacks of them where they didn’t fit on the shelves, which were completely packed themselves, and Danny had the thought that this was probably what he was smelling when they first walked in. 

It was a library. A personal one, but without any room to sit or anything to sit on despite the genuinely impressive display of books and Danny found himself gently stroking his hand against the cover of a book on the top of the nearest stack, When Ghosts Speak: Understanding Earthbound Spirits.

“Please tell me we aren’t reading all of this,” Tucker whined. Danny frowned, why wouldn’t he want to read these? It was a treasure trove of information, these books could have countless, researched, answers to questions they’ve been asking since the start of everything! 

What if one of these books could tell them why Amity Park seemed to attract the supernatural, why they seemed to gain power within the city’s boundaries, why Danny wasn’t dead. He wanted nothing more than to grab any one of these books, walk into the next room, with the couches and comfortable chairs, sit down and read and read until he found something, anything he could use. 

These books might even be able to help him deal with the supernatural threats that plagued their town. Mostly they’ve been surviving through luck and half baked internet searches with the occasional trip to the town library. And while it had been enough so far, Danny was practically salivating at the thought of being properly, genuinely prepared for something for once. 

“Of course we aren’t,” Sam said, dragging Danny out of his fantasies of maybe knowing what he was doing, “they’re completely deteriorated. If we even tried to open one it would probably fall apart.”

Danny frowned, and then looked down at the book he’d subconsciously grabbed. It didn’t seem as bad as Sam was describing, but he also didn’t want to risk it either. He’d realized early on there was a difference between what he was seeing and what was actually real. He set it down gently and looked around the rest of the room with his friends. 

“Are we so sure this place is haunted?” Danny asked. By then, the sun had set entirely and the only light left was their flashlights. High powered and with fresh batteries they were still little use against the encroaching dark and Danny wanted to move on to the next floor already if he wasn’t going to be able to open a book. 

Tucker stood up from behind a precariously leaning shelf and dusted himself off, “Dude you’re the one that said there was something here and we needed to investigate. Remember, like an hour ago when the two of us were trying to stop you from going inside?”

Danny scoffed, “that’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean then?” Sam asked, stepping closer so she could meet his eyes. There was something in her expression, curiosity or suspicion, Danny couldn’t quite parse. 

“I…” Danny stopped to think, what did he mean? Was it just that the place didn’t feel haunted? There wasn’t anything here trying to scare him away, no ominous winds or loud knocking, but they’ve gone into haunts before that took a long time to start actually reacting to them. “There’s no, I don’t know how to explain it. Usually when we go somewhere haunted, that a ghost has a claim to or whatever… there’s this feeling that I’m trespassing? I don’t feel like I’m trespassing here.”

That probably didn’t make any sense, and despite everything they didn’t usually act on Danny’s gut instincts as a group without evidence. The issue with the circus and it’s terrifying owner was a lesson too well learned after all. 

True to expectations neither Sam nor Tucker looked convinced. They shared a quick ‘what now’ look between each other and Danny resisted taking a step back and sinking into the wall. Not that he could do that, as far as he knew he couldn’t do that. Only actual ghosts could do something like that and despite everything Danny was still human- well, still had a physical form. 

Permanently. 

“Let’s move on upstairs,” Sam reasoned, “if Danny’s right there won’t be any harm in it, and if he’s not we’ll find out once whatever’s here starts actually reacting to us, right?”

Perfectly reasonable and logicked as always. Danny nodded and walked to the next door, if he was right it would lead into the room they had first entered with the staircase that twisted and climbed higher and higher into the heart of the tower. That was the next place to go. He knew that.

Tucker gently patted his shoulder as they walked towards the base of the stairs, “yeah, maybe the ghost doesn’t consider this bottom part his haunt? Maybe he just likes the clock on top?”

Danny smiled, “like the hunchback of Notre Dame?”

Smiling back, Tucker nodded, “exactly! Oh man, we gotta find out if that guy is real one of these days.”

“We have our hands a bit tied with Amity Park without going after disney characters,” Sam said, pushing the two of them from behind so they’d actually go up the stairs. “Now let's get a move on, I want to be back home before breakfast so my parents don’t realize I snuck out again.”

There was something Danny could say but he bit back the comment about how at least her parents would notice and quickly walked up the stairs instead. As soon as his feet touched the first step a bubbly feeling lifted in his chest, and it made him want to go higher as fast as he could there was someone up there waiting for him-

“Danny!” Sam called out, grabbing him by the arm, “calm down!”

Her grip on his arm was tight and Danny looked down to see what had her panicked only to find his feet had left the stairs entirely and he’d started floating upwards instead of walking. Like a human. Like his friends. Like what he was supposed to be. 

He swallowed and let himself sink back down, forcing the feeling in his chest back as much as he could. It was like trying to kill the fizz in a shaken soda by screwing a cap back on it and he struggled with it for a moment. He’d never felt like this before- sure, most ghosts and other supernatural entities tended to broadcast emotions to a higher degree than humans, and with them also being natural empaths and Danny’s unfortunate situation it often led to him being overtaken by emotions that weren’t necessarily his own. 

It’s just, they’ve never been this overwhelmingly positive before.

Even with Vlad, as human as he was, his emotions were always tinted with obsession and desperation. His need to have Danny and his mother for his own colored every interaction he’d had with the man and it often left a bitter, strained feeling in his chest. Right now, Danny felt almost giddy. And he wasn’t even sure it wasn’t just his own emotions, reacting to the environment around him. It was a nice environment after all. 

But Danny was good at ignoring things like that. 

“My bad. I’ll try and keep my feet on the ground from now on.”

Sam looked conflicted, “Danny you know we don’t mind you using your powers,” Danny nodded, they’d told him so many times over and over again, “But we don’t want to lose you to them. You promised to stay with us, remember?”

Danny smiled, “I remember. I won’t end up like that, I promised. That’s why we’re here right? To stop it?”

Sam nodded and let him go. 

The second floor was similar to the first, in that it had three rooms leading into each other with the spiral staircase in the center. Danny started with the door on the right. It was a study. There was a desk, paperwork, and a bottle of ink with a quill and Danny found himself wondering just how old this clocktower really was. And how long it had been since its occupant was truly here, alive, if ever. 

They split up and started looking around, eagerness exposed in their movements. This was the most likely place to have something useful, especially if whoever spent their time here was as studious as the lower floor suggested.  Danny went for the desk. 

There was a note on it, in perfect, looped handwriting and the ink was still glistening, fresh from the bottle if the smell had anything to say about it. Danny ran his hand across the words hoping to smudge it, but it had dried already, if barely. 

It’s nice to meet you, little anomaly.

Danny grit his teeth. 

“Guys,” he called out, holding the paper, “It knows we’re here.”

Sam and Tucker rushed over, and Sam grabbed the paper from his hand to read for herself. “Little anomaly? Isn't that kind of insensitive?”

“Yeah,” Tucker agreed, “you just have weird ghost powers right? Vlad’s the same way it’s not like you’re the only person on the planet like you.”

Hesitant to correct him, Danny bit his tongue. It was true that Vlad was a person who had unfortunately gained the abilities of a ghost, things like floating, making objects move with his mind or using his spirit to control people while he slept safe and sound at home. And he’d gained them in a similar way to Danny as well, trusting the wrong people and delving into things he never fully understood and still didn’t. 

It was just … less true for Danny was all. 

But he wasn’t going to tell them that, he wasn’t going to tell anyone that. So how did whoever, or whatever this was, know? Or was it just saying things to get under his skin, that was pretty par for the course when it came to ghosts. So why wasn’t it doing anything else? Trying to get them to leave? Was Sam right? Was it really a trap this entire time? What would happen if they went back downstairs and tried the door, would it open?

He grabbed the paper and shoved it into one of his jackets pockets, there was plenty of time to freak out over it later after all. “Let’s keep looking around, there has to be something here that it’s trying to distract us from.”

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything more useful than there had been downstairs. Just what one would expect from a normal office. What papers he did find had detailed extensive notes, yes. But they were in a language Danny couldn’t read and neither Sam nor Tucker even recognized. It was infuriating!

Almost like whoever was haunting this place, was telling them it had all the answers they wanted but wouldn’t give them any. He just wanted to know how - Danny shook his head. There had to be something. He wouldn’t have been led all the way here, had all those dreams, if there was nothing he could do at all. 

He threw one more frustrated look around the office before he threw the stack of papers he’d been digging through on the floor and marched over to the next door. It was unlocked, again, just like all of the others and it only served to increase Danny’s frustration. 

“Wait, Danny,” Sam noticed him leaving and quickly followed, the door slammed shut behind them, locking Tucker inside the office.

“No,” he whispered, this was all his fault, he shouldn’t have let this ghost get in his head like this! He never should have let his emotions take him over, he knew better. It led to bad things. Horrible, terrible, things. 

There was a loud bang on the door, someone was pounding against it and Danny flinched. Was the actual haunting finally starting? Was everything really just a way to lure them deeper into the tower and away from each other? 

“Guys?” he heard Tucker call out from the other side of the door, “did you seriously just leave me behind? Don’t we have like, a rule against that?!” 

Danny sighed in relief, it was just Tucker. “Are you okay Tuck? Did anything happen over there when the door shut? Any oozing walls or flying papers-”

There was another thump, probably Tucker banging his head against the door, “I know what to look for Danny I’ve been doing this the exact same amount of time as you.”

“Yeah yeah,” Danny acquessed. “Just get to the stairs and we’ll meet you there.”

He exchanged a glance with Sam, she was glaring a hole into the side of his head and he felt guilty for being the cause of everything going wrong, again. So he apologized and ignored her exaggerated eye roll when she said he should have known better, because well, he did. But what was he going to do, apologize twice?

The room they were in was a simple one, likely some kind of storage space that he and Sam could dig through for hours on end, but it was more important to get to Tucker than to try and make sure they didn’t miss anything. 

Which, in hindsight, was probably exactly why they’d been separated. 

A cold breeze tickled at Danny’s hair and he felt himself relax despite it all. It felt nice, the cold, and Danny liked when the haunts they went to leaned towards the chillier side like this. Sometimes, especially if Vlad was involved, it felt like he was walking into an overwarm swamp when he entered a haunt and it made him itchy and uncomfortable the entire time. Vlad never seemed to notice, and his friends complain equally about both, so Danny had mostly kept it to himself. 

The entire tower felt nice, cold dry air, the smell of books, ink, and cookies, even the playful, excited feeling that seemed to permeate throughout the tower. Like someone had designed it to appeal in every way to both sides of Danny’s instincts. 

It was unnerving. 

He followed Sam out of the room and back into the middle where the stairs were, but Tucker wasn’t there. 

Sam pulled out her phone, and Danny held his breath as it rang, once, twice, and then a click and Tucker’s familiar, annoyed voice came through the speaker and Danny sighed in relief. “Uh guys? I couldn’t get out the door so I tried to climb out a window, and there was uh, a ladder. So I’m outside right now. Come get me?”

Danny met eyes with Sam and nodded, they headed back down, “we’re coming Tuck,” he said.

“Cool, cool, actually rather than coming to get me, can we just go home? Come back later, like in the day time? How come we never do these things in the daytime?”

“You know that’s not how ghosts work Tucker.” Sam said, bored, as they walked to the front door. Danny felt a tug, something like a hand on his shoulder and turned to see what was behind him. There wasn’t anything there. 

He turned back around to see that Sam had already walked outside, and was holding the door open for him, one of her eyebrows raised. Awkwardly, Danny jogged a little, so as to not hold them up too long. But before he could actually walk outside the door slammed shut.

Sam screamed.

“Danny! Are you okay!” Tucker asked, his voice panicked and muffled from the other side of the door.

“I’m fine,” Danny said, gritting his teeth and turning around. The room didn’t look or feel any different. There was nothing screaming at him to get out or anything else malicious. If anything it seemed even cosier than before, and Danny didn’t really know how to react to that. 

He looked back at the door. There was a way, no. He couldn’t do that. Danny pinched at the bridge of his nose, the only thing to do, really, was to see who had invited him in. That’s what it was right? Some kind of weird ghostly invite?

“I’m going to go check upstairs,” he called out to his friends before walking back towards the staircase. 

They pounded on the door, “Danny don’t you dare go up there without us! Just wait, we’ll find a way in! It’s dangerous alone!” 

Ignoring their protests Danny took the stairs two steps at a time, fighting the rising excitement in his chest and firmly planting his feet against the polished wood. There were answers waiting for him, he knew there were. He just had to find them. 

The third floor had a bedroom, it was nice, cozy and the bed even looked inviting. Danny didn’t bother to stay long. Whoever it was that called him here wasn’t in this room, nor were they in the next or the one after that. Just two bedrooms and a bathroom on that floor and Danny quickly made his way to the next. 

This room was different from the rest. For one there were windows, everywhere, that seemed to play different scenes of different people from all over the world. If Danny strained his ears, he could even hear them speaking different languages. On the other side from the windows was an entire wall of clockwork that chimed and churned as the gears moved, keeping the face of the clock on the outside ticking along in sync with the rest of the world. 

When Danny stepped into the room properly the carpet sunk easily underneath his feet and he felt a nice, cold breeze that came from a purple flamed fire housed properly in a fireplace in the middle of the room. He hadn’t even noticed a chimney from outside. 

There was a man in front of the fire. He was tall and hooded and he carried an equally tall and gnarled staff in one of his gloved hands. Danny felt himself freeze, he had never seen a ghost this solid before. There was always a little bit of transparency, no matter how powerful, they didn’t have physical forms afterall. Not like Danny.

“Who are you?” he asked. His voice was dry and soft and Danny was thankful when it didn’t crack on his question. How embarrassing would that have been? 

The man turned around, his face changing as he did from old and aged to a younger one, closer to his parent’s age, a large jagged scar marking it’s way through one of his eyes and down his cheek. He smiled, “I am Clockwork, Master of time. All that was, All that is, and All that will be. I understand you have many questions for me. I hope to answer them.” 

A thousand questions ran rapidly through his mind, why did you call me here? Did you call me here? Why get rid of my friends? What are you and why haven’t I seen anything like you before?

“How do I prevent myself from becoming that.” Danny asked the most pressing question first, desperate. The man-ghost-Clockwork, sighed and gestured for him to sit. There was a comfortable looking couch with an equally comfortable chair across from it and a plate of cookies set on an elegantly carved coffee table between the two.

“That’s easily answered, sit, have a cookie.” Clockwork floated over, crossing his legs and settling into the chair before grabbing a cookie for himself. 

Danny glanced at them, uncertain, before taking a seat. The couch was even more comfortable than it looked and he found himself sinking back into it, confused. The room was a nice, cold, temperature as well, despite the fire clearly burning in the fireplace. 

He grabbed one of the cookies, “can I eat these?” he asked, looking over at his host.

“Of course,” Clockwork smiled, taking a bite of his own before leaning back, “I made them for you. Though your friends would have to be more careful, I’m not sure what food like this would do to a human.”

“I am human,” Danny argued, placing the cookie back on its plate. He had to, denial was all he had left at this point. 

Clockwork frowned, “yes, well, I suppose we’ll get there next. You wanted to know about your dreams.”

Finally, Danny nodded, “they’re different ever since- uh well… ever since the incident.”

“It’s natural to not want to talk about one’s death,” Clockwork said, he leaned forward and tilted his head, “or one’s birth.”

“My dreams,” Danny asked, avoiding that conversation with all the grace of a blind hippo, “why are they different. You know right?”

Sighing, Clockwork nodded and leaned back, “yes, I know everything. They’re different, frankly, because they’re dreams. It’s unsettling to you because it’s new, you’ve never dreamed before.”

Danny scowled, “that doesn’t make any sense, I had plenty of dreams when-”

Clockwork interrupted him, disappointment plain under his hood, “You can lie to your friends Daniel, but I already know the truth. Just as you do.”

“I was astral projecting. Like what Vlad does… but then why-?” Danny bit his tongue. He couldn’t say it, not outloud. It was too difficult, he’d spent too long hiding it, pushing it away and doing everything he could to keep anyone from noticing. 

“Why can’t you do it anymore?” Clockwork answered for him, Danny nodded. “The simple answer is that you aren’t like Vladimir, despite what he believes and would like you to believe as well. But that’s something else you already know. Ask me a question you don’t have the answers for.”

Danny grabbed another cookie, biting into it fiercely just to have an excuse not to speak. It tasted really good, better than anything he’d had in a while and Danny wondered if maybe there was something in it meant to sate his less human cravings. The thought didn’t help his inner turmoil. 

Clockwork smiled softly at him though and sighed, “Fine, in order to answer your question, first I have one of my own.”

“Didn’t you just say you know everything?” Danny mumbled before shoving more cookie in his mouth. 

“What good is a teacher that only lectures?” Clockwork said in retort, “do you remember how you died?”

He did, of course he did. “Kinda hard to forget that. Lab accident, electrocution, nothing fancy.” he said, curling in on himself. Clockwork had been right before, it was painful to talk about. But he wanted, no, needed the answers to his questions. He’d survive this. 

“Well, that’s where your first mistake lies. Yes, that is what stopped your heart, and likely the most memorable part, but you didn’t die from that Daniel. What killed you came after.”

Danny frowned, “that doesn’t make any sense? What happened after?”

“Your spirit was never particularly bound to your body in the first place, likely due to your parents dabbling where they shouldn’t for as long as they did before you were ever born. There was a summoning, I think you remember, that your parents were holding when your accident happened on the floor below them.”

It was frustrating, that he was right. That he knew it. “I remember them recognizing me, my spirit. I remember them finding my body and shoving me back in. I remember the pain, and waking up and seeing-” Danny choked on the realization. It couldn’t be...

“Seeing the world in your dreams?” Clockwork asked, “the way you saw it when you were a spirit, free from the confines of your body, correct?” He floated over the table, sat next to Danny, and placed a hand on his back. Danny realized he had been shaking. 

He grabbed the fabric of his jeans in a tight grip and tried to stop, “It’s all real, right? It isn’t… I’m not still dreaming? Please, I need to know.”

The hand on his back pulled him close, tucked into Clockwork’s side and Danny felt comforted despite himself, he fought to blink away tears that had been building behind his eyes as he tucked himself into Clockwork’s side. He was so solid, unlike any other ghost Danny had ever met and he seemed to radiate comfort where most just gave off fear and hurt. 

“You’re not dreaming Daniel, you never were. The world is different when you see it  through our eyes, that is all. When you woke up, you weren’t human anymore. Of course you wouldn’t be limited by a human’s sight.”

Danny curled into himself tighter, despair clouding around him and likely leeching unpleasantly into the air. It would be a wonder if Clockwork didn’t feel it. “So I’m a ghost.”

“Hardly,” Clockwork said and Danny stopped breathing, “Do you think the world is so simple it is split between what is ghostly and what is not?”

“I…” Danny had actually assumed that. So far everything they’d dealt with so far, short of Vlad, had either been a ghost or spirit of some kind, or a human that used magic or ghostly artifacts. Even Vlad had simply been a person who had learned how to control his own spirit the way a ghost would. If Danny wasn’t a human, and he wasn’t a ghost, then what was he?

Clockwork ruffled his hair, “I suppose you’re young. It is easier, afterall, to think of it that way. But Daniel, ghosts don’t have physical forms. They can possess one, or control one, and sometimes even mimic one, but they are spirits.”

He sighed, “you are something entirely different. You’re something remarkable.”

Danny leaned back, using the sleeves of his hoodie to quickly dry his tears so he could look Clockwork in the eye, “What am I?”

“You’re new.”

Danny shoved him, “Agghh, I knew that you jerk!” It was probably a bad idea to attack or antagonize someone as clearly powerful and knowledgeable as Clockwork, but really he’d been asking for it. And Danny’s patience was only so strong. 

Clockwork didn’t fight him back though, nor did he get offended. Instead he just smiled that soft smile that Danny was starting to realize was affection, and said, “did you? Weren’t you trying to read my books to find out if there was anyone else like you?”

“Well yeah-” Danny stopped, “Oh. There wouldn’t be anything would there? If I’m the first?”

He groaned, that really was just his luck. He’d never figure out anything at this rate. Clockwork, the bastard, just hummed and grabbed another cookie, offering it to him. “No there wouldn’t. But you’re not the only one who was the first or only of their kind. Who had to figure out on their own, who and what they are.”

“You mean Vlad?” Danny asked, the thought left a sour taste in his mouth, wow he really hoped he didn’t mean Vlad.

Clockwork’s smile turned brittle, “I don’t mean Vlad.”

Danny chuckled, his thoughts turning mischievous, “I don’t know, he seems pretty unique, what with all those different abilities he has and the way he can choose to be human or ghost-”

“Oh please,” Clockwork interrupted, “there’s plenty of humans like Vladimir Masters, you were fully capable of astral projecting like that from birth, no black magic necessary. Just because he found a way to twist-”

He stopped, then looked down at Danny who was trying and failing to hold back a shit eating grin. All at once the air seemed to leave him and he deflated, the irritated look on his face replaced with open and honest affection and Danny felt it sing in the air around them.

“You were messing with me.”

“To be fair I didn’t think it would work, all knowing and everything.” Danny said, unable to fight the bubbling feeling in his chest as it rose to meet the affection around them. Usually it sucked having the empathy of a ghost and being near one or at least, something with the same traits. The negative emotions tended to bounce between him and them and amplify and it always made Danny struggle to parse his own emotions from theirs. But right now, in the top of a clock tower with the most powerful entity Danny had ever met, he felt happiness and joy to a degree he’d long forgotten. It was dizzying. He was almost giddy with it.

Clockwork patted him on the head, purposefully messing his hair, “yes well. I think in time, it will be more obvious just how different you truly are, how crucial every small coincidence was that came together that night to create you. But until then, you had another question? I can answer it now.”

Danny frowned as he realized what Clockwork meant, “You! I asked that question first! How did you only answer the one you wanted to!!”

“It was important,” Clockwork said, relaxing into the couch next to Danny, “to answer that question I had to be sure you knew what you were.”

He sputtered, “But I don’t?! I’m just something new! Something different!”

“Something physical that exists with the laws of the spiritual.”

“Yeah!” Danny said, “Wait, what?”

Clockwork nodded his head, “a physical entity that exists within the realms of spiritual possibility. It must be such a struggle, to deal with both sets of instincts like that.”

Danny’s head hurt, it was too much to try and understand the details of all of this. Maybe Tucker was right and he should just have let it be, learn to live with the new normal his life was now. Wasn’t that kind of what Clockwork was suggesting anyways? Then again, unlike Tucker, he did seem to thrive off of all of Danny’s questions, whether he actually answered them or not. 

“Yeah, I have to fight my more ghostly instincts all the time. It’s exhausting.” he said, leaning into Clockwork. It should have been embarrassing, seeking comfort like that, but he’d already cried into his shoulder and there wasn’t really any way to come back from that so Danny did as he pleased. 

He felt Clockwork’s hand return to his back, a solid comforting presence, “Now why would you do that?”

Danny tilted his head in confusion, “what do you mean?”

“Why would you fight against one half of yourself so thoroughly? But embrace the other side entirely?” Clockwork elaborated. “Did you think there wouldn’t be any consequences in fighting against your nature?”

“But,” Danny struggled to speak, pieces of the puzzle he’d thought hopeless putting themselves together in ways he had never expected and didn’t quite understand, “my nature is bad.”

Clockwork frowned and turned to look at Danny properly, “Daniel, it’s your nature. There is nothing good or bad about it. It is only as it is. Everything is as it’s meant to be.”

This was too much, Danny sat up fully and turned entirely towards Clockwork, “are you saying, the way I become that thing from my nightmare, is by… doing what I’ve been doing to avoid becoming that thing?!”

“Yes,” Clockwork answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

He blinked, the answer really couldn’t be that easy. “But in my dream, I, my instincts-”

Clockwork grabbed a cookie and placed it in his hands, “even humans react poorly, when they starve themselves. As you exist now, you simply need a different kind of sustenance. One you’ve been denying.”

Danny felt dread crawl down the length of his spine, “what kind of sustenance?”

“Spirits exist for reasons, and they exist differently from humans. In order to keep existing they need emotions, experiences, something to keep them held together. A spirit that has no reason to exist will simply disappear, you’ve seen such before it is relatively common after all. But you can’t do that, since you are physical in a way that they are not. You can starve yourself endlessly, into madness even if you’re desperate enough.”

“I do it to myself?” Danny asked, flustered and frustrated. It was true then? He really was his own worst enemy? 

Clockwork shook his head, “it is not inevitable Daniel. As you were, it was the most likely path forward. Yes. You would have noticed the symptoms, seen yourself losing control and then, in reaction, suppressed yourself further. Starved yourself further.”

Danny cringed, yeah, that sounded like him. “How do I stop it then? I just embrace what makes me ghostly? What about my parents? If they think they failed the resurrection, that I’m not human anymore, they’ll kill me for real! Or worse!”

“That is indeed troublesome, and the paths of the future where they know your truth are twisted and sharp, every small decision every tiny change causing a greater effect on their reactions as a whole. But you do not need to reveal yourself to your parents to live your truth.”

Relieved, Danny fell back into the couch. He hadn’t even noticed he’d floated off of it, was that good? Bad? He shook his head, this was all too confusing. “How then?” He asked, maybe this time he’d actually get a straight answer. 

Clockwork ruffled his hair and stood up, er, well, floated up and over towards the fire. “You continue doing what you’re doing with your friends, protecting your town and interacting with the truth of the world around you. And…” He turned around, “you can come visit me. It’s quite lonely in the clock tower they trapped me in, and there is much I can teach you about becoming. I had to learn such things about myself once after all.”

“You’ll let me come back? To visit you?” Danny didn’t know what to say. He could come visit, ask more questions, get more answers. It seemed too good to be true, and Danny found himself eager and excited at the prospect. 

For some reason, the entire conversation, he’d thought this would be a one time thing. That the clocktower would disappear behind him and leave any question he didn’t ask unanswered. To find out that wasn’t the case, that he had somehow, against all odds, made some kind of ghostly ally, was beyond expectations. “You’ll help me?”

The answering smile had Danny floating out of his seat, “Of course Daniel. I’ll even bake cookies.” 

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