#everyone knows AU

[raaorqtpbpdy]

God Only Knows

Everyone knows AU, but Wes doesn't know that everyone knows, and neither does Danny, because even though everyone knows, everyone also knows better than to acknowledge it.

For the prompts:

Everyone knows the connection between Danny Fenton and Phantom. To keep their town's hero safe, everyone pretends to be oblivious. Only this one kid doesn't seem to have gotten the memo. [From @vigilant-insomniac], and It's like Santa, the students of Casper High think. You know he's fake, just your parents playing pretend, and if Danny wants to play human, well. Who are they to ruin the fantasy? [From @uniasus]

This is a take on Wes I've never written before, despite having written quite a few Wes fics, and it was a lot of fun, I hope you like it : )

Read also on AO3

[Warnings for mentioned injuries, threats, and implied bullying]

Danny Fenton was dead. Everyone knew that.

After an accident in his parents' lab, he'd been rushed to the hospital and declared dead on arrival. He had an obituary in the paper, a grave. His death had even been announced over Casper High's PA system, and there had been a moment of silence, and all the science classes had done lessons on lab safety so that what had happened to him might not happen to anyone else.

Then, a couple weeks later, Danny Fenton was back at school like nothing had happened. Hanging out with his loser friends, going to classes, eating at Nasty Burger. Like he was still a regular kid. Except that beakers slipped through his fingers, and he kept walking through vending machines, and falling through the floor. Sometimes all or part of him would turn invisible, or he'd start floating a few inches off the floor and his friends had to pull him back down to earth.

Every time, he would look around in a panic, like he was hoping no one saw, and every time, those who had seen pretended they hadn't. It was Santa Claus, the Casper students reasoned. You knew he was fake, just your parents playing pretend, but it made them happy when you pretended with them. If Danny wanted to play human, well... who were they to ruin the fantasy.

Besides, no one wanted to be the one to remind him that he'd died.

Then the school was attacked by a ghost, and another ghost appeared to stop her. It was the ghost of a 14-year-old boy, wearing a Fenton Works jumpsuit. There was no mistaking that Danny Fenton, the dead kid attending their school, was also the dead kid protecting it.

But after a couple of days, it was clear that Danny himself still thought it was a secret, so everyone else silently agreed to let him keep thinking that. He'd been through a lot, and they didn't need to make it harder on him. Even Dash never brought it up—and he kept bullying Danny, for being week and unpopular, just to keep up the illusion that nothing had changed.

When out-of-towners started poking around, asking questions, everyone kept the secret. The strangers were clearly ill-intentioned, wanting to capture Danny for some reward. Even if he was deluding himself about still being alive, Danny was a good kid who protected the town. The least the locals could do as thanks was act oblivious to keep him safe. They were used to pretending, anyway.

Except this one kid didn't seem to have gotten the memo.

"Uh, yeah, I have some information on the ghost!" Wes called out to the Guys in White nosing around their school.

Kwan grabbed him, covering his mouth and dragging him around the corner before the Guys in White could see who'd called out to them. He felt something slimy on the palm of his hand and let go of Wes with a noise of disgust.

"What the hell!" Wes demanded.

"Did you just lick me?" Kwan asked, wiping his hand off on his jeans. "Gross!"

"Dude, you dragged me down the hallway! What gives."

"You were gonna spill to the Guys in White. You can't do that!"

"Just 'cause no one around here believes me, I'm just supposed to give up?" Wes frowned, crossing his skinny, freckled arms over his chest. "Somebody has to know that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom, I mean come on, it's obvious!"

"But if you tell the Guys in White, even if they don't believe you, they'll investigate him, and who knows what they'll do," Kwan pointed out. "Hasn't Danny been through enough? I mean," Kwan glanced around and lowered his voice before adding, "he died. Do you really want to make things harder on him after that? Don't you think he deserves a break?"

"Exactly," Wes hissed. "He died. He's a ghost. Ghosts are bad—and why are we whispering?" he added at a normal volume.

"You know that's not true," Kwan argued, keeping his voice low, despite Wes' complaint. "Phantom protects us."

"From ghosts that come through a portal he opened!"

Kwan flinched. Saying Danny had opened the portal was kind of misrepresenting the reality of the situation. Sam and Tucker had reluctantly told the story of Danny's death in the weeks he was gone, and it had been spread around pretty thoroughly before he came back. Everyone at school knew that he'd stepped into that portal and been completely fried. The portal turning on wasn't the part most people focused on when it was always immediately followed by 'while Danny was inside it'.

"I don't think you can blame him for that," Kwan said. "It was an accident."

"One that has yet to be corrected," Wes replied, his anger not fading. "Him fighting the ghosts doesn't stop them from attacking. If he really wanted to protect the town, he'd destroy the portal and stay in the Ghost Zone."

"What about the Fentons?"

"Who cares if the Fentons lose their precious portal when it's endangering thousands of lives!?"

"And you don't care if they lose their son, either?" Kwan demanded.

"So you do believe me!"

"You're a dick, Weston." He'd never called anyone a dick before in his life, but it seemed to apply here. "I don't care what you think, but if you try to hawk your theories on any of the ghost hunters around town, I'll make you regret it, and I'll bring friends, too. I've got a lot of them."

To drive home his point, Kwan shoved Wes against the lockers and glared before walking away. Gosh, that was so aggressive. Kwan hoped it had been okay. He didn't like doing it—he didn't even know if his face could hold that expression long enough to intimidate anyone—but if it kept Danny safe, that was what mattered.

At least Dash would probably be proud of him for it. Dash was always saying he needed to be more assertive to people couldn't push him around. Metaphorically, of course. Literally, Kwan was six feet tall and 190 pounds, even as a freshman, so there weren't many people who could physically push him around as it was. He didn't join the football team for no reason.

Thankfully, it did seem to work. Kwan had his friends—and he did indeed have a lot of friends, since he was a very friendly and likable guy—keep an eye on Wes until the outside ghost hunters declared the hunt a bust and skipped town. He didn't know whether Wes had noticed or not, but either way, he hadn't tried to expose Danny to them again.

Too bad that didn't last. A few weeks later, Wes went directly to the Fentons.

"No one else will believe me, but your son is a ghost!" Wes told them. "He's Danny Phantom!"

Jack and Maddie both froze. They knew.

They knew, and they had both agreed to pretend they didn't. They shot at Phantom, always aiming a mile wide, and shouted threats, and loudly declared their hatred for ghosts. They knew how it made Danny feel, but they also knew he still loved them. They were willing to do whatever it took to keep their son around, and they feared that if he were ever to tell them he was a ghost, it would be because he was moving on and they'd never see him again.

"Why... that's ridiculous, my boy!" Jack declared, a slight waver in his booming voice. "Our son can't be a ghost!"

"But it's true!" Wes insisted.

"Don't be silly!" Maddie cut him off before he could start listing evidence. She knew all the evidence. "I think we'd know if there was a ghost living under our own roof."

"But—"

"You should keep your utterly ridiculous theories to yourself, because you sound absurd," Maddie said. "Now, if you don't mind, my husband and I have very important ghost hunting to get to. Don't you have homework to do or something?"

Wes growled and clenched his fists in frustration but left them alone nonetheless. Clearly, he wasn't getting anywhere with him. And he wasn't getting anywhere at school, to the point where Danny had stopped getting anxious and had started openly antagonizing him about it. Didn't anyone else in Amity Park have eyes, he wondered.

But in truth, he was the one not seeing, because he didn't see that everyone else was on the same page about Danny being a ghost, and he was the one being left behind.

"Hey, Wes-toenail!"

Wes rolled his eyes as Dash stormed up to him with a disappointed-looking Kwan in tow.

"Jazz Fenton told Sam Manson, who told Kwan, who told me, that you tried to tell Fenton's parents about your stupid conspiracy theory!" Dash sneered at him.

"It's not a conspiracy theory," Wes said. "There would have to be more than just one person involved for it to be a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory would be like if I claimed everyone in town was working together to hide the fact that Fenton is Phantom," he was too busy rolling his eyes again to notice the look Kwan and Dash gave each other, "but you're not, you're all just a bunch of sheep."

"And you're a... a..." Dash struggled, grasping around his thick head for a comeback.

"A blackberry bramble!" Kwan finished for him.

"A blackberry bramble!" Dash repeated firmly, then turned to Kwan with a confused look. "A blackberry bramble?" he repeated again, this time questioningly.

"Prickly, invasive, and impossible to get rid of," Kwan explained. "Sam and I also talked about her garden."

"Oh, that's nice," Dash then turned back to Wes, hardened his expression and said. "You're like a blackberry bramble, and no one wants you around."

Wes raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Why do you even care? I thought you hated Fenton."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want him dead again," Dash pointed out. "His parents are ghost hunters, and they're always shooting at Phantom. What do you think they might do to Danny if they actually believed your bullshit theory?"

"Get rid of him! Because he's a ghost! You know, the creatures constantly attacking our town and putting us all in danger?"

"The fact that you actually seem to believe that is why nobody at school likes you," Dash told him plainly. "That, and your general annoyingness."

"Why do you all care so much about protecting a loser like Danny Fenton?!" Wes shouted, loudly enough that it attracted the attention of everyone else in the hallway not already listening, and he threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "So he died, so what? It's the fact that he's still around that's the problem. Everyone seems to agree that they want ghosts gone until I bring up Phantom. A ghost is a ghost is a ghost, and all ghosts are dangerous, even the quote-unquote 'good ones.'"

He was breathing heavily when he finished his outburst, and suddenly aware of at least a dozen sets of eyes on him.

"That's enough, Wes," Kwan said after a beat. "Danny hasn't done anything to you, or anyone, and it's not fair for you to keep doing this, trying to expose him or... or whatever it is you're trying to do. You'd better cut it out. If this is a joke, no one's laughing, and if you're serious, then you're trying to take a real person away from his friends and family because of your own biases, and that's messed up, dude."

"Yeah!" someone down the hallway piped up. Micah, Wes thought her name was. She'd spit on his shoes when he tried to convince her of his theory.

"Enough is enough!" her friend agreed.

"You lay off Danny, he's already been through it this year already!"

Soon enough, every student in the hallway was chiming in their agreement, and Wes scanned the crowd, mouth agape, offended and outraged. When he turned back to Dash and Kwan, they both wore hard expressions. It looked weird on Kwan's usually jovial face, but it was clear they meant business.

"Whatever," Wes grumbled. He grabbed his math book out of his locker and slammed the door shut with a metallic bang. "You've made your point. I'll stop."

"Will you actually?" Dash insisted, raising a skeptical brow. "Or are you just saying that to get us off your back?"

"I will," Wes confirmed. "I don't need the entire football team and then some making my life a living hell. As long as Fenton keeps his distance from me, I'll do the same for him."

The warning was passed from Kwan, to Sam, to Danny, and in short order, Danny and Wes started avoiding each other. They barely so much as crossed paths anymore. Wes, begrudgingly, stopped trying to expose Danny, and Danny stopped teasing him for his failures, and it finally seemed like Amity Park's ghostly hero could go on protecting the town in peace.

But things weren't always what they seemed, and one day, there was a fight. At first, it seemed like a standard ghost fight, Danny Phantom versus some vampire-looking asshole.

Based on the banter, it sounded like this wasn't their first encounter with each other, so the civilians of Amity Park tried their best to stay out of the way and let Danny do his thing. Parents calling their kids inside, the group of teens passing by ducked into the alley, the one riding the opposite way on his skateboard crossed the street to hide with them, safety in numbers and all that.

Then the tide of battle turned, and all of the sudden, Danny was losing, badly. The enemy ghost had started coming at him with powerful blasts that broke through his defenses and left him reeling. Danny howled as he hit the street, hard, and in a flash of white light, his appearance changed from hero to dweeb, and regular old Danny Fenton laid unconscious in the road.

"You can never truly best me, Daniel," the enemy ghost said, but he didn't have time to monologue.

The teens in the alleyway had a plan, and they were coming to the rescue.

Sam Manson somersaulted into the street, Fenton Wrist Ray™ already armed and at the ready, and she laid down cover fire at the enemy ghost while Dash and Kwan ran out to grab Danny and drag him to the alleyway where they'd been taking cover.

"Guess you can't tell me I'm crazy now," Wes said, smirking triumphantly as the two jocks put Danny down gently on the ground, propping his head up on Paulina's folded up jacket. "We all saw him turn into Fenton, that's proof."

"Will you shut up, Wes?" Paulina snapped while Star checked Danny over, trying to assess his injuries. "We knew that already."

"What do you mean you knew?"

"Everyone knew, the whole time," Paulina reiterated with a derogatory scowl. "It's like, super obvious."

"Then why did you all treat me like I was crazy?" Wes demanded.

"Because you are," Star said. "Not 'cause you think he's a ghost—because, like, duh—but 'cause you kept trying to tell everyone. Some things should stay secret you moron."

"Why you even wanted to constantly remind the dead kid that he's dead, I'll never know," Paulina added.

"Plus, you constantly trying to expose him was putting him in danger," Kwan said. "Phantom is a hero, and you were trying to get him killed."

"He's already dead!"

"Yeah, we know," Sam jeered at him as she returned to their cover. "Everyone knows. But you're the only person in the whole town who's being a dick about it!"

"Hey, that's the same thing I told him a couple months ago!" Kwan told her, delighted. "I never called someone a dick before, but I did, 'cause he was being one."

"Good job calling him out, Kwan," Sam said, sounding genuinely satisfied. "It's good to hear that you're being more assertive and standing up for yourself and others."

"That's what I said, too!" Dash noted. "God, it's so weird that I actually agree with you on stuff now."

"Can we get back to the fact that you guys all knew the whole time that Fenton was a ghost and nobody thought to clue me in?" Wes said, looking around at the rest of them incredulously.

"Clue you in the Danny was a ghost?" Sam asked sardonically. "I thought you knew."

"No, that it was apparently common knowledge and you all just felt like making a fool out of me!"

"You wouldn't have looked like a fool if you'd just kept your fool mouth shut," Paulina pointed out.

"You—"

Wes was cut off when Danny groaned into wakefulness and everyone's attention instantly snapped to the ghost boy.

"Mn... ugh," Danny took a shaky breath and blinked his eyes open, quickly widening in shock when he realized how many people were leaning over him. "Uh... hello, citizens," he said, putting on a voice in the hopes they wouldn't recognize them. "Please, step back and stay away from the—"

"Danny," Sam said, "You changed."

"Huh?" He looked down at his hand and gasped. "I mean, I have an explanation for this. I was uh... being overshadowed?"

"It's okay, dude," Kwan told him. "We're not going to tell anyone. This'll be our little secret. Right, Wes?"

They all looked pointedly at the redhead, who opened his mouth to protest, and closed it again, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Yeah, okay," he relented, though his left eyebrow was nevertheless twitching in irritation. "Our secret."

"We just wanted to get you out of the line of fire before Plasmius took things too far," Sam told him. "You know I've always got your back."

"Thanks," Danny said. "All of you."

They gave him their smiles and their 'you're welcome's while Wes griped and grumbled and left the alleyway with his bike to finish riding home. Plasmius had flown off shortly after Sam started shooting at him. He was content in his victory over Phantom, and didn't feel the need to fight a powerless child like her, so the coast was clear for the rest of them to leave as well.

Sam said goodbye to Kwan so she could walk Danny home while the rest of them resumed their walk to the mall. Sam had been planning to split off before they got their anyway, she was just taking the opportunity to chat with them—mostly Kwan, whom she'd accidentally befriended during Danny's brief stint of popularity earlier in the year (his 'goth' poetry was awful, but they'd bonded over gardening and a love of animals)—since her house was on the way.

"You gonna be okay, Danny?" she asked, as they walked arm in arm so she could catch him if he stumbled. "You don't have a concussion, do you?"

"Maybe?" Danny said, squinting uncertainly. He shrugged. "I'll be fine. I always am. I'm still just amazed how lucky it was that the A-listers and Wes, of all people, were willing to keep my secret. It's gonna be all over the school, tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Oh, I don't know," Sam said vaguely. "Kwan's a decent guy, at least. I'm pretty sure they'll keep their word."

Danny scoffed in disbelief, but didn't voice an argument. The rest of the way to Fenton Works, the chattered about whatever topics came to mind, just to keep Danny from falling asleep in case he did have a concussion, and when Sam dropped him off at home, she held off her mournful expression until she had turned away so Danny didn't have to see it.

#dp #danny phantom #danny fenton #wes weston #dp kwan #dp star #paulina sanchez #dash baxter #sam manson #fic #things i wrote #phic phight #phic phight 24 #everyone knows au #jack fenton #maddie fenton #light angst #full ghost au #sort of; it's implied anyway you can read it as full ghost au or not

[secretly-an-automaton]

Day 5-7 of Angstfest: Everyone Knows AU!

Dunno how I feel about this art style but I can live with it. The two photos are exactly the same, just flipped for legibility

#dp #danny phantom #everyone knows au #angstfest2023 #digital art #dp fanart #angst #auto does art #WAYHiL au #just in design not in content #does that make it an au of an au?

[phantomtwitch]

Sooo I wrote a Part 2 for the Everyone Knows AU part of angstfest. (Anything to avoid editing my IB fic right now, apparently)

Part One of this fic is here if you missed it!

Danny sits in the passenger seat of Jazz’s car, leaning his head against the window as his Mom drives them in silence, her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. His Dad and sister are back at FentonWorks, since his parents insisted it would be best if Danny and his Mom went alone, and it’s been hours since he’s seen any real signs of civilization. The further they travel from home the worse he feels, some nagging sense of discomfort and uneasiness that won’t relent, even as he knows this is to help him. 

For over a year and a half, he’s been experiencing fainting spells and blackouts every time there’s a ghost attack. He’s lucky his friends have managed to keep it hidden from his peers at school, since he knows Dash’s bullying would only increase if he knew Danny was so terrified of the ghosts that he fainted every time one appeared. They tried to keep it from his parents, too, with his sister Jazz’s help, even as Danny couldn’t understand why. But every time he thought about telling them in the past, his jaw would lock up and the words would die before he could utter even a single syllable. 

Yet now they know. He remembers waking up in the lab, not sure how he made it there, his parents sobbing as Jazz hovered in the corner, arms crossed over her chest as she watched the three of them warily. They said something to him, explained something even as they lectured Jazz, too, about keeping this a secret, but the words slipped from his fingers within minutes, and whatever confession they made was lost to him. But he can remember the fear in their eyes, the way they trembled and shook, and the odd sense that they were afraid of him rather than for him. He can remember asking if he should go to a doctor and the way they paled, adamantly refusing to bring him to anyone for weeks. It’s only now that they’ve finally agreed to bring him to see some specialist way out in Wisconsin. 

It used to be that whenever this happened, something would push back in his own subconscious eventually, reassuring him that it was fine, that he was fine, that there was nothing to worry about. It would smother him like a comforter in the middle of a snowstorm, warm and inviting and soft even as it felt entirely too heavy and like he really ought to be outside helping to dig out from the blizzard instead of hiding inside beneath his covers, but he still let it, the embrace too kind and safe for him to push back against. But this time he could not forget, not when his parents flinched every time he entered a room, not when they seemed so afraid even after so many weeks. Danny wishes he knew what he did wrong, what they fear about him, why they seem to almost hate him at times. It hurts, the ache so intense that there are moments when he swears something within him is fracturing and slowly crumbling to pieces, and he hopes this specialist can help repair whatever’s been broken. 

When they finally arrive, though, it’s not at a doctor’s office but a massive mansion. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow. 

“I’m sure,” she insists as she unbuckles her seatbelt while Danny steps out of the car. Despite the bright colors and decor, something in him uncurls in his gut like a snake, rearing back and ready to strike, and Danny shivers as he fights back against the odd sensation. 

The man who greets them is tall with silver hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail tied with a red silk ribbon that probably costs more than Danny’s entire wardrobe. He’s wearing a dark black suit and red tie, and the way he smiles reminds Danny of a crocodile or a shark. It’s as if he’s slime given form and Danny shudders.

“Hello, Vlad,” says Mom. 

“My dearest Maddie,” he says, kissing his mother on both cheeks. “How lovely to see you after so long. And what a pleasure to meet you, young Daniel. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” He offers him his hand and Danny shakes it, barely resisting the urge to pull away immediately since the man’s grip is too hot, like fire burns beneath his fingertips. A small, absurd part of him wonders if he’s the devil, if his parents are planning to make some terrible deal (or admit to having done so long ago given his issues), but he pushes his fears down. 

“Thanks, I guess, but I don’t know anything about you,” replies Danny, and the man flinches briefly before recovering. “My Mom said you could help me with my fainting spells and blackouts, though.”

“Ah, yes. Your ‘fainting spells,’” he says bemusedly, as if in quotes, and that defensive, roiling in his gut returns, more pronounced than before. 

“Vlad,” says Mom sternly. “Please. Can you help him?”

“That depends entirely on what you mean by help, but I’ll see what I can do,” he says with a small smirk, and Danny bristles even as his Mom seems satisfied with the response. “Follow me.” 

The two of them walk through the massive mansion. It’s decked out in Packers paraphernalia, which seems completely at odds with the perfectly poised man in front of him. “You’re a cheesehead?” says Danny. 

“Indeed. I’ve tried to buy the Packers several times, too, but to no avail,” he says, teeth gritted, and Danny suspects the man isn’t told ‘no’ very often. He worries what that means for him and his potential treatment. 

“What kind of specialist are you?” he asks. 

“I am technically a business owner, but I’ve done extensive research into unique types of ecto entities,” he says, watching Danny out of the corner of his eye. “Entities like yourself.”

“I’m not–I’m human,” he objects, and he can feel that buzzing, that comfortable embrace pulling on him, and he tries to resist it but finds himself unwilling to do so for long, and by the time he’s aware once more he’s standing on the stairs to a basement lab, unable to remember what Vlad’s specialty is, what else they talked about or how they even made it here. 

“What did you say you specialized in?” he asks, and Vlad pauses on the stairs in front of them, turning to him with a frown. 

“See?” says Mom. “I told you already, Vlad, he can’t remember for more than a minute or two.”

“Remember what?” asks Danny irritably. 

“That I’m a specialist who can help you with your blackouts and medical issues,” says Vlad, and Danny frowns. That’s frustratingly non-specific, even as it’s almost certainly, technically true. 

“So like a neurologist?” he presses. 

“Something like that,” he says, and Danny scowls as he follows him the rest of the way into the lab, not sure why they won’t tell him the truth, not sure why he can’t remember if they already did. 

The lab itself is incredibly high-tech. There’s no repurposed household items like there are in his parents’ lab, and everything is carefully organized, labeled, and tucked away. In one corner sits a massive portal, and Danny’s eyes widen as he takes in the green swirling within it, recognizing it for what it is. “You’re an ecto scientist?” he says, turning to the man as he puts on a lab coat. 

“Indeed, though I specialize in many other areas, too,” he says. “Maddie, dear, why don’t you have a seat over there while I examine young Daniel?” 

His Mom pauses, eyeing Vlad warily for a moment before finally relenting and taking a seat at one of the empty lab benches. “And you, child, come here,” he insists, beckoning to him like Danny’s an obedient puppy, and Danny glares as he takes a seat on the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I need to do a quick scan. Please lay back.”

“What kind of scan?” He won’t simply do what this man asks, not without knowing more first. Not when even his Mom looks nervous. 

“Think of it like an MRI or x-ray. I promise, it’s harmless,” he says, flashing his teeth in a way that’s meant to be reassuring but is far too predatory, and Danny shivers as he looks at his Mom. She gives a small smile that’s not half as reassuring as he hoped even as she nods for him to do as Vlad says, and Danny sighs as he lays down on the bed, letting his hands rest on his stomach, his fingers twisting around in his shirt as he ignores the pounding of his heart and the sweat on his palms. 

‘I’ll be fine,’ he thinks stubbornly to himself, and he feels that odd sense of warmth, of a hug from something within his chest and relaxes as Vlad wheels over some strange scanner. It moves slowly over him, hovering for a long time near where his heart and lungs are before progressing, and then Vlad sits down at a computer for a few minutes as he reviews the results, humming thoughtfully as Danny’s Mom walks over and peers over his shoulder. 

“Is that . . .?” she asks, pointing to something on the screen. 

“Yes. But see this? There’s disconnection here,” he says, pointing to it and moving his finger, and Danny angles his head to try and see what they’re looking at but he can’t, the screen angled away from him too much. He starts to sit up when his Mom looks at him and shakes her head, and with a sigh he lays back down, drumming his fingers on his stomach impatiently. Clearly they’ve found something, and he feels like he has a right to know what. “The pathways didn’t form properly, and if they aren’t repaired, he’s not going to survive for much longer. You can already see the damage to his internal organs.” 

Danny swallows, his blood running cold. He’s going to die? He didn’t–he can’t be–

“Can you fix it?” she asks, interrupting his thoughts. 

“I think so, but it may be a bit traumatic,” Vlad says, “and with the disconnection having lasted so long, I’m not certain how cooperative he’ll be when it comes to the required treatment. Still, the memory issues are more severe than they ought to be even in this case. I have my suspicions about the cause, but I’ll need to provoke him to confirm it.”

“What?” Danny’s heart is beating rapidly and he’s sitting up now, staring at them with wide eyes, unable to hold back his terror even as he can begin to feel that tug at him, that warmth, but he won’t give into it this time. He can’t. He needs to know. 

“I would explain it, child, but you won’t remember,” sighs Vlad as he stands up. “Do you trust your mother?”

“I–what?” he sputters. Aside from it sounding like he’s probably dying, Danny’s still not sure what’s happening here, even as Vlad and his mom do seem to understand, and he desperately wants them to explain it to him, to tell him the truth, for someone to be honest with him just once.

“I would prefer your consent, of course, but you literally cannot give it due to your condition,” he explains, which makes absolutely no sense to Danny. “I’m asking if you trust your mother so she can at least grant it on your behalf.”

His mouth opens automatically to say that of course he trusts her, but then he pauses, the words dying on his tongue. Does he trust her? She’s brought him here with little to no explanation, and like with his sister and his friends, Danny knows nothing about why or what’s happening to him besides the blackouts. They all claim they’ve told him about it before–even this Vlad guy seems to suggest as much–but he hates that he can’t remember, hates that he has nothing to fall back on to confirm that they all have his best interest at heart beyond his own gut feeling. And his instincts right now are diametrically opposed, screaming at each other to reassure Vlad that he trusts her even as another part insists that he can’t, that he shouldn’t, that she’ll hurt him and he needs to be kept safe and he can feel that part forcibly pushing down on his ability to say yes, to let them know they can do the treatment, that they need to move forward and–

Danny blinks, struggling to remember what he was thinking about, what question he was supposed to answer. “I–sorry–can you . . . what did you say?” he whispers, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, and Vlad tilts his head to the side. 

“Interesting,” he hums. “But it does provide more proof for what I suspect is occurring. Maddie, dear, do I have your permission?”

“But he–”

“I’m not sure he can,” interrupts Vlad as Danny stares at them cluelessly, not sure what they’re talking about again. He’s lost some more time, he’s sure, but he doesn’t know why. He doesn’t think he fainted or fully blacked out, yet the last thing he can remember is laying down on the table before Vlad prepared to start the scan, and he shivers, rubbing his arms. 

She turns to look at him, and then walks over, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, hon,” she says and then she gives him a hug, squeezing him tightly, but he can feel her trembling even as she tries to reassure him. “I promise, okay?”

“I–okay,” he manages, the word choking its way past, and then she walks back to Vlad. 

“Maddie, my dear, you’ll need to stay here, please,” he insists, and Mom nods as Vlad comes over with something Danny recognizes. It’s a portable ghost shield, although the design is different from the one his parents use, and Vlad presses a finger against a sensor, activating around them as Danny’s heart beats faster now and the thing in his gut rears back, ready to strike as Vlad’s eyes flash impossibly red and a set of black rings appear around his waist, and–

Danny’s body drops to the table as Phantom emerges, hissing and shrieking at the intruder and ghost before him, tackling him with his claws as his brain screams at him to protect, protect, protect! The ghost puts up a shield, eyeing him lazily as he speaks, his words full of fire and ash even as they sound human, too, smothered beneath the surface of the water. “Enough, child,” he insists, using human words, but he can see the ripples in his aura, the subtle shifts that indicate his intentions, and he pauses with his claws outstretched, ectoblast building between the black tips. “So you are sentient enough, at least, to understand. Can you speak?” 

He hisses, echoes and static and chirps as his aura flares in response, letting him know that he sees the threat but that he’s unafraid, that he will protect Danny and his mother from the ghost in front of him. There are no real words, not in the way there is with human speech simply because there doesn’t need to be, his intentions and meaning clear enough for any ghost to understand. 

“Ah. I thought not, based on what we saw in the scans,” he muses. Black rings appear around his waist and he shifts, the dark haired ghost with bluish skin and fire in his hands and eyes vanishing beneath a human facade. “I promise I intend no harm.”

The words mean less to Phantom now than they would’ve if Vlad spoke them before transforming. Vlad’s aura is muted this way, his intentions less clear even as Phantom can taste the ash on his tongue as the man speaks, the echo of Vlad’s otherness apparent to him, and Phantom floats forward, tilting his head around as he puts a clawed hand on Vlad’s chest to better feel the pulsing of his core beneath his flesh. 

“Vlad, are you–” begins Mom, her words sounding distant and submerged beneath waves. It’s always so hard for him to hear and understand the humans that speak to him, even as he tries since he doesn’t want to hurt them. He needs to protect them. He needs to keep them safe. 

“I’m quite fine,” he insists, even as Phantom hisses a warning at him. “Are you done posturing? I’m here to help you, Daniel. Or do you prefer Phantom?”  Phantom’s aura flares, spiking and sending a mixture of signals. “You are not helping him.” His claws extend, pushing intangibly through his skin, grasping his core, but Vlad remains calm despite the clear threat. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. You are disconnected from yourself this way. You leave behind your body each time, and eventually, no matter how much your friends and family intervene, you will not be able to return to it.”

He turns his head more, floating upside down, his tail spiraling behind him as he considers the words. Vlad’s core is too tightly grasped between his fingers for him to hide his intentions, and there’s truth there, at least as far as Vlad sees it, and Phantom sends a questioning chirp. “You are meant to be a single entity,” he says. “But your core is not fully connected to your biological systems. It’s created a barrier between you and Daniel, an artificial wall that should not exist, and it’s harming both of you.”

Phantom hisses reflexively, showing his sharp teeth as he lets one of his claws dig into Vlad’s core, and the man winces but otherwise hides his distress at the intrusion. “You can’t keep denying it and hiding the truth from your human half. I know you’re trying to protect him. I know you’re trying to help. But it’s hurting him. He’s confused and upset and scared. You’re leaving his body behind whenever you respond to the intruders in your haunt, as you’ve done here. You risk him being discovered, being captured by the GIW or other ghost hunters who, unlike your parents, would not be willing to try to help you. They would experiment on him, dissect him, and ultimately destroy both of you.” 

“And it’s hurting him physically, too,” says Vlad. “My scans are showing damage to his internal organs and structures. If this continues for much longer, your human half will not survive. It cannot.”

He relaxes his hand, the words coming out in a whisper of echoes and static, of uneasiness and fear. 

Vlad responds quietly in kind, sending an oddly comforting response from a man whose core burns with impossible anger and resentment at the world. “I know you’re worried about how he’ll manage knowing the truth of who he is. But you cannot hide it from him forever, not without destroying him and yourself. Please, child. Allow me to help you be whole again,” he says. 

He withdraws his hand, sending out a questioning burst of noise, of inquiry. Because he doesn’t want Danny to die. He doesn’t want to die. 

“The integration was prevented due to the interference of your family and friends,” he explains, and his Mom flinches. “Our transformation is not meant to have artificial triggers. The use of the AED to resuscitate you, to fill your core with electricity so it can artificially force the ectoplasm within your body to bring you back, has prevented it from fully bonding to your own systems and sending the spark from within itself to revive your human half upon your transformation. You must re-enter Daniel and trigger the change yourself. You must use the energy from your own core, your own essence.”

A soft, pleading whine. 

“You can,” insists Vlad. “More than that, you must.”

He moves from the man, floating over to himself, to his other half, to the part that he misses and aches for every time he leaves to take care of the ghostly threats that intrude on his haunt. Reaching out, Phantom places his hand on Danny’s chest, feeling the absence of breath, the missing life that should be there, and the gentle hum of a fragment of his own core pulsing within, that keeps him whole and alive despite the loss of his spirit even if humans can’t sense it. 

And with a terrified shiver, he pushes himself inside, letting him flow into the body, to not merely overshadow and reattach but become one again as he tries to seek the spark from within his core, tries to connect his spirit and body in full. He’s not sure he can, not without the external boost, and he can feel himself holding back, his worry over how Danny will handle the truth about knowing what he is, knowing that his parents almost certainly hate him and fear him, that his friends will never accept him–

“--focus,” says Vlad, and then he feels someone gripping Danny’s hand and he opens Danny’s eyes, expecting the half-ghost, but it’s not Vlad. 

It’s his Mom.

“Please, son,” she whispers, tears burning in her eyes. “Please.” 

And he mumbles something in response, his aura flickering as he speaks in a language she can’t understand, and he feels her grip Danny’s hand–their hand, his hand–more tightly, trying to reassure him, to let him know he’s okay, he’s safe, that they love him and care about him as he–

–Danny blinks, gasping as he sits up, clutching at his chest. It hurts, like ice and lightning and fire pouring through his veins and he wants to scream even as it feels right, as a bright light passes over him and he shifts, feeling oddly weightless and absent for a moment before they pass over him again and he shifts once more, back to being heavy and human and present. It’s painful and terrifying yet oh so right, and somehow, that makes it worse. 

And he sits for a moment, hand still clutching his chest even as his mother hasn’t let go of his other hand, as his world crashes around him, as he remembers who they are, who he is, what he is. As his memories he’s kept from himself in an effort to protect his human half crash back, slamming into him impossibly hard, moments spent in ghost fights and then burrowing himself inside his own helpless corpse as his friends were forced to endure the burden of caring for him and protecting him, and Danny lets out a keening wail that’s neither human nor ghostly in its sound but some odd blend of the two. 

“I’m a monster,” he whispers, sobbing as his shoulders shake, and his Mom shifts, moving to hold him tightly to herself. 

“Oh, hon,” she says, but no words follow, no gentle affirmations that she loves him, no denials about him being the horrifying creature he knows they’ve seen him as, that they’ve hunted and shot at and threatened to experiment on and–

“It’ll be okay,” she says, interrupting his spiraling thoughts as she strokes his hair. “We’ll figure it out, Danny. I promise.”

Maybe someday he’ll believe her.

#angstfest2023 #danny phantom #dp fanfiction #my writing #everyone knows au #electric core au #if you squint #corpse au even if you don't #I want to edit this and post it to AO3 at some point but that will require coming up with a fic title #Sooooooooo #we'll see

[papiliomame]

Social Media

This should have been posted 2 days ago, but Baldur's Gate 3 had me full in its grip and I have forgotten to post it.

Anyway, this was inspired while I was re-reading Everthing Was White by @lexosaurus to get some angsty inspiration. (Just a disclaimer, this is NOT a fanfiction fanart) The scene where Danny is reading the social media comments gave me the idea.(The fic is still an awesome read!)

So in this scenario people know really everything about Danny, not only his true identity but also how his ghostform was created and that he opened the portal. They are positive reactions but also some super nasty reactions. Here Danny went into the rabbithole of reading all the hate comments and other dubious things his moderators for social media usually sort out.

#danny phantom #angstfest2023 #everyone knows au #danny fenton #my animation #my art #fan art

[fangirlwriting-stories]

First Fight

Summary: Vlad shows up at school, and it ends up being a fight involving more than just Danny.

...

Danny was not expecting any kind of excited exclamation when he told Sam and Tucker he’s not grounded anymore.  As a result, it almost works when he tries to lie to himself that he’s not hurt when he doesn’t get one.

Of course they’re not excited.  Sam’s been irritated he hasn’t talked with his parents since she learned he didn’t actually run away, and she’s made it very clear to him that she thinks it’s his own fault for having been grounded as long as he was.  And Tucker’s been down in the dumps and upset about something for way too long for this to make a dent.

(Maybe he’s upset because you gave him a severe head injury, Fenton, you ever think of that?)

(But that doesn’t explain why he won’t look you in the eye anymore.  Did you do something?  Or well, do something else as Fenton?)

Look, it doesn’t matter.  It’s fine.  They’re going to Nasty Burger after school today, the first time without his parents in months.  That’s reward enough.

Nevermind the fact that they’re probably going to be going on about how terrible Phantom is the whole time.  He’s definitely used to that at this point.

He spends most of the day trying to force himself to look forward to it, and then feeling bad for having to force himself.  As a result, when his ghost sense goes off during lunch, he’s almost relieved.

He mumbles some kind of excuse in the middle of Sam’s angry talking and pushes back from the table, then heads out of the cafeteria.  The weight that falls from his shoulders the second he doesn’t hear Sam’s voice anymore almost makes him feel worse.

He shakes it off and slips down a hallway, then transforms and heads for the ceiling.  There’s no screaming he can hear coming from anywhere in the school, meaning the ghost probably set off his sense due to being just outside of it.

Sure enough, as soon as he makes it outside, he sees Plasmius hovering just outside the school.

Danny raises an ectoblast on instinct.  “What are you doing here, Vlad?” he snaps.

Vlad puts a hand to his chest as if offended.  “Why Daniel, I’m clearly just hovering here minding my own business.  Must you instantly jump to violence?”

Danny rolls his eyes.  “Oh, of course.  I know you for always casually minding your own business floating right outside my high school a state away from where you live.  Silly me, why ever did I jump to the conclusion that you’re up to something?”

Vlad gives a way too overdramatic bow, spreading his hands in a “you got me” gesture.  Before Danny can ask again what he’s doing, however, his thinking and interrogation is interrupted by a sudden ectoblast from behind.

Danny yelps and spins around, hands already going up, before he sees it’s just the Red Huntress.  He hasn’t seen much of her lately.  Nice to know she’s still around in some capacity, even if her timing is consistently bad.

But then, a second later, it’s suddenly not just her, as two people in similar looking suits fly up behind her.

Danny raises an eyebrow.  “What, you got yourself some sidekicks?”  He spares a glance over his shoulder back at Vlad, who for some reason hasn’t moved, and is still floating there looking at them.

“They are not my sidekicks,” the Huntress snaps, at the same time the new person in the purple suit snaps “We are not her sidekicks.”

“Well, whatever all of you are, I was kind of in the middle of something,” Danny says, glancing back and forth between them and Vlad.  He doesn’t like the idea of having his back to any of the four of them.  “What do you want, by the way?” he directs at Vlad.

Vlad raises a teasing eyebrow, rising to a standing position— or, a standing while still floating position.

“Why, I should be asking what you want, Daniel,” he says.  “You’re the one who interrupted me.”

Danny snorts.  “What, you’re taking requests now?  How’s about back off?”

“Oh, of course,” Vlad says with a smile in his direction.  “You look like you’ll have more fun with these three anyway, I think I’ll let you handle it.”

Danny grits his teeth and fires an ectoblast at Vlad, though he’s not at all surprised when Vlad dodges easily.

He is a little surprised when he spots another blast coming from the purple suited newbie, and only barely manages to dodge in time.

“Okay seriously, what’s with the newcomers?” he asks the Huntress, turning sideways so he can keep Vlad in his peripheral while talking to her.  “I didn’t take you as the teamwork type.”

“Who says I am?” Huntress says, putting a hand on her hip.

“Hey!  I’m here too you know!” Purple Suit snaps, and fires a blast at him that Danny dodges with a sigh.

“Okay, were you even trying with that one?  I’m looking right at you, it’s way too easy to dodge.”

“They’re new,” Huntress says with obvious exasperation.

Danny laughs a little.  “Aww, you’re taking up babysitting?  That’s so sweet.”

That seems to piss Huntress off enough that she fires her own blast at Danny, which he dodges again.  He moves to fly back far enough that he can keep an eye on Vlad and the three of them at the same time.

Huntress, however, seems to take it as a sign that he’s running, and so she fires up her jets and flies right for him, meaning he has to actually turn and fly off as a result.  Dammit.

He hears more noise from behind him than earlier, meaning the two newbies are probably coming along for the ride too.  Well, great.  He’s definitely missing the start of next period now.

He keeps his gaze behind him as much as he can, but he still gets hit by a blast from Huntress, pushing him closer towards the ground.  He gives a quick glance down, and after confirming there’s no one in the way, he turns intangible to avoid the next one.  He turns back towards her in midair, but makes sure it’s a weaker blast that he fires back.  For as much as she’s an annoyance, Danny’s pretty sure Huntress is human, which means she can’t take the same hits his ghostly enemies can.

Vlad seems to have all but vanished, which means he’s going to have no clue why he was here, and he’s probably going to accomplish whatever he’s trying to do while Danny’s running from Huntress and the two newbies who don’t have names yet.

He sighs.  He’ll have to do some detective work later with Jazz.

“Hey!” he calls back to the three above him, turning visible so he can talk.  “What are your names, newbies?”

“What the heck are you talking about?” Purple Suit snaps.  New Red Suit doesn’t say anything, just looks away, which is a really bad idea during a mid-air chase.

“Well I mean, I could just keep calling you newbies,” Danny says, easily dodging another blast from Purple Suit.  “But that feels kind of demeaning.”  He dodges another blast.  “Though it’s also kind of accurate.  Who taught you to aim?”

“Shut up!” Purple Suit snaps again.

“You’ve got that whole Red Huntress thing going on,” Danny says, pointing at Huntress.  “But I don’t think that’ll work for you two.  I mean, you’re red too.”  He points at New Red Suit, who looks away from him again.  “And ‘Red Two’ also feels kind of demeaning, honestly.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not going to be around long enough to need a name for us,” Purple Suit snaps, and fires at him again.

Danny floats higher in the sky this time, still moving at a more casual pace so all of them can keep up.

Huntress clearly notices, however, and Danny’s not exactly surprised when she’s not a fan of it.

“You know what,” she snaps at the two newbies.  “Keep up or go home.”

And with that, she aims her blaster at Danny, which Danny takes as his cue to stop messing around.

He darts back down towards the ground, and towards a couple of abandoned warehouses, zipping around them and turning intangible to fly through them, in order to throw Huntress off more.  He hears her behind him as he flies through the wall of the last building, so he doesn’t slow down.  He does, however, hear Huntress give an irritated growl, presumably when she realizes she can’t see him anymore.

Danny darts down a side alley and stops, which gets rid of any sound she could use to track him, though she stops at the entrance to the alleyway he’s floating in.  Danny breathes in quietly and holds it, taking advantage of the half dead aspect in order to avoid necessary things like breathing.

“Ugh, where did you go?” Huntress says in frustration, as the two newbies catch up behind her.

Danny floats as quietly as he can up towards the top of the buildings around them.  Before he can make it, however, a very familiar and annoying voice says, “Well hello again!”

Danny groans, audibly this time, and drops his intangibility as he turns to face Vlad.

Huntress and New Red Suit turns to Vlad, but Purple Suit immediately flies up higher towards him and fires a blast, which Danny dodges.

“Leaving already?” Vlad asks, raising a teasing eyebrow at Danny.

“Was planning on it,” Danny says.  “Thought I might stick to the things I actually felt like doing today.  I have some stuff going on.”

“Oh, of course, how inconsiderate of me,” Vlad says.  “In fact, just to help you out with that, let me take care of a couple problems for you.”

He floats slightly higher and fires a blast right at New Red Suit.

Danny darts down on instinct, but apparently Purple Suit has the same idea, because she dives down and shoves New Red Suit out of the way just in time for Danny to slam into her, and for both of them to get blasted back into the brick wall by Vlad.  Thankfully, Danny is the one who hits the wall, and Purple Suit just lands against him.

But then Vlad fires another blast, this time aiming at Purple Suit, and hitting the board she’s using to fly.

It sparks a couple of times, and then the jets give out, and Purple Suit starts to fall.

Danny dives for her on instinct, and manages to catch her a couple feet off the ground and set her down.  “Are you okay?”

“Don’t touch me!” Purple Suit snaps, shoving him backwards, and Danny can feel her glaring at him even through the suit.  She’s breathing heavily, and lifts an arm to aim at Danny, the slight shaking of the blaster she’s aiming revealing that she was at least a little freaked out by that.

Danny raises his hands in an attempt at a peaceful gesture, but before he can say anything he hears a startled cry from up above that sounds like Huntress, and turns to look just in time to see Vlad flying off with a smirk and Huntress having hit the ground, her board sparking in the same way as Purple Suit’s.

“Are you okay?” Danny calls, alarmed.

“Oh, don’t act like you care!” Purple Suit snaps, shoving her blaster into Danny’s face.

New Red Suit appears at her side, and grips Purple Suit’s arm tightly, but if Purple Suit gets what he’s trying to say with that, she doesn’t show it by moving at all.

After a second, however, New Red Suit tugs on her arm harshly and says, “Huntress is hurt.”

“So go help her,” Purple Suit snaps.  “I’ve got him.”

Danny gives half a worried glance back towards Huntress, and finds herself pulling herself up using the wall.  Purple Suit jabs her blaster into Danny’s cheek, and Danny hears it start to fire.  He goes intangible just before it hits, and flies up above the three of them.  He gives one last glance around for Vlad, but he’s gone.  So, since it seems like Purple Suit and New Red Suit aren’t going to help Huntress until he leaves, he flies off back towards the school.

Some allies, huh.  Maybe they should do some team building exercises.

About halfway back to school Danny slows down, and when he reaches the parking lot he stops.  He flies lower and turns back into Danny Fenton, but doesn’t move any closer to school.

He’s definitely missed lunch, but Sam and Tucker are still in there, and he cannot think of anything he wants less right now than to find them in the hallway, and for Sam to start talking about did Danny know that Phantom was causing trouble over lunch again and wasn’t he just the worst, didn’t Danny think so?

Danny glares down at the ground and tries to shake the thought off.  He’s supposed to find them after school, and they’re supposed to go to Nasty Burger, and he’s supposed to be looking forward to that.  Sam and Tucker haven’t done anything wrong.

Danny looks up at the school again, and tries to force himself to step forward and walk towards the parking lot.

He doesn’t move.

“Uh, hi?”

Danny whirls around.  Then he stands up straight and narrows his eyes in confusion.  “Valerie?”

“What are you doing here?” Valerie asks.

“I could ask you the same question.”

Valerie looks behind her.  “I uh,” she says, and then she turns back around with an angry look on her face.  “I was ditching, but then my ditch buddies ditched me.”

Danny winces.  “Man, that sucks.”

“What are you doing here then?” Valerie asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh,” Danny says, looking back at the school, and immediately feeling exhausted again at the prospect of going back inside.  “Thinking about ditching?”

“You’re kind of on the wrong side of the street to still be thinking about it,” Valerie points out, walking up next to him.

Danny doesn’t say anything, just looks at the school and tries to come up with any reason at all to go back inside it.

Jazz is there?  And he kind of needs to fix things with Jazz?  A little bit?

“Hey,” Valerie says.  Danny turns to face her.

“You look like you’d rather go anywhere else in the world right now than there,” Valerie says with a nod to the school.

“No, no, that’s not it!  I just—” Danny looks back.  “I’m supposed to meet…” he trails off.

There’s a pause.

“…You want to actually ditch with me instead of just thinking about it, and then we can go to the mall?” Valerie asks.

Danny glances at her.  At least she didn’t say anything about Nasty Burger.

And he’s going to feel like a terrible friend either way.

Valerie raises an eyebrow.

Danny nods.  “Yes, yes I do.”

Valerie smiles.  “Cool.  Let’s go.”

So they do.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #vlad plasmius #sam manson #tucker foley #valerie gray #everyone knows au #my fic

[nordictwin]

So I've been playing I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, letting it eat up my every waking thought, as one does. And while I've got a fic with some love for mama Flulu in the works, I've got a fun little AU in the back of my head as well, but I don't think I'll ever get to writing it. But it needs to be written out, so here you go.

Basically: what if ALL the Stratos kids, while Sol is still asleep from hitting their head during the crash, wake up and realize that they've got memories of (some of) the past timelines. BUT - they all think Sol is the only one who doesn't?

Marz is the first one to awaken to it - memories of the colony falling and, most importantly to her, Lum ruining them all. And she's not about to let that happen. But she also very quickly realizes that if she goes around telling people, bad things are probably going to happen. So she stays quiet and observant.

Which is how she notices that some of the other kids aren't quite acting like themselves. Tang and Dys suddenly spend time together again, both reaching out in their own awkward ways. Anemone clings to Kom even more than usual, Tammy worries and frets, but starts working harder to study and learn basic medicine, and Cal throws himself into biology and food production with an unprecedented vengeance. All trying to act like everything is normal.

In short, they're being very obvious that there's something up, but trying to hide it.

All except Sol. Nothing out of the ordinary seems to be happening with them - they're just an ordinary kid, doing ordinary kid things.

So Marz calls for a meeting between all the "in the know" kids, and outright tells them: "I have memories of past lives... and I think you all have, too".

Cue the lot of them starting to pool their memories and plan ahead for the future. The famine, the Shimmer, the Heliopause, and everything else. There must be a way for them to avoid all that pain and suffering, they just need to work together.

Most importantly: they need to protect Sol, because in all their memories, Sol is their ray of sunshine in human form. Too good for this world, too pure. And since they're the only one who doesn't know about what's coming (or so they think), they've got to make sure they stay safe.

It's a quest to save the colony and protect Sol's happiness, no matter what may happen. They've got 10 years to fix everything, they can do this.

Meanwhile, Sol absolutely has all of their memories of the past timelines. All of them. So why aren't the other kids noticing anything off about Sol? That would be because Sol learned real fast to not talk about past lives and not acting normal - because the one time they did, in what would be their "second playthrough", they got institutionalized. And they're not going to chance anything like that again.

This is essentially a Sol who's lived a lot of lives and is starting to get very tired of it all, to the point where they're just... going with the flow. Letting things happen. They go to school, help out where they can, try to enjoy life as it comes. Not seeking a specific goal or outcome. And if their friends are suddenly acting a little stranger, seeking them out more, being more active in a way? Well, maybe that's just this life's way of putting a spin on things.

And if, when the Heliopause arrives, Rex and Nomi-Nomi are even more friendly towards them and Vace is... still an asshole, but almost tempered by something (and steers clear of Nem outside of unavoidable interactions)? Well, that's just less to worry about and more hugs for them!

(Marz is quick to catch on, once again, and all three are accepted into the Save the Future Council soon after).

How will this new timeline end? With everyone working together, will the Colony rise or fall? When fate no longer rests upon one child's shoulders, how will everything change? I'll leave that up for you guys to speculate about.

#i was a teenage exocolonist #exocolonist #everyone knows AU #they get Sym and Congruence in on the plotting #Sym is delighted and fascinated by the new developments and adores all his little humans #Sol gets a well-earned break from everything

[theashemarie]

I have two oneshot ideas duking it out in my head rn, so help me out. (See below the poll/cut for more information.)

Everyone Knows AU:

Things changed slowly at first. Donnie’s scrubber caught every photo posted online, every smudge of green, every flash of yellow that could even remotely be April, every small, Splinter-sized gray blob, but it couldn’t reach the ones that were never posted. Donnie tried, but it was a Polaroid that did them in. Blurry, but still distinct enough, digitized on a computer that wasn’t connected to the internet, cleaned up, and clear as smog. Four green mutants, one huge, one small, two somewhere in the middle. Red, orange, purple, blue spots of color. Two rounded backs, one spiky, one blocky, all solid. Inhuman. “Seems like someone is trying really hard to cover this up,” the quote that accompanied the photo said, blared across the Channel 6 news, then the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Times, then every publication, every YouTube channel worth mentioning, every social media site, translated over and over again until everyone with internet access had seen the green frogs, turtles, deepfaked, ninjas, mutants, freaks, samurai, wizards, aliens, government coverup, heroes—

Post-movie. A world where everyone knows, and the first step to testing the waters is a midnight showing at a run-down movie theater.

Quadruplets:

“You ever think about how we’re basically quadruplets?” Leo asked, nonchalant. “Of course I have,” Donnie answered without looking up from his phone. “Don’t ever mention it to Raph though. You’ll give him a complex.”

Or:

Draxum had to begrudgingly admit that Splinter had done a good job raising them. If raising his four genetically-engineered killing machines to be kind, golden-hearted, and good was a good job.

Post-Season 2. Confronting the occasion and process of your creation head-on.

#ashe talks #i considered adding old college try as a vanilla extract answer but then decided i want real answers #anyway #rottmnt #ashe writes #everyone knows au #fic: quadruplets #these are working titles of course but ig these are the tags now

[roundaboutnow]

I've seen the 'everybody knows au' in Danny Phantom but what about 'everybody knows au' for the batfam? (Or would that go completely against batman/dc lore?)

Like everyone in gotham knows the Waynes are the bat family but if someone online or outside of gotham says anything about it they start making up bullshit like 'oh, do the butts match? Yeah, right' and who would question gothamites? They probably know the Wayne family better than anyone!

#i dont usually go here so correct me if im wrong lol #batfam #dp x dc but not really #everyone knows au

[sullina]

Much to the Sins' dismay Meliodas' reaction to their sudden turn around is to try to isolate himself more. This is his normal reaction when he's confused and isn't sure about something due to his upbringing forcing him to keep everyone at arms length. To combat this they decide to try to fix his public image by focusing the the obvious. The fact that he's fucking adorable.

Whenever he can catch him, Ban makes sure to pick him up. He's so tiny, it's like holding an adorable little cat, even if Meliodas always tensed up in surprise at first.

Ooohhhh, I can totally imagine like the Sins trying to get Meliodas to wear something cute and the moment he sees it, he's just like "What in the actual fuck, you guys." and just says outright no XDDD

Kings approach is... slightly better. He figured out that Meliodas liked fluffy and soft things, so he tended to let Meliodas hug Chastifol and the tiny demon with the oversized pillow looked absolutely adorable!

#everyone knows au #nnt #meliodas #sullina nnt #nnt everyone knows au

[zoe-oneesama]

Fake News!

Episode 52 Part 10 First < Previous > Next Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5 Ep 41, Ep 42, Ep 43, Ep 44 Ep 45, Ep 46, Ep 47, Ep 48, Intermission, Ep 49, Ep 50, Ep 51

Ko-fi | Patreon

#zoe not knowing she's already everyone's bestie thanks to standing up to Bustier lol #scarlet lady #scarlet lady au #scarlet lady comic #catalyst #episode 52 part 10

[maiko-coy]

Sneak peek at pre-HOJ arc of Missed Chances AU and their characters!

#poppy playtime chapter 3 #poppy playtime au #Missed Chances AU #Pre-HOJ arc #Smiling Critters #catnap #dogday #Genuinely happy Dogday scares me-- #Kiara is a bit rough on the edges but she'll get there #Maisie just loves everyone #Pre-HOJ lore real???? #Also yes I want to think that Dogday (and everyone) knows how to handle *CHILDREN* but not *TEENAGERS* #So their dynamic is gunna be funny

[hailsatanacab]

A Persuasive Argument - dpxdc

"Great!" Danny says, clapping his hands together to get everyone's attention. The dinner table falls silent as everyone looks towards him. It's a full house today and, honestly, Danny's a little nervous. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I gathered you here today."

"It's dinnertime. In our house." Duke mutters, while doing a very bad job of concealing his yawn. He holds his fork poised over the braised beef, but, just like everyone else, still looks towards Danny before tucking in. It's intriguing enough to wait.

"Yeah, no one misses Alfie's dinner." Dick says, with a brilliant smile that Danny can't help but return.

"Precisely! What better time to talk to you all than when you're all actually here!"

"Wait, I thought you came round to work on our English essays?" Tim asks, blinking owlishly.

"I'm afraid I've lured you here under false pretences, Tim."

"This is where I live."

"I would still really appreciate help on that essay though, I mean, what the hell is Hamlet even about? I just don't get that old time-y language, like 'Hark! A ghost hath killed me!' - absolute rubbish, what does that even mean?"

"The ghost never kills anyone in Hamlet, he's there to tell Hamlet that he was murdered. Have you actually read it?"

"No, but it sounds like you have. Tim, I want this guy to help me with my essay instead. I know for a fact that you haven't read Hamlet, either."

"So? We don't need Jason, I've read the Sparknotes."

"Hi Jason, I'm Danny, pleasure to meet you, summarise Hamlet in three sentences or less."

"Am I auditioning to help you write your essays? I can't believe you’ve gone through your whole school life without reading it, it’s good!"

"Hamlet, along with a number of other classics, was banned in our house because it portrayed ghosts as intelligent and sympathetic beings rather than evil, animalistic beasts. I didn’t even get to see The Muppet's Christmas Carol until last year with Tim! It was surprisingly good, and I hate Christmas because everyone always argued and it sucked. But we're getting off topic. I—"

"No, no, please go back to that, because what the fu—"

"Boys, please." Bruce interrupts, looking to the world as if he wants to hang his head in his hands. "Danny, you were about to say something?"

"Oh, yeah, Mr. Wayne! Thanks!"

"Please, call me Bruce."

"Well, that very succinctly brings me to my point, because I'd actually really like to call you dad."

Nobody says a word. Nobody even blinks, all as shocked as the other, watching open-mouthed as Danny pulls his laptop out from beside his chair. Bruce can definitely feel a headache coming on.

"Before you say anything, I've prepared a 69 slide PowerPoint presentation on why you, Bruce Wayne, should adopt me, Danny Last-Name-Pending. Please save your questions, comments, and verdict until the end, thank you."

#dpxdc #batpham #i forget - can we tag the parent fandoms? w/e #immediately alfred's like: while i do appreciate your initiative may i suggest it wait until after dinner? #and danny - who has barely eaten proper homecooked food ever - takes one bite and then absolutely wolfs down the whole lot #after he's finished he's like 'bear with - I've got to add that to the 'Reasons I Would Like to Live Here' section' #danny's powerpoint has tailored sections for each batfam member with lists of reasons why they'd get along #my au thoughts on this is that the fentons disowned danny when he told them he was phantom #and that this is after the ultimate enemy - wherein which he allied himself with the JL to fight against dan #(which didnt really work at all - BUT he knows some of their identities now INCLUDING batman's) #so one of the main reasons why he'd be a great fit is that he knows their vigilante status anyway so they don’t need to worry about secrets #dick just turns to tim like 'he’s your friend. he learnt this from you.' #tim: 'i didn't tell him our identities!! i would never!!' #dick: 'no i know that. it's the stalker tendancies. it's baby tim all over again' #tim: scandalised gasp #they all eat dinner in silence just super subdued and in shock and sending glances to bruce and danny #duke like: 'so i know I'm the last one in the family but like... this isn't how it normally happens right? did any of you make powerpoints? #tim gets all shifty because he absolutely did make a powerpoint he just never actually showed it to anyone #everyone stares at tim because they all know. it was in one of bab's blackmail files she has on him #damian's slide has danny offering to throw down at any time. 'tim says you like to prove yourself with your skills? #how about a real challenge? if i beat you then you have to vote yes to adopting me!' #damian is in two minds about accepting because... 1) look at him damian could take danny in his sleep! but #2) on the off chance that he does win... damian does not want any more brothers #(he takes the bet and its a suprisingly fun fight - and while he'll never say this... he would vote yes even without the wager) #on one of danny's slides there's a picture of ellie: you'll also get my clone sister! two children for the price of one!! #uhhh.... thats it now - I've been having fun with this haha #spent all day with the 'ive lured you here under false pretences' 'danny i live here' line in my head haha #anyway enjoy!!!!!! this was fun #i wanna make these slides so bad

[milkcioccolato]

First names are something to be used sparingly and on special occasions😌

#it just became habit for maul to use everyone’s last names #and he knows obi-wan goes a little crazy when he uses his first name instead #it’s their equivalent of showing ankles #Maul also calls him obi-wan when he’s particularly fond or emotional #but only in private #milks artsies #star wars #darth maul #maul #jedi maul #obi wan kenobi #obi wan #obimaul #jedi obimaul au #anakin skywalker

[bacchuschucklefuck]

while teen while goblin while aroace while injured while doing your best

#fantasy high junior year #fhjy #riz gukgak #figueroth faeth #sklonda gukgak #dimension 20 #this. mmmmhhh this is so. I did Not know how to draw this really. #I am very normal about riz (<- lying) #it's a brennan-dm d20 campaign the bad guy is always capitalism (I am saying this with clenched teeth) #riz out of all of them being aroace fucks with me SO bad. bc its also established that elmsville specifically and probably the #majority of solace is not. made for goblins. and that becomes sklonda being worked to the bone and pok dying on the job #and riz spending all his time trying to keep his friends together. maybe to the point of it being injurous #like. do u get what I mean. its an economy of time it takes your time it eats up your time #not just the gukgaks but everyone you have to spend time to get to live and you don't have a lot of time left in a day #and you have to spend it carefully. you have to prioritize #you're somewhere without an established community and companionship is bought with your time spent working #this place doesn't take care of you. at the end of the day who do you have who'd prioritize you. do you understand me #the evolved aroace loathing where if your friends and family are granted more time nobody would have to choose. we live in a society #holds ur hand we live in a society. idk if Im making any sense #anyway . uhhh riz is my favourite that's my statement thank you for listening. au revoir

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Growing Closer to Revelations

Summary: Everyone Knows AU, Danny navigates the easiest problem he's had in a while.

Author's Note: You know what's super helpful when you already don't have a lot of time to write? Getting sick!

Also though check the tags for this one there's potentially triggering stuff near the end

...

Danny has a problem.  He has several problems, actually.  And most of them have something to do with Valerie.

The two of them have taken to eating lunch together in a classroom that Valerie says is almost always empty at this time.  And Danny tries to feel bad about bailing on Sam and Tucker.  Theoretically, he wants to hang out with them.  And they’re still his best friends, in a very non-theoretical sense.  But it’s hard to want to see them when Valerie is actually someone he likes spending time with, and when she’s not constantly telling him how terrible he is to his face— even if she wouldn’t know that’s what she’s doing either.

Thankfully, she hadn’t seemed to have heard anything that they were saying the first time she dragged Danny away from the lunch table, because Danny wasn’t sure if he’d be able to avoid a Phantom rant from her if she had.  Valerie had dealt with a lot as a result of him.  She had the right to be angry.  But so far she hadn’t mentioned Phantom once, and it was a more than appreciated reprieve.

But the fact that she hadn’t heard what they were talking about meant she really had just noticed him looking miserable and dragged him away to make him feel better, which was leading to… the problems.

The first of which being that he’s really starting to enjoy spending time with her, more than he has with Sam and Tucker in a while.  He’s pretty sure Valerie’s picking up on that too, which has to be the reason she keeps asking him to hang out after school any days they both have free.

Sometimes Danny has to bail or arrive late because of a ghost fight, but amazingly, she never seems to mind.  In fact, more often then not, she says that something happened to come up for her too and she would have to cancel anyway.  So apparently they’re both very busy people constantly being pulled in a hundred different directions, which weirdly enough makes them work for each other.  It’s so relieving, he feels himself waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never does.  There’s an ease to all of it that makes the idea of hanging out with Sam and Tucker instead just feel even more exhausting.

That’s the second problem, though.  Sam and Tucker notice.  Because of course they do.  The three of them are very used to spending time only with each other, of course they’re going to notice when Danny stops doing that.  He spots them a couple times in the hallways, and he still has class with them and he’s talked with them before school once or twice, but they’ve never mentioned Valerie.  At this point, he kind of wants them to.  It’d be better than all of them never acknowledging it and him waiting anxiously for them to say something.

The third problem is similar— Jazz notices.  There’s been an awkwardness between the two of them for a while that Danny doesn’t know how to breach, but he can tell she’s noticed.  Mostly because she smiles at him whenever she does ask how his day went and he tells her that he spent most of it with Valerie.  Danny doesn’t like the feelings that come with Jazz being proud of him for ditching Sam and Tucker.  He already feels guilty about it, the fact that Jazz thinks it’s the right thing to do just adds another layer of that guilt as well as irritation at her (which also makes him feel guilty, because really, he knows she’s just trying to look out for him).

Danny spends most of the time, however, dealing with the simplest of the problems, because even though it’s really not simple at all, it’s completely disconnected from Jazz-Sam-Tucker-Phantom bullshit, which is such a nice difference that weirdly enough, it’s a problem he’s enjoying having.

That being he’s pretty sure he’s developing the lamest crush of all time on Valerie.

Not lame because Valerie’s lame, mind you.  Lame because he’s lame.

Valerie started as, and probably still is, significantly more popular than him.  Even though she’s lost quite a few friends because of losing her money (which was because of him), she’s still nowhere near the bottom of the totem pole Danny’s dangling at.  She could probably still ask someone to beat him up if she wanted to, not that he thinks she wants to anymore.

But while hanging out with a total loser is one thing, dating him would be a total other thing.

…Not that he thinks she wants to date him.  He’s not still not a hundred percent sure why she’s doing the first one.

But that means his last and simplest problem can be summed up as “I like a girl who’s out of my league.”

Which is nice.  It’s so nice.  What he wouldn’t give for this to be his biggest problem.  Heck, he’s used to this problem.  He’s had this problem since he noticed Paulina, which was way before Phantom stumbled onto the scene.

So, rather than complaining to anyone about how his love life is doomed, or how unfair it is or how she’d like him if she got to know him, like he did to Sam and Tucker about Paulina, he finds himself just enjoying time in Valerie’s company.  Because even if the idea of actually dating her is doomed, she’s a nice person to like.  Spending time together proves that to him well enough.

“Okay no way, now you have to tell me the story!”

“Sure, as soon as you get done trying to deny that you’ll use it as blackmail material for Dash later,” Valerie says, smirking at him.

“Hey, that is not true,” Danny says, crossing his arms.  “Why would I bother trying to deny it?”

Valerie snorts.  “Believe it or not, I do actually still like some of the people I’ve been friends with my whole life.  Even if I know they’re not perfect.”

Danny huffs a laugh.  “Oh, don’t worry, I believe it.”

Valerie winces.  “Right.  Sorry.”

Danny grins at her.  “Know how you can make it up to me?”

“I am not telling you the fourth grade vomit story!”

Danny groans overdramatically and leans back against the desk he’s sitting at.  “Why do I even bother with you?  Clearly you do not care enough about me to give me the things I need in life.”

“Yeah, because that’s my job,” Valerie says with a roll of her eyes.

Danny sits up, considering.  “Tell you what,” he says.  “If you tell me the fourth grade vomit story, I’ll tell you about the time Sam tricked Tucker into eating a vegetable and the disastrous consequences.”

He sees Valerie perk up, and knows he has her.

Unfortunately, before Valerie can say anything, the bell rings overhead, signaling the end of lunch.

Danny sighs, defeated.  “That’s not even fair.”

“Sorry, guess you’ll have to bring your bargaining skills next time,” Valerie says.

“Yeah, yeah,” Danny says as they stand up to gather their stuff.  Valerie, unfortunately, had the foresight to stuff her lunchbox in her bag when she finished, meaning she stands up already ready to go.

“Hey, uh, wait!” Danny calls, stopping her at the door.  “You wanna… walk to class together?”

Valerie smiles.  “Sure.  Long as you don’t mind carrying my bag.”

Danny smiles back as he stands.  “You got a deal,” he says, and takes Valerie’s bag from her as he reaches the doorway.

“Don’t think this means I’m telling you the story on the way, though,” Valerie says as she pushes the door open.

“Dang it!”

…

“Look, I’m just saying, if I could fly, I’d get places much faster,” Danny says as they round the corner of the park trail and start back towards the entrance.

“I mean, I guess I can’t deny a statement that vague.  How fast are we talking?” Valerie asks.

Danny thinks back.  “Across the country in a couple hours.”

“No way.”

“Planes do it!”

“Planes fly hundreds of miles an hour!”

“Who’s to say I can’t?”

“You’d have to actually be able to fly, first,” Valerie says, giving him a look.

“That’s not the point!  This is all hypotheticals anyway!”

“Well if it’s all hypotheticals how about you just give yourself the ability to teleport places?  Then there’d be no travel time.”

Danny snorts.  “Man, I wish.”

“Look, being able to fly fast doesn’t mean you should,” Valerie says.  “There could be buildings in the way, or people.”

“Well…” Danny hesitates, unsure how far he should go.  “Then I’ll just turn intangible like a ghost,” he says, keeping his voice light and casual and ‘this is all a hypothetical, Valerie!’ in tone.

“See, and then I would turn back to ‘just give yourself the ability to teleport’ if you’re adding whatever you want to this hypothetical,” Valerie says.  “Look, I wasn’t disagreeing with your first statement.  Yeah, you could probably get places faster if you fly there.  I just don’t think it would be that fast.”

“Oh, because of your in-depth experience with flying places,” Danny says, crossing his arms.

“And your in depth experience with turning intangible like a ghost?” Valerie asks, crossing her arms right back.

Danny sticks his tongue out, and Valerie does the same a second later.

There’s a moment of silence while they’re both thinking, and then Valerie says: “Now, the sunsets on the other hand…”

“Oh my god, the stargazing.”

…

“Dang, you weren’t kidding about picking things up quickly,” Danny says, from his spot on the chair he’d dragged down to the lab.  His parents had been more than a little surprised when he told them who he’d invited over, but he wasn’t grounded anymore, and he isn’t in any kind of current trouble for once, so they didn’t object.

“I have a natural talent for kicking butt,” Valerie says with a grin, without looking away from the computer screen.

“No kidding.  Try not to beat my high score, would you?”

Valerie knocks out another Doomed enemy without breaking a sweat.  “No promises.”

A chime rings, and Danny glances down to the corner of the screen to see that Sam has signed on.

“Who’s Chaos?” Valerie asks, peering at it.

“No one, don’t worry about it,” Danny says, hoping Valerie won’t ask.

She looks at him for a minute, and he can tell she’s guessed something, but after a second she shrugs, and goes right back to destroying all of the enemies Danny struggles with in this game.  Now he just has to hope Sam doesn’t talk to him either.

But while he sees her Avatar show up on their level after a while (he and Tucker had found out she was Chaos a while ago and they’ve been begging her to teach them her tricks ever since), she doesn’t talk to him, which is weird, because Valerie’s playing with his Avatar.

He’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, and instead just watches as Valerie attacks without knowing who’s on the other side of the screen.

He’s not surprised when she starts struggling a bit.  Sam is better than him and Tucker combined, and while Valerie is good, it is her first go around with the game.

“Man, this guy is good,” Valerie says, leaning into the screen.

“Yeah, I don’t know anyone who’s ever been able to beat Chaos one on one,” Danny says with a shrug.  “I can’t do it either.”

For some reason, however, right as Sam is about to finish Valerie off, she instead stops and leaves.

Danny blinks, confused.

“Wait, why’d they leave?” Valerie asks.  “Is that a strategy or something?”

“Not one I’ve seen her use before,” Danny says.  “We’ve allied a couple times, maybe she just wanted to spar without actually killing me.”

“I guess so,” Valerie says.  She turns the avatar around looking for Chaos a couple more times, but nothing is there.

Though that doesn’t sound like Sam either.  She’s definitely toyed with him by beating him up in game a couple times, but she usually finishes him off for lighthearted gloating rights.  He doesn’t know what’s so different this time.

They don’t see her again, though, and eventually Valerie gets back to kicking enemies’ butts and gets her health back up.

She beats the level she’s on just in time for there to be a knock on his door and Jazz to stick her head in.

“Sorry to bug you,” she says, as they both glance over.  “But is Valerie staying for dinner?”

“No,” Danny says immediately at the same time Valerie says “Sure.”

Danny winces, and glances over at Valerie, who’s looking at him confused and slightly hurt.  “What, you don’t want me here?”

“No no,” Danny says, waving his hands.  “That’s not it at all.  My parents’ food just has a tendency to… come to life, partway through the meal.  It’s not exactly their best foot forward.”

Valerie’s look shifts, and she gives him a smile.  “Aww, you want me to like your parents?”

“I don’t know if ‘like’ is the appropriate word,” Danny mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I was thinking more along the lines of ‘view as normal.’”

Valerie laughs a little.  “I already know you’re not normal, Fenton,” she says, nudging him in the side.  “That’s what I like about you.”

“Yeah?” Danny asks, smiling at her.  “Really?”

Jazz clears her throat.  “Hey, still here.  So is she staying for dinner or not?”

“Uh,” Danny glances at Valerie.  “Sure.”  He looks back at Jazz.  “But tell Mom and Dad to use the meat that doesn’t have eyes yet.”

Jazz huffs a laugh.  “I’ll do my best,” she says, and ducks back out of the room again.

“Seriously,” Danny says, turning to Valerie.  “If you really want to stay, prepare yourself for it to have eyes.”

Valerie hesitates.  “Is it harmful to eat?”

Danny pauses.  He wouldn’t really know.  Jazz seems fine.  “I don’t think so?”

Valerie nods.  “I’ll take that.”

Danny smiles a little, caught off guard.  “Maybe I should stop thinking about you as normal.”

“Maybe you should,” Valerie says, smirking right back.

Thankfully, when they’re called downstairs later, the food looks relatively normal, apart from the chicken being slightly burnt.  Danny glances over at Jazz as they all sit down, but she gives him a nod.  So it really is normal then.  Maybe they do want to put their best foot forward, with Valerie here.

But they might not have needed to bother.  Because for Valerie’s part, she digs right in as soon as they all start eating, not seeming at all phased by the potential for the meat coming to life in the middle of the meal (though this stuff is probably less likely to).

“So,” Dad says, grinning at Valerie.  “Danny hasn’t brought you around before.  How long have you two known each other?”

“Oh yes, did you meet recently?” Mom asks, thankfully giving Valerie a moment to swallow her bite of chicken.  “Danny doesn’t really have a lot of friends.”

“Mom,” Danny hisses, narrowing his eyes at her.

“We met pretty recently, yeah,” Valerie says, seeming unbothered.  “We were uh—” she glances at Danny, and they both realize simultaneously they probably shouldn’t say how they actually met.  “Hiding in the same spot during a ghost fight,” Valerie finishes, breezing smoothly past the pause.  “It was a long one, so we just started talking.”

“A ghost fight you say?” Dad asks, leaning forward.

“You kids weren’t doing any of the fighting, right?” Mom asks before Dad can continue.  “If a ghost attacks, you should make sure you’re safe and let the professionals handle it.”

“Oh, no of course not,” Valerie says, waving her hands dismissively.  “That’s what I meant.  You know, ghost fight, ghost attack, same thing really.”

“Right, right,” Dad says, leaning forward again.  “Now back to the ghost part.  Do you have opinions on them?”

Valerie glances to the side, seeming a little uncomfortable.  “Uh, I should hope so?  I mean, that Phantom prick kind of ruined my life,” she says, and Danny goes still.

“Oh, well you don’t need to talk about that if you don’t want to,” Jazz jumps in immediately.  “We understand if that’s personal.  Ghosts are just kind of a topic around here, but we don’t have to talk about them.”

“Of course not,” Mom says, and Dad nods in agreement, even if he looks slightly disappointed.  “Just know plenty of people have been in your position,” she says to Valerie with a sympathetic smile.  “Phantom is one of the larger menaces we have to deal with.”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea!” Jazz calls, leaning towards the center of the table.  “Let’s talk about anything else!  Valerie, what’s your favorite subject in school?”

Danny laughs a little, partly to make it seem like he’s unbothered by what just happened and partly because that’s such a Jazz thing to say.  “Of course you jump right to school,” he says.

“It’s something we can all be sure we have in common!” Jazz protests, sounding a little intentionally overdramatic with a glance at both their parents and Valerie.

“No that’s fine,” Valerie says.  “Uh, I don’t know.  Does gym class count?”

Jazz wrinkles her nose, and Danny can’t help but laugh.  “Not to her,” he says with a grin at Valerie.

“I like being active!” Valerie says, holding her hands up in defense.

“Ugh, you would,” Danny says with a smile, making sure Valerie can tell he’s joking.

“And what’s your favorite subject, lunch?” Valerie asks, her tone just as teasing.

“Well, I mean, they took away recess years ago, what else is there to compare it to?” Danny says with a casual shrug, and Valerie laughs.

Plus Valerie’s there during lunch, and he doesn’t sit next to her in any classes, making it a definite plus, but he’s not going to say that aloud.

He glances over at Jazz to try and include her in the conversation again, only to find her looking very uncertainly right at him.  He blinks at her.  “What?”

He turns to look at his parents, and finds them both smiling.  “What?”

“Nothing, sweetie,” Mom says.  “Just thinking about dessert.  I’m afraid we don’t have anything fancy, would you be okay with some ice cream, Valerie?”

Danny glances at Valerie to see if she knows why everyone’s being weird, but she just shrugs and says, “Sure,” in response to Mom’s question.

Mom brings in ice cream, chocolate sauce, and sprinkles, and they all talk a bit more as they eat, but Danny can feel the energy of the night wrapping up, and he’s not surprised when afterwards, Valerie says she needs to start heading home.

“Do you need a ride, sweetie?” Mom asks her as they start for the living room.  “We could drop you off.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Valerie says.  “I can take the bus.”

“Absolutely not, young lady, we can’t just leave our guest to take the bus home,” Mom says.  “Hang on, I’ll go grab the keys to the Ghost Assault Vehicle.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“It’s just a souped up RV,” Danny explains as soon as Mom’s out of earshot.  “And if Mom’s driving, we’ll be fine.”

“Aww, are you driving me home, Danny?” Valerie says.  “I didn’t realize I needed two escorts.”

“No, he’s not,” comes a sudden voice before Danny can say anything back.  They both turn in surprise to find Jazz standing there with her arms crossed.

“We need to talk, Danny,” she says.

“What?  Why?”

“About your homework,” Jazz says with a subtle glance at Valerie.  “Do you have any idea how much you’ve missed this week?”

Danny groans.  “As a matter of fact, I do, Jazz,” he says.  “You say it like I don’t have the knowledge constantly looming over my head.”

“Well, I’m going to help you come up with a plan to get it done,” Valerie says.  “You definitely don’t have a half hour to waste to drive Valerie home.”

“So I’m just going to let Mom drive home the friend that I invited over?  That’s kind of rude, Jazz,” Danny says.

“Too bad,” Jazz says.  She grabs Danny’s arm and starts pulling him for the stairs.

“What?  Jazz!”

But Jazz is insistent, and Danny only has enough time to look back and mouth ‘Sorry,’ to Valerie before they reach the stairs.

Valerie waves him off, thankfully seeming unbothered, before Jazz drags him up the stairs and out of sight.

It’s only once Jazz pulls them both inside of her room that she lets go of him.  Danny starts talking before she can turn around, though.

“Okay, seriously, what is with you?” he says, raising his hands up in exasperation.  “I wasn’t kidding about that being rude.  And why are you suddenly being a stickler about homework, you haven’t done that since you learned… you know.”

“How long have you known that Valerie hates Phantom?” Jazz asks quietly, crossing her arms and completely ignoring his question.

“Uh, I don’t know, I always kind of figured after that whole ‘ruined her life’ thing?  Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

“Because I’m tired of seeing you hanging out with people who bad mouth you right to your face.”

“Hey,” Danny says, narrowing his eyes to a glare.  “First of all, Valerie doesn’t know that’s what she’s doing, so it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Second,” he continues, “since when is that any of your business?  It’s not like I don’t have a lot of experience with that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, and that’s a problem,” Jazz says.

“It’s hardly my biggest problem.  It’s not one I can’t deal with.  And Valerie never brings up Phantom unprompted anyway.  It’s okay.”

“Danny, it’s not—” Jazz takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose.  “Just because she doesn’t talk about it doesn’t mean you won’t know,” she says.

“Like how I know Mom and Dad would rip me apart molecule by molecule if they found out?  It’s really not a big deal.  I can handle it okay?  I promise.”

“It’s not about whether or not you can handle it.”

“Well, what’s it about, then?”

Jazz opens her mouth to respond, but is interrupted by Mom calling “Danny!” from downstairs.

“Where are you, we’re driving Valerie home!”

“See, Mom knows it’s rude too,” Danny says, gesturing back at the door.  “I’ll be going now.”

“Fine, but we’re going to talk about this when you get back, right?” Jazz calls after him.

“I don’t know,” Danny says, sending one last glare over his shoulder.  “Probably not.”

He walks off before Jazz can reply.

…

“Okay so uh, here’s the thing,” Valerie says as the three of them climb into the GAV.  “I don’t exactly live in the greatest apartment.”

“That’s okay,” Danny says.  “We’re not going to judge you.”

“No, I just mean, you guys live in a house with a bunch of fancy lab equipment and have an entire Ghost Assault Vehicle with gadgets on it as your car.  Don’t… expect that.”

“Don’t worry about it sweetie,” Mom says from the front seat as she pulls away.  “I know Jack and I might be a little out of touch from time to time, but we certainly don’t expect everyone to be rich.”

Except she used to be just that, hisses a voice in Danny’s head.  He tries his best to shake it away.

Valerie gives a slightly bitter chuckle.  “Just a bunch of leftover ghost problems really,” she mutters, and Danny winces, looking away as he fidgets with his hands.

“We’ve certainly had our fair share of those,” Mom says.  “Danny’s right, we’re not going to judge you.”

Well, judging is one thing.  He’s definitely not judging.  But a lack of judgment doesn’t stop Danny’s stomach from curling up in guilt when they pull to a stop in front of Valerie’s clearly falling apart apartment building.  He makes sure it doesn’t show on his face, lest Valerie take it as something else, but when she climbs out and waves at him, he still feels very small as he waves back.

“See you tomorrow?” Valerie asks, clearly still nervous.

Danny shoves the guilt down and smiles at her.  “Definitely.”

Apparently he’s hidden his feelings well enough, because Valerie’s smile turns a little more confident.  “Next time, we’re hanging out at my place.”

“Deal,” Danny says with a nod.

Valerie grins at him and heads off towards the front door, waving as she goes.

Danny climbs up to the front seat as soon as she heads inside, and then Mom turns to him before she pulls away.

“Well then,” she says, and she has a knowing tone in her voice that makes Danny realize he’s in for something embarrassing.  “She’s a cutie, isn’t she?”

“Oh, my god, Mom,” Danny groans.

“I’m just saying, teenage crushes can be very sweet!” Mom says, turning to pull away.

“Mom!”

“You have my full support if you want to go for it, sweetheart.”

Danny buries his head in his hands.  “I’m getting out and walking home.”

“Just make sure you’re both comfortable with whatever you want to try!”

“Kill me twice.”

…

The inside of Valerie’s apartment isn’t much nicer than the outside, but Danny can see effort to make it more of a home.  There’s Christmas lights hung up in the living room, though that could also be because there’s no overhead light built in.  Either way, the lights look nice, and there’s a couple of posters hung up on the walls, though most of them seem to be referencing something called Scalpels and Secrets, which according to the posters looks like it’s exactly as good as it sounds.

They aren’t there for long before Valerie and him both end up in the kitchen, helping Mr Gray make potatoes.  He washes them and passes them to Valerie, who cuts them up and slides them to the other side of the cutting board, and Danny puts them on a tray and shakes some spices over them, and the tray will go into the oven as soon as they’re all there.

“Do you guys make dinner like this together a lot?” Danny asks, picking up another handful from Valerie’s cutting board.

“Yeah.  We both tend to get home pretty late, so it just makes it go faster,” Valerie says.

“It’s nice,” Danny admits.  He smirks a little bit.  “And none of it’s glowing.”

“I’m sorry?” Mr Gray asks, looking over at him in bafflement and slight concern.

“My parents’ food has a tendency to glow green and attack you,” Danny says.  “That’s kind of just what happens when you live in the same house as an interdimensional portal.”

Mr Gray stares at him for a moment, then seems to shake himself.  “Well, I can assure you none of these potatoes will try to attack you,” he says, passing the last one to Valerie.

“We’re already off to a great start then,�� Danny says, and Valerie laughs a little.

“Your parents’ food wasn’t that bad,” she says.

“I’ll be sure to tell them you said that,” Danny says.  Valerie laughs again.

“You two seem to get along well,” Mr Gray says with a smile at them.  “How did you meet?”

“We got stuck together during a ghost attack,” Valerie says, likely for consistency’s sake so they can tell both sets of their parents the same story.  “It went long, so we just started talking.”

“Sometimes life happens that way,” Mr Gray says with a smile and a nod.  “I’m glad you two met.  Valerie seems happier since she’s started spending time with you.”

“Dad,” Valerie grumbles, looking away.  Danny does the same, feeling his cheeks warm.

“What, am I not supposed to take note of someone who makes my daughter happy?” Mr Gray asks.  “I don’t know if you know this Valerie, but I like it when you’re happy.”

“Dad.”

Mr Gray chuckles a little, and Danny takes a moment to be glad that Valerie wasn’t in the car last night when Mom was teasing him.

He turns and notices he’s picking up the last of Valerie’s potatoes, so he adds the spices to them and does one more shake over all of the potatoes, and then passes them off to Valerie, who carries them over to the oven, which Mr Gray has pulled open.

“That’s gonna be delicious,” Valerie says as Mr Gray shuts it.  He sets a timer for half an hour, and then turns to face them both.

“Well Danny, since Valerie seems to have gotten a crash course in dinners at your house, you should know that we have a tradition when we eat dinner here.”

“Oh?” Danny asks.

“I hope you’re ready for cheesy medical dramas,” Valerie says with a grin.  “We’re watching Scalpels and Secrets.”

…

They manage to get part of an episode in before the potatoes are done, and when Mr Gray heads into the other room to get them, Valerie pauses the show and turns to him.

“Thoughts?”

“Oh, uh,” Danny says.  “It’s, um…”

“We like it because it’s bad, Danny.”

“Then it’s really bad,” Danny says in relief.

Valerie laughs.  “That’s the fun part,” she says.  “I’m almost never having more fun than when I get to sit here and make fun of Kelly for being an idiot and Stacy for being a bitch.”

“Valerie!” is heard from the kitchen,

“For being a jerk,” Valerie amends without missing a beat.  Then she mouths to Danny ‘She’s a bitch,’ and Danny muffles his laughter.

Mr Gray comes back in with three plates of potatoes that look smothered in butter, and sets a bag of shredded cheese and salt and pepper on the ground in front of them.  He hands Danny, then Valerie their plates, and takes his seat again in the armchair.  Valerie immediately goes for the cheese, so Danny picks up the salt and pepper and shakes some onto his potatoes, then trades with Valerie when he’s done.  They both pass what they’re holding up to Mr Gray afterwards, and he takes them and starts on his plate as Valerie plays the show again.

They eat the potatoes as they finish the episode, which ends on the most ridiculous cliffhanger of all time (Kevin is trying to decide whether or not he’ll tell Kelly he’s cheated for what is, according to Valerie, the fourth time).

“We can watch the next one tomorrow night,” Mr Gray says as it finishes.  “I have some work to do.  But I can do the dishes if you two want to head up to Valerie’s room to talk.”

“Uh,” Valerie says, leaping up.  “Give me a minute first!  It’s… really messy.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Danny says.  “You should see the state my room is in most of the time.”

“No, I just need to put some— things— away!  Won’t take two seconds!”

And with that she all but runs off down the hallway next to the kitchen, leaving Danny alone with Mr Gray.

Before it can start feeling awkward, however, Mr Gray chuckles and turns to face him.  “Don’t worry about it,” he says.  “She gets like this when she wants to impress someone.”

“Impress someone?” Danny asks, surprised.

Mr Gray smiles knowingly at him and doesn’t say anything.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.  Just know typical shovel rules apply, and you better not hurt my daughter.”

“Wait,” Danny says, holding up his hands.  “I don’t— she’s not— I mean we’re not—”

“Okay!” comes Valerie’s voice, and she appears at the entrance to the kitchen.  “You can come back now.”

“Keep the door open,” Mr Gray calls, as Danny heads after her into the kitchen.

“Dad!”

Danny looks down to hide his face, which he’s sure is bright red.  He keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the floor until they reach Valerie’s bedroom.

“Sorry about him,” Valerie says.

“That’s okay,” Danny says, finally looking up.  “You’re lucky my parents didn’t—” he stops.

He has no idea what Valerie was putting away during the tidying of her room, but she left up  the countless newspaper clippings and photographs and drawn up targets of Phantom.  There are conspiracy articles, like ones about who Phantom is dating, and ones that are closer to accurate, like pieces about public opinion on him shifting.  There are also tons of photos pinned and taped to the wall, some of which he doesn’t have the slightest clue how she could have gotten.

If this is everything she feels comfortable with him seeing, what did she feel the need to hide?

Danny feels a little sick to his stomach.  He tries to shake the feeling off, but after a second of him not saying anything, Valerie notices.

“Oh god,” she says, turning to follow his gaze.  “Okay I uh, I understand how this looks, but I swear I’m not creepy and obsessive.  I figured you wouldn’t mind because your parents are ghost hunters, I just… please ignore these.  I swear I don’t spend all of my free time thinking about Phantom.”

“That’s okay,” Danny says, trying to force as much of a casual tone into his voice as he can manage.  Even his parents don’t have a hate shrine to him.

Then again, he didn’t completely ruin his parents’ lives.  Maybe it does make some sense.

“I just…” Valerie sighs, sitting down on her bed.  “I’ve been meaning to take some of these down too.  I mean, Phantom’s not this much of a thing with me anymore.  Like, he’s still a dangerous ghost and I— someone needs to stop him, obviously, but… just, especially after everything first happened, I was pissed at him.  I still am pissed, I’m just not as lonely as I was.”  She looks up at Danny, and then jolts upright and looks away.  “I mean uh, because my old friends aren’t being quite as huge of jerks anymore.  Obviously.”

“Yeah,” Danny mutters, looking down at the floor, as the only place he can put his gaze and not be met with a picture of Phantom.

After a second, however, Valerie sighs again.  “And you too,” she admits in a mumble.

Danny looks up.  “What?”

Valerie shrugs, looking embarrassed.  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I like hanging out with you, Danny,” she says.  “It’s nice to have a friend I can just spend time and do normal stuff with,” she says.

Danny keeps her gaze and smiles a little.  “I like that too,” he says quietly.

Valerie smiles back at him, and neither of them say anything for a moment.

Finally, Valerie clears her throat.  “So uh, ignoring all of the Phantom stuff that I’m taking down anyway… sorry about my dad.  My life is way too complicated right now to date someone anyway.  I don’t think he gets that.”

“Huh, that’s different,” Danny says before he thinks it through.

Valerie blinks at him.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, my life is crazy complicated right now too,” Danny says.  “That’s why I want to date someone.”

Valerie gives him an intrigued look.  “Okay, again, what do you mean,” she says.

“I mean, I have so much going on,” Danny says.  After a second, he moves forward and sits down on the bed next to Valerie, and Valerie easily shifts aside to let him.

“It sounds nice to have a break from all of that, I guess is what I mean.  Not in the long term committed partner way, just in the going on dates to have fun kind of way?  I don’t know.”  He shrugs.  “It’s not like it matters anyway, my options are pretty limited in that department.”

“What makes you say that?” Valerie asks, tipping her head.

Danny stares at her.  “Uh, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Valerie, but I’m not exactly as popular as your old friends.”

Valerie blinks, like the thought hadn’t even occurred to her.  “I mean, that’s not what I—” she stops, and they both look at each other for a moment.  Danny can’t tell if she wants him to ask or not.

Then after a second, he sees her look away, and he knows that answer is “not.”

So instead, he shifts his position to dispel the awkwardness and says “Like, can you imagine me walking up to Paulina and asking her out?”

Valerie snorts and covers her mouth, meaning he’s succeeded in moving the conversation on.  “Okay, no, I can’t,” she says.  “She’d definitely laugh at you.”

“See, that’s what I mean,” Danny says with a grin.  “I have to make my choices on more of a ‘who’s low enough on the totem pole to be a real option,’ basis.”

“Well, you sure know how to charm a girl,” Valerie says.  “I’m astounded they’re not all falling at your feet already.”

“I know right?” Danny says.  “With all of the loserness and unreliability of scheduled activities to offer?”

Valerie narrows her eyes slightly.  “That’s not all you have to offer.”

“It is to someone like Paulina,” Danny says.

Valerie rolls her eyes.  “Because Paulina’s too shallow to pay attention to anything else,” she says, and Danny… doesn’t know what to say to that.

Thankfully, Valerie keeps going.  “I mean honestly, even before she kicked me to the curb the second I had any hardships in life, she wasn’t exactly my best friend.  She just… isn’t exactly the most supportive person.”

“I don’t imagine any of them would be,” Danny admitted.  “But I can relate.  Not having supportive friends can really suck.”

“Yeah, I guess you’d know too, huh?” Valerie says.

Danny doesn’t agree, but doesn’t deny it either.

“Well, whoever it is you’re talking about,” Valerie says.  “And of course I don’t have the slightest clue who it could be.  I think they’re crazy to not be treating you well.  You deserve it.”

“Uh, thanks,” Danny says, though what goes through his head is She wouldn’t be saying that if she knew.

He glances up at her wall.  She really wouldn’t.

He shakes it off and turns back to her.  “You too, by the way,” he says.  “Everyone who treated you like that is a jerk.  I just uh, thought that before too.”

“Thanks, Danny,” Valerie says with a smile.  “I like to think I’ve upgraded a little.”

Danny smiles back at her.  “Me too,” he says.  He tries not to feel guilty about the fact that he means it.

…

Mom comes to get him not long after that, and Danny spends the drive home trying to work out his thoughts.

It’s definitely nothing new, caring about someone who hates Phantom.  He knew Valerie had an issue with him before.  The only thing that’s changed is now he’s aware of the intensity.

When he thinks about it, he can’t blame her.  When she says he ruined her life as Phantom, he can tell she means it, and he can tell why.  It’s just another of the increasing list of screwups he doesn’t know how to make up for.  Losing Valerie’s father his job, apparently dropping Sam from a highwire during his time with Freakshow, blasting Tucker into a wall and giving him a concussion.  If any of them want to hate him, well, they definitely all have their reasons.  He could be doing better as a hero.

And honestly, if he can deal with his parents talking loudly about wanting to rip him apart molecule by molecule, he can deal with Valerie hating him enough to decorate her room with that hatred.

At least she’s never tried to kill him.

…

He’s out late on patrol, partly because he gets back home late and partly because he doesn’t want to ask Jazz for help and keep them both up, which means he’s out even later.  But as a result, despite all her best efforts Jazz can’t get him up in time to drive them both to school.  Instead, he runs out the door with toast in his hand, yelling back to his parents that he’d run to make the bus.

A ghost sense throws a wrench into that plan.  He sighs, ducks down a side street, and transforms, then takes to the sky, casting his gaze around.

After a second, he spots an octopus ghost a street over, diving towards a car parked on the side of the road.  There’s a mother and daughter cowering inside it.

Danny heads quickly for the ghost, but the octopus soars straight through the car, pulling the girl along with it.  Likely by accident, judging by the way the octopus starts shaking its tail.

Shifting gears, Danny ignores the ghost and heads for the space right under the child.

“I’ve got you!” he calls.  “You can let go!”

The girl stops screaming just long enough to look down at him, and the second she spots him, her face brightens.  She lets go of the octopus and lands safely in his grip, and Danny lowers them both to the ground.  The octopus heads towards the sky, meaning it’s probably not going to cause too much trouble, so he lets it go for now.

Danny feels a sudden jolt from the girl in his arms, and looks down just in time for her to throw her arms around his neck.

“Hey, easy there,” Danny says, shifting his grip.  “I don’t want to drop you.  You’re alright.”

He turns back towards the car to see the girl’s mother running up the sidewalk.

“Daisy!” she calls as soon as she spots them both.  “Oh, thank you, thank you!”

“Mama, he flies!” Daisy calls.  She turns to grin up at Danny.  “Can you do it again?”

Danny laughs a little.  “I don’t know if your Mom has another one of those in her,” he says, passing Daisy back to her mother.

“Oh thank you so much,” the woman says, hugging Daisy close to her chest.  Daisy hugs her mother just as tightly as she hugged Danny.  Hugs are a thing for her, it seems.

“No trouble,” Danny says, giving the woman a smile.  “I should probably go grab that ghost now.”

“Thank you so much,” the woman says again.  She sets Daisy down on the ground, and grips her hand tightly.

Daisy waves back at him as the two of them start towards their car.  “Bye Mr Invis-o-Bill!” she calls.

Danny holds back a groan and manages to smile back at her.  He watches the two of them for another second with a small smile, then turns and takes to the air again, heading after that octopus.

Before he can get very far, however, he hears “Hey, ghost scum!”

He spins around to see the Red Huntress raising a blaster at him.  This time he doesn’t bother to hold back a groan.

“Look, I’m busy, can we do this another time?” he says.  “I do actually have somewhere I need to be.”

“Yeah, me too, but you don’t see me complaining,” Red Huntress snaps, and she raises her blaster again.

“I wasn’t even— I’m kind of dealing with a different ghost,” Danny says, turning intangible as the blast shoots through him and up into the sky.  He stays intangible and turns to look after the octopus ghost that’s definitely long gone.

“Only ghost I see here is you,” Red Huntress says, and Danny sighs and turns to face her again, dropping his intangibility.  She doesn’t try to fire her blaster again, but she doesn’t lower it either.

“That’s because you have amazingly terrible timing,” Danny says.  “Where are your new sidekicks, did you drop them?”

“It’s not like they follow me everywhere,” Red Huntress snaps.

“Heck of a team, you three,” Danny says.  “Look, seriously.  I’m tired, and I have places to be.  Can we just skip this for today?”

“Not on your afterlife,” Red Huntress says, and fires her blaster.

Danny sighs again.  “Yeah, I figured,” he mutters.  He dives out of the way just in time to avoid it and darts back the way he came, though he stays clear from his house.  The last thing he needs is his parents to notice the fight and join in.

He hears Red Huntress chasing him, but there’s too many people around for him to feel comfortable using intangibility, lest the blast go through him and hit someone else.  So instead, he turns so his back is facing the ground and flies backwards, keeping his gaze on the Huntress as she chases.  What he really needs to do is to get away long enough to change back and just start heading back to school, but Huntress is right on his tail.  He’ll just have to get to a less populated area first.

He starts flying for the end of the street, trying to keep an eye on Huntress while also avoiding slamming into any buildings.  Just as he reaches the turn, Huntress fires a blast at him.  Danny gives a quick glance down only to see people looking up at him, so he groans, braces himself, and takes the hit in the chest.

Thankfully he manages to hit the ground next to the people instead of landing on top of them, which would have defeated the purpose.  It does, however, give him a chance to go intangible and sink below ground.

He can’t see anything underground, so he doesn’t fly too far before heading back up, this time just staying intangible.

The Huntress is looking around, but makes no sign of having seen him or knowing where he went, so Danny lets out a small breath and heads down a side alleyway.  He ducks behind a dumpster and changes back.  A peek out from behind reveals no one in the alley.

Danny sighs.  He’s definitely going to be late for school.

Right as he’s about to step out, however, the Red Huntress lands in the alley with a loud sigh.  She looks back out towards the street, and it must be satisfyingly empty, because she hits a button on her suit, and her armor retracts back into a backpack.

And then Valerie Gray looks up and locks eyes with him.

Valerie’s eyes immediately snap wide open, and her hands go to her mouth.

“Oh god,” she says faintly.  “You— you didn’t see that!  I’m not here!”

Danny stares at her.

Valerie groans and drops her head into her hands.  “No no no,” she says.  “That’s not— ugh, what are you doing here?”

“I was hiding from an octopus ghost,” Danny says weakly.

“No,” Valerie groans again.  “Okay, okay, look, you—” she stops, and moves quickly across the alleyway, then pulls them both behind the dumpster.  “I can explain.”

“That you’re the Red Huntress?” Danny says.  He grabs the straps of his own backpack to hopefully keep it from being obvious that his hands are shaking.

“Kind of?” Valerie says weakly.  “Look, I… back when Phantom first destroyed my life, I got the suit in the mail from… an anonymous benefactor.  It started out as a way to get revenge, but then I saw how many people were getting hurt by all ghosts, not just him.  I— I had to do something.  No one was supposed to find out.”

Danny’s pretty sure the backpack plan isn’t going to work out.  He shoves his hands in his pockets instead.

So, nothing new.  He’s used to people hating him.  He was just wrong about the intensity.  Again.  It’s fine.  This is so fine.

“Danny?” Valerie says, and Danny looks up to see abject terror on her face.  “Please, I— I wasn’t trying to lie to you.  Please don’t tell anyone.”

Danny definitely can’t breathe right, but Valerie’s scared, so he tries to tap into that to force the feeling away from himself for as long as he can.  He clenches his hands into fists until he can feel his nails digging into his hands, and focuses on that to ground himself.

“Hey, of course I’m not going to tell anyone,” he says, proud of how steady his voice comes out.  “Val, that’s— that’s amazing.”

And it is kind of amazing, to hear his own motivations echoed so plainly back to him.  He hadn’t realized the Red Huntress had any motivation apart from destroying him.

Apart from… oh god.

Valerie looks up at him, a nervous hope on her face, and Danny shoves his own feelings down again.

“You… it doesn’t change how you see me?” Valerie asks.

Danny opens his mouth to say no, but can’t get it out, so he switches gears instead.

“Of course it changes how I see you,” he says, and rushes on before Valerie’s expression can change.  “It makes you that much more amazing.  I mean you… you don’t have to do this, no one’s making you, and you don’t owe it to anyone.  And it’s dangerous, but… but you do it anyway.”

Yeah, he can focus on that.  That’s a good part to focus on.

That, and how terrified he’s going to be to be fighting the Red Huntress from now on, because he knows he’s fighting a human and more than that he’s fighting Valerie—

No no, that’s not a good part to focus on right now.

“And that’s amazing,” he says turning back to Valerie.  “Sorry I— I feel like I’m just repeating myself but—”

He’s cut off by Valerie wrapping her arms around him and kissing him.  It’s barely a second before she stops and pulls back though, looking startled at what she just did.

“Oh shit I shouldn’t have done that without asking,” she says.  “I’m so sorry.”

Danny swallows.  “It… it’s okay,” he says, giving a smile that comes out much more confident than he feels.  “I mean, Val, I would have thought my feelings are pretty obvious by now.”

Valerie laughs.  “Yeah,” she says, rubbing the back of her neck.  “Neither of us just ever said them out loud.”  She smiles widely up at him, looking a mix of grateful and ecstatic.

“You’re amazing too, you know?” she says.  “You just— wow, you just rolled with that.”

“Yeah,” Danny says weakly.  “I’m a little amazed with that myself.”

Valerie laughs and takes a step closer.  “Can I kiss you again?” she asks.

Danny takes a deep breath and shoves this realization far, far down so he can process it later, and instead smiles back at Valerie.  “Yes.”

#danny phantom #danny fenton #valerie gray #jazz fenton #maddie fenton #jack fenton #uh what do i put a tw for #tw slight non con? #like Danny's not in a good place when the kissing happens #that kind of situation #everyone knows au #my fic

[nordictwin]

A list of my IWATEX AUs and fanfics.

Since a lot of people have found me through IWATEX, I figured I should probably make an actual list of my AUs and fanfiction, just to have them all in one place.

Fragmented Futures - aka. the Everyone Knows AU

Probably the one most of you are here for, since it's the one I've posted about the most, but written the least for in terms of actual fic. An AU in which all of the Stratos-Helios kids suddenly become aware, that they're stuck in a timeloop... all except Sol. Or so the others think.

A story full of kids being friends, learning new stuff about themselves, and a generous dash of eldritch shenanigans.

Currently in the works for this AU: an as of yet "non-canon" vent-fic, in which I subject Sol to something a little more realistic than my usual treatment of them. Not sure if it'll be incorporated into the fic proper, but as of this point in writing, it's just meant to be a little side-thing set in the same universe.

The Tragedy of the Exocolony on Vertumna IV

The AU/fanfiction that has me in a chokehold at the moment, TOTEOV is an eldritch horror story that takes all my love for Sym and the Overseer, flips it upside-down, and turns it into a toxic mess of good intentions gone horrifically wrong. Oh, and Rex and Vace are forced to work together.

A story that draws heavily on the tropes of children stolen away by the supernatural, such as The Pied Piper of Hamelin and other fae tales.

Heed the tags. Seriously.

The Solution AU

An AU I've never really mentioned here except once, nor written a single word for. Ironically, this is actually the origin AU of TOTEOV.

The basic premise is that Sol, after many trips around the loop, decides to look for a permanent solution. They eventually decide that the best way to do so, is for them to become a Gardener from the very beginning and create an entirely new timeline from scratch. In collaboration with the Overseer, they turn the clock back to just before the Verma's departure and get implanted in the system as a seed to sprout in the future.

The issue is that this means Solanaceae won't ever have existed amongst the humans. And they're fine with paying this price, if it means a more harmonious future overall.

So aboard the Stratospheric, when that time comes, there is no child born to Flulu and Geranium, no cheerful Sol amongst the kids. Instead, when Besk dies, the twins are adopted by the cultivators and grow up... not quite the same as in the original timeline, but also not too different from how we know them.

And on Vertumna, Sol welcomes humanity to guide their gradual integration into the ecosystem. Looking from afar, forgotten by everyone they love except the Gardeners.

......except this is one of my AUs, so of course nothing is as it seems, and Sol will re-learn just how strong the power of love is.

The Person You'll Grow to Be - completed, canon-compliant fanfic.

My first fanfic for this fandom. Aka the Flulu Loves Her Kid So Much fic.

A story going from Flulu learning of her pregnancy all the way to her death during the famine. An tale of her love for Sol and how she felt about a lot of things.

#nordictwin fanfiction #i was a teenage exocolonist #iwatex #exocolonist #the tragedy of the exocolony on vertumna iv #everyone knows au #fragmented futures