#when i considered getting a newspaper subscription

[llyfrenfys]

Followers- Dw i angen eich help / I need your help

This is a post I've been sitting on for a while and it's time I finally write it to let you all know how I am, where I'm at and the progress of Prosiect Llyfr Enfys.

So, as I alluded to in previous posts, I had a health scare at the end of May which landed me in the hospital. I've spent June recovering from that and dealing with a few life changes as well (which I will talk about later).

Unfortunately, me and my partner had to deal with an unexpected bill of £200 this month which had to come directly out of my savings and is a huge chunk of it.

I've been doing research in preparation for hopefully doing a Masters at Aberystwyth in September on the topic of LGBTQ+ Welsh terminology before the 20th Century. My undergraduate dissertation was on the topic of 20th-21st Century LGBTQ+ Welsh terminology (which is currently unmarked due to the marking boycott). Hopefully after graduation I can share it with you. But my research into older terminology means needing to travel to different archives and libraries in Wales, which at the minute, I just can't afford. The closest place would be Bangor, but I have no money to spare at the minute and Prosiect Llyfr Enfys is not funded by any scheme or grant- it's currently all funded by myself.

For the first time in my life, I've been considering using a food bank. We're not quite at that stage yet, but it's precarious. It's another unexpected bill away from a critical situation.

Currently, my monthly expenses for anything related to the dictionary totals around £40 (subscriptions to archives, libraries, genealogy research tools) which have been instrumental in my work. For example, I couldn't have written my articles for Hanes LHDT+ Cymru without access to ancestry sites or online newspaper archives. This does not include other expenses such as bus tickets to get to the National Library of Wales when I need to, or costs of purchasing dictionaries in order to source them in my work.

All of this is to say that i need your help:

I have a patreon which I will be posting in next in July- if you enjoy Prosiect Llyfr Enfys and want to help keep it going, please consider subscribing today by clicking the link above or in my bio. The lowest tier is affordable and if you have the cash to spare, will enable me to keep on working on the project. If you want to make a one-time donation, I'm considering enabling tips on tumblr for those who would prefer that.

If enough people are able to subscribe to keep the project going, I can start to make some concrete plans for a trip to Bangor and share my journey with you all and involve you in the trip. If I'm unable to raise enough funds, I will have to make the decision to pause the project until after my Master's. I do not currently have a publisher, which is also a big factor in that decision, if I need to make it.

All your support is greatly appreciated- if you cannot donate, please share this post.

As ever, huge huge diolch yn fawr to everyone who has supported the project so far- with your help, we can get this dictionary published to help benefit the whole Welsh LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

#cymraeg #lhdt #patreon donation #cost of living #cwiar #welsh #hoyw #trawsryweddol #cymru #deurywiol #lesbiaidd #minimum wage #low income #unexpected bill #support queer creators #queer writer #queer non fiction #lgbt creator #lgbt non fiction #lgbt writer #hospital cw #food insecurity #Bangor #Aberystwyth #Mid Wales

[causereyna-artie]

Free Palestine!

I am aware that I don't have a huge following base, but I do want to go this out there.

I was speaking to my niece, and the topic of war came up. I asked if she knew about the Palestine war going on right now, and I'm proud to say she gave me a 10-page essay on why. But when I asked her about what she was doing about it, she came up short. She said as a minor with no money, there was nothing she could do. I realised that a lot of minors might think that. Soo, here's a list of things that people who think their hands are tied regarding Palestine can do:

1. Raising Awareness

It's not overused---it's a classic. There manifold ways to spread awareness, but you have to make sure you have the right idea on what this about it; reading articles, newspapers, listening to podcasts and speeches on it. I'm not a big newspaper reader, but lately whenever I'm free, I take a stack of any newspapers from 2023-2024 and cut out the articles that look like this:

An article in the paper by Save The Children UK (I apologise for the poor quality of the image)

or anything related to Palestine (brownie points for links/sites/codes that you can donate through) should work and stick it into any notebook, either that I'm done with or not going to use or that I'm currently using. Sometimes I print out articles from the internet, but there sure as fuck are enough things about the war in the newspapers to give you a whole book. Once you've filled up the book, place it anywhere people will come across. My favourites are public libraries, DLR (the subway/tube), parks, in stands at markets (ex: I place a bunch of them around the whole, say, Greenwich market), but literally anywhere people cross everyday works. Then I make more and more, and place them everywhere. Like I've put this in people's mailbox. Anywhere where people can see what a dire situation this is.

If you have any means of social media, use it. Post about the latest things in Palestine, even if its anything as small as a story. Every little thing counts.

SPEAK ABOUT IT. BRING IT INTO YOUR DAILY CONVERSATION. FOR PEOPLE EFFECTED BY THE WAR, IT IS A DAILY SITUATION.

EVERYTHING COUNTS. STICK FREE PALESTINE STICKERS ON BUSES, READ POSTS ON PALESTINE, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

2. Websites

Websites supporting Palestine, and ones that don't (boycott these):

Arab: For Palestine, for refugees. Take not that the sites provides support to multiple other things, like children and poverty.

Disney Plus: IT SUPPORTS ISNOTREAL'S WAR CRIMES AND GENOICIDE. I give full credit for this to @connabeth, who's post led me to know about this. If you own a subscription or are considering getting one, PLEASE CANCEL IT. As a huge PJO fan, I am begging you not to watch the show on there. Cinema can be pirated, and lives can be saved.

Wix.com: It is an Israeli site, and there should be nothing more said about it. @captdedeyes post (thank you to the creator for reaching out to me personally and giving me the link!) covers replacements to try instead of Wix.

Deviant Art: Linking back to Wix, it is the owner of site.

Know it disgusts me the amount of websites to boycott compared to the ones supporting Palestine. For more check out BDS.

3. Supporting

Support Palestinian artists, over here. EVERYTHING MATTERS.

This truly is an important cause, so I'll be updating this whenever I think of things that minors (or anyone) can do regarding the war.

PLEASE SHARE THESE WITH PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE AND REBLOG/ADD YOUR OWN WAYS OF DOING SOMETHING FOR THE WAR CURRENTLY GOING ON.

#palestine #free palestine #free gaza #israel #genocide #war is real #war crimes #arab.org #cancel wix.com #war in gaza #rishi sunak #keir starmer

[mariacallous]

Whether you're a student, a journalist, or a business professional, knowing how to do high-quality research and writing using trustworthy data and sources, without giving in to the temptation of AI or ChatGPT, is a skill worth developing.

As I detail in my book Writing That Gets Noticed, locating credible databases and sources and accurately vetting information can be the difference between turning a story around quickly or getting stuck with outdated information.

For example, several years ago the editor of Parents.com asked for a hot-take reaction to country singer Carrie Underwood saying that, because she was 35, she had missed her chance at having another baby. Since I had written about getting pregnant in my forties, I knew that as long as I updated my facts and figures, and included supportive and relevant peer-reviewed research, I could pull off this story. And I did.

The story ran later that day, and it led to other assignments. Here are some tips I’ve learned that you should consider mastering before you turn to automated tools like generative AI to handle your writing work for you.

Find Statistics From Primary Sources

Identify experts, peer-reviewed research study authors, and sources who can speak with authority—and ideally, offer easily understood sound bites or statistics on the topic of your work. Great sources include professors at major universities and media spokespeople at associations and organizations.

For example, writer and author William Dameron pinned his recent essay in HuffPost Personal around a statistic from the American Heart Association on how LGBTQ people experience higher rates of heart disease based on discrimination. Although he first found the link in a secondary source (an article in The New York Times), he made sure that he checked the primary source: the original study that the American Heart Association gleaned the statistic from. He verified the information, as should any writer, because anytime a statistic is cited in a secondary source, errors can be introduced.

Dive Into Databases

Jen Malia, author of The Infinity Rainbow Club series of children’s books (whom I recently interviewed on my podcast), recently wrote a piece about dinosaur-bone hunting for Business Insider, which she covers in her book Violet and the Jurassic Land Exhibit.

After a visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Malia, whose books are set in Philadelphia, found multiple resources online and on the museum site that gave her the history of the Bone Wars, information on the exhibits she saw, and the scientific names of the dinosaurs she was inspired by. She also used the Library of Congress’ website, which offers digital collections and links to the Library of Congress Newspaper Collection.

Malia is a fan of searching for additional resources and citable documents with Google Scholar. “If I find that a secondary source mentions a newspaper article, I’m going to go to the original newspaper article, instead of just stopping there and quoting,” she says.

Your local public library is a great source of free information, journals, and databases (even ones that generally require a subscription and include embargoed research). For example, your search should include everything from health databases (Sage Journals, Scopus, PubMed) to databases for academic sources and journalism (American Periodical Series Online, Statista, Academic Search Premier) and databases for news, trends, market research, and polls (the Harris Poll, Pew Research Center, Newsbank, ProPublica).

Even if you find a study or paper that you can’t access in one of those databases, consider reaching out to the study’s lead author or researcher. In many cases, they’re happy to discuss their work and may even share the study with you directly and offer to talk about their research.

Get a Good Filtering System

For journalist Paulette Perhach’s article on ADHD in The New York Times, she used Epic Research to see “dual team studies.” That's when two independent teams address the same topic or question, and ideally come to the same conclusions. She recommends locating research and experts via key associations for your topic. She also likes searching via Google Scholar but advises filtering it for studies and research in recent years to avoid using old data. She suggests keeping your links and research organized. “Always be ready to be peer-reviewed yourself,” Perhach says.

When you are looking for information for a story or project, you might be inclined to start with a regular Google search. But keep in mind that the internet is full of false information, and websites that look trustworthy can sometimes turn out to be businesses or companies with a vested interest in you taking their word as objective fact without additional scrutiny. Regardless of your writing project, unreliable or biased sources are a great way to torpedo your work—and any hope of future work.

For Accuracy, Go to the Government

Author Bobbi Rebell researched her book Launching Financial Grownups using the IRS’ website. “I might say that you can contribute a certain amount to a 401K, but it might be outdated because those numbers are always changing, and it’s important to be accurate,” she says. “AI and ChatGPT can be great for idea generation,” says Rebell, “but you have to be careful. If you are using an article someone was quoted in, you don’t know if they were misquoted or quoted out of context.”

If you use AI and ChatGPT for sourcing, you not only risk introducing errors, you risk introducing plagiarism—there is a reason OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is being sued for downloading information from all those books.

Historically, the Loudest Isn’t the Best

Audrey Clare Farley, who writes historical nonfiction, has used a plethora of sites for historical research, including Women Also Know History, which allows searches by expertise or area of study, and JSTOR, a digital library database that offers a number of free downloads a month. She also uses Chronicling America, a project from the Library of Congress which gathers old newspapers to show how a historical event was reported, and Newspapers.com (which you can access via free trial but requires a subscription after seven days).

When it comes to finding experts, Farley cautions against choosing the loudest voices on social media platforms. “They might not necessarily be the most authoritative. I vet them by checking if they have a history of publication on the topic, and/or educational credentials.”

When vetting an expert, look for these red flags:

You can’t find their work published or cited anywhere.

They were published in an obscure journal.

Their research is funded by a company, not a university, or they are the spokesperson for the company they are doing research for. (This makes them a public relations vehicle and not an appropriate source for journalism.)

And finally, the best endings for virtually any writing, whether it’s an essay, a research paper, an academic report, or a piece of investigative journalism, circle back to the beginning of the piece, and show your reader the transformation or the journey the piece has presented in perspective.

As always, your goal should be strong writing supported by research that makes an impact without cutting corners. Only then can you explore tools that might make the job a little easier, for instance by generating subheads or discovering a concept you might be missing—because then you'll have the experience and skills to see whether it's harming or helping your work.

[raziraphale]

so I sent in a support ticket to tumblr last night basically asking "if I'm paying you to not show me ads, why clown?" and this is the canned email response I received:

The link in the text body leads to the information page for ad-free browsing. Relevant information in these sections:

So, yes, technically they haven't violated the terms of my subscription by showing me parts of their One Piece "takeover" campaign, since they established already that there are exceptions. My bad for not scrolling to the very end of the page, I guess.

Still, I find it incredibly gross that this page kind of implies that the exceptions will just be limited to important updates tumblr wants you to see, and fun little takeovers like changing the tumblr icon for groundhog day or something. I think there's a world of difference between showing me a seasonal little tumblr logo and showing me a whole ass new dashboard or a whole ass dashboard clown to advertise a television show they received money to promote. I think calling ad campaigns like that "takeovers" really obscures the truth: that I'm being advertised to!

And I have no knowledge of law so don't take this an accusation that tumblr is breaking any laws (I don't know), but this practice seems risky given that many countries have laws that demand any advertisements be clearly disclosed. It's to prevent people from being deceived by more "naturalistic" advertising, like instagram influencers being paid to feature certain products in their posts or newspapers running native advertising where content they are paid for is designed to look like a standard article. In short, it's for any advertisements that can be mistaken for an innocent recommendation or just part of the scenery, so to speak, if not for the disclosure that money exchanged hands behind the scenes.

Again, I don't have enough knowledge of the relevant laws, but it still feels scummy that these takeovers are not being clearly labeled as advertising, aren't blocked for people paying not to see advertising, and are being compared by tumblr to seasonal website redesigns (or even editorials) as if there's no difference between April Fool's dashboard crabs and a fucking clown jpeg that Netflix paid for me to see.

I'd suggest more people send in feedback about this, especially people (like me) who pay for ad-free. My annual subscription renews in March so I can't exactly unsubscribe in protest with any immediate effect, but I still think it's worth letting tumblr know if these "exceptions" weigh a bit too heavy on the "cons" side when you consider the pros and cons of renewing your membership next. They have no reason to care unless potential losses from cancelled subscriptions begin to rival whatever money they're getting from companies for these kinds of "takeovers".

#long post #truthfully? i don't mind the dashboard clown. it's whatever as far as ads go #but im just offended on principle that an ad-free subscription can just exclude some ads #that tumblr deems important enough #that's not how I want this to work! #i don't want the free tier to be 'as many ads as we can throw at you' and the paid tier to be 'still some ads but we promise it's Funny' #it's stupid #reilly.txt

[sunnys567]

Friends in Strange Places Ch. 2

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39040329/chapters/97656390

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

Vlad was at the door with his suitcase, mentally double checking that he had everything, when the vultures phased through the floor. The lead one was absent.

"Vlad." the raspy voiced one said "Da tree of us just vanted to vish you varewell bevore you levt."

"I'll only be gone for a few days." Vlad said, putting on his coat. "And I notice there's only two of you."

"Ay, vell, he and Rochester vere fighting over da paper again."

"Oh for goodness sake." Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rochester only wants the comics section. Can't he just give him that?"

"Ah, you know how dat old bird is."

Vlad sighed heavily.

"You know what? I'm just going to start getting two newspaper subscriptions. The mail carrier will think I've lost it, but this is just getting ridiculous." He turned to head out the door.

"You're going to Amity, yeah?" The vulture with the glasses said. "Dat mean you're going to see da Venton's again?"

Vlad stopped with his hand on the knob.

"I'll...try to pay the Fentons a visit if I have time." he turned to look at the vultures "Although, truth be told, as much as I'd like to see Jack and Maddie, it might not be wise for me to just walk into the house of ghost hunters. Especially ghost hunters with as much...passion as them."

"An understandable concern, Vlad, but you know if dat ghost kid's been managing to live dere okay, you shouldn't have any trouble popping in for a quick visit. Just relax! Try to enjoy yourselv!"

Vlad considered this for a moment.

"Fair point, I suppose. Now, I really must be going. Remind Cecilia she doens't have to cook, make sure someone's keeping an eye on the portal, and- well, I suppose you the drill by now. I'll see you all in a few days."

Vlad opened the door and stepped outside.

"Oh, and Rochester had better not have any claw marks on him when I return. "

With that, Vlad shut the door and was gone. The two vultures looked at each other.

"You tink ve should go check on Rochester?" The one with glasses asked.

The raspy voiced one sighed.

"Yeah." he said.

They both phased through the floor.

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

"-and now I can't find that ghost dog anywhere!" Danny flopped onto his bed "It's like it just showed up to destroy Axiom Labs and then left!"

"Well, maybe that means it's gone forever?" Tucker suggested, swiveling back in forth in Danny's computer chair. "Problem solved!"

"Since when have ghosts ever decided to just leave?" Sam asked from her bean bag. "There's at least an 80% chance that dog is going to pop up again."

"And at the least convenient time, I'll bet." Danny added from the bed.

"Well, even if that's the case there's nothing we can do about it, so what's the point in worrying about it?"

"You know, you could stand to take this a little more seriously." Sam glared at Tucker.

"I am taking this seriously!" Tucker stuck out his tongue at Sam. "Look on the bright side, Danny. Sure, the security system got completely fried, but most of the projects were unharmed."

"And, more importantly," Sam shot Tucker another side-eye "You got everyone out safely."

"I guess." Danny sighed and sat up. "I just can't help feeling like a failure. If I don't find that dog, what's to stop him from doing the same thing to some other building when I'm not around? I barely managed to get everyone out in time as it was."

"Well," Sam said "He did come to you before storming Axiom. So maybe he'll come to you again."

"Even if that is true, I couldn't stop it last time, so what would I do if it did show up again." Danny massaged his face in exasperation. "I wish there was someone we could just ask how to stop it. It feels like we never know what we're doing."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other. Tucker got up and patted Danny on the back.

"Aw, come on buddy," he said "We'll figure it out. We always do."

"Yeah Danny." Sam cam and sat on the bed beside him. "You've got nothing to worry-"

"INTRUDER ALERT!!! INTRUDER ALERT!!! A GHOST HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING!!! INTRUDER ALERT!!!" A loud robotic voice repeated very loudly.

The trio rushed out of Danny's room to the top of the stairs. Jazz had clearly just run in from the kitchen and Danny's parents were standing near the door. About twenty different guns had popped down from panels in the ceiling and were pointed directly at-

"Vlad?"

"INTRUDER ALERT!!!"

"Hello Daniel, Jasmine." Despite Vlad's friendly composure, he was clearly uncomfortable with all the alarms and the guns pointed at him.

"INTRUDER ALERT!!!"

"It's Jazz." Jazz replied sharply.

"INTRUDER ALERT!!!"

"And can someone please turn that off!"

"INTRUDER ALERT!!!"

"Oh, right." Maddie pulled a device out of her bag and clicked a few buttons. The guns retreated back into the ceiling, the alarm went silent, and the voice stopped repeating itself. Vlad visibly relaxed.

"Perhaps the security system's a little too sensitive." Maddie said. "This isn't the first time it's been set off by someone who wasn't a ghost." Vlad subtly raised an eyebrow at Danny. Danny smiled nervously from the top of the stairs.

"To be honest, Maddie, I'd get rid of this system entirely." Vlad said. "It seems a little overkill. And besides, if a ghost did make it into Fenton Works, surely it'd be no match for you and Jack?"

Danny had to admit that that was pretty smooth.

"You make an excellent point V-man!" Jack beamed. "And we can repurpose the defense system into even better anti-ecto weapons!"

"Or maybe something a lot less dangerous?" Jazz suggested.

"Well, we can decide that later." Maddie said clapping her hands together. "Come on in Vlad! It's so nice that you could drop by! I'll put on the tea. I just made cookies this morning, so they should be cool by now. And these ones didn't come to life this time, so help yourself!"

"Sound delightful." Vlad said as the group walked into the kitchen. He glanced up at Danny as they passed by on their way to the kitchen.

"Okay Danny," Tucker said once the grown ups were out of site "So what on earth is Vlad Masters doing in your house?"

"Oh, I forgot." Danny slapped his forehead "Mom and Dad said he was coming over today. Kind of got distracted by whole ghost-dog thing."

"Okay, I have a follow up question." Tucker said.

"Apparently he was friends with my parents in college. They used to be pretty close until-"

Danny stopped himself. He didn't know if Vlad would be okay with Sam and Tucker knowing. They were cool with half-ghosts, sure, but Danny knew he wouldn't want Vlad telling anyone his secret without asking first. Even mentioning that Vlad had been in an accident involving a ghost portal might be enough to tip Sam and Tucker off, and he didn't want to risk it.

"-uh, until, you know, they split up and Vlad started his own company. Which, as you probably know, turned out pretty well for him. He just held a big college reunion about a month ago, and they're kind of reconnecting, I guess."

"Wait," Sam held up her hand "That's why your family went down to Wisconsin for the weekend? To hang out with the CEO of VladCo? Why on earth are we only learning about this now?"

"I watched a bunch of adults dance around an auditorium with fake cheese on their heads for four hours. It was boring. Not much to tell. At all." Danny wracked his brain for anything else to talk about, until he realized something. "Hey, how do you two know who he is? I only learned about him in the RV on the way up."

"Uh, tech nerd?" Tucker held up his PDA, as if to illustrate his point.

"Rich people know each other." Sam shrugged. "Not that I've ever met the guy. Apparently he's pretty reclusive. Very selective about who he'll see, but I've heard my parents say his name about five billion times. It's all about connections with them. Knowing someone who knows someone. The intricately tangled web the rich have woven to keep those below them in their place. I'd take a flamethrower to that that web if I could."

Danny and Tucker just blinked at her.

"Anyway," Sam said, checking her watch "If he's here visiting your family, I guess we'd better go."

"What!?" Tucker said "And miss out on the chance to talk to tech giant Vlad Masters? I have so many questions for him!"

"He's a busy guy Tucker." Sam said, grabbing Tucker by the sweater collar and dragging him down the stairs. "He's probably too sick of work stuff to want to talk about it any more in his off-time than he does on a daily basis. Also, CEO's don't tend to know much about the tech side of the tech industry anyway. He probably just crunches numbers and pushes papers. Anyway, enjoy your visit Danny!" Sam waved pleasantly at him once she'd gotten Tucker out the door.

"Don't forget to check out that trailer for DOOMED I sent you!" Danny heard Tucker call before Sam shut the door.

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

When Danny entered the kitchen, Jazz was sitting at the table, a pile of closed books in front of her. Presumably she'd been studying before Vlad arrived. Maddie was talking as she pulled cups out of the cupboard.

"...so nice to be able to properly catch up with you without all the hubbub of the party. Ah, there you are Danny. Would you get the milk and sugar out?"

"Yeah, V-man, " Jack mock-aimed whatever device he was working on at Vlad as he spoke "I never got the chance to tell about all the cool new invetions Mads and I have been working on at the reunion!"

"Oh goodie." Vlad said dryly. "I simply cannot wait for that." He reached up and gently pushed the device away from his face.

"I simply cannot wait for that. Fear me."

The room went silent. Danny looked at the table and saw a familiar device amongst a small pile of Fenton inventions.

"Oh, great, you're working on the Ghost Gabber again." he said nervously, realizing his mistake a millisecond too late.

"You're working on the Ghost Gabber again. Fear me."

Jazz's eyes flickered between Danny and Vlad a few times before she pushed her chair back and stood up, an annoyed look on her face. She walked around to Jack's side of the table.

"I'm going to put this glitchy thing away." She said, snatching it off the table "Before it annoys us all to death."

With that she stomped down the stairs clutching the Gabber.

"Say," Jack rubbed his chin "That's a great idea! Why don't we all head to the lab! Maddie and I can show you how far we've come since our college days Vlad!"

"Oh," Vlad's smile seemed a bit forced and his voice sounded nervous "Erm, well, I don't know if-"

Before he could finish speaking, Jack had wrapped his thick arm around Vlad and was practically dragging him down the stairs.

Danny made to follow them, but he stopped when he felt his mom's hand on his shoulder.

"You mind helping me carry the tea stuff down, sweetheart?"

"Oh, um, maybe tea in the lab isn't a good idea right now?" Danny was desperate to get down there and not leave Vlad alone. "With Vlad here, Dad might get over excited and spill it on something important?"

"Hm, I suppose you're right..."

"We can just have it when Dad's done showing Vlad around. But we should go down and join them. Right now." Danny hoped his mom didn't notice the urgency in his voice as he pulled her down the stairs.

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

When they arrived in the basement, he found his dad giving Vlad a tour. To Danny's relief, Vlad's apprehension had been replaced with genuine interest. He examined various machine closely as Jack blathered on about them.

"This is quite the innovation Jack!" Vlad and Jack were currently looking over the still incomplete Spectre Speeder. "And it's ability to convert the ambient ecto-energy of the Ghost Zone into fuel, creating a self-sustaining perpetual energy source is absolutely brilliant!"

"It also ensures you won't run out of fuel if you get lost!" Maddie said, jumping right into the conversation. "We know so little about the Ghost Zone, so we want to be as prepared as we can be."

"Indeed. And, although I am of fan of the ample storage space, I'm wondering if the converters are able to generate enough power? Especially if you're going to install weapon functionality which, if I know you two, you will be doing in excess."

"Yeah, that's the tricky part," Jack frowned "We're a bit stuck on that, but if we can find a way to compact the circuitry, we might be able to disperse it in such a way to maximize the ambient ecto exposure the Speeder gets, but then there's the issue of excessive energy production, which..."

Totally lost by their jargon, Danny glanced at Jazz and saw her discreetly flipping some switches on a few devices. She probably didn't want something else to go haywire and disturb Vlad's visit. Or maybe just annoy her personally.

 Luckily the thing that Jazz seemed to have dubbed 'annoying' were the same devices Danny tended to set off unintentionally. That was convenient. Sure, Danny knew which ones to avoid, but Vlad didn't. Now he wouldn't accidentally set them off and rouse suspicion. Danny silently thanked Jazz and her limited patience with their parent's ghost stuff.

"...and of course, there's out crowning achievement, The Fenton Ghost Portal!" Jack said, gesturing proudly to the portal.

"Oh," Maddie made a strange face. "We can just ignore that thing if we want to, though." she smiled nervously.

"It's kind of a little hard to miss, Mom." Danny said.

"Don't worry Maddie, I know exactly what you're thinking." He wrapped his arm around Vlad's shoulders. "Don't worry Vladdie, we perfected the design of this baby.

There's no way it'll explode in your face and leave you hospitalized indefinitely this time!"

Vlad smiled back at Jack, but it was very obviously strained. Maddie and Danny looked away awkwardly. Jazz glared at her father.

"Yes, well, as much as I appreciate the painful reminder and the concern," Vlad pushed himself out of Jack's grip "There's truly no need for it. We've come a long way since our college days, I'm sure you'll agree." Vlad walked towards the portal. He gave it a quick look-over. "It seems you two were more thourough with your planning this time. Unlike that prototype, this portal seems to be in perfect working order. In it's current state it holds no risk towards anyone."

Jazz flashed Danny a look that he almost missed.

"Besides, of course, for the ghosts that come out of it." Vlad added, running his hand along the metal frame.

"You know, it's funny." Maddie said. "We've had the portal running for a few months now, and barely anything's shown up. Of course, we haven't actually gone into the Ghost Zone ourselves, so maybe it opened on a deserted patch, or something. "

It took all of Danny's willpower not to burst out laughing.

"Probably wise." Vlad removed his hand from the frame. "Who knows what dangers lie on the other side."

Danny suddenly wondered if Vlad had been to the ghost Zone. He probably had, since he did have access to a working portal, and he'd sounded like he was familiar with the Ghost Zone when he was talking to Danny at the end of the reunion. He'd have to ask him about it when he got the chance.

"Of course, there was that kerfuffle down at Axiom Labs that sounded suspiciously like ghost activity to me." Maddie frowned.

"Oh, have you investigated?"

"Unfortunately not. Those darned security people wouldn't even let us take a look at the Axiom building." Jack stared into the distance, determination and frustration written on his face. "I just know it was a ghost that caused all that destruction!"

Danny wondered if anyone could here his heart rate increasing.

"Well, Jack, I am meeting with John Axiom today," Jazz's eyes went wide when she heard that. Danny had to admit he was a bit impressed too. Vlad didn't seem to be bragging, though. "Perhaps I'll be able to find out from him what happened."

"Ooh, good thinking V-man. You can come back to visit when you're done with all your business stuff and tell us what happened at Axiom."

"Oh, I don't know that I'll have time to visit again, but I will definitely get in touch with you and Maddie if I hear about anything ghostly."

Danny noticed both his parent's faces fall.

"Oh," Maddie said, the pep gone from her voice. "You're sure you can't-"

"And speaking of which," Vlad looked down at his watch "I'm afraid I'm due for that meeting rather soon, so I must be going now." Vlad started his way up the stairs. The others followed him.

"Oh, you didn't even have your tea yet." Maddie said as they emerged into the kitchen.

"I really would like to stay Maddie, but unfourtunatley, this is a business trip, and I'm afraid my schedule's rather tight." Vlad said as he opened the front door. "It truly was a pleasure seeing your home. And the lab is quite the upgrade from our old makeshift college one."

"Thanks Vladdie." Jack beamed. "And if you think that's cool, wait to you see the Ecto Annihilator!" Jack punctuated his sentence by pulling out a menacing looking box with many tiny flailing metal claws.

"Oh wow, look at the time, I really have to go right now!" Vlad almost slammed the door shut in his hurry.

"Awww." Jack's shoulders slumped and he threw the Annihilator over his shoulder. Danny zoomed as far away from that thing as he could without looking (too) conspicuous.

"Well, that was..." Danny started.

"Brief." Jazz finished.

"We don't get to see him for twenty years, and he still barely talks to us." Maddie sighed. "I get that he's busy, but he could at least return my calls."

Jack just sighed loudly. It was like looking at a kicked puppy. Danny and Jazz weren't sure what to say.

"Welp," Maddie clapped her hands, the smile returning to her face. "No point in standing around moping. It was nice to be able to see Vlad at all. Now, we've got some perfectly good tea in the kitchen that shouldn't go to waste."

"You know what, you're right Maddie." Jack's smile also returned and he wrapped an arm around Maddie's waist. "I finally got the chance to show Vladdie the new lab. And I think he was impressed. That's a win! Maybe later he'll be thinking about it, and realize it's so cool that he'll want to join us in ghost fighting again! I bet he'll be calling any day now!"

Danny didn't say anything, but that seemed a little optimistic to him.

"In the meantime," Jack continued "Let's have that tea. And those cookies you mentioned. And I can tell the kids all about the upgrades I'm making to the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle! To the kitchen!"

Danny glanced warily at the 'Ecto Annihilator' that was still in the way to the kitchen, but Jazz had already procured a set of tongs and a garbage bag and was cautiously approaching the device. Danny wasn't sure what it did, but he was very glad Jazz was the one dealing with it.

"That Vlad guy is pretty...interesting." Jazz said as she dropped the Annihilator into the garbage bag. " Wouldn't you say Danny?"

"Huh? Yeah, I guess."

Danny suddenly thought he felt something brush his leg. He looked down and saw a folded piece of paper sticking out out his pocket. He pulled it out and unfolded it, revealing a note.

Daniel,

I should be able to stop by tomorrow night sometime around 8:00. It would be good to catch up with you. Also I heard you may have been having some ghost trouble, and I'd certainly be willing to offer my assistance. I must say, I am impressed with your efficiency in evacuating the Axiom employees. You may be feeling discouraged by the fact that you weren't able to subdue the ghost, but it's important to choose your battles and have your priorities straight.

                                                                                                                                                            We'll talk more tomorrow,                                                                                                                                                                                  Plasmius.

It was actually kind of nice getting praised. Danny beamed to himself as he stuffed the note back into his pocket. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

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

Of course, Danny hadn't considered that he'd have to see Valerie tomorrow. Or how defeated she'd look.

Danny stared warily at her as Valerie skipped the lunch line in the cafeteria. He noticed she was carrying a bagged lunch.

Did this have something to do with the ghost dog?

He felt his stomach sink.

Sam noticed his staring.

"You're not seriously thinking of asking out another popular girl, are you Danny?" she asked, disapprovingly "You know, considering how well the last time went."

"What?" Danny looked at Sam. "No, I- you remember that ghost dog?"

"Yeah?"

"Wait, that's Valerie Gray!" Tucker cut in. "As in Damon Gray's kid. I read about her dad getting in major trouble with Axiom Labs. They sued him for all he was

worth. The guy even had to sell his house."

Danny's stomach was absolutely churning.

"Wait, why'd they sue?" Sam asked "Did it have something to do with the ghost attack?"

"Well, according to official reports, Gray's so-called 'foolproof' new security system went haywire and caused a lot of damage. The building was practically unsalvageable. No one could figure out why, including Gray, so John Axiom made him pay for the damages. Which were pretty expensive, as it turns out. The security footage of the incident was toasted, and no one has said anything about seeing a dog. Some witnesses did mention getting save by 'a creepy teenager with super powers' though."

"I've been called worse." Danny shrugged.

"Wow, "Sam said "Billionaire sues hundred-thousand-aire for damages he could already afford to cover with what amounts to pocket change for him. It's a real dog-eat-dog world in rich people land. Well, more like dog-eat-flea-when-dog-already-has-a-steak world. The flea is Valerie's dad, in case that wasn't clear."

"And it wasn't even his fault." Danny said "It was that ghost dog that wrecked all the machines. It was weird, he seemed so friendly until we got near Axiom Labs. And tiny."

"Hey, " Tucker was staring beyond Danny "What's going on with Valerie's friends?"

Danny and Sam turned to look at the popular kids table. They watched as Valerie dejectedly skulked off from her friends and sat at a different table by herself. She pulled a sandwich out of her brown bag and picked at it.

"Wait, why isn't Valerie sitting with her friends?" Danny asked.

"If I had to guess," Sam said "All her dear A-lister 'friends' dropped her the second they heard she was broke."

"Oh."

Yeah, Danny wasn't eating the rest of his lunch today.

"Man," Tucker knitted his brow "Losing your house, all your money, and your friends all in one go? That's rough. We should go talk to her."

"What?" Sam rolled her eyes "And throw rich girl a pity party for finally getting a dose of reality?"

"She's still a person Sam." Tucker glared at Sam as he spoke. "A person whose going through a real tough time right now." He looked over at Danny. "You coming?"

"I..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't look Tucker in the eye. "...don't think that's a good idea, Tuck. It might be weird, cuz it's kind of my fault she in this situation in the first place, so..."

Tucker stood up.

"You two are unbelievable. Well, I'm going to talk to her whether you jerks come with me or not."

He walked away. Sam kept and impassive expression, but she didn't look at Danny. He also avoided eye contact with her.

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

"Hey Valerie." Tucker greeted her. She looked up from her sandwich and glared at Tucker. "Uh, I'm Tucker. Tucker Foley."

"I know who you are. You're in my PE class."

"We also went to the last dance togeth- never mind. You mind if I sit?"

She didn't say anything. Maybe this was a bad idea, but Tucker felt like he had to at least try, so he sat down.

"Sorry your friends are being such jerks."

"So the entire cafeteria saw my humiliating rejection. That's just what I needed."

"I mean, I just heard about what happened with your dad, and-"

"Great, so the whole school is talking about how much of a loser I've become?"

"No! I just follow Axiom Labs, being a tech nerd and all, and I read about the, uh, incident, and how they sued your dad, so I thought-"

"Thought what? That you'd just walk over here to nobly pity to the lonely loser kid? Ooh, lucky me! The biggest nerd in school wants to sit with me! How could my life possibly get any better! All my problems have been dwarfed thanks to the presence of Tucker freaking Foley everyone!"

Despite her harsh words, Tucker found himself having difficulty getting offended. Maybe he was desensitized from Dash's crew saying stuff like this about him all the time, but maybe deep down he understood that Valerie wasn't trying to hurt him specifically, she was just lashing out. She was at a pretty low point, so Tucker figured he could forgive her for this one.

"Look," he said firmly, but not harshly. "I know you're having a hard time. It's not easy, having your whole life upended by ghosts. But, and as weird as this sounds-" "Ghosts?"

It sounded ridiculous, but once Tucker said the word 'ghosts', gears started to turn in Valerie's head. The monster that had destroyed Axiom seemed able to disappear, and the kid that had saved her and the others could fly through walls.

They were ghosts.

Ghosts were real.

It sounded crazy, but, somehow, it was the only thing that made sense.

"Oh my gosh!" Valerie shot up from her seat "Ghosts!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Tucker said sitting down opposite her. "I deal with ghosts all the time, there's no need to freak out."

But it was too late. Valerie wasn't listening. She was running towards the cafeteria faster than Tucker had ever seen her run in gym class.

"Hey, wait!" Tucker called after her "You forgot your-"

But Valerie was long gone.

"-lunch."

Tucker sighed and stood up. Worried some bully might steal it, he packed up Valerie's lunch and headed back to his table.

"Well that went well." Sam said dryly.

"At least I tried Sam." Tucker glared at her, not at all in a joking mood.

"How is she?" Danny asked tentatively.

"Not good. She's really freaked out and upset over everything."

"I wish there was something I could do to help her."

"Me too. I think I just made everything worse, though. You gonna finish that?" Tucker pointed to Danny's tray. Danny shoved it over to Tucker.

Nobody said anything for the rest of the lunch hour.

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

They all split up after lunch. Tucker hated that they had separate fourth periods on Thursdays.

As he turned the corner he smashed into someone carrying a rather large stack of books. Tucker and the other person fell to the ground and the books they were carrying went everywhere.

"Oh jeez, sorry!" Tucker scrambled to collect the books. "I did not see you at all! But, maybe you shouldn't be carrying so many books that you can't-" he suddenly noticed a theme in the books he was picking up.

"Ghost Hunter's Almanac? Ghost Hunting for Nitwits? What's with the interest in-" he looked up from the books in his hand and saw Valerie picking up up the rest of the mess.

 "Oh. Hey Valerie." What were the chances? "Um, here's your...ghost books back." he held them out awkwardly. Valerie glared at him and snatched her books back.

"What, are you stalking me or something?"

"No, I honestly didn't see you. You know, if you're interested in ghosts, Danny's parents are ghost experts. You could totally ask him for help. Or you could ask me and I'll ask him." Tucker gave what he hoped was a charming and friendly smile, but it just seemed to annoy Valerie.

"I don't know what your game is Foley." she said, glaring at him. "But you can quit now. I don't have any money left, and despite my new status, there's no way I'll ever be desperate enough to date you. So you've got nothing to gain from sucking up to me."

"Wait, what?" Tucker blinked in confusion. "Valerie, I'm not trying to get anything from you, I'm just trying to help. Honest."

"Great, I've even lost my appeal to the bottom of the barrel."  

Wow, Valerie was making it really hard to be nice to her.

"Then what do you want? Why are you being so nice to me?"

"You just, seem like you could use some kindness, I guess." Tucker shrugged. "I do kind of know what it's like for ghosts to uproot your life. Adjusting can be...hard."

"Oh." Now it was Valerie's turn to be caught off guard. "Well, thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome, I guess."

Valerie started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!"

"Ha, I knew it! I knew you wanted something!"

"You forgot this at lunch," Tucker handed her her paper bag. "I thought you might get hungry later."

"Oh." Valerie took the bag. She and Tucker just stood there looking at each other for a few seconds. The bell suddenly rang, interupting their awkward staring contest.

"Oh no, I'm late!" they both said at the same time, sprinting off in opposite directions.

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

Valerie was having trouble processing her interaction with Tucker. It was weird. Her own friends had snubbed her, but the loser kid she (if she could help it) never talked to was helping her at her lowest point? Valerie didn't get it.

But at least he had reminded her of some valuable information; Danny Fenton's parents were ghost hunters. That meant some of the worlds leading ghost experts were right in her town. Ghost experts she could actually talk to. The books were interesting, but they weren't super helpful. If she wanted to protect herself from ghosts, she needed weapons.

And Fenton Works was just the place to get them.

Valerie rang the doorbell. She fixed her hair while she waited for someone to answer. She only had one shot at this, so she needed things to go as well as possible.

A large man in an orange jumpsuit, whom Valerie recognized as Danny's father opened the door. He looked back and forth a few times before looking down and spotting her.

"And who might you be?" on paper the question might have sounded rude, but the man seemed earnestly curious. "One of Danny or Jazz's friends?"

"I'm in Danny's class. My name's Valerie Gray." Valerie tilted her head slightly and used a voice she'd been perfecting since kindergarten to get adults to do what she wanted "I just heard that the Fenton's were top tier ghost hunters, and I was wondering if there was any way you could teach me so I could help fight against the ghosts too."

Jack absolutely beamed when she finished speaking. Valerie internally pumped her fist. That was a good sign.

"Well would you look at that." he said. "It's not often you find young people so enthusiastic about ghost hunting these days. Maddie! Come here!"

"What is it Jack?" Maddie appeared at the door. "Oh, are you selling cookies? I didn't know they let teenagers be girl scouts." Again, in theory that sentence could have been condescending, but Maddie sounded genuinely interested.

"She's not selling cookies Mads. Wait, are you selling cookies?" Valerie shook her head. "Darn. Anyway, this is one of Danny's friends. She came here to ask us about ghost hunting!"

"Ooh!" Maddie squealed. "That's exciting! What did you want to know Sweetie?"

"I wanted to become a ghost hunter, like you two." Valerie said, putting on her best smile and sunniest voice. "I want to learn how to fight ghosts so I can protect this town and myself when those menaces attack."

"Wow, such ambition!" Maddie beamed "Unfortunately we can't actually teach you to fight ghosts."

"What?" Valerie felt like a balloon in her chest had deflated.

"Yeah," Jack nodded solemnly "Those police officers warned us about giving out 'volatile energy weapons' to 'random teenagers' after the last time. We'd love to recruit you kiddo, but they said they wouldn't be so forgiving next time."

"But I'll be careful!" Valerie wasn't ready to give up "You could train me, and I promise I wouldn't use any of the weapons unless it was a real emergency, and-"

"Sorry Sweetie, I'm afraid our hands are tied."

Valerie face fell and her shoulders slumped.

"I'll tell you what, though." Valerie held her breath when Maddie spoke. "We can give you these."

She handed Valerie two small devices. One looked like a pager, and the other sort of like a shield handle without the shield.

"The Fenton Pager and The Fenton Hand Shield." Jack said proudly.

Well, that made sense.

"You can use the Pager to contact us if you run into any ghosts."

"Our number's also in the phone book if you have any questions." Maddie added. "Our message box is usually pretty empty, so we should be able to get back to you fairly quickly."

"That shield is also a piece of cake to operate." Jack said "You just use the button to turn it on and off. It's small, but easy to transport and conceal. The ghosts'll never suspect you've got it on you."

"The charge doesn't last very long, but you shouldn't need to use it much. For emergencies only."

Valerie lost all hope when Maddie said that.

"Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. I should really be getting home now."

"It was great to meet you...what was your name again?" Maddie asked pleasantly, as if she hadn't just crushed all of Valerie's hopes and dreams.

"Valerie."

"It was nice to meet you Valerie. Feel free to stop by anytime."

Valerie heard the door close behind her as she walked glumly down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom and stared at the devices in her hands. The shield was something, she supposed, but nowhere close to what she was hoping for.

She closed her hand into a fist and clutched the hand-shield.

"I'll find a way." She said looking up, determination burning on her face.

"Find a way to do what?"

Valerie jumped and turned towards the voice. Her thumb instinctively found the button on the hand-shield, and a translucent green circle about the size of a trash can lid sprung up in front of her face.

"Who's there!?"

The stranger stepped out of the shadows of the ally way.

"My apologies for startling you. I'm-"

"I know who you are. Vlad Masters. CEO of VladCo." Valerie clicked the button with her thumb again, and the shield retracted.

"Hm. I'm not usually recognized by people under twenty. Anyway, I couldn't help but overhear you've taken an interest in ghost hunting."

"What's it to you?" She crossed her arms and glared at Vlad challengingly. Under any other circumstances, she would've been excited to meet the famous billionaire, but not when she'd just caught him creeping in an alley, eavesdropping on her.

"Not many people take interest in that particular field. Most don't even believe in ghosts in the first place, let alone want to hunt them. Especially not your age."

"You...believe that ghosts are real too?" Valerie was surprised.

"My dear I've run into many ghosts over the course of my life time. Spoken to more ghosts than ghost-believers."

Valerie scoffed.

"Spoken? To those monsters?"

"Whether you believe it or not, it's true. However, as I'm sure you're aware, not all ghosts are friendly. I'd advise you to steer clear and leave the ghost hunting to the professionals."

"Professionals?" Now Valerie was seething. What right did this guy have to just show up and tell her what to do and not worry about? "You mean the same 'professionals' who stopped that giant monster from destroying my father's security system? The same professionals that saved everyone at Axiom Labs who was in danger? The same professionals who stopped my life from being completely ruined in front of me? Oh wait!"

"Tell me Mister Masters," Valerie took a step forward. Vlad stepped back. "What right do you have to just show up, out of literally nowhere, and tell me what I should be doing with my life. "

Maybe this had been coming. Maybe Valerie's fear and anger had been festering for too long and were finally boiling over the edge. Maybe it was because she was never going to see this idiot again. Whatever the reason, she let out everything she'd been carrying inside her for the past week.

"You haven't lied awake at night because you're too afraid to close your eyes in case something more terrifying than most people can even imagine shows up and destroys your life without warning. You haven't had nightmares about giant green faces that wake you up in a cold sweat at 3:00am when you finally do get to sleep. You haven't seen monster you know you saw, but can't tell anyone about because they'd think you were crazy!" She felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes, but she pressed on. Now that she'd started, she wasn't going to stop until she got everything out of her system.

"You don't have to look at your dad's face every morning when he smiles and tells you everything's gonna work out, when both you and he know the truth is that everything sucks, and it might suck for a long time! Maybe forever." Valerie's voice wavered, but she steadied herself. "Ghosts took everything from me! And that monster is going to continue to haunt my life until I do something about it!"

Valerie could feel herself shaking. She felt drained, but also lighter than she had in a week.

Vlad didn't say anything. He looked mildly surprised. Valerie found that she didn't care what he thought. She turned around to leave.

"You're right."

She stopped walking and looked over her shoulder.

"Ghosts can haunt you in more ways than one. I...have experienced the fear. I've lied awake worrying that what happened once may happen again. I've gone about my daily life on edge, worrying that they might attack out of nowhere. If anyone knows what you're going through, it's me. I have no right to tell you to just go back to living your life like nothing happened when I know that's impossible."

Valerie was genuinely speechless. She hadn't expected this old man to listen to her, to care, to understand.

"I know someone who can deal with the ghost that attacked Axiom. It will be dealt with, I can assure you."

Valerie nodded and bit her lip thoughtfully.

"But there's more, aren't there?" she said. "And don't you dare lie to me."

"Yes."

"A lot?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I know what they can do. The damage they can cause. I won't be able to sit by and watch ghosts destroy the lives of the people around me. I can't do nothing."

Vlad didn't say anything right away. He looked pensive.

"I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"The kind that will give you the tools you need to protect you from ghosts, and help you protect others."

"You mean ghost weapons?" Valerie raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. Weapons and armour, of sorts. But, you'll have to agree to a few conditions."

"What are these conditions?"

"Firstly, you must be careful. Ghost hunting is dangerous and the only reason I'm giving you the tools to do it is because you seem desperate enough to go charging in with or without proper protection. And if those are my only two choices, than I know which one I'd rather you do.

Secondly, as I told you before, not all ghosts are as dangerous as the one that attacked Axiom. Many are quite friendly if you get to know them. I imagine most of the ones you meet here in Amity won't be, but I'll have to leave that to your discretion. That being said, I believe you've met a ghost child? Looks about your age? Lanky, black hazmat suit, white hair?"

"Yeah, I've met him." Valerie knit her brow. She actually hadn't thought about that ghost kid much. She'd been too preoccupied with the dog.

"He's on your side. I'd strongly advise working with him if you can, but you are under no circumstances to harm him. He's been protecting Amity from a large sum of ghosts these past few months. Simply put, there might have been a lot more Axiom-situations if it wasn't for him."

Valerie's eyes widened. So ghosts attacks had been happening without her even knowing? She wasn't sure if she found that comforting or creepy.

"I'm afraid this part of the deal is non-negotiable. I'll need your word you won't harm him."

"Yeah, I'll leave him alone. I wouldn't go after him anyway. He...saved me when the dog attacked. He saved everyone. I didn't get his name, though. Do ghosts even have names?"

"Most of them do. I believe he goes by 'Danny Phantom'. Do me a favour, if you will, keep an eye on him for me?" Vlad seemed almost...concerned about this ghost. Valerie wondered why.

"Was he...close to you, or something?" she was trying to be sensitive, but truthfully this situation was kind of awkward.

"Hm? Oh, well, I've only met him recently. I just...see myself in him in some ways. He's capable, but what he does is dangerous. I'd rather neither of you involved yourselves in ghost hunting at all, but if you're going to either way, it might be good to have each other's backs."

A ghost who was a ghost hunter? With all the other craziness suddenly going on in her life, why not?

"I'll...think about it. I'd better get home before my dad starts to worry."

"Yes. It was very nice meeting you Valerie. You should receive something in the mail shortly. I'll send you something...appropriate. Goodnight, and do be careful."

"Thanks Mister Masters." Valerie said, turning away.

Vlad watched Valerie walk away into the night. Sure, he'd expected some excitement , but this was not at all how he'd thought his night to go. What had he gotten himself into with this teenager?

He'd worry about that later. Once he was certain she was gone, he stepped back into the alleyway and summoned the black rings that transformed him into ghost form.

Once the transformation was complete, Vlad floated up to Danny's window.

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

Danny jumped when he heard something tapping on his window. He almost fell out of his seat when he looked up from his homework and saw Vlad Plasmius's face behind the glass. He was waving and smiling politely, but seeing that face at your window was enough to stop anyone's heart.

He went over and opened the window.

"Vlad!" Danny said happily. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you, but a little warning might have been nice."

"I did say I'd be dropping by. Are you available right now?"

"Absolutely." Danny said, transforming and flying out the window beside Vlad. "We should probably take this somewhere else, though. Wouldn't want to accidentaly get spotted by my parents."

"Yes, that would definitely be wise."

They decided to fly over to Amity Park Park (after Danny managed to convince Vlad that, yes, that was really what the park was named). They talked as they flew.

"So how long are you staying in Amity?" Danny asked.

"My business with Axiom is almost all settled. I'll be heading back to Wisconsin tomorrow."

"Oh." Well that was disappointing. "Hey, you've been to the Ghost Zone before, right?"

"Yes I have. Many times in fact."

"What's it like in there?"

Vlad thought for a second.

"The Ghost Zone, despite being intrinsically linked to the human world, is nothing like it. It is an endless swirling void of ectoplasm and chaos. It's like outer space in a way, only green instead of black and without stars. There are patches of land floating about. Islands, if you will, and they all seem to operate on different rules. If a human were to enter the Ghost Zone, they'd likely be stuck on one of those islands, since navigation is impossible without flight. Gravity does not exist and, of course, you are surrounded by various types of ghosts at all times."

"That sounds...terrifying."

"I'd say it's more confusing than scary. Sure, you have to be prepared for the unexpected, but that's what makes it interesting. The threat of death may be in any direction you look, but so is the thrill of discovery!"

Danny suddenly understood how his parents and Vlad became friends.

"Now it's my turn for a question. Do your parents often have their inventions around the house?"

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"Have they noticed that you seem to set all their devices off?"

"They always assume it's a glitch or something. I usually just pretend to be as confused as they are, and try to leave the room as fast as possible. They don't suspect anything so far."

There was a pause in the conversation.

"It's amazing how they can be so brilliant yet so dense."

"Makes my job easier." Danny shrugged.

"Still, it must be quite stressful, being constantly under the risk that someone might find out. Especially with no one to talk to about it."

"Well, I'm not totally alone."

"Oh? Does Jazz know about your powers? I didn't think to ask last time."

"No. Sam and Tucker were there when the accident first transformed me."

"Sam and Tucker?"

"My friends. You met them when you came over the other night."

"Oh." Vlad furrowed his brow. "So you do have people in your life who...accept you for what you are."

Danny thought that was kind of a weird way to phrase it.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Hm." Vlad had a strange expression on his face. Danny wasn't sure if he should say something. "That's...interesting. On another note, how have you been keeping up with the local ecto activity?" Vlad asked. "Any particularly troublesome ghosts?"

"Uhh, you know the whole Axiom situation? Well...there was this ghost dog that showed up and attacked Axiom Labs a few days ago. It hasn't really caused any trouble, you know, besides the whole destroying Axiom thing, but I'd like to track it down and get it back to the Ghost Zone anyway, just to make sure he won't cause more trouble, but he seems to have disappeared completely."

"Have you checked Axiom Labs?"

"What?"

"If the ghost has caused a disturbance at Axiom, then that place may hold some significance for him."

"But there's like, construction workers and stuff there. Surely someone would've noticed a giant green dog."

"Daniel, have you heard that demolition on the building was delayed?"

"Wait, what?"

"Well, this information hasn't been made public, but it has been delayed indefinitely. They haven't been able to extract the remaining projects because apparently anyone whose sent in reports being scared off by a horrible monster. They haven't been able to organize a proper investigation yet."

"Wait, seriously?"

"I was actually planning on asking if you knew anything about that."

"Well now I know where to look at least."

"Are you going after it tonight?"

"I mean, the sooner I get rid of it, the better, right?"

"I suppose." Vlad nodded. "Though, if this ghost has bested you before, perhaps it would be good to bring some extra firepower."

"Did you have something in mind?"

"Yes, in fact, I'd like to accompany you. If you're alright with that."

"Really? That'd be awesome!" Danny said. "Hang on, I just need to call- oh..."

"What is it?"

"Well," Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I just usually bring Sam and Tucker along on these things, but they don't know about you."

Vlad didn't say anything. Danny couldn't read his facial expression.

"I mean, it's fine, though. I take on ghosts by myself all the time, so they don't really need to be there."

"They can come if you like." Vlad said.

Danny might've jumped if he wasn't already in midair.

"Really? Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I'll admit it will be strange explaining my...situation to them." Vlad gestured to himself. "But I'd like to meet your friends properly. And see how you three do on the field."

"Huh. Wow. So no pressure or anything."

"I'll reserve judgments, but I may have some useful pointers." Vlad grinned. " There's a small thicket near Axiom's front entrance. You can explain things to your friends and meet me there."

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

"So you think the dog's still hanging out at Axiom?" Sam said.

"Wouldn't there be an excavation crew swarming the place? Surely we'd have heard if something ghostly was going on there?" Tucker said.

"That's the thing," Danny said. "There have been sightings. Specifically of a giant green dog monster. Sound familiar?" Tucker and Sam's eyes widened at Danny's words. "The higher ups have been trying to keep it quiet, so word hasn't gotten out to the press yet."

"Okay," Sam raised an eyebrow "So how do you know all that? You're not exactly the world's greatest detective there, Sherlock."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny asked.

"First off," Tucker cut in "the world's greatest detective is Batman, not Sherlock Sam." Sam glared at Tucker. "Second, yeah, how do you know all that?"

"You remember how Vlad Masters was visiting my family?"

"Yeah?" Sam and Tucker said together.

"Well, the reason he came down to Amity Park was because of the whole Axiom fiasco."

"Ah, that makes sense." Sam said. "The tangled web. Figures he wouldn't be down here just to visit old friends."

"So, Vlad was able to get the inside scoop and shared it with you?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So the rich crone wasn't useless after all." Sam smirked. "That's a first."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Tucker said "Let's get down to Axiom and bust that ghost!"

"Um, first, there's, uh, something else you two should know. About Vlad."

Sam and Tucker both looked at Danny. Neither of them said anything, curious as to what Danny could possible have to tell them about CEO family-friend Vlad Masters.

"Um, well, you remember how I said he and my parents split up in college?" Danny rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn't really planned how he was going to break it to them. "Well, what actually happened was that Vlad was in an accident. See, he and my parents used to study ghosts back in college."

"Seriously?" Sam smirked. "Vlad Masters was into ghosts in his college days. He just became the slightest bit interesting. Wait, were you about to tell us that the he's going to Axiom to nerd out, or something? Ugh, that would mess with things."

"Er, no, not exactly. See, it's just that when Vlad got into his accident, he and my parents were trying to build a...ummm...a ghost portal. And it kind of went off on him."

Nobody said anything for a second. Then Sam's eyes bulged.

"Wait," she said "Hold on. Are you saying...what I think you're saying? No. No way!" Sam put a hand to her forehead, eyes fixed vacantly on the ground.

"Wait, what?" Tucker looked between Danny and Sam. "What's he saying? What happened to Vlad?"

"Tucker," Sam grabbed Tucker by the shoulders and looked him directly in the eye "Vlad had a ghost portal accident." she said, stressing each of the last three words.

Realization suddenly dawned on Tucker.

"Wait," wide-eyed, he pushed Sam off of him and looked At Danny "Are you're saying that...Vlad Masters is half-ghost too!?"

"Yeah." Danny confirmed. "Turns out there's someone else like me."

Danny felt a strange lightness in his chest once those words left his mouth. The feeling surprised him, but if was nice.

"Anyway," Danny snapped out of his daze "We should head down to Axiom. I told Vlad we were going to meet him there."

Tucker and Sam, still slack-jawed, just blinked at Danny.

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

The trio hid their scooters in some bushes once they got close enough to Axiom.

"Okay," Danny said "Now we just gotta find Vlad and come up with a plan."

"Where did he say he'd meet you?" Sam asked.

"Somewhere in this thicket."

"He couldn't have been a little more specific?"

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere. We'll just have to-"

"Good evening."

"AH!" All three of them jumped at Vlad's voice.

"How long have you been standing there?" Tucker asked, clutching his chest.

"Oh, not long." Vlad turned to Danny. "I assume you've explained things to them?"

Danny nodded.

"Excellent. I was floating above invisibly, waiting for you three to arrive. I wasn't going to stand somewhere in the middle of these trees and hope you'd run into me. That would be a little ridiculous. I did also scout the building while I was waiting for you. No sign of that ghost dog in my preliminary search, I'm afraid."

"Does that mean it left?" Danny asked. Sam and Tucker seemed to have lost their ability to speak, and were just staring at Vlad. He didn't seem to notice. Or he was pretending not to.

"I doubt it. More likely it's just hiding. We'll either have to do a more thorough search and hope to stumble upon it, or find a way to lure it out."

"Oh!" Sam suddenly gained her voice back "I actually brought something for that."

She swung her spider backpack off her shoulders and unzipped it. Inside were various dog toys and a small bag of dog treats.

"He may be a ghost dog," Sam pulled out a squeaky toy and squeaked it "But he's still a dog, right?"

"Excellent thinking." Vlad smiled "You seem to have a very good instinct for ghosts...Sam, was it? Well, we can talk more inside. I don't know how long this will take, so we'd better start searching right away."

The group began to walk towards the Axiom Labs building. They'd barely started down the hill when Danny felt a sudden chill and a puff of mist escaped from his mouth.

He looked around. There was no sign of a ghost anywhere. That was weird. Danny thought he was too far away, but maybe the dog had set off ghost sense?

Danny sighed. He'd had his powers for months and still couldn't seem to quite get how they worked.

He looked over at Vlad. Vlad's ghost sense must have gone off too, but he didn't seem concerned, so Danny figured it probably wasn't something to worry about. It was just the dog setting it off.

Yeah, that was probably it.

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

Danny pulled Tucker and Sam through the walls of Axiom intangibly. They both stared at Vlad as he emerged beside them.

"Wow," Tucker said "There really is another half ghost in the world."

"What?" Vlad raised an eyebrow playfully "You didn't believe him?"

"No! It's just, it's, weird, I guess." Tucker shrugged awkwardly.

"I understand that it can be a lot to take in." Vlad casually examined his fingernails. "I am open to questions, but we'd better start moving. As I said before, I don't know how long it will take us to find our ghost, so we'd better start now."

And so the four of them patrolled the building. Tucker carried the bag of treats and threw one on the ground every so often. Danny held the squeaky toy and squeaked it a few times whenever they entered a new room.

They walked in silence for a while, Tucker and Sam seeming to not want to address the elephant in the room.

"So, how long have you had ghost powers, Mister Masters, sir?"

Okay, maybe Tucker was actually fine addressing the elephant.

"Oh, about twenty years at this point." Vlad said "And just 'Vlad' is fine, son."

"Cool. And I go by Tucker. Tucker Foley."

"Noted."

"So...I was wondering, do you ever use your tech for ghost research? I've actually used some of VladCo's stuff to modify Danny's parent's inventions. The kritonic stabilizer really improved the Fenton Thermos. Danny could stabilize it with his ecto-whatever, but I noticed the KS did a similar thing, so that way the rest of us could use it too. Didn't take too long to solder, either." Tucker smiled a wide smile that made Sam silently glare at him.

"As a matter of fact, that's what it was actually initially developed for. Not that my employees knew that. I told them it was for improving cooling systems. Of course, PC's don't run on quite the same energy wave a lot of ecto technologies do. In the end it was rolled out onto very few models, since the impact on efficiency was negligible, but it was quite useful for me personally for its capabilities with ecto-energy stabilization."

"Yeah, I actually got one of the PC's that implemented KS, and that's where I got the it for the thermos. I always wondered why they'd bothered with it. Worked out pretty well for us, though. I thought it was such a weird coincidence that something so useless happened to work so well for ghost hunting."

Danny squeaked the toy as they entered a large room through an mangled archway. He soon found himself unable to keep up with Vlad and Tucker's conversation. How did this always happen?

At least his friends were getting along with Vlad.

"Shh!" Sam suddenly stopped walking.

"What?" Danny asked.

"I hear something."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, shh!"

The rest of the group listened. Now that they weren't talking, Danny noticed it too: a soft crunching noise. The noise stopped after a second and then started again.

"What do you think that is?" Danny whispered.

"I think the dog found our trail." Tucker whispered back, holding up the bag of treats for emphasis.

A high pitched bark suddenly cut through the silence.

"Yup, that's definitely the dog." Danny said.

The barking started to get louder.

"Okay, I'm going ghost!" Danny held up his arms and transformed. He turned to Sam and Tucker. "You two stay back. This dog is not something you want to mess with."

Danny squared up, ready to fight. The barking was steadily getting closer, until around the corner appeared...

A small dog yipping happily. He turned the corner too fast and slipped onto his face, but quickly recovered and kept running towards Danny. When he got close enough, he jumped towards Danny's chest. Danny instinctively caught the dog.

"Oh yeah, I see what you mean Danny." Sam nodded "Reeeal Scary."

"I...don't get it." Danny said. He absentmindedly started to pet the dog. "He was like this when I first met him, but he turned a lot bigger when he got to Axiom." He tuned to Vlad "And you said he was scaring away all the excavation crew." Vlad nodded. Danny turned back to the dog. "What is your deal?"

"Maybe he just hates humans?" Sam shrugged. "He did seek you out when he came here. Ghost dog likes ghost?"

The dog lept out of Danny's arms, ran over to Tucker and stood up on his hind legs, wagging his tail. Tucker dug a treat out of his bag.

"Sit!" He said, holding up a treat. The dog sat obediently.

"Wow! He's well trained." Tucker tossed the him the treat. The dog caught it and happily wagged his tail. He got down on one knee and scratched the dog under his chin.

"Good theory Sam, but he doesn't seem to mind Tucker." Danny said.

"And if you can stand him, you can stand any human." Sam nodded.

"Hey!"

"But then why did he attack the Axiom employees?"

"Hey, check this out!" Tucker said. "On his collar! It's the Axiom logo!"

"What?" Danny and Sam gathered around the dog. Sure enough, the tag on his collar bore the atom insignia of the company.

"You know," Tucker said "I was doing some research, and Axiom did used to use guard dogs before Valerie's dad upgraded their security system. I have a feeling that might be relevant."

"So the dog came back to destroy Axiom to get revenge for being replaced?" Danny said.

"You're getting warmer," Danny had almost forgotten Vlad was there. "But there's still a hole in your theory. You may have noticed that the majority of the lab's projects are still intact. And, according to reports from various Axiom employees, our ghost doesn't seem to have caused any further damage since the initial attack."

Danny took a quick look around the room. The most prominent signs of the dog's earlier attack were a charred security camera dangling on one wall, and the doorway they had come through that was actually a large hole in a mangled steel security door. There were some gashes in the walls, but none of the computers or other furniture in the room had been damaged.

"It was also recently brought to my attention that it was mainly the security system that he went after."

"Hey, you're right." Danny said.

 "And the only other time he was sighted," Sam furrowed her brow in thought "Was when the excavation crew came in to get Axiom's projects. Otherwise he seems to have stayed completely out of sight."

"Yeah, it didn't like those people, but it doesn't really seem to mind us being here." Tucker said.

"Okay," Danny said "So he destroyed the security system because it replaced him, but he hates the excavation crew because...?"

"Because they were trying to take Axiom's stuff!" Tucker snapped his finger "And it's the dog's job to protect Axiom's stuff!"

"Yeah!" Sam said "Cujo over here was actually just doing what a guard dog's trained to do!"

"So...he's not trying to get revenge?" Danny said "He's just trying to do his job?"

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a ghost phasing through the floor and snapping something around the dog's neck before anyone could react.

"Ha ha! At long last I, Technus, have caught the guardian of Axiom in it's smaller form, thanks to the distraction caused by you, ghost child, as well as you teenage friends." Technus seemed to notice Vlad for the first time. He seemed caught off guard by his presence. "As well as this senior citizen, I suppose?"

"I'm forty-two." Vlad said.

"I knew it wasn't the dog that triggered my ghost sense!" Danny said.

The ghost dog began to glow green, like the first time he transformed when Danny met him. He yelped as little sparks shot out of his collar and remained the same size.

Sam looked at the dog with horror in her eyes. She turned towards Technus and glared.

"What did you do to him?" She demanded.

"I have placed an inhibitor collar around this dog's neck, barring it's access to it's much larger and scarier form. For days that infernal mutt has been tormenting me! Biting and drooling all over my stylish trench coat whenever I so much as set foot in Axiom Laboratories. But, now that it has been neutralized I, Technus, now have unfettered access to all of Axiom's most advanced technologies!"

Technus finished his speech by thrusting his arms out to the side. Various machine pieces began to flow towards him from every hallway and swarmed around his body.

"Behold, my ultimate revenge upon this menace guard dog, Mecha-Kitty 5000!"

In about thirty seconds, Technus was decked out in a mechanical suit that looked like a giant cat. A giant metal cat with glowing green eyes and matching veins of energy running along it's body. It had razor sharp metal claws, and teeth fixed in an incredibly creepy smile.

"And now, before I use the technology in this lab to take over the world, I'm going to destroy you meddling kids and that pesky dog! And, also this elder."

Cujo whimpered. He looked at the ground and tucked his tail between his legs.

Danny clenched his fists and turned to face Technus. He began to fly towards him, but Vlad put his arm out to stop him.

"You three get the collar off the dog." he said. "I'll handle this." He turned away from the group and looked into the robot cat's visor. A black ring appeared around his waist, splitting into two and travelling up and down Vlad's body, transforming him.

Sam and Tucker stared at him with awe and a little bit of intimidation. This was their first time seeing Vlad in his ghost form.

"I don't suppose you're familiar with the name 'Vlad Plasmius'?" Vlad asked, floating up to Technus's level.

"I, Technus, am not familiar with the name 'Vlad Pasmius'!" Technus seemed surprised by Vlad's ghostly transformation. He quickly recovered, though, and the robot cat swiped it's claws at Vlad. Vlad managed to dodge them, though.

"That," Vlad began to charge up an ecto beam in his hand "Is about to change, then."

The robo-cat raised it's tail and began shooting electrical beams out the end of it. Vlad threw his charged up ecto blast at the robot before quickly swooping to dodge the electric blast. Vlad's blast hit the cat's cheek, but barely seemed to do any damage.

"Is that all you've got?" Technus gloated. He fired beam after beam at Vlad.

Vlad split into two while Technus continued to fire at him. The two Vlads flew in around in a random swirling pattern. Danny quickly lost track of which Vlad was which.

"Blast it!" Technus cried "Stay still so that I, Technus, master of all things electronical, can fry you with my electronic blasts already!"

The robo-cat began to shoot alternating electrical beams out of it's nostrils as well. The two Vlad's continued to swoop around intricately, making it hard for Technus to aim properly. They both stayed well away from the area where Danny and his friends were.

Danny turned away from the fight. He grabbed the dog's collar and tried to make it intangible, but was met with an electric shock. Danny and the ghost dog both yelped.

"Sorry boy." Danny said, shaking his smoulderding hand.

"If the collar's designed to block ghost powers, then ghost tricks aren't going to work on it." Sam said.

"Then let's try a tech trick." Tucker pulled a jack cord out of his backpack and plugged it into Technus's collar and his PDA. Green text that was incomprehensible to Danny began to scroll down the screen.

"Bingo! I'll have this collar off of him in no time!"

"Perfect." Danny stood up. "In the meantime, I'll go help Vl-"

Danny stopped mid-sentence when he turned. He didn't see Vlad.

Suddenly, Vlad appeared beneath the robo cat. He clenched his fist and charged up an ecto beam. At least, Danny thought it was an ecto blast. The aura around his hand intensified, and then spread down the rest of his arm.

With his other hand, Vlad shot an ecto beam at one of the robo cat's front legs. It struck it right in the knee joint, causing that leg to buckle. The robot was thrown off balance. As Technus adjusted, Vlad flew over to one of it's back legs.

He grabbed it just above the knee joint with his glowing hand, assaulting everyone's ears with a screeching cruuuunch. Pink energy spread around the area where Vlad was holding the leg.

The bottom half of the leg split from the top and fell to the ground. The part where it had been severed glowed red-hot, as if it had been melted off.

"Hey, hey! What's going on down there?" Technus said. "What did you do to my leg?"

Vlad's only answer was to unleash an onslaught of ecto beams at Technus's other legs. They weren't very powerful, but Vlad aimed for the knee joints, which kept knocking the giant robot off balance. Technus kept trying to adjust, but Vlad would not let up.

Danny suddenly noticed the cat's tail sneak under the robot's body.

"The tail!" He shouted "Behind you!"

Without even looking, Vlad went intangible and flew up through the robot's body, an electro beam barely missing him. He emerged from the top and kept flying upwards. Once he was almost at the ceiling, he swooped around, flying back towards the robot at top speed, both fists thrust out in front of him.

He turned solid again.

SMAAAASH!!!

The robot's remaining legs, still askew from the earlier ecto beam barrage, instantly gave out from Vlad's impact. The robot's body crashed against the ground, sparks and bits of metal flying off of it.

Vlad hovered above the wreckage. There were two large dents where his fists had made contact with the robot.

That cat was not getting up anytime soon.

Technus intangibly floated out of the robot's head. When he turned solid again, he looked furious.

"You fool!" he shouted "You may have destroyed this glorious creation of mine, but I am a master of technology, and we are currently amongst some of the most advanced technological devices in the world! What's to stop me from rebuilding my machine! Or perhaps something even more powerful!"

Danny suddenly felt something woosh by him, and Technus was bowled over by the ghost dog, now in his gaint form. The dog absolutely pummeled Technus. It was almost hard to watch.

As his finishing move, the ghost picked Technus up with his teeth, shook him violently, and let go. Technus went sailing straight into a wall.

Splat!

Technus actually stayed where he hit the wall for a second before slowly sliding down to the floor. He did not get up.

"I...got the collar off." Tucker said.

"Nice job Tuck." Danny pulled out the thermos and aimed it at Technus. The blue beam began to suck him in.

"Noooo! How could you have best me, Technus, master of-"

Danny slammed the cap on the thermos, cutting off Technus's speech.

The ghost dog turned to face Danny, panting heavily.

"The bad ghost is gone." Danny said. "You did a good job."

The dog shrank back to his normal size and barked happily. To Danny's surprise, the ghost began to disappear, seemingly dissolving into the air. Within a few seconds, he was gone.

"That's...never happened before." Danny said.

"Is he gone?" Tucker asked, looking around. "Like, he's not just invisible?"

"I believe so." Vlad landed on the ground next to Danny. "I haven't seen any ghost that disappears like that reappear. It seems when they do that, they're gone for good. I have no idea where they go but, and I could be wrong, but I think that when that happens it's a good thing for them. Nice job with the collar, by the way Tucker. I may have to hire you one day."

Tucker beamed when Vlad said that.

"All he wanted was to protect Axiom." Sam said. "Even after everything they did?"

"I think he just wanted someone to acknowledge the hard work he did." Tucker said. "Those dogs did a good job, and they weren't exactly rewarded well. Huh. I'm starting to get why you feel bad for animals."

"You three did well tonight." Vlad smiled. "I am quite impressed. You've picked up on the intricacies of ghost hunting rather quickly. Truth be told, I don't even think that I even really had to step in there when I did. You seem to work well as a team, you're all quite resourceful and adaptive, and I honestly don't have any major notes."

The trio all smiled at each other. They weren't used to getting praised.

"Of course, I'd advise you from letting your heads get too big. There's always room for improvement. I do wish I could stay longer, but I'm afraid I'm on a rather tight schedule and must be going now. It was a pleasure to meet you both. Ta ta!"

Before anyone could respond, Vlad went intangible and flew through the roof.

"Okay," Tucker said "I know he said the three of us were good, but we've barely managed to scrape out of half the ghost fights we're in, and that guy took down Technus like it was nothing! Like, seriously, did you see him?"

"Yeah." Sam turned to Danny "Like, we see you do some incredible things, Danny. But that Vlad guy? He's kind of...scary powerful."

"Maybe I'll get that powerful someday too." Danny said "It'd make our jobs easier. And I wouldn't have to keep bugging you guys with ghost hunting."

"Aw, come on Danny," Sam elbowed him in the side "Cut that out. If there's one thing your parents are right about, it's that ghost hunting rules. Please don't tell them I said that, though."

"Oh, absolutely not." Danny laughed.

"Okay, but now that the ghost is gone, we'd better get going." Tucker said. "It is a school night."

"Ooh, look at you being all responsible." Sam smirked.

"I want to be well rested for the release of DOOMED tomorrow."

"Ah, that explains it."

"You saw the trailer I sent you, right Danny?" Tucker wrapped an arm around Danny's shoulder "It's gonna be awesome!"

"Yeah." Danny took one last look at the ceiling. He wished Vlad hadn't left so soon.

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

Danny braced himself for the wave of guilt upon seeing Valerie the next day, but it didn't come. She looked a lot happier today. Her head was held high and she was even smiling.

Much to the trio's surprise, she stopped by their table.

"Hey Tucker." she said. "Thanks for the advice yesterday. It was the best anyone's ever given me."

"No problem." Tucker smiled warmly. "Glad I could help. Hey, you can sit with us if you want."

Tucker's offer earned him some raised eyebrows from Danny and Sam.

"Nah, I got some stuff I gotta research in the library." She turned around "Maybe some other time, though." she said before walking away.

"What'd you say to her anyway?" Danny asked.

"No idea, actually." Tucker shrugged "But she seems happy."

"That...might have something to do with her father getting hired by another company's security department." Sam said.

"Wait, really? That's great!" Danny smiled. "Wait, how do you know that Sam?"

Tucker leaned closer to Sam with a smug expression. "Would you know that because a certain heartless goth actually does have a heart, and put in a good word? Hmmmmm?"

"Someone had to do something." Sam pushed Tucker away by his by face "Since your efforts left her running out of the cafeteria. Anyway, enough about Valerie." Sam turned to Danny. "So, Danny, how long have you had a half-ghost billionaire friend?"

"Huh? Oh, I only found out about him when we met in Wisconsin last month. Honestly, besides last night, I haven't seen him since."

"But, still, it is really cool that there's another half-ghost out there. And one that kicks serious butt too!" Tucker said.

"I just wish he wasn't so busy. It'd be cool if he came around more."

"That's the life of a billionaire, Danny." Sam said "Although, if I were him, I'd be doing everything I can to clear up my schedule and spend time with the only other half-ghost on the planet, so who knows. Maybe you'll see more of him soon."

"Yeah, maybe you're right Sam." Danny didn't mention that Vlad wasn't returning his parent's calls. Vlad seemed to like his parents, but Danny wondered if he'd come around more often if they weren't ghost hunters.

"Yeah, and it's not like you need him anyway." Tucker added. "Sure, he's awesome, but you've been getting waaay better with your powers. I don't think you've fallen through the floor at all this month, and I've lost count of how many ghost-butts you've sent crying back to the Ghost Zone. You're not doing too bad on you own Danny."

Danny smiled. He was glad he had friends like Tucker and Sam. He had no idea how he would've survived becoming half ghost without them. Sure, Vlad made him feel less alone when he was around, but Sam and Tucker made him feel less alone in a different way. Maybe an even better one.

-------------------- Epilogue --------------------

It had been nearly a month since her dad had been hired by the Mansons. Thing were going well.

"I'm moving up the ranks pretty quickly Val! The Mansons are pretty impressed with my work."

"That's great Daddy!"

Even though it was Saturday, Valerie still liked to get up early to see her Dad off. It was worth it to see how excited he was with his progress at work. His smiles in the morning didn't look like they took effort anymore.

"Of course, I'm nowhere near my old salary, but at this rate, we should be able to afford to live in a slightly better apartment. One that's closer to your school. So, as soon as I find a decent one, we're moving!"

"Now that is good news." Valerie said. She was sick of killing cockroaches and getting up at 5:00am to catch the bus to school.

Damon glanced at his watch.

"But only if I make it to work on time. Gotta go Sweetie, have a good day." he kissed the top of her head. "Oh, by the way, that came for you in the mail from Wisconsin." he said, pointing to the package on the living room table Valerie had missed. "Might be that dress you ordered before I got fired. Anyway, gotta go. Love you!" he called on his way out the door.

"Love you too, Daddy!" Valerie called as she heard the door shut. She went over to inspect the package. There wasn't a return address, but Valerie had a pretty good guess of who it was from.

When she pulled open the flaps of the box, she discovered a note at the top of a pile of packing peanuts.

Ms Gray,

As promised, enclosed are two things: a protective suit and an Ecto Blaster. The blaster should be pretty straight forward to use, but the suit is much more advanced and, I imagine, much more helpful. It is made up of ecto-resistant material, and I've added a number of helpful ghost-hunting implements. I've included a detailed manual, and I suggest ample practice before taking on any actual ghosts. I would also appreciate you keeping this on the down-low. Giving volatile energy weapons to teenagers is generally frowned upon, and I am a very public figure. To be perfectly frank, I have my doubts about sending these to you, but I don't like going back on my word, so please do be careful, and remember, there's no shame in backing down.

The note wasn't signed.

"Very nice Mister Masters," Valerie smiled as she dug through the packing peanuts and pulled out a weird gun-looking thing. "Finally, I can get some sweet sweet payback. Things are finally looking up!"

The ecto blaster suddenly went off on it's own. The beam shot out an open window and hit a passing seagull, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Valerie?!" she heard her dad call from down the hall.

"I'm okay!" she yelled back, instinctively hiding the blaster behind her back.

#danny phantom #dp #vlad masters #dp fanfic #danny phantom fanfic #friends in strange places #fisp #fanfic #writing #danny fenton

[thessalian]

Thess vs Self-Made Fun

A recent Tumblr post flagged up an interesting point: the last writers’ strike was way different because the pandemic happened. People learned a) all manner of ways to entertain themselves and b) turning that entertainment into entertainment (or education, or both) of others. We sang sea shanties. We watched pre-serum Steve Rogers cook his way through old cookbooks he got from flea markets. We got even more into The Fucking Chocolate Guy than we already were. New shows weren’t coming out because people couldn’t be in proximity of each other enough to film them, so we made our own damn entertainment, and provided the same to others.

But then I consider ... some of us had a distinct advantage. Because we already knew what it was to have nothing else to do, and got really good at making our own entertainment.

Consider: I was born in the late 70s. (Chronologically this puts me at very young Gen X or oldest Millennial, but a lot of that generational divide has more to do with when you got your start in ‘adult life’, or more to the point what advantages had been taken from your generation by the time you got your start in ‘adult life’, and I kind of started late since I lost a few years to mental illness, so lifestyle-wise I’m just Old Millennial. Still, that doesn’t really matter in this case.)

POINT IS I GREW UP IN THE 80s. My parents were divorced. My mother was working every hour the gods sent to climb the corporate ladder, alternating late nights at the office with night school to get her degree. She loved me - she still does - but she had to sacrifice being able to have time with me for being able to provide me with the opportunities she felt I deserved. So when I was younger, it was my school’s after-school programme until that closed, and often she’d just pick me up, pick up dinner, and head back to the office. I’d do my homework while eating KFC at a conference table, and then I had jack all to do. No smartphones. No laptops. No tablets. The one saving grace is that those old transcription machines worked on standard-sized audio cassettes at that time, so I could play my books on tape quietly in one of the cubicles, but I didn’t have many and I needed something else to do. So I raided the stationery cupboard and wrote a small newspaper called The Nightly Office, and sold subscriptions to the other poor souls working that late. (Apparently I was ahead of my time in savvy, too; I charged a dime for a one-off copy, three for a quarter, and ten for a dollar, which didn’t save any money but did save me doing anything but shoving their copy under their office door for at least two weeks.) Apparently there are a lot of retired insurance brokers who still have copies of that damn thing in their mementos boxes at home. My mother is among them.

Really wasn’t any different when I was old enough to get home from school and stay home on my own, either. TV was ... I mean, it was there, but depending on time of year, you could be in for a real dry spell as far as that was concerned. And yes, I read, but ... let’s face it, probably undiagnosed ADHD; I needed things to do. And again - there were consoles but they were underwhelming and frankly we couldn’t afford one. We couldn’t afford a VCR for a long time, either. It wasn’t a priority, I guess is closer to the truth. And even when we had a VCR and I finally got my original Nintendo Entertainment System and my Game Boy (both of which my mother annexed, by the way), games development hadn’t moved on much from arcade cabinets - it was all about “you have this many lives, there are this many levels, and everything will get harder and harder until you beat it”, which all worked to drain quarters out of stubborn kids’ pockets (and, given the popularity of Souls-likes and roguelikes, still has appeal). That sustained interest for awhile, but not long enough.

Point is I got into hobby stuff early. I learned to cook. I learned to read tarot cards. I learned face-painting and stage makeup. I learned sleight of hand. I learned jewellery-making. I tried fashion design for awhile. And when the pandemic hit and we locked down? I was fine. Video games were a lot better and I had a whole Steam library full of shinies, and that was one thing, but I also had my aromatherapy and perfume-making and soap-making and candle-making and cooking and resin casting and on and on. And I built on that. I have my garden. I make candy. I’ve expanded my horizons in terms of cookery. (I still want more Lego, but that’s beside the point.)

Long story short: you execs refusing to not only pay writers what they’re worth but insisting on clinging to an outdated payment model when it comes to residuals are short-sighted as fuck. There’s at least one whole generation of people like me - probably closer to three, thinking about it - and more will happen with the next one, with new parents having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Kids are going to be encouraged to make their own fun, and there’s an internet full of tutorials to show them how. We want the writers paid, because they give us wonderful entertainment. We are well aware that you are the ones who are making it so we don’t get the shows and movies we love, because you’ve been doing it for years. You scrap things so you don’t have to pay residuals. You cancel shows before their time, leaving them to either end on cliffhangers or cram their ending into one season (which NEVER WORKS). And it’s not just because streaming services and residuals either. Firefly was cancelled after one season, and that after it was aired out of order and had its time slot changed at least once, apparently to drive viewership numbers down. Angel had the same shit happen to it that Game of Thrones did; forced to cram an entire series-ending arc that was meant to encompass multiple seasons into less than one, and the entire show suffered as a result. These are not the only examples, but they’re the first two that come to mind, and I need to sum up because this is getting long.

So here it is: We have been fucked over by the execs for decades. The writers have done us nothing but good, for the most part. SHOW. THEM. THE. MONEY. We can wait. We’ve had ample practice at finding other shit to do, and even if we’re not all dedicated hobbyists, we’ve all got piles of books we’ve been meaning to read, games we’ve been meaning to play, and shows we’ve been meaning to watch that are actually finished properly. Now that this economic nightmare has made our fun-money rather scarce, and there’s a breathing space before The Next Big Thing hits, we can get around to doing that. This could last for years, and we’d just be grateful to finally be able to whittle down that book pile we’ve been neglecting for six years.

YOU HAVE BEEN MAKING US STOCKPILE THE NEW AND SHINY FOR DECADES. WE SPENT YEARS MAKING OUR OWN FUN IN OUR OWN HOMES. WE ARE FORTIFIED AGAINST THE BOREDOM YOU INSIST WE MUST BE FEELING. FUCK OFF AND PAY THE WRITERS. WE CAN WAIT.

[systemadministratorclu]

Sonic, have you ever considered getting a job as a pizza delivery guy or an UberEats delivery guy in the future ? With your speed you'd be the best one out there. Plus you'd be able to guarantee the "delivered in less than 20 minutes or it's free" thing.

"No, but it's not a bad idea. My sister already delivers the Green Hills Bulletin every week. It's even on the subscription form, 'Delivery via Supersonic Hedgehog. Not limited to Green Hills city limits' with a little picture of her with a bag of newspapers. The owner says she's better than an army of paperboys. Which is not easy, I did it for her once when she was sick. But I think food delivery would make me hungry-" Soneca snorted from where she stood in the entrance to the living room.

"You're ALWAYS hungry, hoglet." She remarked.

"I am not! The Big Red Garbage Disposal eats more than I do!"

"I do not eat garbage." Knuckles said.

"You eat disgusting stuff no one else would even call food. Close enough." Sonic replied.

"Gotta agree with Sonic here. There's a reason no one ever made burger patties or hot dogs out of grapes before, Knux." The older hedgehog added, "Though I will admit. Sonic's reaction to a chili dog made with the grape hot dog was pretty funny." It had been spit out with such force, and unintentionally aimed so perfectly, it had flown right into the echidna's face and splattered chili (also made of grapes) all over his face.

[psalm22-6]

Everybody would like to know: what are the 

?

Of course, they also want to know:

The answer is Les Misérables (sometimes).  While I was looking through the California Digital Newspaper Collection, I made note of the articles which mentioned that Les Misérables was included in the local library.  To begin, in 1885 the Napa Free Library opened in Napa, California, which seems to have been a subscription library furnished with  a watercooler “where he who seeks the fountain of knowledge may at the same time slake his thirst tor water.” The library’s board of Trustees selected which books the library would carry, and Les Misérables was among the first 35 selected.  Missouri’s Saint-Louis Republic reported in 1889: “When ‘Les Miserables’ first appeared fifty copies answered the demand, although this is one of the most constantly read books in the library.”

In 1890 the Chicago Tribune quoted a bookseller as saying “I sell a copy of Victor Hugo's ‘Les Miserables’ every ten days regularly.” (I know I said this was about libraries but I just thought that one was interesting). 

In 1891, in the town of Springfield, Massachusetts, “of French books, the one most read is Victor Hugo's ‘Les Miserables.’” Of course it’s not just about what people like to read, it’s also about what is considered to be “good literature” and “worth reading” by those in charge. For example, see this headline from the San Pedro News Piolet in 1919

The high school’s librarian writes: 

What do we mean by “better books?” During the last hour I have been considering the subject with a group of young people who happened to be gathered in the school library for study. The discussion was precipitated by the following request from a young girl:

“Please get me something to read that will be good for, me.” You may think that such a request must be either unusual or insincere, but it is neither. It comes to me constantly in one form or another. “What is a real good story?” “I want something beside fiction.” “Will this book be good enough to make an English report on?” “What is the difference between Harold Bell Wright’s stories and those of Ralph Connor?” etc., etc. The debate today drew into its vortex all the occupants of the study hall and, at times, grew a little warm. Several were enthusiastic supporters of Harold Bell Wright, and I tried to explain to them the difference between the sentimental, poorly written novel and the vigorous tale of adventure and romance. The following list of books is the one the young girl in question actually considered reading. It might be interesting to look through the titles and check those we have read or that we know something about. They can all be found at the public library, and I feel sure that anyone who reads them all will be richly rewarded. To make the acquaintance of a great book is in itself an education. She chose from the list Les Miserables, the greatest of all novels. If she reads it intelligently it will be an addition to her mental life that she must appreciate and feel as long as she lives and thinks. Following is the list: Victory — Joseph Conrad. Adam Bede — George Eliot. Fathers and Sons — Turgenev. Smoke — Turgenev. The Crime of Sylvester Bonnard — Anatole France. The Rise of Silas Lapham — William U. Howells. A Modern Instance — William D. Howells. Eugenie Grandet — Balzac. The Iron Woman — Margaret Deland. Anna Karenina —Tolstoy. Les Miserables — Victor Hugo. Jane Eyre—Charlotte Broute [sic]. This is a chapter from real life, and this list is given because it is one actually discussed on this occasion. Other lists as good might be made.

A little out of order for the timeline but that same theme was explored by E.L. Kellogg, the library of the Carnegie library located in San Luis Obispo in 1917 and she had this to say: 

But the reading of light, overdrawn, ephemeral fiction only, is a species of intemperance, which not only vitiates the taste, but shuts out a whole world of profit and pleasure among the works of real genius. There is Dickens whose “every page is crowded with jostling life,” to read whom is like taking a walk down some "highway of life where we may come into contact with humanity.” What a pity to go through life unacquainted with the episode of the stolen candle-sticks In Les Miserables, or the splendid Doctor of the Old School in The Bonnie Brier Bush!

In the San Mateo Daily News Leader, in 1912, it was reported that the local library was able to purchase “a handsome four volume edition of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables with recent gift money.” However reader’s desiring other books not in the library’s collection, they would have to consult the state library or “kindly confer with the librarian. If a number of books are ordered at one time the cost for each applicant will be trifling. Expressage is the only expense.”

Books were not just for solitary reading and individual improvement. As reported in the Hanford Journal in December of 1913: 

There are a number of useful books and magazines that are full of the suggestions that will aid any one who plans on entertaining during the holidays. These volumes will be found at the Hanford public library: Powers' “Dialogues for Little Folks” contains a couple of plays for children, entitled a “Christmas Gift” and “Edna’s Christmas Wishbones.” Knight's “Dramatic Reader for Grammar Grades” gives Dickens' famous story of "Ebenezer Scrooge's Christmas," written in dramatic form, and "Little Cosette” and “Father Christmas” adapted from Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables.” [Wow I just learned about another adaptation thanks to this.]

Great holiday fun for the whole family.  In 1916 they got a whole lot of new books in Calexico (sorry for the low quality. Les Mis is in there): 

In 1911 an advice columnist for the San Francisco Call advised readers that “if you have never read ‘Les Miserables,’ you might attack that this summer.” (Or, of course, if that isn’t your cup of tea, “promise yourself that you will read a dozen good books on hypnotism and clairvoyance and the other manifestations of the unknown world into which science is trying to peek.) (Two years later that same columnist reported that her neighbor was forced to stop reading most magazines due to financial problems, but that that neighbor had said “It has driven us to make more use of our fine library, and the other day we discovered we hadn’t read half the books on our own shelves. So now I’m absorbed in Les Miserables and Jack is reading one of Thackeray‘s that he hadn’t happened to read — both books right off our own bookshelves.”) And that’s just about it as far as anything remotely interesting goes! 

#les miserables #my research #california collection #fans through the ages

[softersinned-arc]

@balldwin​ said: I’ve a devil of a habit for being right. 

For a long moment, she considers staying.

          She’d intended to go in early, which means she’s already running late, standing in the doorway of the en suite bathroom in nothing but a towel. The problem is that they both slept in—or, rather, he slept in, wrapped around her with his nose tucked in her hair and holding her tightly enough she didn’t dare move at all for fear of waking him, and she stayed as still as she could and enjoyed it until he woke.

          Too late for the morning run, she’d murmured, rolling over to look at him when she felt him waking, and he’d let out a low rumble of laughter, his fingers already slipping beneath the camisole she wore to bed.

          Good, he’d answered, rolling them over so he was above her, his hips pressing down against hers to pin her to the mattress, I have a better idea anyway, and they spent the morning in a lazy tangle of limbs and he buried his face in her neck and smiled against her skin when she forgot every language she spoke in favor of wordless whines and his name.

          And now Astoria is running late, standing there in her towel and holding the cup of coffee he’d prepared for her while she showered—and he prepared it perfectly, like he always did despite all of his disapproval (that’s not coffee, he said once, that’s a dessert, but he didn’t complain when she kissed him after a mouthful and she tasted like vanilla and cinnamon on his tongue)—because she can’t tear her eyes away from him. It’s nothing new: Baldwin, sitting up in bed wearing nothing but a blanket across his lap, his own cup of coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other as he reads one of his half-dozen newspaper subscriptions, his hair a mess from her own desperate fingers and a pretty bruise blossoming on his neck.

          She’d be in real trouble, she thinks, if she were in love with him, because a sight like that is a work of art even when one is utterly indifferent to the man in front of her. And she’s certainly not in love with him, her closest friend and confidante, her literal partner in crime, her other half—no, she’d never be so foolish as to fall for him, which is why this is just fun, even when she laughs into his kisses and traces the intoxicating curve of his lower lip or the beautiful slope of his nose. And when he looks up at her and catches her watching him and he smiles, she doesn’t feel the breath knocked out of her at once, and her toes don’t curl against the hardwood floor, and—

          “I thought you were running late,” Baldwin observes dryly, and Astoria grins.

          “I was,” she confirms. “I am. I’m just trying to decide what to wear.”

          Baldwin considers her for a moment, then tilts his head towards the closet, where she’s left a few of her things. To save time, she insisted, as if it took more than half a minute for her to walk down the hall to the bedroom she left abandoned and empty most nights in favor of curling up beside him here.

          “Skirt and blazer. Madden is conservative enough to be offended by tattoos and women in trousers, and he’s planning to swing by your department today. Saves you the trouble of pretending not to notice a grown man glaring at you like you’ve cancelled Christmas when you’re asked to join the meeting.”

          Astoria’s smile only widens, and when she passes by the bed to get to the closet she stops by his side to press a kiss to his lips. He responds at once, tablet abandoned so he can take her chin in his fingers and hold her in place for a second kiss, and then a third, before he releases her. When she returns from the closet with her clothes in her hands he’s not even pretending to read, watching her with open desire instead, eyes widening slightly when she drops the towel at his dresser and fishes out a pair of underwear she knows he likes.

          “I thought I tore those last weekend,” he muses, and her face flushes pink but she laughs, wrinkling her nose at him over her shoulder before she pulls them on.

          “No. You tore the black ones.”

          “Hm.”

          “Updating your to-do list?” she teases, and he raises an eyebrow, but he doesn’t deny it. “Anyway. I might have to work late but I can meet you at your office?” She pulls on a bra next, then withdraws a pair of stockings from the drawer before she closes it with a bump of her hip. “We can head out together?”

          For a moment he almost looks smug. “Can’t.”

          She freezes, then sits at the edge of the bed so she can pull up one stocking, then another. “Can’t?” she asks, feigning nonchalance, and she stands to step into her skirt.

          “Can’t,” he confirms. “I have plans.”

          Astoria slips into a shirt then, and she pulls the blazer on with perhaps more force than she needs. She knows exactly what he means, but she asks anyway. “What kind of plans?”

          “A date.”

          It’s her own fault. She’s making this more complicated than it needs to be. She’s broken up with half a dozen boyfriends the moment he looked at her the right way—not out of any real concern about their feelings should she cheat, but because she refused to give Baldwin anything less than all of her. She’s kicked his dates out before they could even get started and he’s laughed at her marking her territory but obeyed without complaint.

          And if she told him she didn’t want him seeing anyone else he wouldn’t argue. In fact, she thinks sometimes that’s what he wants, more than anything: for her to stake an irrefutable claim, for her to let her feelings for him outweigh her own desperation to keep herself protected. He would, she thinks, love to see her vulnerable. But every time she opens her mouth to suggest it she falters and she hates it, because really, she’s too clever to fall in love with him, and she knows it.

          (Except she’s not fooling anyone, especially herself, and she’s been in love with Baldwin since she was sixteen years old, and sometimes it seems like the whole world knows it, Baldwin included.)

          “A date? With who?”

          “Friend of a friend.”

          It doesn’t matter who, she realizes as she walks back around the bed to reach him, already shedding her blazer, then pushing her skirt down from her hips and wiggling out of it. “Cancel.” The shirt goes flying, lands on the corner of the mirror and hangs there. “Tell her you’re busy.”

          “Am I busy?” he asks mildly, and she takes the coffee cup from his hand and sets it on his bedside table before climbing back into the bed, settling comfortably in his lap.

          “Indefinitely,” she responds, and she doesn’t even pretend to be apologetic.

          His hands settle on her bare sides, eyes trailing appreciatively across her frame. “I thought you were running late.”

          “Not anymore.”

          “Oh?”

          “Damnedest thing,” she says, and she settles comfortably in his lap. “When we went out for dinner last night and shared that starter? It must have just been off.”

          “What a shame.”

          “Looks like we both have food poisoning. Awful, isn’t it?”

          His fingers flex against her skin and he tightens his grip on her, lips curling up in a smile. “What a shame.”

          “Text your father’s assistant. Let her know you won’t be coming in today.”

          One of Baldwin’s hands moves, now, settles at her back, fingers hooking under the clasp of her bra. “And my date tonight?”

          “Cancel,” she insists, louder now. “I’ll keep you plenty occupied. Here, give me your phone. I’ll text her for you. And I’ll get us out of work.”

          “No need. We have a virus, for the record. Not food poisoning. Might even buy us tomorrow, too, if you’re still feeling—“ Possessive. Territorial. Insane. “—under the weather.”

          He laughs at the look of delighted surprise on her face and he surges up to kiss her, pulling her closer when she lifts her hands to curl against the sides of his neck.

          “Shame we had that morning meeting with Reid yesterday,” he murmurs against her mouth. “He went home early. His secretary spent the afternoon disinfecting everything he touched.”

          “And you already—”

          “I already. And you can cancel my date,” he concedes, “but not right now.” Right now, it seems, he has other plans.

          “How did you—?”

          “I know you. I know that look.”

          She sweeps her thumb across his lower lip, and if she didn’t know better, she’d think her expression could probably be best described as adoring. “And you knew I’d agree to it?”

          “I know you,” he repeats. “I’ve a devil of a habit for being right.”

          She kisses him soundly for that.

          (As promised—she keeps him plenty occupied.)

#balldwin #i. here's the truth from my red lips. ( answers ) #(i'm so??????? endeared by them being horrible always) #(horrible terrible darling beloveds) #(lmk if i should change anything c: ) #iii. the rest of you (the best of you) belongs to me. ( baldwin x astoria )

[adamfinchley]

A gut feeling is as good as a  reasoning brain

There are magazines and periodicals about any subject you can imagine. They may not all be in your local newsagents, but if not, they will be available online. Mind you, during a recent stroll about Corby, a town in Northamptonshire, we came across a newsagents and had hysterics at the two full shelves of about one hundred different titles, all to do with carp fishing. There were a few rebel publications dealing with bream or trout, but carp was definitely the fish of the day. This came back to me as I was reading articles about our gut microbiome. Sure enough, there is a learned periodical written by contributors all involved with gastroenterology. The name of the periodical is simply, 'Gut' and it's a free online subscription should you wish to get the latest on the subject. Some article about diet, health, and gut bacteria seems to appear daily in newspaper articles these days. This is because ever since DNA and our individual genome was discovered, the link between mind, body, genetics, immune system and longevity has opened up a whole new way to look at life. One of the contributing editors of 'Gut' calls himself an expert in neurogastroenterology. This is a clear statement that our gut is considered by many to be an extension of the brain. It can be no coincidence that for humans since the beginning of their existence, they have understood and lasted because of gut instincts. The gut is lined with over a hundred million nerve cells, and that's more than the whole of the spinal cord. If you have a spare twenty-seven million US dollars, you can buy a top of the range electron microscope. With this monster, it's easy to get a good look at all the bugs living in your poo. You can also isolate human tissue cells. Someone clearly has both the money and little sense. They are trying to calculate the proportion of human cells and bacteria in the average adult. At the latest count, it looks like we are ten times more bacteria, or other invaders, than human cells. Nearly all professionals in anything to do with diet or gut health, agree that the best diet is one that has great variety that includes a balance of probiotics and prebiotics. They also agree that ultra-processed foods are a serious threat to health.

When there is some imbalance and gut problems occur, a cleanse with a supplement like Fivelac can help. This one includes five good gut bacteria that have been laboratory grown.

We carry around many trillions of individual bacteria but they all fall into about a thousand common types. Many are essential in aiding digestion, and many could be lethal if they suddenly increase in numbers. Fortunately, after millions of years it seems they have all learned to live with each other and they rarely get out of control. One common exception is candida that can cause a problem with most people at one time or another.

[penadodson]

How to associate with the first woman

If you are worried that you may be afraid or desperate if you tell a potential partner that you want to associate, please throw away that idea. 。 The person who commits when he conveys his intentions honestly is not the one who looks at her in the long run, so stabilize himself. Certainly, this may be an unpleasant topic. But if your date is going well, you may want to consider something more.~Sensual~ Is the subject. I expect SAPIO because online dates may no longer be a dating or a hangout. According to a recent survey, 50 % of the Australian girlfriends agree that they would be allowed to be invited to dating in text messages, but would not be allowed to break up. The s o-called flirting, which is a bit of an email, has more girls after starting dating. In a questionnaire to newspaper readers, the results showed that women should be discarded by men to pay for the first date because women are more likely to make money. In a television date program, her three couples living under the same roof can only be contacted in a "specially made dark room", and Miss Australian model Laura Dandvick will be the moderator. It's a schedule. In addition, it is also possible to shoot by combining headshots, whole body photos, group photos and activity photos. If you like riding a bicycle, please attach a photo on a bicycle. Your profile is not conservative, so you don't need to list all your degree or work history. Instead, include your own preferences, such as liking seaside walks rather than walking in the mountains. Writing a profile in a happy mood can be reflected in the content. Understanding the values, personality, goals, etc. of the other party, and starting the engagement process is an important foundation for building a relationship. ZOOSK can be registered for free, but to do something, you need a paid subscription. Not only is there a charge at the end of each message, but Reddit users have complained about random billing on accounts and ignoring requests for cancellation of subscriptions. In addition, the company uses a unique currency called "ZOOSK Coin" and can be purchased. Inquiry VeryWell Mind uses only hig h-quality sources, including reviewed research, to support the facts of the article. Please read the editing process for how we verify the content and keep it accurate and reliable. Stigma (stigma) tends to be a relationship that is not a single woman. However, the survey states that from about 21 % of adults, 22 % of her will have some open relationship at some point of life. Agree is an agreement between the two, which is shown in words and actions, and means that both are clearly and enthusiastic about engaging in sexual activity. The absence of silence or resistance is not considered to be consent. Some people are drunk, sleepy, unaware, and people with intellectual disabilities. Agreement needs to know that aggressive communication and people have the right to always withdraw consent. Then everyone may be surprised and do what you say. While the other person is talking, take the time to listen so that each person does not get in the way. Commitment is indispensable to maintain a healthy relationship. Even if you don't have any opinions with your colleagues or friends, you can snuggle up when they are in trouble. For example, some may think like this. "Don't take it out anymore!" You know how to react! "This stage can be prolonged depending on human relationships. Parents and children who are alienated, couples waiting for divorce, or friends who want to end the relationship but do not know what to do, may be forced to stagnate for a long time. site web Immediately after failing to exchange in the experiment stage, a short stagnation may occur. In some cases, dating has just begun, or dating after dating for 10 or 20 years. They can satisfy the need for sex, intimacy, connection, and dating without emotional demands and energetic commitments like a more serious relationship. At first, romantic relationships often burn hot. The initial passion weakens over time, but the emotions such as trust, emotional intimacy, and dedication become stronger. Make sure your BF or GF is inside you for you. When your partner says you don't want to do something, do you hear it and come back soon? Respect in human relationships means that they value each other, understand the border between the other party, and never doubt. According to a survey, a maximum of five of her children / youth have a mental illness that can be diagnosed. Read how cooperation between public service agencies will improve these youth treatment. http://www.cupidsbungalow.com/indonesiancupid-com/ The dating partner thinks, "I can't live without a partner." 5 best apps that can make friends instantly. 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The feature of this app is that it has a sense of more common social media, such as not only posting but also "likes" and "comments" to other people. It is a perfect app for those who like to meet in groups, not on e-o n-one. If you have a meeting idea, you can create a group yourself. A date app for women that appeared in 2014. Since then, he has announced "BUMBLE BFF" as a way to meet a woman who wants a friend. Accuracy of informatio n-We strive to be as accurate as possible when disclosing information provided about the restless. However, we are not perfect, so we do not guarantee the integrity and accuracy of information on the site. Campaigns, promotion, vacancy conditions, and prices may change, and the provider may change after posting. All the information, guidance or suggestions provided are intended to be common. Regarding personal decisions, we recommend that you do a closely survey by yourself without taking the information on this site.

#best

[mbdailynews]

U.S. GDP Fell at 0.9% Annual Rate Second Quarter; Recession Fears Loom Over Economy

The US economy shrank for a second quarter in a row—a common definition of recession—as businesses trimmed their inventories, the housing market buckled under rising interest rates, and high inflation took steam out of consumer spending. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the economy, fell at an inflation and seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.9% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That followed a 1.6% pace of contraction in the first three months of 2022. The report indicated the economy met a commonly used definition of recession—two straight quarters of declining economic output. The official arbiter of recessions in the US is the National Bureau of Economic Research, which defines one as a significant decline in economic activity, spread across the economy for more than a few months. Its Business Cycle Dating Committee considers factors including employment, output, retail sales and household income—and it usually doesn’t make a recession determination until long after the fact. Get The New York Times and Financial Times Digital Subscription Combo 77% OFF Whether or not the US is in a recession now, ING economist James Knightley said that a downturn is “really only a matter of time,” given pressure on American households from inflation, equity markets and “the housing downturn really gathering pace now,” which he said “reinforces the feeling that it’s only a matter of time before we’re in a proper recession.” Most economists surveyed this month by The Wall Street Journal expect the economy to grow in the third quarter and in 2022 as a whole, though lately they have lowered their estimates. “We’re seeing a sharp and necessary deceleration rather than a recession,” said David Mericle, chief US economist at Goldman Sachs, adding that slower growth is needed to rebalance the economy’s supply and demand for goods and services, and cool wage growth and inflation. “I wouldn’t say we seem to be in contractionary territory on a go-forward basis,” he added. The new figures mark a sharp pullback from the final quarter of 2021, when GDP rose at a 6.9% annual rate. That capped a year in which the economy recovered strongly from the effects of the 2020 pandemic-driven recession and posted its best annual growth since 1984, stoked by low interest rates and roughly $6.4 trillion of government borrowing and spending since Covid-19 struck. President Biden took office a year-and-a-half ago pledging to heal a nation battered by the pandemic by boosting a nascent economic recovery with massive assistance from Washington. Headed into midterm elections this fall, the latest figures have put the White House on the defensive about the state of the economy. Get The Wall Street Journal Newspaper | WSJ Newspaper | WSJ Print Save 30% Off The GDP report underscored the challenges facing U.S. businesses, households and policy makers—including high inflation, weakening consumer sentiment and supply-chain volatility. Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of total economic output, rose at a 1% annual rate in the second quarter, down from 1.8% in the first quarter. People continued to travel and shop as more people gained jobs. Inflation hit a fresh four-decade high during the second quarter, eroding Americans’ purchasing power. The Federal Reserve responded by aggressively raising interest rates, which in turn cooled the housing market, reducing brokers’ commissions and denting construction. The central bank raised rates Wednesday and indicated more increases were likely. Residential investment subtracted 0.71 percentage point from GDP. Business investment worsened slightly, with spending on structures and equipment declining. Percentage–point contribution to GDP change for select categories, 2Q 2022 The U.S. economic recovery is following an unusual trajectory, with weakening output but strong job gains. The unemployment rate, a key barometer of economic health, held steady at a low 3.6% for the past four months, and employers continued to hire at a strong pace. The Labor Department said Thursday that new applications for unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, held last week near the highest level of the year, a sign that the tight labor market is loosening. Get The New York Times and The Economist Epaper 3 Years Inventories—specifically, the pace at which companies restocked—accounted for much of the decline in the second quarter, subtracting 1.96 percentage point from GDP. A shift in spending away from goods and back toward services, and rising prices cutting into people’s buying power, left many companies with stockpiles of products they are now discounting to unload. Walmart Inc. said on Monday that it was having to cut prices to reduce merchandise levels at its flagship chain and Sam’s Club warehouse chain. Many manufacturers are also still struggling with pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions. Business is “a little unhealthy right now” at Best Tool & Engineering Co., according to its president, Joseph Cherluck. The company, based in Clinton Township, Mich., makes tools and plastic components like welding fixtures for vehicle dashboards, and the nationwide shortage of computer chips means auto makers are pushing back orders. “Autos are waiting for chips and we’re seeing it down the supply chain,” said Mr. Cherluck, adding that he is concerned about the economy slowing. The 15-employee company has frozen equipment purchases and scaled back hiring plans as a result. “I feel uncertain about the rest of the year,” Mr. Cherluck said. Trade provided one bright spot in the report: Exports rose at a robust 18% annual rate, as demand picked up for American-made goods and more international travelers returned to the U.S. after pandemic disruptions. Get The WSJ Print Edition – The Wall Street Journal Newspaper 52-Weeks Delivery Save 30% Off Some economists prefer to look at final sales to domestic purchasers—a subset of GDP that doesn’t include the often-volatile categories of inventories and trade—to better gauge U.S. economic activity. Final sales fell at a 0.3% annualized pace in the second quarter, after rising at a 2% pace in the first. Americans still have relatively healthy balance sheets. After the pandemic hit the U.S. economy in early 2020, increased household saving, government stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits boosted household finances. The resulting “excess savings”—the amount above what they would have had there been no pandemic—remains elevated. According to Moody’s Analytics, excess savings totaled $2.5 trillion in May. Some consumers are hunkering down now. Aimie Gresham of Essex, Conn., has pulled back on discretionary spending—like dining out and expensive salon visits—to pay the higher prices for basics like oil, electricity and groceries in recent months. “Even my cat’s food has gone up” by about $10 a bag over the past year, said Ms. Gresham, who works at a retirement financial firm. Her husband’s car has 250,000 miles on it, but the couple decided not to replace it because of the current high prices. “In any other market we would be buying a new car right now,” the 54-year-old said. Read the full article

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<h1>Finest Courting Sites & Apps</h1>

No surprise many of the matches on CoffeeMeetsBagel turn out to be long-term relationships. With a free account, you'll have the ability to see all of your potential matches, send and receive messages, and get notified of who favored you. Therefore, I actually have introduced you an inventory of one of the best free online courting websites obtainable to fit your relationship wants. So, what's the international relationship app from ninety day fiancé that all the friends used? It’s actually a mixture of websites from the listing we now have in this guide. The hottest is International Cupid, because it covers the most nations.

Meetic.fr is run by some of the immediately recognizable names within the on-line dating biz - Match Group. If you need my team to just do your on-line dating for you, click on here. The choice for partners of comparable socioeconomic and training backgrounds has at all times been there, but it’s never been an overwhelmingly strong desire.

This article seeks to focus on the most effective courting web site or app to assist you discover your good match. From informal hookups to serious relationships, everyone has their own vision of love. We've examined a quantity of relationship providers so you don't waste time that might be spent looking for someone particular. You'll see footage and brief bios of potential matches in your area and can swipe depending on whether or not you are involved.

EHarmony is a relatively inexpensive platform, especially considering the big relationship pool you can access. Blank Slate Media is the publisher of 6 award-winning weekly newspapers on the North Shore of Nassau County, Long Island, and its website The Island Now. The newspapers and the internet site are the No. 1 supply of reports and knowledge in the communities they cover. The eleven newspapers in the Blank Slate Media-Litmor Publications Advertising Group provide cost-effective target advertising of northern and central Nassau County.

When it comes to love, cash is in fact not the most important factor. But many individuals want to find an equally profitable partner. There are additionally web sites for folks with sure medical needs. SpectrumSingles.com is geared towards individuals on the autism spectrum, while Dating4Disabled is an choice for people with disabilities.

Make certain that the e-mail account has no private details about you within the handle. Of course, you wish to create an attractive and attractive picture of yourself for others to see, however maintain a decent grip on what private information you place out there for everyone to see. For example, it’s alright to say what you do for work, however to not say what company it's.

If you progress to a new metropolis or go to a new city, dating apps may be an efficient way to search out out what’s occurring close by, get a taste of the queer scene there, and meet new folks. Even if you’re simply at house, there are at all times new folks you haven’t met and new issues to experience proper on your doorstep. Our app specifically also has a group portion of the app purely for making pals, having conversations about many various topics, and finding your niche. You mean, aside from the plain reality websites you will probably get five tunnel from having to swipe via so many profiles? Well, there is https://lytyfy.org/there-are-many-vietnamese-single-ladies-looking-for-a-husband/ of, so Websites will suggest and every single individual within the age range and distance radius that you just set. And when you specifically opted to only see matches of the same gender, Tinder will nonetheless throw the opposite relationship in there, as a outcome of they apparently do not consider that you simply app truly web sites be homosexual.

The website follows a “freemium” subscription mannequin that makes it free to sign-up, permitting you take the test and arrange a profile, however a membership is where the magic happens. Sign up for a yr at $27.ninety five per month, six months at $37.ninety five per 30 days, and three months at $49.ninety five per 30 days. OkCupid is amongst the oldest on-line dating apps with an unbeatable record of creating over ninety one million connections every year. Websites is made potential by the positioning providing varied communication channels that together with textual content, audio, and video chat. If you online looking 1 on-line dating site that makes the issues happen then SpeedDate is the best choices. The websites offer you a free limitless chat and social networking providers for finest with potential dates.

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The Way To Use Twitter For Enterprise

The skyscraper technique is a marketing time period coined by Brian Dean of Backlinko. By consolidating similar posts into one web page, it is prone to perform better in Google in addition to cleansing up your site architecture. If you've a backlog of comparable articles overlaying the identical topic and keywords, it may be price merging them into a single submit. If you could have an organization or private model well-known in the business, getting your Twitter account verified provides you with extra authority amongst future followers and users who go to your profile. In the bio of your Twitter account, you'll have the ability to add a description of your model or options that describe who you are and what you do. In this part, you presumably can embody a hyperlink of your website or on-line retailer. Find a way to ask followers questions, then use those answers in weblog posts, which are promoted by way of the enterprise twitter account. Advertising through paid search, social media and display adverts may be an efficient method to increase website visitors. Well, with 320M+ month-to-month energetic users , Twitter is probably considered one of the most fascinating social media platforms to be energetic on for businesses. This entails monitoring the volume of visits, leads, and customers to a website from the person social channel. We attempt to use bit.ly and get information from that but I personally don't use Google marketing campaign monitoring parameters with URLs promoted by way of Twitter. If blog content material is your methodology of selection, there are several things so that you simply can contemplate. Producer – Broadcast professional stay streams, promote and schedule stay streams, and create immediate highlights of your stream with LiveCut. 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Onalyticais an influencer relationship administration software program that can help you find, reach out to, and monitor your influencers. Beyond its distinctive capability to maneuver products, Instagram is also an unbelievable place for companies to construct model consciousness and connect with new audiences . Not only to satisfy your followers but to remain relevant in the Instagram algorithm. However, it’s practically unimaginable to stay consistent if you don’t use an editorial calendar.

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