Please help to save the SS United States! She's only one of two oceanliners made by the US that won a Blue Riband - awarded for fastest ship across the Atlantic! She doesn't deserve the fate of being sunk! Just sign and share!
Here's a couple of videos showing you what she was like: https://youtu.be/Lzfc-6_twUc?si=yZYci2yHnTRkj3Eo
I just received a DM from a user claiming to have "Falsely reported" my blog because they were "scammed" by a different user they thought was me. They asked for help in resolving the issue, and they were very apologetic in their tone. This disarmed me at first, but I'm not the type to immediately trust unsolicited inquiries like this, so I asked if the profile that "tricked" them was still up. They said no (red flag number one).
This user then provided (fake) screenshots of an email they supposedly received from Tumblr support after they "realized" the reporting of my blog was fraudulent, detailing how my blog was supposedly going to be deactivated unless the issue was resolved. The user then went on to try to get me to contact Tumblr support on Discord (red flag #2), to resolve the false report issue, trying to scare me into clicking the link by saying they don't want my blog to be deactivated over a mistaken report.
I then promptly went to Reddit and sure enough, this is a known scam that has been going around Tumblr recently. Users will fall for this scam by clicking the link and contacting some random person on Discord claiming to be Tumblr support, who will have the victim change their emails and passwords and then they will promptly be locked out of their account by the scammer.
Tumblr Support does not have a Discord. You will only ever contact them through Tumblr itself. If a random blog DMs you with a story following this general script, block and report them. The blog that contacted me didn't appear at first glance to be a bot. It had posts, a real profile picture and description, and had been following me for a year. I think it was probably a real blog that had been hacked via the same scam. Do not fall for this and stay safe out there, everyone!
I just received a DM from a user claiming to have "Falsely reported" my blog because they were "scammed" by a different user they thought was me. They asked for help in resolving the issue, and they were very apologetic in their tone. This disarmed me at first, but I'm not the type to immediately trust unsolicited inquiries like this, so I asked if the profile that "tricked" them was still up. They said no (red flag number one).
This user then provided (fake) screenshots of an email they supposedly received from Tumblr support after they "realized" the reporting of my blog was fraudulent, detailing how my blog was supposedly going to be deactivated unless the issue was resolved. The user then went on to try to get me to contact Tumblr support on Discord (red flag #2), to resolve the false report issue, trying to scare me into clicking the link by saying they don't want my blog to be deactivated over a mistaken report.
I then promptly went to Reddit and sure enough, this is a known scam that has been going around Tumblr recently. Users will fall for this scam by clicking the link and contacting some random person on Discord claiming to be Tumblr support, who will have the victim change their emails and passwords and then they will promptly be locked out of their account by the scammer.
Tumblr Support does not have a Discord. You will only ever contact them through Tumblr itself. If a random blog DMs you with a story following this general script, block and report them. The blog that contacted me didn't appear at first glance to be a bot. It had posts, a real profile picture and description, and had been following me for a year. I think it was probably a real blog that had been hacked via the same scam. Do not fall for this and stay safe out there, everyone!
That mark around Danny's eyes reminds me of the Cinderella Stand in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. People go to Aya (the Stand user) for beauty changes, including changing themselves entirely. 😬
Sorry for the delay! I will be posting this on AO3 once I can. Life has been going against me posting this. The formatting is going to be off, so I apologize for that also!
Mixed a few of your prompts together to get this!
---
Amity Park was never normal.
They were some small town in the middle of nowhere that you wouldn't normally bat an eye at, sure. But there was always <i>something</i> happening that would just make anyone from outside of the town question everything. Thankfully, the residents of Amity Park were used to it. It was just another day to them.
That's why when a new teenager suddenly appeared in the small town, everyone paused for a moment but didn't bat an eye. It almost explained itself when everyone realized <i>who</i> the teenager was related to.
Dan Masters was the so-called twin brother of Danny Fenton. The two were splitting images, other than Dan had the most unsettling deep red eyes. They looked like a ruby; in the dark it had a deep dark maroon color but when the light hit his eyes they were a deep blood red. Dan was also an inch taller than Danny with straighter posture. They seemed like two begrudging peas in a pod.
Compared to Danny, Dan had more bite in his voice but was more quiet. The guy tended to act like a shadow to his brother. It didn't help when Danny introduced him to everyone that it came to light how Dan lived with Vlad Masters, the weird rich mayor of the town, and had Vlad as his legal guardian. It seemed to make the situation worse for Dan and Danny somehow.
Danny sighed as he slumped into his desk, his cheek pressing against the cold wood. He looked around at his classmates as they walked into the room. They were talking amongst themselves, not paying him any mind as they found their seat. Danny spotted Valerie walking in with Dan, who was listening to her talk. Danny felt a bubble of his ghost sense move up his throat and he bit it back as Dan looked up.
Every single time Dan reunited with Danny, it was an odd reminder that Dan was a full ghost. Two ghost halves combined to make a whole. Danny wished that his ghost sense would recognize that it was <i>technically him</i> it was recognizing, but sadly his body wouldn't ever get the memo.
“Hey, Danny.” Valerie smiled as she sat down in the seat in front of him. Dan took the seat left of Danny. “Is Tucker sick today?”
“Yeah. He caught a stomach virus and is home miserable.” Danny offered a smile and shrugged. “Sam swears it's from how much meat he eats. She thinks the steak he ate the other day had a parasite.”
“Checks out.” Valerie shook her head as she looked at Dan then back at Danny. “Me and Dan were hoping he'd be here because they're assigning the midterm project today.”
Danny groaned and thumped his head on his desk. Of course the one day that they needed Tucker to be here, he wasn't.
“What's the worst that could happen?” Dan looked mildly amused by Danny's grief. “They put us with Paulina?”
Danny squinted at Dan, ignoring how Paulina sat two seats away and turned to glare at Dan. Dan ignored the girl and shrugged.
“Don't be mean. She's not that bad.” Danny sat up and then switched to ghost speak. <i>”You're being petty again.”</i>
<i>”I'm not being petty. We suck at this class and I know that you don't want the embarrassment of that.”</i> Dan rolled his eyes.
“Oh great. You're doing it again.” Valerie made a face at them. “You know you two look weird to the others when you do that? They don't know you're… y'know.”
“Let them think we're weird. It doesn't bother me.” Dan glanced around before grinning. “What're they going to do? Say something?”
Danny reached his foot out and kicked Dan's shin.
“Dick.” Dan bared his teeth at Danny before kicking back.
“You're the one who is trying to cause problems.” Danny rolled his eyes at Dan.
“I'm not trying to cause any problems. I'm having fun.” Dan looked towards the front of the class as their teacher came in. “I don't have any want for harm going towards them.”
Danny sighed and turned his attention back up to the teacher as she wrote group names on the board. He tapped his foot lightly as he watched their names one by one get assigned. His name was written on the boards, then Valerie and Dan.
Then Paulina.
Of course.
“You jinxed it.” Valerie sounded half amused as Paulina turned towards them with a strained smile.
“Sooo… I guess that means we have to work with each other?” Paulina looked almost pained as she talked to the other three.
“I guess it does.” Valerie tapped her fingers on her desk before looking at Dan. “How about we work at your place? I'm sure Vlad wouldn't mind.”
“You call Mayor Masters by his name?” Paulina squints at Valerie.
“I'm friends with his kid and godchildren.” Valerie gave a smile towards Paulina that felt sharp. “Kinda comes with that perk.”
Paulina blew air out of her nose before smiling like a shark at Dan, leaning towards him.
“Sooo… your house tonight at 7?” Paulina batted her eyes.
Dan looked to be in a mixture of boredom and amusement. He glanced at Danny and Valerie before shrugging.
“Fine. He will have to deal.” Dan pulled out his phone and sent out a text.
Danny wasn't too surprised. While being half Vlad, Dan was still Danny in the end and would 100% stick it to the fruit loop.
“Great.” Paulina turned back to the front of her desk. “Valerie can text me the deets later.”
Danny and Valerie’s eyes met before they rolled their eyes.
–
Danny sighed as he stepped out of Valerie's car. He pulled his bag over his shoulder and slapped the door shut before turning to Valerie. She was stepping out of the car and picking up her bag by the strap. She looked up and gave a small smile to Danny.
“You ready to get this over with?” Valerie asked with a small laugh behind her words.
“The sooner I can get home and play games with Tuck, the better.” Danny smiled and started to walk up the driveway.
Valerie caught up quickly as they made their way up the driveway. Already parked was a grey Toyota that looked secondhand but well taken care of. Even without the fuzzy pink dice hanging on the rearview mirror, Danny knew it was Paulina’s car.
Danny didn't even bother to knock at the front door. He dug his key out and opened the door without any hesitation. Valerie followed him inside and shut the door behind him, just as she always did when they came over. The foyer welcomed them to the sound of soft classical music and talking in the distance.
The two followed the sound down one of the dim lit hallways all the way to the large dining room. At the table was Paulina and Dan. Their textbooks and notebooks were splayed out in front of them as they discussed the text. Danny swallowed the icy sensation in his throat.
“Took you long enough.” Dan didn't spare a glance as the two sat down.
“Did you get lost on the way?” Paulina's tone lacked the normal venom it held.
“He forgot his backpack the first time.” Valerie threw Danny under the bus, which got her a sharp <i>hey</i> in response.
“Neither of us are good at that, so I don't blame you.” Dan snorted. “Just sit down.”
“Fine, fine.” Danny grumbled and took a seat next to Valerie, which was across from Dan and Paulina.
“So, what'd you guys start with?” Valerie asked as she opened up her textbook.
“Well, since you and me are the better academics of us four, we were talking about us gathering information and then working on the presentation. That way it will go smoother.” Paulina explained as she pointed out her notebook. It had the objectives and tasks listed out neatly with who would do them.
“Wow. I didn't think of doing it like that.” Danny admitted.
“After freshman year you haven't really been the type to do well in school, so I think that's a given.” Paulina gave a flat look at Danny.
“Hey, he did have that accident so you can't be too mad. Plus all of the ghosts. Our parents were probably nightmares to deal with so I don't blame him.” Dan frowned and Danny tried to not smile.
“I guess you are right.” Paulina sighed and looked at Dan. “You don't seem motivated in school much but at least you get decent grades.”
“My dad would kill me if I brought bad grades home.” Dan shrugged. Danny knew that was a lie mostly. It was part of the agreement that Dan would at least try. “I don't care as much about school, though.”
“Bummer.” Paulina motioned her pen between herself and Valerie. “We have to get good grades. Cheer team standards and all.”
“You got back on the cheer team?” Dan's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Valerie.
“Yeah. Just got back on.” Valerie shrugged.
“I'm proud of you. I know it hurt when you got kicked off.” Dan gave a genuine smile at Valerie.
“Thanks…. And yeah it did.” Valerie gave a smile back.
The four fell into a small silence as Danny slowly slid over the assignment to read it. It didn't seem too hard, thankfully. Just more time consuming.
“Hey, Dan.” After 20 minutes of them working on their project, Paulina spoke up again.
“Hmm?” Dan didn't look up.
“We have art together. I know that I'm better at research based assignments, but in art I'm not great. Could you help me one of these days?” Paulina looked up at Dan, who paused.
<i>”You remembering that she's a different person now from when you were in my place?”</i> Danny spoke up in ghost speak. <i>”She's trying to be your friend.”</i>
“Uhg. They're doing it again.” Valerie groaned and turned to Paulina. “Sorry, they have this little secret language code they talk in. A bad habit they have when they don't want people to hear what they're saying.”
“No, it's fine. My brother and I used to pass notes in a made up alphabet we made up. Got a lot of things around our parents.” Paulina didn't seem bothered.
<i>”But what if I do something bad again?”</i> Dan frowned at Danny, looking genuinely worried.
<i>”You won't.”</i> Danny shrugged. <i>”You're doing better. And…. I trust you.”</i>
Dan slowly smiled before turning to Paulina.
“Yeah. I can help. Just let me know when and I will help.” Dan offered.
Paulina lit up and pulled out another notebook. She flipped it open to a page with what looked like ideas.
“Great! Do you know how I could do-” Paulina started and Danny stopped listening as Valerie pulled his attention away.
“Pretty sweet, if you ask me. He's doing better and I'm glad he's willing to make a friend.” Valerie spoke quietly. “Especially with someone… you know.”
“Yeah.” Danny smiled at her and glanced over to the other two. “I'm glad too.”
Hey @scarlette-foxx happy holidays! I was your Truce gifter for @phandomholidaytruce.
Prompt: A society of blob ghosts decorate for Christmas.
Ao3 link
Danny shifted as one of his companions wriggled deeper into his hair. He reached up absently, petting the little blob ghost as it made itself more comfortable. It nuzzled into his touch, its tiny spark of a core vibrating in an almost-imperceptible purr, and then he felt it relax into place, clearly happy to stay where it was for the time being.
A second blob lay in his lap. This one was larger, and snuggled up against his stomach as if it were a kitten. It also hummed contentedly, and Danny gave this one a scritch too. It twitched, but was too settled to respond further.
He sighed, turning his attention back to his homework, and scowling at the equation that waited for him to solve it. The answer space was smudged with the blurs of half-erased mistakes, and he tapped the tip of his pencil against the desk, wondering if he should even bother trying to fight his way through this. It would be so much easier to just get the answers off the internet, but he was trying to at least pass, and if he didn’t know how to solve equations like this, he’d never make it through exams.
A door slammed below, and the tone of his dad’s voice was enough for Danny to consider reaching for his earbuds. The only things stopping him were his current guests – the last thing this study session needed was for him to not hear his parents approaching, and for them to enter his room and see two blob ghosts cuddling up to him while he worked.
He couldn’t make out individual words, especially as wind drove snow against his window, but his mum’s reply held a note of frustration, and Danny didn’t think he needed to guess what this discussion was about.
Footsteps hammered up the stairs, and Danny placed one hand on each blob and slid into invisibility, pulling them along with him before his dad could fling open his bedroom door.
“Danno! Come help… oh.” His dad leaned back out of Danny’s doorway, shouting over his shoulder. “Mads, have you seen Danny?”
“He was studying,” she called from downstairs. “Now are you sure you need to set up the trap so early? Not that you’ll catch anything, but it’s still weeks away.”
“Of course!” he bellowed, disappearing from sight as he headed back down the hallway. “You never know what we might catch!” Danny heard him pound on the bathroom door. “C’mon, Danno! Time to help your old man put up the Fenton Christmas Light Trap! We’ll catch him this year, I know it!”
Danny huffed quietly, massaging his fingers into the blob in his lap when it stirred. He stayed invisible – his dad had left his door wide open – and leaned back in his chair.
When there was no answer from the bathroom, his dad inevitably opened that door as well – privacy be damned in this house – before returning downstairs, grumbling something about teenagers that was mostly lost to the buffeting of the wind against the house.
“Maybe we should get you two back to the Ghost Zone,” Danny murmured. “Don’t want any of you getting caught in the trap before I dismantle it.”
The blob in his hair trilled quietly, nuzzling into his fingers as he scritched it too.
He smiled. It was nice, having little blobs drift in and out of his space most days. Frostbite had said it had something to do with their tiny sparkler cores seeking out stronger, more stable cores to feed off. It was anchoring for their stability, and provided peace for the ghosts that they gathered around. Danny couldn’t remember what Frostbite had called it, something about mutual benefits, but it matched what he’d started to learn in biology class recently. He liked to think that at least some of them were returning visitors, and though he occasionally needed to rescue one of two from misadventure with ectofilters or his parents’ various devices, none of them had been injured.
The one in his hair was definitely a repeat customer. It always nestled there, and would growl adorably at any other blobs who dared to rise above his ears. Danny was considering naming it, but figured he should probably ask Frostbite if blob ghosts had names first. He didn’t want to be rude to his little friends.
Keeping his hands on the two blobs and holding onto invisibility, Danny slipped through the floor and sank down, through the kitchen (where he could now clearly hear his parents loudly debating the existence of Santa Claus from the living room yet again), and down into the lab.
The floor was covered in a mesh of tangled Christmas lights, and Danny sighed, drifting across to the portal. “Good thing I got out of untangling those, huh?” he asked the blobs, turning visible again and gently ushering them towards the open nexus of spectral light. “Go on,” he coaxed. “You can come back tomorrow.”
The larger ghost disappeared into the light with no further prompting, the portal’s surface sparkling as it passed through. The smaller one squeaked indignantly at the injustice of being moved before it was ready to do so, so Danny reached up and cradled it in his hands. “Come on,” he murmured, drizzling energy into his palms until they glowed with soft green light.
The blob flattened itself into his cupped palms – Sam called it pancaking, and he had to agree with her on that – and set about absorbing the offered energy, its tiny red eyes narrowing to contented slits.
Danny sighed, the contentment sinking into his own core, and curled his thumbs so that he could rub the top of its little head. “You’re gonna get me into trouble one of these days,” he cooed. “You’re too cute, though.”
The blob trilled, snuggling closer for a moment, before they both jumped at the sound of the lab door slamming open.
Danny hurled his handful of ghost at the portal, wincing as the blob chirped in clear protest at the treatment, as his dad’s footsteps thundered down the stairs. “Danno, there you are! Getting a head start, are you?”
Danny forced a laugh, turning away from the portal and shoving his hands in his pockets so the residual energy would have a moment to dissipate. “You know me, always happy to help.” He toed a trailing loop of lights, both of its ends disappearing into the conglomerate mass of wiring and various shapes of glass and plastic bulbs. “Are you sure these’re still good, though? Maybe it’s time to get some new ones.”
“Nonsense! No Fenton’ll ever be beat by some fiendish festive tangle!”
He sighed. “Let’s at least bring them upstairs, so we can watch tv while we untangle them.”
“Way ahead of you!” His Dad hoisted one hopeless ball of lights into his arms. “I’ve got a lineup of holiday movies all ready to go!”
“Mhm.” Danny slumped, picking up the pile that looked the least-tangled and trudging towards the stairs. “Why do I feel like it’s every single version of A Christmas Carol again?”
“Spoken like a true Fenton! You can never study too much about ghosts, even in holiday legends!”
“Right.” He followed his dad up the stairs, already lamenting getting caught. Hopefully once he’d sorted out this tangle he could beg his way out of any further helping tonight, since he really should get at least a bit more study done.
He was unprepared for the state of the living room, though he should have expected it. There were already several tangles of lights waiting in piles, and his mum had set up a station of her own, thick gloves protecting her hands as she worked on untangling strands while muttering under her breath.
His dad dropped his armful in a free space and clapped Danny on the back. “Set yourself up, I’ll go get the rest.”
Danny picked his way gingerly through the mess, finding a clear spot on the couch and sitting with a sigh.
“He thinks he’ll catch Santa this year,” his mum muttered.
He shrugged, trying to seem as disinterested in speculation as possible. “Well, isn’t he stringing the ecto-net between the lights again? At least you might catch some ghosts.” And at least Danny could cut strategic holes in it, difficult to spot, but which he could teach the blob ghosts how to pass through so they wouldn’t risk getting caught.
“We caught nothing but the Wisconsin Ghost last year,” she reminded him, “and he broke free before we could secure him.”
Danny snorted, the memory of Vlad flying full-force into the net only to give a truly hilarious scream of surprise when his intangibility was thwarted by the phase-proof net still a treasured memory. “He did seem pretty upset by it.”
Her scowl lightened into an amused smile. “He did, didn’t he?”
“I didn’t know he could squawk like that.”
“It’s certainly fascinating,” she agreed. “Hopefully we’ll catch more ghosts with it this year.”
His dad’s footsteps rattled back up the metal staircase, and he burst into the room, arms practically full to overflowing. “This is the last of it!”
Danny winced as the huge armful was dumped onto the floor. “I can only help for a bit,” he said, deciding to lay the groundwork for his escape now. “I really do need to study some more tonight.”
“Just one movie then,” his dad said.
“So long as it’s one based in reality,” his mum countered.
His dad pouted. “All Christmas movies are based in reality!” he insisted.
Danny’s mum opened her mouth, but he overrode her before the argument could start up again. “We were thinking A Christmas Carol. Seems to be the tradition, right?”
His dad was already at the tv, waving a dvd case above his head. “I’ll put it on!”
Danny didn’t bother asking which version. He'd seen them all several times, of course, and resigned himself to working on the snarl of wires and spikey starburst-shaped bulbs in his lap.
He missed his blobs already.
It took two whole movies for him to manage to untangle the armful that he’d brought up from the lab, and Danny had also wound up with a blob ghost nestled against his hip, hidden beneath a pillow that he’d surreptitiously placed over it when it had first appeared. His parents had thankfully both been too focused on their respective tangles to notice its arrival, and the movies were enough of a distraction that they didn’t resume the annual argument.
Hands poked and sore from the spikey light bulbs, Danny carefully coiled his blessedly-untangled threads around prepared cardboard rectangles. The failed capture of Vlad last year, combined with a storm, had meant that a lot of the lights had been hastily pulled down from the house’s exterior and shoved into their storage boxes without being coiled up nicely. Which had been fine back then, but now left Danny with sore hands, stiff shoulders, and unfinished homework.
He’d typically be irritated enough to simmer unpleasantly, and potentially even pout a bit, but the blob ghost’s calming effect instead had him methodically winding the lights onto their boards without anything more than slight irritation at how long this had taken.
“Done,” he said as the credits rolled, triumphantly brandishing the final wound string from the pile he’d been sorting.
His dad crowed. “Great job! Now, if you could help your old man with this pile over here–”
Danny shook his head. “Study, remember?” He made a show of stretching, placing his hands on his lower back and using the movement to scoop the little blob beneath his hoodie. It used the opportunity to cuddle into his lap, and so when he stood, he was able to keep it there by shoving his hands into the front pocket and cradling the little thing. He was just glad that it was small enough that it didn’t really show through the fabric.
His dad looked dismayed. “But the trap…”
“Danny has tests before the break,” his mum reminded him. “Let him get another hour of study tonight.”
Danny mouthed a thank you to her as his dad looked back down at the lights with a sigh.
“I’m sure you’ll get it done over the next few days,” he said, tiptoeing through the many tangles that were still piled around the living room floor.
“That’s true,” his dad agreed, “and besides, it means we can do more family Christmas bonding tomorrow!”
Danny groaned. “Sure,” he muttered, and headed for the stairs. Jazz was so lucky that she wouldn’t be home from college for another two weeks.
The blob hummed as he climbed the stairs, wriggling up the inside of his sweatshirt until it could squeeze through his neck hole and tuck itself into the curve of his neck. Danny scratched the top of its little head, and couldn’t help but smile as it chirped softly. “At least I’ve got you guys to help me feel better,” he told it as he reached his room and shut the door. “Now, if only you could help me with this maths, or fixing those damned lights, hm?”
The blob trilled, snuggling closer into his neck, and Danny laughed as he sat back at his desk. His parents’ voices started up again downstairs, muffled by the house and the continuing wind, but doubtlessly continuing the never-ending debate that always dominated at this time of year.
“If only everyone could have some calming blob friends,” Danny sighed, picking up his pencil and once again facing the equation. “Maybe I just need to start this one from scratch, hm?”
The blob hummed, pancaking in the curve where his neck met his shoulder and quickly falling asleep, and Danny worked into the night, comforted by its tiny little snores as he fought his way through the tangle of equations.
He didn’t finish until much later, after his parents had retired and the house had fallen quiet. His shoulder blob had long since left, and Danny had completed his work alone, missing the comfort of blob companionship but reminding himself that they’d be back when they were ready.
He wasn’t sure if he’d gotten everything right, but the residual calmness from his visitors had given him the patience to at least attempt each of the questions on the practice test. He’d be able to hand it in tomorrow fully completed, which was a miracle in itself, and then the marking would provide feedback that he’d be able to put into his notes. With a few more nights like this, he’d maybe even pass the upcoming test!
He stood, stretching with a groan, before dropping invisibly through the floor. He’d worked late enough that he was hungry again, and figured that a quick snack would help him to sleep better than if he tried to rest with the beginnings of hunger pangs.
He blinked, pausing at the sight in the kitchen.
The place swarmed with little blobs. They were zooming around, trailing tinsel and lights, and there were a few who seemed intent on hanging baubles from the light fitting.
“Hey,” he said, turning visible and changing into ghost form so that his glow would illuminate the space without needing to turn on the main lights. “What’re you all doing?”
The blobs let out a series of chirps and trills, before one of them zoomed towards Danny and landed on top of his head with a triumphant purr.
Several more blobs swarmed around Danny, making various little happy noises before dispersing back to their decorations. Which, now that Danny looked, he realised were in various stages of being stuck to the walls and ceiling…
He floated through to the living room, eyes wide. “Wait… no way…”
The ghosts in the living room also dropped what they were doing, swirling around him happily before flitting back to their stations and continuing their work. All of the lights had now been untangled, and the tinsel and other decorations unboxed from their stacks against the wall. Everything was now almost fully up in place, and when he glanced towards the windows, Danny could see little glowing blobs doing similar work outside.
Their calming influence was sinking into his core already, but Danny felt an extra level of something there, and it took him a moment to realise that it was affection. Affection for him.
A blob bumped against his hip before flying up his chest and settling on his shoulder.
“You all did this for me?” Danny realised, his voice catching at the thought. “You saw I was annoyed, and you did this to help me?”
The ghosts in his hair and on his shoulder chirped in unison, snuggling closer, and Danny sniffed as his throat grew tight. “Thank you,” he choked. “You all have no idea how much this means to me.”
Several of the blobs hummed, and more swirled around him, ushering Danny back into the kitchen when his stomach audibly growled. He laughed, but followed their prompting, grabbing a slice of bread and smearing it with hazelnut spread.
By the time he finished his snack, the decorating was practically complete. A few stragglers here and there were still figuring out where to stick some residual ornaments, but that was about it.
One of the larger blobs did a clear circuit of the area as though inspecting it, before giving a single chirp. Several blobs moved to the power points, flicking switches with their tiny spectral tails, and the lights burst into a blaze of colour.
Danny laughed again, spreading his arms wide as dozens of blobs swarmed around him in glee.
There was a thump upstairs, and the unmistakeable shout of “Ghost!”
“Crap,” Danny hissed, flapping his hands at the blobs. “Quick, portal!”
The cloud of blobs clearly got the message. They streamed down the lab stairs in a trail of light, but were nowhere near fast enough – Danny’s Dad bounded down the stairs, followed closely by his mum.
They stopped, eyes wide and mouths open as the stragglers trickled directly past them on the way to the lab, before turning to face Danny. Danny, who was currently Phantom floating in their fully-decorated living room, with blobs nestled on his shoulder and in his hair.
“Uh, Merry Christmas,” he said, giving a wave and a sheepish smile before turning invisible.
“Phantom!” his dad shouted, lurching forwards. “Come back!”
Danny flew up, avoiding his dad’s sweeping arms and phasing back through to his bedroom.
“Wait!” he heard the muffled cry through the floorboards. “Do you know Santa?!”
Danny snorted, turning human and switching off his light. “You two can stay for now,” he offered, illuminating his hand and using that to guide the way to his bed. They both allowed him to transfer them onto his pillow, and he changed into his pyjamas by the light of his own powers before yawning and pulling back the covers.
He laid down, the blobs shifting to cuddle under the blankets, and closed his eyes with a contented sigh. “Thanks again,” he whispered.
The two little blobs trilled, pressing into his chest and stomach, and Danny curled his arms around them with a smile.
Footsteps hammered up the stairs, and Danny groaned as his door was flung open, the light from the hallway falling across his face.
“Quick, Danno, get up! Some dastardly spooks have sabotaged our Fenton Christmas Light Trap! You’ve gotta help us investigate!”
Danny made a show of squinting. “What time is it?” he slurred.
“The witching hour! Phantom was just here, with an army of formless minions!”
He grunted, squinting at his clock. Sure enough, it was almost three in the morning. “Dad, I have school,” he whined. “Can’t I help you tomorrow?”
His dad paused. “Well… alright then, first thing once you’ve finished school. We’ll put up the net and catch those dastardly spooks, once and for all!”
He pulled the door shut, heavy footsteps retreating down the hallway, and Danny sighed, drawing his little friends closer. “So much for a Christmas miracle, huh?”
They both chirped, snuggling into his touch, and Danny relaxed. Despite the voices downstairs, and the continuation once again of the seasonal argument, he drifted off into a contented sleep, comforted by the tiny purring creatures sharing the safety of his bed.
"but physical media is worse quality and will break with time" I DON'T CARE! I WANT TO OWN THINGS I LIKE! I WANT SHELVES FULL OF DVDS, CDS, AND A LIBRARY!
Persephone DaSilva @persephonedasilva - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
