for Deliverance6/10/2024 c83 jhonda3721
Heeeyy! Glad to see you back here! Thanks for updating again. I was kinda hoping to see him steal a kiss from her lol but it’s cool. I liked the chapter and the villain playing the hero more or less! Also sorry about the accident and happy that you’re alive and nearly healed up! Wow. Car accidents can be quite traumatic, even small ones. Continued healing your way! God bless you!
Heeeyy! Glad to see you back here! Thanks for updating again. I was kinda hoping to see him steal a kiss from her lol but it’s cool. I liked the chapter and the villain playing the hero more or less! Also sorry about the accident and happy that you’re alive and nearly healed up! Wow. Car accidents can be quite traumatic, even small ones. Continued healing your way! God bless you!
5/31/2024 c83 gabbigabz
Part 2!
"I don't understand it," he complained, ripping away beams. Beneath were still-beating hearts. Unconscious humans. "Why would Amity Park agree to the destruction of Amity Park?" He grabbed onto the back collar of an unconscious man he did not know and roughly slid him out. "She is an utter contradiction and knows damn well that the fun ends the instant she is dead.” (Not this man casual as anything rescuing civilians like he's picking up fruit at the grocery store complaining that his nemesis will just let him kill her, ruining the vibe)
(He is being so bratty about saving the day. Ridiculous.)
Among the survivors was Damon Gray. (Oh thank god. I was getting worried.)
(Dan being jealous of Valerie's relationship with her dad for multiple reasons is funny as shit.)
With a brief trepidation, he paused until he felt the man's chest rise with a strong, steady breath. "Oh, you'll be fine," he murmured roughly. "You're even more of a cockroach than your daughter." As he dropped the man onto safe grass, a grin lit his face. "Who is mine to torment now, as I'm sure you'll just love." (That little moment of panic that Damon might be dead and he'd have to tell Valerie. Immediately followed by him being a little shit and bragging to an unconscious man that he now gets to monopolize his daughter is wild.)
(Lowkey tho he's kind of already acknowledged that he plans to keep her alive, but that's neither here nor there.)
.. part of her hoping to never wake up in anticipation of a violent death or torture at the hands of Dan Phantom.
But when she eventually came to, she was no longer in the Ghost Zone at all, or laying upon Phantom's bed. She instead lay on the ground in the human world… (Gorl WHAAAAAAT?¿? Also im just realizing this story might be the first time we see Dan's regular degular ghost lair. And now we've already left.)
(Ooh! Yay! Paulina! I love Paulina. She's a real one.)
Survival count is 10,194. I will come for you once you have seen the fruits of my labor. (He left a note, how considerate. Also Damn that's like. Half their people gone. But that means half of them lived.)
True to form, Dan Phantom never quite behaved as others expected him to. (Oh just wait. I'm betting it gets weirder.)
(Kwan! I like Kwan. He's a good egg.)
"Why do you say it like you're not gonna be here?"
Valerie looked away.
"I might not be," she whispered.
Kwan's fingers tightened on his few medical supplies and gave her a hard look. "You can't just drop something like that on me and expect me to not ask questions…(Kwan is entirely in the right here. Valerie has been spending too much time with Dan. His dramatics are rubbing off on her.)
"It's a pretty robe that he gave you, for being enemies.” (True and blood stains can come out if you know how to treat them.)
"Maybe it won't be so bad?"
"How would you know?” (Because he has eyes and yall ain't subtle?)
"We haven't had a truce except for Christmas in like, three years, and the last time we had one, he nearly left me to die because I said his cape was stupid.” (Good on her for roasting his fashion sense. Keeps him humble…relatively speaking.)
"So, don't insult the cape."
"I promise I won't insult the cape.” (It's funny watching these two be friends.)
"Hello, Valerie," he said again, his voice soft, coiled with danger. His red eyes glowed as a predator's in the sunset. "Have I fulfilled our contract in full?” (this dramatic bitch)
She stood, the glowing robe swaying around her. It lit the arches of her curls and the angle of her cheek as a light in the darkness. "Yes." Her fist clenched as she raised her chin.
Suit offline. (Girl is still looking so pretty even in the apocalypse. Also I love how the “suit offline” notification is reminding the audience that in a rare turn of events Valerie is actually defenseless right now. Very nice. Immersive and Effective.)
Dan's wide mouth split, revealing white fangs. He licked his bottom lip with his forked tongue in a mischief. "And will you fulfill your part, or will you run as prey?” (Dude don't make it weird.)
She eyed him wearily. "You know I don't run," she said, voice hard. "Least of all from you.” (Yeah you tell ‘im!)
(Turtle Shell mention! I always Find it kind of cute how Dan sees Valerie in this nigh impenetrable incredibly advanced ecto-suit, which very much has the capacity to kill him, and just goes “Oh! like a turtle!”)
Her breath puffed against his.
The inches.
She felt the inches between them. (Ahhhhhh! The tension!)
(Bro is the king of petty, literally thought of a list for each person he had to save. He a mess.)
"After it abandoned me. Denied me.” (There's some character analysis in here, but I don't quite have the presence of mind to fish it out)
His eyes slid to hers, and an irritation wavered through him. "But you are not Amity Park.” (OOHHH! a Subversion of the Theme! I like this just as much!)
With a small, glowing blade, he slit the lock to her shoulder. "You have never abandoned me, despite all the torments I have leveled against you. And 10,194 insects do not equal the value of your life. Therefore, you are not entirely Amity Park, even if you often speak for it.” (Girl. GIRL. SHUT UP. is the tiny lock of hair what he considers the equivalent to the 10,000 people weighed against the totality of her. I. AM. DEAD.)
Valerie's unsteady breath puffed against him as he clenched the fallen lock before allowing the hair to fall to the ground…A petty, little token he knew would bother her only later, like a mosquito bite. (Lol not me thinking he was gonna keep it for a second there. Also Dan playing up that he's gonna “torment” her only to subject her to the most minor inconvenience. This man)
His gaze slid down to her lips. Slipping the blade back into its holster, he raised his hand to her cheek. He did not touch her, but in the scant distance between them, hovering his fingers down the line of her jaw. (Again, very Jane Austin. These two sure have a lot of sexual tension for people who have a whole thing about Not Touching, but I suppose it's not my place to kink shame, and all that.)
"Rebuild the city. Return it to the past—down to every tower and column… (eyebrow raise)
…so that I may destroy it by my hand, as it was meant to be destroyed.” (There it is.)
Tears of relief streaked down her dirty face, and a sob escaped her lips.
Suit offline.
The concept that he would let her live, let her rebuild, began to sink in. (I like the inclusion of the notification here, it reminds the audience that Dan is acting out of genuine good will [toward Valerie specifically] as Valerie, for the moment, is unable to fight against him.)
"You're breaking the deal, then."
"I'm changing its conditions," he corrected. His wide mouth split with a mild mischief—a little hint of his old self who once held hands with her. (Ah. Excuse me, I have to cry now. My HEART! Any time there's that bittersweet nostalgia about What Once Was between these two it tugs at my heartstrings.)
He leaned in, voice hot in her hear. "You will also receive a bill for my bedsheets you ruined, and I would have you replace them, or else I will take your bed once you obtain one in this fallen world.” (I mean you could always Share- Actually Pause. How the hell would he send a bill? I don't think that they have a super reliable mailing system at the moment, also does Dan have like an Evil Secretary to print up invoices for him? Does he do it himself? Does this man even have a printer? I have questions! lol)
Valerie remembered to breathe, realizing uncomfortably that the flush heating her cheeks was not horror. It was something more deeply unsettling. (Y'know, I have a sneaking suspicion that Valerie contemplated the sharing option too.)
"But I don't have any money to buy bedsheets! I don't even have bedsheets! It's all under the rubble!"
As he materialized out, he retorted back, waving his hand, "Saving your possessions was not part of our deal.” (Lol he's such a shit.)
He tilted his head, his mouth splitting too far to be human, his form fading out. "But I'm sure you'll find a way to satisfy my request.” (I mean. if yall go with my idea I'm pretty sure yall will Both be PLENTY satisfied, but hey what do I know?)
Final thoughts:
I’m so happy you’re feeling better! :D
It’s always fun to see Reluctant Hero Dan, doing the right thing for Valerie related reasons and complaining the whole time. Also any time we see him or Valerie taking care of each other is good for the heart. This story's whole thing about Not Touching was very romantic in a “so close but so far”/”forbidden fruit” kinda way. I dig it.
I’m really glad i got to do an actual-as-i-read reaction for once, though, i admit, i think i prefer my retroactive play-by-plays. (speaking of, ive had one i was working on that i need to get back to) Its easier for me to set up jokes. I sometimes worry that my reviews are too much yknow so im glad you like them.
Have a lovely day! Be safe! I'll see you in the next one!
Part 2!
"I don't understand it," he complained, ripping away beams. Beneath were still-beating hearts. Unconscious humans. "Why would Amity Park agree to the destruction of Amity Park?" He grabbed onto the back collar of an unconscious man he did not know and roughly slid him out. "She is an utter contradiction and knows damn well that the fun ends the instant she is dead.” (Not this man casual as anything rescuing civilians like he's picking up fruit at the grocery store complaining that his nemesis will just let him kill her, ruining the vibe)
(He is being so bratty about saving the day. Ridiculous.)
Among the survivors was Damon Gray. (Oh thank god. I was getting worried.)
(Dan being jealous of Valerie's relationship with her dad for multiple reasons is funny as shit.)
With a brief trepidation, he paused until he felt the man's chest rise with a strong, steady breath. "Oh, you'll be fine," he murmured roughly. "You're even more of a cockroach than your daughter." As he dropped the man onto safe grass, a grin lit his face. "Who is mine to torment now, as I'm sure you'll just love." (That little moment of panic that Damon might be dead and he'd have to tell Valerie. Immediately followed by him being a little shit and bragging to an unconscious man that he now gets to monopolize his daughter is wild.)
(Lowkey tho he's kind of already acknowledged that he plans to keep her alive, but that's neither here nor there.)
.. part of her hoping to never wake up in anticipation of a violent death or torture at the hands of Dan Phantom.
But when she eventually came to, she was no longer in the Ghost Zone at all, or laying upon Phantom's bed. She instead lay on the ground in the human world… (Gorl WHAAAAAAT?¿? Also im just realizing this story might be the first time we see Dan's regular degular ghost lair. And now we've already left.)
(Ooh! Yay! Paulina! I love Paulina. She's a real one.)
Survival count is 10,194. I will come for you once you have seen the fruits of my labor. (He left a note, how considerate. Also Damn that's like. Half their people gone. But that means half of them lived.)
True to form, Dan Phantom never quite behaved as others expected him to. (Oh just wait. I'm betting it gets weirder.)
(Kwan! I like Kwan. He's a good egg.)
"Why do you say it like you're not gonna be here?"
Valerie looked away.
"I might not be," she whispered.
Kwan's fingers tightened on his few medical supplies and gave her a hard look. "You can't just drop something like that on me and expect me to not ask questions…(Kwan is entirely in the right here. Valerie has been spending too much time with Dan. His dramatics are rubbing off on her.)
"It's a pretty robe that he gave you, for being enemies.” (True and blood stains can come out if you know how to treat them.)
"Maybe it won't be so bad?"
"How would you know?” (Because he has eyes and yall ain't subtle?)
"We haven't had a truce except for Christmas in like, three years, and the last time we had one, he nearly left me to die because I said his cape was stupid.” (Good on her for roasting his fashion sense. Keeps him humble…relatively speaking.)
"So, don't insult the cape."
"I promise I won't insult the cape.” (It's funny watching these two be friends.)
"Hello, Valerie," he said again, his voice soft, coiled with danger. His red eyes glowed as a predator's in the sunset. "Have I fulfilled our contract in full?” (this dramatic bitch)
She stood, the glowing robe swaying around her. It lit the arches of her curls and the angle of her cheek as a light in the darkness. "Yes." Her fist clenched as she raised her chin.
Suit offline. (Girl is still looking so pretty even in the apocalypse. Also I love how the “suit offline” notification is reminding the audience that in a rare turn of events Valerie is actually defenseless right now. Very nice. Immersive and Effective.)
Dan's wide mouth split, revealing white fangs. He licked his bottom lip with his forked tongue in a mischief. "And will you fulfill your part, or will you run as prey?” (Dude don't make it weird.)
She eyed him wearily. "You know I don't run," she said, voice hard. "Least of all from you.” (Yeah you tell ‘im!)
(Turtle Shell mention! I always Find it kind of cute how Dan sees Valerie in this nigh impenetrable incredibly advanced ecto-suit, which very much has the capacity to kill him, and just goes “Oh! like a turtle!”)
Her breath puffed against his.
The inches.
She felt the inches between them. (Ahhhhhh! The tension!)
(Bro is the king of petty, literally thought of a list for each person he had to save. He a mess.)
"After it abandoned me. Denied me.” (There's some character analysis in here, but I don't quite have the presence of mind to fish it out)
His eyes slid to hers, and an irritation wavered through him. "But you are not Amity Park.” (OOHHH! a Subversion of the Theme! I like this just as much!)
With a small, glowing blade, he slit the lock to her shoulder. "You have never abandoned me, despite all the torments I have leveled against you. And 10,194 insects do not equal the value of your life. Therefore, you are not entirely Amity Park, even if you often speak for it.” (Girl. GIRL. SHUT UP. is the tiny lock of hair what he considers the equivalent to the 10,000 people weighed against the totality of her. I. AM. DEAD.)
Valerie's unsteady breath puffed against him as he clenched the fallen lock before allowing the hair to fall to the ground…A petty, little token he knew would bother her only later, like a mosquito bite. (Lol not me thinking he was gonna keep it for a second there. Also Dan playing up that he's gonna “torment” her only to subject her to the most minor inconvenience. This man)
His gaze slid down to her lips. Slipping the blade back into its holster, he raised his hand to her cheek. He did not touch her, but in the scant distance between them, hovering his fingers down the line of her jaw. (Again, very Jane Austin. These two sure have a lot of sexual tension for people who have a whole thing about Not Touching, but I suppose it's not my place to kink shame, and all that.)
"Rebuild the city. Return it to the past—down to every tower and column… (eyebrow raise)
…so that I may destroy it by my hand, as it was meant to be destroyed.” (There it is.)
Tears of relief streaked down her dirty face, and a sob escaped her lips.
Suit offline.
The concept that he would let her live, let her rebuild, began to sink in. (I like the inclusion of the notification here, it reminds the audience that Dan is acting out of genuine good will [toward Valerie specifically] as Valerie, for the moment, is unable to fight against him.)
"You're breaking the deal, then."
"I'm changing its conditions," he corrected. His wide mouth split with a mild mischief—a little hint of his old self who once held hands with her. (Ah. Excuse me, I have to cry now. My HEART! Any time there's that bittersweet nostalgia about What Once Was between these two it tugs at my heartstrings.)
He leaned in, voice hot in her hear. "You will also receive a bill for my bedsheets you ruined, and I would have you replace them, or else I will take your bed once you obtain one in this fallen world.” (I mean you could always Share- Actually Pause. How the hell would he send a bill? I don't think that they have a super reliable mailing system at the moment, also does Dan have like an Evil Secretary to print up invoices for him? Does he do it himself? Does this man even have a printer? I have questions! lol)
Valerie remembered to breathe, realizing uncomfortably that the flush heating her cheeks was not horror. It was something more deeply unsettling. (Y'know, I have a sneaking suspicion that Valerie contemplated the sharing option too.)
"But I don't have any money to buy bedsheets! I don't even have bedsheets! It's all under the rubble!"
As he materialized out, he retorted back, waving his hand, "Saving your possessions was not part of our deal.” (Lol he's such a shit.)
He tilted his head, his mouth splitting too far to be human, his form fading out. "But I'm sure you'll find a way to satisfy my request.” (I mean. if yall go with my idea I'm pretty sure yall will Both be PLENTY satisfied, but hey what do I know?)
Final thoughts:
I’m so happy you’re feeling better! :D
It’s always fun to see Reluctant Hero Dan, doing the right thing for Valerie related reasons and complaining the whole time. Also any time we see him or Valerie taking care of each other is good for the heart. This story's whole thing about Not Touching was very romantic in a “so close but so far”/”forbidden fruit” kinda way. I dig it.
I’m really glad i got to do an actual-as-i-read reaction for once, though, i admit, i think i prefer my retroactive play-by-plays. (speaking of, ive had one i was working on that i need to get back to) Its easier for me to set up jokes. I sometimes worry that my reviews are too much yknow so im glad you like them.
Have a lovely day! Be safe! I'll see you in the next one!
5/31/2024 c83 gabbigabz
New Chapter!
I hadn't realized you updated till last night! I'm glad you're feeling better! :D
First thoughts:
“Thank you to the following awesome people for reviewing last time: Invader Johnny, sharkyskadi, Chrysanthemum9484, Guest, Pakrete, Bobby, Jahdehah, and gabbigabz!” (Eek! I've been perceived!)
“Special shoutouts to gabbigabz for leaving the most extensive reviews I've ever received, which also leave me squealing with the hilarious play-by-play breakdown of the disaster couple.” (EEK! IVE BEEN RECOGNIZED! no lie my sisters can attest to me rolling around and flailing like a dork because my favorite author shouted me out. Honestly I'm extremely flattered and humbled. I'm glad my silly reviews make you laugh. also I'm definitely gonna have to look up Pakrete's work on DA)
Shot Summary: Phantom is not the only threat to Amity Park in a post-apocalyptic world, and Valerie Gray is not its only savior. Sometimes, the lines blur between them in strange ways. (Oooh I'm already invested)
(This will be my first time doing a genuine live reaction! I'm all excited!)
(On to the review!)
(As someone who lives in a place that is frequently plagued by hurricanes and other such volatile storms, we appreciate meteorologists in this house)
And then the earth convulsed, heaving up the northern hemisphere across a full 150-mile fault zone, unstoppable. (Ruh Roh Raggy!)
Its proud Shield had cracked like an egg, its towers tossed about in chunks of metal debris, just like the skyscrapers and the once-safe, little apartments. (Something about the irreverence of the “cracked egg” comparison activated my gallows humor)
…electrical overloads puffed black smoke into the sky—streaking across the remains of the old Fenton home's sign…
"How anticlimactic." Dan's eyebrow angled at the sight, his body tense with displeasure and an odd fear. Or was it mourning? (Aww even after everything he still has some sentimental attachment to his childhood home.)
(Dan is, understandably, worried. Though he won't admit it. Emotionally constipated dork.)
Valerie's battle suit, having been updated by Technus, carried a tinge of an ectoplasmic signature. It was the slightest whisper to his senses, like one of Valerie's half-amused huffs echoing against the cliffsides in the Wastelands.
"Don't worry," she said. "You'll never defeat me. I can keep going and going." She cocked her gun. "And we'll see who wears out first.” (I like the bit about her suit having a tiny ecto-signature. Makes sense in-world and allows for narrative progression via Dan's ghost sense. I also like the way Dan describes Val, albeit indirectly. Like it's a fond memory of a pleasant afternoon together. Which it probably was by these weirdos’ standards.)
"This was not part of the plan," he hissed to Valerie, knowing she could not hear him. "You are supposed to be invincible to Mother Nature as well as to me. And if you do not appear this instant, I will turn the Earth inside out to find you." (Aww he's worried. But something that I LOVE is shit like this where we can clearly see the sort of space Valerie occupies in Dan's mind. She's a universal constant, like gravity. She's not supposed to be susceptible to things like natural disasters.)
(Eww. dead body. Also not sure if Dan is just compartmentalizing to filter out anything Non Valerie related or if it's just his general apathy toward humans)
Dan moved faster on instinct, his face tensing. He feared she was crushed—or even worse, in pieces, just as the building itself.
"I am Amity Park," she hissed. "You can't separate us.” (you can feel his mounting worry as he is unable to find Valerie. Also I love this theme you've been leaning into in the later chapters with Valerie being almost a proxy for the spirit of Amity Park itself. It makes for fun symbolism and character dynamics playing off of her and Dan.)
…and as the bricks crumbled away, there was the body of Valerie Gray, curled up. (Yay he found her!)
Dan's breath hitched as he cast the beam aside, his anxiety spiking. "Valerie." She lay on her side, her armor crushed with dents and one arm twisted the wrong way behind her. (Ooh yeah no. That's no bueno.)
"Damn," he said, voice rough as he hesitated to touch her.
They did not touch. (The emphasis here means that YOU IMMEDIATELY HAVE MY ATTENTION.)
It was the unspoken rule of their battles—to blast and to blade, but to never breach the distance of inches. Whether it was a sign of respect or cowardice, neither knew. The last time they had touched, it was when the world was kinder, and he was still of human blood, and they were so very young. Curious of touch, of the differences between their hands.
Now, his hands were drenched in the blood of millions, hardened with power, while hers were carved with the scars of his violence. (Okayyy! We're establishing some specifics for the canon of this story, love that, and getting some of that juicy Complex and Storied HISTORY between these two.)
But if he did not touch her now, she would certainly die. (In a warped way, it's all very Jane Austin. I am Absolutely About It.)
His long, gloved fingers hooked tentatively into her helmet, where he knew from watching that a release existed. The helmet slipped off of her, and sweaty curls fell into her bloody face. He swept them back with trepidation, his fingers tangling in the strands. (There's a tenderness and fear here that I find. Just lovely.)
Valerie's cracked lips quivered with unnatural, hitched breaths.
His power core stalled.
She was alive. (Yay! She lives! Also bro was lowkey freaking out. Don't think we didn't see that. Caught Yo Ass Slippin in 4k!)
"Oh, you little cockroach," he murmured to her in satisfaction, his too-wide lips twitching up. (Sure knows how to sweet talk a lady, don't he?)
There, impaled through her stomach, was a steel rod. (YOOOOO! WHAT? BRUUUUUUUUH! Is there a Doctor in the house? Hello?!)
Dan froze, then gnashed a fang into lip as his joy faltered. (You and me both buddy!)
Her teal eyes stared up to the heavens, feverish and unfocused. (Ya see, no. That's, that's probably not good.)
"This is almost poetic," he murmured to her roughly, his pleasure melting into deep irritation and fear. (Bro sounds about as pleased about this as I am. Which is to say, not at all.)
His fingers shakily hovered over the rod. He knew if he pulled it, she would seize in pain and then bleed out. And die.
Forever. (Yeah ain't no way he's doing that. Like he would just let Valerie die in such an anticlimactic way.)
"You will not die like this," he snarled, face tight. "You will die only when I say.” (Yeah, see? Dude cares Way too much and is Way Too Weird About It to just let her die.)
For all the coiled power within her, she was light in his arms, her head easy to tuck under his chin. (This is kinda cute, in a morbid way.)
It bothered him, how easy it was to hold her after ten years without touch. (“Bothered” Yeah right. Ever considered that maybe this is something you wanted ya big dork?)
Valerie eventually came to, her bruised eye struggling to open. Through her blurry vision, she caught sight of an unending green glow. The air was cold. (Yay! She Lives! For real this time! And she's in the ghost zone? whatever works!)
A large, cold hand pressed a wet cloth against her cheek, the material soft and glowing. But then her side burned in pain, the cool biting deep into wounds.
The hand hesitated, another moving to steady her chin. "Do not struggle," came a worried, deep voice. "You are badly wounded.” (No shot Dan is nursing her back to health. No way. Imma freak out if he is.)
(Ooh, Valerie's having a decidedly unpleasant afternoon, it seems. Mortal wounds are quite “cringe”, as the kids say.)
The hand and wet cloth lifted from her face. "Not again," came the panicked breath of the voice. Exhausted. (BROTHER WHAT DO YOU MEAN AGAIN?)
(Like a ghost defibrillator. Also not this man complaining about the inconvenience of bringing his not-his-girlfriend back from the brink of death. After taking it upon himself to do so. [Im still assuming this is Dan])
Her strange companion was a blur of light. White locks flickered down to a blurry outline of powerful shoulders. "You've bled all over me and my bed," he grumped, carding a hand through his loose hair. "But your healing should hold now.” (I'll be dipped. It is him. Also I have said it before and I will say it now. This man's priorities are absolutely Ridiculous. “I know you were bleeding out, but did you have to get it on the carpet?” this goof.)
Valerie sat up shakily, her fingers sinking into bloodied sheets as her sweaty curls swung down bare shoulders. "What the…" Her breath hitched. "Fuck?” (Clearly the primary love language between these two is Words of Affirmation.)
She touched her healed, smooth side as she stared at Dan Phantom in shock.
He turned away. "Welcome back to the living.” (I already knew it was him but the name drop to confirm it works very well to illustrate the realization setting in for Valerie. But still, bruh whaaaaaaaat?)
Valerie's voice was hoarse. "What are you doing?"
Dan levitated cross-legged in the air, opening his hands. "Creating." (Huh, Who knew he had it in him? Also awfully considerate of him to make the effort for her to preserve her privacy.)
It was unheard of for Dan Phantom to create anything.
To save anything.
Especially her. (Not as far-fetched as you might think Valerie. At least regarding you.)
"I don't understand," she called to him, voice halted.
With a grump, he said, ignoring her underlying question, "I healed your body of months of damage in four hours. And now I am making you a covering.” (Why are you avoiding the question Daniel? Inquiring minds want to know!)
"Here, take it. Your clothes beneath your armor were obstructing me from healing the hole in your side. But I will not touch you again.” (Ha! Bet.)
She reached out, her fingers accidentally brushing against his before she snatched the material away. (Lol that didn't last long)
"Amity Park has fallen."
His eyes remained unreadable as he watched her eyes well with tears. (Yikes. That's rough buddy.)
The ghost waved his hand. His fingers, bare for healing, carried scars similar to her own. (I like the little detail about his scars and bare hands. These two mirror each other and it's especially noteworthy given this stories emphasis on touch, or lack thereof)
"It's not so bad, being alone," he murmured in an odd attempt to comfort her. "You get used to it, especially once you realize death is inevitable. They were all going to die one day or another.” (Bro's bedside manner is Atrocious. The sad part is he is genuinely trying. God. Bless.)
(Dan, in his warped little way, cares very much about a grand total of 1 [one] person. Valerie however is not as socially stunted and actually has people that like her.)
"Then," she eventually said, "...how about a deal?” (Oh she know him too well, the potential for mind games is like catnip to this dude.)
Dan, being a lonely and intelligent creature, carried a streak of curiosity that could sometimes be manipulated. (Sometimes?)
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you have to offer?"
She swallowed hard, tempering the tremble in her fingers. "Me," she said hoarsely. (Girl Whaaaaaaaaaat?)
“…I know you just want me to die by your hand." Her voice hitched. "I won't fight it, if that's what you want.” (ah, yes. that is Definitely what I thought she meant. *states at T rating* BUT also girl do you really think he spent all that time healing you up just to kill you? At least when you can't put up a fight?)
His eyebrows flew up. "Your death, for all of their lives?" His eyes have widened a fraction in suspicion.
In intrigue. (Boy do not even start. Don't act like you didn't spend the afternoon keeping this girl from shuffling off the mortal coil.)
(Lol Valerie calling him out on the dramatics is what I live for.)
Dan stood up in a huff, his tall shadow towering over her. His shoulders had tightened with a mild fury. "You ask me to contradict my very purpose, for you.” (and you'll do it too! ya sap.)
"I am Amity Park," she retorted shakily. "You know I am.” (Eyyy there's that character theme again!)
Valerie closed her eyes, steeling herself as his long, calloused fingers—cold with death—gripped her hand tightly before sliding away, absentmindedly stroking her palm with the tips of his fingers.
Curious of her callouses. (What was that about no touching there, Dan?)
"Very well," he said. He leaned forward, tilting his head. His too-wide mouth split. "You have a deal, Valerie Gray. You will not struggle against the fate I bestow upon you for saving your people." He added with a brief petulance, "And for ruining my bed to preserve your life for our battles.” (“The fate I bestow upon you” that's vague enough to have multiple interpretations. But go off)
Looks like i have to split it up again (when do i not?) see you in part 2!
New Chapter!
I hadn't realized you updated till last night! I'm glad you're feeling better! :D
First thoughts:
“Thank you to the following awesome people for reviewing last time: Invader Johnny, sharkyskadi, Chrysanthemum9484, Guest, Pakrete, Bobby, Jahdehah, and gabbigabz!” (Eek! I've been perceived!)
“Special shoutouts to gabbigabz for leaving the most extensive reviews I've ever received, which also leave me squealing with the hilarious play-by-play breakdown of the disaster couple.” (EEK! IVE BEEN RECOGNIZED! no lie my sisters can attest to me rolling around and flailing like a dork because my favorite author shouted me out. Honestly I'm extremely flattered and humbled. I'm glad my silly reviews make you laugh. also I'm definitely gonna have to look up Pakrete's work on DA)
Shot Summary: Phantom is not the only threat to Amity Park in a post-apocalyptic world, and Valerie Gray is not its only savior. Sometimes, the lines blur between them in strange ways. (Oooh I'm already invested)
(This will be my first time doing a genuine live reaction! I'm all excited!)
(On to the review!)
(As someone who lives in a place that is frequently plagued by hurricanes and other such volatile storms, we appreciate meteorologists in this house)
And then the earth convulsed, heaving up the northern hemisphere across a full 150-mile fault zone, unstoppable. (Ruh Roh Raggy!)
Its proud Shield had cracked like an egg, its towers tossed about in chunks of metal debris, just like the skyscrapers and the once-safe, little apartments. (Something about the irreverence of the “cracked egg” comparison activated my gallows humor)
…electrical overloads puffed black smoke into the sky—streaking across the remains of the old Fenton home's sign…
"How anticlimactic." Dan's eyebrow angled at the sight, his body tense with displeasure and an odd fear. Or was it mourning? (Aww even after everything he still has some sentimental attachment to his childhood home.)
(Dan is, understandably, worried. Though he won't admit it. Emotionally constipated dork.)
Valerie's battle suit, having been updated by Technus, carried a tinge of an ectoplasmic signature. It was the slightest whisper to his senses, like one of Valerie's half-amused huffs echoing against the cliffsides in the Wastelands.
"Don't worry," she said. "You'll never defeat me. I can keep going and going." She cocked her gun. "And we'll see who wears out first.” (I like the bit about her suit having a tiny ecto-signature. Makes sense in-world and allows for narrative progression via Dan's ghost sense. I also like the way Dan describes Val, albeit indirectly. Like it's a fond memory of a pleasant afternoon together. Which it probably was by these weirdos’ standards.)
"This was not part of the plan," he hissed to Valerie, knowing she could not hear him. "You are supposed to be invincible to Mother Nature as well as to me. And if you do not appear this instant, I will turn the Earth inside out to find you." (Aww he's worried. But something that I LOVE is shit like this where we can clearly see the sort of space Valerie occupies in Dan's mind. She's a universal constant, like gravity. She's not supposed to be susceptible to things like natural disasters.)
(Eww. dead body. Also not sure if Dan is just compartmentalizing to filter out anything Non Valerie related or if it's just his general apathy toward humans)
Dan moved faster on instinct, his face tensing. He feared she was crushed—or even worse, in pieces, just as the building itself.
"I am Amity Park," she hissed. "You can't separate us.” (you can feel his mounting worry as he is unable to find Valerie. Also I love this theme you've been leaning into in the later chapters with Valerie being almost a proxy for the spirit of Amity Park itself. It makes for fun symbolism and character dynamics playing off of her and Dan.)
…and as the bricks crumbled away, there was the body of Valerie Gray, curled up. (Yay he found her!)
Dan's breath hitched as he cast the beam aside, his anxiety spiking. "Valerie." She lay on her side, her armor crushed with dents and one arm twisted the wrong way behind her. (Ooh yeah no. That's no bueno.)
"Damn," he said, voice rough as he hesitated to touch her.
They did not touch. (The emphasis here means that YOU IMMEDIATELY HAVE MY ATTENTION.)
It was the unspoken rule of their battles—to blast and to blade, but to never breach the distance of inches. Whether it was a sign of respect or cowardice, neither knew. The last time they had touched, it was when the world was kinder, and he was still of human blood, and they were so very young. Curious of touch, of the differences between their hands.
Now, his hands were drenched in the blood of millions, hardened with power, while hers were carved with the scars of his violence. (Okayyy! We're establishing some specifics for the canon of this story, love that, and getting some of that juicy Complex and Storied HISTORY between these two.)
But if he did not touch her now, she would certainly die. (In a warped way, it's all very Jane Austin. I am Absolutely About It.)
His long, gloved fingers hooked tentatively into her helmet, where he knew from watching that a release existed. The helmet slipped off of her, and sweaty curls fell into her bloody face. He swept them back with trepidation, his fingers tangling in the strands. (There's a tenderness and fear here that I find. Just lovely.)
Valerie's cracked lips quivered with unnatural, hitched breaths.
His power core stalled.
She was alive. (Yay! She lives! Also bro was lowkey freaking out. Don't think we didn't see that. Caught Yo Ass Slippin in 4k!)
"Oh, you little cockroach," he murmured to her in satisfaction, his too-wide lips twitching up. (Sure knows how to sweet talk a lady, don't he?)
There, impaled through her stomach, was a steel rod. (YOOOOO! WHAT? BRUUUUUUUUH! Is there a Doctor in the house? Hello?!)
Dan froze, then gnashed a fang into lip as his joy faltered. (You and me both buddy!)
Her teal eyes stared up to the heavens, feverish and unfocused. (Ya see, no. That's, that's probably not good.)
"This is almost poetic," he murmured to her roughly, his pleasure melting into deep irritation and fear. (Bro sounds about as pleased about this as I am. Which is to say, not at all.)
His fingers shakily hovered over the rod. He knew if he pulled it, she would seize in pain and then bleed out. And die.
Forever. (Yeah ain't no way he's doing that. Like he would just let Valerie die in such an anticlimactic way.)
"You will not die like this," he snarled, face tight. "You will die only when I say.” (Yeah, see? Dude cares Way too much and is Way Too Weird About It to just let her die.)
For all the coiled power within her, she was light in his arms, her head easy to tuck under his chin. (This is kinda cute, in a morbid way.)
It bothered him, how easy it was to hold her after ten years without touch. (“Bothered” Yeah right. Ever considered that maybe this is something you wanted ya big dork?)
Valerie eventually came to, her bruised eye struggling to open. Through her blurry vision, she caught sight of an unending green glow. The air was cold. (Yay! She Lives! For real this time! And she's in the ghost zone? whatever works!)
A large, cold hand pressed a wet cloth against her cheek, the material soft and glowing. But then her side burned in pain, the cool biting deep into wounds.
The hand hesitated, another moving to steady her chin. "Do not struggle," came a worried, deep voice. "You are badly wounded.” (No shot Dan is nursing her back to health. No way. Imma freak out if he is.)
(Ooh, Valerie's having a decidedly unpleasant afternoon, it seems. Mortal wounds are quite “cringe”, as the kids say.)
The hand and wet cloth lifted from her face. "Not again," came the panicked breath of the voice. Exhausted. (BROTHER WHAT DO YOU MEAN AGAIN?)
(Like a ghost defibrillator. Also not this man complaining about the inconvenience of bringing his not-his-girlfriend back from the brink of death. After taking it upon himself to do so. [Im still assuming this is Dan])
Her strange companion was a blur of light. White locks flickered down to a blurry outline of powerful shoulders. "You've bled all over me and my bed," he grumped, carding a hand through his loose hair. "But your healing should hold now.” (I'll be dipped. It is him. Also I have said it before and I will say it now. This man's priorities are absolutely Ridiculous. “I know you were bleeding out, but did you have to get it on the carpet?” this goof.)
Valerie sat up shakily, her fingers sinking into bloodied sheets as her sweaty curls swung down bare shoulders. "What the…" Her breath hitched. "Fuck?” (Clearly the primary love language between these two is Words of Affirmation.)
She touched her healed, smooth side as she stared at Dan Phantom in shock.
He turned away. "Welcome back to the living.” (I already knew it was him but the name drop to confirm it works very well to illustrate the realization setting in for Valerie. But still, bruh whaaaaaaaat?)
Valerie's voice was hoarse. "What are you doing?"
Dan levitated cross-legged in the air, opening his hands. "Creating." (Huh, Who knew he had it in him? Also awfully considerate of him to make the effort for her to preserve her privacy.)
It was unheard of for Dan Phantom to create anything.
To save anything.
Especially her. (Not as far-fetched as you might think Valerie. At least regarding you.)
"I don't understand," she called to him, voice halted.
With a grump, he said, ignoring her underlying question, "I healed your body of months of damage in four hours. And now I am making you a covering.” (Why are you avoiding the question Daniel? Inquiring minds want to know!)
"Here, take it. Your clothes beneath your armor were obstructing me from healing the hole in your side. But I will not touch you again.” (Ha! Bet.)
She reached out, her fingers accidentally brushing against his before she snatched the material away. (Lol that didn't last long)
"Amity Park has fallen."
His eyes remained unreadable as he watched her eyes well with tears. (Yikes. That's rough buddy.)
The ghost waved his hand. His fingers, bare for healing, carried scars similar to her own. (I like the little detail about his scars and bare hands. These two mirror each other and it's especially noteworthy given this stories emphasis on touch, or lack thereof)
"It's not so bad, being alone," he murmured in an odd attempt to comfort her. "You get used to it, especially once you realize death is inevitable. They were all going to die one day or another.” (Bro's bedside manner is Atrocious. The sad part is he is genuinely trying. God. Bless.)
(Dan, in his warped little way, cares very much about a grand total of 1 [one] person. Valerie however is not as socially stunted and actually has people that like her.)
"Then," she eventually said, "...how about a deal?” (Oh she know him too well, the potential for mind games is like catnip to this dude.)
Dan, being a lonely and intelligent creature, carried a streak of curiosity that could sometimes be manipulated. (Sometimes?)
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you have to offer?"
She swallowed hard, tempering the tremble in her fingers. "Me," she said hoarsely. (Girl Whaaaaaaaaaat?)
“…I know you just want me to die by your hand." Her voice hitched. "I won't fight it, if that's what you want.” (ah, yes. that is Definitely what I thought she meant. *states at T rating* BUT also girl do you really think he spent all that time healing you up just to kill you? At least when you can't put up a fight?)
His eyebrows flew up. "Your death, for all of their lives?" His eyes have widened a fraction in suspicion.
In intrigue. (Boy do not even start. Don't act like you didn't spend the afternoon keeping this girl from shuffling off the mortal coil.)
(Lol Valerie calling him out on the dramatics is what I live for.)
Dan stood up in a huff, his tall shadow towering over her. His shoulders had tightened with a mild fury. "You ask me to contradict my very purpose, for you.” (and you'll do it too! ya sap.)
"I am Amity Park," she retorted shakily. "You know I am.” (Eyyy there's that character theme again!)
Valerie closed her eyes, steeling herself as his long, calloused fingers—cold with death—gripped her hand tightly before sliding away, absentmindedly stroking her palm with the tips of his fingers.
Curious of her callouses. (What was that about no touching there, Dan?)
"Very well," he said. He leaned forward, tilting his head. His too-wide mouth split. "You have a deal, Valerie Gray. You will not struggle against the fate I bestow upon you for saving your people." He added with a brief petulance, "And for ruining my bed to preserve your life for our battles.” (“The fate I bestow upon you” that's vague enough to have multiple interpretations. But go off)
Looks like i have to split it up again (when do i not?) see you in part 2!
5/24/2024 c83 
146Invader Johnny
Well, I'll say that even though Valerie "made a deal with the devil" ironically this is the farthest thing from evil Dan has done, it's almost like when he used to be a hero, despite obviously saving people for a selfish reason.
Invader Johnny Signing Off.
146Invader JohnnyWell, I'll say that even though Valerie "made a deal with the devil" ironically this is the farthest thing from evil Dan has done, it's almost like when he used to be a hero, despite obviously saving people for a selfish reason.
Invader Johnny Signing Off.
4/2/2024 c43 gabbigabz
It looks like ate the last part of my comment (whoops) so here it is:
Against her better judgment, Valerie melted into the kiss, her body beginning to ache for him once more in a tidal wave. She felt his fingers grab onto her shoulders, feeling the lines of her body beneath the white sheet. Although she remained fearful, some traitorous part of her mind said, It wouldn't be all bad, to be pregnant by him. We'd really own his ass then. (EXCUSE?! MA'AM?! MA'AM?! ON! GOD! they BOTH wildin! They MESSY as HELL! and i love every second of it.)
It was all they could do to pull away, uneven breaths mixing in the space between them. Dan reached up and silently brushed her tears away, the callouses on his fingers a comforting friction. (Pregnancy scare or no, Dan seems intent on being very tender toward Valerie and that gives me the big feelings.)
And then he kissed her once more. He feared, with great delight, that Valerie was going to be his new favorite addiction. (Again. My guy hit it 1 (one) time and she got him wrapped around her little finger. I tip my hat to you Valerie! Kudos.)
To reiterate an earlier point this fic can mostly be summarized by phase “These bitches horny! Good for them, good for them.” This is probably the spiciest chapter I've reviewed so far. It probably doesn't speak well of me that I love the spicy chapters the most. I love all of them, don't get me wrong, but is nice to occasionally get some Resolution to all the Sexual Tension. Granted this chapter doesn't quite cross that border to get ‘behind enemy lines’ [and brought it back!] but it gets pretty darn close.
All in all, wonderful chapter! You explore themes of sensuality and sex in a way that is both incredibly intimate and exceedingly hot. It's always a treat to read.
As always, have a lovely day. On to the next one!
It looks like ate the last part of my comment (whoops) so here it is:
Against her better judgment, Valerie melted into the kiss, her body beginning to ache for him once more in a tidal wave. She felt his fingers grab onto her shoulders, feeling the lines of her body beneath the white sheet. Although she remained fearful, some traitorous part of her mind said, It wouldn't be all bad, to be pregnant by him. We'd really own his ass then. (EXCUSE?! MA'AM?! MA'AM?! ON! GOD! they BOTH wildin! They MESSY as HELL! and i love every second of it.)
It was all they could do to pull away, uneven breaths mixing in the space between them. Dan reached up and silently brushed her tears away, the callouses on his fingers a comforting friction. (Pregnancy scare or no, Dan seems intent on being very tender toward Valerie and that gives me the big feelings.)
And then he kissed her once more. He feared, with great delight, that Valerie was going to be his new favorite addiction. (Again. My guy hit it 1 (one) time and she got him wrapped around her little finger. I tip my hat to you Valerie! Kudos.)
To reiterate an earlier point this fic can mostly be summarized by phase “These bitches horny! Good for them, good for them.” This is probably the spiciest chapter I've reviewed so far. It probably doesn't speak well of me that I love the spicy chapters the most. I love all of them, don't get me wrong, but is nice to occasionally get some Resolution to all the Sexual Tension. Granted this chapter doesn't quite cross that border to get ‘behind enemy lines’ [and brought it back!] but it gets pretty darn close.
All in all, wonderful chapter! You explore themes of sensuality and sex in a way that is both incredibly intimate and exceedingly hot. It's always a treat to read.
As always, have a lovely day. On to the next one!
4/2/2024 c43 gabbigabz
*George Takei voice* ~Oh, my~ This chapter. We start getting Saucy saucy. And I am Absolutely Here For It. It probably doesn't speak well of me that I'm so blatantly Horny On Main about these two. I may be cringe but I am free!
On to the review!
Valerie's head pounded as she woke up. (Already off to a great start.)
Every pulled muscle in her body screamed against the slightest movement. (Pulled muscles?! Wow.)
It felt as if she'd been run over, knocked down, and slammed against a wall. (Oh, they was getting freaky-deaky! Good for them, good for them.)
As a matter of fact, she was not wearing clothes at all. (O gee I wonder why)
She nearly sat up, but then she realized that a heavy weight was slung over her hips…Instead of a pillow or a weapon, she saw a muscled, blue arm. (Heheheh.)
A slender, pale-blue face rested on the pillow beside hers, slack in a peaceful sleep…A naked Dan Phantom was asleep next to her on the bed. (There's something cute about him having felt safe and comfortable enough after their Shenanigans that he fell asleep beside her, even spooning!)
(Dan and Valerie tussle in bed. It isn't as fun as it sounds.)
"Ngh," she whined against his hand, eyes blurring with sudden tears. She didn't know what he had done. She didn't know what any of this meant, except that her head felt like it was bursting and her body ached like it'd been stretched too far— (the way my eyebrows rose at this line)
He seemed to pick up that she was truly afraid. His large hand softened against her mouth. "You remember nothing as well?" he murmured. (The fics where Dan can't bring himself to genuinely hurt Valerie or upset her make me feel soft inside. Like in some fics he's a right bastard [and those are fun in their own way!] but here the sight of Valerie's tears give him pause, its sweet.)
Their struggles had exposed her bare chest to the air, the tangled sheets having scrunched further between them. Her face flushed a deep red, unable to lift her arms from his crushing elbows. For a time, she simply stared up at him, in a terrified awe that she was naked and he was naked and that he was on top of her— (In a different context- Actually, you know what? This is the exact context. It’s a little hot.)
He pulled his hand away and lifted off of her, his fingertips trailing over her gasping lips. "You don't," he murmured in awe. "And here I thought your antics were some attempt to trap me." (Him touching her lips all gentle like is making my brain buzz)
Tears burst from her eyes, and in his momentary hesitance, kicked him hard. (Once again, the sight of her tears makes him hesitate but Valerie has no such reservations.)
…she rolled up so that he was beneath her. Her breath hitched as she planted her hands hard on his wrists, digging in her fingernails…He stared up at her, his red eyes searching. His irises seemed oddly dilated. (“Oddly dilated” yeah I wonder why? I mean the woman he's had the hots for over the last 10 years is pinning him down naked in her bed. Real mystery.)
She felt alien in her body as she clenched the sheet tight, her knuckles bleeding a lighter color. "You drugged me," she sputtered, nearly hyperventilating. "To—to—" The room was beginning to spin. She noticed dark markings on Dan's neck, like love bites. …"Do not think me amused." He roughly pulled on the sheets around him to hide himself further, his hair flickering strangely. "I have been violated.”
(Something I appreciate is that, despite the fact that these two have been attracted to each other for years, at the thought that they were assaulted the reaction for both of them is straight-up horror. Especially with Dan. Both here and in Karma you treat the concept of male SA as legitimate and handle the subject matter with the severity and dignity that it deserves. That's not what happened in this case, obviously, but I appreciate how their reactions suited the shock and horror the situation called for, at least prior to finding out the truth. Speaking of which.)
That's when she saw it. On the bedside table was a fallen bottle of hard liquor, surrounded by a few other bottles of liquor on the floor. Her protests died in her throat. The pulse in her head suddenly made sense. "Oh no." (Oh yes.)
Dan followed her frozen gaze, only for comprehension to bleed into him. He held his head as his face twisted in displeasure. "You have got to be joking,” (yep if Vegas was still around, yall would have gotten married by Elvis. Yall got TURNT)
…he, along with Valerie, had somehow managed to down enough alcohol to cow them both into desire. (Somehow I don't think that part took all that much. The drinking till you blackout part, however, probably took significantly more.)
An image of himself grabbing a bottle from Valerie's hand. A feeling of superiority. "You must have tricked me," he accused, voice rough. But she'd stumbled and laughed in his memory—a sign she had already been drunk by the time she'd manipulated him onto it. (This man really let a drunk girl challenge him to a drinking contest [or something of that nature] knowing Damn Well that if he so much as looks at any alcohol he's gonna get drunk off his ass. The Ravager of Worlds, everyone!)
Valerie swallowed hard, unable to piece it all together. And then something of a flash hit her. The feeling of skin on skin. His bare fingers tracing her lips, her hips. (*Eyes emoji*)
"Valerie," he gasped in her ear, voice slurred and uninhibited with joy—(there's something sweet about the fact that he was genuinely happy when they were making love. He hasn't really been able to be close to anyone let alone feel any happiness that wasn't at someone else's expense. And here he was finally able to be intimate with the one person left in the world that he loves [even if he's not quite aware of that yet.])
Her body suddenly felt strange to her, Dan's touches from the previous night like phantom caresses all over her skin. (HA! Phantom caresses. I get it.)
He'd—he'd—and she'd liked it. (Yeah, you did, after 10 years of sexual tension I bet that shit was life-altering.)
She was breathless, eyes closed tight as cool lips pressed open-mouthed kisses on her neck—(Yeah, see?)
The two fell silent with some awful knowledge of the other. Dan eyed her, as haunted as she was. (‘We slammed it down Big Style and now we have to go back to work, fighting each other like we don't know what the other one looks like when they nut.’)
For the first time in his afterlife, he found himself in awe of being completely out of control—of the wild rivers of Valerie's curls and the blurry image he had of staring into her dazed eyes as he pressed his hips against hers. He'd always desired her to some extent. The alcohol must have pushed him over. (I think it was to more than “some extent” if y'all was maintaining eye contact like that. But that's just my opinion)
He realized now it was not an unreciprocated feeling, for Valerie to have willingly brought him to her bed. (I mean with how much y'all flirt are you really that surprised?)
She was heavily disheveled, one dark brown shoulder exposed in the bundle of a white sheet. (The way that Dan keys in on her features, her hair being let loose or the tiny peek of skin at her shoulder, does a very good job of expressing to the audience that, awkward morning after hangover or no, he is still Very Much Attracted to Valerie.)
"You better not be thinking about attacking anyone," she said, voice strained as she glared. "Don't make me fight you. Not right now."
His lip curled in disgust, but he said slowly, "As much as I love your misery, I do not care for my own... (Cheeky bastard)
…Allow me to rest here until I can think without pain. I will not attack your city in return.” (not that I would know from personal experience, but I feel that, within the confines of One Night Stand etiquette, razing your bedmate’s city to the ground would be considered Pretty Rude.)
…it was far better than Phantom throwing a tantrum, and everyone discovering that she had let him in behind enemy lines. (Is that what the kids are calling it now?)
Her voice was small. "Do you…remember?"
His dilated, red eyes flickered up to hers briefly. (Yeah, he does)
(To summarize the situation: Dan's in bed with Valerie, a woman he has long desired, who is currently wearing naught but a sheet pulled around her [making her look small and cute, while teasing a tiny bit of skin] as she shows a rare shyness [looking at him with those big green eyes of hers] asking if he remembers the mind-blowing sex they had last night. Dude’s brain must be lit up like a Christmas tree.)
"Yes," he snapped suddenly, but his voice was more agonized than it was angry. "Damn all that you are and what you have done to me, you devil woman. I should kiss you once more.” (The scream I scrempt the first time I read this.)
Her face twitched in surprise, and she blinked. "…What?" ( has stopped working)
Despite his headache, he turned his head and eyed her. "I remember great pleasure." His voice was a tired baritone that rattled into her. "I can think of nothing else.” (I am fucking blushing! Sir!? SIR?!)
Valerie's dark face began to tinge red. Her knuckles tightened into the white sheet covering her. (Girl, same.)
"As a matter of fact," the ghost murmured to her, soaking in the sight of her, "I wonder what it would be like fully sober."
Her eyebrows flew up. "…What?"
"You heard me," he said. (SIR.)
"You don't want to kiss me," she snapped. "You're just saying that.” (Between the two of yall I'm pretty sure you have enough hickeys to disprove that claim, but aight.)
He leaned forward, further closing the gap. The sheets about his waist scrunched, revealing the sharp of his muscled hip. (EyesemojiEyesemojiEyesemoji)
In the blur of the moment, he grabbed onto the sheet around Valerie and pulled her forward. Her eyes flew wide, and she nearly yelped, only for his lips to smash against hers. (BRUUUUUUHHHH! He just went for it!)
Dan closed his eyes, tightening his fingers into the white sheet about her…so as he kissed her, the frequency waves of her electricity melted into him, easing the pain of his hangover. A great relief relaxed him. (Something something they're opposites and coming together brings balance and makes them both better)
To his own surprise, Valerie did not resist him. She'd been stiff at first in shock, but as his mouth softened against hers, she eased against him. To distract him from Amity Park, she convinced herself. To keep him from attacking. (Keep him ‘behind enemy lines’ one might say.)
Their kiss deepened. She leaned forward harder, leaning him back against the headboard. His fingers wove into her hair as she stretched his lips opened. Their actions were familiar, as if they'd done all this before in a dream together. The nerves of her mouth lit hot with the cool of his tongue, and she moaned. (Damn. Get it, Valerie.)
The sheet covering her parted open as she moved closer to him to get a better angle. Dan's eyes had closed in a pleasured concentration of her lips, but when his hand slipped against the open sheet, he happened across the hem and swept it back. (Him trying to get more skin to skin contact is hot.)
His hand touched her bare waist, feeling the muscled curve of her body and the warmth of her skin. He was losing himself to the overwhelming sensation that Valerie was female, and he was male, and he could not get close enough— (there's no comment I can make here that isn't Aggressively Horny so I shall abstain. But suffice to say. Hot.)
Dan grabbed on tight to her hip and pulled her forward, as if to guide her to him. She gasped against his lips, losing her balance against him. She strangled out a moan, heart racing as she toppled against his hips, only a thin sheet between them. Oh my god, she thought, lips dropping open in shock. (...you ever see that meme where this chick is like “I know it's big, I know it.’ Cuz that's me rn.)
His touch was a cold fire that pooled between her legs. All of her reasoning left her, except that she wanted to feel him touch her in intimate ways. She desired him. She knew now he desired her. (They about to do the bow chicka wow wow [thats so old. Im so cringe. I have no regrets])
And then suddenly, there was a knock at the door (aaahhhh, dammit. Paulina I love you, but could you have waited 15 minutes?)
"Get out of here," she whispered to Dan in fright, flailing a sheet about herself. "Go invisible."
Dan narrowed his eyes at her, half out of it in lust. His nostrils flared with displeasure. "No.” (Bro is Not thinking with his brain here.)
(Paulina is razor sharp in one thing and it's detecting if someone was getting some. The specifics of who they were getting With remains elusive.)
Dan's red eyes suddenly narrowed to slits. "...Dash?" he whispered sharply. "You desire him?" (Not him being Immediately jealous and possessive. His goofy ass.)
The incredible possession with which Dan looked at her took her aback for a second. Incredulity seeped into her nearly hysterical whisper. "What? Why the hell would you even—?!” (bro hit it once and now his head's on a swivel. But it’s the Audacity for me.)
Valerie suddenly shoved Dan hard. "Go invisible," she demanded in a quiet hiss of panic. "Get out of here."
"I'm missing my suit," he hissed right back.
She then pushed a sheet at him until it covered even his face. (The scene of them fussing and scrambling to find something to cover themselves is very funny to me.)
"Do not think I'll accept your orders without compensation," Dan murmured in her ear, voice hot with irritation. (Kinda hot.)
The room was still cold with his presence, as if he were still watching from a short distance. (He never quite leaves her space now that he decided he likes being in it.)
…She kicked them and the dark pile that was Dan Phantom's clothes beneath her bed, only for her eyes to widen when his cape, which still flickered, seemed to wrap around her ankle. (So he was definitely watching her get dressed.)
"Stop it," she complained under her breath, narrowing her eyes. She looked around in paranoia, knowing that Dan likely was teasing her. (Which I find cute.)
"Almost like you're glowing. Are you sure you don't have a guy in there?” (Again, Paulina has incredible intuition for One Specific Thing. But also Dan got my girl Glowing? Impressive.)
"But you were really just being antisocial like always!" She sobbed over her. "I'm sorry, I'm a bad friend!” …"I'll buy you breakfast," her friend whined. "Or a makeover, anytime. Hair included.” (Aww Paulina. You are trying your best, which is a bit sad.)
A half-naked Dan reappeared with the sunlight behind him, illuminating the white sheet he held around his waist. (Boy really looking like two degrees removed from a trashy romance novel cover [but that's for a different chapter])
Valerie's teal eyes narrowed up at him, struggling not to look upon his body. (For this, she is a stronger woman than I.)
"And what are we?" he demanded. He allowed himself to gaze down her body. (ONG he did NOT just hit her with the “What are we?” I can't.)
"It was a mistake." (Girl quit playing.)
The powerful ghost tilted his head. He reached for her, his bare fingertips curling into a lock of her wild hair. "I'm stuck here until you release me to the Wastelands," he murmured. "A fox in the hen house." His hand slipped from her hair to ghost down her shoulder and then the swell of her breast. (*gasp* he touch da tiddy!)
"If you're stuck here," she whispered, "it's better to keep you down."
"Or distracted," he murmured. (Oh dang! I should have saved the “behind enemy lines” joke for here. Ah, well. Such is life.)
Her breath hitched again when the pad of his thumb swept up over the swell of her breast, circling her nipple through the fabric of the tank top. The silence between them was heavy.
"I have to—Paulina—" She was losing her ability to think, dazed as she closed her eyes. She wanted him to touch her and for her to touch him. Oh god, did she want it. (HE TOUCH DA TIDDY AGAIN!)
"…Deal," she whispered. Her closed eyes squeezed harder shut, and she inhaled sharply as she heard the sheet slip from his body, and suddenly both of his hands were pulling up on the hem of her shirt. (*pointing* NAKED!)
An excited fear overwhelmed her. "But you better make it good."
He raised a brow, pausing for a second. "I would rather hope," he murmured to her, "we'd work together to achieve that." (Stop. Why was this one of the most romantic/sensual things I've ever read? The mutuality of their dynamic is one of the hottest things about this ship.)
Valerie opened her eyes tentatively, vulnerably searching his own. There was something human about him in that minute. It struck her then that having Dan Phantom beneath her, weak in lust with her name on his lips, was not so terrible a thought. "Challenge accepted," she said. (OK, damn! Get you sum, Valerie!)
"You can't get me pregnant, right?" (File that under ‘Questions that Should Have Been Asked Earlier.’)
His lips upon her neck paused for a second. "If I can, the damage would be done from last night." (He was wildin for that fr. Bro was WAY too casual about the prospect that she could be having his baby. Like Eck-fucking-SCUSE You?!)
Valerie's heart dropped for a second, eyes widening. Her breath shuddered in realization that this was how babies were made. "What?" she breathed. She froze entirely. "Oh my god. You mean you don't know?” (barely related, but this reminds me of something my old biology teacher said when she was talking about various types of contraception. “Another method that is used is the 'pull out' method. People that use this method are called 'parents.'" and im just picturing her side-eyeing these two.)
He found himself irritated by it. "You're ruining our ten minutes," he complained. (We need to search the Earth and the Ghost Zone to find out where In Two Worlds does this man get THE AUDACITY?! This ass!)
"And you're ruining my life." She suddenly pushed him, feeling cold and wide-eyed in a deep terror. (Valerie is, understandably, freaked out)
As he thought of it, he found himself more unable to separate some protective instinct from Valerie. (After he stopped thinking with his dick for three seconds he did actually try to assuage her fears and comfort her, in his way. It's a start.)
She ran a hand over her lower abdomen, her fingers shaking, as if to will her body not to become pregnant. "You don't know that."
Dan waved a hand. "And what would you have me do now? I cannot reverse time, nor would I particularly want to, even if you did end up carrying my child.” (And I Ooh-!)
The powerful ghost fell silent for a time, mulling over their strange circumstances. "I am not…unhappy at the thought." In his muddy memories of the previous night, he had a sense of some odd belonging—an unleashing of long-pent-up emotion that had always burned him when gazing upon Valerie. That she was where he belonged. "I fear I enjoyed last night too much to regret it.” (He was lowkey wildin for this too. “Might have knocked up my arch-enemy in a fit of Resolved Sexual Tension brought on by a drunken stupor, but I might have been halfway in love with her to begin with, so I'm okay with this, actually.” Is crazy. Like Bro WHAT?!)
(Then this man promising to be a supportive baby daddy. But also being like “but I Am gonna hit it, tho.” DAN-IEL.)
He hummed. "I am not without tricks to have cake and eat it too. I would find a way to make a child beneficial to us both…” (me: *stares at The Exchange* yeah i bet you do. Also, we gonna talk about this man having contingencies for if Val got pregnant with his baby? Explain yourself, sir!)
(I joke, i know that's not what he said)
Against her better judgment, Valerie melted into the kiss, her body beginning to ache for him once more in a tidal wave. She felt his fingers grab onto her shoulders, feeling the lines
*George Takei voice* ~Oh, my~ This chapter. We start getting Saucy saucy. And I am Absolutely Here For It. It probably doesn't speak well of me that I'm so blatantly Horny On Main about these two. I may be cringe but I am free!
On to the review!
Valerie's head pounded as she woke up. (Already off to a great start.)
Every pulled muscle in her body screamed against the slightest movement. (Pulled muscles?! Wow.)
It felt as if she'd been run over, knocked down, and slammed against a wall. (Oh, they was getting freaky-deaky! Good for them, good for them.)
As a matter of fact, she was not wearing clothes at all. (O gee I wonder why)
She nearly sat up, but then she realized that a heavy weight was slung over her hips…Instead of a pillow or a weapon, she saw a muscled, blue arm. (Heheheh.)
A slender, pale-blue face rested on the pillow beside hers, slack in a peaceful sleep…A naked Dan Phantom was asleep next to her on the bed. (There's something cute about him having felt safe and comfortable enough after their Shenanigans that he fell asleep beside her, even spooning!)
(Dan and Valerie tussle in bed. It isn't as fun as it sounds.)
"Ngh," she whined against his hand, eyes blurring with sudden tears. She didn't know what he had done. She didn't know what any of this meant, except that her head felt like it was bursting and her body ached like it'd been stretched too far— (the way my eyebrows rose at this line)
He seemed to pick up that she was truly afraid. His large hand softened against her mouth. "You remember nothing as well?" he murmured. (The fics where Dan can't bring himself to genuinely hurt Valerie or upset her make me feel soft inside. Like in some fics he's a right bastard [and those are fun in their own way!] but here the sight of Valerie's tears give him pause, its sweet.)
Their struggles had exposed her bare chest to the air, the tangled sheets having scrunched further between them. Her face flushed a deep red, unable to lift her arms from his crushing elbows. For a time, she simply stared up at him, in a terrified awe that she was naked and he was naked and that he was on top of her— (In a different context- Actually, you know what? This is the exact context. It’s a little hot.)
He pulled his hand away and lifted off of her, his fingertips trailing over her gasping lips. "You don't," he murmured in awe. "And here I thought your antics were some attempt to trap me." (Him touching her lips all gentle like is making my brain buzz)
Tears burst from her eyes, and in his momentary hesitance, kicked him hard. (Once again, the sight of her tears makes him hesitate but Valerie has no such reservations.)
…she rolled up so that he was beneath her. Her breath hitched as she planted her hands hard on his wrists, digging in her fingernails…He stared up at her, his red eyes searching. His irises seemed oddly dilated. (“Oddly dilated” yeah I wonder why? I mean the woman he's had the hots for over the last 10 years is pinning him down naked in her bed. Real mystery.)
She felt alien in her body as she clenched the sheet tight, her knuckles bleeding a lighter color. "You drugged me," she sputtered, nearly hyperventilating. "To—to—" The room was beginning to spin. She noticed dark markings on Dan's neck, like love bites. …"Do not think me amused." He roughly pulled on the sheets around him to hide himself further, his hair flickering strangely. "I have been violated.”
(Something I appreciate is that, despite the fact that these two have been attracted to each other for years, at the thought that they were assaulted the reaction for both of them is straight-up horror. Especially with Dan. Both here and in Karma you treat the concept of male SA as legitimate and handle the subject matter with the severity and dignity that it deserves. That's not what happened in this case, obviously, but I appreciate how their reactions suited the shock and horror the situation called for, at least prior to finding out the truth. Speaking of which.)
That's when she saw it. On the bedside table was a fallen bottle of hard liquor, surrounded by a few other bottles of liquor on the floor. Her protests died in her throat. The pulse in her head suddenly made sense. "Oh no." (Oh yes.)
Dan followed her frozen gaze, only for comprehension to bleed into him. He held his head as his face twisted in displeasure. "You have got to be joking,” (yep if Vegas was still around, yall would have gotten married by Elvis. Yall got TURNT)
…he, along with Valerie, had somehow managed to down enough alcohol to cow them both into desire. (Somehow I don't think that part took all that much. The drinking till you blackout part, however, probably took significantly more.)
An image of himself grabbing a bottle from Valerie's hand. A feeling of superiority. "You must have tricked me," he accused, voice rough. But she'd stumbled and laughed in his memory—a sign she had already been drunk by the time she'd manipulated him onto it. (This man really let a drunk girl challenge him to a drinking contest [or something of that nature] knowing Damn Well that if he so much as looks at any alcohol he's gonna get drunk off his ass. The Ravager of Worlds, everyone!)
Valerie swallowed hard, unable to piece it all together. And then something of a flash hit her. The feeling of skin on skin. His bare fingers tracing her lips, her hips. (*Eyes emoji*)
"Valerie," he gasped in her ear, voice slurred and uninhibited with joy—(there's something sweet about the fact that he was genuinely happy when they were making love. He hasn't really been able to be close to anyone let alone feel any happiness that wasn't at someone else's expense. And here he was finally able to be intimate with the one person left in the world that he loves [even if he's not quite aware of that yet.])
Her body suddenly felt strange to her, Dan's touches from the previous night like phantom caresses all over her skin. (HA! Phantom caresses. I get it.)
He'd—he'd—and she'd liked it. (Yeah, you did, after 10 years of sexual tension I bet that shit was life-altering.)
She was breathless, eyes closed tight as cool lips pressed open-mouthed kisses on her neck—(Yeah, see?)
The two fell silent with some awful knowledge of the other. Dan eyed her, as haunted as she was. (‘We slammed it down Big Style and now we have to go back to work, fighting each other like we don't know what the other one looks like when they nut.’)
For the first time in his afterlife, he found himself in awe of being completely out of control—of the wild rivers of Valerie's curls and the blurry image he had of staring into her dazed eyes as he pressed his hips against hers. He'd always desired her to some extent. The alcohol must have pushed him over. (I think it was to more than “some extent” if y'all was maintaining eye contact like that. But that's just my opinion)
He realized now it was not an unreciprocated feeling, for Valerie to have willingly brought him to her bed. (I mean with how much y'all flirt are you really that surprised?)
She was heavily disheveled, one dark brown shoulder exposed in the bundle of a white sheet. (The way that Dan keys in on her features, her hair being let loose or the tiny peek of skin at her shoulder, does a very good job of expressing to the audience that, awkward morning after hangover or no, he is still Very Much Attracted to Valerie.)
"You better not be thinking about attacking anyone," she said, voice strained as she glared. "Don't make me fight you. Not right now."
His lip curled in disgust, but he said slowly, "As much as I love your misery, I do not care for my own... (Cheeky bastard)
…Allow me to rest here until I can think without pain. I will not attack your city in return.” (not that I would know from personal experience, but I feel that, within the confines of One Night Stand etiquette, razing your bedmate’s city to the ground would be considered Pretty Rude.)
…it was far better than Phantom throwing a tantrum, and everyone discovering that she had let him in behind enemy lines. (Is that what the kids are calling it now?)
Her voice was small. "Do you…remember?"
His dilated, red eyes flickered up to hers briefly. (Yeah, he does)
(To summarize the situation: Dan's in bed with Valerie, a woman he has long desired, who is currently wearing naught but a sheet pulled around her [making her look small and cute, while teasing a tiny bit of skin] as she shows a rare shyness [looking at him with those big green eyes of hers] asking if he remembers the mind-blowing sex they had last night. Dude’s brain must be lit up like a Christmas tree.)
"Yes," he snapped suddenly, but his voice was more agonized than it was angry. "Damn all that you are and what you have done to me, you devil woman. I should kiss you once more.” (The scream I scrempt the first time I read this.)
Her face twitched in surprise, and she blinked. "…What?" ( has stopped working)
Despite his headache, he turned his head and eyed her. "I remember great pleasure." His voice was a tired baritone that rattled into her. "I can think of nothing else.” (I am fucking blushing! Sir!? SIR?!)
Valerie's dark face began to tinge red. Her knuckles tightened into the white sheet covering her. (Girl, same.)
"As a matter of fact," the ghost murmured to her, soaking in the sight of her, "I wonder what it would be like fully sober."
Her eyebrows flew up. "…What?"
"You heard me," he said. (SIR.)
"You don't want to kiss me," she snapped. "You're just saying that.” (Between the two of yall I'm pretty sure you have enough hickeys to disprove that claim, but aight.)
He leaned forward, further closing the gap. The sheets about his waist scrunched, revealing the sharp of his muscled hip. (EyesemojiEyesemojiEyesemoji)
In the blur of the moment, he grabbed onto the sheet around Valerie and pulled her forward. Her eyes flew wide, and she nearly yelped, only for his lips to smash against hers. (BRUUUUUUHHHH! He just went for it!)
Dan closed his eyes, tightening his fingers into the white sheet about her…so as he kissed her, the frequency waves of her electricity melted into him, easing the pain of his hangover. A great relief relaxed him. (Something something they're opposites and coming together brings balance and makes them both better)
To his own surprise, Valerie did not resist him. She'd been stiff at first in shock, but as his mouth softened against hers, she eased against him. To distract him from Amity Park, she convinced herself. To keep him from attacking. (Keep him ‘behind enemy lines’ one might say.)
Their kiss deepened. She leaned forward harder, leaning him back against the headboard. His fingers wove into her hair as she stretched his lips opened. Their actions were familiar, as if they'd done all this before in a dream together. The nerves of her mouth lit hot with the cool of his tongue, and she moaned. (Damn. Get it, Valerie.)
The sheet covering her parted open as she moved closer to him to get a better angle. Dan's eyes had closed in a pleasured concentration of her lips, but when his hand slipped against the open sheet, he happened across the hem and swept it back. (Him trying to get more skin to skin contact is hot.)
His hand touched her bare waist, feeling the muscled curve of her body and the warmth of her skin. He was losing himself to the overwhelming sensation that Valerie was female, and he was male, and he could not get close enough— (there's no comment I can make here that isn't Aggressively Horny so I shall abstain. But suffice to say. Hot.)
Dan grabbed on tight to her hip and pulled her forward, as if to guide her to him. She gasped against his lips, losing her balance against him. She strangled out a moan, heart racing as she toppled against his hips, only a thin sheet between them. Oh my god, she thought, lips dropping open in shock. (...you ever see that meme where this chick is like “I know it's big, I know it.’ Cuz that's me rn.)
His touch was a cold fire that pooled between her legs. All of her reasoning left her, except that she wanted to feel him touch her in intimate ways. She desired him. She knew now he desired her. (They about to do the bow chicka wow wow [thats so old. Im so cringe. I have no regrets])
And then suddenly, there was a knock at the door (aaahhhh, dammit. Paulina I love you, but could you have waited 15 minutes?)
"Get out of here," she whispered to Dan in fright, flailing a sheet about herself. "Go invisible."
Dan narrowed his eyes at her, half out of it in lust. His nostrils flared with displeasure. "No.” (Bro is Not thinking with his brain here.)
(Paulina is razor sharp in one thing and it's detecting if someone was getting some. The specifics of who they were getting With remains elusive.)
Dan's red eyes suddenly narrowed to slits. "...Dash?" he whispered sharply. "You desire him?" (Not him being Immediately jealous and possessive. His goofy ass.)
The incredible possession with which Dan looked at her took her aback for a second. Incredulity seeped into her nearly hysterical whisper. "What? Why the hell would you even—?!” (bro hit it once and now his head's on a swivel. But it’s the Audacity for me.)
Valerie suddenly shoved Dan hard. "Go invisible," she demanded in a quiet hiss of panic. "Get out of here."
"I'm missing my suit," he hissed right back.
She then pushed a sheet at him until it covered even his face. (The scene of them fussing and scrambling to find something to cover themselves is very funny to me.)
"Do not think I'll accept your orders without compensation," Dan murmured in her ear, voice hot with irritation. (Kinda hot.)
The room was still cold with his presence, as if he were still watching from a short distance. (He never quite leaves her space now that he decided he likes being in it.)
…She kicked them and the dark pile that was Dan Phantom's clothes beneath her bed, only for her eyes to widen when his cape, which still flickered, seemed to wrap around her ankle. (So he was definitely watching her get dressed.)
"Stop it," she complained under her breath, narrowing her eyes. She looked around in paranoia, knowing that Dan likely was teasing her. (Which I find cute.)
"Almost like you're glowing. Are you sure you don't have a guy in there?” (Again, Paulina has incredible intuition for One Specific Thing. But also Dan got my girl Glowing? Impressive.)
"But you were really just being antisocial like always!" She sobbed over her. "I'm sorry, I'm a bad friend!” …"I'll buy you breakfast," her friend whined. "Or a makeover, anytime. Hair included.” (Aww Paulina. You are trying your best, which is a bit sad.)
A half-naked Dan reappeared with the sunlight behind him, illuminating the white sheet he held around his waist. (Boy really looking like two degrees removed from a trashy romance novel cover [but that's for a different chapter])
Valerie's teal eyes narrowed up at him, struggling not to look upon his body. (For this, she is a stronger woman than I.)
"And what are we?" he demanded. He allowed himself to gaze down her body. (ONG he did NOT just hit her with the “What are we?” I can't.)
"It was a mistake." (Girl quit playing.)
The powerful ghost tilted his head. He reached for her, his bare fingertips curling into a lock of her wild hair. "I'm stuck here until you release me to the Wastelands," he murmured. "A fox in the hen house." His hand slipped from her hair to ghost down her shoulder and then the swell of her breast. (*gasp* he touch da tiddy!)
"If you're stuck here," she whispered, "it's better to keep you down."
"Or distracted," he murmured. (Oh dang! I should have saved the “behind enemy lines” joke for here. Ah, well. Such is life.)
Her breath hitched again when the pad of his thumb swept up over the swell of her breast, circling her nipple through the fabric of the tank top. The silence between them was heavy.
"I have to—Paulina—" She was losing her ability to think, dazed as she closed her eyes. She wanted him to touch her and for her to touch him. Oh god, did she want it. (HE TOUCH DA TIDDY AGAIN!)
"…Deal," she whispered. Her closed eyes squeezed harder shut, and she inhaled sharply as she heard the sheet slip from his body, and suddenly both of his hands were pulling up on the hem of her shirt. (*pointing* NAKED!)
An excited fear overwhelmed her. "But you better make it good."
He raised a brow, pausing for a second. "I would rather hope," he murmured to her, "we'd work together to achieve that." (Stop. Why was this one of the most romantic/sensual things I've ever read? The mutuality of their dynamic is one of the hottest things about this ship.)
Valerie opened her eyes tentatively, vulnerably searching his own. There was something human about him in that minute. It struck her then that having Dan Phantom beneath her, weak in lust with her name on his lips, was not so terrible a thought. "Challenge accepted," she said. (OK, damn! Get you sum, Valerie!)
"You can't get me pregnant, right?" (File that under ‘Questions that Should Have Been Asked Earlier.’)
His lips upon her neck paused for a second. "If I can, the damage would be done from last night." (He was wildin for that fr. Bro was WAY too casual about the prospect that she could be having his baby. Like Eck-fucking-SCUSE You?!)
Valerie's heart dropped for a second, eyes widening. Her breath shuddered in realization that this was how babies were made. "What?" she breathed. She froze entirely. "Oh my god. You mean you don't know?” (barely related, but this reminds me of something my old biology teacher said when she was talking about various types of contraception. “Another method that is used is the 'pull out' method. People that use this method are called 'parents.'" and im just picturing her side-eyeing these two.)
He found himself irritated by it. "You're ruining our ten minutes," he complained. (We need to search the Earth and the Ghost Zone to find out where In Two Worlds does this man get THE AUDACITY?! This ass!)
"And you're ruining my life." She suddenly pushed him, feeling cold and wide-eyed in a deep terror. (Valerie is, understandably, freaked out)
As he thought of it, he found himself more unable to separate some protective instinct from Valerie. (After he stopped thinking with his dick for three seconds he did actually try to assuage her fears and comfort her, in his way. It's a start.)
She ran a hand over her lower abdomen, her fingers shaking, as if to will her body not to become pregnant. "You don't know that."
Dan waved a hand. "And what would you have me do now? I cannot reverse time, nor would I particularly want to, even if you did end up carrying my child.” (And I Ooh-!)
The powerful ghost fell silent for a time, mulling over their strange circumstances. "I am not…unhappy at the thought." In his muddy memories of the previous night, he had a sense of some odd belonging—an unleashing of long-pent-up emotion that had always burned him when gazing upon Valerie. That she was where he belonged. "I fear I enjoyed last night too much to regret it.” (He was lowkey wildin for this too. “Might have knocked up my arch-enemy in a fit of Resolved Sexual Tension brought on by a drunken stupor, but I might have been halfway in love with her to begin with, so I'm okay with this, actually.” Is crazy. Like Bro WHAT?!)
(Then this man promising to be a supportive baby daddy. But also being like “but I Am gonna hit it, tho.” DAN-IEL.)
He hummed. "I am not without tricks to have cake and eat it too. I would find a way to make a child beneficial to us both…” (me: *stares at The Exchange* yeah i bet you do. Also, we gonna talk about this man having contingencies for if Val got pregnant with his baby? Explain yourself, sir!)
(I joke, i know that's not what he said)
Against her better judgment, Valerie melted into the kiss, her body beginning to ache for him once more in a tidal wave. She felt his fingers grab onto her shoulders, feeling the lines
3/29/2024 c42 gabbigabz
She hid her face in her hands, her dark skin shining with the glow of her tears. "I can't fix it," she breathed shakily to herself. "I just…” (even as a ghost, helplessness and loneliness makes one feel terribly human)
…But not far away, one girl in a red suit climbed down a few footholds, stealthily dropping in the darkness…The lieutenant thought to attack, but then she heard an odd sound.
As she neared closer, she saw the ghost sitting on the floor beside the cell, crying…The sight was enough to make her hesitate. It rather made Valerie seem more like an ordinary woman and less a monster… (aww she's finally Starting to see her grandma as a person)
…unless it was simply an act to manipulate her. (Gadammit Baby Gray! Well she certainly inherited Valerie's paranoid suspicion, that's for sure.)
"You gonna fight me?" Her voice was a rough snap, but it was distorted in strength by her sadness.
"I want to." She fell silent, her expression a mix between attempting distance and being uncomfortable. "I want to burn you out of existence and watch you suffer.” (Jesus Christ!)
"Don't pretend it's one-sided," the girl said. "My grandfather's notes say you hated my mother—that you couldn't even stand to look at her. I'm sure you're thinking the same about me.” (Somehow I don't think that's how he phrased it in his notes. I think that’s how you Interpreted them.)
(Valerie is Definitely not in the running for Mother of the Year, but she didn't Hate her kid. She wasn't in the mindset to have one let alone raise her alongside a man she wasn't in love with. All while still battling the guilt of betraying the one she did. And in addition to just plain old Not Being Ready seeing that baby reminded her of that betrayal every day. It doesn't justify her actions but it does give a reason.)
Her face twisted suddenly with a great pain and a deep guilt. "I didn't hate her," she said. "And I don't hate you."
The blaster trembled a bit more in the girl's hand. She lowered it to hide her inner emotional war. "Yes, you do," she whispered. "Everybody does.” (Aww Baby Gray is sad.)
(Deep down there's just a very sad and lonely girl in there.)
"I don't hate you, Vanessa," she said. Her voice broke as she stood up, her ringlet curls floating in sad angles. "I don't.” (Excellent Choice to drop her name right here. It adds that extra Oomph to really drive home that this is her Granddaughter. Not in some vague way but as someone who she loves, who is her family.)
"Don't call me that."
"Why?" she demanded softly. Her eyes welled with tears. "Do you hate your name?”
The girl pressed her lips together tightly, afraid that if she spoke at all, she would drop all semblance of emotional control and either try to shoot Valerie or break down crying. (Aww poor Vanessa. Baby has had it so rough. She came out a bit warped but I feel bad for her.)
Eventually, the girl said tightly, "Everyone hates my name too."
The ghost's core squeezed as a heart would in pain. "No," she said. "I don't." In a blur, she reached out to the girl and flew to her, wrapping her arms around her.
The girl stiffened in surprise. But the touch was soft and maternal, the cool arms of the ghost wrapped firmly around her as if to ground her in reality. It hit her that she could not remember being hugged before. She did not know what to do.
Valerie's voice was a soft, strained rasp in her ear. "I don't hate you," she said again…She ran her fingers along the girl's familiar, ringlet hair. "I never have. And I like your name, dammit.” (excuse me, I have to go ugly cry in the corner real quick, be right back)
(Vanessa's disbelief in genuine affection and the fact that she still can't bring herself to forgive Valerie, more so out of muscle memory than anything else, is sad in ways I can't quite express)
"You ruined everyone's life," she whispered, eyes watering. "You haunt mine everywhere I turn. What makes you think I'll forgive you?" (See what gets me here is that, for all of the pain Valerie caused, intentionally or not. I think some part of Vanessa Wants to forgive her. I think on some level she wants love from a family member and Valerie is all she's got.)
"Because if you let me, I'll help you. And I'll start by giving you what I should've given to your mother."
The girl resisted the urge to lean into Valerie's touch. "Which is?"
"This." Valerie pulled away and grabbed onto her hand, interlocking their fingers. (I remember being like OH SHIT SHE'S GIVING HER THE ARMOR! :D)
It wrapped up the girl in a sense of belonging—acknowledging her as rightful owner. (It was always meant to be hers. Her birthright.)
“The truth is, when I was alive, a ghost named Technus designed the armor for me. I never built it myself. And there was never a perfect Valerie Gray who won the war on her own. I made mistakes all the time—worse mistakes than you." Her eyes softened.
The girl was shaking as she stared at her arms, now fitted with sleek, black armor. It seemed to call to her, Blood of Valerie Gray. The Black Huntress. (Something something legacies. We are the living history of all who came before us. Something something mothers stand still so daughter can see how far they've come.)
The girl hesitated, realizing this ghost had just given up its greatest weapon in exchange for favor. This ghost had just admitted to a terrible level of imperfection. This ghost claimed to love her—even her stupid name. (Something something generational trauma can only be healed by both parties being and the willing to forgive)
Slowly, the granddaughter nodded. (THE GRANDDAUGHTER! I love this detail. It hit a perfect harmony to the name drop.)
A great relief came over the Valerie, and it nearly welled more tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you.” (Again vulnerability is the birthplace of healing.)
(Ooh yeah Dan's not looking so good.)
(Somehow I feel like he would have been an absolute ass about Valerie worrying over him)
On instinct alone, he drank from her presence. He leaned against her as a drowning man would, desperate for touch. (This gives me feelings.)
"You," he rasped. His baritone voice was hoarse and weak. His face twisted in a snarl. "The lieutenant."
Valerie quickly pulled away and grabbed a lock of his hair, forcing his face up. "Hey. Don't you snarl at her.” (Don't you snarl at your step(?)-grandchild!)
"Valerie?" he breathed. (I can just Hear the awed disbelief in his voice)
Her grip on his straggling hair softened, and she ran fingers down his face. "Hi to you too.” (hey wassup? been a minute, 60 years maybe. So how ya been? how has the post-betrayal confinement been treating you? But seriously these two are so much to each other. That's not always a good thing but by golly is it Interesting.)
Instantly, he reached up. As he touched her face, his hair began to flicker again. His power core brightened. The bony angles of his body began to fill out once more, although he still remained weak. His sickly eyes brightened back into a ruby red. (He literally revived at the sight of her. I will never recover from this emotionally)
"You are changed," he murmured, in awe of her ghost body. She had a monstrous presence as one—it permeated even through him. He delighted in that. (He would think she's hot as a ghost.)
Her fingers shook as she covered his hand with her own. "Because of you," she mourned, her voice pointed. Oh, she could feel his delight. Even though he was a worn prisoner at her own command, she could feel that he was happy to see her. "I couldn't pass on.”
A dark delight came over him. He pulled away and sat back to behold her. In that moment, he looked as a king upon his throne, as comfortable as any. "Well, well." He tilted his head. "Valerie Gray, the Ghost Slayer. You have a heart after all.” (there's something about the tragic element of them that's integral to the romance. These two being who they are cannot live each other simply, well they could but they're both too stubborn to do so so instead we get this fucked up dynamic. Makes for a good story tho)
His blood-red eyes then flickered to the uncomfortable-looking lieutenant, and his delight faltered. "Does she have to be here?" he complained to Valerie. "I've a rather high-spirited argument I've been planning to have with you for decades, and it does not involve a third party.” (I feel like “high-spirited argument” is both literal and euphemistic here.)
(Vanessa has perfectly legitimate concerns but frankly should have taken the out when she had it.)
His lip curled in a snarl once more. "Very well then, half-pint. Do not say I didn't warn you.” (Dan really be giving “Step dad that gives the kids shit” energy here.)
(Dan would Absolutely be the one to use the “I fucked your mom” card to win an argument because WHAT THE FUCK DUDE!? THAT IS HER WHOLE GRANDCHILD! And you saying this shit. He wildin fr)
"I did love him," she said defensively. "In ways."
He reached out to touched her face again, tracing her jaw with a softness despite his hard gaze. "Not as you loved me." He almost seemed to snarl. "He was not your match. Not as I am."
Valerie closed her eyes. Her power core had ached for decades to feel his touch. Her eyes burned with tears—to feel his familiar callouses. "No," she whispered. "Not as you are.” (The Gothic Drama of it all! Ugh! It's so good!)
"Then why would you betray me for him?" he demanded.
Her eyes misted. "It wasn't for him. I had to choose between you and saving humanity.” (Ah… the crux of their dynamic)
"And what on earth possessed you to bear children with Kwan? You corrupted your line. I would have preferred you with any over that soft-hearted fool." He could not stand the thought that Valerie—his Valerie—had found solace in the touch of a lesser man. It burned him to think of her writhing naked beneath another. (The jealous Ex of it all. But he was never Really an Ex was he?)
Valerie backed away, glancing at her living granddaughter. "I didn't corrupt my line.” (she JUST got Vanessa to believe That she didn't Hate her, don't fuck this up for her Dan!)
(But yeah, not my delusional ass thinking that Her daughter and by extension granddaughter were secretly Dan's the whole time. I thought we were about to get a Dramatic Reveal of soap opera proportions. To be frank, I still read through this story as if that were true because that makes parts of this story even more tragic but makes this whole exchange SO MUCH FUNNIER. Allow me to demonstrate:)
"Your granddaughter is horrid. She did not even feel sympathy for me."
(And Valerie just hits him with, “She gets it from you” CAN YOU IMAGINE?!)
The undercut bounced off his shoulders. Instead, he found himself staring at the granddaughter again. She was a symbol of Valerie's betrayal. "Sympathy or not, the girl must die," he declared. "She even disrespects you, so I see no reason to let her live." (I feel like Dan finding out that Vanessa was actually his grandkid might actually Jumpstart him having to be a better-ish person because that was a lot of murder he was directing at his own kin just there. Might need to reevaluate some things.)
Valerie raised a finger, eyes hard. "You're not gonna touch a hair on her head," she warned. "She's a part of me. If you hurt her, you hurt me." (Again this is where I thought we'd get the big reveal that didn't happen. Like Don't you dare hurt your grandchild!)
Dan's face twitched in displeasure. "She's the part of you I don't like," he snapped. "Warped with hidden agendas. I should like to see that part of you crushed into the ground."
The lieutenant gave him a flat look, as if to say, You're not helping your case here. (Its so funny to imagine Him being like “Shes ruthless, cruel, manipulative and entirely untrustworthy.” And Vanessa being like “Takes one to know one” and meanwhile Val just being like “Yeah… about that.”)
"And I'd like to see your sadistic side crushed into the ground," Valerie retorted to Dan. "But at least mine's a noble goal."
"My sadistic side?" he accused. "What about yours?... (See again, there would be a Strong case that she takes after Both of them. Because a lot of Vanessa's behaviors do actually line up with that. Kwan’s a sweetheart and Vanessa doesn't have any of what he was. Obviously one's upbringing has tremendous influence on how they turn out but according to research nature plays the larger role. More of an 80/20 split than a 50/50. I'm just saying it would explain some things. Enough of my bullshit back to the review proper.)
"You gave me no choice," she huffed in pain. "You were going to attack Jasper City again, and then you were boasting about how you'd make me some kind of ghost queen as part of your reign of terror. I had to stop it." (My guy was really like “Let's be evil together forever 3” and Val was like “why the evil part tho?”)
"And you could not have stopped me in a more honorable way?" he demanded sharply. "What on earth am I supposed to tell people when I get out here? It's embarrassing.” (lmao, the priorities.)
As the lieutenant listened in, she came to the conclusion that Valerie and Dan Phantom bickered like an old couple. It made Phantom seem somehow less dangerous, all while making Valerie seem more so. (She did it! She broke the ship down to its bare essentials!)
Dan bared his teeth at her in a growl. "I will get out of here, you little pip-squeak. And you'll rue the day that I do, because I'll—" (lowkey Dan giving Vanessa nicknames is cute. I kinda wish we got more of it. It would have made for a funny step[?] [*I lied I'm still on my bullshit] grandfather- grandchild dynamic)
Valerie slapped her hand over his mouth and hissed at him. "—Dammit stop." She turned a wild gaze over to her living granddaughter, as if to gauge her tolerance. "Just stop. You're not helping, okay?” (i know it because she doesn't want them to fight but *stares suspiciously beneath my tinfoil hat* is that the Only reason?)
(Dan is being a dramatic baby interspersed with actually really cutting moments.)
Her voice broke. "And I can't love you fully until you stop being so evil. Don't you get it yet?"
"Get what? That you cannot accept me as I am?" He upturned his nose at her, then looked to the granddaughter. (These two needs couple's therapy. Also catch me being delulu about how the narration keeps referring to Vanessa as The granddaughter and not Her granddaughter in a way that would exclusively mark her as Valerie's and not Dan's. *Me with a corkboard and red string* LISTEN-)
(Lol Dan with his “Tell your grandmother” bullshit. He is so petty. And then one last “I fucked your grandma and she Loved it” to mess with them both. He a trip.)
Dan relaxed fully, knowing that he'd be woken up again soon, if not simply for the ghost of Valerie to yell at him and then cry and yell some more. An additional plus would be having that granddaughter there as well, to get a rise of embarrassment out of her. It would be fun to torment her as well. (Is it wrong that I kinda want to see that dynamic play out?)
He fell into sleep, a little, conniving smile on his lips.
Oh, the fun we shall have, Valerie dear.
And against Valerie's wishes, he dreamt of her. (He's such an ass.)
Lowkey I wouldn't mind a short continuation of this. I'm just picturing poor Vanessa trying to get the hang of her newly realized role as Huntress balancing this new learning-not-to-hate-you-anymore family dynamic with her grandmother only to have to deal with walking in on her grandma and her shitty never-really-was-an-ex ghost boyfriend (who might be her actual grandpa, let me dream.) and their fucked up relationship dynamic. And then both of them giving varying levels of advice about That Thing she definitely doesn't have with Dash’s grandson. Don't think I forgot about that. I think there's a lot of comedic potential if nothing else.
In this fic especially I feel this ship can be summed up in that one AITA reply that's like “you enable each other's mental illness. You are perfect for each other. Please never involve anyone else in whatever the fuck you have going on.” Unfortunately for Vanessa, she is already involved in whatever the fuck it is they have going on.
Have a lovely rest of your day. On to the next one!
She hid her face in her hands, her dark skin shining with the glow of her tears. "I can't fix it," she breathed shakily to herself. "I just…” (even as a ghost, helplessness and loneliness makes one feel terribly human)
…But not far away, one girl in a red suit climbed down a few footholds, stealthily dropping in the darkness…The lieutenant thought to attack, but then she heard an odd sound.
As she neared closer, she saw the ghost sitting on the floor beside the cell, crying…The sight was enough to make her hesitate. It rather made Valerie seem more like an ordinary woman and less a monster… (aww she's finally Starting to see her grandma as a person)
…unless it was simply an act to manipulate her. (Gadammit Baby Gray! Well she certainly inherited Valerie's paranoid suspicion, that's for sure.)
"You gonna fight me?" Her voice was a rough snap, but it was distorted in strength by her sadness.
"I want to." She fell silent, her expression a mix between attempting distance and being uncomfortable. "I want to burn you out of existence and watch you suffer.” (Jesus Christ!)
"Don't pretend it's one-sided," the girl said. "My grandfather's notes say you hated my mother—that you couldn't even stand to look at her. I'm sure you're thinking the same about me.” (Somehow I don't think that's how he phrased it in his notes. I think that’s how you Interpreted them.)
(Valerie is Definitely not in the running for Mother of the Year, but she didn't Hate her kid. She wasn't in the mindset to have one let alone raise her alongside a man she wasn't in love with. All while still battling the guilt of betraying the one she did. And in addition to just plain old Not Being Ready seeing that baby reminded her of that betrayal every day. It doesn't justify her actions but it does give a reason.)
Her face twisted suddenly with a great pain and a deep guilt. "I didn't hate her," she said. "And I don't hate you."
The blaster trembled a bit more in the girl's hand. She lowered it to hide her inner emotional war. "Yes, you do," she whispered. "Everybody does.” (Aww Baby Gray is sad.)
(Deep down there's just a very sad and lonely girl in there.)
"I don't hate you, Vanessa," she said. Her voice broke as she stood up, her ringlet curls floating in sad angles. "I don't.” (Excellent Choice to drop her name right here. It adds that extra Oomph to really drive home that this is her Granddaughter. Not in some vague way but as someone who she loves, who is her family.)
"Don't call me that."
"Why?" she demanded softly. Her eyes welled with tears. "Do you hate your name?”
The girl pressed her lips together tightly, afraid that if she spoke at all, she would drop all semblance of emotional control and either try to shoot Valerie or break down crying. (Aww poor Vanessa. Baby has had it so rough. She came out a bit warped but I feel bad for her.)
Eventually, the girl said tightly, "Everyone hates my name too."
The ghost's core squeezed as a heart would in pain. "No," she said. "I don't." In a blur, she reached out to the girl and flew to her, wrapping her arms around her.
The girl stiffened in surprise. But the touch was soft and maternal, the cool arms of the ghost wrapped firmly around her as if to ground her in reality. It hit her that she could not remember being hugged before. She did not know what to do.
Valerie's voice was a soft, strained rasp in her ear. "I don't hate you," she said again…She ran her fingers along the girl's familiar, ringlet hair. "I never have. And I like your name, dammit.” (excuse me, I have to go ugly cry in the corner real quick, be right back)
(Vanessa's disbelief in genuine affection and the fact that she still can't bring herself to forgive Valerie, more so out of muscle memory than anything else, is sad in ways I can't quite express)
"You ruined everyone's life," she whispered, eyes watering. "You haunt mine everywhere I turn. What makes you think I'll forgive you?" (See what gets me here is that, for all of the pain Valerie caused, intentionally or not. I think some part of Vanessa Wants to forgive her. I think on some level she wants love from a family member and Valerie is all she's got.)
"Because if you let me, I'll help you. And I'll start by giving you what I should've given to your mother."
The girl resisted the urge to lean into Valerie's touch. "Which is?"
"This." Valerie pulled away and grabbed onto her hand, interlocking their fingers. (I remember being like OH SHIT SHE'S GIVING HER THE ARMOR! :D)
It wrapped up the girl in a sense of belonging—acknowledging her as rightful owner. (It was always meant to be hers. Her birthright.)
“The truth is, when I was alive, a ghost named Technus designed the armor for me. I never built it myself. And there was never a perfect Valerie Gray who won the war on her own. I made mistakes all the time—worse mistakes than you." Her eyes softened.
The girl was shaking as she stared at her arms, now fitted with sleek, black armor. It seemed to call to her, Blood of Valerie Gray. The Black Huntress. (Something something legacies. We are the living history of all who came before us. Something something mothers stand still so daughter can see how far they've come.)
The girl hesitated, realizing this ghost had just given up its greatest weapon in exchange for favor. This ghost had just admitted to a terrible level of imperfection. This ghost claimed to love her—even her stupid name. (Something something generational trauma can only be healed by both parties being and the willing to forgive)
Slowly, the granddaughter nodded. (THE GRANDDAUGHTER! I love this detail. It hit a perfect harmony to the name drop.)
A great relief came over the Valerie, and it nearly welled more tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you.” (Again vulnerability is the birthplace of healing.)
(Ooh yeah Dan's not looking so good.)
(Somehow I feel like he would have been an absolute ass about Valerie worrying over him)
On instinct alone, he drank from her presence. He leaned against her as a drowning man would, desperate for touch. (This gives me feelings.)
"You," he rasped. His baritone voice was hoarse and weak. His face twisted in a snarl. "The lieutenant."
Valerie quickly pulled away and grabbed a lock of his hair, forcing his face up. "Hey. Don't you snarl at her.” (Don't you snarl at your step(?)-grandchild!)
"Valerie?" he breathed. (I can just Hear the awed disbelief in his voice)
Her grip on his straggling hair softened, and she ran fingers down his face. "Hi to you too.” (hey wassup? been a minute, 60 years maybe. So how ya been? how has the post-betrayal confinement been treating you? But seriously these two are so much to each other. That's not always a good thing but by golly is it Interesting.)
Instantly, he reached up. As he touched her face, his hair began to flicker again. His power core brightened. The bony angles of his body began to fill out once more, although he still remained weak. His sickly eyes brightened back into a ruby red. (He literally revived at the sight of her. I will never recover from this emotionally)
"You are changed," he murmured, in awe of her ghost body. She had a monstrous presence as one—it permeated even through him. He delighted in that. (He would think she's hot as a ghost.)
Her fingers shook as she covered his hand with her own. "Because of you," she mourned, her voice pointed. Oh, she could feel his delight. Even though he was a worn prisoner at her own command, she could feel that he was happy to see her. "I couldn't pass on.”
A dark delight came over him. He pulled away and sat back to behold her. In that moment, he looked as a king upon his throne, as comfortable as any. "Well, well." He tilted his head. "Valerie Gray, the Ghost Slayer. You have a heart after all.” (there's something about the tragic element of them that's integral to the romance. These two being who they are cannot live each other simply, well they could but they're both too stubborn to do so so instead we get this fucked up dynamic. Makes for a good story tho)
His blood-red eyes then flickered to the uncomfortable-looking lieutenant, and his delight faltered. "Does she have to be here?" he complained to Valerie. "I've a rather high-spirited argument I've been planning to have with you for decades, and it does not involve a third party.” (I feel like “high-spirited argument” is both literal and euphemistic here.)
(Vanessa has perfectly legitimate concerns but frankly should have taken the out when she had it.)
His lip curled in a snarl once more. "Very well then, half-pint. Do not say I didn't warn you.” (Dan really be giving “Step dad that gives the kids shit” energy here.)
(Dan would Absolutely be the one to use the “I fucked your mom” card to win an argument because WHAT THE FUCK DUDE!? THAT IS HER WHOLE GRANDCHILD! And you saying this shit. He wildin fr)
"I did love him," she said defensively. "In ways."
He reached out to touched her face again, tracing her jaw with a softness despite his hard gaze. "Not as you loved me." He almost seemed to snarl. "He was not your match. Not as I am."
Valerie closed her eyes. Her power core had ached for decades to feel his touch. Her eyes burned with tears—to feel his familiar callouses. "No," she whispered. "Not as you are.” (The Gothic Drama of it all! Ugh! It's so good!)
"Then why would you betray me for him?" he demanded.
Her eyes misted. "It wasn't for him. I had to choose between you and saving humanity.” (Ah… the crux of their dynamic)
"And what on earth possessed you to bear children with Kwan? You corrupted your line. I would have preferred you with any over that soft-hearted fool." He could not stand the thought that Valerie—his Valerie—had found solace in the touch of a lesser man. It burned him to think of her writhing naked beneath another. (The jealous Ex of it all. But he was never Really an Ex was he?)
Valerie backed away, glancing at her living granddaughter. "I didn't corrupt my line.” (she JUST got Vanessa to believe That she didn't Hate her, don't fuck this up for her Dan!)
(But yeah, not my delusional ass thinking that Her daughter and by extension granddaughter were secretly Dan's the whole time. I thought we were about to get a Dramatic Reveal of soap opera proportions. To be frank, I still read through this story as if that were true because that makes parts of this story even more tragic but makes this whole exchange SO MUCH FUNNIER. Allow me to demonstrate:)
"Your granddaughter is horrid. She did not even feel sympathy for me."
(And Valerie just hits him with, “She gets it from you” CAN YOU IMAGINE?!)
The undercut bounced off his shoulders. Instead, he found himself staring at the granddaughter again. She was a symbol of Valerie's betrayal. "Sympathy or not, the girl must die," he declared. "She even disrespects you, so I see no reason to let her live." (I feel like Dan finding out that Vanessa was actually his grandkid might actually Jumpstart him having to be a better-ish person because that was a lot of murder he was directing at his own kin just there. Might need to reevaluate some things.)
Valerie raised a finger, eyes hard. "You're not gonna touch a hair on her head," she warned. "She's a part of me. If you hurt her, you hurt me." (Again this is where I thought we'd get the big reveal that didn't happen. Like Don't you dare hurt your grandchild!)
Dan's face twitched in displeasure. "She's the part of you I don't like," he snapped. "Warped with hidden agendas. I should like to see that part of you crushed into the ground."
The lieutenant gave him a flat look, as if to say, You're not helping your case here. (Its so funny to imagine Him being like “Shes ruthless, cruel, manipulative and entirely untrustworthy.” And Vanessa being like “Takes one to know one” and meanwhile Val just being like “Yeah… about that.”)
"And I'd like to see your sadistic side crushed into the ground," Valerie retorted to Dan. "But at least mine's a noble goal."
"My sadistic side?" he accused. "What about yours?... (See again, there would be a Strong case that she takes after Both of them. Because a lot of Vanessa's behaviors do actually line up with that. Kwan’s a sweetheart and Vanessa doesn't have any of what he was. Obviously one's upbringing has tremendous influence on how they turn out but according to research nature plays the larger role. More of an 80/20 split than a 50/50. I'm just saying it would explain some things. Enough of my bullshit back to the review proper.)
"You gave me no choice," she huffed in pain. "You were going to attack Jasper City again, and then you were boasting about how you'd make me some kind of ghost queen as part of your reign of terror. I had to stop it." (My guy was really like “Let's be evil together forever 3” and Val was like “why the evil part tho?”)
"And you could not have stopped me in a more honorable way?" he demanded sharply. "What on earth am I supposed to tell people when I get out here? It's embarrassing.” (lmao, the priorities.)
As the lieutenant listened in, she came to the conclusion that Valerie and Dan Phantom bickered like an old couple. It made Phantom seem somehow less dangerous, all while making Valerie seem more so. (She did it! She broke the ship down to its bare essentials!)
Dan bared his teeth at her in a growl. "I will get out of here, you little pip-squeak. And you'll rue the day that I do, because I'll—" (lowkey Dan giving Vanessa nicknames is cute. I kinda wish we got more of it. It would have made for a funny step[?] [*I lied I'm still on my bullshit] grandfather- grandchild dynamic)
Valerie slapped her hand over his mouth and hissed at him. "—Dammit stop." She turned a wild gaze over to her living granddaughter, as if to gauge her tolerance. "Just stop. You're not helping, okay?” (i know it because she doesn't want them to fight but *stares suspiciously beneath my tinfoil hat* is that the Only reason?)
(Dan is being a dramatic baby interspersed with actually really cutting moments.)
Her voice broke. "And I can't love you fully until you stop being so evil. Don't you get it yet?"
"Get what? That you cannot accept me as I am?" He upturned his nose at her, then looked to the granddaughter. (These two needs couple's therapy. Also catch me being delulu about how the narration keeps referring to Vanessa as The granddaughter and not Her granddaughter in a way that would exclusively mark her as Valerie's and not Dan's. *Me with a corkboard and red string* LISTEN-)
(Lol Dan with his “Tell your grandmother” bullshit. He is so petty. And then one last “I fucked your grandma and she Loved it” to mess with them both. He a trip.)
Dan relaxed fully, knowing that he'd be woken up again soon, if not simply for the ghost of Valerie to yell at him and then cry and yell some more. An additional plus would be having that granddaughter there as well, to get a rise of embarrassment out of her. It would be fun to torment her as well. (Is it wrong that I kinda want to see that dynamic play out?)
He fell into sleep, a little, conniving smile on his lips.
Oh, the fun we shall have, Valerie dear.
And against Valerie's wishes, he dreamt of her. (He's such an ass.)
Lowkey I wouldn't mind a short continuation of this. I'm just picturing poor Vanessa trying to get the hang of her newly realized role as Huntress balancing this new learning-not-to-hate-you-anymore family dynamic with her grandmother only to have to deal with walking in on her grandma and her shitty never-really-was-an-ex ghost boyfriend (who might be her actual grandpa, let me dream.) and their fucked up relationship dynamic. And then both of them giving varying levels of advice about That Thing she definitely doesn't have with Dash’s grandson. Don't think I forgot about that. I think there's a lot of comedic potential if nothing else.
In this fic especially I feel this ship can be summed up in that one AITA reply that's like “you enable each other's mental illness. You are perfect for each other. Please never involve anyone else in whatever the fuck you have going on.” Unfortunately for Vanessa, she is already involved in whatever the fuck it is they have going on.
Have a lovely rest of your day. On to the next one!
3/29/2024 c42 gabbigabz
(Valerie notes, neat)
On occasion, there were drawings in the corners—poorly drawn cartoons of herself fighting Dan Phantom. There were even some older newspaper clippings of a green-eyed, tan-skinned Phantom, with Valerie's sharp writing: What happened? (This was cute and funny and then it got sad.)
(Aww :,(( Valerie regrets betraying Dan)
Then he realized that the click on his wrists above his head was some kind of odd metal—that it was canceling his powers—
(in a different context–)
(Funny enough i wrote a scene where they go from kissing to her tazing him. different circumstances but yeah. Just seems thematic with these two.)
(Valerie was stone cold for this. I can see where her granddaughter gets it from now.)
She'd been planning this for a while. His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. "…I exp-pected this," he rasped, "the f-first time."
"Yeah?" Her face burned at the memory of their lovemaking. "Well, that would've been predictable." From out of a pocket in her pants, she pulled out a small needle case and prepared to use it. "And I hate being predictable.”
Valerie looked away. "It's not my fault," she said. Her voice was strained. "It's yours. This was the only way to stop you, so I took it." (Keep telling yourself that.)
Her betrayal burned him... He'd thought their intimacy came along with some idea of truce. He supposed he was wrong. (He was willing to call a truce so they could be together. /3 she hurt him Bad.)
There was a quiver in her fingers. "For the record," she said. "I liked our nights together. I know you did too.” (She's trying so hard to keep this strictly business. To distance herself and pretend that it didn't mean much to her.)
But if there were even the slightest shreds of true affection in her heart, then that was worse than her apathy. Because that meant his affection was not worth enough. (OOF. bruh that hurt Me!)
(Nice touch switching to the Red Huntress moniker and literally having the armor come up. *jazz hands* Symbolism)
(Oh look Baby Gray. And she brought her trauma. Neat.)
They whispered she would never be good enough for the title, just as her own mother had failed to obtain.
She had a deep fear they were right. (Oh look it's the actual reason why she's Like That.)
"What you couldn't—I'm ending it…” (yeah starving out an incapacitated prisoners whoop-dee fuckin do. Surely no one else could have done this thing that you did.)
Her watery eyes narrowed at her own reflection. "Me. And you'll stop ruining my life.” (Gurl Just go to therapy!)
And so her heart hardened again, and she steeled herself against the wisdom of Clockwork, the Master of Time. (Dude Can see the results of every decision and you decide to Ignore his advise. U dum af. [I know I'm giving her a hard time but like. She is too smart to be acting this foolish.])
Because if she had to be miserable because of her grandmother, it was nice to know at least someone else was too. (See and that's the actual reason you're doing this. Not cool kid.)
(Nocturne is fucking shit up. O gee. It's almost like consequences have actions.)
He'd managed to trick the young Lieutenant Gray with a dream that left her unsettled and tight-lipped about the grandson of one Dashiell Baxter…(HA. She really is Valerie's grandbaby)
Valerie Gray wouldn't have messed up, a little voice mocked her. She would have known she was being tricked. Valerie Gray had perfect battle strategy. Unlike you. (Somebody didn't read 'Deliverance' Chapter 12)
A glowing woman leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Teal eyes snapped up and narrowed. "Why are you tormenting him?" she demanded. Her voice was a harsh rasp, intelligent. (Oh Shit Ghost Grandma Val!)
(In defense of Baby Gray she's never had a grandma before so she doesn't understand that there's no winning against them. That's not how that works.)
"Y-you're her," she breathed. "V-Valerie."
"In the ectoplasmic flesh," the ghost affirmed. Her full lips twitched into a smile, but something about it was predatory, as if her teeth were a little too sharp. "Now, I've got a bone to pick with you, girl. I'll make this quick." (I like that Ghost Valerie is Just A Little Bit Wrong. Something about that feels correct.)
The lieutenant's breath shuddered as she fought to control her own panic and raging thoughts. "B-but—how…How are you in here? The Sh-Shield—!"
"—Answers to me," she huffed. "Do you really think I couldn't circumvent it? Or any other security you use?” (Baby Gray needs to get comfortable with the fact that the shield is more of am inconvenience once a ghost gets to a certain level of power.)
"Promise me you won't try anything," the ghost of Valerie demanded. "And I'll let you down. I'm not going to hurt you." (This will definitely go well. Definitely.)
The sharp clip of her voice inspired little confidence, but the girl nodded anyway. (She's totally not lying. Totally.)
The instant the lieutenant's feet hit the floor, she lunged for Valerie. (Oh my gosh, I am completely surprised. Completely.)
"You wanna test me?" she challenged. The girl cried out in pain as she struggled to get away. "I've got a bad temper."
"So do I," the lieutenant snarled, tears in her eyes…Twenty years of self-hatred boiled over, and she cried with rage. (Yeah hey Val? maybe instead of antagonizing the kid with an inferiority complex centered around not being as good as you, we Don't agitate the barely repressed trauma by beating her in a physical altercation?)
"Just go away!" the lieutenant shouted, her teal eyes lit with tears and fear and a great pain. "You got a gold medal for seducing a ghost—but I trip in a combat exercise, and everyone thinks I'm a failure!" She grabbed onto one of Valerie's floating locks and pulled hard. "I hate you!” (Oh hey Look it's a Central Character Motive)
Dan Phantom's words returned again, like a snake whispering in her ear. She would have despised you. A corruption of her DNA. A failure to her name. (Yeah I knew that quip really bothered her even tho she pretended otherwise at the time. It's why she rubbed in the fact Valerie was dead. They're both petty like that.)
(I might have little patience for Baby Gray but i will admit that I can understand why she got that way.)
(Grandma telling her to sit her butt down so she can heal her is lowkey sweet.)
A moment of tense silence passed. "Why?" she challenged, fighting down her own tears and trembles. "Don't you hate me too?"
The ghost rolled her eyes and then kneeled down before the girl, her full lips in a tight line. "No. And I didn't mean to hurt you," she said again. (Ladies and Gentlemen it's another Overarching Theme! Generational trauma addition!)
“...you've been draining him on purpose." Her full lips pressed tightly together. "I want you to stop it."
For a time, an almost bewildered expression came over Lieutenant Gray. "…Excuse me?"
The ghost picked up on her sudden defensiveness and snapped. "You don't understand—he's mine to torment, not yours. It's personal. Love hate.” (Their, Val and Dan, that is, whole vibe is fucked up. I find it so Facilitating. But also Val is quite clearly letting this get in the way of the INCREDIBLY fragile truce she had going with her granddaughter. I don't see this panning out well.)
"You don't understand," she said. "What it does to you, to betray someone like I did. You don't get over that."
"I suppose not," the girl agreed. "I thought to tell Phantom that you committed suicide over it, but that would've fed whatever sick sense of romance you two had while you strung on my grandfather.” (I mean Baby Gray really was outta pocket for this but she wasn't wrong. It might not speak well of me that I found this line funny, because DAMN she snatched granny's wig.)
"I loved Kwan too," she whispered. "Don't think I didn't." (A fundamental facet of Ghost Valerie is guilt. At the end of the day she betrayed both of the men in her life. Dan for imprisoning him despite their love for each other and Kwan for staying with him despite the fact that she never loved him the same way in the first place.)
The girls' face hardened into something oddly emotionless. "It really shows," she said dryly. (If I had to hazard a guess I'd say Kwan was probably on a short list of people that ever really loved her and once again she was deprived of that love because she was So Alike to her grandmother but just wasn't quite her Enough. Always a lesser shadow. An inadequate replacement. Not enough for her grandfather to fight to stay when the better version is waiting on the other side.)
(This girl really likes just poking the bear in the PTSD, doesn't she? Girl Why are you purposefully triggering her trauma? We have already established that you would lose in a fight. Get some self preservation instincts.)
"Would you kill me to get to him? Do you pine for him so much?"
The wordkill seemed to make the ghost flinch. Recognition reappeared in her red eyes with a kind of panic that burned her with a sudden, all-encompassing dread. (Oof maternal/familial love dueling with the fundamental drive that fuels her being. Extra stings because she became something she hated and is acting in a way that directly contradicts what she gave up her life and her love for.)
Breath that she didn't need hitched in her chest. She'd so easily injured her granddaughter, and for what purpose? "I didn't mean to," she whispered. "I want to—I didn't mean—” …Instead, her granddaughter probably hated her even more now.
"Dammit," she muttered under her breath, which broke with pain. "God dammit.” (Yeah so that quip i made about generational trauma? The thing about it is that it's often inflicted unintentionally.)
Imma break this into a couple parts, 3 at most.
(Valerie notes, neat)
On occasion, there were drawings in the corners—poorly drawn cartoons of herself fighting Dan Phantom. There were even some older newspaper clippings of a green-eyed, tan-skinned Phantom, with Valerie's sharp writing: What happened? (This was cute and funny and then it got sad.)
(Aww :,(( Valerie regrets betraying Dan)
Then he realized that the click on his wrists above his head was some kind of odd metal—that it was canceling his powers—
(in a different context–)
(Funny enough i wrote a scene where they go from kissing to her tazing him. different circumstances but yeah. Just seems thematic with these two.)
(Valerie was stone cold for this. I can see where her granddaughter gets it from now.)
She'd been planning this for a while. His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. "…I exp-pected this," he rasped, "the f-first time."
"Yeah?" Her face burned at the memory of their lovemaking. "Well, that would've been predictable." From out of a pocket in her pants, she pulled out a small needle case and prepared to use it. "And I hate being predictable.”
Valerie looked away. "It's not my fault," she said. Her voice was strained. "It's yours. This was the only way to stop you, so I took it." (Keep telling yourself that.)
Her betrayal burned him... He'd thought their intimacy came along with some idea of truce. He supposed he was wrong. (He was willing to call a truce so they could be together. /3 she hurt him Bad.)
There was a quiver in her fingers. "For the record," she said. "I liked our nights together. I know you did too.” (She's trying so hard to keep this strictly business. To distance herself and pretend that it didn't mean much to her.)
But if there were even the slightest shreds of true affection in her heart, then that was worse than her apathy. Because that meant his affection was not worth enough. (OOF. bruh that hurt Me!)
(Nice touch switching to the Red Huntress moniker and literally having the armor come up. *jazz hands* Symbolism)
(Oh look Baby Gray. And she brought her trauma. Neat.)
They whispered she would never be good enough for the title, just as her own mother had failed to obtain.
She had a deep fear they were right. (Oh look it's the actual reason why she's Like That.)
"What you couldn't—I'm ending it…” (yeah starving out an incapacitated prisoners whoop-dee fuckin do. Surely no one else could have done this thing that you did.)
Her watery eyes narrowed at her own reflection. "Me. And you'll stop ruining my life.” (Gurl Just go to therapy!)
And so her heart hardened again, and she steeled herself against the wisdom of Clockwork, the Master of Time. (Dude Can see the results of every decision and you decide to Ignore his advise. U dum af. [I know I'm giving her a hard time but like. She is too smart to be acting this foolish.])
Because if she had to be miserable because of her grandmother, it was nice to know at least someone else was too. (See and that's the actual reason you're doing this. Not cool kid.)
(Nocturne is fucking shit up. O gee. It's almost like consequences have actions.)
He'd managed to trick the young Lieutenant Gray with a dream that left her unsettled and tight-lipped about the grandson of one Dashiell Baxter…(HA. She really is Valerie's grandbaby)
Valerie Gray wouldn't have messed up, a little voice mocked her. She would have known she was being tricked. Valerie Gray had perfect battle strategy. Unlike you. (Somebody didn't read 'Deliverance' Chapter 12)
A glowing woman leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Teal eyes snapped up and narrowed. "Why are you tormenting him?" she demanded. Her voice was a harsh rasp, intelligent. (Oh Shit Ghost Grandma Val!)
(In defense of Baby Gray she's never had a grandma before so she doesn't understand that there's no winning against them. That's not how that works.)
"Y-you're her," she breathed. "V-Valerie."
"In the ectoplasmic flesh," the ghost affirmed. Her full lips twitched into a smile, but something about it was predatory, as if her teeth were a little too sharp. "Now, I've got a bone to pick with you, girl. I'll make this quick." (I like that Ghost Valerie is Just A Little Bit Wrong. Something about that feels correct.)
The lieutenant's breath shuddered as she fought to control her own panic and raging thoughts. "B-but—how…How are you in here? The Sh-Shield—!"
"—Answers to me," she huffed. "Do you really think I couldn't circumvent it? Or any other security you use?” (Baby Gray needs to get comfortable with the fact that the shield is more of am inconvenience once a ghost gets to a certain level of power.)
"Promise me you won't try anything," the ghost of Valerie demanded. "And I'll let you down. I'm not going to hurt you." (This will definitely go well. Definitely.)
The sharp clip of her voice inspired little confidence, but the girl nodded anyway. (She's totally not lying. Totally.)
The instant the lieutenant's feet hit the floor, she lunged for Valerie. (Oh my gosh, I am completely surprised. Completely.)
"You wanna test me?" she challenged. The girl cried out in pain as she struggled to get away. "I've got a bad temper."
"So do I," the lieutenant snarled, tears in her eyes…Twenty years of self-hatred boiled over, and she cried with rage. (Yeah hey Val? maybe instead of antagonizing the kid with an inferiority complex centered around not being as good as you, we Don't agitate the barely repressed trauma by beating her in a physical altercation?)
"Just go away!" the lieutenant shouted, her teal eyes lit with tears and fear and a great pain. "You got a gold medal for seducing a ghost—but I trip in a combat exercise, and everyone thinks I'm a failure!" She grabbed onto one of Valerie's floating locks and pulled hard. "I hate you!” (Oh hey Look it's a Central Character Motive)
Dan Phantom's words returned again, like a snake whispering in her ear. She would have despised you. A corruption of her DNA. A failure to her name. (Yeah I knew that quip really bothered her even tho she pretended otherwise at the time. It's why she rubbed in the fact Valerie was dead. They're both petty like that.)
(I might have little patience for Baby Gray but i will admit that I can understand why she got that way.)
(Grandma telling her to sit her butt down so she can heal her is lowkey sweet.)
A moment of tense silence passed. "Why?" she challenged, fighting down her own tears and trembles. "Don't you hate me too?"
The ghost rolled her eyes and then kneeled down before the girl, her full lips in a tight line. "No. And I didn't mean to hurt you," she said again. (Ladies and Gentlemen it's another Overarching Theme! Generational trauma addition!)
“...you've been draining him on purpose." Her full lips pressed tightly together. "I want you to stop it."
For a time, an almost bewildered expression came over Lieutenant Gray. "…Excuse me?"
The ghost picked up on her sudden defensiveness and snapped. "You don't understand—he's mine to torment, not yours. It's personal. Love hate.” (Their, Val and Dan, that is, whole vibe is fucked up. I find it so Facilitating. But also Val is quite clearly letting this get in the way of the INCREDIBLY fragile truce she had going with her granddaughter. I don't see this panning out well.)
"You don't understand," she said. "What it does to you, to betray someone like I did. You don't get over that."
"I suppose not," the girl agreed. "I thought to tell Phantom that you committed suicide over it, but that would've fed whatever sick sense of romance you two had while you strung on my grandfather.” (I mean Baby Gray really was outta pocket for this but she wasn't wrong. It might not speak well of me that I found this line funny, because DAMN she snatched granny's wig.)
"I loved Kwan too," she whispered. "Don't think I didn't." (A fundamental facet of Ghost Valerie is guilt. At the end of the day she betrayed both of the men in her life. Dan for imprisoning him despite their love for each other and Kwan for staying with him despite the fact that she never loved him the same way in the first place.)
The girls' face hardened into something oddly emotionless. "It really shows," she said dryly. (If I had to hazard a guess I'd say Kwan was probably on a short list of people that ever really loved her and once again she was deprived of that love because she was So Alike to her grandmother but just wasn't quite her Enough. Always a lesser shadow. An inadequate replacement. Not enough for her grandfather to fight to stay when the better version is waiting on the other side.)
(This girl really likes just poking the bear in the PTSD, doesn't she? Girl Why are you purposefully triggering her trauma? We have already established that you would lose in a fight. Get some self preservation instincts.)
"Would you kill me to get to him? Do you pine for him so much?"
The wordkill seemed to make the ghost flinch. Recognition reappeared in her red eyes with a kind of panic that burned her with a sudden, all-encompassing dread. (Oof maternal/familial love dueling with the fundamental drive that fuels her being. Extra stings because she became something she hated and is acting in a way that directly contradicts what she gave up her life and her love for.)
Breath that she didn't need hitched in her chest. She'd so easily injured her granddaughter, and for what purpose? "I didn't mean to," she whispered. "I want to—I didn't mean—” …Instead, her granddaughter probably hated her even more now.
"Dammit," she muttered under her breath, which broke with pain. "God dammit.” (Yeah so that quip i made about generational trauma? The thing about it is that it's often inflicted unintentionally.)
Imma break this into a couple parts, 3 at most.
3/27/2024 c41 gabbigabz
I’m skipping to this one because i plan to go back and review and story with 3 or more parts collectively. But two parters like this one and Tis the Season are fair game. Also i will try to control myself and not have 15 pages of geeking out over each line. On to the review!
(I can never quite express how you do it other that to say Vibes but you have a real gift for conveying the mood of the location and characters. For example you can feel the clinical coldness of this bunker it feels very heavy and tense. Like you can almost feel the slightly too cold AC blowing stale air down there.)
His white hair began to flicker on the ends, then raise around him in an unholy halo. (I just like this description.)
(I love how dude wakes up and see what he assumes to be Valerie pointing a gun at him and is just like “must be a Tuesday” he a trip.)
"I'm not here to visit, ghost," the woman said. Her voice was clipped, but smooth. Controlled. "I need information."
The instant she spoke, his smile faltered into a deep frown. His red eyes narrowed. Then his lips curled into a snarl. His voice deepened in anger, and it rumbled the walls. "You're not Valerie.” (He'd know the sound of Valerie's voice anywhere and that is Not It. Also it makes me feel things how the second he realized that he wasn't talking to Valerie He immediately becomes hostile and starts trying to escape.)
(Dan trying to reconcile this woman who looks A Lot Like Valerie but very distinctly Isn't her is lowkey sad knowing what comes next.)
Her eyes were still a familiar, brilliant teal. "Valerie Gray is dead," she said. Her voice carried no rasp, but was instead smooth and clinical. Precise. "She was my grandmother."
The ghost seemed to freeze entirely, his face tightening. The heat and rage in his eyes dulled to an unblinking red. For a second or two, he said nothing. And then, "What?” (it's like his whole world stopped.)
A snarl erupted from him, and a vein appeared down his neck as he fought against his arm restraints. "No," he said. "No. Valerie is not dead. You are lying. You are attempting to keep me disoriented so that I will comply. This is an illusion—an illusion!" He stared at her in great distrust, but a deep fear seemed to drive him. On some level, he knew something was wrong. The woman had Valerie's eyes. (He can't conceive of a world without Valerie in it and yet, horrifyingly, he finds himself in one.)
The woman measured his will, then nodded. "That is fair," she said. "An equivalent exchange, then. Answer my questions truthfully, and I'll answer yours truthfully. Deal?"
He stared at her in great suspicion. "I suppose," he said. This not-Valerie seemed much too controlled. He imagined he would not obtain much information of value. He tilted his head. "Tell me, how did your bitch of a grandmother die, anyway?” (Real Talk that kid is wound WAY too tight. She gon snap sooner or later)
Something about her passivity to her own kin—the great Valerie Gray, Military Defense Commander, Slayer of Ghosts—struck his sense the wrong way. "Why don't you know?" he demanded sharply. (Dan is a Perceptive boy)
(They're both needling at weak points the other has. He's picking at her inferiority complex she likes to pretend she doesn't have. And she's twisting the knife of Valerie's death for him. Shit like this is why I was expecting Dan to have secretly been her grandfather the whole time. Would that have been cliché? Maybe a bit. Would I have eaten that shit up anyway? ABSOLUTELY.)
Phantom hissed at her, lip curling in anger. "Who was your grandfather?" (Now he's asking the real questions)
"His name was Kwan. He was her doctor.”
And suddenly, he could see it now. The distortion of Valerie's features and the lighter skin. It made sense. "That idiotic coward?" he snarled, unable to control the incredible anger he felt. "She reproduced with Kwan?" His laugh was a bitter, awful sound. "Oh, that is rich. That is just rich.” (Oh the Bitter Ex of it all. Me with the popcorn and 3d glasses)
He seemed to have other questions, but he diverted. "How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"Aww. Just a baby," he mocked.
"With all due respect," she said dryly, "you have a body fashioned to exhibit the appearance of a male in his early twenties. If I am a baby, what does that make you? A toddler?” (girl if things had gone Slightly to the left he'da been your grandfather. Don't even start.)
"There's a fine line between love and hate," he said. "You're probably still too young to understand things like that."
"Did you feel both of those for her?" she asked.
"With great intensity," he said. His voice was dangerous and uneven. "Especially as I stare at you."
He was unused to any image of Valerie withstanding him without great emotion attached. This young woman before him was a smooth stone, well-trained, obviously an intellectual. Likely more devious and underhanded than she let on. But in truth, the worst of it was seeing Valerie and not-Valerie in her tanned face. That the world had left him behind.
That Valerie had left him behind. (See, again Lieutenant Gray being manipulative and having a bit of a mean streak is so very Dan and Not at All Kwan that I was still expecting the bait and switch that never happened.)
—She'd manipulated him into that net, using a tactic older than time.
Phantom tensed slightly in his chair, and his face twitched. "But you will not speak of it," he said. "To do so would be to tarnish your precious grandmother's memory and by proxy your own."
"On the contrary, her ploy suggests she did not return your affection." (Damn bich leave him some hair. Criminey!)
(Baby Gray is mean. Like Mean-mean. Girl has a cruel streak a mile wide.)
"—No!" he cried out roughly. He couldn't go back in the dark. Months would pass. He would go insane long before his energy levels would deplete, even without a source. Valerie was leaving him again. Valerie had deceived him again. "No—Valerie—!”(Excuse me for a moment, I need to go get a broom to sweep up these SHATTERED PIECES OF MY HEART)
"My name's not Valerie," she said to him, even though she knew he could no longer hear her. But she could hear him.
Oh, she still could.
"Initiate sleep sequence?" asked the AI.
Lieutenant Gray paused. "Negative.” (she Stone Cold frfr)
They were torn with rage and with something undeniably human. A pain and a fear. Something deep. (Feels bad man)
…But none of that undid the queasy twist in her stomach…(Yeah abject cruelty tends to do that.)
And as she walked out of the basement, something cold struck her—as if she were being watched…In paranoia, she looked around but saw nothing, even as the hair on the back of her neck prickled. (See I had been thinking that was a watered-down ghost sense on my first read through)
There was a presence—something powerful incoming—
And then a shimmering altered the air.
The lieutenant steeled her heart and began to shoot. Bright green light stormed from her blaster—but then a barrier appeared around the shimmering, and it harmlessly bounced off.
From out of the air came forth a purple-cloaked being.(I think I had thought that the ghost she felt was Valerie at first. And then i read “purple cloak” and i was like “O SHIT ITS CLOCKWORK LESGO!”)
"Help me?" she asked. Her smooth voice was clipped hard. "Ghosts don't help humans. Not altruistically.”
His blue lips tilted. "The same could be said of humans...you do it because you aspire to raise your reputation above that of your grandmother's. You want people to worship you as they do her.” (“Yeah, Glass houses.” Clockwork probably. Girl he had Yo granmamas number, he got Dan's number what makes you think he dont have yours?)
"That is not true," she lied. (Well she certainly inherited her grandmother's poker face. Which is to say none at all.)
This was the second time today that her dead ancestor had stolen the attention from her. It struck a cord deep within her—a raw nerve. Her face twitched with an anger that she usually managed to lock tight. (Like I said. Inferiority complex and wound WAY too tight.)
"And I don't care for your council. If you don't leave now, I will use force if necessary to remove you."
The old ghost raised a brow. Then he slammed his scepter down again, and the pulse of power that reverberated was so strong that it wobbled the concrete steps and made her stumble until she fell hard. (“I WiLl UsE FoRCe iF NeCeSsArY” Gurl. With what? WITH. WHAT. Mutual fucker goes by Master of Time and rusted yo shit at the beginning of this conversation tf you gon use against him? Your sparkling personality? WHERE DOES SHE GET THE AUDACI-TEE?!)
(Clockwork went full Gandalf the Grey for a second there. im here for it.)
"Perhaps it is," Clockwork nodded. "But you've not decided his fate out of love for your people. You knew he would deny your request. You wanted him to."
She fell silent.
The ghost continued. "Your actions today were out of your desire to be superior to Valerie Gray, was it not? To end what she could not? To confirm that she, for all of her heroism, had a fatal flaw? You've suspected it ever since you discovered the Restriction technology."
"She could have destroyed him," the girl said, voice hardening. "And she didn't.” (Listen I know she's got Reasons to be like this, but that doesn't entirely negate the fact that Baby Gray is kind of an asshole.)
He tapped old fingers on his scepter, and some miserable amusement came over him. "Today, you perpetuated the cycle of evil, lowering yourself to commit acts of manipulation and intimidation for your own benefit. Your grandmother would be cross if I did not warn that you are destroying yourself, as she did to herself. You cannot win a war on evil by doing evil.” (Valerie would absolutely tear into him if he let her granddaughter go on a Villain arch. But yeah that last line man. Heavy stuff.)
"So what's your stake in all of this?" she demanded more quietly, mind racing. "Why save me or Phantom from anything?"
The Master of Time beheld her. "Because I should hope that one day my charges might have rest from their own insanity.” (“It it to my great disappointment that I have come to accept that it is, in fact, my clown car, and this is indeed my circus. We're all stuck in here together and if I have to put up with you kids were all gonna get along, dammit.” Clockwork probably)
(Yeah if anybody would know Exactly how long to put Dan in Time Out it would be Clockwork)
(I love Clockwork. He rolls up establishes up top that he could wreck all their shit at Any Moment but just chooses not to. Ded ass tells this girl “quit playing and don't go obliterating a dude because you got generational trauma. That's dumb as shit.” and when she tries to buck up to him, he in No uncertain terms, tells her “Fuck Around and Find Out.” and then “but seriously don't go killing people because you want to get one up on your dead grandma. You all deserve better than that.” And then he just dips. Iconic. We stan. I say that all the time but he keeps doing Iconic shit. We have no choice but to stan.)
I'll have Endnotes for the whole story after part 2, Clockwork just kinda stole the show for me at the end there.
See you in part 2!
I’m skipping to this one because i plan to go back and review and story with 3 or more parts collectively. But two parters like this one and Tis the Season are fair game. Also i will try to control myself and not have 15 pages of geeking out over each line. On to the review!
(I can never quite express how you do it other that to say Vibes but you have a real gift for conveying the mood of the location and characters. For example you can feel the clinical coldness of this bunker it feels very heavy and tense. Like you can almost feel the slightly too cold AC blowing stale air down there.)
His white hair began to flicker on the ends, then raise around him in an unholy halo. (I just like this description.)
(I love how dude wakes up and see what he assumes to be Valerie pointing a gun at him and is just like “must be a Tuesday” he a trip.)
"I'm not here to visit, ghost," the woman said. Her voice was clipped, but smooth. Controlled. "I need information."
The instant she spoke, his smile faltered into a deep frown. His red eyes narrowed. Then his lips curled into a snarl. His voice deepened in anger, and it rumbled the walls. "You're not Valerie.” (He'd know the sound of Valerie's voice anywhere and that is Not It. Also it makes me feel things how the second he realized that he wasn't talking to Valerie He immediately becomes hostile and starts trying to escape.)
(Dan trying to reconcile this woman who looks A Lot Like Valerie but very distinctly Isn't her is lowkey sad knowing what comes next.)
Her eyes were still a familiar, brilliant teal. "Valerie Gray is dead," she said. Her voice carried no rasp, but was instead smooth and clinical. Precise. "She was my grandmother."
The ghost seemed to freeze entirely, his face tightening. The heat and rage in his eyes dulled to an unblinking red. For a second or two, he said nothing. And then, "What?” (it's like his whole world stopped.)
A snarl erupted from him, and a vein appeared down his neck as he fought against his arm restraints. "No," he said. "No. Valerie is not dead. You are lying. You are attempting to keep me disoriented so that I will comply. This is an illusion—an illusion!" He stared at her in great distrust, but a deep fear seemed to drive him. On some level, he knew something was wrong. The woman had Valerie's eyes. (He can't conceive of a world without Valerie in it and yet, horrifyingly, he finds himself in one.)
The woman measured his will, then nodded. "That is fair," she said. "An equivalent exchange, then. Answer my questions truthfully, and I'll answer yours truthfully. Deal?"
He stared at her in great suspicion. "I suppose," he said. This not-Valerie seemed much too controlled. He imagined he would not obtain much information of value. He tilted his head. "Tell me, how did your bitch of a grandmother die, anyway?” (Real Talk that kid is wound WAY too tight. She gon snap sooner or later)
Something about her passivity to her own kin—the great Valerie Gray, Military Defense Commander, Slayer of Ghosts—struck his sense the wrong way. "Why don't you know?" he demanded sharply. (Dan is a Perceptive boy)
(They're both needling at weak points the other has. He's picking at her inferiority complex she likes to pretend she doesn't have. And she's twisting the knife of Valerie's death for him. Shit like this is why I was expecting Dan to have secretly been her grandfather the whole time. Would that have been cliché? Maybe a bit. Would I have eaten that shit up anyway? ABSOLUTELY.)
Phantom hissed at her, lip curling in anger. "Who was your grandfather?" (Now he's asking the real questions)
"His name was Kwan. He was her doctor.”
And suddenly, he could see it now. The distortion of Valerie's features and the lighter skin. It made sense. "That idiotic coward?" he snarled, unable to control the incredible anger he felt. "She reproduced with Kwan?" His laugh was a bitter, awful sound. "Oh, that is rich. That is just rich.” (Oh the Bitter Ex of it all. Me with the popcorn and 3d glasses)
He seemed to have other questions, but he diverted. "How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"Aww. Just a baby," he mocked.
"With all due respect," she said dryly, "you have a body fashioned to exhibit the appearance of a male in his early twenties. If I am a baby, what does that make you? A toddler?” (girl if things had gone Slightly to the left he'da been your grandfather. Don't even start.)
"There's a fine line between love and hate," he said. "You're probably still too young to understand things like that."
"Did you feel both of those for her?" she asked.
"With great intensity," he said. His voice was dangerous and uneven. "Especially as I stare at you."
He was unused to any image of Valerie withstanding him without great emotion attached. This young woman before him was a smooth stone, well-trained, obviously an intellectual. Likely more devious and underhanded than she let on. But in truth, the worst of it was seeing Valerie and not-Valerie in her tanned face. That the world had left him behind.
That Valerie had left him behind. (See, again Lieutenant Gray being manipulative and having a bit of a mean streak is so very Dan and Not at All Kwan that I was still expecting the bait and switch that never happened.)
—She'd manipulated him into that net, using a tactic older than time.
Phantom tensed slightly in his chair, and his face twitched. "But you will not speak of it," he said. "To do so would be to tarnish your precious grandmother's memory and by proxy your own."
"On the contrary, her ploy suggests she did not return your affection." (Damn bich leave him some hair. Criminey!)
(Baby Gray is mean. Like Mean-mean. Girl has a cruel streak a mile wide.)
"—No!" he cried out roughly. He couldn't go back in the dark. Months would pass. He would go insane long before his energy levels would deplete, even without a source. Valerie was leaving him again. Valerie had deceived him again. "No—Valerie—!”(Excuse me for a moment, I need to go get a broom to sweep up these SHATTERED PIECES OF MY HEART)
"My name's not Valerie," she said to him, even though she knew he could no longer hear her. But she could hear him.
Oh, she still could.
"Initiate sleep sequence?" asked the AI.
Lieutenant Gray paused. "Negative.” (she Stone Cold frfr)
They were torn with rage and with something undeniably human. A pain and a fear. Something deep. (Feels bad man)
…But none of that undid the queasy twist in her stomach…(Yeah abject cruelty tends to do that.)
And as she walked out of the basement, something cold struck her—as if she were being watched…In paranoia, she looked around but saw nothing, even as the hair on the back of her neck prickled. (See I had been thinking that was a watered-down ghost sense on my first read through)
There was a presence—something powerful incoming—
And then a shimmering altered the air.
The lieutenant steeled her heart and began to shoot. Bright green light stormed from her blaster—but then a barrier appeared around the shimmering, and it harmlessly bounced off.
From out of the air came forth a purple-cloaked being.(I think I had thought that the ghost she felt was Valerie at first. And then i read “purple cloak” and i was like “O SHIT ITS CLOCKWORK LESGO!”)
"Help me?" she asked. Her smooth voice was clipped hard. "Ghosts don't help humans. Not altruistically.”
His blue lips tilted. "The same could be said of humans...you do it because you aspire to raise your reputation above that of your grandmother's. You want people to worship you as they do her.” (“Yeah, Glass houses.” Clockwork probably. Girl he had Yo granmamas number, he got Dan's number what makes you think he dont have yours?)
"That is not true," she lied. (Well she certainly inherited her grandmother's poker face. Which is to say none at all.)
This was the second time today that her dead ancestor had stolen the attention from her. It struck a cord deep within her—a raw nerve. Her face twitched with an anger that she usually managed to lock tight. (Like I said. Inferiority complex and wound WAY too tight.)
"And I don't care for your council. If you don't leave now, I will use force if necessary to remove you."
The old ghost raised a brow. Then he slammed his scepter down again, and the pulse of power that reverberated was so strong that it wobbled the concrete steps and made her stumble until she fell hard. (“I WiLl UsE FoRCe iF NeCeSsArY” Gurl. With what? WITH. WHAT. Mutual fucker goes by Master of Time and rusted yo shit at the beginning of this conversation tf you gon use against him? Your sparkling personality? WHERE DOES SHE GET THE AUDACI-TEE?!)
(Clockwork went full Gandalf the Grey for a second there. im here for it.)
"Perhaps it is," Clockwork nodded. "But you've not decided his fate out of love for your people. You knew he would deny your request. You wanted him to."
She fell silent.
The ghost continued. "Your actions today were out of your desire to be superior to Valerie Gray, was it not? To end what she could not? To confirm that she, for all of her heroism, had a fatal flaw? You've suspected it ever since you discovered the Restriction technology."
"She could have destroyed him," the girl said, voice hardening. "And she didn't.” (Listen I know she's got Reasons to be like this, but that doesn't entirely negate the fact that Baby Gray is kind of an asshole.)
He tapped old fingers on his scepter, and some miserable amusement came over him. "Today, you perpetuated the cycle of evil, lowering yourself to commit acts of manipulation and intimidation for your own benefit. Your grandmother would be cross if I did not warn that you are destroying yourself, as she did to herself. You cannot win a war on evil by doing evil.” (Valerie would absolutely tear into him if he let her granddaughter go on a Villain arch. But yeah that last line man. Heavy stuff.)
"So what's your stake in all of this?" she demanded more quietly, mind racing. "Why save me or Phantom from anything?"
The Master of Time beheld her. "Because I should hope that one day my charges might have rest from their own insanity.” (“It it to my great disappointment that I have come to accept that it is, in fact, my clown car, and this is indeed my circus. We're all stuck in here together and if I have to put up with you kids were all gonna get along, dammit.” Clockwork probably)
(Yeah if anybody would know Exactly how long to put Dan in Time Out it would be Clockwork)
(I love Clockwork. He rolls up establishes up top that he could wreck all their shit at Any Moment but just chooses not to. Ded ass tells this girl “quit playing and don't go obliterating a dude because you got generational trauma. That's dumb as shit.” and when she tries to buck up to him, he in No uncertain terms, tells her “Fuck Around and Find Out.” and then “but seriously don't go killing people because you want to get one up on your dead grandma. You all deserve better than that.” And then he just dips. Iconic. We stan. I say that all the time but he keeps doing Iconic shit. We have no choice but to stan.)
I'll have Endnotes for the whole story after part 2, Clockwork just kinda stole the show for me at the end there.
See you in part 2!
3/27/2024 c31 gabbigabz
I feel like there should be a Last Time on Dragon Ball Z style intro to these but I'm not quite clever enough to make the joke. Such is life!
Valerie was crawling along the cold ground, leaving a trail of blood behind her. (Ooh.. that's probably not good.)
…Phantom had broken her hands, now curious of how she was managing to heal so quickly. (See that is Definitely Not Good. Also, DBAD tally: 12)
(Poor Valerie is hurting bad)
And then she saw him. A flash of black, a bare, blue foot, scratches and scars on his strong ankle. "Valerie," she heard him breathe in panic—his voice so like the other Phantom's, but far more rich with expression. He kneeled and gently turned her over by her shoulders. (These two are so intune to each other's presence and again the delicate way he touches her! Good shit.)
She stared at him, eyes dilated. She blinked at him, as if not quite recognizing him. "N-no chains?" she rasped, fully confused. (Lol she was like “forget the blood loss and pain. what happened to you?”)
Her battle suit had been shredded at the stomach, welling red beneath the mud she'd dragged herself in. He blinked in horror, realizing that this had been happening to Valerie while he'd been distracted. "Let me take you out of here.” (Yeesh, Dickhead Dan Really did a number on her. Meanwhile our Dan, having recently had his heart grow three sizes, is feeling so guilty for stuff that isn't his fault.)
…Or were these injuries just something he had forgotten because, at the time, it had not mattered? (OOF. That hurts in a special way. Like it isn't in this case but just the possibility that it Could have been.)
Valerie was bordering on unconsciousness. Considering the dilated look in her eyes, he began to worry. "Do not fall asleep," he demanded fearfully. "Valerie, I need you to stay awake."
"Hurts," she whispered, voice weak. (Ooh the classic Carry their partner while they're Gravely Injured trope. Classic.)
As he healed her, she curled her fingers around his, otherwise growing limp in his lap. (It probably show how much of a one track mind that I have that I'm like, “she's sitting in his lap and they're holding hands!)
"I don't…usually fall asleep…on people." She nuzzled her face against the soft cloth of his shirt, almost petulant. (Cute)
His face softened. He moved to pull his hand from hers, having healed the last of her injuries. (Noo, keep holding hands..)
"I do not usually heal things," he murmured, "so perhaps we are even.” (excuse me for a moment *yells into the void* it's the mutuality for me.)
And as Valerie began grow limp in his arms, fully trusting this odd copy of Phantom, an odd thought came into her mind. (! Trust! Trust! She trusts him! Aaahhh!)
Too bad we can't just put this one in the other Phantom's body.
Then, Valerie blinked, suddenly reawakening from the calm of healing.
Wait a minute. (I'm just picturing her doing one of those numbers where your all comfy and can't remember if you locked your door and suddenly you can't go back to sleep.)
"Or can we?" she asked him a few days later as he worked to heal bruises on her arm. She was fully comfortable in his presence now, his brown blanket a typical addition to be found in the corner of her room. (The domesticity of it all.)
(Valerie uses the power of Cartoon Logic: In a bonkers world, with bonkers rules, solve problems with bonkers solutions.)
Valerie was energized from the healing instead of sleepy. "Think about it," she demanded. "I don't know how to defeat you yet—but this could be why you still saw yourself in the new future. Because we figure out a way to keep you here."
A strange chill ran through his spine, as he suddenly felt he was witnessing prophecy unfold through Valerie. The possibility that he might find freedom in Valerie's company—it was an attractive thought. "But…perhaps that was the version of me you redeem here. Now."
She stared at him hard. "You are the version I've redeemed. And we're here. Now.” (This whole exchange! Also, yet another Overarching Theme moment! Yay!)
“—perhaps it would be best if I simply faded along with—"
"—No," she said, releasing him. She crossed her arms, something in her shoulders tight with a righteous justice. "You're not a bad guy anymore. I don't…" Her voice trailed off. "I don't want you to go away forever."
He blinked, staring at her hard.
She swallowed back emotion, then raised her chin. "I want you to stay here.” (I. Am DEAD. AAAAHHHH!)
"…What?" The Dan of the future sputtered. "B-but I deserve to—"
She turned around and began to pace. "Too late!" she said, mind in a frenzy of thought. "You're staying. I want you to stay…”
"Why do you wish me to stay?" he asked curiously. (Oh, why indeed? Hehehe)
"You would not understand what nothing but silence and solitude for 500 years can do. I feel that I am dreaming when I speak with you." (Like is he trying to say the most romantic shut ever on purpose or is he just Like That? Probably both.)
"You wanna wake up?" she retorted, grabbing the sleeve to steal one for herself. (She stealing his snacks, I think that qualifies as a common law marriage in some states.)
He blinked at that. "…No," he admitted.
"Well then," she said, crunching down on a cracker, eyebrow raised. Her voice was muffled. "Don't ruin the dream. I'm kinda liking this new you. If you disappeared forever, I'd have to wake up."
(Valerie, who is not good with words, just saying something so sentimental is huge and I don't believe that is lost on Dan.)
And as his eyes caught hers, both of them silent in vulnerability, he came to a strange realization. (See, that's what I've Been saying, bout time they caught up.)
More so than fading out in his long-desired oblivion, he actually wanted to stay. With her. (With. Her. WITH. HER. HE WANTS TO STAY WITH HER! IM DED! *newscaster voice* Ladies and gentlemen in tonight's news report Local Nerd gabbigabz was found dead. Authorities believe that the cause of death was overload of cuteness from her ship admitting their feelings, she is survived by her parents, siblings and several works in progress that she never finished. Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon.)
End Notes: Yeah Sorry for basically doing a line by line geekfest. But I felt like it would be a nice way to make my dramatic return. These two chapters are actually very quiet and have a melancholy to them but they also have this incredible level of tenderness and Intimacy and all this without any expressly stated romantic attraction (barring an allusion at the end). They are very Soft with each other and it gives my heart the warm and fuzzies. Very cute.
So, hi. Its been a while. I hope you’ve been well. I never actually closed the tab on my phone with this story and would still check for updates every so often. I was going to leave a review back in october for the latest chapter but then i was like "Why dont you just finish the one you already started?" but then we had 2 different wedding in the family. and two birthdays. and then it was hallowenn and then it was christmas. so yeah. busy time. I am going to try to review more regularly like i did in the past. While I may have neglected to make good on my promise for a while, I still fully intended to review every chapter in this story (but for convenience's sake i might do some of that on Ao3. Like with Karma.) Speaking of, I finally saw your reply to my comment on Ao3. I felt so touched. You genuinely inspire me. [And not to make this all about me but you inspired me to write my own story about these two. Which im working up the courage to EVENTUALLY publish to Ao3. It's still VERY MUCH a work in progress but yeah. I hope I'm able to do justice to this ship we both love.]
Have a lovely day.
I feel like there should be a Last Time on Dragon Ball Z style intro to these but I'm not quite clever enough to make the joke. Such is life!
Valerie was crawling along the cold ground, leaving a trail of blood behind her. (Ooh.. that's probably not good.)
…Phantom had broken her hands, now curious of how she was managing to heal so quickly. (See that is Definitely Not Good. Also, DBAD tally: 12)
(Poor Valerie is hurting bad)
And then she saw him. A flash of black, a bare, blue foot, scratches and scars on his strong ankle. "Valerie," she heard him breathe in panic—his voice so like the other Phantom's, but far more rich with expression. He kneeled and gently turned her over by her shoulders. (These two are so intune to each other's presence and again the delicate way he touches her! Good shit.)
She stared at him, eyes dilated. She blinked at him, as if not quite recognizing him. "N-no chains?" she rasped, fully confused. (Lol she was like “forget the blood loss and pain. what happened to you?”)
Her battle suit had been shredded at the stomach, welling red beneath the mud she'd dragged herself in. He blinked in horror, realizing that this had been happening to Valerie while he'd been distracted. "Let me take you out of here.” (Yeesh, Dickhead Dan Really did a number on her. Meanwhile our Dan, having recently had his heart grow three sizes, is feeling so guilty for stuff that isn't his fault.)
…Or were these injuries just something he had forgotten because, at the time, it had not mattered? (OOF. That hurts in a special way. Like it isn't in this case but just the possibility that it Could have been.)
Valerie was bordering on unconsciousness. Considering the dilated look in her eyes, he began to worry. "Do not fall asleep," he demanded fearfully. "Valerie, I need you to stay awake."
"Hurts," she whispered, voice weak. (Ooh the classic Carry their partner while they're Gravely Injured trope. Classic.)
As he healed her, she curled her fingers around his, otherwise growing limp in his lap. (It probably show how much of a one track mind that I have that I'm like, “she's sitting in his lap and they're holding hands!)
"I don't…usually fall asleep…on people." She nuzzled her face against the soft cloth of his shirt, almost petulant. (Cute)
His face softened. He moved to pull his hand from hers, having healed the last of her injuries. (Noo, keep holding hands..)
"I do not usually heal things," he murmured, "so perhaps we are even.” (excuse me for a moment *yells into the void* it's the mutuality for me.)
And as Valerie began grow limp in his arms, fully trusting this odd copy of Phantom, an odd thought came into her mind. (! Trust! Trust! She trusts him! Aaahhh!)
Too bad we can't just put this one in the other Phantom's body.
Then, Valerie blinked, suddenly reawakening from the calm of healing.
Wait a minute. (I'm just picturing her doing one of those numbers where your all comfy and can't remember if you locked your door and suddenly you can't go back to sleep.)
"Or can we?" she asked him a few days later as he worked to heal bruises on her arm. She was fully comfortable in his presence now, his brown blanket a typical addition to be found in the corner of her room. (The domesticity of it all.)
(Valerie uses the power of Cartoon Logic: In a bonkers world, with bonkers rules, solve problems with bonkers solutions.)
Valerie was energized from the healing instead of sleepy. "Think about it," she demanded. "I don't know how to defeat you yet—but this could be why you still saw yourself in the new future. Because we figure out a way to keep you here."
A strange chill ran through his spine, as he suddenly felt he was witnessing prophecy unfold through Valerie. The possibility that he might find freedom in Valerie's company—it was an attractive thought. "But…perhaps that was the version of me you redeem here. Now."
She stared at him hard. "You are the version I've redeemed. And we're here. Now.” (This whole exchange! Also, yet another Overarching Theme moment! Yay!)
“—perhaps it would be best if I simply faded along with—"
"—No," she said, releasing him. She crossed her arms, something in her shoulders tight with a righteous justice. "You're not a bad guy anymore. I don't…" Her voice trailed off. "I don't want you to go away forever."
He blinked, staring at her hard.
She swallowed back emotion, then raised her chin. "I want you to stay here.” (I. Am DEAD. AAAAHHHH!)
"…What?" The Dan of the future sputtered. "B-but I deserve to—"
She turned around and began to pace. "Too late!" she said, mind in a frenzy of thought. "You're staying. I want you to stay…”
"Why do you wish me to stay?" he asked curiously. (Oh, why indeed? Hehehe)
"You would not understand what nothing but silence and solitude for 500 years can do. I feel that I am dreaming when I speak with you." (Like is he trying to say the most romantic shut ever on purpose or is he just Like That? Probably both.)
"You wanna wake up?" she retorted, grabbing the sleeve to steal one for herself. (She stealing his snacks, I think that qualifies as a common law marriage in some states.)
He blinked at that. "…No," he admitted.
"Well then," she said, crunching down on a cracker, eyebrow raised. Her voice was muffled. "Don't ruin the dream. I'm kinda liking this new you. If you disappeared forever, I'd have to wake up."
(Valerie, who is not good with words, just saying something so sentimental is huge and I don't believe that is lost on Dan.)
And as his eyes caught hers, both of them silent in vulnerability, he came to a strange realization. (See, that's what I've Been saying, bout time they caught up.)
More so than fading out in his long-desired oblivion, he actually wanted to stay. With her. (With. Her. WITH. HER. HE WANTS TO STAY WITH HER! IM DED! *newscaster voice* Ladies and gentlemen in tonight's news report Local Nerd gabbigabz was found dead. Authorities believe that the cause of death was overload of cuteness from her ship admitting their feelings, she is survived by her parents, siblings and several works in progress that she never finished. Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon.)
End Notes: Yeah Sorry for basically doing a line by line geekfest. But I felt like it would be a nice way to make my dramatic return. These two chapters are actually very quiet and have a melancholy to them but they also have this incredible level of tenderness and Intimacy and all this without any expressly stated romantic attraction (barring an allusion at the end). They are very Soft with each other and it gives my heart the warm and fuzzies. Very cute.
So, hi. Its been a while. I hope you’ve been well. I never actually closed the tab on my phone with this story and would still check for updates every so often. I was going to leave a review back in october for the latest chapter but then i was like "Why dont you just finish the one you already started?" but then we had 2 different wedding in the family. and two birthdays. and then it was hallowenn and then it was christmas. so yeah. busy time. I am going to try to review more regularly like i did in the past. While I may have neglected to make good on my promise for a while, I still fully intended to review every chapter in this story (but for convenience's sake i might do some of that on Ao3. Like with Karma.) Speaking of, I finally saw your reply to my comment on Ao3. I felt so touched. You genuinely inspire me. [And not to make this all about me but you inspired me to write my own story about these two. Which im working up the courage to EVENTUALLY publish to Ao3. It's still VERY MUCH a work in progress but yeah. I hope I'm able to do justice to this ship we both love.]
Have a lovely day.
3/27/2024 c31 gabbigabz
Then she said tiredly to the air, "I don't know how this works. Are you listening now? Do I just say your name?" Her breath hitched when she touched her arm in the sling. "Do I have to go to the future first, or do you come here?” (Yknow? Dan or Clockwork really should have hashed that out with her. Just like. Streamline the process or something.)
(EYYY it's the Dan of Christmas Future! And he's got his blanket! I just find that kinda cute for some reason.)
"Valerie," he breathed. His blood-red eyes searched her form… "...You sought a human doctor?"
"Can you reset a dislocated shoulder?" she challenged. (Honestly? fair. Ghostly healing energy [hehe] does not authorized medical personnel make.)
"Are you in pain now?"
"What do you think?" she retorted, breath hitching. "You only just tried to tear my arm off…Among other things.” (Technically HE didn't just try to tear your arm off. And, If anything, he tried to tear your arm off 500 years ago, but that doesn't necessarily make it better.)
Dan hesitated, slowly retracting his hand. "I do not remember our every fight," he admitted, his baritone voice edged with pain. "But I know I was cruel.” (Aww sad boi.)
(Valerie stop picking on him! He's nice now!)
“...I do not gain enjoyment from your pain anymore.”
"Then take it away," she whispered. (There's such a Moment in that interaction. love it.)
(Ooh Healing Energy Time!)
"Feels good," she mumbled into the loose material of his shirt, as if half-asleep. She was completely relaxed, without pain or cares.
He stiffened in surprise, his blood-red eyes widening a fraction. "Um." He swallowed hard, gently wrapping an arm around her to keep her from falling over. "Valerie, if this has affected you so, perhaps you should lie down."
But her eyes were fully closed now, her breath evening out in great peace.
Dan's face began to tinge green in a blush. Valerie Gray, the Red Huntress, was falling asleep on him. (Hehehehehehe. These two awkward ducks. Someone help them.)
Clockwork was going to disapprove. Clockwork was going to question his intentions, believing that Dan would be more likely to kill Valerie or worse while she was down.
The thought of her dying made him instinctively cradle her closer, his scarred fingers weaving against her messy curls. "I would not hurt you," he whispered aloud. (In a true case of the Dichotomy of Dan, we compare Dickhead Dan to Phantom 2: Electric Boogaloo and its just interesting how that sadistic bastard becomes this fragile creature with very obvious PTSD and a quiet but steely protective streak. It's very well done.)
(Dang no cuddles. Ah well it's too soon for that anyway.)
With great exertion, he managed to untangle himself out of his chains enough to lean down and gently lift her legs onto the bed. (Aww.)
…he unwound his brown blanket from his body, straining against his chains to lay it across her. (AWWW. 3 that blanket means so much to him and he didn't think twice about giving it to Valerie.)
He stood up with satisfaction. And for a second, he was fine. (Eyy he's up!)
Then an odd feeling grew within him, and he became dizzy again. (Oop. There he go.)
He felt himself begin to collapse to the floor, and he was blacked out before his shoulder hit, all of his chains and ash boxes twisted around his body. (Aaand he's down. Like a ton of bricks. Poor bastard.)
He blinked, entirely confused as to why a Valerie Gray of any kind would be patting his face to wake him up. And then he realized that he was on the floor of her bedroom, his body covered again with the warm, brown blanket, (in my head he's like a big comatose burrito and Valerie is just gently slapping his face and it's just very funny to me)
"Ngh," he said, face twisting in confusion. Valerie's own expression began to relax with relief. Her warm hands slipped from his gaunt face. (Their awareness of each other's touch is doing numbers in my brain)
"You okay?" she asked him hesitantly. Her memories were fuzzy from the night before, her last thoughts having to do with how comfortable this future Dan Phantom's body was to lean against. Her face was tinged a bit red. "I think I fell asleep on you, and then…I don't know what happened.” (hehe yall was getting cozy)
(Aww Valerie worrying over him is cute.)
(His blatant disregard for his own value as a person? Less so.)
"Look. I'm not so good with words, but we can figure out ways to get around your restrictions…(Ooh! Yay! Communication! Ya love or see it.)
…And you can cut the servant talk. That's…weird." She gently pushed the blanket into his scarred hands. "I don't want a slave, okay?" (Yeah dude. don't make it strange.)
He blinked at her, as if in disbelief that she would show such mercy toward him. "I have been given to you as one," he whispered, voice exhausted. (This sad wet beast of a man. Someone get him some hot cocoa or something.)
She backed away, biting her lip. "I know." Clockwork wanted her to enlist him as a friend, but that word seemed too sacred still. This was still her enemy, who had killed her in his future. "But it's just…not right.”
But Valerie had rebuffed his willingness to serve her without question. Something about that—he could not stop thinking of it—
He hid his face in the blanket, feeling warm in strange ways…He resituated himself in the snow and ice bank, right next to where he had buried Valerie's box of ashes.
(It's really something how there's this strange magnetism and Intimacy between them along with a lot of hurt. And they're both keenly aware of it but neither really knows how to react.)
Hours later, Clockwork woke him up, curiously poking at him with his scepter. (Lol this image is great: Area Old Man Pokes Rebellious Ward With Stick)
Dan's eye opened in half-hopes that it was Valerie, then his eye sharpened and narrowed. (Not him hoping it was Valerie! That's too cute!)
"You?" he moaned. With great difficulty, he managed to pull the blanket over his head. "Go away." (He really be acting like a kid who doesn't want to get up for school. I love it.)
The old ghost said wryly, "...Good morning to you too." (Clockwork definitely doesn't have a Parental Role in Dan's Life, per se. but it also isn't Not that. Makes little moments like this just very funny. As he is very much the designated guardian of a very grumpy lad.)
"Fuck off," came a tired, muffled snap. (Grouchy Dan is delightful. He's like a cat.)
Clockwork stared at the brown lump of a man on the snowy ground, unimpressed. Then he leaned down, and with a quick jerk, pulled the blanket off of the younger ghost's face. "I wish to speak with you." (Lol! Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!)
Dan nearly hissed, his red eyes glowing hot. He swiped out at Clockwork with sudden strength, grabbing onto the blanket's edge and pulling it back over himself. "Dammit, don't you dare," he said, voice desperate. The blanket was his. His. Not Clockwork's. (No takey the blankey!)
"Would you have still killed all those people, knowing what you do now?"
The younger ghost paused, his eyes squeezing shut. "Dammit, what does it matter," he muttered brokenly. "They are all dead, and nothing I say will bring them back."
"Would you resurrect them if you could?”
...He longed to reverse his entire afterlife. "It is too late for me.”
“...I have something I need you to see.”
(Get ready folks! I'm sensing an approaching Overarching Theme)
The next thing Dan knew, he was standing in a dark room with no light, his blanket still tightly clutched around him. (Okay but him actually using it like a security blanket will never not be cute.)
He slid his eyes to Clockwork. "Where have you taken me?"
"A place I promised to the council I would not reveal to you," the ghost said, a merry glint in his eye. (Again I love how Clockwork supposedly works for the council but in reality only Kind of works With the council and really only when he Wants to. Iconic. We stan.)
And there inside were perfectly preserved humans, their physical stats and identification showing up in green text along the edge. "Behold," he said. "Amity Park.” (he's so cheeky)
Dan hardly heard Clockwork, he was so focused on the pods themselves—the fact that living beings were preserved. "How many live?" he whispered.
Clockwork smiled. "Over 10,000. It was the council's contingency plan to save a few so that a race would not be permanently extinguished. I saved the whole city.”(Yeah just casually Drop that on him. It's cool. He's only been obsessing and lamenting this for half a millennium.)
And a soft, shaky exhale broke from Dan's lips. "You bastard," he accused suddenly. "You absolute bastard." For the first time in 500 years—for the first time since he had split himself—he began to cry. (I have such big feelings about this line I can't quite express all of it but dang if you didn't load So Much, So Masterfully right there.)
"They are not dead?" He'd carried these people in every painstaking step he'd taken for 500 years, moaning his decision to annihilate them.
"No," Clockwork confirmed again, almost amused. "They are not dead.” (Aww did someone reconcile himself with the sanctity of human life? Did somebody develop a conscience? Did someone learn how to practice empathy? Yes he did! Good job!)
Without anything to hold him up, he sank to the floor. "They are not dead," he whispered, trying to wipe away his tears. "Valerie's legacy is not dead.” (Something about Dan centering Valerie in this moment of catharsis and healing does something for me.)
The Master of Time watched him, his red eyes deep with an odd understanding. And then, with an aged groan, he sat on the floor beside Dan, laying his scepter across his lap. (Again their dynamic is so Fascinating. Tired, Sassy Old Man and his Sarcastic Shit of a Charge that Maybe Can Be Decent if He Puts His Mind to It. They are so adjective.)
He was worn with an odd agony. "It is…difficult to choose the best path sometimes, as certain events are not in my realm of control. I had to choose between allowing seven billion humans to die in this world with a hope for repopulation, or twelve billion humans to die in the other time with no hope for repopulation. I must exist forever with my choices.” (it's lowkey giving the Doctor from Doctor Who. And I mean that in a very affectionate way. I didn't watch much of that series but it sure does feel thematic.)
“...All sentient existence between the two worlds would have been snuffed out." Clockwork gave a wry, pained smile. "My ability to see beyond that point is black, which suggests that I would no longer exist either.” (gotta say. It's not a fun choice to make but I can't say I blame him for making it.)
His red eyes tilted sideways. "And you have forced me to do fairly complex acrobatics to get you back in a coherent mind.” …Dan's chains bled away, dissipating into smoke that wisped back to Clockwork's scepter… For the first time in 500 years, his body lifted from the ground, levitating freely… (Good job relearning how to be a person, you can come out of timeout now. -Clockwork probably)
His long, straggly white hair began to flicker. He touched his hair, fingers shaking. "You have freed me?" he whispered.
Clockwork raised a brow. "You freed yourself.” (Ladies and Gentlemen it's the Theme of the Story! *confetti* [to be clear I mean this as a compliment. I like when a story kind of crescendos into a line that functions as a mission statement.])
(Dan cussing out Clockwork is so funny to me. He's like “Fuck you. I was living my worst afterlife for centuries cuz of you! I mean i got better, but still! :(” Clockwork being like “Bro have you Seen you? You were a real piece of work frankly I'm happy it only took This long.”)
(Also another security blanket moment. That's lowkey my favorite bit in this. It's very tactile and just that need for physical reassurance is very nice.)
"And I believe it is time for you to assist Valerie Gray once again."
Dan blinked. "How much time has passed?"
Clockwork shrugged. "We are outside of time here. In the human world, days.” (Ooh, yeah… yall should probably get in that.)
The next part should be the last
Then she said tiredly to the air, "I don't know how this works. Are you listening now? Do I just say your name?" Her breath hitched when she touched her arm in the sling. "Do I have to go to the future first, or do you come here?” (Yknow? Dan or Clockwork really should have hashed that out with her. Just like. Streamline the process or something.)
(EYYY it's the Dan of Christmas Future! And he's got his blanket! I just find that kinda cute for some reason.)
"Valerie," he breathed. His blood-red eyes searched her form… "...You sought a human doctor?"
"Can you reset a dislocated shoulder?" she challenged. (Honestly? fair. Ghostly healing energy [hehe] does not authorized medical personnel make.)
"Are you in pain now?"
"What do you think?" she retorted, breath hitching. "You only just tried to tear my arm off…Among other things.” (Technically HE didn't just try to tear your arm off. And, If anything, he tried to tear your arm off 500 years ago, but that doesn't necessarily make it better.)
Dan hesitated, slowly retracting his hand. "I do not remember our every fight," he admitted, his baritone voice edged with pain. "But I know I was cruel.” (Aww sad boi.)
(Valerie stop picking on him! He's nice now!)
“...I do not gain enjoyment from your pain anymore.”
"Then take it away," she whispered. (There's such a Moment in that interaction. love it.)
(Ooh Healing Energy Time!)
"Feels good," she mumbled into the loose material of his shirt, as if half-asleep. She was completely relaxed, without pain or cares.
He stiffened in surprise, his blood-red eyes widening a fraction. "Um." He swallowed hard, gently wrapping an arm around her to keep her from falling over. "Valerie, if this has affected you so, perhaps you should lie down."
But her eyes were fully closed now, her breath evening out in great peace.
Dan's face began to tinge green in a blush. Valerie Gray, the Red Huntress, was falling asleep on him. (Hehehehehehe. These two awkward ducks. Someone help them.)
Clockwork was going to disapprove. Clockwork was going to question his intentions, believing that Dan would be more likely to kill Valerie or worse while she was down.
The thought of her dying made him instinctively cradle her closer, his scarred fingers weaving against her messy curls. "I would not hurt you," he whispered aloud. (In a true case of the Dichotomy of Dan, we compare Dickhead Dan to Phantom 2: Electric Boogaloo and its just interesting how that sadistic bastard becomes this fragile creature with very obvious PTSD and a quiet but steely protective streak. It's very well done.)
(Dang no cuddles. Ah well it's too soon for that anyway.)
With great exertion, he managed to untangle himself out of his chains enough to lean down and gently lift her legs onto the bed. (Aww.)
…he unwound his brown blanket from his body, straining against his chains to lay it across her. (AWWW. 3 that blanket means so much to him and he didn't think twice about giving it to Valerie.)
He stood up with satisfaction. And for a second, he was fine. (Eyy he's up!)
Then an odd feeling grew within him, and he became dizzy again. (Oop. There he go.)
He felt himself begin to collapse to the floor, and he was blacked out before his shoulder hit, all of his chains and ash boxes twisted around his body. (Aaand he's down. Like a ton of bricks. Poor bastard.)
He blinked, entirely confused as to why a Valerie Gray of any kind would be patting his face to wake him up. And then he realized that he was on the floor of her bedroom, his body covered again with the warm, brown blanket, (in my head he's like a big comatose burrito and Valerie is just gently slapping his face and it's just very funny to me)
"Ngh," he said, face twisting in confusion. Valerie's own expression began to relax with relief. Her warm hands slipped from his gaunt face. (Their awareness of each other's touch is doing numbers in my brain)
"You okay?" she asked him hesitantly. Her memories were fuzzy from the night before, her last thoughts having to do with how comfortable this future Dan Phantom's body was to lean against. Her face was tinged a bit red. "I think I fell asleep on you, and then…I don't know what happened.” (hehe yall was getting cozy)
(Aww Valerie worrying over him is cute.)
(His blatant disregard for his own value as a person? Less so.)
"Look. I'm not so good with words, but we can figure out ways to get around your restrictions…(Ooh! Yay! Communication! Ya love or see it.)
…And you can cut the servant talk. That's…weird." She gently pushed the blanket into his scarred hands. "I don't want a slave, okay?" (Yeah dude. don't make it strange.)
He blinked at her, as if in disbelief that she would show such mercy toward him. "I have been given to you as one," he whispered, voice exhausted. (This sad wet beast of a man. Someone get him some hot cocoa or something.)
She backed away, biting her lip. "I know." Clockwork wanted her to enlist him as a friend, but that word seemed too sacred still. This was still her enemy, who had killed her in his future. "But it's just…not right.”
But Valerie had rebuffed his willingness to serve her without question. Something about that—he could not stop thinking of it—
He hid his face in the blanket, feeling warm in strange ways…He resituated himself in the snow and ice bank, right next to where he had buried Valerie's box of ashes.
(It's really something how there's this strange magnetism and Intimacy between them along with a lot of hurt. And they're both keenly aware of it but neither really knows how to react.)
Hours later, Clockwork woke him up, curiously poking at him with his scepter. (Lol this image is great: Area Old Man Pokes Rebellious Ward With Stick)
Dan's eye opened in half-hopes that it was Valerie, then his eye sharpened and narrowed. (Not him hoping it was Valerie! That's too cute!)
"You?" he moaned. With great difficulty, he managed to pull the blanket over his head. "Go away." (He really be acting like a kid who doesn't want to get up for school. I love it.)
The old ghost said wryly, "...Good morning to you too." (Clockwork definitely doesn't have a Parental Role in Dan's Life, per se. but it also isn't Not that. Makes little moments like this just very funny. As he is very much the designated guardian of a very grumpy lad.)
"Fuck off," came a tired, muffled snap. (Grouchy Dan is delightful. He's like a cat.)
Clockwork stared at the brown lump of a man on the snowy ground, unimpressed. Then he leaned down, and with a quick jerk, pulled the blanket off of the younger ghost's face. "I wish to speak with you." (Lol! Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!)
Dan nearly hissed, his red eyes glowing hot. He swiped out at Clockwork with sudden strength, grabbing onto the blanket's edge and pulling it back over himself. "Dammit, don't you dare," he said, voice desperate. The blanket was his. His. Not Clockwork's. (No takey the blankey!)
"Would you have still killed all those people, knowing what you do now?"
The younger ghost paused, his eyes squeezing shut. "Dammit, what does it matter," he muttered brokenly. "They are all dead, and nothing I say will bring them back."
"Would you resurrect them if you could?”
...He longed to reverse his entire afterlife. "It is too late for me.”
“...I have something I need you to see.”
(Get ready folks! I'm sensing an approaching Overarching Theme)
The next thing Dan knew, he was standing in a dark room with no light, his blanket still tightly clutched around him. (Okay but him actually using it like a security blanket will never not be cute.)
He slid his eyes to Clockwork. "Where have you taken me?"
"A place I promised to the council I would not reveal to you," the ghost said, a merry glint in his eye. (Again I love how Clockwork supposedly works for the council but in reality only Kind of works With the council and really only when he Wants to. Iconic. We stan.)
And there inside were perfectly preserved humans, their physical stats and identification showing up in green text along the edge. "Behold," he said. "Amity Park.” (he's so cheeky)
Dan hardly heard Clockwork, he was so focused on the pods themselves—the fact that living beings were preserved. "How many live?" he whispered.
Clockwork smiled. "Over 10,000. It was the council's contingency plan to save a few so that a race would not be permanently extinguished. I saved the whole city.”(Yeah just casually Drop that on him. It's cool. He's only been obsessing and lamenting this for half a millennium.)
And a soft, shaky exhale broke from Dan's lips. "You bastard," he accused suddenly. "You absolute bastard." For the first time in 500 years—for the first time since he had split himself—he began to cry. (I have such big feelings about this line I can't quite express all of it but dang if you didn't load So Much, So Masterfully right there.)
"They are not dead?" He'd carried these people in every painstaking step he'd taken for 500 years, moaning his decision to annihilate them.
"No," Clockwork confirmed again, almost amused. "They are not dead.” (Aww did someone reconcile himself with the sanctity of human life? Did somebody develop a conscience? Did someone learn how to practice empathy? Yes he did! Good job!)
Without anything to hold him up, he sank to the floor. "They are not dead," he whispered, trying to wipe away his tears. "Valerie's legacy is not dead.” (Something about Dan centering Valerie in this moment of catharsis and healing does something for me.)
The Master of Time watched him, his red eyes deep with an odd understanding. And then, with an aged groan, he sat on the floor beside Dan, laying his scepter across his lap. (Again their dynamic is so Fascinating. Tired, Sassy Old Man and his Sarcastic Shit of a Charge that Maybe Can Be Decent if He Puts His Mind to It. They are so adjective.)
He was worn with an odd agony. "It is…difficult to choose the best path sometimes, as certain events are not in my realm of control. I had to choose between allowing seven billion humans to die in this world with a hope for repopulation, or twelve billion humans to die in the other time with no hope for repopulation. I must exist forever with my choices.” (it's lowkey giving the Doctor from Doctor Who. And I mean that in a very affectionate way. I didn't watch much of that series but it sure does feel thematic.)
“...All sentient existence between the two worlds would have been snuffed out." Clockwork gave a wry, pained smile. "My ability to see beyond that point is black, which suggests that I would no longer exist either.” (gotta say. It's not a fun choice to make but I can't say I blame him for making it.)
His red eyes tilted sideways. "And you have forced me to do fairly complex acrobatics to get you back in a coherent mind.” …Dan's chains bled away, dissipating into smoke that wisped back to Clockwork's scepter… For the first time in 500 years, his body lifted from the ground, levitating freely… (Good job relearning how to be a person, you can come out of timeout now. -Clockwork probably)
His long, straggly white hair began to flicker. He touched his hair, fingers shaking. "You have freed me?" he whispered.
Clockwork raised a brow. "You freed yourself.” (Ladies and Gentlemen it's the Theme of the Story! *confetti* [to be clear I mean this as a compliment. I like when a story kind of crescendos into a line that functions as a mission statement.])
(Dan cussing out Clockwork is so funny to me. He's like “Fuck you. I was living my worst afterlife for centuries cuz of you! I mean i got better, but still! :(” Clockwork being like “Bro have you Seen you? You were a real piece of work frankly I'm happy it only took This long.”)
(Also another security blanket moment. That's lowkey my favorite bit in this. It's very tactile and just that need for physical reassurance is very nice.)
"And I believe it is time for you to assist Valerie Gray once again."
Dan blinked. "How much time has passed?"
Clockwork shrugged. "We are outside of time here. In the human world, days.” (Ooh, yeah… yall should probably get in that.)
The next part should be the last
3/27/2024 c31 gabbigabz
Alright let's get into part 2!
"If you're actually the Master of Time and watching me, then I know you can see me right now. Get your ectoplasmic ass in here so I can talk to you.” (I love Valerie so much. Also nice to see her get her groove back.)
"I will overlook your condescending tone," he said, "Valerie Gray. But yes, I am listening.” (if these two get into a sass contest, I'm not sure who'd win. But i feel like it’d be Valerie.)
(Oh look! They've gotten into a sassing contest!)
Clockwork watched her curiously. Phantom was right—this woman was incredibly taciturn, her presence impossible to ignore. And her audacity! No one had ever insulted him so to his face except for Phantom. (Valerie wins!)
The woman then thought back to the brokenness of the future Dan Phantom, who was bowed beneath chains for centuries—a sleek CW branded into his skin. She felt uneasy at the thought of him and of his willingness to serve her. (I feel like this bothers her on a more personal level. Like 7 billion dead people is no bueno, but she actually had to Look At Dan)
Clockwork fell silent for a time, mulling over Valerie's words. "I am not a god," he said. "There are some events out of my control that require me to make…decisions. As a military commander, you must know what this is like. Sacrificing the few to save the many."
"Seven billion is a few to you?" she deadpanned, her teal eyes narrowing.
Clockwork nodded. "In the grand scale of time, yes." He leaned his head against his staff, suddenly looking even older and more tired. (I like how Clockwork is both Very Powerful and Distinctly Limited. Dude Only Has So Much He Can Do and makes Hard often morally Gray choices. But for distinctly good reasons. He's lowkey incredibly complex for that and you capture that perfectly.)
(Valerie has a strong moral compass but, as often comes with that, she tends to see things in black and white. She can lack self reflection because she seldom questions her moral standing of her own volition. Clockwork however is privy to every version of someone that a person could be, however unlikely, and so he is much more inclined to guiding people to see themselves and their motivations more clearly, often yielding a better result. This works well for Val and Dan as they are both a bit bullheaded.)
Valerie narrowed her eyes for a second, slowly coming to understand this ghost. "So you want me to help you save Phantom," she accused slowly, "while he's also trying to help me stop his present-self?"
The ghost had the decency to smile in a grandfatherly way, a glint of mischief in his eye. "Something like that."
Valerie huffed. "It's not like he really deserves it."
"No," Clockwork agreed. "None of us deserve a second chance. But he has requested one, in his own way. I do not have the heart to deny him.” (Clockwork genuinely wants good things for Danny, far fallen though he may be.)
Clockwork's suggestion of kind words was not quite her style—she was always brash with those…"How about this?" she said. "I know it's gotta be cold in that Wasteland he's in. Even if he's a ghost."
Clockwork beheld the package, given freely by Valerie. "You would give him a blanket to cover himself?” (her love languages are more of the gift giving and acts of service variety.)
"Why do you not wish to give it to him yourself?"
Valerie turned around to hide her face, which began to grow red in an uncertain blush. "Because. It'd be awkward. I don't know…I don't wanna say 'thank you' to his face, and I'm pretty sure he won't want to say that to me either.” (Valerie and Dan are both as subtle as a billboard. It's adorable.)
A new idea hit her, and she demanded softly to the ceiling, "And give it to him on Christmas Eve! You can do that, right?” (I just think this is cute. She wanted him to have a Christmas present.)
A few days later, the present-day Dan Phantom came to fight Valerie again. (And then there's THIS ASSHOLE.)
(Yikes Dickhead Dan is really doing a number on poor Valerie.)
“...I spent the better half of this morning breaking the vertebrae in Pariah Dark's spine…” (not really related to the chapter but I've always liked how your work occasionally uses Pariah Dark as a metric for power scaling. It's pretty effective and allows the reader to know how powerful a particular iteration of Dan is in a given story. It's not always a ‘need to have’ but in cases like this one it gives a very clear idea of just how hopeless Valerie must have felt against him if dude is kicking the shit outta the Ghost King for shiggles.)
With a grimace, she struggled to stare at him. "I h-hate you," she whispered.
He smiled. "Aww, are you tiring out already?" And then he leaned down to grab her.
The instant he did so, she clamped down on his wrist and activated her electric shock weaponry. The tips of her fingers pulsed with the shock, and it burned through his suit and into his blue skin. He hissed in sudden pain, letting her go. (Hell yeah! Get his ass, Valerie!)
(Valerie telling him that he won't end her is technically accurate. It's not that he Can't kill her. It's that he Won't. He enjoys torturing her too much. What an ass.)
Tears watered in her eyes again, and she shuddered, squeezing her eyes shut. Her tears began to slip down her face beneath her helmet.
He seemed almost high from the sight, his red eyes staring at her face in glee. "Yes, cry for me, Valerie. Cry.” (Yeah. See? No. That's it! The Dan Being a Dick count is back on and that makes 10! Creep.)
Before he could move away, the sleek metal shot down, searing through his knee and into his foot, pinning him to the ground.
Phantom snarled, a noise of pain ripping between his lips. His bright, green blood began to seep from his wounds, and he released her fully, only to stumble in an attempt to pull away from the metal now lodged in his foot. (HA! Get wrekt! Dickwad!)
"You bitch," he hissed. (*gasp!* RUDE. D: DBAD tally: 11!)
"You'll pay for this soon enough."
And then he dematerialized and left her shuddering in the silence. (Yeah, yeah. Don't let the door hit your pasty ghost ass on the way out!)
(I like the fluidity of the scene where she goes to get medical treatment. It has the vibe of well established routine and the efficiency that comes with that.)
She paled a bit and fell silent, knowing that this was Kwan—her first high school love, her first heartbreak, her now-doctor—from whom she could not hide a secret. He was savvy enough of a doctor to know that bruises did not heal so quickly. (little details like this do so much to show that these characters have intricate lives and relationships outside of shipping stuff which just makes the whole thing feel more fleshed out.)
The doctor nearly dropped the sling. "Excuse me, what? You made a deal with a ghost?" He lowered his voice into an incredulous whisper, "Like Clockwork?” (An honestly entirely fair reaction given what he knows about both Valerie and Clockwork)
(Kwan agrees to keep her secret. He's a real one.)
Something in Valerie's face began to tinge red a bit, as if she were embarrassed. "I told you. He's g-got access to a healing energy.” (Healing energy isn't the weirdest pet name I've ever heard but it is an odd one.)
Kwan swallowed hard and gripped her hand right back, cradling her calloused fingers. They'd always had a unique friendship after Phantom's rising, with several words unspoken between them. "I worry about you a lot."
"I know," Valerie whispered. (Valerie has a lot of people that care about her. Good. It's what she deserves.)
Imma break this into 3 or 4 parts we'll see.
Alright let's get into part 2!
"If you're actually the Master of Time and watching me, then I know you can see me right now. Get your ectoplasmic ass in here so I can talk to you.” (I love Valerie so much. Also nice to see her get her groove back.)
"I will overlook your condescending tone," he said, "Valerie Gray. But yes, I am listening.” (if these two get into a sass contest, I'm not sure who'd win. But i feel like it’d be Valerie.)
(Oh look! They've gotten into a sassing contest!)
Clockwork watched her curiously. Phantom was right—this woman was incredibly taciturn, her presence impossible to ignore. And her audacity! No one had ever insulted him so to his face except for Phantom. (Valerie wins!)
The woman then thought back to the brokenness of the future Dan Phantom, who was bowed beneath chains for centuries—a sleek CW branded into his skin. She felt uneasy at the thought of him and of his willingness to serve her. (I feel like this bothers her on a more personal level. Like 7 billion dead people is no bueno, but she actually had to Look At Dan)
Clockwork fell silent for a time, mulling over Valerie's words. "I am not a god," he said. "There are some events out of my control that require me to make…decisions. As a military commander, you must know what this is like. Sacrificing the few to save the many."
"Seven billion is a few to you?" she deadpanned, her teal eyes narrowing.
Clockwork nodded. "In the grand scale of time, yes." He leaned his head against his staff, suddenly looking even older and more tired. (I like how Clockwork is both Very Powerful and Distinctly Limited. Dude Only Has So Much He Can Do and makes Hard often morally Gray choices. But for distinctly good reasons. He's lowkey incredibly complex for that and you capture that perfectly.)
(Valerie has a strong moral compass but, as often comes with that, she tends to see things in black and white. She can lack self reflection because she seldom questions her moral standing of her own volition. Clockwork however is privy to every version of someone that a person could be, however unlikely, and so he is much more inclined to guiding people to see themselves and their motivations more clearly, often yielding a better result. This works well for Val and Dan as they are both a bit bullheaded.)
Valerie narrowed her eyes for a second, slowly coming to understand this ghost. "So you want me to help you save Phantom," she accused slowly, "while he's also trying to help me stop his present-self?"
The ghost had the decency to smile in a grandfatherly way, a glint of mischief in his eye. "Something like that."
Valerie huffed. "It's not like he really deserves it."
"No," Clockwork agreed. "None of us deserve a second chance. But he has requested one, in his own way. I do not have the heart to deny him.” (Clockwork genuinely wants good things for Danny, far fallen though he may be.)
Clockwork's suggestion of kind words was not quite her style—she was always brash with those…"How about this?" she said. "I know it's gotta be cold in that Wasteland he's in. Even if he's a ghost."
Clockwork beheld the package, given freely by Valerie. "You would give him a blanket to cover himself?” (her love languages are more of the gift giving and acts of service variety.)
"Why do you not wish to give it to him yourself?"
Valerie turned around to hide her face, which began to grow red in an uncertain blush. "Because. It'd be awkward. I don't know…I don't wanna say 'thank you' to his face, and I'm pretty sure he won't want to say that to me either.” (Valerie and Dan are both as subtle as a billboard. It's adorable.)
A new idea hit her, and she demanded softly to the ceiling, "And give it to him on Christmas Eve! You can do that, right?” (I just think this is cute. She wanted him to have a Christmas present.)
A few days later, the present-day Dan Phantom came to fight Valerie again. (And then there's THIS ASSHOLE.)
(Yikes Dickhead Dan is really doing a number on poor Valerie.)
“...I spent the better half of this morning breaking the vertebrae in Pariah Dark's spine…” (not really related to the chapter but I've always liked how your work occasionally uses Pariah Dark as a metric for power scaling. It's pretty effective and allows the reader to know how powerful a particular iteration of Dan is in a given story. It's not always a ‘need to have’ but in cases like this one it gives a very clear idea of just how hopeless Valerie must have felt against him if dude is kicking the shit outta the Ghost King for shiggles.)
With a grimace, she struggled to stare at him. "I h-hate you," she whispered.
He smiled. "Aww, are you tiring out already?" And then he leaned down to grab her.
The instant he did so, she clamped down on his wrist and activated her electric shock weaponry. The tips of her fingers pulsed with the shock, and it burned through his suit and into his blue skin. He hissed in sudden pain, letting her go. (Hell yeah! Get his ass, Valerie!)
(Valerie telling him that he won't end her is technically accurate. It's not that he Can't kill her. It's that he Won't. He enjoys torturing her too much. What an ass.)
Tears watered in her eyes again, and she shuddered, squeezing her eyes shut. Her tears began to slip down her face beneath her helmet.
He seemed almost high from the sight, his red eyes staring at her face in glee. "Yes, cry for me, Valerie. Cry.” (Yeah. See? No. That's it! The Dan Being a Dick count is back on and that makes 10! Creep.)
Before he could move away, the sleek metal shot down, searing through his knee and into his foot, pinning him to the ground.
Phantom snarled, a noise of pain ripping between his lips. His bright, green blood began to seep from his wounds, and he released her fully, only to stumble in an attempt to pull away from the metal now lodged in his foot. (HA! Get wrekt! Dickwad!)
"You bitch," he hissed. (*gasp!* RUDE. D: DBAD tally: 11!)
"You'll pay for this soon enough."
And then he dematerialized and left her shuddering in the silence. (Yeah, yeah. Don't let the door hit your pasty ghost ass on the way out!)
(I like the fluidity of the scene where she goes to get medical treatment. It has the vibe of well established routine and the efficiency that comes with that.)
She paled a bit and fell silent, knowing that this was Kwan—her first high school love, her first heartbreak, her now-doctor—from whom she could not hide a secret. He was savvy enough of a doctor to know that bruises did not heal so quickly. (little details like this do so much to show that these characters have intricate lives and relationships outside of shipping stuff which just makes the whole thing feel more fleshed out.)
The doctor nearly dropped the sling. "Excuse me, what? You made a deal with a ghost?" He lowered his voice into an incredulous whisper, "Like Clockwork?” (An honestly entirely fair reaction given what he knows about both Valerie and Clockwork)
(Kwan agrees to keep her secret. He's a real one.)
Something in Valerie's face began to tinge red a bit, as if she were embarrassed. "I told you. He's g-got access to a healing energy.” (Healing energy isn't the weirdest pet name I've ever heard but it is an odd one.)
Kwan swallowed hard and gripped her hand right back, cradling her calloused fingers. They'd always had a unique friendship after Phantom's rising, with several words unspoken between them. "I worry about you a lot."
"I know," Valerie whispered. (Valerie has a lot of people that care about her. Good. It's what she deserves.)
Imma break this into 3 or 4 parts we'll see.
3/23/2024 c30 gabbigabz
The pain of her body and the twinge of failure in her soul were gone. (Something something healing power of forgiveness)
Only a tender coolness, the memory of Dan Phantom touching her as if she were glass…(*Screeches*)
"Valerie," her father announced happily, "I'm going to make a toast for you. Is that okay if I make a toast, dear? And then you're going to open up some presents." He seemed almost as if he were a child. (Her dad loves her so much and it means so much to me. He's trying so hard to take care of his little girl as much as he can.)
It seemed it did not matter to them that she'd almost lost the good fight. They still believed in her…Valerie swallowed hard, her throat tight. And then she began to tear up when she saw her father raise his remaining arm in a salute. One by one, the entire crowd began to silence, saluting her as well. (She doesn't have to be perfect she doesn't have to be this unbeatable hero, what matters is that she's trying and that makes her Their hero.)
But he raised a hand to his forehead as well, an odd glint in his red eyes. Click—clankclank—clank!
And then he was gone, the sound of his chains like a lullaby in her ear. (This was both cute and sad)
…Clockwork beheld Dan Phantom with curiosity, leaning on his staff…he watched the heavily shackled Dan Phantom trudge forward…holding onto Valerie's box as if to protect it. He was cradling it so close that he did not even notice a few chain links that unhinged from him, rolling off into the snow. (Clockwork is so relatable he just puts this guy in Situations and sees what happens.)
"Clockwork!" cried an Observant.
The time ghost rolled his eyes and turned his head. "What is it this time." (I love how Clockwork ostensibly works for these guys but so clearly doesn't give a shit. We stan.)
Clockwork leaned on his staff. "You did not watch him stumble beneath the weight of his own actions for 500 years and beg for annihilation." He seemed quite tired…
"But this is Dan Phantom! He feels nothing."
The Master of Time snorted. (Clockwork being like "Are You Sure About That?”meme)
"You also do not hear him talk to the wind out of his own loneliness. It is pathetic.”
"But he deserves it!”(Ehh maybe did before but now tho?)
"And the Human World does not…"This cycle of ignorance and want—it must end. Now that Phantom has wallowed in the fruits of his labors, he can assist in reversing them.”
(It's bits like these that you do so well where you balance Clockwork’s clear partiality to Dan with the whole Master of Time big picture stuff. He wants good things for Dan but he's not willing to compromise everyone else to give him the chance to do right. He just gives him the choice and hopes for the best. Also i caught that Christmas Carol reference! you ain't slick. Lol)
"Are you not worried he will strike out against the human?”
"On the contrary," Clockwork said dryly, "I fear he will become too attached.” (Clockwork knows what's up.)
The ashes shifted in the metal box as he limped forward, struggling against the wind. "What?" he complained helplessly to the box. "Did you want me to leave you there, all tossed on the ground? Your younger self has no respect. None." His cold, shaking fingers caressed the box. "She was thinking only of the here and now, just as you did.” (This sad wet cat of a man.)
He was free to cast the metal box aside, as the chain never reappeared, but he could not. It was as much a part of him as his own body, even light as a feather. (Somehow both macabre and romantic, in its way.)
Then he flinched at the sudden memory of Valerie's dead eyes from 500 years ago, and the way her metal-encased fingers had slipped from his forearm so softly. (The sensation of the last time Valerie touched him when she died is so distinct in his mind. he has probably spent years thinking about that, cumulatively)
The metal box slipped from his cold hands to tumble into a snow drift, where the harsh air then stormed in another direction, mounting snow drifts in seconds. (Oh no!)
"No," he snarled, struggling to reach out…He could not lose that box. It was all he had. It was the only tangible proof he'd not hallucinated Valerie…the whole thing…! (This is really sad. Poor guy.)
"What is this?" he greeted shortly.
"...The Ghost of Christmas Past," the Master of Time deadpanned. (Clockwork's dry humor is honestly the best.)
…his fingers clanged against the box, and he unearthed it from the snow drift, brushing it off with great importance. He clung tight to it, as if fearful that Clockwork would take it away from him—like everything else. (Aww he's like a kid with a Teddy Bear. Except the teddy bear is human remains. Which IS a lot less cute.)
Clockwork pressed, "Why did you tell Valerie I gave you permission to heal her, when I did not?"
Dan's face twitched. He grumbled hesitantly, "It was a newer power. I wanted to see its…effectiveness."
"Ah," Clockwork said, nodding. "Yes. Its effectiveness.”
…The chained ghost gave him a suspicious look, his blue face burning with an angry and embarrassed blush. (Clockwork absolutely has Dan's number and he's definitely giving him the “You like krabby patties don't you squidward” face. It's great.)
He smiled mildly, amused by the memory of Dan healing anything. "You were talking to that box as if in want of company," he said. "Why do you not simply bury those ashes since Valerie released you from them? They are not sentient.”
…"I want to carry these," Dan snarled, red eyes glowing hot. "In this god-forsaken planet, they are the only thing I have to prove that I saw her.”
…"For all I know," the ghost snapped, "you could be just be a hallucination too." His voice broke. "Just another one.” (Yeah he may have deserved it but dude has had it Rough the past few centuries. Dude’s not alright.)
(Dan is having a Terrible Horrible No-Good Very Bad Christmas.)
(Aww Valerie got him a gift.)
"What, are you a mailman now as well?"
"Just open it," Clockwork sighed.
The young ghost sneered at him, kneeling in the snow to hover over the package. "It's probably another magical chain. A deception of yours.” (So prickly, this boy. Clockwork puts up with so much.)
Because your time looked freakin' cold and I just got twenty of these. - V (such a way with words)
Dan held tightly onto the soft material, his fingers shaking. For a time, he said nothing. And he laughed—a joyous sound that rang like deep, clear bells. He had not been allowed a possession beyond his chains in 500 years. "Oh, that woman." He petted the material, in awe of its softness. His chains clanked lightly with his movements. "As if a ghost needs a blanket. How like her to exhibit such misguided direction."
But it meant she had thought of him. Him. (feels pretty good to matter to someone, huh Dan?)
Dan unraveled the brown blanket, in awe that its fibers glowed and seemed to pick up the warmth of the dim sun and amplify it. His red eyes widened in childish curiosity. "Fascinating," he whispered, forgetting for one second all of his chains as he hid his hands in the heat. (Aww merry Christmas Danny Boy. [It is the end of March as i write this. Nearly Easter.])
And for the first time in years, Clockwork felt hope for the future. He could feel the time stream permanently adjust with images of this infamous Dan Phantom kneeling before Valerie to touch her hand and heal her, Valerie curiously tugging at his chains to unwind them, their faces softening with a knowledge of companionship… (me over here giggling and kicking my feet)
Merry Christmas to me, Clockwork thought, satisfied. (Clockwork: I have never been wrong about anything, ever, in my life. Me: i know this and i love you.)
I do have end-note thoughts but i will save that for the next chapter. On to the next one! Hopefully it wont take a year this time!
The pain of her body and the twinge of failure in her soul were gone. (Something something healing power of forgiveness)
Only a tender coolness, the memory of Dan Phantom touching her as if she were glass…(*Screeches*)
"Valerie," her father announced happily, "I'm going to make a toast for you. Is that okay if I make a toast, dear? And then you're going to open up some presents." He seemed almost as if he were a child. (Her dad loves her so much and it means so much to me. He's trying so hard to take care of his little girl as much as he can.)
It seemed it did not matter to them that she'd almost lost the good fight. They still believed in her…Valerie swallowed hard, her throat tight. And then she began to tear up when she saw her father raise his remaining arm in a salute. One by one, the entire crowd began to silence, saluting her as well. (She doesn't have to be perfect she doesn't have to be this unbeatable hero, what matters is that she's trying and that makes her Their hero.)
But he raised a hand to his forehead as well, an odd glint in his red eyes. Click—clankclank—clank!
And then he was gone, the sound of his chains like a lullaby in her ear. (This was both cute and sad)
…Clockwork beheld Dan Phantom with curiosity, leaning on his staff…he watched the heavily shackled Dan Phantom trudge forward…holding onto Valerie's box as if to protect it. He was cradling it so close that he did not even notice a few chain links that unhinged from him, rolling off into the snow. (Clockwork is so relatable he just puts this guy in Situations and sees what happens.)
"Clockwork!" cried an Observant.
The time ghost rolled his eyes and turned his head. "What is it this time." (I love how Clockwork ostensibly works for these guys but so clearly doesn't give a shit. We stan.)
Clockwork leaned on his staff. "You did not watch him stumble beneath the weight of his own actions for 500 years and beg for annihilation." He seemed quite tired…
"But this is Dan Phantom! He feels nothing."
The Master of Time snorted. (Clockwork being like "Are You Sure About That?”meme)
"You also do not hear him talk to the wind out of his own loneliness. It is pathetic.”
"But he deserves it!”(Ehh maybe did before but now tho?)
"And the Human World does not…"This cycle of ignorance and want—it must end. Now that Phantom has wallowed in the fruits of his labors, he can assist in reversing them.”
(It's bits like these that you do so well where you balance Clockwork’s clear partiality to Dan with the whole Master of Time big picture stuff. He wants good things for Dan but he's not willing to compromise everyone else to give him the chance to do right. He just gives him the choice and hopes for the best. Also i caught that Christmas Carol reference! you ain't slick. Lol)
"Are you not worried he will strike out against the human?”
"On the contrary," Clockwork said dryly, "I fear he will become too attached.” (Clockwork knows what's up.)
The ashes shifted in the metal box as he limped forward, struggling against the wind. "What?" he complained helplessly to the box. "Did you want me to leave you there, all tossed on the ground? Your younger self has no respect. None." His cold, shaking fingers caressed the box. "She was thinking only of the here and now, just as you did.” (This sad wet cat of a man.)
He was free to cast the metal box aside, as the chain never reappeared, but he could not. It was as much a part of him as his own body, even light as a feather. (Somehow both macabre and romantic, in its way.)
Then he flinched at the sudden memory of Valerie's dead eyes from 500 years ago, and the way her metal-encased fingers had slipped from his forearm so softly. (The sensation of the last time Valerie touched him when she died is so distinct in his mind. he has probably spent years thinking about that, cumulatively)
The metal box slipped from his cold hands to tumble into a snow drift, where the harsh air then stormed in another direction, mounting snow drifts in seconds. (Oh no!)
"No," he snarled, struggling to reach out…He could not lose that box. It was all he had. It was the only tangible proof he'd not hallucinated Valerie…the whole thing…! (This is really sad. Poor guy.)
"What is this?" he greeted shortly.
"...The Ghost of Christmas Past," the Master of Time deadpanned. (Clockwork's dry humor is honestly the best.)
…his fingers clanged against the box, and he unearthed it from the snow drift, brushing it off with great importance. He clung tight to it, as if fearful that Clockwork would take it away from him—like everything else. (Aww he's like a kid with a Teddy Bear. Except the teddy bear is human remains. Which IS a lot less cute.)
Clockwork pressed, "Why did you tell Valerie I gave you permission to heal her, when I did not?"
Dan's face twitched. He grumbled hesitantly, "It was a newer power. I wanted to see its…effectiveness."
"Ah," Clockwork said, nodding. "Yes. Its effectiveness.”
…The chained ghost gave him a suspicious look, his blue face burning with an angry and embarrassed blush. (Clockwork absolutely has Dan's number and he's definitely giving him the “You like krabby patties don't you squidward” face. It's great.)
He smiled mildly, amused by the memory of Dan healing anything. "You were talking to that box as if in want of company," he said. "Why do you not simply bury those ashes since Valerie released you from them? They are not sentient.”
…"I want to carry these," Dan snarled, red eyes glowing hot. "In this god-forsaken planet, they are the only thing I have to prove that I saw her.”
…"For all I know," the ghost snapped, "you could be just be a hallucination too." His voice broke. "Just another one.” (Yeah he may have deserved it but dude has had it Rough the past few centuries. Dude’s not alright.)
(Dan is having a Terrible Horrible No-Good Very Bad Christmas.)
(Aww Valerie got him a gift.)
"What, are you a mailman now as well?"
"Just open it," Clockwork sighed.
The young ghost sneered at him, kneeling in the snow to hover over the package. "It's probably another magical chain. A deception of yours.” (So prickly, this boy. Clockwork puts up with so much.)
Because your time looked freakin' cold and I just got twenty of these. - V (such a way with words)
Dan held tightly onto the soft material, his fingers shaking. For a time, he said nothing. And he laughed—a joyous sound that rang like deep, clear bells. He had not been allowed a possession beyond his chains in 500 years. "Oh, that woman." He petted the material, in awe of its softness. His chains clanked lightly with his movements. "As if a ghost needs a blanket. How like her to exhibit such misguided direction."
But it meant she had thought of him. Him. (feels pretty good to matter to someone, huh Dan?)
Dan unraveled the brown blanket, in awe that its fibers glowed and seemed to pick up the warmth of the dim sun and amplify it. His red eyes widened in childish curiosity. "Fascinating," he whispered, forgetting for one second all of his chains as he hid his hands in the heat. (Aww merry Christmas Danny Boy. [It is the end of March as i write this. Nearly Easter.])
And for the first time in years, Clockwork felt hope for the future. He could feel the time stream permanently adjust with images of this infamous Dan Phantom kneeling before Valerie to touch her hand and heal her, Valerie curiously tugging at his chains to unwind them, their faces softening with a knowledge of companionship… (me over here giggling and kicking my feet)
Merry Christmas to me, Clockwork thought, satisfied. (Clockwork: I have never been wrong about anything, ever, in my life. Me: i know this and i love you.)
I do have end-note thoughts but i will save that for the next chapter. On to the next one! Hopefully it wont take a year this time!
3/23/2024 c30 Guest
She looked down, and in surprise, she realized a small time medallion was draped around her neck with the same "CW" inscription as was branded into Phantom's arm. Clockwork. "Geez," she whispered, (Metal af and deserved, at least at the time.)
He fell silent for a time, beholding her image. "Truly, I did not think I would see a living soul again," he said, voice broken. "And to be in your presence…" A dry, bitter laugh shook him, and something in him did not quite look sane. (Y'know, at some point I will actually get into how a central aspect of Dan's character is loneliness but I'll save that for another time.)
"...You said something about my death?" she echoed hesitantly, eyeing this odd version of Phantom. (Yeah bro you kinda breezed past that and it feels like it should have been more significant)
"Clockwork wants you to know that after I kill you and decimate Amity Park, the Ghost Council will capture me and try me for my crimes. As I will show no regret for my actions, they will bestow upon me these chains… (Technically they're only mentioned but I'm counting it anyway DBAD tally: 6, 7, and 8)
…I am doomed to wander in my own lifeless empire for the rest of eternity." He looked exhausted. "This could be the future to come for you, which is as fluid as you wish, but it has been my past for 500 years.” (Dang dude, that's rough buddy)
And then she saw the only sign of life on the ground—the etchings of Dan's footprints and the various drag lines from his chains. (I like the Quiet Horror of this line. Very eerie.)
"…You begged me to kill you," he said, jaw set oddly. "So I did.” … Valerie stepped forward to eye him. "Did you enjoy it?"
His jaw set. "At the time."
"Do you regret it?"
"What do you think?" he snapped.
(Once again, lowkey deserved, but it's interesting how this is a wound that's been left raw for 500 years for him. I find it interesting how they are both literally bearing wounds because of each other. It's just *Chef's kiss* beautiful literary symbolism)
(Also going full Christmas Carol with the lockboxes and the “I forged them myself, link by link” line but this is why we're here. What is the point of fanfic if not being earnest and making a collage of all the things we love?)
His gaze flew to her. "The ashes of the dead," he responded, as if hopeless. "My victims."
Valerie's hand recoiled back, and a disgusted look crossed her face. "Oh, yuck." (Lol I love Valerie. girl really said ‘Nah, fuck this Gothic drama shit! Bro's got lunchboxes filled with dead people!’ and she is so real for that. Same, honestly.)
"Your box weighs the heaviest."
Dan turned to fully face her, and she saw it. There, slung along the heavy chain across his neck, was a small box…this one carried only one name. Valerie Gray.
He closed his eyes, and a raw agony twitched his jaw. "Do you see it?" For a second, something in him looked so broken and tired that he seemed almost human. "I can hardly lift it.”
She dared to lift it. Odd—it was light as a feather to her.
(Something something killing her was his albatross, guilt weighs us down forgiveness lifts a weight off our shoulders something something)
Dan blinked in surprise, then in great consternation. (Bro is flabbergasted)
She looked up at him, and noticed that the movement of the chain had revealed the bruises on his neck. "You mean to tell me," she said suddenly, "that I spend my afterlife hanging from your neck?”...And she tore the metal box from his neck, the chain dissipating with her touch. She cast the box far, and its sealed top suddenly flung open. Ashes surged out like sand in a dark explosion against the snow…Valerie poked his chest hard, tears in her eyes. "Why you gotta do this to me, huh? Why does everything about me have to be about you?"
(I like how even though its mixed in with suicidal ideation there's remnants of that classic Valerie spark. She saw dude with bruises from the insurmountable weight of guilt from killing her and her instinctive response is “How dare you make my death about you?! Also who gave you the right to carry my remains? Because it sure as FUCK wasnt me!”)
Before he could open his mouth, she snapped at him, "And that box wasn't heavy. This was just your way of saying I'm fat, wasn't it?"
His jaw dropped a fraction more, and one of his eyes twitched. (Yeah Val just casually lifted the heaviest of his burdens that he’s carried for half a millennium and all she has to say about is “How dare you call me fat! :(((” Dan is having such a day.)
She grabbed onto his bare, limp hand and forced it to her neck, tears streaking down her face. "I just wanna die. Can't you just kill me and be done with it?"
In panic, he pulled away from her, his fingers shaking. (Oh, that is Definitely gonna trigger some trauma.)
Valerie pulled off her helmet, looking tired and worn, most of her trembling with exertion from their battle. "You won, okay?" She cast the helmet to the ground, then raised her chin. "I know you're just toying with me." (Yeah cuz now look at that. We’re in a flashback. See what you did?)
The ghost leaned in, face glimmering happily. "Why, Valerie. Your intelligence is showing." He patted her bare face where she still had a green bruise beneath her eye. "What a rare and delightful thing. Tell me, what is two plus two?” (DBAD tally: 9. Can he hit 10 ladies and gentlemen?! Place your bets now!)
(Yeah Valerie was not feeling it.)
Then Phantom sniffed airily, as if measuring the consequences. "Well, this is quite the surprise." He began to peel off his gloves in interest, as if preparing for something important. (There's a strange duality to him even here. Part of him is reluctant to kill her, granted not for anything Good, but still. But even as he decides to honor her wishes he gives the moment the gravitas that it deserves. As much as he tries to insist that she’s dirt beneath his feet he still considers her existence as having a unique significance.)
His hand steeled against her throat, and his eyes darkened in happiness as he squeezed lightly. He leaned in, his cool lips brushing lovingly against her ear as she gasped. (In a different context— im just kidding but yeah it gets pretty dark for a second here)
(Wait folks I'm just getting this in! Since these were already counted under DBAD the tally It will actually remain at 9! Unbelievable! Ladies and gentlemen! Double jeopardy causing an upset! Congratulations to the lucky few who placed the bet on the longshot!)
(i’m gonna skip to after the flashback ends, but the knowledge that Dan is remembering this 500 years in the future with a Very Different view of the events than he did at the time makes the whole thing very tragic)
"Do not ever," Dan said suddenly, voice rough, "request that I kill you again.”
"You're inevitable," she said with a bitter laugh, as if she had not heard him. "I didn't know that for a long time. But now I know.” (Yeah girl did you miss that flashback or sumn? Dude’s been down this road and he had a terrible time.)
She winced as she stood, and her voice broke. "You just gonna keep parading me around like your favorite chew toy? My body can't take this. I'm losing cartilage in my joints, and I'm only 24. Kwan says I probably shouldn't have kids after all the shit I've been exposed to cause of you. Sometimes I hurt so bad after a fight…" She inhaled shakily. "I can't do it anymore. I just can't." (I can understand Dan being highkey desperate to get Valerie out of her funk but she’s like this For A Reason. Its a hell of a thing to try to break yourself out of a depressive state let alone if your expected to do it while physically suffering)
He found himself oddly fixated on the thought. Valerie? Already dying? (It's funny how he just sort of assumes her to be a universal constant of some sort.)
"I deserved to carry you," he said, voice strained. "For all that you just explained. That was my punishment, and now you have wasted it."
"What does it matter," she muttered. "As if I want any part of me swinging off of you for 500 years.” (Dan being a Sad Boi and Valerie being like “whatever cry over someone else's corpse.” Savage. We respect it.)
With a shaky hand, he began to scoop the ashes back into the fallen box…He seemed meticulous about picking up as much of the ash as he could. Then he gently closed the box…He cradled the box close to his chest as he stood, and the box no longer seemed to pain him or weigh heavily. (Not Me being emo about how reverent he is with her ashes. Like this is some next level gothic romance shit.)
"No, I am here to request that you do not give up hope.” (“Have you tried cheering up?” I know that is not AT ALL what he's saying but that's where my brain went and I found it morbidly hilarious)
Tears suddenly rose in her eyes. "Yeah? Well, why is it always me that the whole fate of the world depends on? You can talk about hope and shit, but it's me who has to take getting punched in the face." Her tears bubbled over her eyes. (This feels like one of them “being favored by the gods is a Bad Thing Actually” kinda moments)
…But you—you can save us both." His face was worn. "I have seen a glimpse of that future, and you are celebrated for millennia by all ghosts and humans. The world blooms into new life, and I find new purpose. You can save us both.” (there's something to be said of the desperation here. A drowning person begging another drowning person to save them both. 500 Years of loneliness and misery and the first glimpse of hope he's had doesn't want to live.)
"But I know what bruise you hide beneath that face paint, and I can expend energy to heal it."
Valerie stared at him in suspicion, an odd blush tinging her face and neck. "What?" (Ah the inherent romance of treating each other's wounds.)
"I am not completely useless," he told her, "even with these chains. Allow me to touch your face so that I may heal you. Clockwork has approved me to do this for you.” (Did he now?)
His arm began to tremble from the weight of the chains pulling against it. "Clockwork has given me to you. If your hope is failing because your body is failing, then I can be of help. I can take your pain. And together, we might live.” (This bit feels like this story distilled to its bare essentials. Thats not a bad thing. Also that last line is giving me feelings.)
He stepped forward as well, and his calloused fingertips brushed lightly against her bruised face…The infirmary. The night before, when she'd been lying in pain…! (I am. so soft for them tending each other's wounds. Something something narrative symbolism.)
Without thinking, she leaned into his touch and stared at him in wonder, the tension relaxing on her tear-streaked face.
His lips twitched, and he gently moved his fingers to catch her tears. He'd thought for centuries what it would be like to touch a living being again—to feel warmth—to call out and hear a response—and Valerie was so warm and her voice was so real. (This is so cute I'm dying! It's so gentle and tender!)
But the wind picked up, as if in warning, and so he pulled away, the tips of his fingers caressing down her jaw. (Not the caress! I'm deceased!)
He hardly noticed, but one of his chain links began to loosen in the pile behind him. (Wah-oh! Don't look now folks! But it looks like Somebody's started the road to redemption by helping someone else and mending past wounds, literally!)
Something about her expression—her living and full expression—tightened his chest. This was a far different face than the half-lidded peace he remembered pulling his hand away from in his past. (Tragic Boi Dan sure does a number on my feefees.)
He swallowed hard, drinking in the sight of her. "—Good bye, Valerie Gray," he said roughly, as if the words pained him. (Dan livin his Real Lonely Boi hours)
End of part 2/3 see you in the next one!
She looked down, and in surprise, she realized a small time medallion was draped around her neck with the same "CW" inscription as was branded into Phantom's arm. Clockwork. "Geez," she whispered, (Metal af and deserved, at least at the time.)
He fell silent for a time, beholding her image. "Truly, I did not think I would see a living soul again," he said, voice broken. "And to be in your presence…" A dry, bitter laugh shook him, and something in him did not quite look sane. (Y'know, at some point I will actually get into how a central aspect of Dan's character is loneliness but I'll save that for another time.)
"...You said something about my death?" she echoed hesitantly, eyeing this odd version of Phantom. (Yeah bro you kinda breezed past that and it feels like it should have been more significant)
"Clockwork wants you to know that after I kill you and decimate Amity Park, the Ghost Council will capture me and try me for my crimes. As I will show no regret for my actions, they will bestow upon me these chains… (Technically they're only mentioned but I'm counting it anyway DBAD tally: 6, 7, and 8)
…I am doomed to wander in my own lifeless empire for the rest of eternity." He looked exhausted. "This could be the future to come for you, which is as fluid as you wish, but it has been my past for 500 years.” (Dang dude, that's rough buddy)
And then she saw the only sign of life on the ground—the etchings of Dan's footprints and the various drag lines from his chains. (I like the Quiet Horror of this line. Very eerie.)
"…You begged me to kill you," he said, jaw set oddly. "So I did.” … Valerie stepped forward to eye him. "Did you enjoy it?"
His jaw set. "At the time."
"Do you regret it?"
"What do you think?" he snapped.
(Once again, lowkey deserved, but it's interesting how this is a wound that's been left raw for 500 years for him. I find it interesting how they are both literally bearing wounds because of each other. It's just *Chef's kiss* beautiful literary symbolism)
(Also going full Christmas Carol with the lockboxes and the “I forged them myself, link by link” line but this is why we're here. What is the point of fanfic if not being earnest and making a collage of all the things we love?)
His gaze flew to her. "The ashes of the dead," he responded, as if hopeless. "My victims."
Valerie's hand recoiled back, and a disgusted look crossed her face. "Oh, yuck." (Lol I love Valerie. girl really said ‘Nah, fuck this Gothic drama shit! Bro's got lunchboxes filled with dead people!’ and she is so real for that. Same, honestly.)
"Your box weighs the heaviest."
Dan turned to fully face her, and she saw it. There, slung along the heavy chain across his neck, was a small box…this one carried only one name. Valerie Gray.
He closed his eyes, and a raw agony twitched his jaw. "Do you see it?" For a second, something in him looked so broken and tired that he seemed almost human. "I can hardly lift it.”
She dared to lift it. Odd—it was light as a feather to her.
(Something something killing her was his albatross, guilt weighs us down forgiveness lifts a weight off our shoulders something something)
Dan blinked in surprise, then in great consternation. (Bro is flabbergasted)
She looked up at him, and noticed that the movement of the chain had revealed the bruises on his neck. "You mean to tell me," she said suddenly, "that I spend my afterlife hanging from your neck?”...And she tore the metal box from his neck, the chain dissipating with her touch. She cast the box far, and its sealed top suddenly flung open. Ashes surged out like sand in a dark explosion against the snow…Valerie poked his chest hard, tears in her eyes. "Why you gotta do this to me, huh? Why does everything about me have to be about you?"
(I like how even though its mixed in with suicidal ideation there's remnants of that classic Valerie spark. She saw dude with bruises from the insurmountable weight of guilt from killing her and her instinctive response is “How dare you make my death about you?! Also who gave you the right to carry my remains? Because it sure as FUCK wasnt me!”)
Before he could open his mouth, she snapped at him, "And that box wasn't heavy. This was just your way of saying I'm fat, wasn't it?"
His jaw dropped a fraction more, and one of his eyes twitched. (Yeah Val just casually lifted the heaviest of his burdens that he’s carried for half a millennium and all she has to say about is “How dare you call me fat! :(((” Dan is having such a day.)
She grabbed onto his bare, limp hand and forced it to her neck, tears streaking down her face. "I just wanna die. Can't you just kill me and be done with it?"
In panic, he pulled away from her, his fingers shaking. (Oh, that is Definitely gonna trigger some trauma.)
Valerie pulled off her helmet, looking tired and worn, most of her trembling with exertion from their battle. "You won, okay?" She cast the helmet to the ground, then raised her chin. "I know you're just toying with me." (Yeah cuz now look at that. We’re in a flashback. See what you did?)
The ghost leaned in, face glimmering happily. "Why, Valerie. Your intelligence is showing." He patted her bare face where she still had a green bruise beneath her eye. "What a rare and delightful thing. Tell me, what is two plus two?” (DBAD tally: 9. Can he hit 10 ladies and gentlemen?! Place your bets now!)
(Yeah Valerie was not feeling it.)
Then Phantom sniffed airily, as if measuring the consequences. "Well, this is quite the surprise." He began to peel off his gloves in interest, as if preparing for something important. (There's a strange duality to him even here. Part of him is reluctant to kill her, granted not for anything Good, but still. But even as he decides to honor her wishes he gives the moment the gravitas that it deserves. As much as he tries to insist that she’s dirt beneath his feet he still considers her existence as having a unique significance.)
His hand steeled against her throat, and his eyes darkened in happiness as he squeezed lightly. He leaned in, his cool lips brushing lovingly against her ear as she gasped. (In a different context— im just kidding but yeah it gets pretty dark for a second here)
(Wait folks I'm just getting this in! Since these were already counted under DBAD the tally It will actually remain at 9! Unbelievable! Ladies and gentlemen! Double jeopardy causing an upset! Congratulations to the lucky few who placed the bet on the longshot!)
(i’m gonna skip to after the flashback ends, but the knowledge that Dan is remembering this 500 years in the future with a Very Different view of the events than he did at the time makes the whole thing very tragic)
"Do not ever," Dan said suddenly, voice rough, "request that I kill you again.”
"You're inevitable," she said with a bitter laugh, as if she had not heard him. "I didn't know that for a long time. But now I know.” (Yeah girl did you miss that flashback or sumn? Dude’s been down this road and he had a terrible time.)
She winced as she stood, and her voice broke. "You just gonna keep parading me around like your favorite chew toy? My body can't take this. I'm losing cartilage in my joints, and I'm only 24. Kwan says I probably shouldn't have kids after all the shit I've been exposed to cause of you. Sometimes I hurt so bad after a fight…" She inhaled shakily. "I can't do it anymore. I just can't." (I can understand Dan being highkey desperate to get Valerie out of her funk but she’s like this For A Reason. Its a hell of a thing to try to break yourself out of a depressive state let alone if your expected to do it while physically suffering)
He found himself oddly fixated on the thought. Valerie? Already dying? (It's funny how he just sort of assumes her to be a universal constant of some sort.)
"I deserved to carry you," he said, voice strained. "For all that you just explained. That was my punishment, and now you have wasted it."
"What does it matter," she muttered. "As if I want any part of me swinging off of you for 500 years.” (Dan being a Sad Boi and Valerie being like “whatever cry over someone else's corpse.” Savage. We respect it.)
With a shaky hand, he began to scoop the ashes back into the fallen box…He seemed meticulous about picking up as much of the ash as he could. Then he gently closed the box…He cradled the box close to his chest as he stood, and the box no longer seemed to pain him or weigh heavily. (Not Me being emo about how reverent he is with her ashes. Like this is some next level gothic romance shit.)
"No, I am here to request that you do not give up hope.” (“Have you tried cheering up?” I know that is not AT ALL what he's saying but that's where my brain went and I found it morbidly hilarious)
Tears suddenly rose in her eyes. "Yeah? Well, why is it always me that the whole fate of the world depends on? You can talk about hope and shit, but it's me who has to take getting punched in the face." Her tears bubbled over her eyes. (This feels like one of them “being favored by the gods is a Bad Thing Actually” kinda moments)
…But you—you can save us both." His face was worn. "I have seen a glimpse of that future, and you are celebrated for millennia by all ghosts and humans. The world blooms into new life, and I find new purpose. You can save us both.” (there's something to be said of the desperation here. A drowning person begging another drowning person to save them both. 500 Years of loneliness and misery and the first glimpse of hope he's had doesn't want to live.)
"But I know what bruise you hide beneath that face paint, and I can expend energy to heal it."
Valerie stared at him in suspicion, an odd blush tinging her face and neck. "What?" (Ah the inherent romance of treating each other's wounds.)
"I am not completely useless," he told her, "even with these chains. Allow me to touch your face so that I may heal you. Clockwork has approved me to do this for you.” (Did he now?)
His arm began to tremble from the weight of the chains pulling against it. "Clockwork has given me to you. If your hope is failing because your body is failing, then I can be of help. I can take your pain. And together, we might live.” (This bit feels like this story distilled to its bare essentials. Thats not a bad thing. Also that last line is giving me feelings.)
He stepped forward as well, and his calloused fingertips brushed lightly against her bruised face…The infirmary. The night before, when she'd been lying in pain…! (I am. so soft for them tending each other's wounds. Something something narrative symbolism.)
Without thinking, she leaned into his touch and stared at him in wonder, the tension relaxing on her tear-streaked face.
His lips twitched, and he gently moved his fingers to catch her tears. He'd thought for centuries what it would be like to touch a living being again—to feel warmth—to call out and hear a response—and Valerie was so warm and her voice was so real. (This is so cute I'm dying! It's so gentle and tender!)
But the wind picked up, as if in warning, and so he pulled away, the tips of his fingers caressing down her jaw. (Not the caress! I'm deceased!)
He hardly noticed, but one of his chain links began to loosen in the pile behind him. (Wah-oh! Don't look now folks! But it looks like Somebody's started the road to redemption by helping someone else and mending past wounds, literally!)
Something about her expression—her living and full expression—tightened his chest. This was a far different face than the half-lidded peace he remembered pulling his hand away from in his past. (Tragic Boi Dan sure does a number on my feefees.)
He swallowed hard, drinking in the sight of her. "—Good bye, Valerie Gray," he said roughly, as if the words pained him. (Dan livin his Real Lonely Boi hours)
End of part 2/3 see you in the next one!