Open Log

[schrodingersghost]

WHO: Danny Fenton and Friends
WHERE: Danny's House
WHEN: April 17
WHAT: Danny's been avoiding his friends since the dungeon. They figure it out.
WARNINGS: Grumpy teenagers avoiding their problems and making bad decisions, Paranoia

More than a week after his rescue from his personal nightmare dungeon, and Danny still wasn't handling it well. Don't get him wrong. It helped a lot, knowing how far his friends would go for him. That none of them would abandon him like his nightmares had feared.

And he'd tried to go back to life as normal, he really had. But he'd quickly realized that being outside on his own didn't feel safe any more. That was twice in two months he'd been taken and trapped somewhere. And now every time he was outside on his own, all he could think about was.... what if this was the day it happened again?

And well, at least at home he had his parents and his dog? Even if he couldn't really talk to them about what happened. But it was something. It was a little better.

He doesn't think about his friends figuring out that something was wrong. If he was a little less stressed maybe he would have. Because of course they would notice. He wasn't even going out at night to set up his telescope or go flying, and he wasn't doing a good job at all at hiding his nervousness the times he'd gone out to go to school or walk his dog.

Tonight was another night of staying home and anxiously attempting to ignore the beeping on his phone from the Libra app. He glances up as he hears a knock at the door. 

Comments

[droptheious]

Varian had been aware Danny was not okay from the get-go. The only reason he left it a week was to let the other boy have some time to decompress. But he's not ready for that time to be forever. He knows only too well from personal experience that hiding for too long makes it all the harder to come out again later.

Hell, even he's taking precautions, he's wearing the magical hoodie to obscure his face and he knocks. After a few moments, he sends Danny a text:

I'm outside. Open up.

[schrodingersghost]

Danny was very, very much not okay right now. But fake it till you make it, right?

Having a week to stew in it hadn't helped much. But at Varian's message he immediately runs to open the door and let his friend inside.

"What are you doing here? Is it safe for you to be out?"

His own issues weren't enough to distract Danny from worrying.

[droptheious]

Varian doesn't drop the hood until he's inside the house. He's still pretty tense, but he's fine with turning his worry outward onto Danny.

"I haven't heard from you and I was worried," at the other question he shrugs. "I don't know. They seem to be turning a new leaf if their last network post is anything to go by, but I'm not taking chances. Ergo the hoodie."

He's having to rely more and more on magic here, but at least it's starting to feel...more natural to do so. Besides, this was important. He folds his arms, looking at Danny worriedly.

"So. Is this the plan? Staying in the house forever? "

[schrodingersghost]

Danny turns away and rubs a hand across his forehead with frustration.

"I don't know. Maybe? I mean, last month it was the park and this month it was the beach. At least home still feels kind of safe for now."

Kind of, because there was still the issue that half the rooms here still felt uncomfortable to enter because of the iron and steel. But at least it was a familiar danger here.

[a_cute_batata]

Hey Danny, remember when a certain someone was watching over you since the Fae thing? And then with the dungeon, and then the encounter with your evil self?

That's right. Part of the Luz Noceda friendship experience is dealing with her checking up on you!

Not that Luz hadn't had her own things to deal with, which she was battling with on her own, so she decided to fight off that sadness by making sure one of her friends' was coping with his own. Having not seen Danny a bit, Luz sought him out herself, knocking on his door with an armful of snacks and a few movies.

[schrodingersghost]

Danny might have been handling everything that happened over the last few months very badly, but that was no excuse to be rude. When he hears someone knocking on the door, he answers it. And stares in confusion for a moment.

"Luz? Do you need something?"

[a_cute_batata]

"Yeah! Your company!"

Luz was trying to cope with things despite the month not being ideal for either of them. There was no way to pretend to have Luz was having it easy, but compared to Danny she knew she could lend a hand, and an ear.

"Thought we could have a nice chill down session! What do you say?"

[schrodingersghost]

This close, it was pretty obvious that Danny hadn't been sleeping well recently. Or enough.

It takes him a moment longer than normal to process that, then he responds with a smile that was only a little forced.

"That sounds awesome actually." And if a small part of himself immediately felt relief at the idea of not being alone in his house? Well, he wasn't admitting to that yet.

And also, he was glad to see Luz. He knew she'd been struggling with some of her own issues, and he hated that with... everything he hadn't been able to catch up with her.

[schoolingfish]

Luca's worried. Ever since he saw what Danny went through he was worried, since he spent who knows how long being tormented by the shadow version of himself, poking and prodding at every insecurity he could find. Since all that happened, Danny hasn't had a single stargazing session, and Luca hasn't really seen him around at all. Not surprising that he might want to hole up after everything, but still worrying all the same, and if there's one thing Luca's not going to do, it's leave his friends in a miserable, terrified state if he can help it.

And that is why he's knocking on the door.

[schrodingersghost]

It takes Danny a while to open the door, and when he does its kind of obvious that Danny hasn't been sleeping enough. Or well. He blinks blearily at Luca.

"Hey. Is something wrong?"

[schoolingfish]

"Well...you were kidnapped twice recently and then I haven't seen you at all lately, and I'm guessing you haven't been getting enough sleep, so...yeah?"

Nothing's wrong with Luca, but he'd definitely say all the things he just listed were 'something wrong'.

[schrodingersghost]

Thanks, Luca. Danny had been trying very hard not to think about his two recent kidnappings. And worse, the memories he'd gotten from his past self that had hinted that he'd been so used to situations like that he had treated it as just another day. After the last two months, Danny never wanted to see what it would take for times like this to feel normal.

"I'm okay?" He tries. "Well, not okay, okay. But I'm home now and not kidnapped, so its already better."

[senorita_perfecta]

Even after the whole ordeal in the dungeon, Isabela can tell that Danny needs some cheering up, especially when one has to spend hours being tormented emotionally and psychologically by one’s darker self. Still she does understand the need to take a break for a week as she too was fed up with the shadow as the next person and has been nursing from losing Luisa for more than a month.

But she also knows that it can’t go on for a very long time so she does show up at Danny’s doorsteps, gloves covering her hands from a potential past vision overload and carrying a basket of homemade arepas con queso that she actually did made. They don’t contain the same healing magic Julieta would have added in but food never fails to make one’s day less gloomy.

[schrodingersghost]

Danny opens the door with a frown on his face. This close, its pretty clear that despite spending a week at home, he hasn't been resting nearly enough.

"Isa?" he wonders. "Is everything okay? What are you doing here?"

[senorita_perfecta]

“I just thought that I might drop by with some gifts for you today,” Isabela replies to him as she offers him the arepas basket, “Now I know that the recent weeks and months have been hard on a lot of people, so I thought these arepas could lighten up the mood a bit.”

[schrodingersghost]

Well, Danny wasn't about to say not to food. He picks up the basket and inspects the food inside curiously.

"They smell really good... but what are they?"

[laminae]

Sooo Fern had received more than a few bombshells after going into Danny's dungeon. Way more than he had expected, given he had thought the entire thing was going to be a fairly straightforward dungeon crawl and rescue. Oh boy was he ever wrong.

He isn't mad at Danny over any of it, though. Not the shadow version of him that blasted him to smithereens, or all the secrets. When you're already basically an evil copy and keeping that secret from everyone, you have a pretty good perspective on this kind of stuff. So it's no surprise to him that after everything he isn't seeing Danny out in the evenings, and that at school he's looking nervous as heck.

A check-in is only natural, so Fern will stop by his house, banging loudly on the door. "Dude! If you don't open up I'm gonna break this thing down, and you know I know I can do it!"

[schrodingersghost]

Well, there's a threat that gets Danny to the door right away.Apart from anything else, that would be really hard to explain to his parents.

"I'm here! I'm here!" he says hurriedly as he swings open the door.

Danny relaxes just a little at seeing that his friend was still in one piece and not missing any arms. Fern had really scared him during the mission.

[laminae]

As soon as Danny opens the door, Fern is practically tackling him in a hug. He should probably be a little more tactful, because really, what weirdo is okay with some grass monstrosity touching them, but he can't help it. He saw some really insane shit in that dungeon.

"Hey, buddy!" He backs off pretty quick though, rubbing the back of his head. "I uh, wanted to check in and junk. Y'know, normal friend biz."

[findingways]

Moana knows that Danny is having a tough time. After everything that he's been through lately, who wouldn't be stressed? So she had given him a week to take some time for himself, hoping that it would help him a little bit.

But any time she'd seen him, he still seemed anxious, always seemed to be looking over his shoulder for something. And after a while, she just couldn't keep away. The part of her that worried about him was working overtime, which is how she eventually finds herself at his house, ringing the doorbell a bit impatiently and waiting for him to answer.

[schrodingersghost]

When Danny opens the door he just looks worn. He'd had a week to himself, but rest didn't help much when he was spending all his time worrying about what could be coming next, and trying not to think about the last few months.

"Moana?" He looks a little surprised at her appearance. "Do you need something?"

[findingways]

Her expression softens a moment at the sight of him, seeing how weary he looks. But it only sharpens her concern as she rests her hands on her hips.

"Not as much as you do, apparently," she eventually answers. "Have you been getting any sleep?"

[prontissimo]

It's a jaunty, rhythmic little knock — knock, knock, knock knock knock, knock on wood — and just that in itself should be a warning, especially for anxious, depressed, distraught people... Fun is coming. Oh no. Luca and Alberto had both wondered about Danny a lot since everything at the labyrinth, but once Luca came home from hanging out with him at long last and checking up on him, Alberto figured, okay — his turn. And there he was, the very next day, dutifully. Like Luca's visit yesterday was the calm before the storm...

He's brought a bunch of, uh— st-stuuuuffffff...? He's got multiple bags full of who-knows-what, his school backpack, and is he— carrying a pot of soup? Over the top, Alberto. Frankly making himself more useful right now than he did on the rescue mission...

"Ciaooo~ You ready?"

R-Ready for what?! This is completely unplanned! Alberto stands confidently contrapposto, a wide smirk on his face, already smitten with himself for surprising Danny. He loves pulling this kind of stunt on his friends... Time to get happy, my dude. Yes, that's a threat.

[schrodingersghost]

Danny knew that he'd made a lot of friends over the past year. But he hadn't realized just how many until he'd made an attempt at locking himself away. Which had barely lasted any time at all until friends starting checking in on him and distracting him. Which he appreciated a lot, to be honest. But... he was still struggling with himself and what had happened.

He opens the door, and blinks with confusion.

"Uh, were we doing something?" Had he completely blanked on making plans?

[prontissimo]

"Now we are."

Alberto just pushes right past and walks on in... He's been to Danny's house before, sure, but not like— that much. But clearly we're skipping niceties today. Like Danny would expect anything different from Alberto.

Once inside, he plops his bags down, and stands with his chest puffed out and his hands on his hips.

"Okay, so, as you can see, I brought stuff."

He gestures below with both hands and a smirk.

"So we have options — for different kinds of fun~"

Alberto's tickled to be at a point in his life where he can be discerning about the types of fun he's having with friends — especially friends who are holing themselves up alone, when people want to hang out with them... He's come a long way from jumping off cliffs and taste-testing random plants alone on his island. An extra layer of triumph over all this fun. His turn to help a friend feel not-so-alone!