starswhispere

Latest Posts by starswhispere

Putting that guy in a situation is all fun and games until putting that guy in a situation puts you in a situation.

The problem with starting an intensive writing project and an intensive coloring project is both needing huge amounts of time and the ability to lock in, but me being indecisive and then working on neither.

Had to share this here too and not just with my friends. Like, what the heck is this?

So, instead of writing i colored a scene from the next part of my story. King of procrastination.

And here again without my terrible attempt at environmental lighting.

Chat, i am just now realizing that I did not include something very fundamental to my John design in my story.

It is time I throw myself off a river.

Anyway, i was going to do a better watercolor cause i don't entirely like how this one turned out, but I've kind slowed down on posting and figured why not throw it out.

Never thought I'd have three of my straight male friends hyping me up to write gay smut but here we are.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Malevolent (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John/Arthur Lester Characters: John (Malevolent), Arthur Lester, Kayne (Malevolent) Additional Tags: Post Separation, Post canon, set sometime after Season 5, so season five spoilers, idk assume that they find the stone and Kayne actually keeps his end of the deal, DemiAroAce Arthur, He has feelings about that, complicated feelings, He struggles with it, John (Malevolent) Has His Own Body, John has sensory issues, and yearning issues, romantic Jarthur, we get to it eventually, Mutual Pining, other tags to be added as i think about it, please Harlan never find this Series: Part 1 of To Be Loved By You Is A Holy Thing Summary:

Kayne actually goes through with his end of the deal and gives John his own body. However, he not only leaves them stranded in the Dreamlands, but they also gives each of them issues to deal with when it comes to their bodies. Now they have to deal with being separated while they once again try to navigate back to Earth. Arthur struggles with his feelings toward John, not understanding what they are. (He wouldn't have had the language to define Demi-romantic) John struggled with... just about everything.

~

His thoughts turned to John; it felt incredibly lonely in this room- in this body- without him, even though he was just in the other room. There had once been a point when he'd wished for this; craved being alone more than he could say.

So why did it feel like hell now?

He should be grateful. John had his own body, his own autonomy outside of Arthur now- Arthur had his autonomy back. He should be happy for his friend, happy that he could interact with the world now; that he could interact with him now. And interact he did. He couldn't seem to keep his hands off him.

Okay so I wanted to do my take on Bella🥰🥰

Chat,

I have a question.

I have been on archive for about a decade but i have never written anything in a series (the hyperfixations usually wear off too fast)

However!

I have some malevolent ideas I'd like to write and i could string them together into one big story. But I only have semblances of events and nothing really coherent between them. I could just have the chapters have weird time jumps and stuff between them. Or I could just write each scenario as it's own thing and then string them together in a series and hope it resembles a story.

Love Thy Neighbour (1335 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Malevolent (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John/Arthur Lester Characters: John (Malevolent), Arthur Lester, Oscar (Malevolent), Noel | Charlie Dowd Additional Tags: Kissing, Silly little idea, romantic Jarthur, takes place post ending, John (Malevolent) Has His Own Body, they run an investigative practice in new york, cause i want them and oscar and noel to be buddies Summary: Arthur is cooking dinner and John gets bored filing paperwork

Okay, now that I'm free, I've made this. Thanks for bringing this more justice in the art than I could with words

My sister came up with this comedy gold. @starswhisperwritershear thank you for your service.

Sorry for the long wait, but it's finally done! It's not my best work but I wanted you guys to at least have an ending!

Guys, i have gotten over 2000 words done today. The final chapter is close at hand finally.

My sister came up with this comedy gold. @starswhisperwritershear thank you for your service.

I love Horror. It's my favorite genre.

So sometimes I'm like "oh yes spooky, scary horrific nightmares that are a metaphor for the human existence he he he. What a delight."

But then other times I'm like "oh look at things going so well that's nice and heartwarming and really good metaphor for how things have escalated this far. Thats a good ending." But I forget that it's the horror genre so of course it can't go well and then I end up crying at work and looking insane because of a podcast.

Staring at the screen and daydreaming the scene instead of writing it has to be the worst curse I've come upon

I feel so honored, I've never been tagged in one of these things! So thank you!

Last Song: Masterpiece Theatre III by Mariana's Trench

Favorite Color: this usually changes depending on whatever I'm obsessed with at the moment but I think mostly consistently I've enjoyed Red and Yellow the most.

Last Movie: Wallace and Gromit Vengeance Most Fowl

Last Show: Kitchen Nightmares

Sweet, Savory, or Spicy: Salty. Savory is closest to that I suppose.

Last Thing I Searched: What's the poem with "and miles to go before I sleep"

Current Obession: Malevolent (trying to claw my way back to Danny Phantom to finish the fics I promised)

Looking Forward To: the release of Split Fiction (i love me some good multiplayer games)

Relationship Status: Single (i live in Hornyville and it's hard out here as a sex-repulsed Ace)

Tagging: @inkedbyash @jouuskaa @findingpeterpan and anyone else who wants to!

thank you @slashsleuth for the tag 😁 i havent done a little game in a long time

last song: fruit roll ups by waterparks

fav color: purple 💜😈💟🪻

last book: the absinthe underground by jamie pacton (it was ok)

last movie: wicked

last tv show: abbott elementary

sweet/savory/spicy: sweet usually

relationship status: single 😊

last thing i googled: the absinthe underground (needed the author lmao) before that it was turbulent waterparks chords

current obsession: ive been watching a lottt of jet lag lately!!! super fun travel show!!

looking forward to: signed parx print coming in the mail today 🫶🏼

tagging: @bergoozter @trashworldblog @outer-space-face @22psyduck :-)

If these gays are supposed to be platonic, then why does the background music sound like it should be playing at a wedding????

In my humble opinion

Sorry I've been inactive lately, the cold weather and chronic fatigue are kicking my ass. However! I have made significant progress on chapter 10 of Of All the Stories In The Stars... despite my hyperfocus being dragged between Arcane and Coral Island. I've had to change the ending again to fit character goals better but it's coming I promise!

Okay, guys, it's time to come clean. I've been distracted lately. I've sunk over a hundred hours into Coral Island. I might be a tiny bit obsessed. Anyway, I did a watercolor of Wakuu. I love him. 🥰🥰🥰

Ahhhhhhhhh!!! OMG!!!! He's so cutesy!

ART BLOCK CANT KEEP ME DOWN FOREVER FUCKERS IM BACK ON MY BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!! /pos

This here is fanart for chapter 9 of this here fanfic

@starswhisperwritershear come get y'all juice

Chapters: 9/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them, Suicidal Thoughts, This is heavily inspired by marichat, stealing lots of headcanons from tumblr, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, not entirely canon compliant, I stole the pieces I like and combined them with fanon to get what I wanted, this was supposed to be a slow burn, Dialogue Heavy, some spooky shit will be snuck in here, Mutual Pining, Dissection, Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, lots of astrology references, Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), horror aspects will be in here, but also cute fluff, Asexual Character, Mentions of previous eating disorders Summary:

It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.p

Tucker laughed so hard he choked on his spit, hacking into the speaker.

Dash pulled the phone away from his ear, embarrassed. "Are you done?" He grumbled.

"Never!" Tucker cackled, still choking on his laughter. "Just, just let me get this straight. You, Dash Baxter, are calling me because-" another laugh- "because you want advice on how to woo my best friend?"

Dash sighed, running a hand through his hair and glaring at the notebook in front of him; its front page was covered in scribbled-out ideas and tap marks from his overthinking. "Yes, Tucker, that's exactly what I'm doing."

"Right, right," Tucker murmured sagely. "Are you an idiot?"

"What?" Dash deadpanned, an irk of frustration nipping at his stomach.

"Listen, I mean all offense when I say this," there was a shuffling noise and then Tucker's voice came through more clearly than it had before, "You're blind. And, normally, it's my duty as his best friend to take his secrets to the grave, well, my grave not his since he technically already has one, but this is where I draw the very thin line where betrayal turns into being a good wingman."

"Can you get to the point?"

"Touchy, touchy. What does he see in you?" Tucker chuckled. "The point is that you have him wrapped around your little jock finger. Have you seen how he looks at you?"

Dash swallowed his annoyance at the name-calling. "How does he look at me?"

"Like you hung the stars in the sky just for him. You don't need my help. Whatever you're doing is working just fine."

Dash sighed, his face burning. "It's not- okay, that's cool, but…" he ran a hand down his face, mumbling into the phone. "I don't need help getting him to like me. I need help asking him out."

Tucker was quiet for a moment. "I don't get it. Isn't that the same thing?"

"I should have called Sam," Dash muttered. "Okay, listen… um, we almost kissed yesterday, so I-"

"Holy shit!" Tucker cheered. "Who initiated it? Sam and I have a bet going right now."

"I'm not telling you that." Dash huffed, rolling his pencil around on the desk and readjusting his grip on his phone. "I just need to know if he's ever talked about his ideal first date or anything like that."

"It was you, wasn't it? Danny's too scared to make a first move after Val. Sam totally owes me twenty bucks." There were some typing noises on the line and then Tucker was shifting his focus back to the actual conversation. "Okay, so you want to be all romantic and sappy about it? I don't think he's ever mentioned his ideal first date, but if you need inspiration his favorite romance movie is Pride and Prejudice. Well, Mr. Lancer turned him into a classical literature nerd so any classic romance should be good inspiration. He just likes to have fun. It shouldn't be too hard to pick something he'd like."

Dash scribbled a note on the last blank space on his page. "So, according to Pride and Prejudice, I just have to write him poetry, apologize for being an asshole, get on his family's good side, and then take him somewhere special where I spew more poetry?"

"You can see why you have him so whipped. You've done half of that already." Tucker laughed again, hearty and mixed with snorts. "But, you're putting too much thought into this. He might pass away on the spot, again, if you write him poetry. Just tell him you like him. That'll be enough."

Dash sighed again, rubbing the tension from his forehead. "I don't want it to be enough. I want it to be special, romantic."

"Oh my god!" Tucker guffawed. "It's not like you're taking his virginity, Dash. This isn't complicated."

Dash wrinkled his nose. "You're terrible."

"So I've been told. And yet, you still came to me for help."

Dash sighed, flipping to a clean page in his notebook. "And you kind of did. Thanks, Tucker."

"Just remember to invite me to the wedding."

"What, just so you can steal him from the alter with your cheesy pick-up lines?"

"I am a master at them. You're lucky I'm straight or you probably wouldn't have a chance. Danny is not immune to my charms."

Dash rolled his eyes. "See ya later, Mr. Charmer."

"Later, Sappy Romantic."

Dash laughed and hung up. Okay, he could do poetry. How hard could it be?

After several minutes of staring at a blank page, he sighed and picked his phone back up, dialing Kwan's number.

"Hey bro, what's up?"

"I need you to talk poetry to me."

Danny felt apprehensive before he got to the last stair. Something in his house was wrong. It was colder than normal and he couldn't shake the itch under his skin that someone was invading his space. He could smell something cooking; an odd occurrence for the middle of the day. He stepped into the kitchen and resisted the urge to immediately turn and walk right back out.

Vlad sat at the table, grinning smugly at him. "Oh, good morning, Daniel. How nice of you to join us."

Danny rolled his eyes and ignored him. His mom, who was cooking bacon with a frown, turned to smile at him.

"Hi, Danny!" She beamed. "You look nice today! Are you going somewhere?"

He glanced down; he'd put on some boots Sam had bought him instead of his normal, worn down, red Converse, some black fingerless gloves, pants chains and a planet necklace, and Dash's jacket. "Um." Admittedly, he was psyching himself up to ask Dash on a date and had wanted to look as attractive as possible. He did not want to tell his mom this; especially in front of Vlad. "Sam and I are going to see a movie later."

"When are you going to ask that girl out, Dan-o?" His dad cheered, his mood was always better when Vlad was around. It looked like he was cooking pancakes, but their shapes were anything but a typical circle.

"She's just a friend, Dad," Danny said at the same time Vlad said:

"Odd, I thought you were dating the boy from last night." He curled his lips into a deceitful smile.

Danny glared at him.

"Danny," his dad chided, flipping the pancakes over a little harder than necessary. "How many times have we talked about having people overnight without telling us?"

"Calm down, Jack," His mom hummed, shooting a withering look at Vlad. "It's not like he can get a boy pregnant."

"Dash wasn't over last night," Danny protested, rolling his eyes. "We ran into Vlad at the park."

"The Baxter boy?" His mom asked, her voice all high-pitched and excited.

"At such an odd hour," Vlad mused, talking over his mom. Really, how did he expect to win her over if he couldn't even show her basic respect? "Children can get into such trouble that late."

"I'm not a child," Danny grumbled, walking over to the pantry. It'd be better just to grab a to-go cereal cup and get out of there before he ended up getting in a fistfight with an old man.

His dad grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him back over to the table, forcing him to sit in a chair. "What trouble was he getting into Vlady?" He grabbed the plate of pancakes he'd made and put them on the table. Danny resisted the urge to swat it off the table like an irritable cat.

"Oh, Jack, I'm surprised!" Vlad guffawed. "What is it they say about snitches?" He leveled a keen, evil stare at Danny. "I mean, really, you remember what we were like at that age."

His dad frowned at him. "Danny, do we need to have a talk about drugs?"

"Jack!" His mom chirped as she sat down next to him. "Danny's not like that."

Danny drew in a deep breath through his nose- an anger management tactic Dash had taught him- and crossed his arms, digging his nails into his palms. "No. We were just walking  Dash's dog." He turned his withering glare on Vlad, the next sentence rolling off his tongue coated in venom. "What were you doing in the park so late, Vlady?"

"If you must know, Daniel, I have insomnia."

"Oh, Danny has that too, so I'm sure he understands the struggle." His mom said, nudging him and narrowing her eyes at Vlad.

He gave her a forced, pinched smile. "Hmm, that's funny. Cause it seemed more like you were making idle threats at people."

"Oh, my, didn't anyone teach you to mind your business?" Vlad's voice was smooth like carmalized honey. It made Danny want to punch his teeth in. Vlad stood, probably to be intimidating, and straightened his suit jacket.

His mom cleared her throat. "We," she emphasized the word by reaching out and griping his dad's arm to tug his attention away from the enormous pile of pancakes and bacon on his plate, "taught him everything about how to be a good person. I'm sure Danny has a reason to be concerned."

"Oh, Maddie, I meant no harm. It's just, well, curiosity did kill the cat."

Danny bit his tongue, not wanting to take Vlad's side in any manner, choosing to focus on his response. He also stood, using his height to his advantage. "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you down there."

Vlad simply smirked, clicking his tongue. "Jack, it was nice catching up, but it seems I'm not entirely welcome here."

"Nonsense! Danny!" His dad boomed. A small spark of fear ran down Danny's spine and he tried his best to squash it. "What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing." He ground out. He pushed his chair in with his foot and turned to leave the kitchen. "I've got to go anyway."

"Wait!" his mom called. She stopped to wrap some bacon in a paper towel before chasing after him. At least take some food with you."

"Why do you put up with him?" Danny hisses back, begrudgingly taking the peace offering.

She smiled sadly, glancing back at his dad. "He's your father's best friend. Look at how happy he gets when he's around. We can't take that away from him."

"Even with all he's done?" Danny was angry he couldn't tell her the truth; angry that she was the reason he couldn't tell her; angry that because he was scared of his parents, Vlad could get away scot-free.

"Forgiveness is a virtue." She shrugged, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast? I'm making monkey bread~!"

"Not if he's here." He brushed her hand off, sighing through his nose. He turned before he could see the smile disappear from her face. "I've got to go."

"Okay, bye, sweetie! I love you!"

He didn't answer, shoving his hands in the pockets of Dash's jacket as he shut the door behind him.

He paced the sidewalk behind Dash's house, his nerves buzzing with anxiety and anticipation.

He could do this.

He'd nearly done it yesterday, the words had almost practically fallen off his tongue. He just had to cough them back up.

What if yesterday was a fluke? Oh, god, what if Dash just liked Phantom better? What if he'd already fucked this whole thing up? What if-

His phone rang. It was Tucker. He exhaled a breath and answered. "Hey."

"Stop freaking out and just tell him, you coward."

Danny frowned. "How'd you know?"

"I've been watching the tracker on your phone pace his house for the last twenty minutes."

"That tracker is for emergencies only." He huffed, sitting on the grass between Dash's fence and the path to the park.

"This is an emergency." Tucker insisted. He could practically feel his grin through the phone. "You're both driving me crazy with your relentless pining. Just kiss him already. For real this time. He might not survive another fake out."

"Both of us?" Danny wheezed, his mind only catching half of those sentences. He twisted his fingers in the grass, ripping a few pieces out. His heart squeezed in his chest.

Tucker hummed. "I have been sworn to secrecy."

"How secret are we talking?" His nerves were jittery; he felt like he needed to run a mile just to burn the excess nerves off.

"I might be persuaded to share. For a price, of course." He teased.

Danny jokingly rolled his eyes. "Next Nastyburger run is on me?"

"You think the price on this kind of information is a simple Nasty Burger? This here is confidential, top secret. You gotta start the bidding higher than that."

"I'll buy the new Doomslayer game for you when it comes out." Danny laughed.

"Make it the deluxe edition and you've got a deal."

"You drive a hard bargain," He exaggerated a sigh. "Alright, deal."

"Yes!" Tucker cheered before clearing his throat. "Okay, so he called me a few hours ago asking me for advice."

Danny wrinkled his nose, tugging up more grass than he meant. He was glad not a lot of people walked this way and wouldn't have to explain to people why he was lurking behind Dash's yard. "He was asking you for advice?"

"I know, crazy, right? Anyway, he wanted to ask you out. But, in his words, 'it has to be special and romantic'. So he wanted to know if I knew what your ideal first date was and-"

"What did you tell him?" He interrupted, heart pounding in his ears.

"All your filthy secrets, naturally. He knows you're a sucker for Jane Austen now." Tucker schmoozed. "The rest you'll just have to find out. You don't want me to spoil all his big plans. Just know he wants to kiss you so bad he's driving himself insane."

"Thanks, Tuck," he wheezed. He wanted to giggle and kick his feet and scream all at the same time. He settled for releasing all the air in his lungs to take a slow, deep, hopefully calming breath.

"Anytime. Now go get your guy so the rest of us can find some peace."

"Har har." Danny laughed as he hung up. He shook out the rest of the nerves from his limbs and peeked over the fence.

Dash was sitting on the balcony, scribbling in a notebook; his brows were furrowed and he was chewing on his lip. He sighed, running a hand down his face, turning the page, and starting over.

Danny smiled softly, a warm feeling settling in his chest. A scene from a play swept through his mind and he grinned, half an idea forming in his mind. He composed a few sentences in his brain, letting each one roll around for a moment before tossing them out. He cringed.

Get it together, Fenton.

"C'mon, just pick something that isn't stupid." He muttered. His phone buzzed.

Tucker: Coward

Danny: I'm going!!!! Tracker is for emergencies only :(

Tucker: Coward

Danny didn't respond. He took a deep breath, turned intangible (and invisible), and walked through the fence. He slowly made his way across the yard, trying a few more sentences in his head, before stopping under the balcony. His hands were shaking ever so slightly; he shoved them in the pockets of Dash's jacket. He returned to a tangible, visible state, putting on his best, fake confident smile.

"Do you work for NASA? Cause your beauty is out of this world." And he promptly wanted to bite his tongue off and disappear forever. That was probably the worst thing he'd ever said out loud. So much for not picking something stupid.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Dash jumped, bumping his knee on the table and dropping his pencil. It rolled across the floor and dropped from the balcony. He stood, tiptoeing to the edge, and glared down. "Danny? What in the fuck are you doing down there?"

"Oh, I was just… in the neighborhood and decided to stop by." He could feel his face burning as he bent down to pick up Dash's pencil.

"Uh-huh," Dash mused, his face also a pretty shade of red. He leaned on the rail, head resting in one hand as he stared down. "Dressed like that and spouting pick-up lines?"

Danny couldn't help the nervous giggle that bubbled up his throat. "Ha-ha, is, uh, is the way I'm dressed a problem?"

Dash's eyes slid across his form, making him feel like he was about to catch fire. Dash hummed. "Mixing the emo aesthetic with a jock jacket is kind of out there. But I guess you make it work."

Danny's heart stuttered. So far so good. "You guess?"

Dash cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, what had you in the neighborhood? Ghost attack?"

Danny shook his head. "I just wanted to see you."

"Oh," Dash's voice trembled. He leaned back, white-knuckling the railing.

Feeling brave, Danny floated up to the balcony, nearly tripping from the added effort of ghost powers in his human form, as he stood on the edge and planted his hands right next to Dash's- their skin brushing. He tried his best not to show how out of breath he was from such a simple action. The narrow railing was the only thing separating them. He tucked the pencil behind Dash's ear.

"I have it on good authority that you wanted to see me too." His bones felt like jello, weak under the pounding of his nerves.

Dash frowned, the red on his face deepening. "That snitch."

"I like you," Danny breathed, unable to contain it any longer lest his nerves get the better of him. "I like you a lot."

"Oh," Dash squeaked, his breath hitching, lungs refusing to work.

Danny pushed the rest of his words out, easier once he'd started. "I like your smile."

He trailed a finger over the back of Dash's hand. "I like that you're funny. I like how determined you are."

He pulled at Dash's hand until he let go of the railing and turned it over, threading their fingers together. Dash inhaled, his eyes firmly glued on Danny's lips.

"I like that you're stupidly brave. God, I love your laugh-"

Dash silenced him, placing a finger over his lips. "Danny," he breathed, "I might die if you keep talking."

Danny grinned, pulling Dash's hand away from his face. "We don't need to talk."

"God," Dash dropped his hand, burying it in Danny's collar, "shut up." He yanked him down, pushing up on his tiptoes, and smushed their lips together.

It was gentle, a small, heat-filled press of lips against lips; it was drastically different from the panic-induced frenzy from last time. Danny sighed, dragging their lips together again; and again because he could; and again because he wanted to.

He let go of Dash's hand, bringing his hands up to cradle Dash's face. He pulled him closer, giggling as he almost lost his balance. Dash grabbed him by his sleeves to keep him from toppling onto the lawn below. Danny gently, slowly, without breaking the kiss, pushed him back so he could phase through the railing and lean back against it. He was dizzy, head over heels, his mind blank of coherent thought. A bright, happy feeling bubbled up his throat, forcing him to giggle again.

"I can't kiss you if you keep giggling," Dash breathed against his mouth, sliding his hands up Danny's arms to wrap them around his shoulders.

He giggled again anyway. "Sorry, I'm just…" He kissed him again, reveling in how Dash held him in his arms. The heat behind his eyes and in his throat was almost too much, he felt like he was going to implode. "…happy, is all."

Dash blinked his eyes open, afraid to miss Danny's smile. They were still incredibly close, pulling away only far enough to catch their breath. "Is that new for you?"

"It's rare." Danny traced his hands down Dash's neck, brushing his thumbs over his jaw. "Lately, I feel it a lot around you."

"Shut up," Dash groaned, tugging him down into another kiss. The longer they kissed the more Dash's neck started to ache from reaching up; he couldn't stand on his toes forever. "You're too tall," he whined.

Danny laughed. "I don't know how to fix that."

"I do." Dash steered him by his shoulders toward one of the chairs and pushed him down. Danny's hands found his hips as Dash pushed forward between his knees, kissing him again now that he didn't have to strain his neck as much.

"Better?" Danny whispered, a hint of a giggle still on his lips.

"Better," Dash sighed into his mouth. He buried his fingers in Danny's hair.

If he was being honest with himself, Danny didn't have a ton of experience with kissing- kissing for real and not just to keep his parents from finding out who he is. Not that he hadn't kissed someone for real; a few with Valerie their freshman year, but those were mostly pecks, and he'd made out with Tucker once when he'd figured out he was bi and Tucker was most definitely not. It was the only time he'd kissed someone with his tongue.

Until Dash was coaxing his mouth open, letting his tongue linger on his bottom lip. He gasped, digging his fingers into Dash's hips. This kiss was different, unpracticed, and sloppy- like neither of them really knew what they were doing. But, Danny was happy to explore; to find out what Dash liked and didn't like. He wanted to learn everything that Dash would let him learn about loving him.

Dash hummed, wanting to melt into the fire that burned behind his eyes, across his face, in his chest, under Danny's hands. God, Danny's hands were everywhere, on his hips, trailing over his arms, cradling his face, scratching his back. It made him dizzy.

It made him nervous.

He'd never kissed anyone before. Besides the last time in the alley, this was his first kiss. He was running purely on instinct (and the limited knowledge he had gleaned from shitty romcoms). He trailed his hands down Danny's neck and shoulders, catching every breathy noise Danny made; every sigh, every tug of his lips added fuel to the fire in his chest.

He pulled away to breathe, heart jumping when Danny whined and chased after him. "I like you too." He huffed, dragging air into his aching lungs.

Danny blinked his eyes open, dazed and grinning. "Yeah, I kind of guessed by the way your tongue was in my mouth."

Dash wrinkled his nose, laughing. "You're impossible."

Danny pushed their foreheads together. "I'd like it there again."

"Gross." Dash softly shook his head. "I just need to catch my breath."

Danny gave him a lazy smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek, followed by another one on his jaw. And then one right under his ear. And on lower down his neck.

"Oh," He breathed.

Danny tugged him closer, his fingers curling in his short hair. "Is this okay?" He murmured against his skin.

"Yes." Dash melted into him, bracing himself with his hands on Danny's hips. Another kiss at his pulse point had him completely weak in the knees. He made a startled sound in the back of his throat when Danny caught his flesh between his teeth. Any coherent thoughts he had slipped from his mind. "Hey, I, um," He muttered, almost incapable of speaking at all, "I wanted to, to say, um- fuck."

He could feel Danny's smirk against his neck. "Distracted, Dash?"

He dug his fingers into Danny's hips, the sound of his name dripping from his lips made his toes curl. "Danny, I'm serious." His voice was shaking. Danny hummed, tracing his lips back under his jaw. "I like you. A lot. I really, really, really like you."

He dipped his head, catching Danny's lips again. He pushed every fervent, soft, extreme feeling he felt for him against his lips. He whispered against them as he gasped for air again. "I was going to-"

The balcony door clicked open. "Sweetie, what's with the basket in the…" Dash's mom froze, blinking at them for a long moment before she sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I owe your grandma twenty bucks now."

"Mom!" Dash squeaked, pulling away from Danny who nearly fell off the chair. "What are- um- I can exp- what are you doing home?!"

Danny cleared his throat, waving. "Hi, Jessica."

"Hi, Danny." She chuckled. "They sent me home because they were overstaffed. A once in a lifetime event. You two are being safe out here, yeah?"

"Mom, we talked about this!" He spluttered.

"I know. It's mostly a joke. If you change your mind you do know how-"

"I won't. Just, please, stop talking." He sighed, covering his face with his hands. He wanted to sink through the floor and hide for at least a century.

Danny placed a hand over his heart. "I swear on my grave that there will be no hanky panky tonight or any other night." He couldn't resist the tiny laugh that escaped him.

Scratch that- he wanted to hide for two centuries. "I hate you both."He muttered. "Yes, Mom, I paid attention in health class. No, I will not be needing that information. Thanks for the concern but please just drop it."

She jokingly tossed her hands in the air. "As long as you know, that's all that matters. Well, I wanted to ask you what the basket in the fridge was all about?"

"You know, most parents who walk in on their kids making out, leave, like immediately." Dash huffed. Danny was having a hard time not laughing.

"Alright, pushy. Sorry, you two can get back to it." She waved and disappeared back inside.

Dash didn't even have time to wallow or contemplate his death before Danny was cackling so hard he almost couldn't breathe. He turned and shoved his hands over Danny's mouth. "Oh my god, shut up."

"It's just-" Danny laughed between his fingers, "it's just hilarious."

"It's really not," Dash huffed, trying to shove every bit of embarrassment he felt down. Neither his mom nor Danny would ever let him live this down.

"I can't breathe!" Danny reached up to tug Dash's hands off, twining their fingers together, still shaking with laughter.

"I thought you didn't need to breathe?" Dash questioned, distracted by the way Danny's eyes lit up.

"As Phantom, I don't. But my human lungs still need oxygen." Danny pulled him closer again, shifting the mood the tiniest bit.

Dash swallowed nervously, unsure how to navigate this situation now that he wasn't running on excitement and adrenaline. He couldn't shake the anxiety from his limbs. "What, um, what am I telling her later?"

"What do you mean?" Danny fidgeted with their fingers. His eyes held uncertainty, an emotion Dash had never seen there.

He drew in a breath. "I mean… what are we now?" His voice squeaked a little and he wanted to jump off the balcony.

"Well," Danny's eyes flickered to the side, tension coiling in his shoulders, "I was hoping… boyfriends? Is… is that what you want?"

"Yes." Dash exhaled, feeling lightheaded. "Yes, I want that."

"Cool," Danny breathed, all the apprehension falling from his form. "Then that's what you tell her.

Dash felt unsteady, like he was standing on a ship that wasn't used to being on the ocean. He wasn't sure how to, but he wanted to get back to kissing him again. Was that even something you could do after being interrupted by a parental figure? He wished he had more experience with relationships. "What about your parents? Do you want to tell them or should we keep it a secret?"

Danny bit his lip, averting his gaze again. "I'm not… against telling them. I just…" He sighed. "They're a lot. Like, a lot. They can say things that are, mean, and I don't want to overwhelm you or-"

"Danny," Dash murmured reassuringly, leaning their foreheads together, "I handled them almost killing you, twice, and then trying to ground you over it. If you want to tell them, I think I can handle whatever boyfriend rules or insults they have." The word was tantalizing on his tongue; boyfriend.

Danny smiled at him, not the blinding grin he usually wore, something smaller and more genuine. "Okay. I'll tell them when they're in a good mood."

"Is there anyone you don't want to tell?"

Danny shook his head. "No. You?"

"No." Dash wasn't sure what else he was supposed to ask about a new relationship. He knew there was probably a lot that he was forgetting. Thankfully, Danny didn't seem to be as tongue-tied as he was.

"I didn't know you wore chapstick." Danny licked his lips, a teasing glint in his eyes. He leaned up, capturing Dash's lips again.

"Uh, yeah," Dash's brain was fuzzy. It was hard to focus or speak as every word dragged across Danny's lips. "Um, sports can be… uh, dehydrating, so… I, uh-"

Danny giggled, silencing him with another gentle kiss. "Can I take you on a date?"

Dash blinked his eyes open, startled. "Right now?"

Danny shrugged. "If you're not busy."

He let his gaze drop back to Danny's lips, quirking an eyebrow playfully. "I might be a bit busy."

Danny laughed; Dash's favorite laugh, the one that was deep and nothing but pure joy. Dash kissed it off his lips, because he didn't have to crush that urge anymore; because he liked him back. The thought made him dizzy.

"You know you're kind of a dick, right?" Dash said as he pulled away to breathe.

"What?" Danny startled. "What did I do?"

"I was going to ask you first. I called Tucker and everything." He gestured toward his notebook, forgetting that his hands were woven with Danny's.

"Oh," Danny glances over, the red on his face almost glowing. He leaned back, untangling their fingers. His smile was blinding. "Go ahead."

Dash froze, chuckling nervously. He grabbed for the notebook; this was a lot scarier when Danny was looking at him like he held the world in his hands. At least he knew what Danny's answer would be. He cleared his throat, clutching the notebook to his chest as Danny tried to peek over the edge. "Someone kind of interrupted me. So, it's not finished, just," he took a deep breath as he passed it over, "Just keep that in mind as you read."

"You wrote me a letter?" Danny asked, accepting the notebook tenderly.

"Uh, it's more of a poem, actually." Dash's stomach churned and his nerves felt like they were going to combust as Danny's eyes scanned the page. "Kwan helped me with most of it so don't go thinking I'm some kind of epic poet. I had to google a lot of words that rhymed but still made sense-"

"You wrote this… for me?" Danny whispered, his eyes watering as they moved over the page a second time.

"Yeah, it's not done yet," he tittered, "but I was going to give this to you and then ask-" He was cut off as Danny placed the notebook on the table, stood up, and enveloped him in a crushing hug, burying his face in his neck. His fingers tightly grasped Dash's shirt; he was shaking.

"Thank you," He whimpered.

Dash didn't hesitate to hug him back- though he did nearly laugh as a memory of consoling Danny on his balcony before flashed through his mind. He held him just as tenderly as he did then, not daring to let go before Danny was ready. He was perfectly content to stay in his arms as long as he needed. The chill of his skin didn't even seem to bother him anymore.

"No one's ever written me poetry before." Danny sniffled, his arms squeezing him tighter if that was even possible.

"What?" Dash scoffed jokingly. "You mean no one's ever compared your eyes to stars before?"

Danny sighed. "Not in iambic pentameter, and not both of them in the same breath. Usually, people just look for green."

"Both of them are you." Dash pulled away to look into the very eyes he was talking about. "And I like you, Danny, no matter if your eyes are blue or green. You've bewitched me-"

Danny cackled, pure and uncontrolled, pulling away enough to wipe the tears from his eyes. "You are not about to quote Pride and Prejudice at me!"

"Tucker said it was your favorite." Dash simply shrugged, a loving, gentle smile on his lips. "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes." Danny closed his eyes, leaning their foreheads together. "Sorry, I ruined your really cool plan."

"I'm not." Dash chuckled. "A bad pick-up line is a good way to ask someone out too."

"Oh my god," Danny groaned. "Can we please forget I said that?"

"Not on your afterlife."

"In my defense, I didn't have a plan."

"Wearing my jacket and impersonating Romeo was improvised, huh?" Dash tugged at the bottom of the jacket before cradling Danny's face; he brushed his thumbs over Danny's cheekbones, marveling at the faint freckles that lay there. They were less prominent when they weren't glowing green, but they were still enchanting nonetheless.

"I think it's my jacket now," Danny murmured.

"Really? I think it's my name embroidered on there."

"Mmhmm," Danny hummed, "and I get boyfriend privileges now. That's like the biggest perk of dating a jock."

"You've had that since before you received those privileges."

"You never asked for it back."

Dash didn't answer, his face burning. They both knew why he never asked. Danny leaned in, crushing their lips together again. Dash kind of loved how easy this was becoming for them.

This kiss was different. It was heavier, carrying the weight of a message they were trying to communicate. It left him reeling, his head swimming, butterflies making tornadoes in his stomach. Danny tugged his lip with his teeth as he pulled back.

Dash made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, chasing after him. Danny huffed a laugh, dropping his hands to Dash's hips and holding him in place. "You had a whole date planned?"

"Yeah," Dash huffed, catching his breath. "There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, so I was thinking a picnic? On that hill behind the observatory?"

"Poetry, the stars, and your cooking all in one day? Are you trying to kill me?" He squeezed his hips.

Dash wanted to melt on the spot. "I was trying to woo you, as Tucker puts it."

Danny smiled, leaning down to press one more lingering kiss against his lips. "Consider me wooed."

"Cool," Dash sighed, like an idiot. He cringed, taking a step back to clear Danny from his personal space so he could start to think again. "Um, I have a picnic basket in the fridge." He turned to head back inside.

"Hey," Danny whispered, "You forgot something."

Dash turned around, eyebrows raised. Danny was holding out his hand. "Oh." He reached back, intertwining their fingers.

Danny was absolutely giddy as Dash rushed them out of the house to avoid the teasing from his mom. He placed the basket on Danny's lap as they settled into the car. He slapped Danny's hand away when he tried to peek inside. "No peeking. It's a surprise."

"Well, now I just wanna peek more." Danny teased, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

"Contain yourself. It's only like a five-minute drive." Dash playfully rolled his eyes and pulled out of the driveway.

"Aye, aye, captain." Danny put his seatbelt on and settled into the semi-comfortable silence that blanketed the car.

After a moment, he turned to Dash, leaning on the armrest. "What's your favorite color?"

Dash huffed a laugh, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Danny playfully protested. "I know a lot about you, but I don't know everything."

"And my favorite color is that important?" Dash flicked on his blinker. Even though he was dodging the question, Danny could tell he was super nervous. Which he thought was odd considering how not nervous he had been on the balcony.

"Yes. I know some of your greatest worries. I know your favorite hobbies. What I don't know is what your favorite color is. Or what your favorite drink is. What if I'm in the checkout line at 7-Eleven and I don't know what to get you? What kind of boyfriend would that make me?"

"The kind that gets their partner a generic Pepsi product and hopes it's right." Dash grinned.

"Exactly. And what if you didn't like Pepsi? What if you were like Sam and you'd murder me on the spot if I even thought of bringing you a big corporate anti-earth plastic bottle?" He had the urge to reach out and hold his hand again, but Dash seemed to take driving extremely seriously and didn't want to distract him.

Dash rolled his eyes, his smile still plastered on his face. Danny liked his smile. "If you must know, I'm more of a Gatorade person."

"That's a very jock answer." He teased.

"Do not dis the advantages of staying hydrated. You could probably use more electrolytes since you lose a lot when you bleed everywhere."

Danny's smile didn't waver. "I think you're dodging the original question."

Dash turned onto the observatory road. "Orange."

Danny let his eyes wander over him. "That suits you."

"What does that mean?" Dash parked in the same spot they had parked in last time.

"Orange is a brave color."

"I'm not brave."

"I think you are." Danny opened the car door and stepped out, carefully holding the picnic basket so it wouldn't spill anything it was carrying. He leaned against the car, dipping his head back inside to check on Dash. "Are you coming?"

Dash spluttered, his face that pretty shade of red again. "You really think I'm brave?"

"I think you'd be braver if you got out of the car and came over here." He grinned.

Dash climbed out of the car and took his time walking around to the passenger side. Danny's heart lept as he approached; he pressed his back against the car, grasping the basket for dear life.

Dash leaned closer, his hand winding around the basket handle, gently prying it from his fingers. He pushed up on his tiptoes, his lips right next to Danny's ear. "You're gonna have to try harder than that." He pulled away, turning to lead the way up the hill.

Danny released the air he was holding in his lungs, his knees weak. He took only a second to collect his thoughts before chasing after Dash- who had stopped to make sure he was following. He took the hand he was offering.

"What's yours?" Dash asked as they climbed the hill.

"What?" Danny breathed.

"Your favorite color." Dash laughed.

"Oh, right. Dark blue."

Dash hummed. "Like space?" They reached the top and Dash let go of Danny's hand to pull a blanket out of the basket and smooth it across the ground.

"Yeah, actually. I guess I'm getting a bit predictable, huh?"

Dash scoffed. "You? Predictable? Please, that's as likely as the tennis team actually winning a game."

"I know you said you weren't super into football anymore," Danny started, sitting next to him, "but you were on pretty much every sports team we had. Is there another sport you like better?"

Dash thought about it for a moment as he pulled out paper plates and cups and Tupperware full of chicken salad and croissants. "Yeah, I mean, I really liked track and baseball wasn't bad either."

"Do you think you'd do either in college?"

"Amity Community doesn't have a baseball team. But, yeah. I might try out for track. I hadn't really thought about it. What about you? Are you doing any extracurriculars?"

Danny sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I mean, the NASA club might be cool, but being a part-time superhero doesn't really leave a lot of room for time commitments."

"Oh, right." Dash frowned. "I keep forgetting about that."

Danny chuckled weakly. "At least one of us can."

"I had a question about that actually." Dash passed him a plate full of delicious-looking picnic foods.

Danny found himself a little tense, though he had no idea why. Dash had more than proven trustworthy. "Yeah?"

"Dani, your cousin- which is odd that your family did that with the names- mentioned that she'd been in space. Since you're such a space nerd, does that mean you've gone too?"

All the tension drained from him. "Yeah. I have. A lot actually."

"How does that work? Is it because you're dead so you're not going to have your sweat glands explode or anything?" Dash poured them both some juice before closing the basket up.

"I'm not actually sure. I think so? This," he gestured to the sandwich he was eating, "this is fucking phenomenal."

"Thanks." Dash smiled. "How'd you even find out you could survive in space anyway?"

"Uh, that's kind of a long story." Danny started from the beginning of his and Valerie's story; from when she got kicked out of their group because of him, to the rivalry he accidentally started, to Vlad basically grooming her, to the fight with Technus.

"She chased you into space? How did she survive?" Dash gasped, his pasta half-forgotten.

"I think it was something Technus did to her suit. I'm not sure ghosts are purely scientific. Sometimes the things we create and touch alter the way physics works. I don't want to say magic, but it's like a different set of physics." Danny had not forgotten his food and was half chewing as he spoke.

"Huh, okay. And how'd she take it when she found out? I mean, you guys are friends still-"

Danny shook his head. "It took her a long time to forgive me. To say she was pissed is an understatement. I think she wanted to kill me even more if that was possible."

"Is it because her and Fenton were dating and her and Phantom were mortal enemies?"

Danny took another bite and finished chewing before answering. "Kind of. But it was more that everyone in her life at the time was betraying her, her friends, her boyfriend, her mentor. It was like everywhere she turned she found more people she couldn't trust."

"And that's why you guys broke up Sophomore year?" Dash took a sip of juice, mostly for something for his hands to do.

"Yeah. At least she had stopped shooting at me." He chuckled weakly.

"So, how did you guys get to be friends again?"

"Ah, well. That's another long story." Danny glanced at Dash. He was always looking at him like every word Danny said deserved to be tattooed on his skin. It made him all the more worried that there'd be a line that he'd cross and Dash would decide he wanted nothing more to do with all this crazy ghost stuff.

"You promised me you'd tell me all the long stories. Don't tell me my boyfriend is already going back on his first promise." Dash teased.

Danny sighed, a giggle on his lips. "Okay, you're right. Well, she met my cousin." He finished the story by telling him how Vlad had hunted Dani down using Valerie and when Valerie had seen her begging for her life she made a deal with Danny to save her in exchange for handing him over. But then they'd exposed Vlad and she dropped everything just to hunt the man who'd been lying to her and putting her in danger the whole time.

"Dani and I eventually talked her out of hunting him to the ends of the earth. And somewhat out of ghost hunting. She's channeling all that energy into college now. She's going to be a resource officer for kids in situations similar to hers. It's really cool of her."

"Wow, I had no idea she was going through so much. Or you. I mean, I've never been forcibly cloned but I can't imagine that was a fun experience."

Danny shrugged. "It's not, but I can hardly remember it. I've been tortured so many times, it starts to get hard to keep track of anything but the feeling of pain, you know." He'd meant it as a form of a dark joke, but one look at Dash's face had him regretting it.

"I'm sorry you ever had to deal with that much pain," Dash uttered, his voice shaking.

Danny reached for his hand. "I try not to think about it. It's just part of the job."

"That doesn't make it okay."

Danny shook his head. "No, it doesn't. But, I can't change it. I can only do my best to prevent more of it."

"Can I help?"

"Dash you don't have to-"

"But, I want to help you. I know you have Tucker and Sam, and Valerie, and your cousin, and Jazz, but I want to help too. I mean, you're my partner now and I don't want to be useless if you need me-"

Danny squeezed his hand. "Dash, you're not useless. You've saved my life twice. You don't need to be a fighter to protect me."

"This isn't about my feelings. I want to be able to help you so you don't have to go through any more torture. Or at the very least I want to be able to protect myself so that it doesn't put you at risk when you have to worry about me."

Danny sighed, crawling over to pull Dash into a tight hug. "Okay. Okay, can we talk about this later? This is a date and I refuse to bring down the mood. It's your turn."

"My turn?" Dash asked, voice still shaking.

"Yup. You need to tell me one of your tragic ex stories now. It's only fair." Danny busied his hands with picking up their plates and tucking them on the other side of the basket. He shoved the melancholy and memories of pain away.

Dash forced a breath out of his nose. He kept his eyes glued to the blanket. "Uh, I don't have any tragic ex stories."

Danny stopped, glancing over at him. "Not even pre-coming-out? I know I saw you flirting with Paulina a lot during Freshman year."

Dash shrugged, his ears turning red as he avoided eye contact. "Yeah, uh, she could tell I never really meant it. But, I've, I've never been in a relationship. I've never even kissed anyone before you. It's kind of why I didn't tell you how I felt for so long. I wasn't sure how."

"Oh," Danny breathed. "Oh! My bad. I didn't mean to make your first kiss a life-or-death situation." His heart didn't know how to feel about the confession.

"Really? You could have fooled me." Dash teased, distracting himself by fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. It was starting to get chill out as the sun finally dipped beneath the horizon. "It's fine. I think you made up for it on my balcony."

"Can I… ask how long you've liked me?" Danny's nerves were buzzing again, the pounding in his ears drowning out the sounds from the field around them.

"You or Phantom you?"

Danny shrugged, his lungs feeling gooey. "Both."

"Well, I don't think it's a secret that I've liked Phantom for a long time. Hell, that time Skulker was chasing us around your house I thought I made it pretty obvious. You hanging out with me as Phantom recently did nothing to help me get over my celebrity crush. As for when I noticed I liked Fenton as well, I think it was senior ditch day but I threw myself into a deep trench of denial." Dash forced the air from his lungs like he was pushing the weight of his words off him. He looked up and made eye contact for the first time since the question was asked. "You?"

Danny was about to turn into a giggling mess again. He couldn't believe how blind he'd been. "Whatever trench you were in, I'm sure mine was deeper. I hate to admit it, and if you ever tell them this I'll deny it, but I think Sam and Tucker were right. That day you saved me from my parents, when they shot my arm, was probably when it started. I think it's what drove me to basically force you to hang out with us."

"You didn't force me to do anything." Dash leaned closer, his eyes dropping to Danny's lips. "I'm so glad my therapy session ran late that day."

"Me too." Danny sighed, sliding his hands over Dash's arms and tugging him closer. His heart was beating too fast and with too many feelings for him to keep contained. "You should kiss me."

"We might miss the meteor shower if we get… distracted." Despite his protesting, Dash brought his hands up to cradle Danny's face.

"I don't mind." Danny leaned back, nearly pulling Dash into his lap. He wanted to get as close as possible; as close as Dash was comfortable with. "Please, kiss me."

Dash kissed him; kissed him sweetly, with just as many uncontainable feelings. He kissed him with such tenderness that Danny had a hard time believing him when he said he'd never kissed anyone before. Dash's arms and lips were quickly becoming Danny's favorite place to be.

They missed the meteor shower.

"I hate pronouns!" I scream into the void.

Little do you know that I'm not some Maga conservative hating on gay people.

Quite the opposite.

I'm sitting here writing the gayest shit you'll ever see and i have to keep finding creative ways to make sure we know who's doing what when the sentence is:

He tugged his lips with his teeth as he pulled away.

You'll never know which he is character a and which one is character b. But try writing that a different way that doesn't seem clunky.

Anyway, be gay and do crime or whatever

I’m gonna draw all of the coral island romanceables! Starting with our boy Wakuu.

Y'all, i forgot to grab my computer on the way to work today and now I can't work on the chapter. Which sucks cause work has been unbelievablely slow and I would have been able to get a good chunk of it done. 😮‍💨

I've fixed it!!!!! I can now finish chapter 9! It's the new windows update that's killing me. Hopefully I can get this done soon

Guys,

The universe (windows defender) is keeping me from finishing this next chapter. For some god awful reason the anti-virus software is taking up more than 50% of my computer's memory and I can't keep my document tabs open for more than thirty seconds at a time to write.

I have tried searching for this problem literally everywhere it's even typed "reddit" at the end of my search and have tried everything I found. Nothing is working. I won't be able to finish the chapter until I can get my computer to work.

If anyone has struggled with antimalware service executable like this, id love some help.

Guys,

The universe (windows defender) is keeping me from finishing this next chapter. For some god awful reason the anti-virus software is taking up more than 50% of my computer's memory and I can't keep my document tabs open for more than thirty seconds at a time to write.

I have tried searching for this problem literally everywhere it's even typed "reddit" at the end of my search and have tried everything I found. Nothing is working. I won't be able to finish the chapter until I can get my computer to work.

If anyone has struggled with antimalware service executable like this, id love some help.

Y'all, i have the first completed draft of chapter 9 done. All thats left now is to edit and polish it. Can't wait to give it to you

I have hit 7000 words on the 4th draft of chapter 9. I only have two scenes left to go and it will be ready for a final editing!