#ranch 2

Okay so this post from @dissociativehyperfixating got deep into my brain and I actually started writing my version a lil bit.

To summarize: Tim and Danny are soulmates, which in this universe means they share food cravings. Danny gets captured by the GIW and is unable to access any ectoplasm, and so Tim starts DESPERATELY craving something that he has no way to identify. Duke, with his powers, is able to see more of what's going on and helps Tim figure it out.

The opening:

Tim isn't technically one of the family members who's allowed to cook, but it's not exactly unusual to find him in the kitchen at odd hours, grabbing a quick snack or looking for something caffeinated. No, it's not Tim himself that makes Duke stop in his tracks. There's an eclectic collection of items on the counter. A 2-liter bottle of sprite and an open can of Mountain Dew. A juicer, next to which sit the empty husks of a lime and a grapefruit. A big plastic tub of something called Guarana Powder. And a bottle of ranch dressing.

There's more, but those are the ones that are closest, that seem to have been used most recently. Tim's posture is casual, hip pressed against the counter edge where he leans, but his gaze is focused. He is vigorously whisking the contents of a glass with a fork. Duke can see little white bits swirl in the mixture. There has to be an explanation for this. Duke valiantly pretends he wasn't staring and makes his way towards the fridge, like he'd meant to when he walked in. “Hey Tim, whatcha up to?” he asks, as if he couldn't care less, and grabs a post-patrol Gatorade. Tim answers, tone flat, “Inventing Ranch 2.” Duke cracks his drink and sips it, trying to process, but he can't think of anything better to say than, “Why?”

Right outside of Casper High, a horrendous storm raged on. It felt as if the building shook under those harsh winds and the rain hit the glass like hammers, threatening the crack.

Lucky, Danny’s math class didn’t have any windows, something that typically made the room feel like more of a prison was now what saved them from flooding through the windows. Still, the fluorescent lights and Lancer’s droning on about parabolas and their transformations was going to make his head explode. It kinda made him wish the school would just be taken by the storm and fly away.

“As I said before the function for a parabola is y=x^2,” please please please even the box ghost would be fine, “but if you add or subtract from that it would be y=(x^2)-a which would be-”

With a loud boom, the room became pitch black.

Thank ancients, Danny sighed as Lancer tried his best to wrangle everyone and calm them down. Everyone wasn’t really scared of the dark, it's just an excuse to act out. The room wasn't even completely pitch black, there was light from several devices, the exit sign, glowing-in-the-dark accessories on some people's bags, and a green glowing coming from somewhere nearby.

As everyone finally calmed down, others began to do the same as him, looking at the light sources, or finding their own. He was about to pull out his heavy duty flashlight that he had with the rest of his equipment when he realised Paulina was staring at him.

He looked around, rather confused why she had a face of such bewilderment, but with nothing around to cause such an expression he just looked back at her.

Finally realising that she had been staring, Paulina composed herself a little before speaking, “Danny… are your eyes glowing?”

(2nd pic is sized for Discord emote)

req’d by @apinklion01

DannyMay 2022 - Day 18 - Placebo