#19

Zack: Where are you going? Danny: To get ice cream or commit a felony, I’ll decide on the way there

My cousin asked me what people without a limb were called because she was having a lapsus and instead of amputee I told her prostitutes. We both haven't stopped laughing and I'm stating to think she's suffocating cause she has been making kettle sounds for the past two or so minutes.

No, I did not just spend over ten hours worldbuilding today! I have no idea what you mean and Campfire certainly does not have a feature that tells me so!

I need therapy and a cat...

#1

Danny didn't expect a lot of weirdness when he started this loop. He was sorely mistaken.

The realization came to him when he realized he had retained the previous loop's features and still looked like a 25-year-old gangster, tattoos and all. Not to mention he was staring down at the tiny version of one Johan Seong.

Taking a deep breath of his cigarette he allowed himself another glance downwards, which he immediately regretted.

"Could you give me your shoes?' Johan looked up at him with his big brown eyes shining with a sort of innocence Daniel had never seen on the boy before.

He exhaled the smoke upwards, as far away from the little one's face as possible, then crouched down and extinguished his cigarette on the pavement while his free hand reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash that had seemingly traversed back with him and handed it to the wide-eyed boy with the gentlest smile he could manage.

"Take care of yourself" He ruffled little Johan's hair before getting back up and continuing down the sidewalk.

Without hurrying he made his way to a hotpot restaurant, keenly aware of his little shadow. He stopped right in front of it and turned around startling the boy so badly that he instinctively cowered.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" The man asked, softening his expression so as not to frighten the boy more than he already had.

Johan shook his head and Daniel gestured for him to go in. He marveled at the boy's innocence as his eyes grew larger and he sprinted into the hotpot shop with an expression of childish glee that tugged at the older's heartstrings. This boy had not yet lost the spark in his eyes, though judging by his appearance he had already suffered through the whole cult ordeal.

Daniel chuckled at his enthusiasm and allowed Johan to choose what to order while they sat down next to each other.

"Hey mister, you're really nice!" The boy exclaimed, biting into a piece of meat. "You didn't even kick me when I asked for your shoes and gave me money and everything!"

Danny hummed back while swallowing his own food before wiping a trail of broth off the boy's chin. Johan watched him with keen eyes but didn't lean back or in. It was like the boy was trying to decide whether to be suspicious or revel in this tiny moment of affection that made him feel all fuzzy and warm inside. His mommy used to make him feel like that a long time ago when he was really little but hadn't done so since. Adults only play nice when they want something from you, he reminded himself when the tall dark-haired man retracted his hand and placed the crumbled napkin back on the table before returning to his meal. Something about him made Johan feel safe, something he hadn't felt since they had taken his mommy away, and made him want to cling to him. That's why he had followed him in the first place.

Seeing the boy lost in thought Daniel suppressed a tiny smirk and gently flickered his forehead, only hard enough to wake him from his reverie. He was rewarded with a pout that almost made him coo, but the boy's attention quickly went back to his remaining meal which he once more began to swallow feverishly.

"Slow down." The man chided while handing him a glass of water when Johan accidentally choked.

His actions seemed to have taken a more paternal turn ever since his eyes had landed on the tiny boy, but he didn't really care at the moment. Every bone in his imposing body screamed to take the boy home, wrap him in a blanket and protect him from this cruel world but he suppressed such thoughts. Although his morals had long since been distorted he had yet to completely lose his sense of boundaries. Kidnapping a child wouldn't do, not when he himself seemed to always get into trouble somehow. He didn't even have a place to stay at the moment, so that plan went out the window before it even began.

"Hey, mister", a tiny, high-pitched voice put a stop to his spiraling thought and his tired black eyes clashed with bright brown innocent ones, "what's your name?"

Daniel almost got whiplash with how suddenly his other thoughts paused but didn't show any outward signs of his newfound weakness. The child was making him soft.

"Daniel", he wiped his mouth with a napkin, "and you?"

"I'm Johan!"

His enthusiasm seemed to be infectious because he soon found himself smiling and humming while following along with the small brunette as he chatted about anything and everything. Yep, the child was definitely making him soft. And wasn't that a weirdly welcome surprise?

----------------

In the following days, the two of them kept bumping into each other, and each time they did they ended up back at the same hotpot restaurant.

Daniel had gotten a job at a nearby supermarket that reminded him of his old convenience store, with the added bonus that it paid better and no one dared to look down on him (not that most even could anyway). That way he had the funds to keep taking little Johan to eat at least once a week, although he had yet to find a place for himself. That particular thing wasn't really a problem, since he had long since learned the best sleeping spots in the city during some of his past loops and no one dared to attack him while he slept, out of fear.

In the last loop, Daniel had gotten really jacked up and covered most of his upper body in tattoos symbolizing various things, from his friends to events from other loops and so forth. Unless you really paid attention you probably couldn't tell what they meant, since the man had paid special attention to hiding such details in the very images representing them.

That evening, as he was making his way back from his job Daniel stumbled over a sight that made his blood boil. On the ground was a brunette little lump, covered in blood and bruises, with shards of broken glass and pieces of broken bottles surrounding it. Burying his anger deep in his chest the man stumbled to the child's side, crouching down to take a better look at the damage. No one other than him was around, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

With his foot, he nudged away most of the glass before kneeling over the unmoving Johan. He breathed a sigh of relief after finding a pulse, took off his ratty black trench coat, and scooped the bundle up into it. Careful not to hold him too tight and risk making his injuries worse Daniel made his way quickly to one of his nearby hideouts in an old abandoned building. Johan stirred and let out a weak whimper when he bangs climbing the crumbling stairs.

"It's okay, just hang on for a little longer. You'll be okay." He hushed the child suppressing the urge to cuddle him until he felt better no matter how much his chest ached at the notion of having to prolong his pain.

"Just a little longer" He promised the half-conscious boy, finally reaching the floor he had claimed as his own.

Without letting go of Johan he reached underneath an old, rotten dresser and pulled out a backpack that was obviously newer than anything else in this room, though, upon a closer inspection, one could see that it was missing a strap and looked torn in places. Daniel didn't once stop whispering reassurances and praise for how well he was doing as he removed the shard from his skin and bandaged the cuts. While relieved that the boy didn't seem to have any broken bones, he still gritted his teeth while applying cream to the patches of sickening blue and yellow covering his skin and wrapping his wounds.

Once he was finished dressing his wounds he wrapped the boy in one of his jackets and placed him on a relatively clean mattress he had managed to procure from a lovely lady at a yard sale, allowing himself a moment to marvel at how much younger and smaller he looked while sleeping. That night he didn't sleep, instead guarding Johan and making plans on returning the favor tenfold to those who had dared to lay their filthy hands on his kid.

When the first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracked window Johan began to stir. His whole body hurt, but not as much as it had when those guys beat him up. He was on something soft and he cuddled into the warmth before his mind caught up with his awake body. Warmth? He lurched forward in a panic before a pair of big warm hands gently pushed his back.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, you're safe."

He didn't recognize the voice at first but his brain automatically associated it with safety so he relaxed and allowed himself to be pushed back into what he now realized was a jacket almost three times his size in which he had been wrapped in. The pain in his back flared, but he pushed it away in favor of analyzing the room.

It didn't look like anything special. The walls were cracked and the paint had fallen off in some places. He was laying on a mattress that looked like a dog had bitten off one of its corners. Opposite him was an old wooden table with two plastic chairs that didn't belong to the same set on either side of it and next to it was a dresser that looked like it had come straight out of a haunted victorian mansion.

Finally, Johan's eyes landed on the figure at the foot of his bed and a shy smile bloomed on his battered face. Daniel returned it even wider while leaning towards him and placing a calloused palm on his forehead. The action made him fidget, but he soon calmed down when the man took his hand back, seemingly satisfied.

"Where does it hurt?"

The boy's first reaction was to deny that there was anything wrong with him but the look in Danny's eyes made him think otherwise. Timidly he pointed at the parts where he could still feel the pain, watching with bated breath as the man's expression seemed to grow darker and darker.

Finally, he hummed in the way Johan had learned to distinguish as him having gotten what he wanted and let out a deep breath. Although his hand itched for a cigarette, he remained steadfast in his refusal to smoke anywhere near the boy these days. Instead, he forced on a blank expression and began rummaging through the backpack. He pulled out a bottle of water and a store-bought sandwich and handed them to the child after checking the expiration date.

He made sure that the copycat didn't choke while wolfing down the slightly stale sandwich and reflexively wiped the crumbs off his cheeks after he had finished, lamenting at how sunken they were. He resolved to hound the boy to go with him to the hotpot store more often, if only to make sure he ate enough.

"Why?"

"Mhm?"

"Why-Why did you take me to your place? Why did you take care of me and feed me? You haven't asked for anything back? I-I don't have anything to give you! I can't-"

The boy's broken tirade was cut off by a pair of scarred but warm hands circling around his trembling frame and bringing him into someone's chest. The dam broke, and tears began flowing down his pale cheeks like waterfalls. He didn't even know why he was crying, but the building ache in his chest seemed to have finally bubbled to the surface and overwhelmed him. It wasn't fair! Why did this stranger he had met not even a month ago care for him more than his mommy did? Why? Why couldn't he be a normal kid? Why couldn't he go to school, and make friends, and play with toys?

Daniel listened to the little one wrapped in his arms choke on his own sobs and hiccups while mumbling unintelligibly and his heart shattered. The unfairness of it all hit him straight on and at that moment he found that he didn't care if his shirt was wet with tears and snot and bits of saliva, nor did he care that his work would start in half an hour. He could afford to lose his job (even if it would be a rather nasty blow to his income) if it meant that the little boy who was drifting off to sleep on his chest, having already tired himself out crying, wouldn't be alone when he woke up.

No, he thought clutching Johan closer to himself, he wouldn't let him be alone again. He wouldn't abandon him and he would do his darned best so that he would get a normal childhood.

Baby Danny in Big Deal Loop

Baby Danny: Why should I make my bed, when I'm just gonna unmake it to sleep in it anyways? Samuel: Why should I feed you if you're just gonna die anyways? Danny: Danny: I'll go make my bed-

With Danny being on loop for thousand of times already wouldn't he also have genderbend of him-self? I wonder what changes in everyone perspective. Especially gun since that guy is a pervert as Goo says.

Maybe she could make this work?

Being a woman was hard. Being an attractive woman was a nightmare, plain and simple. Simply put, being looped into a female body was a lesson in many things, including but not limited to patience, tolerance, humility, and the sheer ability to put up with so much bullshit on a daily basis that it made Danny want to pull her hair out of her skull strand by strand.

To begin with, everyone seemed to suddenly view him as an unowned object, ready for the taking. That was usually resolved with a couple broken bones and broken egos, though some people took more convincing to finally get the message.

Patience. Cross.

Then came the pain. And blood. Oh, god, so much blood! And the pain could be utterly unbearable, leaving him curled on the floor just prying for it to go away. He knew what periods were, of course, but no one had ever told him they could get this bad!

Tolerance. Cross.

Society as a whole apparently expected him to act as if she was less of everything they had applauded him for being. They saw her achievements as boasting or cheating, yet jeered whenever she would get lower than they expected. Nothing she did was ever good enough, but she wasn't allowed to do better. Danny was no stranger to the bigotry of men, but its hist had never resonated in him quite how they did then.

Humility. Cross.

When the assumptions and expectations came she just decided to call it quits. Fuck the world!

Ability to deal with bullshit on a daily basis. Cross.

-------------------------------

In an attempt to regain some semblance of control over her life, Danny decided to stock as closely as possible to the original timeline of events. It didn't work.

For one, Jay seemed to be actively avoiding her. She could understand that, but it didn't mean it hurt any less. At least he still remained friendly with her, if a bit shyer than before.

Zack was another problem. He had annoyed her enough to make her fight him during the second day, but the outcome had been much more different. The boxer was defeated by a girl in front of the whole school, wounding his pride, but since then he had taken to trying to embarrass her in a twisted attempt at payback. It wasn't pretty, but she knew that with enough time he would grow more mature, as he always did, and perhaps there would be hope for e reconciliation.

Similarly to her two classmates, many of her usual friends acted rather oddly in her presence or didn't interact with her at all. The exception to this was, surprisingly, the two troublemakers from the Vocal Department.

Danny had no idea how she did it, but she has somehow gotten adopted into their little clique and they stuck to her like glue ever since, even going as far as leaving Duke alone when she asked them. Their silly antics were a balm to the ache in her soul that had come with losing the chance to bond with the people that she held dear in the same way she always did. That wasn't a problem, the fighting prodigy told herself, she would just have to find new ways to bond with them. For now, she was content with the two friends she had, however odd their friendship might've been. She might be able to make this work.

"HUH? That's stupid!" Vin Jin said a bit louder than he had to, secretly trying to wake his black-haired friend from whatever trance she was in.

"You just can't figure out how great it is because you're a moron!" Mary retorted, gripping the girl's elbow. "Isn't that right Danny?"

That got her to snap out of her thoughts and look up at the bickering pair. She gave them a clueless smile and nod, unaware of them sighing in relief as she once again joined in on the conversation. She had the habit of getting lost in thought every once in a while and they worried about how vulnerable it left her. That's why they could never leave her side. Even now, they could feel the hungry gazes coming from all over the cafeteria, aimed at the beautiful transfer girl. She may be strong enough to fight them off, but that didn't stop those freaky perverts from thinking all sorts of creepy shit about her.

Mary and Vin held a silent conversation between them as the girl ate, cluelessly. These trance-like episodes had become more frequent in the past week and they needed to find a way to put a stop to them. The School Festival was coming up, which is when the two convened to put their plan into action.

When Zack was chosen for the Slave Auction Danny could only cringe and give him her best wishes. Usually, when he was chosen for the Auction in previous loops either he would have to spend a hellish date with Lala or Crystal would come save him, then give him the same speech about not judging people based on their looks. This usually ended in one of two ways, he would lose his temper and yell back, leading to Gun pummeling him into the floor, or he would take it quietly before informing Crystal that he couldn't go out with her because he didn't like her, and would, again, end up kissing the pavement, courtesy of her bodyguard overreacting and hitting him (what a shocker!).

The event went as expected, with Crystal buying the boxer and them leaving for the parking lot. Only, this time Danny followed behind them, as did her two best friends. They didn't even bother sneaking around, just followed closely behind, curious to see what would happen.

"Oh, so it's that way, huh" The black-haired beauty muttered under her breath, seeing Zack's expression grow stormier with each passing moment before he erupted into a screaming match with the Choi heiress.

"Who would've thought that cheeky bugger would still have it in him!" Vin mused out loud next to her, entertained.

Mary agreed, unbothered by the growing tension. Before any of them could blink Danny had bolted from her place, skidding to a halt right in front of the screaming boy. A few centimeters from her face she held Gun's ankle in a vise-like grip, her eyes narrowed sharp and unmoving from the bodyguard's face.

Zack stumbled back half a step, swallowing the knot in his throat. I didn't even see that coming, how did she get here so fast?! He recalled how she had easily sent him flying with just one punch. Back then he had dismissed it as a fluke, but what if...

Crystal stared at the pretty girl who had stopped Gun's Brazilian kick in silent horror and a trace of awe. She had noticed the three watching them, but hadn't thought anything of it. They looked like your typical high-school students, possibly even bullies. Now that she looked closer, however, there was a certain air of danger around each and every one of them, though most notably from the tall black-haired girl. A cold droplet of sweat slid down her cheek, she needed to stop this before it got out of hand!

One look at Gun's face told her that it was too late. He was smiling, no, grinning that abnormally large grin of his that only came when he saw someone as a challenge. His glasses had been discarded onto the ground, revealing the demonic-looking black eyes behind them. This wasn't a fight that could be prevented. Frantically, Crystal pulled out her phone and dialed her father, prying that the maniac wouldn't kill the girl until then.

"Yes, Crystal?" Charles' voice held a note of annoyance to it that, were she not panicking, she would've hesitated before.

"It's Gun" she relayed into the phone panicky "he's gotten into a fight with some girl! He's got that crazy grin of his and he's taken off his glasses-"

A loud thud sounded from behind her and she turned to look, expecting the worst. Crystal froze with her mouth wide open, blinking dumbly at the scene before her. It wasn't the bold girl's body laying bloody and motionless on the concrete. It was Gun's. His shirt was ripped and his hair a mess. His body was a mess of red and able and purple, though by the labored rising and falling of his chest he wasn't dead yet. One of his hands was twisted at an unnatural angle and the other looked very much broken, the bone visibly poking out beneath the skin, near his elbow.

Zack was looking on in a mix of horror and awe, frozen in place by the display of such skill and ruthlessness. She's fast...and deadly, he thought to himself, paling a bit. Meanwhile, Vin and Mary seemed unbothered by the sight and cheered their friend on, the latter holding a phone in her hand and probably filming the ordeal.

"Crystal! CRYSTAL!" Her father's voice snapped her out of it and she was once again able to speak.

"He's down. Out cold. Not dead though." She told him, unable to hide the tremor in her voice. "I didn't even have time to see-"

A shadow loomed over her trembling body and she slowly rose her head. The girl's gaze was detached and cold like she was staring down at a tiny mouse not worth her time. When she spoke her voice sounded like a mix between satisfied and indifferent.

"Take him back."

Crystal could only nod with her eyes tightly shut, feeling this predator's hot breath on her face. She scurried towards the fallen man and dragged him into the car before getting into the driver's seat and spreading out of the parking lot.

"Woohoo! Holy shit!" A pair of arms draped themselves over her shoulders and she found herself sandwiched between two warm bodies.

"That was fucking epic!" Vin praised the shorter girl, while his blonde friend nodded in agreement from the other side.

Danny allowed herself a small smile at the warm feeling that bloomed in her chest. The coldness in her body was washed away by laughter and other such explicit exclamations and praises. Yeah, she could make this work.

Danny: You call yourself my soulmate, but where were you when my meme only had four likes? Jay: Making four accounts. Danny, tearing up: Really…?

You are sitting at your desk one quiet evening finishing up some assignments when you hear a crack behind you, like someone just stepped on one of the creaky floorboards of your cozy little home. Only problem is, you live in an apartment with cement floors covered in fluffy carpets.

  Wordlessly, you pull out an ancient blade with shining symbols all over it that seems to buzz happily as it is once again in your grasp.

Robin: Are you having another depressive episode? Danny: A depressive episode? Danny: I'm having a depressive series and we're just on season one.

Small Prompt

He spoke in a quiet breathy tone ,his words almost inaudible over the low buzzing of the crowds below: ”I’m going to come back and kill you ,even if I have to crawl back up from the pits of Hell!”

Two shots rang out into the night and a body plummeted onto the concrete streets below landing with a thud. A chorus of hysteric screams ensued.