Author stuff: I'm finally posting in the Danny Phandom section again — and just in time for the 10th Dannyversary! Actually, I wasn't intending to post this until early to mid-September but I shrugged and asked myself why shouldn't I get it up early, you know? Anyway, here's my gift to the lovely Phandom to celebrate ten wonderful years of being together. XOXO ~iOc
I currently have four of these little stories written. I plan on maybe six or seven, depending on how many chapters the main story for this has. Originally, I was calling these interludes. I changed it to preludes because I decided to post them separately. The main story will be released THIS October (maybe late September, depending on chapter count) and will be updated either daily or every other day (again, depending on chapter count). After the first three are posted, I'll take some requests for the other two and we'll take a vote — which will end the day the fourth is posted. The top two or three will be written.
The main story's working title is "Circus Freak" but I plan to change it when I can think of something pun-ny. It's labeled as "Circus Thinamagig" on yWriter. XD I started planning it sometime in either March or June 2013. It's a murder mystery-ish thing and is taking a lot more research than I think I ever realized — by which, I mean I get to sit on my rump and watch noir films for several hours. Hard work there. I'm currently using an awesome new item: a Magic 8 Ball. It's helping me decide difficult things, like "Will Jazz be in this scene?", "Is Danny wearing those pants?", "Can I eat this taco with cheese and not vomit because my body doesn't produce the lactase needed to digest the lactose?", or "Will Star throw glitter on Tucker?" (Answers: Yes; Most definitely; Yes — but it really should have been no, stupid lactose intolerance; and Ask again later.) So, I'm amusing myself while I'm writing. And eating lots of popcorn.
DNC UPDATE: My Do Not Cross sequel is still in the works. I didn't like how one character's arc was unfolding, so I scrapped it — it's still saved in my email (thank goodness) in case I want to go back and rework it. I have the next two books all planned out, all ready and waiting. And I have a few tie-ins to post one of these days. I'll get to posting it… December, at the latest. The DNC sequel is my July Camp NaNo project. That's official… as of now.
And now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, these note things won't be as long as the piece posted.
Summary: A series of short fics that will lead up to the events in "Circus Freak" (coming October 2014). Prelude 1 - In which we learn how Vlad came to the circus…
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. They legally belong to Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, and Billionfold. And I think Nelvana. Might want to double check that…
Preludes to the Circus
By iOc
Prelude 1
He didn't like summers. They were always hot and sticky and the animals reeked to the high heavens. Not only that but when his family and the rest of the circus would pass through towns, he would see kids his own age playing and having fun. It didn't seem fair that they could do that while he trained to be a juggler — which he was horrible at, by the way.
And so, that afternoon, he found himself outside attempting to juggle with three round balls. They were pretty things, red in color and easy to catch. The problem was handling all three at once. He was probably one of the most concentrated people working at the moment, at least he thought so, and that was all that mattered. Most of the other cirkies his age left him alone. He was a rather "freaky" looking kid — according to the other cirky children, black hair with pale skin and blue eyes. He looked like one of those characters in a classic horror film or something. Then again, he really didn't watch horror films to know. He was more fond of old noir films, black and white talkies. Who needs Disney when a kid had guns and violence?
His sister, however, thought differently. She discouraged the noir films and tried to shove the happily-ever-afters and princes and princesses down his throat. According to her, his fascination with them could lead to a psychopathic lifestyle later in life. But than again, she was only eight and hardly knew was "psychopathic" meant.
While he was thinking, he found, he had somehow managed to juggle all three balls. But how? He had never been able to do it before. And just when he managed to get it, the balls went haywire. One bounced off his head and made his drop the others. He rubbed the spot sorely. It would bruise. Those balls were made of rubber — which still hurt if you got bonked on the head. He was lucky that those were the lightest pair his parents owned.
"Having trouble?"
He jumped, whirling around to see a tall man with calm, blue eyes and white hair. He would have guessed the man to be older than his father but his face looked far too young for that.
"Yes," the boy said, nodding enthusiastically. "Juggling is hard. There's too many balls."
"Ah," the man said, kneeling down to the boy's level, "it just takes practice."
"Can you juggle?"
The man picked up the balls and tossed them. Yes, he could juggle and quite well, too. The boy clapped with excitement. Maybe this man could teach him!
"I used to juggle a lot," the man said. "Tell me, do you know a man named Jack Fenton?"
"Yup!" the boy said, grinning broadly. "He's my daddy."
The man was startled by this, dropping the balls. One nearly landed on the boy's foot. Perhaps he wasn't going to teach him, especially if he drops the balls.
"Jack Fenton is your father?"
"Uh-huh! Are you here to visit him?"
There was hesitation from the man. He did not speak up right away, as if he hadn't been expecting something. The boy brushed it off as nerves.
"Yes," the man eventually said, "I am here to see your father."
"Then I'll take you to him!" the boy said, declaring himself the man's designated tour guide.
He grabbed the man's hand and lead him inside to the main tent. Inside, his parents were rehearsing with several other clowns for their act. His mother sat off to the side, her legs stretched out with stilts attached to her shins. She looked up when she heard their footsteps and she frowned when she saw who he son was with.
"Danny," she said, "who is this?"
"He said he's a friend of daddy's," the boy said, smiling innocently. "We aren't ruining rehearsal are we?"
"No, Danny, you're not. Come sit by mommy."
The boy sidled over and plopped down next to her.
"Vlad," she said, acknowledging the man. "I thought you left the circus life."
"I did," the man said. "But, one cannot take the sawdust out of my veins."
"We have plenty of clowns. You'll have to take your need for employment elsewhere."
"Oh, I'm not here to 'clown around.' I'm here to audition for illusionist. I heard Clockwork was wanting for one. So, here I am!"
Posted: 3 April 2013 — Happy 10th Dannyversary!
Author stuff: The second one will be posted the first week of May. Maybe second, I haven't plugged it into my phone at the moment. I plan on updating the third of every month, but we'll have to see what time allows.
As I said, this is part of a murder mystery-ish WIP fic that I planned last year March or June 2013. The events in these first few take place in the mid-90s or very early 2000s. I don't exactly remember what I placed Danny's age as in "Circus Freak," so it might not be 1995 or it could actually be 1995… I don't know. I have to dig through fifty pages of notes. I know that he's of college age in "Circus Freak." Yeah… I'm fun on three hours of sleep.
If you ever have any comments, questions, or concerns, always feel free to pester me with a poker fresh from the fire. Or with a muffin. I can be bribed, just as fine. I'm pretty easy to get a hold of. I have numerous links on my profile to all the various forms of social media I take part in (dA, tumblr, Facebook, twitter, email, carrier pigeon, etc.). Or just write a very angry review or something. That usually catches my eye.
Ciao for now,
iOc
