How To Balance Your Daytime And Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

Danny was waiting when Dick came home. "Welcome home, Dick."

He runned the back of his neck nervously, slipping the window closed behind him. "Hey, Danny."

There was a long moment of silence, Dick standing in front of the closed window and Danny sitting on the couch. Danny took a sip of the tea he was holding before setting the mug down on the coffee table with a click. "So," he leveled a small glare at the vigilante, "you gonna apologise to Tim?"

"Who?" Dick blinked.

"The kid you yelled at and then left standing in your apartment as you went out as Nightwing for exactly two hours, fifteen minutes, and twenty-two seconds longer than your new schedule allows."

He cringed back. "Listen, kid-"

"No, you're listening to me, so shut up and sit down." He did, dropping right to the floor. "I don't know what the hell happened between you and Batman, but you don't get to take it out on the people around you, especially not the kid that just trying to help."

"Dan-"

"What did I just say?" He sighed. "Look. I get it. You're grieving, both you and Batman are, but that doesn't excuse your behavior. It doesn't excuse Batman's behavior, either, so don't think that's what I'm saying."

Dick carefully pulled his domino mask off. "What do you want me to do?"

"Several things." Danny stood and walked into the bathroom, coming back a few seconds later with Dick's first aid kit. "First, though, you're gonna let me patch you up. Then, you're gonna use my phone and apologise to Tim. After that, you eat and go to bed; You have work in a few hours."

Knowing he wasn't going to be getting out of this, Dick started to take his suit off. He slipped his arms out of the sleeves and let Danny treat the bruises on his arms and hands. Not much damage that night. He'd only encountered a few petty crimes so it had been quiet.

Without another word shared between them, Danny left to put the first aid kit away before making a quick snack for Dick while he went to change. It'd only been about a week, but they'd fallen into an easy routine.

Dick was quick to change and eat, falling asleep nearly ten minutes after he laid down.

***

Danny made sure Dick was asleep before he left the apartment as Phantom. He'd learned, during his two weeks of not-stalking, that a some criminals hung back until Nightwing had turned in before they came out to play. Phantom was going out for an extra two hours each night to remedy this. Though, he made sure no one ever spotted him before or after he knocked people out. Invisibility was hand like that.

Sure, he didn't have all that much experience as a vigilante, but he'd been traveling for four weeks before stopping. The first lesson he learned was that he needed to learn fast. He was wasn't a genius like the rest of his family, but he picked up on things really fast. Fighting had been one of those things. Though, the lessons from his mom when he was a kid also helped a lot.

Staying invisible was easy, so was intangibility and flight. The three together made stealth easier than if he didn't have them. Though, he did make sure to practice his stealth without them, too. Being caught unawares or without his powers would be disastrous and he was going to do everything he could to mitigate the risk.

Blockbuster, Phantom had learned, was the reason Dick had stayed in Bludhaven. He was also the ringleader of the organised crime in the city. Apparently, he's the second of the Blockbuster name? The giant of a man had his hands everywhere; The Bludhaven Police, as well as the underbellies of New York, Metropolis, and Gotham. With eyes and ears everywhere, not a lot got passed him, which is likely why Nightwing was having trouble getting the crime rates down. So, Danny Phantom was going to help.

He'd heard the name Oracle from both Nightwing and Blockbuster's goons, so Phantom assumed whoever that was was on his side. Unluckily, though, they were now a target. He just needed to get a hold of them without letting them find him.

Phantom had heard the information from several goons since he'd started going out, but he didn't know if Nightwing knew or not. Though, he didn't know how to pass on the information. How could he tell Dick what he knows without letting slip that he'd been going out? Dick would call him a hypocrite and would fall back into his passively suicidal schedule. Danny's not a hypocrite! He just runs on a separate schedule. A schedule that Dick might not like, but one that works for Danny.

The intel Phantom was working with tonight was about some of Dick's coworkers. He knew the corruption in the Bludhaven and Gotham City Police Departments ran thick and deep, so he wasn't really surprised to find out that Detective Soames and Chief Redhorn ran with the less than pleasant people that made their homes and bases in Bludhaven.

Dick knew this, too, which is why he became an officer in the first place.

According to the goons Phantom had spied on, Detective Soames was involved in a drug ring that was doing deliveries tonight. It was timed to be after Nightwing had turned in for the night so that he wouldn't be able to bust it. It was a smart move on the ringleader's part, to have his goons out only after Nightwing was done for the night.

That was the next thing he was going to have to work on with Nightwing. He couldn't have a discernible pattern without someone with him to cover. Honestly, Batman should know better, too. Maybe he'll pass it on to Tim?

While on the road, Danny had learned that his powers were still developing. One of which was a kind of sixth sense. It worked somewhere between hearing and a spider's ability to feel vibrations in the air and webs. He didn't know is reach on it yet, but he was able to cover half of Bludhaven from where the ability currently sat, so he was going to work with that limit for now.

The warehouse he was staking out was where he'd heard goons talk about for nearly a week. They had been careless, assuming that there was no one out to catch them, but it worked in Phantom's favor. It was mostly empty, save for a few homeless squatters looking for some shelter, and was otherwise undisturbed.

Phantom didn't believe it for a second.

He was also going to laugh in Tim's face if the goons in Bludhaven were smarter than the goons in Gotham.

Right on time, just as the clock turned over into the Witching Hour, the homeless people sheltered in the warehouse stood up and met in the center of the building. Together, and armed, they waited for exactly five minutes. Then, the back doors to the building opened and Detective Soames walsted in.

"Gentlemen," the detective greeted with a sneer, "Lady. Do you have what I came here for?"

"Do we look like idiots?" the lady of the group scoffed, "Of course we have it."

"Well, I don't see it," Soames frowned, "Where is it?"

The dirty blond to the woman's right was the next to speak. "Hidden in the walls."

Soames' frown deepened into a scowl. "The hell is it in there for?"

The only other person of the group, a brown haired man, said, "There's rumors goin' 'round about a Spook. Comes out when Nightwing turns in."

Well, well, well. Looks like Phantom's gaining a reputation.

"You believe in ghost stories now?" Detective Soames sneered, "Get my delivery, now."

The three scuttled off the the wall just under where Phantom was hiding in the rafters. He timed ten minutes before they walked back upto Soames with two bricks of cocaine each.

"You're short."

"This is the agreed upon amount." the lady argued.

Soames' expression twisted into something cruel. "Did I forget to tell you? Tsk. Shame." In a quick and fluid movement, he whipped a pistol from his inner pocket and shot the woman and then the blond. He picked up the bricks, tucking them under his arm before taking the last two from the brunet. "I cannot build an empire without a few casualties, right?"

The man gulped, eyeing the gun. "Y-yes, sir."

Soames hummed. "The sands of Egypt were dyed red with blood. The roads of Rome are the same." He turned away from the man. "Twelve bricks in two weeks. You'll have a location shortly."

Phantom watched the detective leave with a frown. So that was the deal, huh? He didn't know too much about Bludhaven's criminals yet, but he was fairly certain that a man like Blockbuster won't like someone trying this shit under his nose.

He was quick to leave the warehouse after that, doing a quick loop of the city - focused mostly on Sin Central and The Spine - before flying back to Dick's apartment. He wrote down everything from the night, complete with drawings of everyone of note that he saw. He'd pass it to Nightwing as soon as he needed to. For now, though, it remained his cases alone.

Part 8 Part 10

Do you use a weighted blanket?

Enough Caffeine To Kill An Elephant

Danny: Why use a weighted blanket when the weight of my responsibilities weigh me down enough?

Constantine: Why use a weighted blanket when all of my sins weigh me down enough?

Tim: Sleep is fantastic, but have you heard of coffee?

Billy: Does my cat count?

How To Balance

Danny: Sleep is fantastic, but have you heard of coffee?

Dick: Why use a weighted blanket when the weight of my responsibilities weigh me down enough?

Tim: Does my cat count?

Bruce: Why use a weighted blanket when all of my sins weigh me down enough?

Take Back Your Minx

Danny: Why use a weighted blanket when all of my sins weigh me down enough?

Jason: Why use a weighted blanket when the weight of my responsibilities weigh me down enough?

Be Thou For The People

Ed: Why use a weighted blanket when all of my sins weigh me down enough?

Truth: Does my cat count?

Morally Grey

Chuuya: Sleep is fantastic, but have you heard of coffee? // Does my cat count?

Atsushi: Why use a weighted blanket when all of my sins weigh me down enough? // Does my cat count?

I now pass this question onto all artists and writers. Do your characters use a weighted blanket?

I'mma vent for a second.

So, me, my sister, and some friends are going camping from Aug. 5-10. We went last year, decided to go again this year, and we want to make it a yearly trip. I've been planning it since January, trying to iron out all the background stuff and getting head counts and shit.

I sent out the invites last year with the message "...so you can schedule the time and plan now, so that no one is scrambling last minute."

We might have to cut the trip short because the one who took all food prep from me might not be able to stay the whole time. He's buying the food, with $100 from everyone, and we're using his dad's coolers. My sister is bringing him and one other up, while I'll be in the other car with the other driver and his dog.

I was told not to worry about the food prep (though, I took over deserts) and to not buy any coolers (I was gonna get two really big ones before I was told this). Now we're a few weeks out from the trip with destination, final headcount, and drivers and we might not get to stay the whole time because the one who recommended the place and took over food prep didn't plan accordingly.

Look, before anyone get upset, I know I shouldn't be upset about money problems, but I am. I sent the invites out last year to avoid something like this. I know life happens and I know getting angry isn't gonna do shit to help, but I'm- not pissed, or even angry, really. I feel something akin to disappointed, but that's not quite right.

I sent the invites out to people I knew thought wouldn't flake like this because it just adds more stress onto my shoulders.

If he has to leave early, then we all have to because he's our food prep. I don't have the money to pick up any of the slack from him because I was told not to worry about it. My sister isn't gonna want to drive a four (I think) hour round trip just to take him home and come back up.

I just- I don't know.

I can assure that I won't be making this mistake again next time. Contingencies and all that; take a page from B-man's book ad plan for everything

Update:

It's twin and her roommate that might not be able to go. They're both shit at budgeting (and that's coming from me, but at least I know how to set money aside- I'm upset) and their rent is coming up, plus the ER bill that kept getting sent to my place because twin didn't ever pick it up whenever she came by until three days ago.

It's nothing that I should reasonably be upset about, but it's nothing I can really help out with, either.

I've asked them to send me their for sure "Yes, we can go" or "No, we can't go" as soon as they can. Once they do, I'll talk to the other two guys to see what they wanna do.

If twin and roommate can't go, then we're down a driver and a truck. Me and C can't drive and S's car is big enough for his and his dog's stuff.

It's a mess but, again, this is why I've been trying to plan this since last year so that shit like this doesn't happen.

I'mma be upset about this for a while.

Time to take a step back, Void.

Reunion of Brothers is now on Ao3 (linked on it's masterpost)

I'm several of these, but mostly "His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity"