Vasco: Okay, I’m Going To Get The Wedding Cake. Jace: Perfect, While You Do That I’ll Check On

#3

Forget politeness, Danny was just downright feral. Simply put, he had woken up and chosen violence.

He made his way to school like he owned the place. Bought himself at the Slave Auction like it was nobody's business and went off into the sunset with a baffled Jay in his arms, being held in bridal style. Then he came back because he had forgotten that he had to sing with Duke and put the blonde back down remorsefully before making him promise to watch his concert.

Somehow, and because the universe was a bitch he had once again ended up in the parking lot with Crystal and Gun staring at him. Before he could walk away the girl opened her mouth and began berating him for "judging people based on their looks".

"I'm gonna stop you right there" He cut her off, something no one had ever done before judging by her gobsmacked expression. "I don't know you, nor do I care to so you should keep your hypocritical view to yourself, okay miss?"

Unfortunately, Crystal managed to recover before he could book it out of there.

"Just who do you think you are? Calling me a hypocrite?"

Daniel regaled her with a thoroughly unimpressed stare before opening his mouth.

"Siri, could you please tell me the definition of hypocrisy?"

"a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel" The robotic voice came from his back pocket, echoing through the empty parking lot.

Gun had a mysterious coughing fit that ended with a pointed elbow in the ribs from the smaller girl, though even that didn't manage to wipe the grin off his face. He eyed the boy more closely, feeling suddenly intrigued about whether he had the skills to back his cheeky attitude.

"You judge people based on how they look. I saw how you looked at one of the other girls in the crowd." Crystal continued to press on stubbornly.

"And you don't?" He retorted without missing a beat. "Besides, the girl I was looking at was Lala Kim, and she's notorious for how badly she treats the dates she buys at the Slave Auction."

That at least seemed to have gotten his point across.

"But you still act like you are better than anyone else."

Spoken too soon.

"I am better than everyone else!" His cocky reply seemed to only infuriate the beautiful girl more.

"Prove it!"

"Sure!"

They were now shouting and so close to each other that it was just one shove away from ending up really awkwardly between them. Daniel didn't let his confidence waver when she suddenly revealed a sharp smile that promised pain and humiliation, instead, he gave her his own taunting smirk and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Gun, fight him."

If the command surprised the bodyguard, he didn't show it. In one swift move, he took off his sunglasses, revealing the black sclera of his eyes and plastered on his infamous insane grin. Crystal moved out of the way and Daniel squared his shoulders but didn't wipe off his mocking expression.

Before he could blink an all-too-familiar kick began heading his way and the boy slipped into his fighting mindset. He blacked the click with his own leg using a basic movement that made it seem ridiculously easy. Gun's eyes widened as well as his smirk.

"You're pretty interesting, huh?"

A fist flew towards his face.

"Uh, Daniel."

The boy in question dodged the blow and caught his attacker by the throat, lifting him in the air.

"Hm?" He hummed inquiringly, turning to see the cowering form of Jinho looking at him like he was a monster.

He let go of his opponent, whose body hit the pavement with a muffled thud and made his way toward his smaller classmate.

"Uh-uh, Duke's looking for you, he-he asked me to-to get you." Jinho stuttered, eyes glued on the predator before him and knees trembling.

"Oh right, the concert, I almost forgot!" It was like a switch had been flipped and Daniel's cold facade melted back into a friendly smile. "Thanks, Jinho."

The boy nodded so fast he almost knocked his glasses off his face and scurried back.

"Ah, sorry, we'll have to continue this another time." He told the pair who were still frozen in shock, either at his skill or his quick change in attitude, he found that he didn't care much either way.

Shooting them one final sharp grin Daniel jogged back to the school festival, ready to perform for the beautiful blonde who would be watching him. Once he was out of sight Gun's posture finally loosened and he leaned onto the side of the car, pulling out a cigarette. A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead and he absently brushed his fingers over the already-forming hand-shaped bruise on his neck.

"He could have broken my neck without breaking a sweat." He mumbled and Crystal blanched at the thought.

"That boy...", the fighting maniac took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke slowly, "could've killed me if he wanted to."

The pair shared no other words as they left, both slightly trembling, though due to different reasons. Daniel Park was a real beast and they were lucky he had been interrupted when he had. Gun massaged his neck again as he drove, an impossibly large smile on his face.

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.

#17

Danny had avoided thinking about it because, frankly, he didn't want to. At first, it hadn't occurred to him that any of his friends could possibly die before him. The time loop usually made sure of it. It never lasted long enough for him to reach past 30, and even then it had been a stroke of luck that he didn't much care to repeat...(Ugh, taxes.)

Then he killed Eli and watched his family and friends mourn him, from afar. They didn't know it was him who had done it, but all the same, he couldn't bare look them in the eyes. Not when they sobbed at his funeral. Not when little Yenna was constantly searching for her father and waiting for him to come back from "the nice place". He had willfully blinded himself with the excuse that "it wasn't permanent", and "the next loop he would be fine". Daniel Park was below scum.

Then Robin had come along a few loops later. Poor, kind, patient Robin, who had taken him to the deepest, darkest parts of his consciousness and had still sought to bring him redemption. She, who had glimpsed at the murderer in juvi uniform and still saw something...something worth saving...something good.

The process had been long and grueling, with many violent episodes and tearful breakdowns, but in the end, Daniel Park had emerged a different man. A man who could once again look people in the eye and didn't shy away from mirrors and sleep. A man who had understood his mistakes and who would strive to do better, to be better.

That was what he had told himself.

That was what he had lied about to everyone.

Daniel was not better. He wasn't good. He wasn't kind. He wasn't patient and forgiving and good! He wasn't...good. In his memories, the boy who had been willing to befriend those who had once wronged him and attempt to redeem them was dead.

It only took one hit to prove him right.

One blow towards his Jay's already unmoving body...

He had snapped.

It had taken him three loops and a bit of the fourth to stop. His anger had only partially been quelled by the bloodshed.

That's why he was here. In front of that same crisp white door with a little metal plaque on it. Danny tried to steady his breath and rose a trembling hand to the door. Knock! Knock!

"Come in!" Dr. Robin Lim's voice sounded from the other side.

(Robin Lim)

Danny: Due to personal reasons, I will be fucking sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a large metal box. Zack: Did Jay say 'I love you' and you said 'Thanks'? Danny: THE REASONS ARE PERSONAL–

Random: I saw the most beautiful woman outside today. Zack: That’s impossible, Mira has been inside with me all day.

I am in desperate need of help. My Time-Loop Ideas folder apparently got deleted by accident and I am left idea-less. It would really help if you could send me some ideas for loops!

<3

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.

#7

Daniel wasn't born invincible, although most people wouldn't be able to tell you that. Even in the first loop, he had first crawled through the filth before reaching the top. But it hadn't been enough. This is why, in every loop after that one, for at least a few dozen of them he had approached people like Gun, Goo, and Diego to teach him. Some were harder to convince than others and some would downright refuse to teach him until he found a way to prove to them he was worthy. He had to do things that he didn't dare to remember some days.

He remembered the first time he was made to kill.

His second loop, Gun had been much crueler than he usually was. He made his two masterpieces fight to the death, just for the sake of it. Daniel orphaned a little girl that day. He couldn't bare to look in the mirror for weeks, but he pushed on. He needed to be stronger! So, the boy-turned-killer gritted his teeth and force-fed himself sleeping pills every night.

The second time he killed it came much easier.

Perhaps because he was still reeling from the first one. It was only a few weeks after Eli's blood had covered his hands that another lay before him with his neck broken. It had been so easy it was gut-churning, like breaking a particularly tough twig. He emptied the contents of his stomach in a bush nearby, but couldn't find it in himself to regret it very much. It was horrifying to realize he regretted getting caught and ending up in juvie more than killing Zoe's stalker.

The third time's the charm, right? It wasn't.

That night he stumbled into a bar and drank himself into obliviousness to forget the feeling of a too-small boy beneath the tips of his fingers. He had killed a kid, not much younger than himself, a year at maximum, but a kid! The feeling of bile rising in his throat hadn't left him for the entire loop. When he woke up he was in a cell, with policemen looking down at him with a mix of disgust and horror. They regarded him as a monster, and Daniel deserved it. It didn't take long to get a confession out of him and back to juvie he went. It didn't matter, the phantom touch lingering whenever he clutched his fist was still there.

When the fourth came he still cried.

By the time of the fifth, he lost his appetite completely.

The sixth came with mandatory visits to the therapist's office.

The seventh brought on a new therapist and sturdier cuffs.

It helped, incredibly. There was no more killing in that loop, and the couple that followed.

The eight was accidental, and it left Daniel screaming and crying, and vomiting hysterically. He wasn't locked up for that one, but he somehow found his way back to the therapist's office. The first one he tried had left him with a bitter taste on his tongue. The second one knew exactly which buttons to push. It was a miracle Daniel didn't end up with a ninth corpse to the ever-growing pile attached to his name.

Finally, after a lot of breakdowns and unhelpful psychologists, Danny ended up meeting a nice lady by the name of Robin Lim, who managed, with an amount of ungodly patience and calm, to get through to him. It wasn't a sudden catharsis that left him feeling the office a thousand tons lighter, but it was like the steady flow of a stream, growing quicker and bigger every day until he could finally breathe without feeling like he was choking on air.

Robin remained Daniel's therapist for over eight loops until he finally came to terms with what he had and most likely would again do. He managed to establish a system of what to do when it happened again and how to manage his inner turmoil so that it didn't spill into something dangerous, either for himself or others.

While the looping had the effect of twisting his morals to the extreme sometimes, Daniel was always careful to keep a grip on his emotions and try to use the techniques Robin had taught him to regulate those that could become a threat. It wasn't perfect (the seemingly, only imperfect thing about him now), but it worked and it made him view the world in another light.

It was both surprising and not that he now understood Jinho, to a certain level. He knew what it felt like to be given a ray of light and not manage to cling to it no matter how hard he struggled. He had been pathetic and weak and selfish in a way that made him both better and so much worse than the scrawny boy. Better because he had learned from it and strived to make himself the best possible version despite his worries, insecurities, paranoia, and tilted moral compass. Worse because, unlike Jinho, he had succeeded and killed people to further his own selfish goals.

At the end of the day, the imperfect-perfect boy remained a human, one who struggled and hurt and cried. As long as he kept a tight leash on the part of him that could make others struggle and hurt and cry (and even worse) he kept going, trying to find a way to end the cycle and keep the people he loved safe.

Even if that meant entire loops-worth of counseling and breakdowns, he would do it. For those he cherished? Anything.

#19

Danny: Alright, listen up, you little shits. Danny: Not you, Jay. You’re an angel and we’re thrilled to have you here.

#16

Daniel was tiny. TINY!

It wasn't even because the loop had started very early, no, he was in the timeframe around when he would've been in middle school, judging by the date on a discarded newspaper he had found, with the only difference being that he was a toddler. Worst even, his mother was nowhere in sight. He was a lost baby!

His respect for Yenna grew leps and bound once he managed to finally lift his bum off the sidewalk after at least 20 tries. How did babies even manage to live like this? Nevermind, they're babies they don't need to provide for themselves or do literally anything for themselves.

"Uhgggggh" The sound he unwillingly let slip was embarrassing, but encompassed the situation exactly.

'Stupid broken loop!' he thought, struggling to walk-crawl closer to what he assumed was a more populated street, judging by the voices coming from there. 'Maybe I shouldn't have started a cult in the last loop. Or is this a result of that one ritual we were making when the loop reset?' he theorized, unaware of his surroundings due to his limited attention span.

Suddenly he was no longer touching the ground and instead flying. Oh, nevermind, someone (a giant) had lifted him in his hand. The sensation made him slightly nauseous, but he didn't bother trying to struggle when he recognized who the giant was. At least that confirmed his theory of being around when he should've been fourteen or so.

Jerry cooed over the tiny being cupped in his large palms, uncaring of the seemingly cultish robes it was dressed in. If anything, he just thought it made him look even cuter, like a little wannabe wizard. Carefully, like Jake had taught him, he held the baby closer and made his way to Big Deal's street, where he knew his friend would be.

"Did you steal that?" was the first thing a paling Jake had asked him when he showed him the baby?

Jerry was quick to clarify that he had just found him alone on the ground while the girls cooed over him and spoiled him with affection. 'I could get used to this' Danny thought, leaning into the gentle embrace of Yeonhui while Sinu sulked in a corner.

The pretty girl was just patting his head when she suddenly retracted her hand as if burned and let out a large gasp. In the blink of an eye Sinu jumped up and rushed to see what the problem was. In order to be able to better shower the boy in affection she had removed his little hood and revealed a large bruise on the back of his neck.

'I forgot about that' the time-looper grimaced, recalling how his friends had found him as he was performing his last ritual and panicked, thinking he was possessed. The fact he had painted symbols and runes all over his body in blood probably hadn't helped their image of him, and Zack, Jace, Vasco, Johan, Eli, and Vin Jin had all tried to fight him to hopefully knock the possession out of him or something like that. Of course, he had looped back before they could do that, but the remainder of their fight still marred his skin.

The girls began whispering furiously around him, their faces painted with a mix of worry and righteous anger, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. His eyelids began feeling heavier and no matter how much he tried he couldn't stifle the yawn that bubbled in his throat.

"Awwwwwwww" was the last thing he heard before exhaustion overtook him and he fell into the most peaceful sleep he had experienced in ages.

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

"Uwah"

He woke up to see Sinu smiling down at him. Well, that was certainly something! Baby Daniel skewered his eyebrows, trying to recall what had happened before the events of the previous day came crashing in. Right, he was with Big Deal, and they probably thought he was some sort of abused cult orphan.

"Good morning little sunshine!" Yeonhui entered the room with a bright smile carrying a small bowl of what looked like mush.

Unconsciously his baby instincts took over and he copied her smile with a big one of his own, which granted him another round of cooing from both of them. It was official, his baby powers could bewitch anyone.

"Uwah" He pointed to the bowl of mush, ignoring how gross it looked. He was hungry enough to eat a hippo and beggars can't be choosers.

Seemingly remembering the purpose of her visit Yeonhui rushed to pick his food up, while Sinu adjusted his position on the old couch, placing his palm on the bay's back to keep him upright. The girl crouched in front of him and brought a small spoon of mush in front of Danny, who opened his mouth and swallowed it, alongside his pride. The process repeated a couple of times until he could no longer bare the lovey-dovey looks Sinu was giving the girl and felt ready to throw up. When had become a plot device in their romance? He sulked while the man wiped the corners of his mouth with a small handkerchief as his wife-Cough! soon-to-be-lover cleaned the dishes.

After breakfast, the two paraded him around the street with the pride of new parents showing around their child to their neighbors and family. He was cooed over, his cheeks were pinched, and he confirmed that the entirety of Big Deal was just a bunch of softies, with a few exceptions, Old Face and Samuel. He was sure to throw them one of his fiercest glares, but the latter seemed to only take this as a challenge, thus making it his life's mission to win the glaring contest against the two-year-old toddler that hung onto Sinu like a koala.

'Whoever put Samuel on babysitting duty needs to get their paycheck retracted!' Danny mentally screamed the day when, instead of waking up to his usual caretaker for the day, as the schedule they had pointed and glued to the wall dictated, he opened his eyes to see his second-least-favorite person in the crew. He checked the schedule and sure enough, today was Jake's turn. Following his gaze, Samuel let out a dry chuckle.

"Jake's too busy to take care of you today, beasty." He announced with a smug smirk, that quickly turned into a grimace. "So he asked me to do it instead."

Neither expected to enjoy the ordeal as much as they did. By the end of the day the scornful 'beasty' had turned into somewhat of an endearment, and Samuel learned why none of his daily caretakers would ever let the boy out of their arms. There was just something weirdly amusing about having the brat nod his little head in agreement when he scolded people for being stupid and sometimes even cheering him on when a more 'hands-on approach' with other rival crews or troublemakers was needed. Despite how tiny he was, the little beasty was never frightened of him, even when he had one of his maniacal episodes and left behind a bloody pile of bodies with his signature deranged smile. Yes, the tattooed man conceived, the brat was somewhat tolerable. And if his name suddenly appeared on their weekly babysitting schedule, no one commented on it.

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

It was late in the evening, but Danny didn't seem to be able to fall asleep. They had read him stories, and played with him to tire the boy out, and even had Yeonhui sing him to sleep. It didn't work.

"Something's wrong, he always falls asleep after she sings to him!" Sinu told his boys, combing a hand through his hair worriedly.

Before the two had a chance to reply a blonde barged into the room A man with black hair and sunglasses followed him in, looking just as cocky and exuding the same aura of danger that made the three males step in front of Yeonhui and the baby protectively.

Gun's eyes landed on the woman holding the baby, and he gave a derisive snort pointing at her. The trio bristled at his gesture, slipping into defensive positions. Goo's smirk grew impossibly wide.

"I suggest you take the baby out of here. Wouldn't want it to see something...traumatic."

"Him." Jake spat in reply with such vitriol that a lesser man would've cowered, motioning the woman to leave.

Danny panicked as Yeonhui made for the door, knowing that even with their forces combined they couldn't win against the maniac duo. He began struggling and wailing in her arms, reaching for them, trying to get her grasp to widen enough so that he could escape. The kind girl shushed him, trying to cover his view of the men with one hand while whispering reassurances that they would be alright.

'They won't!' Daniel tried to scream back 'You don't know these two! They're going to break them and take them away! They're going to hurt them...they're going to hurt my family...' His hopelessness and desperation began shifting into a bone-crushing rage, and the boy flung himself one last time, startling her enough so that she accidentally let go of the boy.

Daniel flew through the air, landing on a mope of blond hair before he began pulling at Goo's hair and hitting him in the head with his tiny fists while spitting insults in baby language. If they could understand what he was saying he would surely lose dessert privileges for the rest of his life and get a long lecture on top of that. As it was, however, everyone flew into a panic as the blonde fell onto the ground from the full force of a feral baby slamming into him, before struggling to rip the little imp off him. His little hits were surprisingly strong, Goo would later recall, strong enough that after a few minutes of struggling onto the floor, Danny came out victorious, with the blonde unconscious on the floor.

Sinu quickly scooped up in his arms, half dead from worry and bursting with pride at his little display, before he remembered the other male was still in the room. He tightened his hold onto the baby while turning to glower at the ravenette, whose hidden gaze was burning holes into his young ward. Gun may have done nothing but watch the whole "fight", but there was nothing to indicate that he wouldn't harm the child in retaliation.

"Now that was unexpected!" His smirk only served to send the four further on edge. "You have potential, kid!"

Danny snarled audibly at him, bearing his little canines at the grinning maniac. Gun made to take a step towards him, taking off his sunglasses and revealing the black sclera and white irises below but stopped dead in his tracks when the toddler's snarl depend and his eyes switched to match his own. It was a warning, but one that only made the child more interesting in his eyes. How could an infant such as him even master UI so young? He seemed completely in control of the technique too, which made the whole situation even odder.

'You're interesting, brat." He told Danny, ignoring the growls it incited from his guardians as he picked up his partner's fallen body with a final promise. "I'll be back."

The tension in the room didn't ease at least a full half-an-hour after the man had left, at which point they all just flew into a frenzy of checking their baby for injuries of any kind. Satisfied with finding none but a few tiny bruises that were thoroughly kissed away and covered in spider-man bandages, the men shifted to praising the preening boy (even Samuel gave him a proud smile before he quickly wiped it off so that no one else could see it) and planning for how to proceed when the two inevitably returned.

Danny listened to them from Yeonhui's lap, savoring the prize of his victory, a melon flavor Power Cap (ice cream?).

Yes, he liked his new little family, he concluded as the sun rose and bathed the street in the light of a new day.