reindeerswillsavethisworld

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

Corpse au case fic where the trio decided to try cracking a murder mystery, except instead of angst it's a comedy of errors where they make everything worse.

Like. Danny comes out of a portal dead and translucent and glowing, and there's charred remains of a human body on the floor. So now all three of them are freaking out, and instead of asking for help, or finding an adult, or telling literally ANYONE, they decide to just. Get rid of the body. As one does.

So that's what they do: they break out Tucker's nice shovels (because god forbid Sam's family owned something as pheasant as a shovel, and Danny's too afraid of touching their family's Patented Fenton ShovelsTM for... reasons), they find a nice desolate clearing in the woods, and then they bury Danny's body like one would a very unfortunate hamster who met their demise too soon under very suspicious circumstances. They even stay at the new "grave" in silence for a minute or five in respect and DEFINITELY nothing else, you know. And so, they bury the body, and then they (try to) forget the experience as some horrific nightmare.

And then, a year later, there's an uproar: the Amity Park's police department found the child's remains in the woods! And you see, Amity Park is not THAT big of a town, and the police estimated that the body belonged to a 14-15 year old child, and, look, there's only so many schools in a small town, alright. Obviously, the rumours start very soon in Casper High: about how the kid could've gone to their school, about how they could've died, about whether or not anybody was missing them, about their identity, and some definitely-truthworthy-would-I-lie-to-you-bro-come-on sources insist that the kid was murdered around a year ago, around the time ghosts started showing up. And these rumours obviously reach the ears of Sam, Danny and Tucker.

Now, you would've thought that their first thought would be something like "oh no, they found Danny's body", or "oh no, they know", or even simply "we're sooo fucked". Except. You see, the night they buried the body? It was really cloudy. And dark. And, y'know, it's very easy to get lost in a forest. And they were too high-strung, you see, they completely forgot to leave some sort of a marker or anything. And also like, it was so long ago, you know? A lot have happened, they were sooo busy and the likes, you can't really blame them for forgetting some things.

And here's lies the problem: all three of them just fucking forgot that there was a body left to bury at all.

And then it gets out that the police can't even conduct any sort of DNA test because it became corrupted to the point of being absolutely unrecognisable due to exposure to a large amount of ecto-energy.

It's now looks like a bad set up for a joke: an identifiable body of a child, cause of death unknown; the probable involvement of ghosts or at the very least a very large quantity of ecto-energy; a probable murderer on the loose, which naturally breeds suspicion and speculation; a town full of all kinds of rumours; and a trio of absolute dumbasses, who after hearing that ghosts were involved immediately went to stick their noses where they don't belong.

Rejoice, Amity Park! Sam, Danny and Tucker are now on the case! Except they are all teenagers, and nobody in their right mind will allow teenagers to solve a murder case. Plus, them poking around would be highly suspicious, but Phantom, on the other hand?

(people seeing Phantom helping solve this case and coming to the conclusion that the ghosts were definitely involved was not on their bingo card, but oh well)

They don't go to the cops, obviously: Danny at least in part because he's worried they will call GIW on his ass or try to arrest him, and Sam and Tucker simply because fuck the cops (one because the police is involved in a militaristic, capitalistic corrupted system that breeds injustice and furthers the divide between average people and the wealthy, and the other because cops suck and will probably call GIW on his friend's ass). They also can't go to any other authorities: cops are out of the question, as is the mayor; laboratory personnel will most likely just throw them out; and there're no witnesses or known relatives, so they're stuck.

Therefore they decide that desperate times need desperate measures, and so they enlist all of their ghost allies on a quest, hoping to find the ghost of the kid. Considering the amount of ecto-energy they were subjected to, they MUST have formed a ghost, they only need to find them.

Except. The Ghost Zone is a big place, and they only have so many allies, even if some of them are a queen and a god. So Danny bites the bullet and does the most stupid (debatable) thing he has ever done: he goes to his enemies for help. They're surprisingly understanding and willing to help, even if some of their reasons are a little... strange (Skulker and Johnny entered some sort of competition on who finds the ghost first, Box Ghost starts to seek out coffins (??) and Youngblood is not above to start torturing people to finally have a friend that is not either an adult or a complete stick in the mud). And even then they still can't find the ghost.

In the end Danny goes to Clockwork in a desperate hope that he will be able to glimpse at least a little of what had transpired on the night of the murder, and to Danny's annoyance Clockwork laughs so hard he almost pops a ghost equivalent of a blood vessel.

A few weeks down the line Sam hesitantly brings up Danny's buried corpse ("MY WHAT" "Your corpse which we buried in the woods, Danny, don't you remember?" "Yeah, bro, I think you dissociated the whole time we were digging the hole and carrying your dead body" "WE DID WHAT-"), reasonably saying that, you know, they ALSO technically buried a body in the woods. On that Tucker just shrugs because obviously it was not Danny's body, the place of the burial was way off, he remembers that there was a really big stone to the left of the grave (he doesn't and there wasn't), so they are in the clear. During that exchange Danny's sitting on the floor and having a panic attack, because he really did dissociate the whole time and afterwards legitimately forgot that there was a body to bury at all.

After that conversation all three of them leave with a certainty that Danny's body is still there where they left it, whenever it was. And so the shenanigans continue.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

at this point i think we all should consider treating a person's opinion on dazai as some kind of a litmus test on whether they understood the manga's themes and the author messages or not

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

you know, there's a lot of art (both as an actual art and fanfiction) in phandom that elaborates and deepens the relationship between danny and ghosts, and not much about ghosts and everybody else. there's some things about vlad and danielle and jazz and surprisingly mr. lancer (?), and that's usually it. and honestly, good for you all, the things i saw were really fascinating, genuinely.

but like. i would DIE to see more about the relationship between sam and dora. the parallels alone are??? ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES, I'M TELLING YOU.

i want them to be friends. i want them to be kindred spirits. i want sam to treat dora's kingdom as a safe heaven, a calm harbor where she can simply be, with no expectations and daunting responsibilities. i want dora to teach sam how to differentiate fabrics by feel alone, how to dance with her eyes closed and all the different messages flowers can tell. i want her to tell sam about that time sir albert made a fool of himself trying to oppose a new economic reform, talk about all the economic, legal and political reforms she's been making in all it's excruciating detail and then to teach her the perfect curtsy.

i want sam to show dora how to tend to a garden. to show her the joy of watching a new life grow and knowing that you did this, that you hands can be gentle and loving, that you were not born to hurt. i want them to recite poetry to each other, to argue and debate and discuss, to find a meaning where the words before were empty, to offer an angle never thought before. i want sam to teach dora how to skate, be it skates, rollerblades or a scateboard, and dora being absolutely terrible at it and yet still doing it everytime they meet because it makes them laugh.

i just think they'd be really good friends, if given a chance.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

look, i'm not saying that the show missed the perfect opportunity to make "my brother's keeper" and "doctor's disorders" a psychological suspense and a psychological horror, respectfully, but. i'm also NOT not saying that.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

No, but you don't understand, Technus is so fucking funny, and without even trying. Like, imagine telling somebody about his whole deal, it'd be a trainwreck lmao.

"So there's this ghost who can control all kinds of technology."

"Okay."

"He looks like an off brand cosplay of Nikola Tesla and can and will villain monologue you to death."

"Yeah, okay, continue."

"One of his plans of world domination was fully dependant on making his favourite enemies-to-lovers ship canon."

"I'm sorry, what."

The most outrageous thing, tho! The thing that drives me up the wall!! Is that his convoluted plans work like clockwork!!! If Sam wasn't an MVP that she is, then Technus' plan to take over the internet by playing a fucking videogame would have been successful. Combining Technus' technology and Skulker's mastery with weapons was a real pro gamer move, and they did almost beat Danny's ass in under 5 minutes. His plan to distract both Danny and Valerie by matchmaking them was stupid as fuck and yet it fucking worked!! How the fuck did it work.

His downfalls are literally 1) his arrogance, and 2) simple dumb bad luck. The reason why he and Skulker failed was because they both were pretentious fucks and were too prideful to cooperate with each other properly despite literally sharing a body. And if Danny and Valerie were a little less afraid of the other getting hurt, he'd have succeeded there, like, for real-real.

His failings more often than not are really just unlucky coincidencies. What a loser lmao.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

someone had to do it

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

I know Jack and Maddie's relationship in canon is probably MEANT to be seen--depending on the episode--as a pretty bog-standard, 2000s-era "idiot big dad and exasperated, smart wife who puts up with him" trope.

BUT

my personal favorite interpretation is that BOTH are equally genius engineers who are also equally on the autistic spectrum, with a specific hyperfixation on ghosts and mad science.

The main difference is that Maddie has siblings and female social expectations, so she had to learn how to mask in ways that are seen as sociable and polite and attractive and "smart." When she does bumble major social cues (such as not recognizing Vlad's flirting until Danny points it out decades later, or humiliating her kids by showing up in a hazmat suit at school), it feels more "socially acceptable" from her.

She genuinely loves Jack because he could not care less about her being Feminine or Socially Acceptable. He just wants to shout with her about ghosts! So the nanosecond she's around him she can yank the mask off and go chasing spirits with a toaster turned into a machine gun.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

Since several great points were made, here’s an addendum:

1) while yes, Jazz is just as chaotic and unhinged as the trio, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have a braincell often. In fact, she has AT LEAST two braincells for, idk, about 90% of the time. The thing is, you see, having a braincell and using said braincell is like orcas “playing” with seals: they can just eat them, but they consciously choose not to. Same principle here. Like, did Jazz know that Vlad is a manipulative sleazeball with a penchant of stubbing people in the back? Yes. Did she know that going to him without weapons and/or back up, not even informing anyone where she went, is extremely dangerous? Uh, yeah, she did. Did she know that Vlad will try to double cross her at the earliest convenience? Obviously. She just… decided to consciously ignore all of that and still purposefully walked into that trap with her eyes wide open.

To be fair tho, I think there’s also exists a competition between her hoarded braincells and the entity old as time, which every sibling knows as the famous “Cain Instinct”. And she either gets braincells or Instinct, whichever wins out. Like that time she purposefully trapped herself inside a murder armor and beat the shit out of Danny, instead of trying to “stage fight” him? Sorry, but Cain Instinct won that one, guys.

2) the thing we all need to realise is that all residents of Amity Park do most things purely out of spite. All of them. The only exceptions to this are Jack Fenton, because he is golden retriever given human form, and Technus, because why inconvenience yourself with petty squabbles when you can ruin everybody’s day with your genuine plans of world domination just fine.

I think Danny Phantom fandom is absolutely sleeping on the sheer dumb bulshittery Danny, Sam and Tucker generate on the regular and it’s a fucking shame. Like, the three of them have exactly one (1) single braincell between them, and the only one to use it at least semi-regularly is Jazz. You literally can’t leave them for five minutes without them stumbling into some new bullshit every single time. Granted, a lot of times bullshit finds them first instead of the other way around, but by god will they make the situation worse. They run into the situations with the same reckless abandon the cockchafers fly into any solid obstacle in their way, and you’d think that at least one of them will be the voice of reason, and you’d be dead wrong.

Danny? He thought pranking a murder happy millionaire with a vindictive streak the size of Grand Canyon was a great idea. And then, like a moron, he decided to use equally murder happy government agency with a huge prejudice against ghosts and a vendetta against him, personally. Absolutely nothing that could go wrong with that, obviously!

(spoiler alert, things did go very wrong very fast)

Tucker? A valid choice at the first glance, except he is always down to commit crimes for either his friends or just for funsies. Remember that time he ran an obviously illegal babysitting scam business? Or that time when he brainwashed and then dimensionally displaced the whole school into Ancient Egypt setting? Another notable instances of Tucker being a menace, in no particular order: organised o pro-meat protest in a few hours, tried to shoot a ghost with his phone as a projectile (and succeeded), sold Sam out to a ghost out of sheer pettiness, gave Skulker an alarm-induced ptsd, almost killed Danny that one time (don’t worry, Danny was fine) and in general committed to being bullshit-enabling gremlin.

Now Sam would seem the most grounded and reasonable out of three of them, but it is what SHE wants you to believe. She is just as, if not more, unhinged as the boys, she just hides it better. Remember that time she trashed the castle and antagonised a few dozen of armed guards, while having no back up, no weapons, no allies and while being in some shithole in the Ghost Zone? And then basically told a tyrannical asshole with op dragon powers “fuck you and your entire kingdom” in the face? And then rode another dragon who put said asshole through a wall? Good times.

They all seem like perfectly reasonable people at the first glance, and then Tucker and Danny would dare each other to lick that weird glowing green rock, and Sam would roll her eyes and groan about how stupid boys are, and then Tucker would dare her to lick that glowing rock too, and Danny will say, “Come on, Tuck, it’s okay if she’s too afraid to do it-”, and yes, Sam and her mother have many disagreements on a lot of things, but both her mother AND Granny did not raise a fucking bitch, move over, Tucker, or so help her the spirit of Pandora-

They all end up absolutely miserable in ecto-containment units sick as hell with ecto-flu and on all questions answer that no, they don’t know how this happened, maybe it was ghost attack last week, they did get blasted by that green goo, after all, but really, they have absolutely no idea, honest. Jazz suspects something, but she also has no proof and therefore can’t prove anything. In the end, it was one of the worst weeks in their life and they all ended up swearing to not do it ever again.

(they do end up doing it again two months later)

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

I think Danny Phantom fandom is absolutely sleeping on the sheer dumb bulshittery Danny, Sam and Tucker generate on the regular and it’s a fucking shame. Like, the three of them have exactly one (1) single braincell between them, and the only one to use it at least semi-regularly is Jazz. You literally can’t leave them for five minutes without them stumbling into some new bullshit every single time. Granted, a lot of times bullshit finds them first instead of the other way around, but by god will they make the situation worse. They run into the situations with the same reckless abandon the cockchafers fly into any solid obstacle in their way, and you’d think that at least one of them will be the voice of reason, and you’d be dead wrong.

Danny? He thought pranking a murder happy millionaire with a vindictive streak the size of Grand Canyon was a great idea. And then, like a moron, he decided to use equally murder happy government agency with a huge prejudice against ghosts and a vendetta against him, personally. Absolutely nothing that could go wrong with that, obviously!

(spoiler alert, things did go very wrong very fast)

Tucker? A valid choice at the first glance, except he is always down to commit crimes for either his friends or just for funsies. Remember that time he ran an obviously illegal babysitting scam business? Or that time when he brainwashed and then dimensionally displaced the whole school into Ancient Egypt setting? Another notable instances of Tucker being a menace, in no particular order: organised o pro-meat protest in a few hours, tried to shoot a ghost with his phone as a projectile (and succeeded), sold Sam out to a ghost out of sheer pettiness, gave Skulker an alarm-induced ptsd, almost killed Danny that one time (don’t worry, Danny was fine) and in general committed to being bullshit-enabling gremlin.

Now Sam would seem the most grounded and reasonable out of three of them, but it is what SHE wants you to believe. She is just as, if not more, unhinged as the boys, she just hides it better. Remember that time she trashed the castle and antagonised a few dozen of armed guards, while having no back up, no weapons, no allies and while being in some shithole in the Ghost Zone? And then basically told a tyrannical asshole with op dragon powers “fuck you and your entire kingdom” in the face? And then rode another dragon who put said asshole through a wall? Good times.

They all seem like perfectly reasonable people at the first glance, and then Tucker and Danny would dare each other to lick that weird glowing green rock, and Sam would roll her eyes and groan about how stupid boys are, and then Tucker would dare her to lick that glowing rock too, and Danny will say, “Come on, Tuck, it’s okay if she’s too afraid to do it-”, and yes, Sam and her mother have many disagreements on a lot of things, but both her mother AND Granny did not raise a fucking bitch, move over, Tucker, or so help her the spirit of Pandora-

They all end up absolutely miserable in ecto-containment units sick as hell with ecto-flu and on all questions answer that no, they don’t know how this happened, maybe it was ghost attack last week, they did get blasted by that green goo, after all, but really, they have absolutely no idea, honest. Jazz suspects something, but she also has no proof and therefore can’t prove anything. In the end, it was one of the worst weeks in their life and they all ended up swearing to not do it ever again.

(they do end up doing it again two months later)

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

I find Belos' reaction to Collector's words SO fascinating. Like, very little of what people say phases him anymore, and on the rare occasions it does he's extremely good at pretending otherwise. He was called a liar and a murderer and he didn't care. He was ran out of towns and villages countless times and probably had a reputation of a local weirdo with a pyromaniac tendencies and wasn't deterred in the slightest. He eats palismen for breakfast in broad daylight. He is called a witch hunter and he's proud. He tunes out the Collector's teasing and inane chatter and hides his annoyance and disgust at all witch things like a pro.

But the moment it is insinuated that he's not fully human anymore? His mask slips and he lashes out in a blind fit of rage.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

getting jitters waiting for h/ollow mind lmao. when the new ep drops the speed at which I'll vibrate out of excitement would be enough to power a small city lol.

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

I think Bruno should be one of the shortest people in Encanto just for the sheer hilarity of it. Like, imagine everyone talking about this really scary dude with glowing eyes, innumerable number of rats and a personality of a recluse, who by some accounts could curse you by reading your future, who brings bad luck everywhere he goes, and then you meet him and he's just. Some anxious small man, barely taller than his youngest niece. He's got one of the biggest and saddest eyes you've ever seen, and to look you straight into eyes he'd need to stand on a stool, and he looks like he'd rather be doing literally anything else except talking to people.

(he has a small horde of rats, and (sometimes) glowing eyes, and the reputation of local cryptid. also he is around 165 cm tall and has anxiety)

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

Sometimes I wonder just how much Isabela dislikes pink and light purple colours. Like, she had been wearing them for more than a decade (and that is the best case scenario here) almost nonstop. Even her room was a pink nightmare, and even I, who kinda likes pink, would try to crawl up the walls in misery after a few years living there.

Also it's kinda sad, considering that her wearing pink flowery dresses wasn't out of, like, a genuine preference, but a pressure that was put on her by Alma and family/village expectations. Some sort of beautiful gentle perfect doll. And her room is just a cherry on top, because it was full of roses in different shades of pink and purple and it was HER personal space, a space to retreat and relax and de-stress, and yet it looked like somebody just took all of the assumptions of how she and her room should look like, sprinkled some "must be perfect every time, everywhere" complex on top, put on all of this mess a giant pink bow and called it a day.