#anyways this is why i can never hate either sam or paulina

[reanimatedgh0ul]

the moment you realize that both of them are two sides of the same coin (that being the opposite ends of the spectrum of teen girlhood what it means to care abt how you are perceived bc you are one and how you can either reject the norms or conform but neither way you don't win actually bc you're a teen girl at the end of day and no matter what you do society will always be against you bc of that simple fact) is the moment you better understand both of their characters and their dynamic actually

[q-gorgeous]

Falling Out

fanfiction

ao3

Sam and Paulina are assigned as partners for a school project.

word count: 2581

for @phandom-phriend

heyo bro

“I don’t get what the big deal is.”

Sam stared at Paulina, who was standing in the middle of the hallway twirling her hair between her fingers. 

“You don’t get what the big deal is? Your boyfriend literally just beat someone up!”

Paulina scoffs. “He’s not my boyfriend! And that kid was a loser anyway. His family is just a bunch of freaks.”

Sam looked at Danny who was still laying on the floor, his breath wheezing from when it was knocked out of him. “He’s not a loser.” Sam mumbled.

“Excuse me?” Paulina looked over her nails.

“He’s not a loser!” Sam stomped up to Paulina, her face inches from the other girl’s. “He’s really nice and actually likes hearing about things I want to talk about! Unlike you.”

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Paulina turned her nose up into the air. “That’s because all you like is that spooky ooky goth stuff. No one wants to listen to you talk about ghosts and spiders and witches.”

“He does.”

“That’s because he’s a loser.” Paulina poked a finger into Sam’s chest. “Why don’t you just drop him and this freaky goth phase and come hang out with your real friends.”

“You are not my friend.”

Paulina froze. “What?”

“I don’t know what bug crawled it’s way up your ass Paulina, but if this is how you’re going to treat people now I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”

She watched as Sam walked away from her and helped Danny off the ground. Sam whispered a few things to him and he nodded. They began to limp their way to the nurses office. 

Paulina clenched her fists together and her throat tightened. That’s fine. She didn’t need Sam. She had plenty of other friends. What did one falling out matter? She turned around and stomped her way in the opposite direction towards the cafeteria.

She didn’t need Sam Manson. 

QQQQQ

“But Mr. Lancer!” Paulina whined, her hands resting on the top of her desk as she stood up in protest. 

“I’m sorry Ms. Sanchez, but you and Ms. Manson will be partners for this project.”

Sam raised her hand. “I’d rather do my project on my own than work with her.”

Lancer pinched the bridge of his nose. “You two are partners for this project, end of discussion.”

“But-” Both girls chorused. 

“That’s enough! Ms. Sanchez, take your seat.”

Paulina huffed and crossed her arms as she sat down. Why did Lancer have to assign her and Sam to work together? Hasn’t he figured out that they hate each other yet?

Her gaze flicked over to where Sam was sitting. She was angrily scratching something into her notebook. She paused and her eyes met Paulina’s. They stared at each other for a moment before Paulina sneered in her direction and looked away. 

Paulina sat angrily stewing in her seat until the bell rang. She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, heading out of the classroom at a brisk pace. She was putting the combination into her locker and had just gotten it open when Sam walked up and pushed it closed. 

“What do you want, Manson?” Paulina snapped. 

Sam rolled her eyes. “We’re supposed to work on that project together, remember? When are we going to meet for it?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you just do it on your own and write my name on it.” Paulina twisted the dial on her locker again. 

“Nu uh. If we’re forced to be partners you’re gonna help with it.”

Paulina groaned and opened her locker again. “I guess we can start working on it today after school.”

“Great. I’ll meet you at your house when school is over then.”

“What?” Paulina squawked and turned towards Sam. “Why my house?”

“I don’t want my parents thinking we’re friends again.”

Paulina just stared at her but frowned when Sam pushed the locker closed again and started walking away. She clenched her fists. As if they would ever be friends again. 

The rest of the day passed by both too quick and slow at the same time. She dreaded having Sam come over and having to talk to her so much that even though the day dragged on and on, when she was at home and a knock sounded on the door it felt like she had just been standing at her locker. 

Paulina opened the front door, a bored look on her face when her eyes met Sam’s. They stood there for a moment before Paulina waved her in. Sam stepped in, looking around and Paulina closed the door behind her. 

“So what is this project we’re supposed to be doing anyways?” Paulina led the way to the kitchen where her backpack sat on the table.

Sam sighed. “You weren’t even paying attention when he went over it?”

“I was too busy being angry at Lancer.”

Rolling her eyes, Sam set her backpack on the table and pulled some papers out. “He wants us to find a screenplay to go over. We have to read it and analyze it like we would for a book in class but he wants us to perform part of it in class.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know Paulina!” Sam threw her hands up in the air. “Why do they make us do anything? Now pick one from this list.” She threw a piece of paper at Paulina. “This is a list of plays I thought we would both be interested in.”

Paulina stared at Sam, stunned that she’d even consider Paulina’s interests when they clearly hated each other. Slowly, she looked down at the paper, her eyes scanning over the list. One popped out to her.

“Isn’t this one a musical? Does that count?”

Sam peered around at the paper. “I would think so. They’re basically plays, just with songs. I can’t see why it wouldn’t count.”

“Hm.” Paulina pursed her lips. “If we do this one are we gonna perform a song or a different part of the musical?” She looked over at Sam. She had a dangerous, determined look on her face.

“Only if we want to blow everyone else out of the water.”

Paulina stared for a few seconds, her cheeks heating up. Then she coughed and looked back at the paper.

“Yeah, okay. Let’s do that one.”

QQQQQ

“Why are they all named Heather anyways?”

Sam shrugged as Paulina squinted at her copy of the script. 

They sat in the middle of the stage in the empty auditorium. The rest of their class was in the library, but Mr. Lancer had given them permission to go over their own project in the auditorium. 

“What I wanna know is why there’s always so much drama in musicals set in high schools.” Sam wrinkled her nose. “Like I know we have the A-Listers and everything but this in here is so excessive.”

“What, you don’t like drama?” Paulina rested her chin on her hand, shooting Sam a smile.

“I don’t like high schoolers killing other high schoolers.”

Paulina’s smile fell. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Sam looked down and away. She took a deep breath and stood up with her script in her hand. “Anyways. Let’s figure out which part we want to perform for the class.”

Paulina took a look at the list of songs they had. “What about Seventeen or Shine a Light? I listened to those a couple times and they both have different tones but they seem like they’d be fun to sing.”

Sam nodded. “And there’s not much about sex in either of those. That’s another thing, why do musicals about high schoolers talk so much about sex?” She faked a gag. “I think those are good choices because some of those songs would be so embarrassing to perform in front of the class.”

Paulina frowned. “If this one has stuff in it that makes you uncomfortable why’d you include it on the list?”

Sam shrugged. “I figured it’d make Lancer squirm. He didn’t actually give any specifications on what we could pick anyways. Now let’s get started. Which part do you want?”

“Oh oh! Can I have the lead part? That is, if you didn’t want it?” Paulina started standing up from where she sat on the floor.

Sam shook her head. “You can have it if you want. Want to practice Seventeen first?”

“Sure.”

The music started playing after Sam hit a button on her phone and it filled up the room.

Paulina took a deep breath. 

“Fine, we're damaged

Really damaged.

But that does not make us wise.

We're not special.

We're not different.

We don't choose who lives or dies.”

Paulina looked up at Sam as she sung the lyrics.

“Let’s be normal. See bad movies

Sneak a beer and watch TV.

We'll bake brownies, 

or go bowling --

Don't you want a life with me?

Can't we be seventeen?

That's all I want to do

If you could let me in.

I could be good with you.”

Paulina’s cheeks flushed but she continued singing.

“People hurt us.”

“Or they vanish…”

Goosebumps traveled over Paulina’s arms as Sam’s voice rang out towards her. 

“And you're right that really blows.

But we let go…”

Sam looked up and met Paulina’s eyes and it felt like Paulina was electrocuted. She pulled her eyes away and looked back down at her paper. They finished up the song and Paulina kept staring at her paper until Sam left out a breathless laugh.

“That was so cool! I’ve never really thought about doing theater or anything because it’s not very, you know, goth. But that was exhilarating!” 

Paulina watched as Sam laughed and smiled. She could feel herself falling in and laughed herself. 

QQQQQ

Paulina and Sam laughed as they walked out of the school together. Their project was due in two days and they were heading to Sam’s house to practice their song a bit more. 

“I can’t wait to see Lancer’s face when we discuss what the musical is about. Do you think he’ll-”

BOOM! 

Sam got cut off as something exploded ahead of them, sending both girls sprawling to the ground. 

Looking behind them from where she was on the ground, Paulina saw a giant animalistic ghost. It looked somewhere between a cross of a snake and a cat and it looked like it was about to shoot another blast off from it’s fangs. 

Just as the blast was launched towards Paulina, something crashed into the side of the ghost's head, sending the shot soaring into the sky instead. 

“Run! Get out of here!” Phantom shouted as he shot back at the ghost.

She stood up shakily but didn’t run away. She looked around the front of the school for Sam, where she saw the other girl in the middle of the sidewalk holding a...lipstick? With a determined look on her face. 

What was she planning to do with a tube of lipstick?

Paulina had begun inching her way over to Sam when a green blast came out of the lipstick she was holding onto. It shot into the ghost a couple of times, distracting it from Phantom’s attacks for a moment. 

It bared its teeth at Sam but Phantom punched it in the side of the head. Snarling, it batted Phantom away, sending it flying across the parking lot and it faced back towards Sam. 

Paulina felt like everything was happening in slow motion. When the ghost bared its teeth again, when another ball of ectoplasm started dripping from its fangs, when Paulina ran desperately across the parking lot and barreled Sam out of the way and onto the ground just before the blast created a crater in the ground where she stood a moment before. The ghost started snarling at them again.

“Hey ugly!” 

Phantom viciously threw another ectoblast at the ghost, stunning it before finally pulling it into his thermos. 

Paulina gasped and turned back to where Sam was still laying underneath her. 

“Sam! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m-” Sam paused, frowning and her face flushing before she spoke again, looking over Paulina’s shoulder. “Shut up.”

“What?” 

Sam groaned. “That dip is making faces over there.”

Paulina turned around to see Phantom making kissy faces at them. She raised an eyebrow at him and he paused to give her a grin.

“Okay well, my job is done. Have fun you two!”

And he jumped into the air and flew away. 

“Seriously though.” Paulina crawled off of Sam and helped her up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why’d you do that anyways?” Her brows furrowed. “I would’ve been okay. You didn’t have to do anything.”

Paulina gaped at her. “It was about to attack you! It tried! It left a crater in the ground where you were standing! Why wouldn’t I have done anything?”

Sam looked away. “I didn’t think you cared.” She said softly.

Paulina’s stomach plummeted. “I wouldn’t have two weeks ago.” She whispered. “But then we got paired up for this project, and I realized that you’re actually very cool and that I was just really dumb in middle school.”

Sam looked at her. 

“And I think I’ve always sort of missed you. But I decided to never stop being mad so I never figured that out.”

“I guess I did the same thing too.” Sam said. “I could’ve decided to talk to you on my own and talk things out after a while but I just didn’t want to.”

“But it was my fault. I was the one being a terrible person.”

“Are you going to continue being a terrible person though?”

Paulina’s mind went back to the first time Sam’s rage had been bestowed upon her, when one of Paulina’s friends beat up one of Sam’s friends. She didn’t want to be the cause of that again. 

“No.”

“Well.” Sam smiled. “That’s the important part. That you’re capable of change.” She picked up her bag from where she had dropped it during the attack. “Now come on, my mom was gonna make cookies when we got home.”

Paulina smiled back at her and held up her arm to the other girl. Sam looked at it and linked her own arm with Paulina’s. Together they walked away from the school.

QQQQQ

Sam and Paulina’s chests rose up and down as they held their arms up into the air after performing the piece they picked from their musical. The class clapped for them and they lowered their arms and bowed.

“Very nice, Ms. Sanchez and Ms. Manson. Though, I wish you had picked something more appropriate than.” He squinted at the sheet they handed him. “Heathers the musical.”

Sam snickered. “Of course, Mr. Lancer. We’ll try to keep that in mind next time.”

Lancer gave her a look. “Yes, be sure that you do. Alright up next we have-”

Sam and Paulina walked back to their desks and sat down. Paulina shot a look to where Sam was sitting with Danny and Tucker, who were both making kissy faces at her while she swatted at them. Sam’s gaze met hers and Paulina waved at her before blowing a kiss to her across the room.

Sam’s face turned the brightest shade of red Paulina had ever seen it and she opened a folder and stuck her face inside it. Danny and Tucker were both teasing her even more, seemingly losing their mind about it. Paulina giggled at them and turned her focus back to the front of the classroom.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)

-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/

-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules

-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.

-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO

-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3

-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.

-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.

-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x

-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son

-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.

-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised

-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?

-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.

-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.

-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!

-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???

-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)

-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!

-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.

-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?

-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.

-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)

-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh

-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.

-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3

-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.

-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.

-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao

-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.

-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.

-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)

-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...

-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)

-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously

-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.

-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤

[five-rivers]

Reaching Back

This is a trade with @gally-hin-phantom!  The prompt was the headcanon that Sam and Paulina used to be friends when they were kids.  Enjoy!

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.

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At four years old, Samantha Manson already had a finely developed sense of when something was awkward. This? This was awkward.

The other girl sat across from her, staring at the table, her hair pulled into severe braids on either side of her head. She picked at her food. Samantha had already forgotten her name.

Samantha glanced at her mother, sitting next to her. She was discussing something with the other girl's daddy, her hands moving around like hummingbirds. First they touched her pearl necklace, then the edge of her plate, then the fork, so she could take a quick bite, then the napkin, to clean her fingers and lips, and finally Samantha's shoulder.

Samantha hated it when her mom was like this. It was so- so-! She didn't have words for it.

Something hit her knee, and she jerked her head around to glare at the other girl, who gave her a rather devious-looking smirk. Samantha scowled. She was quite proud of her scowl. It never failed to make her mother stop when she saw it.

The girl turned to her father and said- Something. Samantha couldn't understand it, and that made her angry. She knew a lot of words! Grandma said so. even Dad said so.

Well, 'angry' might have been the wrong word, but her vocabulary had yet to extend to more complex emotions.

"English, Paulina," said the other girl's father. "We are not at home."

The girl, Paulina, pouted.

"You need the practice, love. Ask Mr. and Mrs. Manson."

The girl sighed and turned to face Samantha's parents. "Can Sammy and I go play?" she asked.

"Of course, dear," said Samantha's mom. She patted Samantha's head. "Stay in the living room where we can find you."

"Okay," said Samantha, sliding off the chair. She still wasn't sure how she felt about Paulina, but she didn't want to be at the table anymore. Besides, she'd learned how to play with people she didn't like and still have fun. She had to, since her parents insisted on inviting over the most boring people ever.

At least Paulina wasn't going to be boring.

"Hey," said Samantha, "what were those words you said before?"

"Huh?" asked Paulina.

"Before. With your dad." Samantha poked Paulina in the side, and the other girl giggled.

"You mean Spanish?" The girl puffed her chest out. "It's my native language. But Daddy wants me to learn English."

"Oh," said Samantha, brows knit together. She'd never heard anyone speak another language, except for Rabbi at the synagogue. But what Paulina had said sounded a lot different than what Rabbi said.

"What do you want to play, Sammy?"

Samantha scowled. Only her mother called her that. "That's not my name," she said, crossing her arms.

"It's a nickname! You can call me Lina. Or Pauli, I guess."

Samantha considered this. "Fine," she said. "But then we've got to play evil tea party."

"What's that?"

"It's a tea party, but evil. I get to be Maleficent!"

"Oh, from Sleeping Beauty?"

"Yeah," said Samantha. Maleficent was her favorite, because she turned into a dragon.

"Ooh, ooh, then I want to be," Paulina bounced for a second, thinking, "I want to be Ariel! She's so pretty!"

"But she's not evil," said Samantha.

"Then I'll be evil Ariel."

"Okay," said Samantha. She walked over to her toy chest and pulled out the plastic tea set her parents had given her. "So, the first thing you have to do at an evil tea party is an evil laugh."

.

"Hey, Sammy," said Paulina.

"Ugh," said Sam, leaning back against the banister.

"What?" asked Paulina, sitting at the top of the stair. "Nice dress, by the way. Is it new?"

"Yes," said Sam, picking at the floral embroidery. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure," said Paulina.

"Don't call me 'Sammy' anymore. Mom's finally completely ruined it. I mean, I'm not a baby anymore!" She kicked the stair.

"But what would you be called instead? Samantha? I thought you didn't like that, either."

"Sam. Samantha is too... weepy."

"What happened, anyway?" asked Paulina.

"Mom called me 'Sammykins' in front of my whole class. I can't wait 'til third grade when I can go to a normal school like a normal person."

"It's not that great."

"Yeah, but you're there, and maybe I can get away from all the people who just want to make nice because of money."

"There's always going to be people like that, as long as they know you have money," said Paulina. "Or if their parents know."

Sam blinked. There was something to that.

"Oh, no, don't give me that face. The last time, you almost got me banned from the zoo forever!"

"It isn't like that!" protested Sam. "I was just thinking, what if they didn't know? How are they going to find out, if nobody tells them? I'm the only one in my who wants to transfer out. You'd be the only one who knew, and you wouldn't tell, right?"

"Well, yeah," said Paulina. "That sounds like a hard secret, though. You wouldn't be able to have anyone over at your house."

"I wouldn't invite anyone over until I knew they were my friends for real," said Sam.

"Sammykins! Come down and meet your guests!"

Sam rolled her eyes at her mother's voice. "They're not my guests," she grumbled.

Paulina bumped her foot into Sam's. "At least I'm here, right?"

.

Paulina finished her section of the reading, and the teacher thanked her before choosing a new reader.

"Can't even talk right," muttered one of Sam's new classmates.

She turned around in her seat. "Huh?"

The redhead looked her up and down. She could practically see him slot her into the 'new kid' box in his brain.

"She shouldn't volunteer to read if she can't even talk right," said the boy, plaintively, with just slightly more volume.

.

The three day suspension was totally worth it. That'd teach him to talk like that about Sam's best friend.

.

"I declare our friendship over!" shouted Sam.

Paulina sniffed. "Fine!" she shouted back. "But I get Danny!"

"Fine! That means I get Tucker!" Sam grabbed Tucker by the back of the shirt and dragged him away.

Paulina dragged a shocked-looking Danny off in the opposite direction. They disappeared behind the play structure.

"Uh," said Tucker.

"Shut up!" said Sam.

Recess ended.

.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," said Sam.

"Me too," said Paulina. She rubbed her eye. "Are we friends again."

"Forever!" said Sam.

"Girls are so weird," muttered Tucker.

"At least we can hang out again," said Danny, digging his elbow into Tucker's side.

"Hey, we're trying to have a touching reunion here!"

"Yeah!" said Paulina.

"What were you two even fighting about in the first place," asked Tucker. He raised an eyebrow. "Was it boys?"

"This is why you don't have any other friends, Foley," said Paulina.

.

"Next year," said Sam, "we'll be in middle school." It was the last day of school, and the field day events were starting wind down. Danny and Tucker were still at the dunk tank, trying to soak each other.

"Yep," said Paulina. "It'll be different."

"Yeah," agreed Sam. "No more recess."

"More than that," said Paulina, with a little snort. She tucked her legs up so that her heels rested on the wooden planking of the play structure. "Do you think we'll be different?"

"I hope so," said Sam. "Mom promised I can pick out all my own clothes this year, and I can get my ears pierced." She tugged on her lobes.

Paulina sighed. "Jealous. Daddy won't let me until high school. But that's not what I meant."

"Then what?"

"We won't let anything get between us, will we?"

"No way," said Sam. "You watch too many teen movies, Lina." Sam climbed up to the top of the play structure and spread out her arms. "What would we even fight over, anyway? Boys? Makeup?"

Paulina laughed. "Gosh, no. But, like, drifting, that's a thing."

"I promise you, if we stop being friends it isn't going to be because of drifting. We'll have a giant blow out, or something. Like way back last year."

"What were we even fighting about?"

"I don't know. But I bet it was stupid."

.

"I think Danny has a crush on you," said Sam, pulling on her stockings. This Halloween she was going as Wednesday Addams.

"I know," said Paulina, scrunching her nose.

"What wrong? I thought you wanted to start trying to date?"

"Yeah, but not with a friend," said Paulina. "That would be weird. What if we broke up? We wouldn't be able to hang out anymore."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, it would be weird, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe," said Sam, shrugging.

Paulina sighed. "I mean, I guess Danny's cute and all, and he's trying to learn Spanish, which is like, you know, a gesture, but..." She trailed off and laid down on Sam's bed.

"You think Danny's cute?"

"I guess? Like, you know, a bunny or something. What about you? You thinking about dating? I know some guys are checking you out." She made a face at the last sentence. "You're pretty."

"So are you," said Sam. "But, dating? Gross. No way. Do you think they'll stop if I shave my hair off?"

"Sam."

"No, really. I've been thinking about getting an undercut."

"You're unbelievable."

.

"I can't believe your dad is sending you away for a month to learn about girl stuff." Sam mimicked his deep, gruff, voice for the last two words.

"Yeah, well, Mom's not around, so Tia Carmen it is." She stuck out her tongue and folded another pair of jeans into her suitcase. "Don't worry, I'll be back here in time to rock eighth grade with you."

Sam smiled. "I'll miss you."

"Come on, you'll have those two idiots to keep you company."

"Not Tucker so much. You'd think I shot his dog or something." Sam rolled her eyes.

"He'll come around, don't worry," said Paulina. "A friendship isn't going to be ruined over going vegan."

"Yeah. Hey, let me take a pic of you before you go! It can go in our scrapbook."

.

"Just because we're not friends anymore doesn't mean I'm going to spill your secrets," said Paulina. "So you can get down off your high horse and calm down." She pulled paper towels out of the dispenser with a violence that would have startled her at any other time.

Sam slouched against the bathroom door, arms crossed. Her purple-black lipstick made her skin look washed out and pallid. The overhead lights didn't help.

Sam could do so much better.

Paulina pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. She didn't mention it. Sam wouldn't appreciate it. Hadn't appreciated it, even though Paulina was just trying to help.

Didn't Sam realize that being in charge, being on top was so much better than being laughed at? Didn't she realize that if they had worked together, they could have pulled Danny and Tucker up with them, too, despite how weird they were? Tucker had skills, and Danny was, well, once you got past his weirdness, he was pretty charismatic.

But only if Sam helped. Paulina didn't have enough pull by herself, no matter how pretty she'd learned to make herself over the summer.

Of course, Sam didn't realize, or if she did, she didn't care. Fundamentally, Sam was selfish and self-centered, and Paulina had always known that, she had liked it, but she hadn't thought it mattered.

"Fine," said Sam. "Not that I care what you do. Just stay away from me."

Paulina didn't cry as her oldest friend stomped out of the room. It would ruin her mascara.

[ghostsray]

Phandom Phic Recs: Revelation

(for @danphanwritingprompts 's thing)

Exposed by ADraconicScribe

ok so im not sure if this is a reveal fic or not since it's still updating BUT it does include someone exposing phantom as a halfa so i think it counts as a revelation(?)

anyway it's about a mysterious caller that told the news about danny phantom being half-human and now danny has to find a way to keep his identity secret from the giw and his parents

Why do I love it? The tension!! the mystery!! how will danny get through without getting caught?? i dont phucking know and thats why im reading it!!

The Core Cold by ElealehBlue

danny gets a ghost sickness that makes him act...uh, odd. sam, tucker, and jazz have to babysit him while he goes to school. it's a sequel to The Halfa Hiccups (one of my fave fics) where danny tries to get rid of his hiccups because apparently it makes him switch forms. both fics are hilarious.

Why do i love it? because its so goddamn funny oh my god. plus it has some focus on valerie, and on some of the background characters (mikey, nathan, lester) so thats fun

The Luckiest Girl in the World by @imekitty

OK so this isnt really a reveal fic BUT it does include paulina learning about danny's secret so im including it in my list anyway.

basically, it's a danny/paulina fic (with a hint of danny/sam) in which paulina wishes to get close to the ghost boy and gets her life switched with sam's. of course shes too dumb to figure out his secret until the very end but its still a good read

Why do i love it? normally i dont like romantic fics (in fact i hate them) but this one was written so well that i couldnt stop reading it. the author really knew how to get in depth with paulina's character. plus there arent many good danny/paulina fics out there and this one is great

Phantom of Truth + Shadow of a Doubt by @haikujitsu

this isnt a reveal fic either but it does include maddie and jack learning about their son's secret, so...

ANYWAY im pretty sure almost everyone in the phandom has already read this, but just in case you're new and havent read it yet then you DEFINITELY SHOULD. it is a phandom CLASSIC, and it has so much dang angst!! PoT is a dissection fic in which maddie gets hired by the GiW to study phantom, and SoaD is about the repercussions this has on danny and maddie's relationship. both fics will absolutely rip your heart out.

Why do i love it? PoT is actually what got me into fanfiction in the first place. before i read it, i used to think all fanfiction is just smut written by fans with too much time on their hands. but then i joined the danny phandom, and i saw everyone talking about this fic so i got curious and read it, and!! its SO GOOD??? the way it was written really pulls you in and makes you want to read the next chapter as soon as youre done with the first. i finished the entire fic in like 2 days then read its sequel. both are GREAT.

plus, angst. you can never go wrong with that.

[ladylynse]

Happy Halloween, everyone! Here’s the last of my Star-centric Ectober 2018 fic, Helpless, in honour of Day 31: Breathe.

(Day 13: Help / Day 15: Explain / Day 19: Mistakes / Day 26: Sanity)

How come it seems like the more she finds out, the less she knows?

Danny’s hand clamped over her mouth.

Star did the natural thing: she twisted in his grip, and when she couldn’t break free, she bit him.

Hard.

He yelped, loosening his grip enough that she was able to get away. “Why did you bite me?”

She watched him shake out his hand, wondering how much he’d even felt that. She hadn’t managed to draw blood. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Because you grabbed me.”

“Because you screamed!”

A door banged open, and Danny lunged for her. She didn’t manage to pull away before he had a firm grip on her wrist. Someone—Valerie’s boss, maybe?—looked right at them.

And then past them.

And then he went back inside.

Screams were fairly common in Amity Park; even the locals still got spooked on occasion, and anyone would scream if the Fenton RV was barrelling towards them. It was good practice to see how close the latest ghost fight was to your backyard, too, to see if you needed to head for cover or if the ghost was harmless enough that you could toss a box at it and be done with it.

Star was used to that. Everyone was used to that.

She was not used to being looked through as if she wasn’t even there.

Danny dropped her hand. “No more screaming, okay?”

Star swallowed. She doubted it was supposed to sound like a threat, especially coming from Fenton, but…. “No more screaming,” she whispered.

“Right. Okay. We probably shouldn’t stay here. Let’s walk.”

She wasn’t about to argue—she didn’t want to stay here, and even if she wasn’t keen on being alone with him, running wouldn’t get her anywhere—but maybe…. “What…what about Sam and Tucker?”

“They’re used to me having to ditch them. I’ll fill them in later. They’re going to kill me for this anyway.” He caught her expression. “That was a joke.”

Phantom hadn’t popped up behind her and yelled surprise!, so she had a sinking feeling that that was the only joke.

Danny didn’t try to talk to her for a while. Frankly, Star was happy to trudge after him in a daze. What he’d done….

She couldn’t have imagined it. She didn’t imagine it. That had been intangibility. And invisibility. She couldn’t see how it could be a trick. The timing was too perfect. This was Danny’s doing, except that was impossible, because he was human, not a ghost, and—!

“Just breathe, Star,” he murmured, slowing down so that he was in step with her again.

Easy for him to say.

There wasn’t any way to sugar coat what had happened. She wasn’t mixing up intangibility and invisibility with anything else. He’d actually—!

Danny reached out to tug her into the park, and she flinched away. He looked hurt but didn’t try to touch her again. That made her breathe a little easier, and she followed him. When he left the path and headed for the bushes, she didn’t object. She knew where he was going now. Besides, if he’d wanted to silence her, he could have done that by now. He just wanted to talk somewhere private. She could handle that.

Probably.

“Look,” Danny said when they finally stopped in the recently-made clearing she’d hidden by not half an hour ago. “I thought you said you’d figured it out.”

She could still smell the freshly scarred earth. The remains of Skulker’s suit were on the far side, thawed now but covered in leaves and snapped branches from the fall it had taken. She knew it was just an empty shell, but it felt like a skeleton now. If Danny hadn’t known she’d witnessed the fight, why bring her here specifically? Didn’t he think someone—Skulker himself, maybe, or Technus, or a ghost with a similar affinity—would come back to clean up?

Is that why they were here, so he could catch whoever tried? Prove that this was exactly how he had been helping Phantom all along? And why she’d never seen him do it?

She wouldn’t have thought he’d dare come back when the first ones to show up could very well be his parents.

She still hadn’t answered his question, so she took a steadying breath. “I lied.” It felt strange to admit that so plainly. “People do that. You included.”

He stared at her. “But…but me being a halfa. And Phantom. You said—”

“Obviously, I added it up to the wrong conclusion!” snapped Star. She regretted the words instantly, but she didn’t think she could show weakness right now, so she squared her shoulders and stared him down instead, trying to appear more brave than she felt.

“Right,” he said in a small voice. “So what were you actually thinking?”

“Not whatever this is!” She crossed her arms, hoping he wouldn’t realize that she’d started shaking. She couldn’t seem to stop. “I just…. So it’s definitely not a title?”

Danny blinked. “You thought it was a title?”

“Like…like teacher, or mayor, or…or captain. I don’t know. Nothing made sense. I thought you’d tell me if you thought I already knew.”

Danny snorted. “I walked into that one.” He took a deep breath. “Promise me you won’t freak out.”

“Don’t think I can do that.” Was her voice higher than normal? She couldn’t tell. Maybe. It was definitely hard to keep it from quavering. She wasn’t sure if she was successful in that, either. This was…. She didn’t even know what this was. “Especially after whatever you did at the Nasty Burger.”

“I just phased the chocolate off of you. Or rather you off the chocolate. So it didn’t stain.”

“Sure. You just made me intangible. And then you just made me invisible.”

Danny winced. “At least now you know why you need to keep this a secret?”

Star let out a strangled laugh. “As if anyone would believe me if I tried to tell them. ‘Guess what, guys? Danny has ghost powers!’ Just because we live in Amity Park….” She shook her head. “Is this because of your parents? Or because of Phantom?”

For some reason, Danny smiled. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

Fantastic. Something she’d said had amused him. Good thing one of them felt like laughing about this because she felt like crying.

This was insane.

To think she’d doubted his sanity when it was her own she’d needed to worry about. This was impossible. People didn’t just have ghost powers, not even in Amity Park. What else could he do? Float? Fly? Make an ectoblast without burning his flesh? Oh, wait, training with this Frostbite ghost. Could he have been sending ice rays right back at Icebreaker if she hadn’t been there? Is that what he’d done once he’d gotten rid of her while waiting for Phantom to show?

“I’m a halfa. It’s kinda hard to explain. Ectoplasm mixed with my DNA or something like that. Just think of it like half a ghost. That’s what Poindexter told me.”

“Who’s—?”

“Not important right now. Just…. Star. Don’t freak out.”

She opened her mouth to make some smart retort about him telling her not to freak out just making her freak out more, but then—

Then she saw the light. The rings. Watched them pass over him. Change him. Found herself staring at Phantom. At Phantom. Amity Park’s infamous ghost boy. Paulina’s crush. The one who’d saved them all countless times.

“Star. Breathe. Trust me, it’ll help calm you down.”

Calm down? Calm down? He was a ghost—he was Phantom—and he expected her to calm down?

She didn’t want to ask how this had happened. Knowing might make it more real. And she could guess. Except this shouldn’t be possible, how was this actually possible?

The light returned, bringing Fenton back, and she wondered if she could chalk this up to hysteria. Maybe she could talk herself into it being a trick after all. If Fenton and Phantom worked together, maybe their timing really was just that good. And maybe they thought a trick would get her to stop digging into things she shouldn’t. Or maybe Phantom—

Wait.

Danny Fenton? Danny Phantom? He’d barely even changed his name. Or, come to think of it, his appearance. It was just so…. Who would expect Phantom to be human? Absolutely no one. Including—

Star covered her mouth; if her knees weren’t locked, she probably would’ve fallen. “Your parents—”

“Yeah. Don’t tell them.”

“Then….” She swallowed. She didn’t mind leaving the other topic; she could panic over what that meant later. This one wouldn’t necessarily be any easier to hear, but she wanted to know. “I heard Phantom…you…mention Valerie.”

Danny frowned. “When?”

“With Skulker. Here. I followed the fight.” Danny’s expression tightened, but he didn’t say anything. “You…you know how much she hates ghosts. Everyone does. But why—?”

“Ask her, not me. Just don’t…. Don’t tell her, either. Don’t tell anyone. Star, I could have the government breathing down my neck if they realize what I am. And that’s almost more frightening than everything with my parents because my parents might stop. If they realize it’s not a trick. If they believe me. But the Guys in White? They won’t. Ever. Because they won’t care.”

She wanted him to scoff, to tell him to be serious, but she knew they were beyond joking. This was…. “This is crazy.”

“Welcome to my life.” He gave her a sheepish smile, one she was used to him offering Mr. Lancer. “But, uh, since you know…. Can you help me?”

“Help you?”

“Keep this a secret. From everyone else.”

She closed her eyes. It did nothing to help calm her nerves. She couldn’t shut out the memories of what she’d seen or felt, couldn’t forget what she knew, even if she couldn’t understand it all. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Honestly? Because I thought you already knew it. And because after I blew my secret, you deserved more of an explanation, as much for your safety as mine.”

She looked at him again. No smile. No joke.

That wasn’t exactly comforting.

“I’m not asking you to fight with me. Just…just do what you can. Cover for me if you see that I need it, don’t tell Paulina or Valerie or anyone else, that kind of thing. It’s better that no one else knows halfas exist.”

The thought made her chest tighten. “There are more of you?”

Danny cringed. “Um, forget I said that. I can’t tell you that right now.”

“Ever?”

He shrugged.

He didn’t want to tell her more than he thought he had to. That was okay. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know more, especially right now.

Once, she would’ve been delighted to help Phantom in any way she could. Now that she knew he wasn’t really a ghost? It was…less delightful. Knowing Fenton was the town hero was disquieting. It’s not that she didn’t think him capable of it—he obviously was—but she just…. Did half ghost also mean half human? What was he? And how could there be others?

It made her skin crawl.

“Look, Star, just because you know my secret, it doesn’t change who I am. I’m still the same kid you were stuck in detention with last week. I deserved it. You didn’t. I think Youngblood was just trying to get me into trouble anyway.” He started rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you think…. Do you think you’ll be able to look at me the same way, even knowing what you do?”

She shook her head, not trusting herself to be able to lie right now. “This is insane, Danny. How do I even…?”

“You can talk to Jazz if you think it’ll help. She knows, too.”

Star realized she was finger combing her hair, one of her nervous habits, and forced herself to stop. “Right. So Jazz knows. And Sam and Tucker. And all the ghosts. Isn’t that, like, counterintuitive to the whole secret identity thing, your enemies knowing exactly who you are anyway?”

“For most of the ghosts,” Danny said carefully, “I’ve been able to call truces outside of Christmas. When I really need it. When we really need it.”

He didn’t see them as his worst enemy. That was reserved for his parents. Or maybe the government. Crud, why had she ever looked into this? Ignorance would’ve been easier than knowing Danny was Phantom!

She took a deep breath and tried to focus. “Let me tell the others that you know Phantom.”

“Star—”

“Hear me out. Not that you work with him, not if you don’t want me to say that, but that you know him. That you and Jazz, I dunno, take his thermos whenever it’s full and release all the ghosts back into the Ghost Zone again. They’ll believe that.”

“I don’t want more attention, Star. Or to give my parents another reason to ground me. Or to try to force me to wear the Spectre Deflector.”

“It’ll keep you from being Dash’s punching bag if he thinks you can introduce him—properly—to the ghost boy. And Paulina will stop any and all bad gossip about all three of you in its tracks. They have social power, Danny, power I don’t have. But I can get you protection if I—”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’d rather be a punching bag than tell them a half lie like that. Because even that much is risky. Star, after the Guys in White were in town, Tucker went through the school. They’d bugged our lockers, the classrooms, even the bathrooms. If they think I have more of a connection to Phantom than any other kid out there, I’m just putting myself in more danger.”

The Guys in White—what kind of name was that, anyway?—was the government organization he’d mentioned earlier; no one else would have that kind of power. Or the motive. Not that she was really convinced the government would care so much about high school kids, but maybe they knew more about the truth of Phantom than she had until now. Or maybe Danny was just thinking the worst, though she couldn’t really blame him for that when she could imagine how bad the worst was. “Really? Don’t you think—?”

“I’m not exaggerating. And I’m not overreacting. I’ve given up on a normal life, Star. With the way my grades are, I’ve pretty much given up on my dream of being an astronaut. I’m not normal. My high school experience definitely isn’t normal. Doing something like that to get a pass isn’t worth it. Tides turn fast. The beauty pageant taught me that.”

Star rolled her eyes. “I still can’t believe you picked Manson. I mean, I can, because it’s you and her, but—”

“She wound up in the Ghost Zone because of that,” Danny interrupted. “That whole pageant, me being the judge…. It was all a setup. You want to use your social influence to help me? Trust me when I tell you something’s bad, and spread the word. I don’t care if I wind up the butt of some joke if it saves lives.” A beat, then, “I can’t afford to care.”

Star raised an eyebrow. “And what does your sister think when she hears you talk like that?” She was glad the conversation had drifted. She was on familiar ground now. Talking about Danny’s social life, even his safety, seemed more normal than him talking about what being a halfa really meant. She really didn’t want to think about that right now. Focusing on consequences she could understand was a lot easier.

Danny huffed. “When I accidentally do, she gives me a lecture. And a hug. It’s annoying.”

Star didn’t need to have a sibling to know that it wasn’t annoying. Not really. If it was, it was at least annoying but appreciated.

He wanted to change the topic; she could see that from his body language. She sucked in a breath and obliged. “Okay. So. You’re…you’re actually Phantom. A halfa. Probably because of your parents, but you don’t want to share details, and I get that. Huge secret, at least from the humans, with potentially bad consequences if something gets out.” He opened his mouth, probably to correct her, but she held up a hand. “Let me finish, okay?”

“Okay,” he mumbled. He started tracing lines in the dirt with the toe of his shoe instead of facing her, but that was fine. This was almost easier to work out when he wasn’t staring her in the face.

“You don’t want to tell anyone anything, not even something small, like that you help Phantom. Even though that’s what you told me.”

“That was only because you kept asking questions,” he muttered. “I had to tell you something to get you off my back.”

“Right. I’ll help you come up with better lies later because obviously no one else is any better at it than you are.” Star took another deep breath and tried to gather her thoughts. “You could have tried lying again, you know. I might not have believed you, but I probably wouldn’t have pushed it. That was…. It was freaky. I would’ve told myself that you and Phantom were just trying to mess with me or something. I still tried.”

Danny looked up. “And how long do you think you would have believed that before realizing that you were just lying to yourself? How long before you decided the curiosity was driving you crazy and you started taking bigger and bigger risks to find out the truth? You’d be good with one of my mom’s Fenton Utility Weapons, but I’m pretty sure you don’t already have one. Which would be a problem if you accidentally poked the wrong bear. Some of these guys have multiple sets of teeth, and their bark definitely isn’t worse than their bite.”

He thought she’d run out after ghosts on her own. “You think I’d be stupid enough to do that?”

He snorted. “You followed me and Skulker, didn’t you? After you almost got hit by some of his missiles?”

“I didn’t tell you that until after you told me.”

“Doesn’t make me wrong. It just proves my point. Not telling you now would be dangerous. If you hadn’t seen me use my powers, sure, I probably would’ve tried to come up with something again, but I can’t…. I can’t cover that up, Star. That’s why I’m trying to be more careful about it. Especially now that I can control it. I couldn’t off the start. It was rough. That’s why I kept dropping stuff in chem.”

Star blinked. “That’s when this started? Way back then?” But he was right, of course. Before Phantom was called Phantom, even before he’d been dubbed Invis-o-Bill….

“That’s when everything started. When my parents finished the portal. When all the ghosts started coming through. This is my fault. I’m just trying to fix my mess. Sam and Tucker got sucked into it. Then Jazz. Now you. And I really don’t want you caught up in this. So just…. Trust what I tell you. Keep your head down. Cover for me if Sam and Tucker can’t. Pretend you don’t know, and hopefully the ghosts will leave you alone.”

Star stared at him. “You think I’m going to be a target now? I thought you said telling me was safer!”

“It is.”

“Not if I have ghosts after me!”

“You won’t! Or you shouldn’t. Not more than normal. Just…trust me.”

It was the same thing he’d told her back in the beginning of all this. He hadn’t wanted to tell her anything then, hadn’t wanted to let her in on this. Even now that he had, he didn’t want to tell her everything. She wasn’t even sure if this was half of it. She’d been left with questions then, and she definitely still had questions now, but—

Star took a slow, steady breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Calm down. Think clearly. Figure things out.

“Please?”

She hadn’t really trusted that Fenton could help her when she’d been trapped with him, but he had. And she certainly trusted Phantom to save her in the past. So if it came down to it, knowing they were the same person, knowing what Danny was really capable of—

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll trust you. And I’ll keep your secret. But you’ve gotta do something for me, too.”

He looked worried now. “What?”

“I don’t want to go out and fight ghosts all the time, but if I’m caught in another attack, especially if I might be a target, I don’t want to be helpless like that again. I hate that. So get me a weapon and show me how to use it.”

She wasn’t lying; she did hate feeling helpless. It wasn’t just to get Valerie off her back, either, even though Star knew Valerie wouldn’t drop the subject until she at least agreed to think about learning something. Of course, Star was happy to let Valerie think her influence was the reason behind it all. It was a lot easier than explaining how she might find herself targeted by more ghosts than she had in the past.

Besides, if learning some weapon—not the lipstick thing; that really would be too dangerous for her—helped clear up whatever Danny wasn’t telling her about Valerie, then all the better. Not that Star would push if it didn’t. One earth-shattering revelation was enough for this week. Not that she thought it was that bad, whatever it was. The venom in Valerie’s voice whenever she talked about ghosts definitely wasn’t faked. There was no way Valerie was another one of these halfas Danny didn’t want to talk about.

Hopefully, she didn’t actually know any of the others.

Not that Danny made it easy to believe that when he purposefully didn’t tell her anything else.

It made her think she did know more of them.

She didn’t want to.

Danny smiled, his relief helping to soothe her nerves, just a little bit. “Deal,” he said, offering his hand.

They shook on it.

She didn’t know what she was getting into, what she’d already gotten herself into. Not really. But at least…at least she’d be a little more prepared for whatever Amity Park decided to throw at her next.

(see more fics | bonus chapter)

[monotype-on-phantom]

[1/2]Also, I totally get Valerie redeemed herself. Like she was a mean person as a popular person. Like that time Tucker spilled something on her accidentally and she told Kwan to go beat him up. And he didn't want to. But didn't she threaten him? She found some way to make him do it. Valerie got character development because she was forced too. He dad losing his job, losing her popularity, becoming the red huntress. Sam didn't go through anything like that...

[2/2] so Sam's development would happen more slowly like it does IRL for teenagers.   The show MAYBE took place over 2 years from when they were 14-16, but I think that's a fan theory and not actually confirmed. And most teens take longer than that to grow out of their cringe worthy teen years

I sure hope this isn’t a continuation of something. I know it says 1/2 at the beginning, but that “also” is throwing me off. If there was anything else to this, I didn’t get it.

Anyway, I know I said I was done with the Sam discourse, but this isn’t pure criticism and there are some new points that can be added here.

In the past, I have compared Sam and Valerie’s development and individual arcs. I’ve pointed out things like the fact that Sam has apologized in certain episodes while Valerie has not. I should make it clear, however, that this was entirely to point out unfair criticisms directed at Sam. If people criticize her for doing something, they shouldn’t overlook another character who does the same thing.

I don’t think Sam and Valerie’s character arcs should be compared, though. They are completely different characters who start in different places and need to grow in different ways. Valerie started as one of the popular kids. She made fun of the underdogs, and she did threaten Kwan to force him to beat someone up for her (though it was Danny, not Tucker). After her life was ruined, she was forced to change her way of looking at the world, but she started off as an antihero. People argue this, but Valerie wasn’t looking to protect people or do good. She just wanted revenge and didn’t care much about collateral damage.

Over the course of the series, Valerie changes more and more. Her character arc was never completed, and in a lot of ways what we did get was rushed, but she’s definitely changed from where she was in the beginning.

Sam absolutely doesn’t need an arc where her life is ruined to force her to act differently. That’s not the only way to develop a character. That didn’t happen to Jazz or Tucker, and they went through some pretty good development.

Is it true that Sam didn’t get much of an arc for herself? Yes. Yes it is. It’s important to recognize that the type of arc she should’ve gotten is completely different from what Valerie got, though. Valerie needed to learn to place value on those around her. First the unpopular kids, and later (with episodes like D-Stabilized) the ghosts she fights.

Sam already knows that people have value. It’s a huge part of her character. She fights for the rights of animals and minorities and such, and she hates people who look down on others. The lessons she would’ve benefited from were ones that the series usually didn’t even present.

If Paulina were being discriminated against because of her race, Sam would be one of the first to step in. She doesn’t put up with things like that. Her problem isn’t thinking Paulina doesn’t deserve to be treated well. It’s that she believes everyone that falls into her social category acts a certain way, and chooses to avoid them based on that.

It’s actually the same problem Paulina has, just with opposite groups. That’s why Paulina makes a good rival for her. If the show had given us a lesson about stereotypes or something, both Paulina and Sam could’ve grown from it. Episodes like Shades of Gray and D-Stabilized wouldn’t do anything for either of them, because they don’t contain the lessons they need to learn. Paulina would never become a ghost hunter. Sam would never hand over someone to be destroyed because they’re “not human enough.”

I hope the point I’m trying to make is coming across fine. It’s not that Sam never had time to develop. It’s that the narrative would present opportunities for her to, but wouldn’t implement the lessons she needed. More often than not, her views were just reinforced by how everyone around her acted.

On top of all of that, “redeemed” is an odd word to use. Valerie never got a complete redemption arc. She never apologized for the mean things she’d done or tried to make up for them, and it wasn’t until the second to last episode that she saw even a single ghost as worth saving. And Sam? She doesn’t need a redemption arc. She’s already one of the heroes. That’s like saying Jazz needs a redemption arc. She just needed some solid development. Not redemption.

[writnwolph]

Sure! I just want to say in my humblest opinion, I feel that Sam is a mary-sue. However, I don’t think she’s an irredeemable mary-sue. I know a lot of her haters think there’s no hope but she has plenty of basic characteristics that show she is not a lost cause.

For one, she is an undeniable hypocrite. I’m aware that being hypocritical is apart of being a teenager, however, being a teenager does not absolve someone of criticism. So yes, Sam is a hypocrite. She gets upset at Danny for spying on her and gregor but had no problem spying on him and Valerie. Whether or not either of them were justified is irrelvant, at the end of the day, it was hypcritical for her to be upset and I don’t think she was called out on it and towards the end, Danny started listing the ways of how great she was which is not really a punishment. I’m not gonna get into who was more justified in doing it because that’s not really important. You can claim that her punishment is being lied to, however, it didn’t seem to affect her that much. (Also, I personally think the whole Gregor thing was stupid. Like why would he go through all of that only to get over Sam at the last second? But that’s a writing flaw.) She lectures Danny on not using his powers to get back at Dash but has no problem wanting him to destroy cars she was against and the cars end up getting destroyed anyway so there was no punishment. Again, it doesn’t matter on whether or not she was justified in wanting those cars to be destroyed, it was still hypocritical. She hates her parents for forcing their way of life on her but sees no problem doing it to others like in Mystery Meat and I guess you can say her punishment was the lunch lady ghost attacking but I don’t think she ever took responsiblity for it and no one made her.

Her hypocrisy is typically ignored. I don’t think it was ever called out on. I don’t think she ever faced a problem due to her hypocrisy. It was always presented as the right thing.

Which brings me to another point, she was always right. Now while being always right isn’t a negative trait at face value, it doesn’t do much for the story or the character. No one is always right. Sam’s way of life is not the only way of life to live. Like you said, Paulina and Sam have objectively the same flaws. However, Sam has more haters which I think is due to the fact the show never presented her flaws as flaws even though the viewers saw them.

Like the example of her apologizing to Paulina. In my opinon, that would’ve been the best Sam moment. However, you seem to think Paulina actually being shallow is a “punishment” but I don’t see it that way. It proved Sam was right, how is that a punishment? Sure, Danny was probably hurt but in the end, Sam was right, she got to go to the dance and she got to dance with Danny. She wasn’t punished. If anything, if she was a real person, I’d like to think this moment cemented her “I’m always right” mentality. Which is a flaw, an excellent flaw because there are people like this, however, by the end of the series, she still had this flaw. She was rewarded in Phantom Planet by ending up with Danny. I’m not trying to dehumanize Danny by calling him a “reward” but it signifies she got what she wanted and for what? She had the least character growth. She didn’t make up with her parents, she didn’t make new friends, she didn’t learn how to let go of her biases, she didn’t become less hypocritical. She just got the guy. (I think she even said something like, “I’m still gonna do things my way” like girl, that isn’t development.)

Another way she is a mary-sue is having random talents and attributes that were never hinted at. She was randomly athletic for some reason even though previous episodes showed her being just as out of breath as tucker when running. She was randomly good at video games despite mocking tucker for them. I might be wrong but doesn’t she get straight A’s too? She was rich, which I guess is meant to be a “foil” for Paulina by saying both of the girls are rich but different, however, she wasn’t different. They both were shallow, only one was called out on it and the other was called unique for it. (Even though being Goth isn’t really unique). The only one who called Sam out for being shallow is Danny but he ended up being proven wrong because Sam was right about Paulina being shallow. However, Paulina being shallow doesn’t mean Sam isn’t, it just means they both are but the story didn’t say that, it came out as Sam was right all along.

The show also tried to paint her as a strong, independant female but a lot of the time (especailly towards the end of season 2 and start to finish of season 3) she was a huge damsel in distress, yet somehow we were supposed to believe she was strongly independant. Like why? Because she had strong opinons? Not to mention, a lot of the other characters had to be dumb down to make her look better. Like suddenly she was Danny’s moral compass and he agreed to everything she said even when other seasons showed him to be a lot more stubborn. Tucker was reduced to comic relief more to progress Danny and Sam’s relationship even though previous seasons have shown that Danny and Tucker actually have a closer friendship.

She was always kind of bossy, but it got worse in the 3rd season. And nobody called her out on it and it was always portrayed as “right”.

In memory blank, she still wasn’t punished. Yeah, she lost her best friends but it didn’t take much to get them on board. After showing a few pictures, she convinced Danny right away. Her having to pretend to be girly isn’t really a punishment. It got her what she wanted, Danny’s attention and she just took the clothes off right away. If wearing pink clothes is punishment for her then that’s kind of spoiled. Also, it was her idea to have Danny go back into the poral and he did it so not a punishment. Lowkey, if she knew how much pain it would’ve brought him, why didn’t she go in? She bossed him around with what to do with his powers anyway. She also got to use her design on Danny’s suit! At the end of the day, she lost nothing but gained something.

About the Dash thing, Dash isn’t portrayed a hero or a good guy like Sam is. Yes, there are people in the phandom who like him but the show never intended that so he isn’t being rewarded. All of Dash’s flaws were displayed as flaws while Sam’s were not. The issue isn’t that she’s flawed, it’s that nothing was done about it. The one time she apologized, to Paulina, was showed that she had nothing to apologize for all along! People consider her a creator’s pet and I kind of do as well. I don’t understand what you mean by she “catches” herself before consequences because I don’t think the consequences present themselves in the first place.

I, personally, just don’t understand her character. She hates that her parents don’t let her “be goth” but from what I’ve seen, they’ve put up with her haircuts and clothing. The only episode where they truly try to stop her is control freaks which I can undestand because she’s skipping school. Actually, now that I think about, I don’t think they knew she was there at first so they weren’t even there to stop her, just the circus. I find it ridiculous for her to be mad at them for protesting something they don’t like when she does the same thing. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Sadly, she never realizes this! She never goes “oh my god, I’m just like my parents” and grows from that. Her parents could’ve easily take away her gothic clothing, it’s their money but they don’t so they’re not even as controlling as she says they are. A lot of the reasons I, and many others, don’t like her is her relationship with Danny and what it did for the plot, however, I do not want to be in a ship war right now XD so I’m not going into that.

She reminds me heavily of the “I’m not like other girls” trait which I hate with a passion. Like there’s nothing wrong with liking clothes and makeup. The beauty pagent episode was the worse because she only sighed up to make a “statment” or something about beauty pagents being bad. It was clear the pagent was important to the other girls so who is she to judge. She hates people trying to take away her identity, so why do it to others?This would’ve been a perfect opportunity for her character to learn that not everyone has to like what she likes but no because she ended up being right all along! The pagent was bad! A ghost was in control of it! When she won the pagent, we’re supposed to be happy for her for not accepting it because “yay, she’s not like other girls! She’s an individual!” As if being considered beautiful should be frowned upon.

Honestly, I forgot where I was going with this, I was just talking off the top of my head, sorry XD I kind of got ahead of myself. Please excuse any typos. Hopefully this gives you some points to address in your defense of her. I’m sure there are other people with more articulate and detailed reasonings than this lol. I would really love to read your defense because I don’t want to dislike her because I don’t think she’s as bad as people say. I may not think she’s a good character but people act like she’s the worse developed character in history when that’s not true. Honestly, DP was so rushed that a lot of characters were screwed over towards the end, I just think Sam catches the most flack for it.

People think Sam is mean and problematic because she doesn’t like girly things and looks down on girly girls?

Guess what, Paulina doesn’t like goth things and looks down on goth girls.

Literally every character in the show is problematic. Also keep in mind that they’re teenagers and literally don’t know any better yet. But EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER in the show has issues, many being the same as what people attribute to Sam. Like Danny? Actually a fucking terrible friend. Tucker isn’t much better.

All characters have flaws. Stop trying to pin them all on Sam.

[ladylynse]

Ectober 2018, Day 19: Mistakes

Helpless: Part 3 (Part 1 | Part 2)

The more Star looks, the more cracks and inconsistencies she sees in Danny’s story—not that that makes it much easier to fill in the blanks.

Now that she was watching for it, Star could see of a lot of things that didn’t add up where Danny Fenton was concerned.

It had been almost a week, and she still bore the telltale scratches and bruises from the ghost fight and her fall through the floor—or, more accurately, her landing and subsequent journey in the dark. But Danny, who had been fighting and dodging and slipping and ramming into desks, looked fine.

He always looked fine.

Even though Dash had shoved him into his locker three times this week.

She didn’t cheer Dash on anymore, but she hadn’t said anything to try to stop it, either. After her detention and with her appearance being what it was, she was on thin ice with the A-listers until she was blemish-free again. She’d seen what had happened to Valerie; she didn’t want to go through that herself if she could avoid it.

And if she stuck out her neck for Fenton now, he’d know something was up.

If preserving the status quo and actually learning the truth meant enduring the scowls of Danny’s loser friends who probably knew more of the story than she did, then so be it.

She kept a closer eye on him in the classes they shared together. Given how often he fell asleep in class, it was easy to believe he was up half the night helping Phantom fight ghosts. It was less easy to believe he managed that without his parents noticing anything, but she didn’t know Mr. and Mrs. Fenton very well, all things considered.

What she noted now, though, was the way Danny would abruptly sit up with a gasp before making up some excuse to leave class. Lancer knew it was only an excuse—he had to—but he usually let Danny go anyway. Eventually, if not immediately. Maybe in case it wasn’t just an excuse. Or because he knew Danny would run off anyway.

Shortly thereafter, there would be some signs of a ghost fight, and Phantom would be there.

Danny never was.

If Phantom was waking Danny up—if the shock of being touched by an invisible ghost was what had him gasping and inventing excuses—then what purpose did Danny play? Surely he wasn’t just the weapons supplier. If he were, he’d just need to keep a stockpile somewhere Phantom could get at it. She was pretty sure even the stuff that ghosts couldn’t phase through could still be phased out a locker.

There were a few times Danny came back with a limp or cradling an arm, but he always tried to brush it off. The one time it had looked more serious to Star’s eye, Sam and Tucker had watched him like hawks, and Danny had managed to avoid Dash that day. He’d favoured his leg in gym, but after that? He hadn’t been skipping home, but he hadn’t been limping, either.

She knew people who didn’t bruise very easily, but she didn’t know anyone else who could shake off an injury that fast. His parents were scientists, but she wasn’t convinced he trusted them enough to take experimental drugs, and she doubted they’d actually experiment on their kids. But how could Phantom help heal him? Ectoplasm helped ghosts regenerate because they were made of the stuff. Besides, as far as she understood, ectoplasm had to be incredibly concentrated or in extremely high levels to have any noticeable effect on humans.

Star closed her locker, and Valerie was there, waiting for her, as she had been every day. This time, Paulina wasn’t around to head her off; she’d slipped into the washroom to reapply her lipstick, making it quite clear that even if Star didn’t come with her, she was expected to wait.

Which made her a sitting duck for Valerie.

“You can’t avoid me forever,” Valerie hissed. “I know associating with me doesn’t do you any social favours, but the least you can do is fill me in. You can’t just change the subject whenever we talk on the phone.”

Valerie knew there had been a ghost fight. The entire school knew it. Valerie also knew Star had been in detention that day, and—coupled with her appearance now and at the Nasty Burger—would’ve put two and two together. Star had seen her trying to talk to Danny before, but Valerie clearly hadn’t been satisfied with his answers, which was why she kept coming back to Star.

“It was a ghost attack. Like always.” Star shifted her bag, wondering how long she could stall before Valerie would have to run to the Nasty Burger to start her shift. Probably not long enough. “It was some new ghost, an ice one. I hadn’t seen him before.”

“What’d it look like?”

“Like he could use a haircut. And a makeover.” Star managed not to smile at Valerie’s frown, but she really would be suspicious if Star didn’t spill some of the obvious details. “He wasn’t human, just humanoid. Kinda like that talking wolf, except he spoke English.”

“How did he fight?”

“Like a ghost.” Star really wasn’t sure what Valerie was asking—or why, for that matter. “Just…ice attacks, flying, phasing, that sort of thing. He was good. Thought he might get us before Phantom showed up to take care of him.”

Valerie couldn’t hide her scowl. “Danny said Phantom phased you guys out of the room.”

“He saved us. Every exit was frozen over. He’s the only reason we aren’t popsicles. I know you don’t like him, Valerie, but cut him some slack. He’s at least trying to make up for all the bad things he’s done, and I’m pretty sure the good outweighs the bad.”

“Not yet it doesn’t,” Valerie muttered.

Star decided not to poke the bear. She knew Valerie’s opinion of Phantom wasn’t going to change easily. “I lost my phone in the fight. Danny found it, but he didn’t stick around, and after everything was over, I didn’t know where he was. That’s why I needed your phone. Happy?”

“Not really. I’m not convinced you’re telling me everything, and I’m definitely not convinced you can take care of yourself if you’re in another fight. You’re still my friend. I don’t want to see a ghost get you. Phantom’s not always going to be pretending to be the good guy.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Star said, “but if that’s the case, wait till he makes a mistake to set your sights on him, okay? He’s helping now.”

“If you took some lessons and learned how to defend yourself—”

“Valerie, these are ghosts. If one of them wanted to, they could fly into me and take over my body right now. No training is going to help that.”

“Actually, mental—”

“I don’t want to have this conversation again,” Star interrupted. “I appreciate your concern, I do, but I’ve got other things to think about right now.”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “What you’re going to wear to Paulina’s party tomorrow doesn’t count.”

Star hadn’t forgotten about that—Paulina was talking about it too much for that to be possible—but it was one of the farthest things from her mind.

Best not to let Valerie realize that, though.

She said nothing, letting Valerie assume she’d caught her out.

“Just…promise me you’ll at least think about learning some self-defence? And maybe picking up one of the FentonWorks weapons? They had this laser lipstick thing at their last show—”

“Valerie, I’m more likely to forget I have something like a laser lipstick and accidentally fry half my face when I go to put it on than to actually use it well in a ghost fight. I mean, come on. I get that you’re interested in this stuff after what happened, but don’t pretend you’re an expert. You barely know more than I do when it comes to actual ghost hunting. It’s not like you’re carrying around a bag full of weapons right now, are you?”

Valerie winced. “Point taken,” she conceded at last, “but at least I’m educated.”

“Consider me warned,” Star said, “and we’ll work on educated and trained later.” She flicked her eyes over Valerie’s shoulder. “Paulina’s done. I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay, Star. Just…be careful. Don’t trust everyone so much, okay? Especially Phantom.”

Especially Phantom? What about especially Danny? If his sleep patterns were anything to go by, he’d been doing this while dating her. And since Val’s hatred of Phantom wasn’t exactly a secret, even if she tried not to let it get the better of her, Star sincerely doubted Danny had told her anything.

No wonder they hadn’t lasted.

“I know what I’m doing,” Star murmured as she walked past, “but thanks anyway.”

She hated being rude to Valerie, but Paulina was waiting for her now, and there was only so much Star could get away with. Valerie would know that, even if she wouldn’t like it. It was…hard, maintaining even this much of a friendship with a former A-lister. They were supposed to cut all ties when someone was dropped from the group, but Star had been that person, and she’d hated it. The balancing act she did now, walking the line and sometimes straddling two rungs of the social ladder—that’s about as adventurous as she got. Protection had never lain in rebellion with Star; she’d found surviving a lot easier when she fit in. When she blended in. When she wasn’t a target—from ghosts or other students.

Now, she was beginning to realize just how much she might have missed because of that.

Valerie didn’t have to hide her determination, her fierceness, her fire. She was a force to be reckoned with and everyone knew it, which had saved her from being a bottom feeder on the social food chain when she’d been dropped from the A-listers.

Danny? He apparently had a double life. He worked with Phantom, something that could win him instant social fame, but he didn’t take advantage of that.

She remembered how hard he and Tucker had tried to claw their way up, both before and after Manson had come to town. She remembered Danny’s horribly obvious crush on Paulina. Even after losing his pants while asking her out and otherwise making a huge fool of himself and becoming the laughing stock of the school, he could have saved everything. He could have used Phantom as leverage.

He hadn’t.

So why not?

He had never struck her as someone who thought long and hard about consequences of things like that. Manson? Sure. That girl was more aware than Foley or Fenton. She had some pull, even if the other two didn’t realize quite how much. But for Fenton to hold off on something that could give him what he wanted? For Foley to keep quiet about it when he had to know what was going on, when his association with Danny would win him favour if the truth about Danny and Phantom came out?

No.

This wasn’t just keeping something from Danny’s parents.

Especially not if they knew how his sister felt about Phantom and everything he was doing for this town.

They might not know how much Danny associated with ghosts, and they wouldn’t like the idea of Danny fighting with a ghost against other ghosts, but they’d be thrilled that he was hunting ghosts at all. They’d be training him, too. He wouldn’t need to sneak around and get training from ghosts in wherever the heck this Far Frozen place was supposed to be. He could get good training from them, use the opportunity to plead Phantom’s case, and maybe use his previous work with Phantom as evidence to bolster his case that Phantom wasn’t the bad guy. It might be rough, but they could find out what he was up to and things would turn out more or less all right.

So what really had him spooked?

Paulina was talking about tomorrow night’s party again, chattering enough for the two of them as they made their way to the Nasty Burger. Star paid only as much attention as necessary; she was too busy planning her reason to leave. Danny was in detention again—he hadn’t turned in his last assignment, so Lancer was making him do it under his watch—and Star planned to catch up with him when he got out.

His friends Sam and Tucker apparently had the same idea and had claimed their usual spot at the Nasty Burger.

This time, she didn’t assume their frequent glances out the window meant they hoped Danny might arrive early.

If he was involved in something, chances were very good that they were, too.

But if Phantom was going to pick allies, why them? Even if he wanted the insider info on all the FentonWorks weapons that Danny could provide, Jazz was likely the better source for that. And she was definitely less clumsy than her brother if Phantom actually needed help in the field. Even if her coordination wasn’t great off the start, it wouldn’t take her long to improve. So why Danny over Jazz? Or why not just go to the Fentons for information and nothing else?

If Phantom just wanted a fighter, why not enlist one of the jocks? Because he didn’t think they could keep a secret? Or because they were an obvious choice? Danny certainly wasn’t. But maybe that was why. He wasn’t the smartest kid in school or a star football player. He still had things to lose, but maybe it wasn’t as steep a trade. To be honest, Star couldn’t remember how good Danny’s grades had been before all this, but they’d slipped. He never used to get into this much trouble. Maybe Phantom hadn’t wanted someone with more to lose to risk it—not just for their sake, but for his.

Because Danny was less visible.

And the reasons for his sliding grades and truant behaviour could be explained in other ways; they already were.

He wasn’t just a convenient choice; he was a strategic one.

Star made her excuses to Paulina ten minutes before Danny was due to get out of detention. She’d missed him two days ago—she still wasn’t sure how—and had had cheerleading practice on the weekend ahead of yesterday’s game. Danny could be surprisingly difficult to find; even with all the information she’d managed to wheedle out of Valerie while trying to avoid giving away too much about the ghost attack, it felt like sometimes he just dropped off the face of the earth.

Not that she’d ever actually gone to his house.

That would instantly kill her chances to stay an A-lister for sure, since word was bound to get around even if there were no visible witnesses. (The ghosts had to be gossips.) And she couldn’t afford that. She just wanted information right now, and tracking Danny down at his house without a good reason wasn’t the way to get that. She wasn’t willing to commit social suicide for this. Not yet.

But try to get evidence of him working with Phantom? Sure. Except she still didn’t have anything concrete. She couldn’t even prove that it was Phantom contacting Danny during class.

Eavesdrop whenever possible? Definitely. She just rarely got the opportunity, since Paulina made a point of avoiding losers whenever possible. When she did overhear something, most of it didn’t make sense, and she typically couldn’t tell when Danny and his friends were talking about some video game and when they weren’t.

That’s why Star had decided to take another risk and straight up talk to Danny again. Not another demand for explanations—that still wouldn’t work—but a plea. She wanted an introduction. A meeting. She wanted to thank Phantom for saving her—and see what he said about the situation. It was an angle she hadn’t had a chance to explore, and she needed whatever she could get.

She was a block from the school when she heard the explosion, and as she rounded the corner, she saw the smoke.

Another ghost attack.

Which meant Danny would have been let out of detention early again, for his own safety.

Star groaned and started to run, not sure if there was even a chance that she could catch up to him now. He was probably long gone. Anyone smart would be. They wouldn’t be running towards a fight like she was!

Except that he said he did this on a regular basis. Just not out in the open where anyone—including his parents—could see him.

As she reached the front lawn of the school, Star’s foot came down on a loose clump of dirt, a remnant from a previous explosion. She twisted, instinct from cheerleading practice not quite enough to prevent pain from stabbing up her leg. She rolled to a stop and hissed out a breath as she touched her ankle. This wasn’t enough to take her out, but it would slow her down.

“Star, watch out!”

She turned at the call and could only stare at the stray missile rocketing towards her. She lurched forward—

--and her entire body went cold.

Weightless.

The missile exploded, and dirt flew through her.

It was just like before, except she wasn’t sinking into the ground beneath her feet. Instead of pushing her or letting her fall, Phantom had a death grip around her middle and was pulling her out of the blast zone. She knew he was flying—she could see the ground moving; they weren’t just hovering in one spot—but she couldn’t feel the wind.

Heaviness and warmth smothered her as Phantom released her. Her legs buckled despite her best efforts. When she looked back at him, he had his hands on his knees and was panting. “Run,” was all he said when he noticed her gaze. As if she could run very easily after what she’d done. “I’ll lead him the other way.”

Him.

Skulker.

Someone he’d taken down hundreds of times by now. What was different this time? Sure, sometimes Skulker’s suit went through various upgrades, but—

“You don’t have a thermos,” she blurted as realization struck. No thermos, no way of catching the ghost.

But wasn’t that what Danny was supposed to provide? Weapons? Support? I help Phantom, he’d said, but where was he now? He couldn’t just be used for information, not with how he’d moved. He’d been in more than the few ghost fights she’d seen; experience had been evident in his every move, every calculation.

Phantom didn’t stop, didn’t even glance back, and she wasn’t sure if he’d heard her. He yelled a taunt at Skulker instead, trying to get the other ghost to chase him. Trying to draw Skulker’s attention away from her, the newcomer who might otherwise be used to bait Phantom into a trap. Just like Danny had done with Icebreaker.

Star was on her feet, favouring one leg but still standing on two, when Skulker’s retort came: “Your pelt will be mine, whelp!”

Nothing she hadn’t heard before. Phantom’s response was equally predictable. She’d be more surprised that he knew her name than at what he said now if she didn’t know he worked with Danny.

But then Skulker growled, “A halfa pelt will be the prize of my collection,” following it all with another volley of missiles as he flew after Phantom, and Star’s breath caught in her throat.

Continued for Day 26

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